Cumbiera Intelectual

INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE (2022 - )

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:

Like

It's WILD.

Cause Luffy -- he's unconscious. He doesn't even know Kuma was there. And we'd never met Kuma till he shows up after luffy has already stretched himself to his absolute limit and passed out to recover in the belief he and everyone was safe.

Then we have Zoro, who flat out told Luffy, if he gets in the way of his dreams, he'll force Luffy to commit hara kiri, which according to Google, is ritual suicide by disembowelment with a sword. It was formerly practiced in Japan by samurai as an honorable alternative to disgrace or execution. That's the stipulation he joins the crew with.

And like, yeah, after Mihawk slices him and tells him to live, to get stronger, so that one day Zoro may surpass him, Zoro doesny really acknowledged that. Instead, his only response is to pick up Wado Ichimonji, the sword of his long dead friend and of which he made his inital vow of becoming the world's greatest swordsman, to carry on kunia's dream in her honor, Zoro then proceeds to swear to never lose again because it's be embarrassing for Luffy as Pirate King.

And this whole scene is wild as well, because mans was basically on deaths door and all he could think about was how it'd disgrace luffy is he lost again. Like???

But this scene, it makes it apparent that Zoro's dream isn't just for himself and Kunia, it's shared by Luffy now as well.

Which, we know Luffy. Every crew members dream is a dream Luffy takes on as personally as his own. He shoulders those dreams and the weight of making them a reality as seriously as his own dream of becoming king of the pirates. Their dreams are Luffy's now too.

This is different than that tho. Because while the dream was shouldered by Luffy, it was still for Zoro's own like... fullflillment? Idk how to convey it. It was still wholy Zoro's, it belonged to Zoro. But by saying it'd be embarrassing for Luffy, or a disappointment, for Zoro to lose again before he becomes world's greatest swordsman-- it's now theirs in a way it wasn't. He's not JUST becoming the world's greatest swordsman, he's becoming the world's greatest swordsman because it's what Luffy deserves. He's becoming the world's greatest swordsman because Luffy's gonna be King of the Pirates and for Zoro to give him anything less than the world's greatest swordsman is a disappointment.

But that's still -- becoming the world's greatest swordsman is still his... the most important thing to him. He just has another reason besides Kunia and himself now. But you still don't get the sense that like... I dont think the zoro who loses to mihawk would be willing to sacrifice himself on the way zoro on thriller bark did.

Because while Zoro has never been afraid of dying, that was because he'd rather die trying to become the world's greatest swordsman then to not have tried at all. It's a mindset he shares with Luffy. This all or nothing mentality, right?

Neither of them have ever been afraid of dying as long as it's in pursuit of their dream.

But in Thriller Bark, he's not dying in pursuit of his dream. When he offers his head in exchange for Luffy's, he's effectively saying goodbye at ever achieving it, actually.

And he knows that, and you can see it jn the way he lays his swords down, because what use does he have for them if he's dead?

Kuma even says it here, "You have such an ambition, and yet you're saying that you're willing to take his man's place?"

He's not just offering his life in exchange for Luffy's, it's his dream he's exchanging too.

In doing this, it's made known that Luffy now holds more importance over Zoro's life, his swords, and his dreams.

Because this act, this sacrifice he makes, him dying in this way, isn't in service of dream and ambition, it's in service to his captain and king.

She is probably the most realistic character I guess? She's used to being abandoned, she's used to knowing that the only person she really has in the world is herself, she's had to be used to this because of her childhood. Her abandonment and raising lead her to a very independent minded person, she's ruthless in a very subtle way. Her top priority is herself.

She's lethargic and keeps her head down. She knows its wrong, but she never raises a hand of help to the boy who is being bullied, to the old woman on the street. Harsh maybe, but her reaction to this is what 80% of us would also do. Keep your head down and look out for yourself. That is her policy. She's never received any kind of help, and she isn't offering any. She isn't kind or sweet, to both yi seo and to Geun Won she is almost cold and brutal. Her relationship with Jang Dan Hae is a love hate one, she detests him for all he's done, yet she looks upto him quite a lot as a mentor.

She is also quite self loathful. She detests her own decision to join jangga yet stands by it. It is the choice that will gain her a secure future, and she goes for it despite how disgusted she is with herself for it. And her decision to eventually sell out jannga is very important for her as it's the first time she's leaving the keep quite place, for the first time she is doing something because she wants to. She isn't keeping quiet anymore. All her life, while her surrogate father died, whileher only friend is jailed, her entire relationship with Saeroyi, she's been quiet, she never acted, she expected things to happen to her. And finally she stops waiting. Even though for a majority of things including Saeroyi, its too late.

Overall, I found her a very interesting and complex character. She isn't very likable, she has had a difficult life, perhaps due to the kind of person she is and her circumstances. But she is an incredibly strong character and I quite liked her journey through the show.

Messi finally won an international trophy.

Against Argentina’s biggest rival and the defending champs. In their rival’s most storied stadium. In the stadium where they lost the World Cup Final just seven years ago.

I know his family, Maradona’s family, and all of Argentina are going crazy rn

Los Campeones de América.

After 28 years, we can scream we are champions again.

Lionel Messi immediately bursting into tears after the final whistle is blown.

| July 10th, 2021 |

then you realize a former writer on the show you considered a friend has also co-signed onto the show. You whip out your phone once more and craft out this masterpiece of a tweet: