mariemiriel

[mariemiriel]

Round 2 Side C

(no image for Míriel Þerindë)

who is more dead wife?

propaganda:

Portgas D Rouge:

Wife? of the Pirate King Gol D Roger. Mother of his child, which is basically how she died. Were they actually officially married? It's never shown for sure but I think she still counts as a Dead Wife.

Míriel Þerindë:

Míriel Þerindë is the deadest of dead wives. She is so dead that when given the choice to be alive again she refuses! She says "no I am staying dead" and in FACT she is such a dead wife that she is the ONLY elf to die, in all of elf-history, of anything other than violence. Elves are not supposed to die! But she does. After giving birth to her son, Fëanor, she is so exhausted after this and put so much of her strength into making her perfect boy, that she goes to sleep for so long that her soul slips out of her body entirely! Fëanor has a lot of feelings about this and even more feelings about his father remarrying, the first and only elf to do so! This sets off a solid 75% of the plot of the book. (The other 25% is Satan being a dick and wrecking shit.) Míriel is the deadest wife and she is Haunting the Narrative! Also she invented needlework, which is why she's called Þerindë, which means "broideress" (as in a woman who does embroidery). Another fun thing about her: after she died, there was a sound change in Elvish that changed þ (th) into an s, which would make her name Serindë, but her son Fëanor objected. First because it would confuse words by making new homophones but also because it would change his mother's name and make it sound more like the word "serë" meaning "rest."

Are YOU tired of soft gentle dead wives giggling under a white top sheet for some reason?? Do YOU want a Dead Wife where the primary description we get of her personality is that the most Unhinged character in the whole book inherited his personality from her? Have YOU ever wanted every single problem for every person in the world ever to be caused by the most unhinged son ever being completely obsessed with living up to his dead mother’s legacy?? She EVEN caused a major linguistic rift after her death and so much arson happens because she died. Every single problem she caused could have been solved by polyamory but nobody would explain what that is. She EVEN had foresight about her son doing arson because she died, and then insisted on dying anyway. Nobody is doing it like her.

[mariemiriel]

A Criticism of Monkey D Garp

Transcript below:

Warning! This video will contain spoilers for One Piece up to chapter 1080 and episode 1114. This video is about Garp and Ace. I will talk a lot about what happened to Ace so if you don’t know what happened to Ace and would like to continue not knowing… maybe skip this video. So, there will be major spoilers for Marineford and also what has happened to Garp recently.

And actually, episode 1114 is the reason why I decided to make this video in the first place. This is the episode where Garp rescues Koby from Kuzon on Hatchinosu. Well, not so much this episode as some of the fans reaction to this episode. Because some people had a reaction kind of similar to mine. Which was, "Huh, Garp can do all of this to save Koby but he didn't do much of anything to save Ace." Now of course I know and understand why Garp didn't save Ace at Marineford but I still feel like Garp deserves some level of criticism for his actions - or rather inaction - at not helping Ace. And after episode 1114 came out, I saw a few people voice this criticism of Garp and pointing out that he chose to save Koby but didn't choose to save Ace. And yes, let me say again, I know why Garp didn't save Ace. But that's not really what this video is about.

When the episode came out and people questioned Garp for not helping Ace, many other people came along saying things like: “you must not read the manga, you're a fake fan, it's stupid of you to question why he helped Koby but not Ace, you must not read the manga, Koby's a Marine and Ace was a pirate, Garp would have helped Ace if Ace had asked, you must not read the manga.” I saw a few comments like that. And that's what this video is about.

This video is about how it is actually okay for an audience to criticize a character's actions while still understanding why they took those actions.

I love Ace. He's my favorite character in all of One Piece. His death makes me sad. I blame Akainu first and foremost for Ace's death. But I recognize that Ace himself is not above criticism for stopping and arguing with Akainu on the battlefield when he should have been retreating. I think that was a dumb decision on Ace's part but I don't think he deserved to die for that dumb decision and Oda even explained to us in his childhood flashbacks in chapter 588 and episode 503 why Ace vowed to never run from a fight. We know why he took the actions that he did but we can still criticize him for those actions.

