Character Analysis - Blog Posts

Do you mind talking a bit about Enji and Rei? To me they have one of the most interesting relationships in the series, but discussions around them never really go anywhere. Pls I'm starving 😭

You'd have to be specific about what you want me to talk about lmao, there's a lot to be said.

I think their relationship is so tragic, because they could 100% work. "Right person, wrong circumstance".

In the right circumstance, Rei cools Enji's fire, and Enji builds her self-confidence. They balance each other nicely, like in My Father's Warmth.

But in the canon series, they're both so awkward, emotionally weak and have some many flaws that they're doomed to crash. With my interpretation, they both saw each other as a means to an end (especially at the start), Enji was enabled, and Rei was so cold. It's really interesting, because they WERE happy before Touya’s Quirk started hurting him, and Fuyumi is trying to put the broken pieces together. Both Rei and Enji neglected their kids (in the books, Natsuo mentions disliking Shoto because he took away their mother, and wanting Enji's attention), they blamed each other instead of working together before Touya's "death". Fuyumi replicated her mother's behaviour of "smiling through it without confronting the issue" and Natsuo replicated Enji's, "anger and running away", while Touya is the extreme of both (mutual destruction), and Shoto is the good of both that they have (which despite what the fandom claims, there's a lot of good in both).

They're both broken victims of the same society that the LoV wants to destroy, all the while being part of the problem (Bystander effect, a huge theme of the series). Generational trauma and all that (Enji with his father, Rei with the Himura)

They are so wonderfully nuanced and complex but ofc nobody is willing to talk about it because nuance is scawy.

I could go on, if there's something specific you want me to talk about, ask me!! :]

If you don't mind me asking how come Teka and Yoshi don't fit your interpretation of Enji as a character? If I'm being honest, I'd just really like to hear your thoughts on them. I remember being obsessed with them because Enji was my fav character but no one ever made content of him so Acker was my saving grace lol. I'm glad I have ur todofam stuff now too <3

I interpret Enji as growing up poor, like Uraraka. I view him as a 'self-made' man, Quirk, hero reputation and all, including financial status. Rich parents doesn't suit him imo, he doesn't give me Iida or Yaoyorozu vibes.

Enji doesn't give "old money" vibes, or even new money. He has no interior design skills (the Todoroki Abode is "default traditional Japanese" you'd see in a catalogue, and his Agency Office, what is that combination, he better not have picked that), and his clothes are just as plain, HOWEVER he has that darn tacky gold necklace (which, hot, but bro). Everything "expensive" about him is either in default setting, or it's his Agency. Yes he has a chauffeur, but that's more for efficiency. Unlike Iida or Yaoyorozu who almost flaunt their riches as if they're the norm (look at their rooms), the Todoroki don't emit that. Idk how to explain it. Have money but dunno how to spend it and are actually quite careful with their expenses. Lots of "just in case things go south" savings account.

Again, super traditionally Japanese, very proudly Japanese, the antithesis of All Might, and from what I've seen, Teka and Yoshino aren't that.

I know Teka and Yoshino were made before Enji's backstory (i think), but I've always had a vibe that Enji never had a female figure in his life, and only his father is mentioned so, idk, Enji gives 'raised by a single father' vibe. He's too "a man's man" to have had any female influence in his upbringing.

I've always envisioned Enji as alone, so him having family outside of his kids and Rei is just a no. He has work colleagues and that's IT. No friends, no family, no nothing. Even Rei's mother was mention in Sports Festival flashback, yet Enji's? Nada.

Teka and Yoshino's personalities don't match what I view for the family. I based Haruo on a mixture of Fuyumi, Enji and Natsuo. S2 Endeavor was like that because Enji was ✨️mentally unstable✨️ and his obsession All Might is gone, he becomes like how I write him in My Father's Warmth. Teka and Yoshino don't fit that.

They're just not my cup of tea as characters, nor as a couple dynamic.

More than his backstory, I vue Enji's obsession with his weakness coming from his parent. They were weak, and told him not to be like them, and thus, Enji internalised that (especially after the accident). Teka and Yoshino don't give that.

Enji to me gives "abandoned" and "had to fend for himself" and "had no guidance" vibes as well, so him having a well-off, alive mother, no matter how good or bad she is, just doesn't fit.

I wasn't in the fandom until I started making my AUs (I was invested with DSMP for 3 years, still am), so I never joined the hype of Teka and Yoshino, thus never got attached.

And also I just don't like fanmade family member OC before we get the whole picture of the story, and other more nitty gritty and thematic stuff but that's the general take. Acker is phenomenal and I give em all the kudos for making such beautiful art and Enji content, but yeah, Teka and Yoshino just aren't my thing. Hence why I've got Haruo and Akihime instead (or lacking thereof because Haruo is dead and Akihime peaced out and acts like she was never married (the past never dies MUAHAHAHA))

plz don't take this as hate, it's not, it's just personal preference, I don't interact with the content and mind my own business ✌️

TLDR: I think they’re relationship is very interesting because of the fact of how morally gray the two of them are. I don’t support them being together in current phases but I believe they were together at some point in phases 1 and 2. Those guys have too many instances of blatant queercoded flirting where they could not not have feelings towards one another. I also believe the roles that were once present in their relationship (2-D has crush on Murdoc but Murdoc rejects him.) are now in the midst of being reversed, (Murdoc has a crush on 2-D but 2-D rejects him.) most likely as the result of the ending we got during the Lost Chord MV.

