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Why I like Nina Einstein from Code Geass ( a thread ) —
I would appreciate if you read this and retweeted too. I’m gonna make some very good points and clear up some common misconceptions about her.
I would appreciate if you read this and retweeted too. I’m gonna make some very good points and clear up some common misconceptions about her.
Right from the get go, I need you all to understand something. Nina is clearly mentally ill. She’s not neurotypical. You could call that personal interpretation, but I think the signs are there. She struggles to understand the feelings of others (specifically Milly) and clearly +
had things about her that showed symptoms of being on the spectrum. I don’t think it’d be incorrect to say might have had depression and anxiety too. We hear in her conversation with Euphemia that she didn’t think much of herself. Plus, she is really nervous all the time. +
Keep this in mind because I’m gonna come back to it later.
I wanna start by going over the reasons that she’s hated, and explaining some of her behavior.
A.) “She’s racist.”
I find this argument incredibly hypocritical. Literally so many characters in Code Geass, a story +
I wanna start by going over the reasons that she’s hated, and explaining some of her behavior.
A.) “She’s racist.”
I find this argument incredibly hypocritical. Literally so many characters in Code Geass, a story +
about racial conflict and war, are racist. Yes, it’s true that Nina was over the top with it, but she wasn’t the only one. In fact, Milly says some rather xenophobic things to Nina. Yet I don’t see anyone singling Milly out for it. But I need you all to think for a moment. +
Why exactly do you think she hated Japanese people so much? Think about the society she was raised in. Britannians and Elevens hated each other. That’s just how it was. Growing up, it’s incredibly likely that she was told stuff about the Japanese that made her hate them. This +
doesn’t apply to Nina specifically, either. All Britannian children were likely raised in these same conditions. Which begs the question, why is Nina so much more scared of them than everyone else? There would have to be a reason, right? She doesn’t just hate for the sake of +
hating. No one is born with hatred. She’s been taught to hate. Furthermore, I think it’s heavily implied that she, at some point, was assaulted by Japanese people. That would not just explain her hatred, but also her outright fear of Japanese people. We see multiple times +
where she is just straight up terrified of Japanese people. That’s why the thought of Japanese and Britannians living equally terrified her so much. She was afraid of being abused again. That’s to be expected of a victim of assault. +
B.) “Her obsession with Euphemia”
I can’t deny the fact that it was an obsession. It was an unhealthy one at that. However, I think the way the fandom treats it blows it way out of proportion. First of all, Euphemia quite literally saved her life. It would make sense to +
I can’t deny the fact that it was an obsession. It was an unhealthy one at that. However, I think the way the fandom treats it blows it way out of proportion. First of all, Euphemia quite literally saved her life. It would make sense to +
idolize a person like that. In fact, idolization is very common in mentally ill people. I myself have had idolization and attachment issues. It’s not healthy, and I know that. It definitely wasn’t healthy for Nina. But it’s not like she had any other form of comfort or coping. +
A lot of people like to make her out as some “creepy stalker”. I don’t think that’s right. While it’s true that her love for Euphemia wasn’t normal, she clearly cared very deeply and genuinely for her. We even see this in her conversation with Euphemia. Nina genuinely cared +
for her wellbeing and never ONCE meant her any harm. I think it’s worth saying that Euphemia didn’t view her as less than her or pity her, she genuinely cared about her as well. Euphemia was angered by the way Nina was treated by the guards. That’s just the type of person +
that Euphie was. I think that Euphemia genuinely thought of her as a friend. Had Euphie not met such an unfortunate fate, I definitely think they would have talked more. Nina was even ready to let go of her fear and hatred of Japanese people because of Euphemia’s views. +
Now while I think idolizing someone so much that you agree with anything they do is unhealthy, I think this was good for Nina because she needed to learn. Unfortunately, we all know what happened. Speaking of that, we should talk about Nina’s reaction to the news of Euphie’s +
death. This scene has been joked about and memed, though I don’t think it’s particularly funny. This is a straight up mental break down, even perhaps a melt down. Making fun of it is just unethical, and honestly a bit ableist. That being said, this type of reaction +
should be expected. This is just genuine emotion. Wouldn’t you react the same way if someone you loved deeply died? For Nina, who hadn’t felt like she was worth anything until she met Euphemia, this had to shattered her. Have you ever freaked out and done/said some things +
that you normally wouldn’t? That’s what happened here with her trying to get into a Knightmare Frame, shouting things about Suzaku that I don’t think were true, ect. She was panicking, an emotional wreck. Wanting revenge on Zero seems perfectly understandable in her shoes. +
C.) FLEIJA
