#too dumb for character analysis

[sasiasaan]

Is titus hardie mixed? I saw a post about this and thought. Is this obvious to everyone? I haven't seen anyone else mention it anywhere...

I'm not really into cultures, so that's why I missed it...

[avariantflaire]

Why Levi and Petra?

Of course, upon general viewing of SNK and its characters, it's clear that they have established Erwin, Levi, and Hange as the leading trio of the Survey Corps. They represent this faction of the military and in interesting ways, mirror the main protagonists of the series.

While there is a lot to be said and appreciated about Levi's relationships with Erwin and Hange, I have come to find that the character who humanizes him is the lovely (albeit forgettable) Petra Ral.

Early in the series, we are introduced to Levi as Humanity's Strongest Soldier. Erwin makes use of his abilities in this sense, and Hange often relies on his strength in combat as well. That is not to say this is the extent of their relationships: we have Levi's iconic "Give up on your dreams and die" scene with Erwin (S3 E16) and the infamous "Maybe we should just live here [away from my responsibilities] together" request from Hange (S4.2 E8). However, something to note with both scenes is that while they give depth to Levi's relationship with both characters, he essentially serves to highlight others. In the former, Levi's response directly challenges Erwin's dream, and allows this commander a defining moment of growth. Similarly in the latter, Levi is used as a means for Hange to express and eventually overcome their fears and insecurities about the deal they've been dealt as the new Commander of the Survey Corps (which at the time was rapidly disbanding under the Jaegerist movement).

In other words, Levi is the "subplot character" to Erwin's and Hange's individual arcs. (According to John Truby, 'The subplot character… provides another opportunity to define the hero through comparison and advance the plot.')

Which begs the question… at what point in the series, if any, is Levi defined as a character in and of himself?

Two prominent scenes from season 1 come to mind, which are namely: 1) The dying soldier scene (S1 E9), and 2) Petra's conversation with Eren in headquarters (S1 E15).

In the first, Levi comforts a dying soldier and vows to carry on their will and exterminate all Titans. When the soldier passes before he can reply to Levi's words, Levi turns to his fellow soldier Petra and asks her if he was heard. Petra provides confirmation, emphasizing the peaceful expression on the soldier's face.

In the second, Petra confronts a gloomy-looking Eren, who has been tasked to clean headquarters along with the rest of the Special Operations Squad (aka the Levi Squad). She specifically points out how Levi is 'not the hero he's expected to be' in the sense that he has a terrible personality, though she does so while smiling almost fondly, as though it doesn't matter what his personality is because they can always put faith in him as their Captain. It seems she wants Eren to understand this - or a notion similar.

It is in both moments that we are able to clearly see Levi beyond being a powerful soldier. Always, he is a threat. When he enters the scene we expect the shift in the dynamic of the battle - we expect him to win. He's a trump card. Erwin's last words to him are an order (S3 E16), and Hange's last words about him is "he's [Armin's] underling now, so really put him to work" (S4.3.1). Levi acknowledges Erwin's and Hange's humanity, bolsters it even, with the conviction of "dedicating your heart". In SNK he is the symbolism, the embodiment, of a soldier. That's all he really ever gets to be. Even his softest moments with - heck, anyone in the series - are meant to deeply reflect on the guilt, the burden, the purpose of getting the job done. ("So… you're telling me… I've spent all this time and energy running around killing people?" (S2 E12) / "Just think, if your hands were still clean... Jean wouldn't be here right now." (S3 E2) / "If we just run away and keep on hiding, what will we have left?" (S4.2 E8))

But for those singular moments in season one, he's more than just the threat. We see him as a human not only with (personality) flaws, but also with dreams and convictions, tied so seamlessly with his comrades' cause that we are reminded painfully, at the end of the series, that it was Levi who carried them all to the end. Throughout the story we see Levi lament fallen soldiers; we are exposed to how much he empathizes with his comrades and their deaths, to the point where it can be said that no one keeps us more aware of the lives that have been lost throughout the show more than Levi himself.

In this manner, Petra was the subplot character to Levi's hero. She gave the audience a (subconscious) glimpse of the Humanity within "Humanity's Strongest" and built the bridge that would lead us to compelling and important revelations about Levi's thoughts and actions as the show progressed. It's Petra whom he finds tending to a dying soldier; Petra whom he asks for confirmation that the soldier heard; Petra who, against all expectation, asks Eren to see past the station, the status, the soldier, to the person himself.

