Ssanyu

[SSANYU] || vinland saga, jjk, ATLA/ALOK, FMA:B, jjba(1-7)|| they/she || millennium parade enthusiast, please ask

[s5anyu]

he is a terrible man. and yet amongst men, he is the most beautiful of characters.

Character Analysis for Askeladd of Vinland saga

On the surface, Askeladd is nothing more than a self-serving man. He is cunning, charming, and intelligent, qualities that no matter the disdain people have for his abrasive personality, have earned him respect amongst the Vikings, and beyond. Floki respects his intelligence enough to approach him to request the killing of a man who is regarded to be the strongest amongst all warriors. This being his first appearance is a solid testament to his ability to overcome any predicament – the basis of his development as a character throughout the Vinland Saga prologue. His men trust in all of his decisions, no matter how rash. They believe him to be as lucky as he is intelligent. His intelligence, wisdom and kindness complements the air of arrogance with which he carries himself. When hosted by his uncle Gorm, he laughs at him, before imparting wisdom on a young man who tells him that he would sooner die than live without pride. He says:

“Look. It’s terrible. The guy who’s a slave to money holds a whip and pretends to be the master of the slave he bought with his money. He just doesn’t realise it himself. Everyone is a slave to something.”

Such a sense of wisdom places Askeladd as a tool for Yukimura to present and explore the status of elders in Norse society. As an elder to Thorfinn, he guides him through different trials and encourages him to push his limits as a warrior, and become a better combatant. Regardless of whether or not life at war is the best option for Thorfinn, Askeladd always believes in him and his ability, and though he never expresses verbally his concern for Thorfinn’s wellbeing, he always shows an interest in Thorfinn’s safety and is always waiting for his return where the rest of his band do not care. To the other Vikings, Thorfinn is just another one of their men. Bjorn says of Thorfinn, “You trusted in his [Thorfinn’s] luck too much this time. It doesn’t matter. I didn’t lose anything.” This statement also reflects the stark individualism displayed by Vikings – although they may work together in bands of warriors or mercenaries or otherwise, they do so to serve their own interests – honour, valour, wealth, among many things. But to Askeladd, he is someone important - someone he cares for. When one considers the question of whether life at war is the best for Thorfinn the answer to this question evidences Askeladd’s selfishness. Despite knowing that life as a warrior is not the best for Thorfinn, he still uses him as a tool to further his own goals. In his own words, “It’s just easy to make use of an idiot who is not afraid of anything.”

There are, however, multiple occasions on which Askeladd appears to be straying from the typical Viking individualism of the era. The first example of this, is his kindness towards Thorfinn, as introduced in the previous paragraph. Amongst Vikings, such ideas of care and brotherhood are ultimately trumped by ideas of valour in battle and honour in death. One would not be greatly concerned with the death of one’s companions as long as they are assured that the departed are well on their way to the esteemed Valhalla – however the concern that Askeladd shows towards Thorfinn is evidence of his holding of attitudes that were unconventional for his time. This ties into the subtle revelation towards the end of the prologue that Askeladd does not believe that life at war is honourable, and does not hold the Viking people in esteem because of this; going so far as to disdain his own Norse heritage in favour of his Welsh heritage. His final actions and his final words reflect his sentiment from episode 10, Ragnarok, in which he declares:

"This is the age of twilight, Bjorn. Let’s go out with a bang."

In his final moments, he kills King Sweyn to protect both his motherland of Wales and the young Prince Canute. In this, he sacrifices himself to protect what is dear to him – and to protect King Canute who he grows to respect as a man with potential to be great in their short period of companionship. This is him leaving his mark on the age of twilight; this is him going out with a bang. He tells Thorfinn:

“In the future, after I die, how do you plan to live your life, Thorfinn? You haven’t thought about it, right? Move forward already. Don’t stay stuck in a boring place like this forever. Go far ahead, go beyond the world where Thors went. You’re Thors’ son. Go. That’s your real fight. Become a true warrior son of Thors.”

