#need to rewatch this show

[stromblessed]

Mizu, femininity, and fallen sparrows

In my last post about Mizu and Akemi, I feel like I came across as overly critical of Mizu given that Mizu is a woman who - in her own words - has to live as a man in order to go down the path of revenge.

If she is ever discovered to be female by the wrong person, she will not only be unable to complete her quest, but there's a good chance that she'll be arrested or killed.

So it makes complete sense for Mizu to distance herself as much as possible from any behavior that she feels like would make someone question her sex.

I felt so indignant toward Mizu on my first couple watchthroughs for this moment. Why couldn't Mizu bribe the woman and her child's way into the city too? If Mizu is presenting as a man, couldn't she claim to be the woman's escort?

However, this moment makes things pretty clear. Mizu knows all too well the plight of women in her society. She knows it so well that she cannot risk ever finding herself back in their position again. She helps in what little way she can - without drawing attention to herself.

Mizu is not a hero and she is not one to make of herself a martyr - she will not set herself on fire to keep others warm. There's room to argue that Mizu shouldn't prioritize her quest over people's lives, but given the collateral damage Mizu can live with in almost every episode of season 1, Mizu is simply not operating under that kind of morality at this point. ("You don't know what I've done to reach you," Mizu tells Fowler.)

And while I still feel like Mizu has an obvious and established blind spot when it comes to Akemi because of their differences in station, such that Mizu's judgment of Akemi and actions in episode 5 are the result of prejudice rather than the result of Mizu's caution, I also want to establish that Mizu is just as caged as Akemi is, despite her technically having more freedom while living as a man.

Mizu can hide her mixed race identity some of the time, and she can hide her sex almost all of the time, but being able to operate outside of her society's strict rules for women does not mean she cannot see their plight.

It does not mean she doesn't hurt for them.

Back to Mizu and collateral damage, remember that sparrow?

While Mizu is breaking into Boss Hamata's manse, she gets startled by a bird and kills it on reflex. She then cradles it in her hands - much more tenderly than we've seen Mizu treat almost anything up to this point in the season:

She then puts it in its nest, with its unhatched eggs. Almost like she's trying to make the death look natural. Or like an accident.

You see where I'm going with this.

When Mizu kills Kinuyo, Mizu lingers in the moment, holding the body tenderly:

And btw a lot of stuff about this show hit me hard, but this remains the biggest gut punch of them all for me, Mizu holding that poor girl's body close, GOD

When Mizu arranges the "scene of the crime," Kinuyo's body is delicate, birdlike. And Mizu is so shaken afterward that she gets sloppy. She's horrified at this kill to the point that she can't bring herself to take another innocent life - the boy who rats her out.

MIZU'S ONE MOMENT OF SOFTNESS AND MERCY, COMING ON THE HEELS OF HER NEEDING TO KILL A GIRL TO SPARE HER THE WORST FATE THAT THIS RIGID SOCIETY HAS TO OFFER WOMEN, AND TO SPARE A BROTHEL FULL OF INNOCENT WOMEN WHO ARE THE CASTOFFS OF SOCIETY, NEARLY RESULTS IN ALL OF THEIR DEATHS

No wonder Mizu is as stoic and cold as she is.

And no wonder Mizu has no patience for Akemi whatsoever right before the terrible reveal and the fight breaks out:

Speaking of Akemi - guess who else is compared to a bird!

The plumage is more colorful, a bit flashier. But a bird is a bird.

And, uh

Yeah.

I like to think that Mizu killing the sparrow is not only foreshadowing for what she must do to Kinuyo, but is also a representation of the choice she makes on Akemi's behalf. She decides to cage the bird because she believes the bird is "better off." Better off caged than... dead.

But because Mizu doesn't know Akemi or her situation, she of course doesn't realize that the bird is fated to die if it is caged and sent back home.

Mizu is clearly not happy, or pleased, or satisfied by allowing Akemi to be dragged back to her father:

But softness and mercy haven't gotten Mizu anywhere good, recently.

There is so much tragedy layered into Mizu's character, and it includes the things she has to witness and the choices she makes - or believes she has to make - involving women, when she herself can skirt around a lot of what her society throws at women. Although, I do believe that it comes at the cost of a part of Mizu's soul.

After all, I'm gonna be haunted for the rest of this show by Mizu's very first prayer in episode 1:

"LET" her die. Because as Ringo points out, she doesn't "know how" to die.

Kind of like another bird in this show:

[cholvoq]

More Human?Bill Cipher bc he’s so quick and easy to doodle (I can’t stop help)

[that-dumb-dinosaur]

dave filoni, you're paying for my therapy

[rapidhighway]

my love for him is stronger than any other force in the universe

[bikananjarrus]

can i just say it felt so fucking GOOD to have good, well-executed, fast-paced (!!) lightsaber fight choreography. the fights were exciting! each character had their own distinct style that matched their abilities and size! they were fast!!!!!! hands down the best saber fights we’ve seen in live-action sw in a long time.

[zan0tix]

to be seen for your humanity

[halfstayed]

❝ Sometimes family is more than just the people under your roof. — Orphan Black (2013–2017)

TV APPRECIATION WEEK 2024 — favourite family

[fallenangelblade]

no because what do you MEAN the first thing benny does upon meeting castiel for the first time in purgatory is angrily confront him about why he left dean? meanwhile dean is clinging to the hope that it was just an accident, there’s no way cas would leave him intentionally, right? girl………

[newvision]

“Maddeningly polite” is one of my favourite expressions from the show tbh. Cause Hannibal is soooo fixated on politeness himself, killing people because they’re rude, his entire person suit being the embodiment of “polite”. “When life becomes maddeningly polite, think about me, Will” ??????? He’s saying the politeness he forced down everybody’s throats maddens him. He’s hinting at taking off the person suit with/for Will. He’s ready to stop the polite charade

[littleblackraincloudofcourse]

The thing is, Ryan is right. There is a serious lack of media depicting straight men, being soft and vulnerable.

There is a genuine need for platonic male relationships that are emotionally available and supportive of one another.

And it should be absolutely normal for a man to reach out for help and companionship when it's needed.

Platonic relationship and non-romantic intimacy should be more common in media across all genders.

That is all true. But that is not the "truth" of whatever the hell Eddie and Buck have been doing since season 2.

[grimmthorne]

i support gay wrongs

[arielluva]

never drawn their movie designs before :3

[altruistic-meme]

im sitting here wondering how the ADA would react to skks dynamic in canon. cus like..... I don't think ANYONE from the ADA has ever actually seen Dazai and Chuuya in the same room. and the way Dazai talks to and teases Chuuya is SO DIFFERENT than how he behaves with the people at the ADA that I feel like they'd get fucking whiplash from it.

[mary-james-world-of-shames]

I died for a bit there but here is healthy old man yoai or whatever the kids are saying.

[hayden-christensen]

OBI-WAN KENOBI dir. Deborah Chow | premiered May 27, 2022

[cowlvent]

obsessed w the doctor fully turning his back on clara after this statement (physically and emotionally cutting himself off) and, feeling unmoored, pulling the console lever to exert some kind of control over the situation. he then continues to put space between himself and clara only to spin around, having undone several jacket buttons, and specifically shows off the red lining interior—symbolic of his emotional vulnerability in this moment. he asks her what she thinks of him (as a person), disguising it as a question about the new outfit.