Oh definitely. Although, I’d like to say while I’m not the biggest 2doc fan, I definitely believe that they probably had a relationship at some point in the lore. A majority of their interactions within phase 1 to 2 just doesn’t make sense if they didn’t, but that’s entirely my opinion. However, I don’t like how some people within the Gorillaz fandom tend to paint their relationship as a completely black and white thing. Like I feel like many just say “the two of them of them are deeply in love and have always been together” or “the relationship is toxic and it’s gross” but like with how nuanced the lore has been up to this point, wouldn’t it make more sense if it was both? Like, relationships are much more complicated than just being in love or being toxic, and I feel like it’s been clearly shown how gray their relationship is.

Like, the two of them aren’t angels. (especially Murdoc)

Murdoc, even though he was a victim of both child and sexual abuse, he later became an abuser. Whether it be because of:

His alcoholism, which has been made clear he uses as a coping mechanism for his abuse.

A lack of treatment of his trauma, especially due to the generation his was born in, wherein it was expected for men not to share their feelings or trauma due to societal pressure, aka: toxic masculinity or his refusal to acknowledge said problems due to not wanting to revisit those memories.

He has learned to hate himself so much that he has become the thing he hated. In his own words from the Plastic Beach interview, “In order to fight monsters, you have to become a monster of some sort yourself. Take out all the soft, fluffy bits and become empty.”

His overall need to control every aspect of his life and those around him since he wasn’t able to stop the abuse as a child. (Ex: He pursued music because he wanted to make it the way he wanted to and not let his father control which road he went down. He considers himself the leader of Gorillaz so no one else can control what he does with them. Murdoc hyper-sexualizing himself in some instances might be the result of another coping mechanism. If he controls what he does with his body he doesn’t have to think about his trauma associated with sex, which is a rare but not uncommon trait amongst victims of sexual assault.)

It’s most likely a combination of some, if not all of the above.

2-D has his own fair share of problems as well.

He is a well-known drug addict with a liking to painkillers and references to him also doing cocaine. His addiction only amping up after meeting Murdoc, however it’s questionable as to whether or not this was because Murdoc helped enable his pre-existing addiction to painkillers or if this was a result of 2-D’s own codependency.

He’s both a victim and enabler as he consistently, from Phase 1 to 2 and some instances in 4, makes excuses for or straight up doesn’t acknowledge Murdoc’s abuse towards him and the other band members and allows it to continue for nearly 20 years.

While known to be quite humble and kind, he can be quite petty and can have quite the ego. (Ex: Literally look at his behavior in several interviews and how he treated the band during Phase 5. Also, in We Are The Dury, 2-D makes a joke about Murdoc as he recounts his time being imprisoned Mexico saying, “I don’t think I could eat another burrito in my life.” To which 2-D responds with “But you still like a bit of Mexican sausage, ay man?” and proceeds to laugh. This is most likely in reference to the MTV Mexican Jail ident where a prisoner is about to sexually assault Murdoc as the video cuts off. Murdoc, upset by 2-D’s remark, he tells him to shut up and calls him the f-slur.)

He has been shown to become physically abusive towards Murdoc, however this is only when pushed to his very limits. (Ex: During the infamous Plastic Beach Interview, he can be heard attacking Murdoc after he mentioned Paula Cracker before Murdoc managed to overpower and chloroform 2-D into submission.)

Now, of course. This doesn’t mean that one of them is entirely the villain and the other is a complete saint. That just isn’t the true nature of their relationship. The two of them are innately complex and thus their relationship is filled to the brim with ambiguity. They are neither good or bad people. They are simply characters with very human problems and emotions. The both of them are simply too fucked up with each other to continue a healthy dynamic.

Personally, I think they did love each other at some point, probably more around phase 1 or 2 but it certainly wasn’t overtly romantic or happy. The two of them were clearly codependent. Whether it’s 2-D who comes crawling back to Murdoc because he feels he could fix his problems if he stays with him or forgives him, believing he could change and they could be happy together only for that thought come crashing down once the El Mañana incident occurred. Or Murdoc, who not only continues this stringing 2-D along, especially with that fact that he not only needs him for the band to keep existing but also, in a more sad twist, he’s probably the only person that has outwardly shown any kind of genuine affection towards him. 2-D’s essentially his safety net, an excuse for him to continue being shitty because he keeps forgiving him. For the longest time, he didn’t want forgiveness for his actions, he just doesn’t want to believe that he’s a bad person. No one wants to believe they’re a bad person unless they’re put into a situation that makes them actively question their own actions. And for a long time Murdoc refused to do that. Possibly another reason as to why he showed so much vitriol towards 2-D is because of how lucky he felt he was.

I’m surprised this doesn’t get brought up more often when discussing their relationship. Like, 2-D literally lived the life that Murdoc never had. He’s part of a loving nuclear family that accepts him for who he is, he was popular in school, probably was never bullied, had good looks, and a job. His life was practically given to him on a silver platter while Murdoc got to live with the scraps. His whole life, Murdoc suffered to get where he is. Why did he get to live such a happy, carefree life but not him? He wanted to hate 2-D for all of those reasons, but couldn’t because he didn’t want to let go of the one person who cared about him. And now, due to his actions, has to face the consequences of 2-D leaving him behind.