"He's not quite the great, perfect hero society makes him out to be, huh? The real Captain Levi is shorter than you'd expect, temperamental, crude, and unsociable. (…) You thought that because he's skilled, he doesn’t have to follow the rules like everyone else?" (S1 E15)

It's even Petra who, despite her rank, asks Levi to step aside when Eren becomes a half-baked Titan. Here, Levi's robust intuition and split-second decision making skills are shown even away from the battlefield. It's Petra who leads the Special Operations Squad in their apology to Eren (S1E19 "Bite"), who first instills in us (narratively) the notion of trusting your fellow comrades. More specifically, she is who convinces Eren to place his life in their hands. It's this notion that Levi carries with him even until the final arc - "I've saved Eren countless times over - each time, more comrades dying. All because I believed he was the hope of humanity." (S4.1 E13) In the manga (Ch112), it's Petra we see at the forefront of this belief.

"Do you, Eren? Do you find it that hard to trust us?" It's Petra who dies, her words the final say in convincing Eren: "I believe my squad will be victorious." (S1 E21)

"It's like some awful joke," Levi reflects later on, as his comrades' dying hopes and dreams flash by in the canopy of the forest. "What the hell was the hope that we saw? Such bullshit. It's not even funny." (S4.1 E13) "We" here could definitely mean the soldiers who've given their hearts, but the metaphorical representative of this heart is Petra herself... "Eren! Trust us." (S1 E19)

And in the end, it's Petra in the forefront alongside Erwin and Hange, representative of her fellow soldiers, the one (experienced/veteran) Scout we've seen and interacted with in the entire series to have professed the values of hope, of trust, of belief, which is henceforth carried on by Levi himself, his own convictions, his own dreams. They are, in the entire series, the glimpse we get into the Scout Regiment beyond the series' titular character and his comrades in the 104th, and a thorough dive into what makes Levi Humanity's, not simply its strongest.

Her character song, "The Light of Dual Wings", can literally be taken as an allegory of the dreams the Scouts have entrusted to Levi. That's how prominent she is as a Scout; how coded her devotion to Levi is, whether interpreted platonically, romantically, or narratively, as the dedication of hearts.

So, yes, I love them together. I love their scenes, the implications of them narratively, the values Petra professes so effortlessly in the air, washed away by the higher tides of the Female Titan arc. I love that it's still Petra at the forefront, in all of Levi's reflections moving forward, because she is our first glimpse into Levi's character, the real him.

In the end this is just a ship post struggling to keep from delving too much into the symbolism of Levi and the Scouts (how Levi is the face of the Scouts more so than Erwin himself, really), the truest depiction of humanity's collective fight for freedom in this entire series. In his early days, Eren wanted to be a Scout, after all. It is Levi and Petra who push him forward into 'that hell' - for better and worse, respectively.

[mikesbasementbeets]

honestly i like my characters with huge glaring personal flaws. “this character is a perfect angel” “this character has never done a single thing wrong in their life” ok you have fun with that. sounds boring to me

[killugon-truther]

“illumi loves killua, it’s just toxic/twisted.”

illumi literally views killua as his property that is his to control as he pleases. all he ever does is abuse & manipulate killua, so how about we stop calling it “love” and start calling it what it ACTUALLY is?

wanting to constantly control, manipulate, hurt, & abusive someone is NOT fucking love, pls learn that, and fast. it’s a bit concerning and incredibly disappointing that some of you don’t know that already, seriously. 💀

genuinely, get some help if you think that shit is “love”.

[ahli-stuff]

I didn't want to make the reblog chain any longer but I just wanted to say I actually don't consider Fyodor's attachment to Dazai as one sided because of this statement from Asagiri: "There are rare moments when Dazai shows his very “human” side. That is when he talks to another superhuman who is on the same level with him. The other is when he talks about his old friend who has passed." But like you mentioned, they're on opposite sides so they're totally doomed hehe. Some fyozai fans like to create AUs where Dazai convinces Fyodor to embrace goodness, but I like thinking about the reverse where Fyodor convinces Dazai to embrace evilness. 😈Imagine how terrifying that would be to have the both of them as antagonists? Nobody would be able to stop them.

AH, hello rblogger! It’s funny that you said you didn’t want to make the reblog chain longer, because I was making a another separate post in my drafts for that exact same reason. This is the current tag of that post:

And that quote! I’ve never seen it before, that’s so interesting! It recontextualizes what I previously thought about about Dazai’s feelings towards Fyodor. Funny how a certain redhead isn’t included in the people Dazai shows his “human side” to, isn’t it? (I’m sorry skk shippers please don’t kill me.)

