Bananenschnitzler

I just use Tumblr to scroll around (Sometimes posting) | Multifandom | he/him

[bananenschnitzler]

Hey a little interpretation question! I like to doodle Mephistopheles sometimes in my excercise books and sketchbooks and I am unsure how to interpret one certain line. The witch, in the Witch's Kitchen scene, asks Mephistopheles, where both of his crows are (V.2491 "Wo sind denn Eure beiden Raben?"). I am struggling to understand whether she means two dark feathered wings or actual two crows.

Help is apprecciated!

[riverwindphotography]

A frosty Black-capped Chickadee

(c) riverwindphotography, February 2025

[srs-deep-dives]

Minato & Kushina: A "Deep Dive" Analysis (Section B, Part I)

In our first section we explored Minato and Kushina's love and endurance. In this section we will consider their dream of Hokage and impact on the wider plot.

(Section B) Minato and Kushina as drivers in the world narrative

Note that I said their dream of Hokage, not Minato’s dream of Hokage. Not because they both want to become Hokage, but because, as we established, Hokage is intertwined with their marriage.

(B) I. Minato and Kushina as the image of Hokageship

Chronologically, the first words uttered by both Minato and Kushina concern becoming Hokage. But while similar on the surface, their utterances spring from contrasting motives.

Minato wants to be respected by the village. Kushina wants to not be snubbed. Each is seeking to be acknowledged, but a different form of acknowledgement.

Minato is a once-in-a-generation genius. He will graduate the Academy at 10. He will set the record for the highest ever score on the chūnin written exam. He will be honing the Flying Raijin by the time he is 15-16, by which time Kurama will think of him in respect to the greatest shinobi who ever lived. From this, one can sum that Minato is destined to become Hokage. Yet at the same time, paradoxically, his birth sets him apart.

The non-mention of other Namikazes implies that he is not from a ninja family – or, that he is from a ninja family with no reputation. Either way, Minato is a genius born in an underdog background, and thus has the complete freedom to pursue the Hokage path. And that path he himself has chosen out of desire to be the leader and light of Konoha, his favorite phrase per the databook being 火の影は里を照らす (“the fire’s shadow illuminates the village”).

What is Minato’s sought “respect” then? To be relied upon as THE shinobi who illuminates the village. For Kushina this is not the case. She simply wants to be SOMEbody.

[As we noted last section, with her motive in these screens, Kushina is never, ever shown pursuing Hokageship. So let us bury all distortions of her as a 'girl boss' who 'had her dream stolen by' the man she loves. And let us bury the demeaning of Minato along with it as some 'male wife' who 'fulfilled his girl's dream because she couldn't.' To the fans who insist that Kushina's character was diminished through Minato becoming Hokage, I leave one question: is it a shame and disgrace for a wife to uplift and support her husband?]

Brought to Konoha from a foreign land, Kushina just wants to fit in. But opposite to prodigy-from-nobody-clan Minato, her bloodline has her shackled to a destiny of rejection.

Which brings us to another thing that Kushina’s hair symbolizes: her ‘otherness.’ We’ve seen this motif with other characters before. Sakura is teased for her big forehead and Hinata is called “Byakugan Monster” for her eyes. Sakura’s source of misery becomes her source of prowess: she hones the Byakugo Seal on that forehead, and it becomes her trump card through which she saves hundreds during the War. Bullied for her “weird, freaky eyes,” Hinata likewise improves her use of the Byakugan, eventually proving her worth as the Hyūga heiress.

Kushina is teased when really, as we’ve observed, her “ugly” “lustrous” hair implicates beauty and strength. But in contrast to Sakura and Hinata, Kushina stands up to her bullies in her own strength (Sakura gains confidence through Ino’s compassion, and Hinata from Naruto). And this contrast is immensely important for, as we’ve established, Kushina’s endurance is the core of Minato’s drive.

Kushina’s endurance, recall, is the reason Minato fell in love with her, and why he calls her the one “that made [him] the Fourth Hokage” (as we'll examine shortly). And Minato’s love is the thing that enables Kushina to overcome fate; to live a life of happiness despite being a jinchūriki. For while Kushina’s endurance draws Minato toward her, it results in her being further set apart as the 'other.' She defends herself; Minato reveres her more; their peers despise her more. The divide between Kushina and their generation grows, held in the title they give her: “Red-hot Habanero.”