That’s probably why we’re getting bits of his reputation arc now. He’s in the midst of addressing his problems. Not all of them, of course. He is one stubborn bastard after all. But I believe that after breaking out of prison in Phase 5, he realized how much 2-D and by extension, the band, really meant to him. While yes, he did go to prison and later lied when the attention was off him. In response, he started the Free Murdoc movement. It was only after seeing Noodle run to Patagonia, believing his lies and putting herself in danger because of his fib, he began to realize that he was in the wrong. Not just then but for everything. He said it himself at the end of the Free Murdoc chat;

“Cos in the end, the experience DID free me. Not from Wormwood Scrubs — but from that other far worse prison I was in… MYSELF. The worst prison a person can be in… I was in a prison of my own making, but thanks to you — I’ve busted out. This long, long journey has made me a better man.”

And with that he swore to change. We even see him realizing how much his actions had impact in Phase 6. Since making the Now Now, 2-D has finally learned to move on without him. Plastic Beach might have been the moment he realized how fucked up their relationship was but the Now Now was the moment he stood up against the abuse and won. Murdoc noticing this, did everything to get his attention at first. He made him tea and even went out with him but nothing worked. That’s why we see him crying in Desole, he knows that whatever relationship he and 2-D or the band before will never be the same. It’s only when he actively proved himself to the band and that he did care for them that 2-D reached out of the portal to rescue him in Lost Chord. I don’t think he forgave him for what he put him through or that they’re gonna start over again, but it’s a sign that the two of them are improving themselves and that’s good!

I do have to wonder with this current phase though if their roles are reversed because before, 2-D was the one that was openly showed love for Murdoc while he rejected 2-D’s advances at nearly every turn. But now I think that’s been switched. Now Murdoc, of all people, is chasing him while 2-D, someone who’s been idolizing Murdoc for years, doesn’t acknowledge him. I mean, look at their playlists on Spotify right now. In G-Mix 17, almost all of Murdoc’s songs have been about UNREQUITED LOVE (the strongest examples being R&B by English Teacher, Security by Amyl and the Sniffers, Hung Up by The Mysterines, and Landline by Binki) whereas 2-D’s have been about FALLING OUT OF IT. (Examples being YKWIM by Yot Club, Not Into You by Brooksie, and Anybody Else But U by poolsideconvo) It’s almost like they are finally beginning to meet in the middle and mend somewhat but Murdoc has (at least so far) been slowly beginning to accept that he actually likes him but knows that 2-D has already moved on?? I’m really excited to see how their relationship improves going forward as it’s been really interesting to see their development in the last two phases so far.

Sorry about the incredibly long rant, I just love it when there’s genuinely good subtext and complex nuance into characters’ psyches, especially when done well.

Love how in past phases 2D admired Murdoc but in certain interviews I feel like Murdoc is (not so) secretly attracted to 2D as in lust. While 2D is just completely oblivious most of the time

Oh no yeah facts, you don't call someone A LITERAL GOD and a pretty boy if you feel normally about them. 2-D is definitely oblivious, but so is Murdoc I think. Their dynamic was always stupidly complicated, and it only spiraled further phases 3 and 5. They don't even know what they have going on, really- and that's okay! relationships don't have to be perfect. to deny those kinds of relationships are real and normal is immature and only stifles awareness and enables people not to recognize toxic behaviour.

anyway I went off but that's my hot take on 2doc

wilbur, bringing in someone he trusts because they’re stronger than he is and he’s shit at pvp:

tommy, a 16 year old appreciating that in a war he has a reliable older figure to put his trust in:

c!techno: wow you guys only saw me as a weapon also trying to blow people up and never acting on it? fucked up man (scoots the times he actively shot at people, set withers on them, rains tnt on their homes and sicks dogs on them, not to mention the fact he was literally in on wilbur’s original plan to blow everyone up, he literally said he’d set off withers)

wilbur: yeah it was pretty horrible of me for planning it then regretting my actions and going back on them :( i definitely used you and it’s not at all reasonable to ask someone for help for someone stronger in the situation i was in :( it’s not like you didn’t give a shit about me as a person either and completely ignored my shit mental health and was completely on board with my actions until they reflected badly on you afterwards where you denounced me and said i was “evil” despite being just as willing to go along with the tnt plan but also doing far more damage than i did :( but no i said you were the traitor bc we’d planned for you to set off withers when i set off the tnt and lo and behold, there you were setting off withers like we’d planned so im 100 times worse than you :( 

i’ve seen some ppl say they are excited for the c!eret + c!techno + c!tubbo teamup that’s gonna happen tmrrw, bc they both betrayed c!tubbo and maybe this can be both their final redemption point for them. i have. an issue with that.

the thing is that c!eret EARNED their redemption. c!techno has not. idk about you, but I didn’t forget that c!techno let c!dream out of prison (“yeah but it was just business–” I don’t care, he still let the most dangerous person on the server out.)

also it irks me bc c!tubbo interacts with both of them different. c!tubbo definitely trusts c!eret more now than he did after the final control room. what has c!techno really done to earn c!tubbo’s trust? he literally let the guy who was gonna kill him last year out of prison. not to mention that c!techno caused doomsday. c!eret has apologized several times for their betrayal, both through actions and words (they were literally one of the ppl there during the disc finale to save c!clingyduo.) as for c!techno, he hasn’t apologized at all.

and i did not forget when c!techno took the syndicate on their little fieldtrip to snowchester just so he could threaten c!tubbo’s home. again. c!eret + c!techno are the duality of redemption. one actually worked toward theirs, and the other hasn’t even begun to start his.

