the ninjago fandom's flanderisation of koko (and a bit of a criticism of koko's writing in tlnm)
hi, so i was inspired to write this post after getting so incredibly sick of people treating koko as a perfect mother with no flaws whatsoever and completely flanderising her to fit what they think misako should be: to only revolve around being lloyd’s mother and garmadon’s wife. this is both a criticism of how the film adapted misako and how the fandom reacted to it.
content warning for discussions of misogyny, both in fandom and behind the scenes of tlnm. this post is also a bit of a criticism of misako bashing, hate and flanderisation. this is primarily about the toxic positivity surrounding koko, as well as how she’s under-written. this is not koko hate, nor is it tlnm hate. i myself am very neutral on koko. please keep discussions civil.
in the ninjago fandom, there is a known culture of bashing and hating on misako, ever since her introduction. it mostly leads to a lack of content surrounding her that portrays her in a neutral-to-positive light, a lack of proper understanding and analysis regarding her and even genuine, disgusting harassment of people who post about her in even just a neutral way.
when the lego ninjago movie was released, all the characters were adapted in different ways to fit a different universe, and possibly the most starkly different character was koko, misako’s movieverse counterpart. she is a younger, caring mother with a past as lady iron dragon, then she fell in love with and married garmadon, and eventually decided to end her career as a fighter to care for lloyd. at first glance, she seems like a good character. however, when properly analysing her, she is extremely similar to misako in how she was written. her story arc still revolves around being a mother and a wife, and she still has some flaws (that often get scrubbed completely in fanon interpretations). they were both also very underwritten - hell, to this day, we still don’t have anything on misako’s backstory other than her mum showing up in a piece of non-canon material (lloyd’s blog from 2012), though her writing has significantly improved over the seasons.
i believe that koko was supposed to be a strong character, but…
at the end of the day, her character still revolves around men. and the 'lady iron dragon' aspect of koko, which in theory could have been extremely interesting, is severely underutilised within the film aside from nya obsessing over her and within flashbacks, which is incredibly sad!!
furthermore, i have a few issues with fanon interpretations of koko. i've noticed a certain pattern within the fandom when it comes to koko. a lot of the time in media, female characters are flanderised to just being mothers and/or wives - ironically, that’s a phenomenon that occurs with both koko (in a (toxically) ‘positive’ way) and misako (in an often deeply negative way). in people's defense, it's often unintentional, but it's still deeply sexist and harmful, and that's the sad thing.
there’s another trend, and that’s alternate universes that replace misako with her movieverse counterpart - more often than not, koko is just used as a blank slate to be simply lloyd’s mother and garmadon’s wife, simply due to misako not being a perfect character and not adhering to the incredibly high standards fandom in general has of characters like her. almost everything that does make koko interesting in tlnm is erased in favour of making her a blank, 'perfect' canvas in fanon. at the end of the day, i cannot police what people write or how they write certain characters, but i believe that i can criticise it as unintentionally (unintentional most of the time anyway) misogynistic.
the vast majority of the ninjago fandom’s treatment of koko is nearly identical to how it treats misako: remove all of her nuance and reduce her to one or two traits. the only difference is that koko’s treatment is overly positive. her character flaws and mistakes, such as not paying much notice of how severely lloyd was being bullied, are ignored in favour of making her a blank slate. in misako’s case, it’s ignoring all of her strengths in favour of making her a ‘bad’ parent to lloyd, or a ‘bad’ wife to garmadon, instead of acknowledging the context behind why she was written that way, or even just acknowledging the context behind her poorer decisions within the show itself. i get the frustration, but you need to at least acknowledge the context behind the pieces of media you consume on a daily basis. you don't even have to like her, but please at least take a moment to understand this.
in conclusion, i absolutely do not believe that koko is a reprehensible or irredeemably terribly-written character. i also do not believe the ninjago movie is terrible by any means. however, the fandom’s treatment of her is genuinely so incredibly confusing to me and riddled with some of the worst toxic positivity and flanderisation i have ever seen in fandom, with very little acknowledgement of her flaws (especially outside of tumblr). i do somewhat understand why, but i also don’t at the same time. i also believe her writing was quite poor and she was deeply underutilised in tlnm.
I think its funny that IR antis will discard any possibility of the Ichiruki and Masisshin rescue scenes paralleling eachother because of the ichigo-throwing-rukia-at-renji gag, because apparently that means Ichigo doesn’t want to protect Rukia and doesn’t value her safety.
