#just distasteful

[noecoded]

heartbreaking:the worst people you know just started an emo band

[hauntingofhouses]

Very interesting to me that a certain subset of the BES fandom's favourite iterations of Mizu and Akemi are seemingly rooted in the facades they have projected towards the world, and are not accurate representations of their true selves.

And I see this is especially the case with Mizu, where fanon likes to paint her as this dominant, hyper-masculine, smirking Cool GuyTM who's going to give you her strap. And this idea of Mizu is often based on the image of her wearing her glasses, and optionally, with her cloak and big, wide-brimmed kasa.

And what's interesting about this, to me, is that fanon is seemingly falling for her deliberate disguise. Because the glasses (with the optional combination of cloak and hat) represent Mizu's suppression of her true self. She is playing a role.

Take this scene of Mizu in the brothel in Episode 4 for example. Here, not only is Mizu wearing her glasses to symbolise the mask she is wearing, but she is purposely acting like some suave and cocky gentleman, intimidating, calm, in control. Her voice is even deeper than usual, like what we hear in her first scene while facing off with Hachiman the Flesh-Trader in Episode 1.

This act that Mizu puts on is an embodiment of masculine showboating, which is highly effective against weak and insecure men like Hachi, but also against women like those who tried to seduce her at the Shindo House.

And that brings me to how Mizu's mask is actually a direct parallel to Akemi's mask in this very same scene.

Here, Akemi is also putting up an act, playing up her naivety and demure girlishness, using her high-pitched lilted voice, complimenting Mizu and trying to make small talk, all so she can seduce and lure Mizu in to drink the drugged cup of sake.

So what I find so interesting and funny about this scene, characters within it, and the subsequent fandom interpretations of both, is that everyone seems to literally be falling for the mask that Mizu and Akemi are putting up to conceal their identities, guard themselves from the world, and get what they want.

It's also a little frustrating because the fanon seems to twist what actually makes Mizu and Akemi's dynamic so interesting by flattening it completely. Because both here and throughout the story, Mizu and Akemi's entire relationship and treatment of each other is solely built off of masks, assumptions, and misconceptions.

Akemi believes Mizu is a selfish, cocky male samurai who destroyed her ex-fiance's career and life, and who abandoned her to let her get dragged away by her father's guards and forcibly married off to a man she didn't know. on the other hand, Mizu believes Akemi is bratty, naive princess who constantly needs saving and who can't make her own decisions.

These misconceptions are even evident in the framing of their first impressions of each other, both of which unfold in these slow-motion POV shots.

Mizu's first impression of Akemi is that of a beautiful, untouchable princess in a cage. Swirling string music in the background.

Akemi's first impression of Mizu is of a mysterious, stoic "demon" samurai who stole her fiance's scarf. Tense music and the sound of ocean waves in the background.

And then, going back to that scene of them together in Episode 4, both Mizu and Akemi continue to fool each other and hold these assumptions of each other, and they both feed into it, as both are purposely acting within the suppressive roles society binds them to in order to achieve their goals within the means they are allowed (Akemi playing the part of a subservient woman; Mizu playing the part of a dominant man).

But then, for once in both their lives, neither of their usual tactics work.

Akemi is trying to use flattery and seduction on Mizu, but Mizu sees right through it, knowing that Akemi is just trying to manipulate and harm her. Rather than give in to Akemi's tactics, Mizu plays with Akemi's emotions by alluding to Taigen's death, before pinning her down, and then when she starts crying, Mizu just rolls her eyes and tells her to shut up.

On the opposite end, when Mizu tries to use brute force and intimidation, Akemi also sees right through it, not falling for it, and instead says this:

"Under your mask, you're not the killer you pretend to be."

Nonetheless, despite the fact that they see a little bit through each other's masks, they both still hold their presumptions of each other until the very end of the season, with Akemi seeing Mizu as an obnoxious samurai swooping in to save the day, and Mizu seeing Akemi as a damsel in distress.

And what I find a bit irksome is that the fandom also resorts to flattening them to these tropes as well.

Because Mizu is not some cool, smooth-talking samurai with a big dick sword as Akemi (and the fandom) might believe. All of that is the facade she puts up and nothing more. In reality, Mizu is an angry, confused and lonely child, and a masterful artist, who is struggling against her own self-hatred. Master Eiji, her father figure who knows her best, knows this.

And Akemi, on the other hand, is not some girly, sweet, vain and spoiled princess as Mizu might believe. Instead she has never cared for frivolous things like fashion, love or looks, instead favouring poetry and strategy games instead, and has always only cared about her own independence. Seki, her father figure who knows her best, knows this.

But neither is she some authoritative dominatrix, though this is part of her new persona that she is trying to project to get what she wants. Because while Akemi is willful, outspoken, intelligent and authoritative, she can still be naive! She is still often unsure and needs to have her hand held through things, as she is still learning and growing into her full potential. Her new parental/guardian figure, Madame Kaji, knows this as well.

So with all that being said, now that we know that Mizu and Akemi are essentially wearing masks and putting up fronts throughout the show, what would a representation of Mizu's and Akemi's true selves actually look like? Easy. It's in their hair.

This shot on the left is the only time we see Mizu with her hair completely down. In this scene, she's being berated by Mama, and her guard is completely down, she has no weapon, and is no longer wearing any mask, as this is after she showed Mikio "all of herself" and tried to take off the mask of a subservient housewife. Thus, here, she is sad, vulnerable, and feeling small (emphasised further by the framing of the scene). This is a perfect encapsulation of what Mizu is on the inside, underneath all the layers of revenge-obsession and the walls she's put around herself.