one of the genuinely most important things about c!techno is his relationship to violence.

because when he says 'violence is the only universal language', he means that violence is what people understand. that he's been shown over and over that violence is what people listen to. he's experienced it firsthand. he doesn't seem to revel in it, it's more like he's resigned to it as a fact.

and on doomsday, it's violence that gets him the 'win'. he succeeds! his goal of destroying the government and making certain there will never be another is complete.

but instead of taking this as proof that violence is the only way, techno still wants to change. he admits to being a bad example and wanting to do better going forward. it's such a great moment showing that techno's desire to change came from himself, not because he was unsuccessful in his goals.

do you think technoblade counts as a mary sue?

yeah

Howdy! I just want to take a moment (or two…or three..yeah this is longer than I thought it would be) to talk about your characterization of Narinder in your TRoD fanfic, specifically his grievance over what he perceived the lamb to be and betrayel.

I like to think Narinder repeatedly calling Lambert a traitor (I think at least once a chapter actually lmaoo) over and over, is trying not so subtly to avoid thinking about the why behind the betrayel and the pain that comes with it. Especially since he'd already spent an eternity wondering about the previous betrayal of his siblings. How emotionally torturous it must feel to be in this cycle of rejection, from the people he depended on, even now from his own followers who don't recognize him. And then, when he and Lambert finally appear to be on the same page about something, Lambert goes and spares Leshy, reminding Narinder once again that his divine commands hold as much weight on the Lamb as they will decide to hold.

It isn't up to Narinder to decide how the lamb will act, as much as he wants to. It's one thing for Narinder to have people listening to him, but it's another to actually be heard, and after an eternity of silence during his imprisonment he's absolutely desperate for some form of control and impact. For someone to truly hear him. Which is a shame, because Lambert does, but Narinder cannot recognize it since they don't always give Narinder what he wants (since being a God is all about what you want), and instead are more interested in giving him what he needs.

I assume at this point, after being revived into a mortal form, he's actively given up on trying to understand why everyone just keeps "betraying/rejecting him" and would rather use his own inferences of their behavior as explanation, once again, for that feeling of control, since he's utterly mortified of hearing those words come from their mouths instead of his own (doesn't help that he can actually read minds either). He'd rather kill his siblings than hear the why (not saying the siblings were justified ofc, but understanding one's motivations is, y'know, important to effectively communicating with them in a way that's healthy) Despite needing to be heard, he's internalized that many won't bother listening unless he has control over them in some way, like he did before when he was powerful. When he mutilated his siblings, had Lambert create a cult in his name, being heard isn't just an emotional or mental aspect to his wellbeing, but is literally part of his power as well.

He was/is a God, he's used to followers prostrating themselves just to hear the time of day, giving their all to listen, hear, and follow him. It's why he struggles to separate the aspects that are ingrained in a follower, from those who are a friend. Unless they're also God he can't comprehend much of a difference, and expects them to be of the same or similar standing. He was friends with Lambert when he was Godly, yes, but he still saw himself as above Lambert, and expected them to lay down their life to him like a follower would. Yes, Narinder didn't want to cut them out of his own life in their death, but still expected them to just..die for him. He didn't ***just*** see Lambert as a friend, he saw them as a friend that was also his follower. An exceptional follower he loved, but not an exception. There was a power imbalance that Lambert now sees.

It's why Narinder's utterly baffled and offended, fearful even, at Lambert, someone he deemed as "traitorous", investing their time into still trying to talk to him..listen to him.. for virtually no gain…at his lowest point...when he himself is now "lesser".

Narinder tries so hard to not become invested in those he deems as "lesser" or "traitors" but its near fucking impossible, because like it or not, his desires and needs are so inherently mortal and genuine (desire for power, companionship, love, understanding, control, etc) that if he doesn't close himself off, he may have to face falling into the same pit of disappointment and failed expectations he fell in with Lambert/his siblings once again. So he doesn't, and hides away in his shack until Lambert comes knocking.

And now, as the cherry on top of this emotionally constipated bundle of angsty cat woes, he has to live and breathe as the very thing he deemed as "lesser". Being forced to invest in these mortal needs, now that they're a necessary component to his survival. This is also why I believe he goes on these little crusades with Lambert in the first place as well. Not only because they return to him a sense of routine and normalcy (also pining, coughocoughghhrbogh who said that?), but also because it allows Narinder to forget about investing in his own wellbeing for a while.

He was a God, he didn't have to go through the work it took to just do your laundry, eat, brush your teeth, or take care of yourself since he never had to. The thrill of adventure and battle, the adrenaline rush of near-death experiences, can't hold a candle to the mundanity of work. So when he's not crusading, he just..sleeps..wanders around..the fact he's not socially accepted by his own followers doesn't encourage him either. I mean fuck, he such a complete wreck after Lambert spared Leshy, he crusaded and neglected his health for so long he passed out.

His life is all work now, investing in himself, in others, being forced to have his ego get knocked down a few pegs, and care again despite how much it hurts. None of these things are "given", Lambert's love is not just given (as in, blindly follow) and that's what I believe will be an eventual "eureka" moment for him.

Living is work, but it's worth working for

He ain't hot shit anymore, but that's ok.