And the same can and should be said for Garp.

I think Garp is truly one of the most well-written characters in the series and I honestly wouldn't change any of his actions even though I disagree with those actions because those actions are part of what makes his character so interesting and thought-provoking. One Piece is a story about a boy being a pirate. And it just so happens that this boy’s grandfather is a Marine. A soldier whose purpose is taking down pirates. This immediately puts Garp in an interesting role in the story as he is directly opposed to the main character yet has a familial connection to him. Throw Ace into the mix and Garp is even more interesting because when Ace is set to be executed, Garp is personally faced with the choices between staying loyal to the Marines or helping his grandson. He cannot choose both. This is a great position to put a character in. Oda puts Garp in a situation where he has to choose between love and duty. Love for a family member versus duty to one’s ideals.

And so, Garp makes a choice. I would not change the choice that Garp made. Because that choice holds such weight both for the narrative and for the characters affected by that choice. I say again, I would not change Garp’s choice. I do, however, think he made the wrong choice. And I will explain why I think that and why I think Garp deserves criticism for that choice. So please, bear with me, even if you completely disagree with my opinion, at least hear me out and then you can put your own opinions and counter-arguments in the comments because I do genuinely want to know what other people think. Just please be respectful.

Now let’s get into it!

I want to start by pointing out why Garp is even responsible for Ace to begin with. Well, that’s because of Roger. Ace is not Garp’s biological grandson, so how did he end up with Ace at all? That is explained in chapter 551 and episode 460. We see Garp remember a conversation that he had with Roger while Roger was in jail before his execution. 

Garp explicitly said to Roger, “We mean to hunt down everyone who was ever associated with you.”

To which Roger replied, “That’s exactly why I’m telling you this. The government will retrace my steps for the past year and kill her! But our unborn child is innocent, Garp! I trust you as much as any of my shipmates! Save my child! I know you, you’ll do it. Take care of my child!”

Roger asked Garp to save his innocent, unborn baby. And to save his baby from not just anything but from the Marines. He specifically mentions that it is the government that will hunt down and kill everyone connected to Roger. That includes an innocent child. This is important and a huge reason why I think Garp should have tried to help Ace at Marineford. Roger entrusted Garp to protect Ace from the Marines specifically. Roger knew the Marines were going to track down everyone that he knew and kill them so Roger asked Garp to protect Ace. FROM. THE MARINES. I cannot stress enough that it was specifically the Marines that Roger asked Garp to protect his child from. By adopting Ace, Garp agreed to protect him. And then he didn’t. He sat there. And he watched. Now obviously I know that Ace chose to become a pirate and thus a criminal and one can argue that Garp had no obligation to save Ace because of that and I understand that argument but my counter-argument here is that Garp had a duty to protect Ace from being killed by the Marines no matter what and that he was in the wrong for not doing anything to stop Ace’s death.

Yes, Garp did attempt to go after Akainu after Ace was killed but that was too little, too late. Because Ace was already dead. He was dead on the ground before Garp made any move to defend him. (Could Garp have fought off Sengoku who had stopped him from going against Akainu? Is Garp stronger than Sengoku? Is Garp stronger than Sakazuki? Maybe. Maybe not. That’s getting into power scaling and that’s not what this video is about. I’m not interested in who is stronger than who. I think a more interesting question is: did Garp let Sengoku hold him down? Let me know your thoughts on that. Did Garp actually not try that hard to break free from Sengoku? I’m not sure of the answer to that. This question is in the same vein of ‘did Garp let Luffy punch him down on the scaffold?’ Again, I’m not really wanting to get into power scaling but I do think you can argue that Garp did let Luffy punch him away because Garp had that little flashback of Luffy as a child which says to me that he didn’t want to fight Luffy. By letting Luffy overpower him in that moment so that Luffy could make it to Ace on the scaffold, this does seem like the one time that Garp did anything to really help Ace while he was still alive.) I just think it’s interesting to speculate that he might have also let Sengoku hold him down.

