So You Think You Know Miss Monday?
TUMBLR KEEPS BREAKING THIS POST STOP IT!!! AGAIN NOT PUTTING YOU ON BLAST MY FRIEND!!! I just can't believe I managed to rope a second person into making a comment so now I can spew even more brainworms. She has me in a CHOKEHOLD because of both the anime and OPLA so I'm sorry you are going to get SUCH A RAMBLE
THIS TIME IT'S ABOUT MISS MONDAYYYY MY BELOVEEEEDDDDD
She is so cool in concept and absolutely disgusting in execution when it comes to BOTH the live action and the anime. The anime is easy, she is very much supposed to be a Sapphire/SBW trope and it is HIDEOUS. Her lips aren't as criminal as Usopp's but in the anime she has straight hair in her pigtails? It only switches to curly when it's down and I'm sorry but if I could learn to draw curly hair in pigtails at 10 years old then Oda can learn how to draw curly hair in pigtails.
And then there's the muscle thing. Listen, I adore her being massive, I think a she should stay tall and muscular, because Nami should also be muscular, so should Vivi! These are all women in physically demanding jobs and should all have some sort of muscular physique, and should be different types. The best way to get some reference is to look at the different female Olympians in different sports. So fricken awesome!
It's just very…. just, to see this character only support others, be a caricature of a race, and then not only get dismissed by both the live action and the anime, but on top of it to have the default "happy ending" of a son with someone she barely interacts with AND is also a tiny side character? It's a bit… icky.
Especially because it reads more as it being a son for Mr. 9 since he's the one caring for the baby in the anime while she stands off to the sideline. You know, legacy and all that, a real easy way to circumvent that with what was already written would to give him a daughter OR make the baby dark in skin tone? The baby could have had some strange muscle to them because of Miss Monday and darker skin but with the ginger hair and blue eyes! But instead we get a basic anime pale baby with black hair?
It's just…. very odd for an anime that prides itself on intense design choices.
HOWEVER the live action was ROUGH for me as a fan of Miss Monday, and I have very conflicting feelings about it. On the one hand that actress looked okay, she looked like a regular black woman with pink hair, brass knuckles, and a pink dress. On the other hand, the only characteristics we have of Miss Monday that doesn't rely on racial stereotypes is that she is powerful, should be a boxer fighter, and is actually very soft in voice to where she can pull off a nun disguise.
THATS ANOTHER THING THE NUN DISGUISE, this is specifically for the ANIME sorry for bouncing around but this is how my thoughts go BUT it would be FINE if there were other super big buff women of all different races in the anime, it would be fine if there were other black characters of varying body types, but the fact that Miss Monday is UNIQUE in that she is the ONLY black female character in the anime is VERY telling.
And no one likes to talk about how when Alvida was a villain she was short, fat, had smile lines and was covered in freckles. She eats the Slip Slip fruit and suddenly she looks far more similar to Nami? She didn't even get to keep her freckles? None of the men go through a beauty transformation when they eat a Devil Fruit!
I'm only pointing this out to show that Oda absolutely has some problems writing characters that represent over 50% of the population. IT'S ALSO NOT WRONG to point that out nor does it take away anything anyone ever experienced watching the show. Like I don't HAVE to believe a black person when they tell me somethings racist just like how don't HAVE to believe in gravity for it to work when I fall off a building.
I'm just standing in a spot where I am lucky enough to be able to have a look at something like this and try to talk about it.
BUT ANYWAYS THE NUN THING with the already racist foretext is that having her pretend to be a soft, angelic, holy thing only to rip off the costume and show that she is actually a big hulking beast underneath IS NOT the girlboss power move you think it is. For black women they're already stereotyped as masculine, big, hulking, or even animalistic which just isn't true. Full stop. If it was a white girl? Oh absolutely, pedal to the medal on that one baby! Because that's the specific type of oppression white women face compared to the many levels of oppression black women face.
Which going back to Miss Monday in the live action, she's just too small. I would have liked for them to find a boxer actress for how little screen time she had. Where the anime makes a joke of her fight losing to a one handed Zoro, OPLA at least let her get in a punch or two.
That and her hair! It was just so small? And considering the amazing things black women can do with their hair I'm so surprised they left it so bland compared to everyone else? Where's the drama? The giant afro PUFFS I know black women have been capable of since the 70's? GENUINELY DEPRESSED HAIR AND MAKEUP DEPARTMENT WHO DENIED YOU FUN??? OR WIG DEPARTMENT???? Like you guys were fantastic WITH EVERYONE ELSE???
Anyways, all of that to say.
I cannot fix Miss Monday without changing her fundamentally. She is based off of a rotten foundation so giving her a "happy ending" means completely rewriting her, redesigning her, and actually giving her a chance to have a story.
My proof that this is true is that in order to fix her for OPLA they had to write her out of the story entirely. She had no personality to begin with, and Netflix decided that instead of giving you a second black female character, they wrote her out, and expected you to be grateful for the rep. If that wasn't true, why did she literally get a title card, one punch, and then gone for the rest of the show? Even then I think she only gets two lines as a nun?
Well, I think both options are dumb, she needs an actual spot in the show.