Anyway, sorry for the long-winded ramble this was all actually just a very roundabout and ineffective ploy for me to talk about how I relate the song "Don't Speak" by No Doubt, to your Narinder's character. Happy belated New Year, hope you're doing well. :]

LKSDHGKLSDHGD HELLO. This is such a well articulated analyzation of Narinder holy moly, I hope you don't mind me answering this with not much to add on because WOW I'm really vibing with your takes on him and I wanted the world to read this too slkdghlksdhgs. I have a lot of my own takes on Narinder and how he'll progress to be as the story comes along, and eventaully some of this will be talked about in TROD either with the lamb and/or with other characters, particularly Ratau, as he comes to an understanding that others are understanding.

I have not had coffee yet this morning but I could go on for a day and a half about Narinder being used to getting what he wants as a god and the entire process of how actaully lonley and isolating it can be to be continously pedastaled and worshipped verses being on equal, human level with other beings and how long it takes for him to realize that.

HAPPY BELATED NEW YEAR

> random bakugo rant

ive seen a lot of hate regarding bakugo's character development, and though i understand most people's viewpoint, we have to remember that bakugo was inheritly a kid that was taught high expectations from early on, he was praised since young, taught that his worth came from his abilities. either he was the best, or he was nothing. he had a mentality where you were all or none. he never had any room for failure admist all that, so he couldn't grow to accept the fact that izuku was better. and by disregarding bakugo's development as much haters do, you're disregarding izukus strength. the whole fandom sees izuku as weak, which is inheritly wrong. izuku was strong, not because he had OFA, not because he had All Might beside him, but because he kept going no matter what was in front of him. and Bakugou loathed that, because all he saw was strength. and he couldn't bear the fact that Izuku held his head up high regardless of how physically weak he was. it didnt make sense to him, so he tried to wear Izuku's strength down, by bullying him, by lowering his worth. and it still didn't work. because izuku would always be stronger, and you know what the strongest thing izuku did was? it was forgiving Bakugou. the reason why Bakugou could never be as strong as izuku was because he was scared of being weak. but izuku was weak, yet he still kept going. and because of that, Bakugo thought he was looking down on him. Bakugous journey is accepting that, its trying to change all he was taught his entire childhood. and its not easy to do that, when you've had your ego held up high your entire life, when your mindset was shifted to only being of worth. all he was is a scared 15year old, growing into someone that can come to understand their flaws and make amends for it.

I imagine that there's going to be a day in their future together where Dan and Herbert are having some argument about their work for the billionth time, and Hebert will bring up Meg mid-way through their argument because he's toxic like that and instead of it usually working and manipulating Dan like usual, Dan is just unfazed by it. He just casually deflects it like "c'mon Herb you know that has nothing to do with this" and he just continues making his points. But Herbert's not listening. He's stunned. He's baffled that his tactic didn't work, because bringing up Meg usually wins him their fights and at the least makes Dan storm off so they can both cool down and forget about it.

But not this time. Not today. To anyone else this it would've been obvious to see that this was going to happen eventually because it's been years since the bride and even longer since the Arkham massacre. Dan's healed, reflected, and worked on himself (Maybe not fully but you get the point). He's moved on from Meg. But Herbert hasn't.

Meg was his metaphorical fish bait to hook Dan onto and reel him back in towards Herbert. But today he's left with the sudden realization that it didn't work and it's not going to work ever again.

"Herbert are you even listening? Yknow what, I know you're not so I'm just going up to start on dinner, I'll call you when its ready."

Dan leaves.

Dan might leave him; Herbert's mind tells him. He might leave Herbert permanently, forever, his mind reels.

If Dan's gotten over Meg, then that means Herbert's lost his biggest grapple to keep Dan around when things get tense between the two of them. He has nothing to hold over Dan's head filled with a guilty conscience, nothing to hold onto Dan with.

Of course, Herbert doesn't realize that Dan's gotten over Meg, Francessca, and all other women and people because he's completely moved onto Herbert. Wonder how long it'll take him to get his thoughts in order and figure that out. Probably awhile considering that when Herbert snaps out of his funk by Dan calling "Dinner's ready!" from the kitchen he checks his watch and realizes that he's been standing in the same spot and staring into space for the past 43 minutes.

midoriya analysis because im fucking insane and hes insane

Midoriya analysis because I'm fucking insane and he's insane

Ps i won't be covering the movies bc I like to leave them as their own entities 

pps this contains spoilers

god okay so we all know that Midoriya has SOME kinda issue because... yk.... he was literally bullied and abused by his peers physically, emotionally, and mentally for all of his formative years and that's gonna FUCK SOMEONE UPPPP

but but but Midoriya so so obvi has a thing for escapism!!!! yeah, his quirk thing started before he was diagnosed as quirkless and then abused, but did you see how intense it got after he was abused??? how that was literally all he spent his time doing and how it was the only thing he was known for?? AND THEN. HE MEETS HIS IDOL WHO CRUSHES HIS LAST HOPE. and then said idol proceeds to try and build up an already destroyed boy (it doesn't work) because THEN we see even more escapism in UA because they make it so clear Midoriya spends so much time training and pushing himself to be a better hero because it's the only way he knows how to be useful and escape away from his reality of believing that's he's really not worth all that he's been given. Btw pls dont say that “midoriya is just ideally heroic he doesn't have a hero complex” this is an analysis for my opinion ty 

Midoriya can be viewed as a narcissist for many reasons as well but that is because he's a product of his environment. Honestly there's ways to show midoriya has a hero complex, is a narcissist, has self esteem issues, has a superiority complex, and more. Im slapping midoriya and going “This bad boy can fit sooo many issues it him” 

Another btw before you continue reading: I have really bad adhd and halfway through this forgot what I was writing about so my points get super blurry but I just wanted to state it here. I believe midoriya has severe self esteem issues and a hero complex. I can explain why concisely if anyone asks! 