Anyway, back to the main point, by taking in Ace as a baby, Garp made a figurative promise to Roger and Rouge to protect their baby from Marines who we the audience know just committed an infanticide on Baterilla. We know this. Garp had to have known this. We are shown in that flashback in chapter 551 and episode 459 that the Navy hunted down and killed pregnant women and babies. Roger wanted to save Ace from this horrible fate and entrusted Garp to be the one to save him. In not at least trying to save Ace at Marineford, Garp broke that promise and he deserves criticism for it. 

Now, would saving Ace have put Garp in a bad situation with the Navy? Yes, absolutely. I’m not saying that there wouldn’t have been any repercussions for Garp. He very well could have been fired, or Court Marshalled, or possibly even executed himself. I can understand him not wanting those things to happen to him. I get it. Sengoku even says in chapter 530 and episode 431 that if Garp wasn’t the Hero of the Navy that he would be punished for his family’s actions. This is the point that I have the most sympathy and understanding for why Garp didn’t do much to help Ace. I believe Sangoku when he said that Garp could face consequences for his family’s actions. Now let’s really think about that. Isn’t it kind of fucked up that the Navy would punish it’s soldiers for the actions of their families? Something outside of their control? Yes, it is fucked up! If Garp wasn’t such an asset to the Marines then he would be punished for someone else's actions and he would not have deserved that. Sengoku and the Navy as a whole are definitely in the wrong here. It is wrong to punish someone for the actions of their family. I think that’s wrong and Garp was definitely put in a bad situation here and I have sympathy for him being put in this bad situation but at the end of the day, he was put in that bad situation by the very power structure that he himself upholds. Garp is threatened by a friend and a superior officer to suffer the consequences of his family’s actions. But it’s just that: a threat.

But who was it, which character, did actually suffer because of the actions of their family? Ace. Ace was executed, not for his own crimes of piracy, but because he was Gol D Roger’s son. Think about it. What crimes did we see Ace actually commit? There’s dine and dashing. Arson. Disturbing the peace, I guess. General piracy. Are these actions bad? Yes, but do they really constitute execution? I personally don’t think so. He did seemingly kill a lot of Baroque Works agents in Alabasta but I don’t think the World Government really cared about that. Now, Ace being a commander of the Whitebeard pirates definitely played a role in his execution being so publicized but I don’t think that was the main reason why Ace was set to be executed in the first place. He was set to be executed almost entirely for the “crime” - and I saw crime with air quotes - of being the son of the Pirate King. Ace was doomed, not even from birth, he was doomed from conception. As stated earlier, the Navy mass murdered infants and pregnant women on Baterilla simply because they might be connected to Roger. This is a heinous, evil act committed by those in power to destroy the bloodline of the Pirate King. I hate to break it to some of you who may think otherwise, but the Marines are not the heroes of One Piece. They killed babies. They failed to kill Ace as a baby so they had to kill him as an adult. They used him being a Whitebeard pirate as an excuse to kill him publicly but Ace was executed first and foremost because he was the Pirate King’s son.

I cannot stress enough the fact that the Marines were willing to kill literal babies just because they might be the child of Gold Roger and thus they would have had NO problem killing adult Ace regardless of whatever crimes Ace himself committed. Was he executed simply for being a pirate, a Whitebeard pirate at that? Sure, you can make that argument. Other pirates have been killed for less. But I think it’s clear he was set to be executed in large part because of who his father was. Something completely outside of his control. My evidence to back up this claim is in chapter 550 and episode 459 where Sengoku makes it a point to ask Ace who his father is and to then explain that Ace’s biological father was Gold Roger, the Pirate King. In that speech, Sengoku did not mention ONCE any of Ace’s own crimes. Instead, Sengoku focused entirely on Ace’s parentage. In the next chapter, Sengoku does talk about how he believes Whitebeard took in Ace to raise him as the next Pirate King but that’s pure speculation on the Navy’s part because Whitebeard himself never confirms that (from what I can remember). Sengoku said, “In time your abilities would allow you to lead a new generation of pirates on a reign of terror! For this reason, your execution today is necessary!” 

