#we’re never explicitly SHOWN anything of that sort (thankfully) 🤢

[nuinokata]

I will not hear a single fucking word about Nui No Kata being a bad mother/person/character who needs to be ‘“redeemed”’ etc, because guess what!!! she’s one of the few characters in the entire series who has done absolutely nothing to require any form of redemption - quite the opposite: she’s a character who carries an immeasurable amount of guilt over a horrific act that she had absolutely no part in committing, and in which (regardless of what she herself believes) she was not complicit in any way, shape, or form. this is a woman who felt nothing but maternal love and adoration for a child whose appearance literally drove another character to permanent insanity. a woman who clung to her newborn child with every ounce of her strength as he was ripped from her arms to be murdered by his monstrous, power-hungry father. a woman who spent the next 16 years doing the best she possibly could to care for her second child while attempting to cope with the debilitating anguish, trauma, and self-imposed guilt of losing her first. spending every waking moment grieving the baby that was taken from her, and blaming herself for not being able to do the impossible by protecting him. this poor, brave, beautiful woman who somehow found the strength to remain a kind and gentle person despite her grief, isolation, and (presumably) abuse at the hands of her warlord husband, who broke down in tears of overwhelming joy upon learning that her firstborn was still alive. who, without hesitation, attempted to sacrifice her own life in order to ease her son’s suffering. Nui is not to blame for her husband’s crimes. she is every bit as much of a victim of Daigo’s cruelty and greed as Hyakkimaru. the fact that she (understandably) shies away from and doesn’t encourage Tahomaru’s obsession with war/violence ≠ child neglect, and the fact that she’s in no position to be tumblr’s stereotypical ass-kicking Strong Female Character™ does not make her a poorly written character. it’s not redemption that Nui needs. it’s to finally be able to forgive herself.