Going by arcs now because I need some order to follow and regretfully can't just throw my thoughts about Midoriya at a wall and hope they stick (I will happily just spout nonsense at anyone who wants to listen): 

Pre ua-

Most of this I already covered in the above paragraph but I still wanna break down why Midoriya's childhood set him up for a hero complex and a love of escapism. As mentioned before, Midoriya has always had a love for analysis and heroes but it got much more intense after he experienced large bouts of trauma. You can see him isolating himself and getting completely absorbed into his analysis in multiple parts of the pre-UA sections of bnha. His hero complex stems from the fact that there genuinely was no one to save Midoriya. Because he knows what it's like to be alone without help, he takes it upon himself to save people (he basically says this himself too like my god this boy's hero complex is so so clear). Not to mention the fact that his abuser has been called a hero throughout his formative years. like….god….

All might training- 

And THEN all might destroys his dream by telling him he can't be a hero then LEAVES. Midoriya has not had a single good personal hero at this point. Like even his own mother doesn’t save him from this blatantly obvious abuse. So midoriya is just like. Left there to evaluate everything being broken in his life when he falls back on his escapism aka he walks to the scene of a hero feet because “[his] feet carried him [there]” ARE YOU KIDDING ME. he is literally doing something that brings him joy on autopilot. As a response to being told he can't do his life long goal by his idol. Following that he sees bakugou in pain and trouble and this is like right when the hero complex forms. The entire ‘feet moved before you can think’ IS NOT A GOOD THING!!!! He has NO self-preservation in this moment. AND THE ALL MIGHT PRAISES HIM FOR IT. literally cementing his hero complex as a ‘positive’ thing and not at all the self destructive thing it actually is. 

Following this all might tells midoriya he has to be the next symbol and that he has to be the one to make everyone feel safe. That is NOT a healthy mindset for a child to be in. Here Midoriya is told that he needs to protect everyone and this is where he starts to feel the need to be the one to fix everything, this is where he feels that everything is his fault. 

Usj-

Bro just got put into a hugely traumatic situation and did you see how he literally like blacked out when he went to protect Tsuyu? I’d also like to point out that at this point he's been told by all might that his lack of self preservation is a heroic quality. PLus plus plus being put into a situation like this would hurt your brain function so immensely, the adrenaline rush he must be having at this moment. 

Sports festival- 

Todoroki. Just the entirety of the todoroki thing. Someones gonna go “he was just doing the heroic thing, that makes him hero quality!!” BUT!!! I GUARENTEEEE MIdoriya saw some of himself in Todoroki then. Like, todorokis situation is ‘boy whos in bad situation with no one coming to save him because no one would believe him/step up against the number ½ hero’ and midoriya's situation as a kid was ‘boy whos in a bad situation and no one is coming to save him because no one would believe him and no one wants to help the quirkless kid’. So midoriya obviously took it upon himself to be the one to save todoroki and at this point he's had all mights words drained into him so he probably has taken it upon himself to save everyone in similar situations.

Hero killer- 

Speaking of people in similar situations: Iida! Sooo you're probably going “ghost. Iidas situation is NOTHING like midoriyas” and to that i say LET ME EXPLAINNNN because at this point iida has seen so many people be killed by stain that he more than likely believes no one can stop him but iida himself. This situation is ‘things are happening and no one is actively trying to stop it in the way I should, no one is coming to save this situation.’ so iida takes it upon himself and Midoriya sees this and recognizes it because of his own situation. 

Final exams- 

Bakugou. I have thoughts about this arc. Midoriya has no self preservation here at all. I could quite honestly say I believe midoriya is in some way suicidal. There is no ounce of non hero complex actions here. Midoriya takes it upon himself to save bakugou from failing the entire final exam even if bakugou doesn’t want that. And the their fight afterwards??? Where midoriya is like “youre all I look up to [bakugou]” (side note i hate calling him kacchan)???? WHERE IS YOUR SELF RESPECT MIDORIYA!!! BAKUGOU BEAT THE SHIT OUT OF YOU VERBALLY AND PHYSICALLY FOR YEARS!!!!!! 

Hassaikai and Paranormal liberation-- 

Combining these because during both arcs midoriya shows absolutely ZEROOO self esteem and self preservation. These two arcs are combined because therye basically him on the brink of absolutely losing his shit and fully leaning into the hero complex.

Dark hero (so important r you kidding)-

R you serious rn..this is literally him going ‘no one else is fixing it so I WILL. in a dangerous way this IS the hero complex arc 

But it's also the most self centered arc midoriya has had. His entire childhood has taught him to rely on himself and only himself so it's a given that he would only think about himself when anything happens that he needs to take care of as he's the only one who's ever shown to care about himself and others for a large portion of his life. Midoriya is such a complex character but you genuinely can only tell if you look deeper than what bnha has on the surface of it which makes me sad. I’m not here to diss horis writing and world building skills-he's much better at it than me- I just wish he would go deeper into his characters issues than having them fixed in short spurts (momo)

Danganronpa rant #3

Please note before reading this that I have not finished v3 yet

This analysis is about Tsumugi so if she is a discomfort for you please be aware of that! This analysis contains Killing Harmony spoilers as well. I’ll be analyzing? Comparing? Her to the song ‘You’re gonna go far kid’ by The Offspring ^^ With that out of the way, let's move onto the analysis!