This says to me that the main reason why Ace was set to be executed wasn’t because of any crimes that Ace had already committed, but for crimes that he might commit in the future and for who his father was. I don’t need to explain why it’s wrong to punish someone for a crime that they haven’t committed only because you think they might commit it in the future. And thus, Garp not saving Ace from execution is NOT a Marine refusing to save a pirate from execution, it is a person refusing to save someone that he supposedly loves from being executed for something far outside of anyone���s control. That is not a good thing. That is not justified on Garp’s part. I’ve seen the argument a lot that Garp is justified for not helping Ace because Ace was a criminal receiving punishment for his actions and I totally get why people have that argument and everyone is entitled to their own opinion but I personally do not think that that’s a good argument. 

Akainu deadass says in chapter [573] and episode [482] that he doesn't care if every other pirate at Marineford escapes as long as Ace and Luffy died and he would ensure their deaths personally. He says, “Gold Roger the King of the Pirates and Dragon the Revolutionary… to think that the two of you were adopted brothers all these years. What a victory it would be to end both bloodlines; everyone else can escape, the two of you are the only targets I’m after.”

And for what? not their piracy. None of their crimes. But because of who their fathers were. If it was about punishing criminals for their actions, Akainu would have wanted to kill and/or capture ALL of the pirates there, but he specifically wanted to only kill Ace and Luffy. Because they’re the sons of Gold Roger and Dragon the Revolutionary. Not because of anything that Ace and Luffy themselves did but because of what they represented with their blood ties. That’s a bad thing.

Ace wasn’t being punished for his crimes. He was being punished for being the son of the Pirate King. That is an injustice. And as someone who literally has the word “Justice” on his back, I think Garp is morally in the wrong for not helping Ace. Is he legally in the wrong? No, not at all. Not in the world of One Piece. But legality does not equal morality.This is what I meant earlier about Garp being put in a situation where he has to choose between love for his family and duty to the Marines. Garp is not in the wrong by being a Marine who is refusing to help a pirate. He is in the wrong by being a person who made a promise to protect someone from being persecuted for their blood and then not protecting that person. 

Before Ace is a pirate, he is Garp's grandson. Ace's life should have been more important to Garp than his job and duty as a Marine. Let me say that again because that statement is the core of this video: Ace’s life should have been more important to Garp than his job and duty as a Marine. By choosing not to at least attempt to help Ace (until it was too late), Garp showed that his job is more important to him than his grandson’s life. That is a bad thing. I do not need to explain why that is a bad thing.

Another argument that I’ve seen some people use as some sort of a "Gotcha" statement when others criticize Garp for not saving Ace is by saying "oh if Ace had just asked Garp for help then he would have saved him and therefore you can't say Garp was in the wrong for not saving Ace." Like okay sure, that's true - I do believe Garp would have at least tried to save Ace if Ace had asked - but that doesn't negate the fact that Garp still should have tried to save him regardless.

I already went over how Roger specifically asked Garp to protect Ace from the Marines and how Ace being a pirate doesn’t change that Garp was duty-bound to save him from execution. Garp had a duty to protect Ace whether Ace asked for his help or not. Garp had the duty to protect Ace whether Ace was a pirate or not. Like yes, I agree that Garp probably would have tried to save Ace if Ace had asked but I don’t like this argument and speculation because it completely ignores the fact that Ace should not have had to ask for that kind of help in the first place.

Ace shouldn't have had to ask his grandfather for help in order to not be murdered. Put yourself in Ace’s shoes. No seriously, stop and think about it for more than two seconds. Imagine your grandfather’s coworkers are trying to kill you and your grandfather will only help you if you specifically ask him to help you. Wouldn’t that be kind of fucked up? That your grandfather would only help you not get murdered if you asked him to help you not get murdered? Feel free to disagree but I think that’s a bad thing. I think it’s a BAD thing that Garp would have only helped Ace if Ace had asked and yet I have seen so many fans say that Garp is absolved of any wrongdoing for not saving Ace simply because Ace didn’t ask him to. Garp deserves criticism for this, which is the main point of this video. The thesis if you will.

I feel like so many people take it at face value and don’t look any deeper than what we are told. So many people see Oda saying that Garp would have saved Ace if Ace had asked and just blindly agree with that without unpacking how truly fucked up that actually is. That is not the  defense of Garp that you think it is. If anything, Garp refusing to save Ace unless Ace asked is more of a reason to criticize him, not defend him.