These last words reflect multiple things that are introduced at the beginning of the prologue and explored throughout it, the first being Askeladd’s feelings towards Thors. At the beginning of the prologue, Askeladd shows great respect to Thors throughout the duration of their battle. He outwardly expresses an appreciation for his strength, saying that he “could lead a whole army”. This statement shows that Thors is a man who is both physically strong and strong in character, and that Askeladd recognises this. He then asks of him, “why don’t you become our leader?” which shocks his men – as mentioned before they trust in him absolutely and are already surprised to see a man who can best him in hand-to-hand combat. However, none of them express dissent to this; whether this is out of shock or acceptance is open to interpretation. When he backtracks on this statement and says he’s only joking, one of the young men from the village try to attack Askeladd, to which he responds

“Damn kid. You should start valuing your life. You should be grateful to Thors. He was a man who was worth more than a hundred bratty kids like you.”

Askeladd greatly respects Thors and despite his decision, holds him in high esteem. The first part of this statement also reflects on his belief in – or at the very least respect for – Thors and his philosophy. He calls him a man of great value and he scolds the young man who he perceives as disrespecting the sacrifice that Thors made to keep him alive. “Don’t stay in a boring place like this” refers generally to the life of a warrior as opposed to their physical location of the king’s court. As detailed briefly above, Askeladd disdains the life of a warrior, and disdains the Vikings for it. Therefore, when he reminds Thorfinn “You’re Thors’ son”, he believes that Thorfinn Karlsefni has the potential to be as great as his father, if not more so. He believes that he can grow to become something greater than a warrior.

The second idea that this quote reflects is that of Askeladd’s care and concern for Thorfinn. He asks, “You haven’t thought about it, right?”. Askeladd has thought about how Thorfinn has been mentally since the passing of his father. Thorfinn has a stark hatred of battle and engages in it purely because of the hatred he has for Askeladd, and the proximity it gives him to his goal of killing him. Askeladd is aware of this. In his last moments, he could have been unkind and goading towards Thorfinn as he had been in the past – but instead he pushes him to seek something better. He knows that Thorfinn has been suffering emotionally and hasn’t known happiness from the day they met. Askeladd doesn’t appear as a man who wants to seek redemption – he wants Thorfinn to find happiness now that he has nowhere to direct the anger that has been his only motivator for the greater part of his childhood. From this, one could argue that Askeladd’s selfishness trumped his desire for Thorfinn to be happy. However, very early on in the prologue, Askeladd hints at his acceptance of defeat at Thorfinn’s hand.

"You’ve grown a lot. Well, time is on your side. You’re going to grow, and I’m going to get old. Someday, I’m going to lose to you. It’s only natural. Even the strongest dies someday."

Askeladd doesn’t attempt to dissuade Thorfinn from his desire for vengeance. Rather he tries to guide him towards the idea that vengeance is empty, and that any defeat he faces at Thorfinn’s hand is meaningless in the face of the natural order of the world. He knows that it is pointless to try and calm the resentment that Thorfinn harbours towards him; he knows the gravity of his sin and can’t tell Thorfinn not to hate him for it. From this, we can begin to explore the idea that Askeladd is similar to Thorfinn and sees himself in the younger man. Askeladd is just as full of hatred as Thorfinn is – as much as he is to a father figure to Thorfinn as a man, as a character, he serves as both a parallel and a foil to Thorfinn.

Askeladd is just as full of hatred as Thorfinn. His mother, Lydia, was taken from her homeland of Wales as a concubine to Olaf, and when she grew sick, she was of no value to him. She and her son were discarded and Askeladd grew to despise his father, and by extension his people. Askeladd, like Thorfinn, learned from the man he hated the most and sought revenge against him. Askeladd was successful in killing his father but his disdain for the Viking way of life and his bloodline led him to harbour resentment even into his old age. He is therefore a parallel to Thorfinn in that they both resent battle and war but tolerate it as a means to satisfying their own end. Askeladd, however, has seen and experienced first-hand the effects of Viking conquest on the innocent. Thorfinn has only seen it from the eyes of the oppressor.