To me, it seems that there are two faces to Dazai’s “human” side. There is the part of him that good be traditionally considered “good” and the part of him that could be traditionally considered “evil.” A paraphrased version of a quote I almost remember by heart, is when Oda tells Dazai: “if it makes no difference to you whether you kill or save people in this world, be on the side that saves people.”

In the context of the quote you mentioned and the one I just did, Fyodor represents “kill” and Oda represents “save,” the two ends of the spectrum of what kind of “human” Dazai could be.

With this information, I would consider fyozai’s dynamic requited, but I also think… that’s only if Oda’s character ceases to exist.

I firmly believe that in every universe that Oda and Dazai exist, Dazai chooses Oda. Above Fyodor, above Chuuya, above Atsushi, above the armed detective agency, above the entire world—Dazai will screw up the lives of everybody as long as he can save Oda.

This is evidenced in the Beast universe: a world where Dazai does exactly that.

It could then be plausibly believed that Fyodor and Dazai have a chance at being ride-or-die partners in crime in an alternate universe where Dazai exists and Oda doesn’t—but I highly doubt that. Dazai and Oda’s fates are so intertwined across universes that in every universe where Dazai lives, Oda dies. The opposite is also true; in the only universe that Oda lives, Dazai dies.

Out of billions of universes, the only one where Oda lives, Dazai must die. I argue this shows the sheer extent to which Dazai and Oda’s fate are intertwined, and because they are intertwined, Oda is a central part of Dazai’s character development in every universe.

Of course Dazai being friends with Fyodor and Dazai being friends with Oda aren’t mutually exclusive things, but any kind of relationship Dazai would willingly entertain with Fyodor would always be colored by Oda’s influence, if you know what I mean?

It’s like… having a very memorable ex, even though I don’t ship Odazai.

It is my of my opinion, canonically, that Oda is the only person with the capacity to significantly change Dazai. That is what I mean by Fyodor and Dazai’s dynamic being unrequited—it could be requited, Fyodor understands Dazai, so he could theoretically change him, but it will never be to the degree that Oda changes Dazai. I believe Dazai will always put Oda’s words above everyone else’s, and I believe Oda exists in every universe Dazai exists in.

[temporary-joyride]

One underrated thing I like about Bachira is that Bachira knows exactly what he's doing. And I mean that as in, like take episode 9. As you watch the scene, it comes across that Bachira awakened just from the thrill of it. The intensity of being down 3 gave him the excitement needed to pull off that goal. It's framed as Bachira doing it for his own fun and fulfillment, which isn't untrue! But then he gives Team V that look. You know the one. I absolutely love when he stares down Reo, Nagi, and Zantetsu because Bachira just changed the tide of the game and he knows it. He can act a little aloof but the truth is that shit was on purpose.

I love that Bachira is presented as silly and eccentric- which he is! But it's specifically with Isagi that Bachira is very good at concealing his real intentions or something like that. On the surface it looks like he's just teasing and messing around with Isagi because Bachira is just silly like that, but in reality Bachira is poking. And prodding. He's purposefully stroking that flame so it burns as bright as he can make it- because the hotter the flame, the more fun it is to play with.

[gutfaced]

something something you do realize gale was a child too. being 18, 19 and legally classified as an adult doesn't take away the fact that there's a TEEN in there. a CHILD. gale's whole thing throughout the entire trilogy was to protect katniss & her family, even if he caused harm to her outside of that (which is ultimately his treatment of her as some sort of trophy/something to be had.) gale's reason for rebellion is because he's seen his home suffer. he's seen his home suffer for so long, he's seen his parents, siblings, best friend struggle. to bring down the capitol is a mission tied to his angry heart, and that anger burns even brighter when forced to evacuate 1000 people in a small, overpopulated district that is blazing with the cruelty of their oppressor's fire.

gale had every right to fight back, but it backfired when his rebellion became cruelty, too. designing the bombs to try and become a weapon for those he wanted to protect, and aiming fire in the wrong places. gale gets so so so much shit for being a flawed and nuanced character, and being boiled down to the "prim reaper" despite his justifications, despite his complexities even feels a little microagressive, considering characters such as PRESIDENT SNOW (arguably the most evil character in the trilogy) gets treated like a saint due to tbosas despite his cruel nature showing there. (he's also, what! white? in comparison to gale being an impoverished poc teen! huh!!)

gale is one of THE most hated characters in this fandom for, what? trying to survive? trying to war on an aching side that craves tranquility and a want to see another sunrise? not getting those means in the correct way, but still having a part in the end game. we could talk about gale as a PERSON, who is painfully messed up and happens to have a lot of moments where his character is unsavoury, but we can ALSO talk about gale as a fighter and a boy in a position of heroism— who is simply a boy in piled-on armour, foolish and naive in his brutish and millitant ideals and finds the cost of revenge a personal consequence (prim's death.)