I wanna start off by saying I only started to relate this song to Tsumugi because of the first part. I always envisioned this animation to that part with her switching cosplays and so that's where this all stems from! This also only really focuses on Tsumugi as the mastermind, not so much backstory (does she even have a backstory?/gen). The first lines “Show me how to lie, you're getting better all the time, And turning all against the one is an art that's hard to teach. Another clever word sets off an unsuspecting herd, And as you step back into line, a mob jumps to their feet” are what I’m going to start with! The first part (show me how to lie…) is representing how Tsumugi was the mastermind of the Killing game and was lying to everyone, followed by ‘and turning against the one is an art that's hard to teach’ showcases how she had basically turned against everyone and that being the mastermind is something you can’t teach.

The next two lines really solidify this stanza as a representation of Tsumugi as the mastermind for me. “Another clever word sets off an unsuspecting herd,” is Tsumugi throwing everyone off of her trail or for an in-game example, Its Tsumugi framing Kaede as Rantaro's killer. “As you step back into line, a mob jumps to their feet” is Tsumugi pretending to be another person trapped in the killing game!

Taking lines from the second stanza, “and no one even knew it was really only you” to me is the line that symbolizes the fact that no one knows Tsumugi is the mastermind, that she is the one behind everything and is only pretending to be a victim of the killing game. The final line of the pre-chorus represents Tsumugi right before she became the mastermind, “nice work you did, you’re gonna go far kid”. The ‘nice work you did’ section of the line being a reference to all the work and preparations she had to make for the Killing game and the second line being a reference to how she's going to do as the mastermind and how she’ll live up to Junko's legacy.

The chorus is really what showcases how the song represents Tsumugi as the mastermind though. The starting line of “with a thousand lies and a good disguise” is just begging to be a Tsumugi line, she's the ultimate cosplayer and the mastermind for crying out loud. The “Hit 'em right between the eyes, hit 'em right between the eyes, When you walk away, nothing more to say. See the lightning in your eyes, see 'em running for their lives” is Tsumugi making her big debut in the final trial as the mastermind (I’m not 100% certain about the details of the last trial as I have yet to finish v3 but I have a vague idea of what happens).

Verse 2 is about how as the mastermind the whole killing game is focused on her. “Slowly out of line, and drifting closer in your sight, So play it out, I'm wide-awake, it's a scene about me,” showcasing how she's the star of the killing game as the mastermind and “There's something in your way and now someone is gonna pay, And if you can't get what you want, well, it's all because of me” showcasing how as the mastermind she has the ability to control everything about the killing game.

Finally, ending this analysis with the outro to the song! “Clever alibis, Lord of the Flies, Hit 'em right between the eyes, hit 'em right between the eyes, When you walk away, nothing more to say, See the lightning in your eyes, see 'em running for their lives”, it's a rather weak ending to this analysis but I think this line showcases how as the mastermind Tsumugi's existence in the game is just her falsifying her existence and making up lies about herself.

TLDR: You're gonna go far kid by The Offspring is a great song to represent Tsumugi as the mastermind of the killing game :)

Danganronpa rant #1

Yes everyone, you read that right! I'm branching out into my other interests! Keeping this blog as only Bnha would cause me to become uninterested very easily and my hyperfixations fluctuate between bnha and danganronpa a lot so these are the two you'll be seeing the most! With that stated lets get into todays rant!

ps if you follow the account drv3confessions you'll have already seen this rant as I sent it in as a confession!

Herse my in-depth analysis on why Art is Dead by Bo Burnham is the best song to describe Nagito. I’ll start off with the part of the song that goes on about how Bo (from this point on referred to as Nagito) shouldn’t be praised and that he isn’t perfect and should be corrected.

This is a fantastic example of how Nagito constantly degrades himself and talks about how the others should use him and treat him as badly as he talks about himself. Then there's the part right after the section talking about a kid whos loud and outgoing, the ‘I must be psychotic, I must be demented, To think that I'm worthy, Of all this attention…’ part. That is also a very good example of how Nagito thinks and has been told his whole life that he isn’t worth attention (positive or negative).

It also shows that he feels the attention that he does get, he feels is too much and that he doesn’t deserve it. Right near the end of the song there's a section that goes ‘A self-centered artist, Self-obsessed artist’ and I think that also really plays into the whole self degradation thing Nagito has going on. I think that if he ever (he probably has but it was really backhanded, at the time of writing this I’m very tired so there are probably some inconsistencies) made a positive comments about himself he’d follow it up with something like ‘how self-centered of me to think such a thing’.

I also wanna touch back on the  ‘I must be psychotic, I must be demented, To think that I'm worthy, Of all this attention’ line. This line to me really sells the whole ‘this song screams Nagito’ thing. Mainly because this is how he thinks, he thinks he doesn’t deserve attention and when he does get it he feels selfish and insane (not the best terminology but I can’t think of another way to word it).

Finally going back to the start of the song where it talks about a kids birthday party. I feel like that represents how Nagito thinks about himself, one of the lines (‘That every day, Can't be about him, There's other people, You selfish ass hole) really describes how Nagito thinks about himself. As a final point I would like to say that he overall tone of the song is very reminiscent of how Nagito speaks and behaves in the game.