Despite this, both continue to kill.

Askeladd’s ability to relate to Thorfinn’s anger is what makes him such a good father figure to him. He knows what it means to be so consumed by anger that you see nothing else, that you live for nothing else – to endure something you despise for the sake of vengeance. He knows that Thorfinn is miserable, and hurting, and lonely, because he is too. Such a sense of relatability is what puts him in a position to understand and take care of Thorfinn. It is because he understands how Thorfinn feels that he does not attempt to dissuade him from following him around in the hopes of killing him. He knows that Thorfinn cannot let go of the anger he has until he sees the recipient of that anger gone, because he too suffers from the same affliction. Therefore, it is not selfishness that drives Askeladd to keep Thorfinn around in his suffering – it is resignation; the same resignation he displays when he says that he will someday lose to Thorfinn.

Askeladd proves himself throughout his life to be ahead of his time. He is wise, caring, and understanding; but he is also cold, cunning, and ruthless. Man is not absolute, and Askeladd is no exception. But from those of his time, he is far above men – even with each and every of his nuances and flaws. he comes close to attaining the status of a true warrior as Thors was – and maybe if he had had more time, he could’ve seen his mother’s dream come true. The world is never that simple.

word from the writer:

When Askeladd was first introduced to me, he appeared to me as a terrible man. His intelligence and his strength is terrifying. A man who can kill for his own gain, without remorse. Such a terrible man. But amongst men he is the most beautiful of characters.

When I was writing this I wanted it to be a prelude to my upcoming essay on his relationship with Thorfinn. To some degree I’ve covered that here, so the next piece will most likely be on how Thorfinn views him and I would also like to talk about his relationship with prince Canute. Askeladd, despite not seeming like it, is a very fatherly man and I love looking at how he interacts with the other members of the cast. I hope you enjoyed this, and I’d love to hear what you guys have to say about this. my asks are always open.

Please look forward to the next piece in my Vinland Saga series.

[feydpauls]

kinnporsche the series (2022) + ao3 tags (part 1/?)

[thatsbelievable]

[s5anyu]

no head thoughts empty just thinking about how yut lung was so jealous of ash being able to love and be loved to the point where he’d do anything to take that away from him and then sabotaging himself at any sign that somebody cares for him

[s5anyu]

johnny who believes in gyro to the point of following him to the corners of the earth and gyro who lets him

johnny who looks up to gyro and gyro who cares for him just as much

johnny who wants to learn from gyro and gyro who commits to teaching him

[s5anyu]

Thors’ “True Warrior” and Willibald’s “Love” are basically the same thing and I can’t put it in words right now but the material is there

[s5anyu]

he is a terrible man. and yet amongst men, he is the most beautiful of characters.

Character Analysis for Askeladd of Vinland saga

On the surface, Askeladd is nothing more than a self-serving man. He is cunning, charming, and intelligent, qualities that no matter the disdain people have for his abrasive personality, have earned him respect amongst the Vikings, and beyond. Floki respects his intelligence enough to approach him to request the killing of a man who is regarded to be the strongest amongst all warriors. This being his first appearance is a solid testament to his ability to overcome any predicament – the basis of his development as a character throughout the Vinland Saga prologue. His men trust in all of his decisions, no matter how rash. They believe him to be as lucky as he is intelligent. His intelligence, wisdom and kindness complements the air of arrogance with which he carries himself. When hosted by his uncle Gorm, he laughs at him, before imparting wisdom on a young man who tells him that he would sooner die than live without pride. He says:

“Look. It’s terrible. The guy who’s a slave to money holds a whip and pretends to be the master of the slave he bought with his money. He just doesn’t realise it himself. Everyone is a slave to something.”

