Marvel Musings

Our suffering continues as we struggle to provide the basics for our family. Currently, our support campaign is very weak and barely reaching anyone. We urgently need your help to secure food and medicine for our children. Please, don't let us face this hunger and grief alone.

Intelligence without strength is a feminine trait in naruto, demonstrated by how lip service is constantly being payed to characters like Sakura, Ino, and Temari are smart but we rarely see them actually using this intellegence in ways that wins battles that center physical strength. Shikamaru is in a similar place to these female characters, because hes canonically quite weak outside of his genius. The text itself associates him with feminity, pairing him with female characters for both of his fights in the chunin exams for example, as well as him having to be rescued in situations where almost every other male character would have been able to win by fighting to the death. Shikamaru has to be rescued twice pre-timeskip, first by Asuma during orochimarus invasion and then (humiliatingly) by a girl, Temari, in the Sasuke retrieval arc.

He also has no drive to "be the best like no one ever was." Where almost every other male character in Naruto has an innate desire to get stronger that is shaped by their worldview (Naruto wants to be stronger to be hokage, Sasuke wants to get stronger for revenge, Lee wants to prove hard work can beat natural talent etc.) Shikamaru's doesnt want to be a great ninja at all, he just wants to be a normal guy, which in his society, includes working as a ninja. However, his lack of drive sets him apart from the rest of the male characters in the cast, with his goals aligning closer to the goals of the female characters. Shikamaru wants to have a normal job, a wife, a picket fence, and 2.5 kids, this goal does not involve him getting stronger, and is more similar to the goals of the women in the cast, since it doesn't really center on getting stronger as much as it does attempting to achieve the status quo.

Tempted to actually put this on spotify so I can secretly stream it at work...

these old notes are wild (in a way, this is its own form of fusion…grumble grumble…) (Re my side thing from before, you can notice this on this album: the first side is all examples of ‘fusion’—-ICM with western film music, jazz, and here Carnatic music, and then the second side is a straight long form Hindustani raga)

and in the one hand, did i enjoy spending hours researching housing regulations in my state? not especially. drafting this email was stressful. but on the other hand, did i learn a lot by doing that research? yeah, i did. i’m more prepared for my current and future leases. i used some of that info to make decisions about a new renter’s insurance policy. i already told three different people about things i learned that are relevant to their leases that they didn’t know yet. (pro tip: see if you’re supposed to be getting annual interest payments on your security deposit! also look up what specific appliances your landlords must legally provide as of 2026.) i also got to reconnect with my cousin for a bit because her job gave her specific insight on part of the situation, and i’d much rather do that than have a chatbot make shit up for me.

also, i drafted that email with the power of friendship (friends angry on our behalf) and spite (from landlords telling me not to do my research). chatgpt could never.

Erika, referencing ebenezer scrooge: You, boy! What day is it?!

Problems with the Shinobi System

As a shinobi, violence is a service that you provide. By making this service available, people are more likely to utilize it. Leading to a sort of arms race where having a bit more violence(power) than the other guy is the only way to stay on top. Creating an overall more violent world. For this post I’m focusing on the violence directly caused by the system instead of like, criminal violence, specific people, or interpersonal conflict.

The inherent ability for wealthy people to utilize shinobi(violence) more than poor people. In the case of Gato, adding to their wealth by oppressing others.

Dehumanization. Shinobi are taught to see themselves as tools, and see other Shinobi as tools. People who hire shinobi see them as tools. When you see yourself as a tool, emotional needs or moral objections are ignored, leading to misery. And seeing other people as tools for violence makes you stop thinking of them as people you could potentially make bonds with. Both teammates and enemy shinobi. Not to mention how people use, feel about, and treat jinchurikis.

✨The military industrial complex✨ villages have a vested interest in getting paid for violence. And when there is peace shinobi are laid off/made missing nin and villages get poorer. Villages may also destabilize governance to bring in more work as seen with Sand’s attack on the Chunin Exams.

dog astronaut mug by makeshiftpottery