The good news is I'm here to do it for both you AND me!
SO HER AND ROBIN ARE SUUUUUUCH A POWERFUL WLW COUPLE IF YOU GIVE MISS MONDAY A CHAAAAAAAAANNNNCEEEE
SO I have decided to name her Yua, because she needs a name just like Mr. 9 did (Toru for my blog) which means along the lines of binding and love, so like love that binds. Considering in the anime she actually helps Vivi escape and has some decent story importance compared to OPLA I have decided to give her way more presence.
1… who is her battle partner? ITS FUCKING IGARAM I AM SCREAMING WHY IS THIS DETAIL SO SUBTLE???? HE DIES???? Does she not like him that much???? He dies for the Princess so like ?!?!?!?!? Either she just does not care or she was just not feeling him as a partner in Baroque Works but JESUS that was a small detail.
Anyways I love her leaving Baroque Works, she doesn't need to stay there it has brought her nothing but stress and injuries. That and it gives her autonomy, something she desperately needs.
So for me, I like to picture her like this
Imagine Yua as a tall black woman, skin tone fairly dark with warm undertones. She's built like a boxer, broad shoulders, a soft middle, and toned legs.
Yua's fighting style is boxing, and her dress should be styled like the 70's with her big puff twin hairstyle and absolutely keeping the color pink!
I think Pink, Orange, and Yellow look FABULOUS against dark skin, the contrast is so gorgeous honestly. She can even keep the green flowers and the diamond pattern.
But since the hair is already reading 70's, and there is no such thing as too much in One Piece, she can also wear a halter top! She could even have the green flowers as beads holding down her bangs to go with the twin puffs, like how fricken CUTE??? this is kind of my inspo
Like you can't tell me that ain't cool as hell??? Even keep the heeled boots! Braless too, fuck those awful things, tits aren't sexual when they're just EXISTING
She also absolutely can keep the soft voice, if anything a boxer lady that sounds like a cup of warm tea is so nice? Like yes, give her that voice, that's so fricken nice, and lets her pull off the nun disguise, because now it's this colorful woman who can kick your ass under the disguise, not a hulking beast.
I also love her light pink lipstick, I think it could be a killer shade if paired with some bright yellow eyeshadow and colored lashes! Big earrings and necklaces too, all bright colored plastic and abstract shapes. How COOL would that look???? Heck, keep the more strong jaw line and large forehead, those don't make anyone ugly, or more attractive. It's just her face, her makeup and costume is for her, not you.
Now lets PLAY with the story.
She probably grew up rough and tough because anime logic, learning boxing somewhere along the way, probably worked as a gun for hire (except fists lol) and then got roped into Baroque Works. She's still a side character.
Then we get to the whole situation where Vivi is trying to escape and now Miss Monday, or Yua, is forced to choose.
Let's make Yua see herself in Vivi, another strong young woman who's fighting for something she believes in. Only a decade younger and probably twice as much spite. But she realizes that she hasn't lived her life the way she wanted, and decides that now is the time for a change.
She helps Vivi escape, and that's all she really wanted in that moment anyway. Unlike Mr. 9 she has two braincells to rub together and runs off, hiding away from Mr. 5 and Miss Valentine.
She grounds herself, goes to her home and decides that this is where she is making her stand. She is going to live, and eventually she'll die, but for right now she is going to make herself right at home.
It probably takes a few days, but someone comes, someone always comes. She can feel the intent behind the closed door, she's always had a good sense of danger, and decides to open it first.
It's All Miss Sunday, staring at her like she's grown a second head.
This time her hair is in box braids, tied up and out of the way in a low pony tail. She turns back towards her new house, still not entirely repaired but clearly loved and cozy.
She makes for the kitchen.
"You'll catch flies like that." Her voice is soft, so much softer then Robin realized.
"What?" It's the only thing she can say, who the hell mouths off to her?
"You'll catch flies gawking like that, are you going to come in?" Yua laughes, and comes around with two cups of tea and cookies.
They're clearly homemade, some kind of jam in the center.
Robin doesn't know what else to do, she enters, and lets the door shut. More curious then offended now.
"Sit." Yua gestures to the chair.
"You know, I was sent here to kill you." She doesn't smile.
Robin's brows cinche together.
Yua leans back, taking a cookie and her glass of tea from the table.
"If you're going to kill me, then I'm going to die the way I live." Yua bites into a cookie, smiling. "So I will be kind. Have a seat."
Robin wobbles, a strange expression crosses her face and Yua can barely stifle the giggle that threatens to choke her on her snack. But she gives, and collapses into the seat.
She takes a cookie and her drink as well.
Neither of them speak for a moment, enjoying the silence together.
"Do you know anything about plants?" Yua starts, and Robin can't help the way her mouth moves before her brain catches up.
Oh, and by the way. I'm not black, I'm not white, but my skin is as pale as milk. AND EVEN I can write a female black character without being black, I can talk about racism without being black, and I'm not even a novelist. So can we all agree that you don't have to be black to be able to point out these issues?
@elsafowl Sorry for tagging you my friend but you did ask about the ship and this has content for you my friend lol @zoiesturgis