[sammym332]

he can suffer a bit more. as a treat

comissions are open  

[no1ryomafan]

I’m debating if I’ll just use tumblr for proper analysis rather then me just typing up shit at 1 am-like I did last night lol-that I rotate because I’ve been thinking of multiple subjects that could either be video essays or long posts but I do think to test it out I should try writing up a post about Vent from ZX because I feel me making a tumblr post about why he’s not as bad of a character as people think he is I will get less flames then if I made it into a video 💀

(Also I said I’d do Grey but imma be real: love the boy but I feel it’s redundant to go in depth about him when the whole point people don’t like him is because he’s not like Ashe, where as I feel Vent suffers from “he’s just a worse Aile”. Grey deserves better though but I’ve seen more people like him than Vent being fully honest)

[raayllum]

in honour of this post, tags on another of mine i cannot remember that talked briefly about Rayla's issues, and that I've talked about Claudia and Callum's moments of being hypocritical, now I want to actually talk about Rayla's hypocritical tendencies cause it's something S4 and S5 made a fun little consistency - let's dive in

Rayla can sometimes ignore (or react indignantly to) other people possibly having their own reasons/justifications because she's tunnel visioned into only thinking about her own justifications as uniquely warranted

Let me explain

The first time I noticed this was in 2x03, mostly because it was one of those moments that made me laugh even though it's not trying to be funny because

Cause Rayla, honey, you know you lied to them too ("lying and hiding the truth aren't that different") - and Callum forgave you for that and is still your friend. Why would Claudia and Soren be any different to him? (And they are, but not the point of this point).

Now, unlike Soren (who is the person they're primarily discussing), Rayla didn't lie outright, but she did lie by omission - much the same way Claudia did. And Rayla has known her own motivations all along - probably worried they might give up on their mission if they knew (especially at the start), and she doesn't want them to hate her, and most of all by this point in the show, she didn't want to hurt them ("I'm afraid of hurting him" / "when you care about someone, it's hard to hurt them").

This made sense to me in terms of Rayla being good at being initially (often times rightfully, sometimes not so) indignant on her own behalf. She is able to justify herself and does so often, both angrily - as the next examples will show - and more neutrally ("How could I take his life?"). She defends herself both physically and personally to Corvus ("I didn't kill anyone"), she smarts at Callum when he (rightfully) tries to push at her ("I don't have to explain anything to you"), and is mad at Ethari when they initially talk ("Yeah, it's me. Surprised to see my face?"). This initial defense of herself doesn't usually persist and typically gives way to self loathing ("I can fix this" / "I don't deserve your trust, not yet" / "They're right to reject me") but it is there at first and is usually her first reaction, which is very fun.

However, this coupled together with the other two instances arc 2 brings up in terms of her being kind of a hypocrite makes it a pattern, beginning in early season four. (Callum also isn't at his best in early season four, saying he doesn't want to talk about stuff and then bringing it up the next episode to take a jab at her - but he's still dealing with the fallout of the problems she caused, so he absolutely gets more of a pass. As always, see my In Defense of Callum's Narrative Lens from way back in the day if you're interested in more of how his perspectives are portrayed.)

Because gee, Rayla, I wonder whose fault that is? And again, it does make sense that she's angry - she's spent two years just wanting to be with him with none of the messy complex heartbreak he had to go through because she was the one who made the choice to leave. She expected him to at least shout at her, not ice her out completely. And again, we see that initial indignant streak fade when he reiterates he wants to go, and she looks down disappointed, but accepting of it (and puts whether she'll stay or not in his hands, too).

Since she had a good reason for leaving, and it's what her parents did, while she expected anger, she also wants affection and love. Isn't her justification enough, in some ways? Shouldn't it be? And while Rayla wrestled back and forth with this, it's clear she does think that it should be (even if both seasons show she's starting to realize just why she was wrong).