Keep reading

[ackerman98]

Nice analysis, also it’s been a while since I read/watched the series so maybe I’m forgetting, but when did Askeladd wait for his return/ show an interest in Thorfinn’s safety? Because iirc he never really did that, in fact it seemed it was the opposite. He didn’t mind discarding him, let Thorfinn go on solos to go kill soldiers and when he didn’t come back, Askeladd wouldn’t mind just saying “oh he’s probably dead” and sailing away. Like when he sent him to fight Thorkell or when he sent him to the French fort. Though I do think he did care for Thorfinn to some extent, and he definitely did have a level of faith that Thorfinn would return from these missions successfully as you mentioned.

[s5anyu]

The example that comes to mind first of all is when he brought prince Canute to him. Of course, that was a major part of their plan so it isn’t exactly evidence of him caring for Thorfinn, but he seems so genuinely impressed when Thorfinn comes back and the way that he reacts to Bjorn saying he trusted him too much gives me the impression that he holds him in higher esteem than the rest of the vikings do.

Then that last duel they have. Askeladd berates Thorfinn for not having learnt anything, and he seems genuinely frustrated at his single mindedness in the face of vengeance. I feel that he knows that Thorfinn is capable of many things - becoming a great warrior, following the path of a true warrior as expressed in Thors’ personal philosophy - and out of both respect for Thors and care for Thorfinn wants Thorfinn to achieve what he believes him to be capable of.

Part of his flippant attitude towards Thorfinn is knowing that there’s no point in mourning someone because of the nature of the job, but that also goes with the faith he had in Thorfinn. I didn’t want to interpret him being indifferent to him as him simply not caring. Askeladd, like Thors, was a product of his environment. He didn’t have the space to have a burning love for Thorfinn, or to express a raging desire for him to be safe. I still think he cared.

[s5anyu]

Inuyashiki: Explorations of human nature

Inuyashiki: Last hero explores the impact on two characters, Hiro Shishigami and Ichirō Inuyashiki, of a supernatural event that grants them superhuman bodies. Their lives are irreversibly altered and inevitably intertwined as they both navigate the worlds in their new bodies. 

This essay will consider the question of whether people, both as individuals and as a collective, are inherently and absolutely good or bad, and how this theme presents itself throughout Inuyashiki: Last Hero.

We first get an insight into Inuyashiki’s inability to fulfil his desires due to his health, when he provokes a youth on the train into threatening him. The camera pans to his clenched fist. This suggests that he wishes to retaliate, however - most likely because of his poor health, he doesn’t. Therefore, he is unable to fulfil his desire at the time simply because it is physically impossible for him. However, this scene is a juxtaposition to what we see of Ichirō Inuyashiki before this scene – and immediately after, before the alien attack. He is shown to be a passive and lonely man, stuck in routine and unable to make those he cares about happy. The first 5 minutes of the show solidify the audience’s view of Inuyashiki as a man who simply wants the best for his family and wishes for his love for them to be reciprocated. If one takes views Inuyashiki: Last Hero as an exploration of human nature, it can be argued that this scene is intended to show that Inuyashiki, and therefore man, is not bound to the confines of his supposed nature – he is not absolutely good natured and caring.

When Inuyashiki first becomes aware of his new body, he recalls the incident and immediately decides that he must meet with Shishigami in order to get a better understanding of what has happened to him. As he takes a walk, he becomes aware of his newly enhanced sense of hearing, which draws him to the scene of a rough sleeper, eager to turn over a new leaf, being violently assaulted by a gang of youths. This is the first time in the show that we see an act that can be considered as an absolute evil. Inuyashiki is decisive about approaching this scene despite his lack of combat experience, which speaks to his kind-hearted nature, which we are initially exposed to at the beginning of the episode. With no combat ability or definitive understanding of what his body will be able to do to help him, he steps in. 