This one is to be expected. Nina indirectly was the cause of the death of millions of people. I’ve seen many people claim this selfish of her, as it was “only for Euphemia and to kill Zero.” However, I don’t think this is entirely true. While it was definitely a +
This one is to be expected. Nina indirectly was the cause of the death of millions of people. I’ve seen many people claim this selfish of her, as it was “only for Euphemia and to kill Zero.” However, I don’t think this is entirely true. While it was definitely a +
factor, remember that she was working under Lloyd and Cécile, who encouraged the development of this weapon. Needless to say, this WAS a war. She was involved in a war, and just so happened to have the brains to help with the effort for her side. Speaking of FLEIJA, I hear +
people asking why she didn’t understand that a nuclear weapon would cause the destruction it did. There are a number of factors. First of all, it’s very likely that she had no way of knowing that the explosive range would be as big and widespread as it was. Throughout +
history we see this a lot, especially in Albert Einstein, thematically where her last name comes from. Bringing back my point about her likely being neurodivergent, it’s likely that she just could not comprehend it. It just didn’t click. So much was happening that what came +
after wasn’t of any concern to her. However, when that weapon did fire, I think that was a huge turning point in her character. She was disgusted and devastated at what she had created, and it didn’t matter to her what race the people who had died were. Lloyd’s words +
to her have a lot of meaning, him telling her that she will have to become emotionally numb if she wants to continue the path of science. I think this is when she started to realize how the world worked, and the truth of war. From this point on we don’t see any more hatred for +
Japanese. In fact, she it’s clear that she’s much more calm and mature. She works her ass off to develop a countermeasure for FLEIJA, and that to me is redemption. In her conversation with Lelouch here we see her maturity and resolve to figure things out herself. +
D.) “She treats her friends like trash” or “She only cared about Euphemia”
Okay. I’ll start with Milly. I had actually already thought Nina was a lesbian before Euphemia came into her life. I picked up the vibe that she had a crush on Milly and looked up to her. I still +
Okay. I’ll start with Milly. I had actually already thought Nina was a lesbian before Euphemia came into her life. I picked up the vibe that she had a crush on Milly and looked up to her. I still +
think this is true. They are childhood friends and have been very close for a long time. Nina lacks the confidence that Milly has, and looks up to her for being able to do whatever she wants. Milly always pampered her and tried to look out for her. The problem was +
that Nina has a hard time understanding other people’s feelings (like we’ve been over). Milly trying to look out for her only just made her feel like she was being looked down on, and after Euphemia’s death, she changed a lot. She was tired of being helpless. We see in +
her conversation with Milly that she doesn’t like being pitied anymore. In fact, someone pointed out that it almost seemed like she was talking about herself. Nina has definitely been hypocritical, and she knows that. She’s trying to tell Milly that she’s changed, and she +
doesn’t need to be helped anymore. She wants Milly to notice her. Nina was definitely in love with Milly if you ask me. She didn’t hate her. She just misunderstood her. As we see later, Milly seems to finally get through to Nina. Nina’s intention wasn’t to be mean, she just +
wasn’t sure how to process her emotions and feelings for Milly. Also, Nina did care for her other friends. Here we see her crying over Shirley’s death, even though in her words, Shirley “annoyed” her. Also, she had a profound respect for Lloyd. She was also friends with Suzaku, +
who was Japanese! Also, Nina admits to being jealous of Shirley. This could be for her cheerful nature, sure, but need I remind you that Shirley got a huge hunk of Milly’s attention, which ties back into my point of her having a crush on Milly. There is a scene where Milly +
tells Shirley “That’s what I like about you!” and Nina turns her head and gasps. +
E.) The table.
// nsfw
Oh my fucking god. If this is the reason you hate her, fuck you. Like genuinely fuck you. If you think a girl getting off is “disgusting”, fuck your misogynistic ass.
That’s literally all I’m gonna say about it. Get your slut-shaming out of here. +
// nsfw
Oh my fucking god. If this is the reason you hate her, fuck you. Like genuinely fuck you. If you think a girl getting off is “disgusting”, fuck your misogynistic ass.
That’s literally all I’m gonna say about it. Get your slut-shaming out of here. +
Tying it all together, let’s talk about Re;surrection Nina. She has shown to have completely gotten over her xenophobia, as she is seen attending Villetta and Ohgi’s wedding, which is between a Japanese and a Britannian! The old her would have been disgusted at that idea! +
She is seen fighting alongside Lelouch. This shows that she chooses to fight for what’s right and not let her emotions for Euphemia get in the way, which is a sign of maturity! Congratulations on your glow up, Nina! +
TLDR; Nina is far from perfect. She’s made a lot of mistakes, but those mistakes made her grow as a person. There’s so much more to her than just “the FLEIJA girl” or “the table girl” and I really want her to be acknowledged by the Code Geass fandom.
—(End of thread)
—(End of thread)
I would like to add this https://twitter.com/strcrxssed/status/1348273294315839490