Also, Ace couldn't have asked Garp for help anyway because he knew that if Garp had tried to stop the execution, then Garp would have been labeled a traitor and be fired or worse from the Marines. Ace wouldn't have wanted to put Garp in that position but my point still stands that Garp still should have helped him whether Ace asked for help or not. 

Ace didn't have to ask for Luffy's help for Luffy to help him. Ace shouldn't have had to ask Garp for help in order for Garp to help him. This argument that it’s Ace’s fault for not asking Garp for help falls flat when we take a look at Luffy’s actions. Luffy originally wasn't going to help Ace when he first learned Ace was in danger from his Vivre Card in chapter 490 and episode 381. He said, “Even if he’s in a pinch, he wouldn’t want me to worry. Ace hates to show weakness. If I go to help him, he’ll just scold me.” Then later in chapter 522 and episode 416, where Luffy says, “He’s really strong. He’ll probably get mad at me if I try to help him.”

But Luffy eventually did decide to go help him once he realized there was a very real possibility that Ace could die. Luffy chooses to try to save Ace even though he acknowledges that Ace would never ask him for that. Luffy helped Ace without needing Ace to ask for that help to begin with. Making sure Ace didn't die was more important to Luffy than getting Ace's permission to help him and it SHOULD have been the same way for Garp. Now I know Luffy has a stronger relationship with Ace than Garp does but I think my point still stands.

This is pure speculation but if Ace was a Marine or a civilian, there's a chance that Garp might have saved him whether Ace asked for help or not. And make no mistake, if Ace was a Marine or civilian, there's a good chance he STILL would have been executed. He wasn't executed for his own crimes as a pirate, as I mentioned earlier. He was executed for the "crime" (crime with air quotes) of being Gol D Roger's son. If Ace had been a Marine or a civilian, I believe they still would have executed him. I don't think they would have put on a big show of it and advertised it to the whole world like what happens in canon. I think they would have killed him quietly. His execution was public in large part because he was a Whitebeard pirate but the execution in and of itself was because he was Roger's son. Ace himself believed that the Marines would not have accepted him or Luffy because of their blood ties to world-class criminals. He says as much to Garp in Impel Down in chapter 525 and episode 422. He says, “There’s no way we could have ever been accepted into the Navy.” I believe him. Ace is aware that his blood is the real, main reason why he is being sentenced to death. Garp seems to have on rose-colored glasses about that.

Now, I’m not saying you can’t defend Garp or you’re not allowed to agree with his decisions. I’m just saying that he is not above criticism and that some of his actions and in-actions absolutely are questionable. And I feel like I do have to say this because I have seen some Garp fans - some, not all - but some be really rude and flippant with people who do criticize Garp. And I get it, sometimes it can be hard to see criticisms of your favorite characters that paint them in a bad light. Whether or not you agree with those criticisms, other people are still allowed to read that character that way and you shouldn’t attack them for it and say things like, “Oh you’re an idiot, you must not have read the manga,” because I saw many comments like that on other videos that questioned Garp’s actions.

Knowing WHY Garp didn't save Ace doesn't mean Garp is above criticism for not saving him. Yes, he would have at least tried to save Ace if Ace had asked but we can and should still criticize Garp for not saving Ace just because Ace didn't ask.

I think it’s actually perfectly okay to draw comparisons between Garp not helping Ace at Marineford and then going out of his way to help Koby at Hachinosu. And, yeah, Garp should have helped Koby. He was right to go there and attack the pirates and fight Kuzon to rescue Koby. That was a good thing and I applaud Garp for it. But rightfully, I saw people ask, “Where was that energy for Ace?” Which led to a lot of rude comments saying that it’s stupid to compare the two situations, which in turn led me to making this video. Because I think it’s pretty obvious that Oda deliberately made parallels between Garp helping Koby and not helping Ace. I think Oda wanted us to see the difference in how Garp handled both situations. Currently in the story, Garp is in a somewhat similar situation that Ace was in, being held captive by the Blackbeard Pirates. I am so curious as to what will happen to Garp in the future of the manga… but I feel like I’m getting off topic there. I just think Oda specifically wrote Garp saving Koby and then getting captured himself IS meant to parallel Ace to some degree and thus it’s not stupid to see a connection between those events.