That argument maybe would have merit if it weren’t for the fact Ichigo spent the entire latter half of the arc declaring over and over that he will save Rukia, he will not let her die, and on top of it all fighting everyone including her own BROTHER just to save her. Yeah, okay, he definitely doesn’t wanna protect her..
Also, the Brave Souls trailer DIRECTLY paralleled these scenes, and this is an official source. (sourced from @hourlykuchiki on twitter)
bonus: here’s a panel of Uryu saying Ichigo would be mad if he wasn’t the one to save Rukia lol
I think Sylvie is untethered. Whereas Loki is not. He has (at least) someone in his life when they meet He Who Remains. Which is also the reason why he can reach out to Sylvie at that point. He knows he has Mobius. And Mobius is not the only connection to people he has ever had. Despite a lot of history and where he is at the start of the series, he had/has tethers to Frigga, his mother, and Thor, maybe even Odin.
Sylvie never had that. Or only as a child, a long, long, very long time ago. Loki is the first person she at least tries to let in. Such long isolation for her means that she can not quite understand where Loki is coming from. Her goal to end the TVA is what drives her. The little bit of connection she has with Loki cannot overrule her goal. Because in her mind her goal and all thoughts around it, all those neural connections are wide as a highway whereas the possibility of another way, another person in her life in any way, is at that moment at best as wide as a straw.
For me this explains Sylvie's reaction to Loki's declaration perfectly. Even if some part of her wanted to be tethered to him, she could not act on it. She could not abandon the only thing she knew well, the only thing she felt safe to feel.
So in my opinion, Sylvie's view of Loki at that moment could not be in a romantic light because even platonic was feeling alien to her still.
Loki on the other hand might have been feeling romantic about her. I find it hard to place because for me it seems like this abundance of feelings he has for her, which had been developing over their acquaintance, needed to flow over and a kiss is a way to have them flow. It also makes it obvious how betrayed he is by her when she sends him back. I think that betrayal - in terms of story development - did not have to be based on Loki's romantic feelings. It would have had the same impact if it happened after his line of 'I just want you to be okay' (and maybe following a hug). Because the essence of that scene is Loki daring to reach out to Sylvie and her being unable to reach back, so it just leaves rejecting him.
And Loki even being able to reach out, to open up this way and daring to try and make a connection, is like 95% because of Mobius. In whichever way one wants to interpret their at least platonic relationship, it was the basis of Loki learning and daring to trust (again). It is my personal opinion that people, who do not know how have platonic relationships, will be unable to have successful romantic relationships.
So my conclusion at this point is that Lokius could work out. I think Mobius is stable enough and understands relationships enough to balance the burgeoning, but shaky, understanding Loki has of relationships. Whereas Sylkie would most likely fail at this time because Sylvie is not even really aware that she is able to be in any relationship with other people. For Sylkie to work beyond just a spark of understanding and connection between Sylvie and Loki, both, but especially Sylvie, need to build stable friendships and maybe even siblingships (give Thor back to Loki; they need each other) or parent-child-relationships.
I hope Sylvie will get the development needed for her to become tethered. She deserves to connect with the people around her and become more glorious through it.
(If you don't give her her own friends, at least give her Mobius as a friend as well, it would do a world of good to her. Please.)
Okay. I’m pretty stupid for not noticing this sooner. BUT! I noticed it after my Spotify playlist played found & lost and lost & found one after the other.
So... found & lost plays as one of Banana Fish’s opening song. It shows the action-packed disaster life that Ash is leading in New York --- his troubled past and unforgiving present. But then Ash and Eiji found each other and that fateful encounter gave Ash a newfound meaning in life. Just like how the song says: Fate somehow brings me hope inside my heart
But then lost & found happened.
Sure...you’ll probably accuse me of thinking too much about it. Buuut hear me out.
lost & found is exactly the same song except it’s slowed down and the lyrics are almost the same with the TV version of found & lost. Except this time, lost & found says something different: Can someone bring me hope inside my heart?
This song is in the same single as RED --- so I feel like it’s designed that way to connect it to RED’s narrative --- the ending of Banana Fish. Here’s how RED’s TV Edit lyrics go:
In spite of how the world decides to see my life
Would I still have a chance for us to say good bye
Over and over again
If I decide to burn instead of fading out
I still would like the chance for us to say good bye
Over and over again
If we can be found, we sure can get lost
Through all the madness of falling in love
If we're truly lost, I don't want to be found here dying alone
The stain of red that colors the pavement
Painted with blood of somebody you love
Is this the sacrifice for the broken
Losing the purest of what's in my heart
Found & Lost talks about the madness of falling in love
But Lost & Found talks about how Ash doesn’t want to die alone. But we all know -- canonically-- that he did. Because despite all the good that Eiji had brought in his life, he wasn’t convinced of himself that there’s hope for him. Thus, he cries, “Can someone bring me hope inside my heart?” Eiji tried. But because he never saw a bright future for himself he saw that dying alone was the only way out for him.