She cannot escape her destiny of loneliness. She is doomed for being the jinchūriki; doomed for being a red-haired Uzumaki; and doomed for kicking back through her own efforts. Yet her efforts draw Minato to her, setting Minato apart from their peers in parallel.

What is the importance of this parallel divide? We will get to that shortly. But first there some details to note on Minato's otherness (his distinction from their peers).

Minato as the “Yellow Flash” is directly tied to a Hokage (it is his use and adaptation of Tobirama’s Flying Raijin that earns him fame and fear). Put short, Minato’s earning of Konoha’s respect is already bound to Hokageship: he is, in will, genius and prowess, walking in his forerunners’ footsteps.

Furtherly significant is Kurama’s comparing of Minato to Hashirama. Gaiden opens with Minato escaping Bijū Bombs with the Raijin – a homage to Tobirama. It ends with Minato smiling in front of the rock faces where his own will be beside Hiruzen’s. And framed within these scenes is Kurama’s remark grouping him with Hokage ("A most powerful shinobi ranking alongside First Hokage Hashirama... Unbelievable!").

The Yellow Flash rapidly gains renown in the other nations – to the point of him earning a ‘flee-on-site’ reputation. Feats so formidable that the Tsuchikage accepts a peace treaty, bringing an end to the war with Iwa (episode: The Mask that Hides the Heart).

So Minato in legacy of Second Hokage earns respect within and outside Konoha. And “in his own style” he earns “a most powerful shinobi ranking alongside [First Hokage].” In the Fourth War, the resurrected Tobirama will acknowledge Minato as having surpassed him. Furthermore, Minato modifies his jutsu to create new subsidiary jutsu.

Minato has been, through his whole ninja career, gaining the repute to achieve Hokageship.

Academy-Minato begins walking this road. Hokage-Minato ends the road by accrediting it all to Kushina. Recall our panels back in post one from the chapter Thank You:

There is a slight variation in the anime’s account from “your” man to “a” man (for Japanese has no indirect articles and omits pronouns in conversation). In addition, anime-Minato makes this statement over an image we’ve seen before: his genin-self holding genin-Kushina in his arms the day he'd rescued her. This shot, in addition to the dialogue, is framed from Minato’s viewpoint, inferring that he sees this event and resulting bond with Kushina as the statement’s fruition.

The day Kushina fell for him, in other words – the day (from which) she became his woman – was the very day (from which) she in Minato's own view “made him a man.” What transpired up to that moment? He had been watching her endure. And now he has stepped in to be her strength in a battle that is beyond her.

The differing English translations both capture the essence of Minato’s words. He could not have become Hokage without Kushina – without her ‘making him a man’ who self-sacrificially loves, leads, protects and provides. And he could not have become Hokage without her ‘making him her man’ – without her deciding to be his wife; to selflessly love, support and build him up, bringing out his best. Furthermore, birthing their child, Kushina makes Minato a father. Mirroring this as Hokage, he is the patriarch of the village.

Now onto the importance of the 'otherness' divide: Kushina symbolically ‘qualifies’ Minato to become Hokage through their distinctions from their peers. And these qualifications are reached through two ‘tests,’ if you will, which each center around him saving her.

The first test is our mentioned genin rescue, where Kushina embodies the outsider. Here she is the lowest-esteemed villager, the foreigner shunned by the village. Minato alone notices the trail of her hair she left behind and saves her. Minato alone tells her that she is “one of [them].” He proves that he is devoted to protecting EVERYONE in his village, in a conflict between Konoha and Kumo – a fight between villages.

Most importantly of all, it is in this moment that he wins Kushina’s acknowledgement. The acknowledgement of the hardest-to-win-over villager, the acknowledgement of the outskirt 'other.'

The second test is the teenage rescue, where Kushina is the jinchūriki. Here she represents Konoha’s balance of power in the world. If a village loses its bijū it is vulnerable to destruction by the other nations. Protecting Kushina thus means – in the village context – everything, and is the ultimate test of Minato’s physical, mental and intellectual worthiness. Simply put, all together, it is a test of his own endurance.

Rescue One is the test of acknowledgement, and Rescue Two is the test of endurance. The two qualities underpinning the entirety of one's enablement to become Hokage.

So what have we then? While Minato brings Kushina to breaking the shackles of her destiny, Kushina brings Minato to fulfilling his destiny.

We also see the monumental impact of Kushina’s sealing jutsu. On the night of their deaths, Minato uses two to save the village: the Eight Sign Seal and the Reaper Death Seal. Both of these techniques are Uzumaki clan jutsu taught to Minato by Kushina.