In contrast, the only time we Akemi with her hair fully down, she is completely alone in the bath, and this scene takes place after being scorned by her father and left weeping at his feet. But despite all that, Akemi is headstrong, determined, taking the reigns of her life as she makes the choice to run away, but even that choice is reflective of her youthful naivety. She even gets scolded by Seki shortly after this in the next scene, because though she wants to be independent, she still hasn't completely learned to be. Not yet. Regardless, her decisiveness and moment of self-empowerment is emphasised by the framing of the scene, where her face takes up the majority of the shot, and she stares seriously into the middle distance.

To conclude, I wish popular fanon would stop mischaracterising these two, and flattening them into tropes and stereotypes (ie. masculine badass swordsman Mizu and feminine alluring queen but also girly swooning damsel Akemi), all of which just seems... reductive. It also irks me when Akemi is merely upheld as a love interest and romantic device for Mizu and nothing more, when she is literally Mizu's narrative foil (takes far more narrative precedence over romantic interest) and the deuteragonist of this show. She is her own person. That is literally the theme of her entire character and arc.

[miqo-tia]

I like Alisaie's continuous distaste for self sacrifice. In a genre where self sacrifice is usually something noble and necessary, it's refreshing to see a character say "No. There is another way. You are not losing it all for this cause. You will live to see your efforts bear fruit."

[lesbiandarvey]

the first lady of easy company

[hooked-on-elvis]

𝗘𝗟𝗩𝗜𝗦' 𝗠𝗔𝗡𝗡𝗘𝗥𝗜𝗦𝗠𝗦 · 𝗧𝗢𝗡𝗚𝗨𝗘

Thanks @thetaoofzoe for finding more of those precious GIFS:

Now, add a wink from the hottest Sargent in the U.S. Army history to make things the more unbearably hot for us all:

[newttxt]

so i might be a shinsou enjoyer. maybe.

[queerdiazs]

as an eddie girl who loves buddie and enjoys bucktommy, one of the best things to come out of the tommy and eddie hate is how many of you have exposed yourselves for being homophobic, misogynistic, racist, classist, elitist, and bigoted motherfuckers ✨🫧

[null-doesnothing]

if I said that I think Amanda was a near equally horrible parent to Spock as Sarek was but just in a different way, would I get pelted with rocks or what

[dailypokemoncrochet]

Fiber arts tumblr is the only place I can say "I'm not selling this for any less than $200" where people are more likely to go "oh. yeah 😔" than just straight up balk at the idea of spending hundreds of dollars on a tiny 5 inch plushie (that has 4 different colors) (handmade without a pattern and nothing else like it on the market) (atypical design) (took at least 6 hours)

[po3tictrag3dy]

the casual racism in the pierce the veil fanbase is something that needs to be talked about more tbh

[lopeach]

seeing a lot of mismag negativity and i just wanna come out with a counter to that and say i think this season fucking rocks. every single player is hitting it out of the park with their acting and character choices. i love seeing these huge swings so early in the season.

danielle and brennan developing their friendship and how genuine and earnest she is with sams reaction to evans ghost. just pure love and support. sam says shes afraid no one takes her seriously but i think shes one of, if not the, most important character of this season bc of her ability to put so much emotional significance in such few words. ("my wands not working" "of course ill carry you")

erika accidentally snapping their wand and discovering that magic breaking mechanic. leaning into k's self-righteousness and deciding they know how to "fix" things that arent broken without confirming everyone was on the same page. the "breaking magic is more your thing" line. (i had to get up and leave the room after they said that). erika is so good at finding the rough spots on a character and poking at it over and over again, and it makes for incredible and dramatic storytelling

jammers unwavering support of his friends. but also the fact that he dropped out and stopped doing magic. he tells people his familiar is from temu. but he would do anything for the pilot program. lou is such a heavy hitter in comedy, but between this season, crown of candy, and worlds beyond number, im so glad we get to see him flex his dramatic skills too because god. he can act.

evan holding fast to the belief that he is not worth saving, and how much strain that puts on the group. him not realizing it hurts his friends when he doesnt process their love for him. and i think brennan is doing a great job portraying someone who deeply needs therapy but doesnt have the resources for it amd instead is just doing his best.

AND AABRIA!!!!!!!!!!!!!! GODS ABOVE!!!!!!!!!!! if there are zero Aabria Iyengar fans on this world then i have died. she said she wanted this to be the funny season but im really happy its so tense and dramatic. not only does that give the players a chance to shine, but its also so 100% aabrias wheelhouse. her storytelling is so evocative and honestly i think we are too early in the season to be throwing stones about plot and satire effectiveness. i trust her, and have seen enough of her other work to think that however messy it feels right now, its gonna pay off at the end. she knows what shes doing. and shes good at it too.

[paper-mario-wiki]

currently reading Franken Fran and it's giving me looooots of ideas about Ambrosia. god i need to get good at art so i can make comics. i have so much Lore to Convey

[1800-lemon-boy]

Friendly reminder that Jason having a Roman funeral was probably the last thing that he would want.

<33

[coolaidstain]

TIL that theres aphobes on Tumblr trying to claim that Jughead Jones has actually been gay coded the whole time and that saying he's ace is homophobic I fucking hate it here

[budgieflitter]

it is a bit funny to me when i see people playing around with fanmade aspiration calculators and whatnot and go like "omg this is who that sim is actually. we all were so wrong" while disregarding the whole. you know. biography and place in the story for the character

[citricacidprince]

“I could never choose a favorite between all the Gravity Falls AUs, I love them all equally!”

[Later]

“I do not care for Reverse Falls.”