For me, that’s what makes Banana Fish’s ending so tragic. It’s not the fact that Ash died (well, not that happy about that either tbh) but the fact that he couldn’t see himself or Eiji having a future together. He didn’t have any hope for the future. He could’ve been helped but he opted not to get any help. For him, dying with good memories is enough. It’s like the Snows of Kilimanjaro. But then again SoK is a different essay altogether.
Ash could’ve asked for help. But he didn’t. Because for him, Eiji going back home to Japan is enough of an ending. He didn’t have to be involved in Ash’s troubles ever again.
Sorry...I’m not good at getting my thoughts across. But meh.
To Everyone Who Ever Feels Invalided For Their Sexuality...
Hey.
I hope you know that I love you, first of all. I might not know you personally, but I love you. You are so strong and so fucking amazing.
I know what it feels like to be invalidated by someone who says they love and supports you but continuously cuts you down.
For me, that person is my roommate. She grew up in a really small, really rural town in my state and is pretty religious. She has fully said that she doesn’t believe in my sexuality to my face.
She has told me that she was worried that I had feelings for her after I came out to her.
She was worried that I was attracted to her because I had seen her in various states of undress (which is totally normal because we live in a tiny little room at our college.)
It has become a regular occurance for her to say that she loves me and then tell me something completely invalidating about me or something that I believe in.
She has also said that she would be insulted if anyone thought she was anything other than straight and while that might be a more common feeling than I know, she said it like being anything other than straight was disgusting.
So I know how it feels to feel invalid and I just want everyone out there who struggles like I do that you aren’t alone.
You can always come and talk to me, any time you need it. I’m always an open set of ears to anyone who needs it. Even if you want to talk about stupid shit to get your mind off of something.
I mean that so much, I wish I could impress it into your fucking mind because I know I feel so alone after something like the described above.
Alright, here we go. This isn’t going to be perfect, as I’m banging it out in one sitting and I have a frankly horrendous headache, but I’m never one to turn down the opportunity to write an essay, especially about a topic I care about.
Nonbinary: Any gender identity that doesn’t strictly fit within the male or female binary.
Genderqueer: An umbrella term with a similar meaning as nonbinary, it describes any gender identity other than man or woman, or a gender identity that is queer/non-normative. (It also might have a more political connotation?)
Unfortunately, there isn’t a whole lot of research into nonbinary/genderqueer identities, but we do know that it isn’t a new concept. Anthropologists are aware of what’s known as [cogender], although it’s unclear if this always refers to a ‘third gender’. A lot of the time, in many cultures, this refers to a change and/or sharing of traditional gender roles - i.e. amab people fulfilling traditionally ‘female’ roles and jobs; including marrying (wo)men and having children, embroidery, and decorating.
Some examples are the Indigenous Zapotec people in Oaxaca, in southern Mexico. Or there’s the Bugis people of Indonesia. You may have already heard of Two-Spirit, but there’s also Hijiras, who have legal recognition as a third gender in India and Bangladesh. There are loads more across the world, but these are just a few examples. If you want, I can come back and source more later.
There’s some discussion about gender being a social construct, but regardless of whether you believe that or not, there are issues with this theory, as it minimizes the experience of some trans people and perpetuates the argument “but if it’s all in our heads, why do you need to transition?” (Of course, transitioning is not mandatory, nor a prerequisite of being trans!).
Like I said, there’s a lack of studies and ‘scientific proof’, but here’s the thing: When you have dozens of cultures and thousands of people telling you they are not strictly male or female, when you have records of this occurring throughout history and across the world, there tends to be something to it. This is not a modern ‘Tumblr’ ideal - this is historic reality.
Need more help?
[Here], [Here], [Here], [Here], [Here], [Here], [Here], and [Here].
Ultimately, give me a long detailed explanation, with scientific sources, of male and female identities. Cisgender people are never asked to provide full freaking essays on their gender identities - it’s just taken at face value, without question. Just because it’s hard to wrap your mind around genders outside of the binary we’ve been trained to fit into, doesn’t mean they don’t exist.
Feel free to add onto this post, let me know if I got something wrong or missed something. But for the love of everything good left in the world, please don’t add negativity.
I'm... not even sure why I'm in the Star Wars fandom.