Moving on. Do I think Garp holds all or even most of the blame for Ace’s death? No, definitely not. That’s all mostly on Akainu. I do think Garp holds a little bit of that weight, though. Yes, not as much as Akainu or even Blackbeard, because it was Blackbeard that turned Ace over to the Marines in the first place so he holds quite a lot of blame as well. But Garp does still hold at least a little bit of responsibility. Garp is not the character that is most responsible for Ace’s death - again, that’s Akainu - and even Ace himself holds responsibility for his death because he did stop to argue with Akainu on the battlefield but I feel like that’s a whole other topic. What I’m trying to say is that I don’t think Garp is at all the one singular person that caused Ace to die. He is one part of many things that happened at and before Marineford that led up to Ace’s death. 

Garp is a fascinating character and I honestly wouldn't have changed any of his actions in Marineford because those actions are part of what makes him so fascinating as a character. I can argue that Garp had the duty to save Ace but I can also recognize that if Garp had actually saved Ace, it would have changed the story drastically and maybe not for the better. I can criticize Garp while also believing that Oda made a great character writing choice in how he handled Garp’s actions and in-actions. These things can be true at the same time.

I just get really bothered by the way some fans say that Ace deserved to die and that Garp had no obligation to save or protect him, and I get really bothered by other fans basically saying that we aren’t allowed to criticize Garp for how he handled Ace’s situation.

Like, did y'all not read the manga? Did y'all not watch the anime? Did you skip the part in chapter 590 and episode 505 where Garp LET Dadan beat the shit out of him? She screams in front of everyone, “They were right in front of you!! How could you stand there and do nothing to save Ace?! Your job always came before your family!! Hero of the Navy, my foot!” Dadan calls him out and asks valid questions and beats him up. And Garp doesn’t fight back. Why? He let that happen because he AGREED with her. We all know Garp could have easily fought back, he could have wiped the floor with Dadan. There’s no question that Garp is stronger than her; I don’t need to be a power-scaler to recognize that. He could have fought back. But he chose not to. He laid there and he took it. Because she was right and Garp knew that she was right. If Garp thought he did the right thing at Marineford, he would have defended himself from Dadan. The very simple fact that he let her beat him and scream at him shows that he believes that Dadan is right that he should have done more to save Ace. Oda wrote that scene so that the audience could see an outside perspective from someone who wasn't at Marineford and thus wasn't caught up in all the Navy propaganda and Marines vs pirates mindset. Dadan is a character who saw Garp's inaction in not saving Ace as what it REALLY was: not a Marine refusing to save a pirate, but a grandfather refusing to save his grandson. And that is such a tragedy.

I love tragic characters. It's one of the reasons why I love Ace so much. He's a very tragic character. And what I especially like about him are the layers of tragedy surrounding him. There are so many layers of tragedy to Ace's death and one of those tragedies is that someone who loved him DIDN'T help him.

And that's where I'll end the video.

These are both dearly beloved characters in the fan-base and they mean so much to me that I wanted to share my thoughts. So please feel free to also share your thoughts. Do you love Garp? Do you hate him? Do you love Ace or do you hate him? And why? Or do you feel completely indifferent about them both? Please share your thoughts and opinions because I always find it fascinating how people can view and interpret the same characters in vastly different ways.

Thanks for watching and have a great day!

[mariemiriel]

My review for Dick's arc in season four of Young Justice

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My review for Rocket's arc from season four of Young Justice

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My review of Kaldur's arc from season four of Young Justice

[mariemiriel]

what computer programs are recommended to do AMVs??

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Video of my thoughts on The Batman (2022)

[mariemiriel]

Video of my thoughts on the Book of Boba Fett

[mariemiriel]

Welcome to my youtube channel!! I make reviews of media while putting together puzzles.

[mariemiriel]

[mariemiriel]

Dreamy icons of pastel moon phases 🌙💫 Free to use with credit. Etsy