When his body intervenes and ends the assault, he cries tears of joy at the idea that he saved someone’s life, proclaiming “I am a person. I am still a person capable of feeling. I feel alive. I am Inuyashiki Ichirō.” Inuyashiki’s definition of what makes him a person – and himself – is the ability to do good by others and to feel emotion. This also shows that in losing his human body, Inuyashiki was forced for the first time to introspect on himself in order to come to this conclusion. However, it could also be argued that he was aware of what made him human, and what made him feel alive, and simply did not feel like he was living. The first interpretation would reflect the notion that our understanding of the self is defined for us by society, rather than through an assessment of ourselves, and what we believe to be right and wrong. The second interpretation would be the beginning of the juxtaposition of Shishigami and Inuyashiki, which will be discussed in the next paragraph.

The second episode shows Shishigami as already having done this introspection to himself. Having had his cyborg body for the same amount of time as Inuyashiki, Shishigami has come to an entirely different conclusion – that he is no longer human. Striking up a conversation during a visit to his friend Ando who has been absent from school for a while, he declares “I basically am empty. I’m not really Hiro Shishigami anymore.” He shows Ando his various cyborg abilities, each gradually escalating in intensity, until he causes a mass car accident at a busy intersection, leading Ando to realise that Hiro is in fact, not using magic tricks. 

However, before we paint Hiro as an antagonist and as an evil person we should return to his declaration that he is empty and no longer Hiro Shishigami. Hiro Shishigami is later revealed to be a young boy who found pleasure in the loss of other people’s lives, as shown when he recollects a suicide he witnessed. Before the incident, he did not take other people’s lives, nor did he participate in the physical harm of others. However, he found pleasure in the idea of doing such a thing, and in this, he demonstrates the will to harm others, long before he has the ability to do so. Through this revelation, we are shown that a person’s morals and ethics cannot be determined through their actions, and often what somebody thinks is right and evil is not the moral code by which they govern themselves. Throughout the life he lived in his human body, Shishigami was aware that his feelings and desires were abnormal to what is deemed right and acceptable in society around us, and so governed himself by society and humanity’s principles instead. 

When he undergoes his metamorphosis, he believes that he is no longer human, and so governs himself by the principle of what gratifies him, and what he deems “acceptable” within his own ideals. Shishigami lives a life that is satisfying to him, taking care of his mother and offering a means of vengeance to his friend Ando. He has achieved gratification for himself, and so introspectively he is a good person. Now, let us return to Inuyashiki. If we interpret his declaration of feeling alive as meaning that him not truly living was defined by his inability to do good by others and make them happy, we see immediately that he and Shishigami are antitheses of each other. Both characters were bound by different things – Inuyashiki by his health and appearance, Shishigami by society’s expectations. Inasmuch that they were bound by different things, they were bound in different ways. Shishigami who wished to do as he pleased, regardless of and for the sake of harm caused to others; Inuyashiki who wanted to do good by others wherever he could. The metamorphosis allows both of them to fulfil their desires, but the opposing nature of their wishes brings them into direct conflict which becomes the centre of the show’s narrative.

The show continues like this, with Shishigami causing chaos on larger and larger scales. His final act of chaos is the crashing of multiple passenger planes into the city of Tokyo. Upon diverting this emergency, Inuyashiki is prevented from saving his daughter Mari from a burning building by Shishigami who finally confronts Inuyashiki.  Shishigami comes to the realisation that he is the villain and as Inuyashiki pleads for him to stop killing people and makes to depart, Shishigami attacks and they begin to fight – but not before Shishigami asserts that he and Inuyashiki are one and the same; that they are selfish and do only what pleases them. This is not an unfamiliar idea to Inuyashiki, as seen after his attack on the Koudankai syndicate. He reprimands the syndicate after his cyborg body takes away their vision and damages their spinal cord, taking the role of an arbiter of justice – a hero. However, when described as such by Ando, he sadly reveals that he is afraid that he is just a killing machine. Inuyashiki recognises that even if he is helping people, he is hurting others in turn.