But we do see this hypocritical tendency of hers perhaps pop up most prominently in S5 with Nyx

Again, in Rayla's head, lying and stealing the key wasn't perhaps the right thing to do, but the better thing to do than burden Callum with what she was going through / to be open and vulnerable. It makes sense why she'd do so - and her shot at Nyx gets a tiny pass cause she's technically sticking up for Ezran - but it still falls back on Rayla leaning too heavily on her logic / independent streak to justify actions that are actually counterproductive to having healthy, wilfully open relationships.

And this is something I love about TDP. Even when the characters are genuinely making the worst possible fucking decisions they ever could (hi arc 1 Viren, Claudia and Karim constantly in particular) you completely understand how and why they're justifying those decisions, and Rayla is no different. Doesn't mean they're right, doesn't mean it's not logically stupid or fair or whatever, but it's emotionally consistent, and that's what matters most in the end. And now we have a fun little consistency to add to the pile

[welcometoteyvat]

society moved on too quickly from furina's demo

[astronomicalunit32]

In my motivic analysis phase. When did we decide to stop listening to the hamilton soundtrack.

[daz4i]

I'm gonna let you in on a badly kept secret. most of my dazai analysis is truly just me projecting. but being decent enough at bullshitting to make it sound convincing so ppl usually end up agreeing with my takes

[smallsadchild]

There is a song. Called Human of the Year. By Regina Spektor. It gets stuck in my head. But my brain for some reason, always replaces the word human.

With Chuuya.

I do not know why. But the chorus to that song to me is now “chuuya, chuuya of the year and you’ve won…” and I fear it will be that way ‘til the end of my days.

But I have no one to complain to. Because I know no one irl who knows both the song and bungou stray dogs. Or even any Nakahara Chuuyas just in general.

So I send this into the void. In the hopes that one day, maybe, someone will see it and understand my pain. That, or that I can forever fuck up this song in someone else’s brain because god damn it I don’t want to be the only one.

[explode-this]

Bluey in the genocide by Omar Sakr (posted January 2, 2024)

I am maddened by how apt it is that in trying to find this poem—a stellar example of how people gloss over the presence of politics “even” in children’s television programming—I kept running into articles with headlines like “inside News Corp’s Bluey genocide beat-up” and “Iconic Bluey cricket episode is accused of promoting ‘genocide’ by Muslim poet Omar Sakr” and “Poet Omar Sakr Alleges ‘Bluey’ episode ‘Cricket’ Genocide Themed.’ There is no accusation; there is acknowledgement. Sakr has not screeched onto the page with a list of grievances. He has rather gently described watching a cartoon with his son, a cartoon they were both enjoying until the moment where his experience of the world, the various lens through which he sees and has been seen, creates a pause of realization. It’s a realization that would fly over the heads of those who do not share those lens, who are free of the burden of carrying all of the extra meaning. Rusty’s dad could have been anywhere, away and missing these moments of learning and bonding for any reason, but a creative choice was made for deployment to be that reason—and in that revelation many viewers probably worried for the pup, taking in the notion that his father may not return. The intention with the storyline—I gather—is to provide acknowledgement and understanding to children of deployed parents, as well as describe simply to their peers those particular circumstances. This scenario invites me to ask further questions: why was the parent deployed? Where was he deployed to? On either side of this equation, how many other children are cleaved from their parents by governments and the notions of “duty” and “just following orders”? How many lives are destroyed by imperialism and so-called “peacekeeping”? Asking these questions takes nothing away from feeling sympathy for Rusty’s situation; it broadens the scope. What Sakr’s poem does is quietly turn your face to see the rest of it.

Whether you acknowledge it or not, whether it affects you or not, whether you’re just watching things for escapism or you’ve turned your brain off or you’re not paying attention, every creative endeavor is informed by some aspect of politics both personal and broad. Nobody is forcing you to think about it, to analyze, to identify every theme and potential piece of commentary. But those things are still there, and they tug at the strings of our experience. Being able to overlook or ignore those things can be part of our experience, and merely having them made visible to you is not an accusation or a condemnation. Seeing them may provoke feelings and questions. If those feelings are mostly defensive, there is an option other than fighting someone else’s reality: consider how those feelings and questions can help you see things to which you are not ordinarily subjected and, in doing so, learn something.

everything has political content. sorry. theres some guys who get really really angy when you say this but its true

[thefangirl-16-blog]

I love yukichi so much as a character but everytime I try to write something about him it very quickly turns too blorbo-y and it's very annoying