In other words, Kushina indirectly gives Minato the means of saving the village.

[The Reaper Death Seal was designed by Uzumaki to be used by Uzumaki. The caster sacrifices his or her chakra to the Reaper in proportion to the chakra being sealed. If cast by an Uzumaki then – with chakra reserves exceeding an enemy's – that Uzumaki need not die. That Minato sealed half of Kurama away at the cost of his life is a testament to just how much of a powerhouse he is!]

The Reaper Death Seal has even further ties to Hokageship – Hiruzen using it to seal his Edo-forerunners during the Konoha Crush arc. Though it was taught by Kushina, it is known as one of Minato’s signature jutsu, Hiruzen calls it his own “trump jutsu,” and it – literally – unites the first four Hokage in death (the spirits of each, after Hiruzen’s sealing, being trapped in the Reaper’s belly).

So we've examined ‘Hokage’ in relation to Minato and Kushina's oneness. The next post will explore their dream behind the Hokage image.

Section B, Part II here.

[number-one-toku-robot-lover]

[dorohedorah]

[antelopian]

[wilimia]

Saw some cool ravens the other day and felt the urge to paint one

[thiscountry]

I am ready for it

[ostdrossel]

Surprise visitor this morning on the Birdfy - a Grackle! I had one one year staying into December, but I don't think I have seen one in January in my yard before, but I also know that not all birds migrate far. I love Grackles and would not mind being his winter host.

[linkcharacter]

Hanging out

[ola987]

Please Don’t Turn Blind Eye To Our lives, Our Hope Begins with You

Hello, I'm Ola, a graduate student from the faculty of science - Al-Azhar University in Gaza Palestine. I truly appreciate you taking a moment to read my story. As you reading my message, myself and my family, “my mother, father, three sisters, and my little brother,” are fighting death in northern Gaza and trying to survive under all kinds of suffering including but not limited to destruction, fear, and instability, starvation, thirst, and poverty.

Since 471 days until now, we have been struggling to get proper food after prices increased by 15 to 20 times, struggling to have clean water for use and drinking.

After a long and tiring effort, my Tumblr account @olasfamily has been disabled, and I have to start over. I feel sad and lost, but I don’t want to face this journey alone. I kindly ask you to share and support us; every donation and every share means a lot to me in this difficult time. Please don’t leave me to face this challenge on my own.

I am writing to you as we struggle through very difficult conditions with winter approaching. The cold is becoming harsher by the day, and we lack the warm clothing needed to endure this freezing weather. We cannot afford to buy new clothes due to the steep rise in prices, and most of what we have is old and worn out.

We are longing to rebuild our shattered lives, and I can't do it without you. I need your support to complete my education and help my family rise from the ruins and find hope again.

You mean the world to us, now more than ever. Please, don’t let us down 💔

Donate to Ola's Family Call for your Support Amid Crisis, organized by Nesma Khazendar

Hello, I'm Ola, a graduate student from the faculty of science - Al-Azh… Nesma Khazendar needs your support for Ola's Family Call for your S

Please share and donate 🙏💔

My campaign has been vetted by:

@90-ghost here,

@northgazaupdates here,

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[xbee-kindx]

Aaaand I couldn't help myself, I had to make my fav as a pony as well ✨️ I might start branching off from naruto and making other anime's characters into ponies?? This is really fun (especially when I haven't been focused on proportions. Just cute, show style mlp, ya know?) So like,, if y'all have a character you'd like to see as a pony, comment it and I'll make a list or smthn? :D

[digitalisdog]

A series of more realistic birds. These are birds I spotted throughout 2024 which I'm working through!

[phillip-bankss]

tipping

[charmsandpandas]

after hanging out for a few hours, she had to go because her three kids were home from school ♥

[thereisnodanni-onlyzuul]

This is one of those posts I hope never ever dies

[foldingfittedsheets]

My animation of a flour sack. Words can’t express how proud I am of these 11 seconds.

[foldingfittedsheets]

I’m so delighted people are enjoying this so much. It was one of my very first animations in freshmen year, after bouncing balls. I was so excited that I just poured time and love into this little guy, and I’m so happy a lot of people like the tiny story I told.

[nezzypezzy]

rainbow dash in nezzypezzys universe <3

im sorry blue is my least favorite color so i contaminated her with purple hglkuhgssz

[kanosherm-deactivated20250324]

all that’s left of me

[ravysu]

happy birthday oro tho I don't have anything new for today