No, nothing happened. Nobody said anything to me. It's not even the fact that my stories have trouble breaking 50 hits on AO3, I've always dealt with that. That's not new.
What is new is this appreciation for Star Wars at all.
I grew up on Star Trek. When I was a kid in the 80s my parents made it a point of pride to slowly collect all 79 VHS tapes of the Original Series. It took them about 12 years of buying 3-5 tapes at a time a few times a year, a process that took longer given I had a habit of watching certain ones to snow. Meanwhile, my dad kept up on the Star Wars Expanded Universe, acquiring every book he could and reading every single one up until the New Jedi Order era made him stop reading in disgust. I'm not sure what caused his disgust but it happened and he never bought another Star Wars book again.
Star Wars wasn't something I hated. Or enjoyed. It simply was. It was there, like so much media.
Until Rogue One made it good. The Last Jedi also grew on me with this non-childish universe with consequences and feelings and Luke isn't a pointlessly powerful god. With A New Hope I can point to every single instance of the Force and tell you which Star Trek episode it was lifted from because Lucas didn't have a single new novel idea in that movie. Rogue One introduced me to the idea that the Jedi are just a religion, nothing more, and like most right hand path religions they are made of propaganda and control.
And then The Rise of Skywalker happened and I was so insulted that I could have gone two ways. I could have abandoned Star Wars, relegating it to what it used to be. Simply there, like so much media. Instead I hated it so much I began to write. I turned the idea of the Force Dyad into a wonderful piece of nonconsensual body modification, the idea of two becoming one taken to its literal and logical conclusion. If I'd continued that avenue I know I would have made Anakin an intersex dyad. I know Kira Ren would have followed in Abeloth's footsteps to conquer the galaxy with their army of Force-users sitting at their feet and gazing up in insane adoration. I would have been a monster.
Another idea I had was Millicent as a Force-monster. With the Jedi destroyed there's no one to keep these tiny Force terrors from doing what they will and Hux now has to time-share his mind and body with a Force-sensitive dark side entity that's masquerading as a cat. The Rise of Skywalker ends with Hux, Ren, and Rey all performing a Force ritual with the aid of the Knights, Leia, and Finn to destroy Exegol's sun in a Type Ia supernova.
I'm using elements of that Force ritual to bleed Ilum, by the way.
Instead I got mad, again, at the Star Wars habit of building dumb planets. I wrote my thesis on exoplanetary atmospheres, how life evolves in those atmospheres, and how to detect that life from here. I built Arkanis. I wrote a novel starring Stormtroopers. The Mad Science Corps formed.
I'm still insulted by Star Wars. I don't think I'll ever give Disney money again for it. But that isn't stopping me from writing 8 billion words on what they did wrong.
Star Wars is pointlessly convoluted. Have some Marilyn Manson for the road ahead. It’ll make sense later on.
I began researching potential Force Dyads in an attempt to keep my own terrible, beautiful ideas as close to some sort of canon as I can. Because I am that kind of person. It’s a bad habit, I want my AUs to at least seem canon-compliant.
I found something from the Clone Wars. It’s definitely Disney Canon approved because I watched Rebels, I saw the temple at Lothal. The Brother, the Sister, and the Father stood in that mural for all to see like a pantheon.
I admit I have not seen that episode of The Clone Wars. On the other hand, I did read it. There’s much that I can’t get from the transcript and the acting in animation is, let’s face it, SO MUCH MORE important than live-action acting. Every action in animation was plotted, planned, decided by every mind involved in the production of those visuals. I’ll see if I can’t find a way to watch the episode that doesn’t involve Disney+. I have zero interest in paying for content I can acquire for... let’s just say content I can acquire at work.
The obvious potential Dyad there is the Daughter and the Son. But that goes against how I’m setting up a Dyad. Both the Daughter and Son were unique beings separate from each other. They didn’t feel what the other felt, one could die without affecting the other, there was no gradience in how they thought or operated or existed. There’s no potential for what I’m building between the two of them.
Bah.
But... It’s a great Red Herring. Not even just to dangle in front of the readers, at least those readers who haven’t read this. But also my Third Person Central because I can guarantee you, Kylo Ren is not feeling ‘brotherly’ towards Rey. Not at all.
Besides, the Daughter and the Father are both dead. The Son screams alone in his astral prison. Yet despite Jedi legends the Force moves on without them, almost as though the stories of their importance are nothing more than that: stories.
Anakin was there. He remembers. And the Sith... unlike the Jedi, the Sith study.
Cry little sister
thou shall not fall
Come, come to your brother
thou shall not die
Unchain me sister
thou shall not fear
Love is with your brother
thou shall not kill