What sets Inuyashiki apart from the seemingly evil Shishigami?

Though it was his body that undertook the attack on the Koudankai syndicate, Inuyashiki takes responsibility for what happened and implicitly views it as a part of what he needed to do in order to save the life of an innocent victim. Shishigami and Inuyashiki both bring people to harm (though Inuyashiki doesn’t kill people in the way Shishigami does) in order to fulfil a goal that benefits them. However, because Inuyashiki’s goal also benefits others, we do not perceive him to be selfish in the same way that we perceive Shishigami. It is only when we make each man’s actions relative to something else that we are able to determine whether or not something is good or bad. Inuyashiki seriously injuring dozens of men in order to save Inoue is a morally questionable act, one that we can only determine to be good if we compare it to something else or observe the net benefit. Do bad people deserve bad things to happen to them? Perhaps the end goal of saving Inoue was a large enough benefit and therefore a justification for Inuyashiki’s actions. However, some of Shishigami’s actions were for the benefit of someone else too.

Under the influence of Shion Watanabe, Shishigami seeks out some form of atonement in the form of healing others in the same way as Inuyashiki. In order to quell Shion’s distress he says, “I’ll save the lives of people who are about to die. I’ll save as many lives as I’ve taken. That’ll work right?” He makes this proposition as a form retribution for what he has done, and yet the language he uses suggests that he feels no guilt – only that he wants to do the right thing in order to make Watanabe happy.

He stole money from ATMs to provide for his ill single mother with whom he lived in poor conditions. This was a selfish action, but it benefitted somebody else too. And yet this is seen as a bad thing by others, including Naoyuki who most likely knew how Shishigami and his mother lived. When his mother was driven to suicide by shame and pressure from the media, in vengeance he killed people who were harassing his father’s family, and people who spoke ill about his mother on internet forums. Both Inuyashiki and Shishigami brought harm to others as arguably equal retribution for the suffering of others, but only one of them is regarded as a hero for their actions.

When Shion and her grandmother die during the raid on the Watanabe household, Shishigami is consumed by guilt and resurrects them, apologising tearfully before flying away. Shishigami still has the potential to be empathetic and guilty, things that are associated with being human, despite Shishigami separating himself from humanity. Shishigami’s rejection of his humanity is perhaps only a way for him to justify his pursuit of his twisted desires. In the final episode when Inuyashiki and Shishigami are on the asteroid attempting to stop it from reaching earth, Shishigami says “even I have people I care about. I don’t want Shion or Chokko [Ando Naoyuki] to die.” He reveals that he intends to sacrifice his life to save their lives, listening regretfully as Shion weeps for him. He appears to be at peace as his body detonates. In the process of saving people who he loves, 

Shishigami has sacrificed his life to save the entire world; he has done a good thing, thus proving that he is not absolutely evil. The surprise that Inuyashiki expresses towards Shishigami ending his life to save the world suggests that he doesn't believe this to be possible - he is of the view that in order to do evil things, one must be inherently and entirely evil, and in doing good things, one proves that they are inherently and entirely evil. What is Inuyashiki's supposed world view shaped by? 

Perhaps in seeing the evils of the world first hand and feeling as though the people he encountered could never be redeemed, Inuyashiki despaired and viewed the evil of humankind as irredeemable, an idea that is all too common in our own society. We see the state of the world, our leaders, the people, and we too despair. But the story leaves us with hopes of redemption; in seeing Shishigami as sad, vulnerable and peaceful as he sacrifices his life to save the entire planet; in seeing the once helpless and sickly Inuyashiki become a hero who heals and protects, we are shown that man is not and will not be confined to his nature – regardless of what that nature is.