TLDR: 'Art is dead' By Bo Burnham is an excellent song to represent Nagito and his character :)

The following rant was sponsored by comments on this post.

Wander can absolutely pull anyone he wants, from any moral ideology, at any time. The thing is though, he has a very different set of expectations regarding his own love life compared to others.

When it comes to other people's relationships, Wander is absolutely overjoyed to set things up for them! Seeing two people in love is one of the most beautiful things in the galaxy to him, though that's because he buys too much into the "romanticization" of relationships commonly found in the media.

He sees love as this perfect and unbending thing that must always result in a happy ending. He ignores Drakor and Demurra's good advice about communication in favor of yelling out his idea of living happily ever after while expressing the fact they "kinda sorta saved a princess." Wander is completely sold into the idea that romantic love is the ultimate relationship in a person's life.

This might explain why he and Sylvia appear adamant on staying single.

I've noticed that some people confuse Wander being a complex character with being inconsistent; so in order to sum up why someone so insistent on relationships being the solution to everyone's problems doesn't consciously pursue one of his own, I'm gonna put a few bullet points down.

- Wander loves to butt into other people's business but he leaves them alone at the end of the day once he sees they've been helped; he does not drag people with him unless they ask/want to come (Sylvia was alone as a bounty hunter and wanted to learn to be better after she got along with Wander: she chose to stay).

- Wander's lifespan is HUUUUGE! Most of the people he meets are gonna die WAY before he does and that is not something anyone in a romantic relationship wants to deal with.

- Contrary to popular belief, this man does not understand women as well as people think he does. He considers the heart of a lady "a mysterious thing that scientists have wrestled with for years." He plays the stereotypical sexy blonde whenever he decides to crossdress, though this is mostly just to work on villains. He was quick to think that Dominator being a girl was really the only thing that he needed to know on her end of getting her and Hater together (this has an extra layer I'll dive into later). Now I'm not trying to say that he's sexist or anything, that is nowhere even CLOSE to being true. He does, however, have a tendency to frame women as "the love interest" given what he knows about romance. This doesn't work in favor for his OWN love life though, because:

- Wander is really flarping gay. Not even a question. We've only ever seen him flirt with men, it's mostly been with Hater, and he expressed clear disinterest or fear when women hit on him (btw I feel like people don't talk nearly enough about how Janet tried to assault him? And how her moon was made from her body so he's basically her son??? Seriously, flarp Janet. All my homies hate Janet. #2 on my WOY hit list). Considering his pairing habits rely on disney-esc fairytale logic, he might not have that great of an idea on how to set himself up with a guy he isn't looney-tooning the shit out of. (No, I don't think he's aro because he genuinely does get flustered/interested at certain points of the series, but I totally understand if you headcanon him that way).

- He might be worried that a new romantic relationship could overtake the special bond he has with Sylvia, even though this would never happen and his relationship with Sylvia transcends any notion of this because of how special it is. With his logic though, he might feel like finding love would mean replacing his best friend...

That pretty much explains how he values relationships differently. I could continue this rant and go into how he was so obsessed with the idea of Hater dating Dominator by imagining himself in Dominator's place, and how I have tangible proof of that across pretty much half of the entire season, but idk if you guys wanna hear me go on a tangent about skeletondance lol. Thank you for reading.

Wander is the ultimate rizz master, like how’d he get the car? Where from? How did he convince that lady to accompany him? You know it was just so easy for him, i mean look at him. ABSOLUTE STUD.

Socialized

Rise Ramblings #664

There are two concepts that I really appreciate in Rise of the TMNT, of which, helped to set the Rise boys apart from other iterations.

Before the start of the show, the Rise boys:

1) Already met their lifetime bestie, April O’Neal.

2) Have already journeyed topside, thus it’s no big deal.

The fact that these concepts are already established from the start helps to take away the typical stresses from the turtles’ story. Instead, the stage is set for the specific type of adventures and hijinks the Rise boys do get into, such as discovering the wonders of the Hidden City and the people that dwell therein.

I believe that there are two people we can thank for helping the boys understand the world around them.

First is Splinter and his lackadaisical parenting style.

Since he was a more relaxed father than his other incarnations, I’m sure that these boys were free to explore the world at an earlier age. Most certainly, many of their childhood adventures landed them topside, thus allowing them to have experiences that their other versions were unable to have.

The second person is April.

What does April have to do with their upbringing?

Well, I’ll show you.

- Excerpt from “Ninja Power (Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles)”

Five years from the start of the show the boys would have been 8, 9, 9, and 10. What great ages to meet their first real friend!

Growing up with April would have had a huge effect on their social development; they’d be adapted to speaking with people outside of their immediate family, they’d learn about society through first-hand experiences and not just from tv or books, and they would have gotten used to the world around them by April acting like a bridge between the sewers and topside.

This is why by the start of the show, I believe, the turtles were already so well socialized!

Mostly....mostly. 😒

A HUGE Willtresor analysis— the kiss, my thoughts on their development, why I think their dynamic will change post ep. 120, etc

Oh boy, I fast-passed episode 120 a while ago and this damn ship hasn’t left my mind since 😭

Monty, you really are a loser. Can’t ibuprofen your way out of this one— it’s the end of the line!

The sad reality is Montresor always took Will’s presence as granted; as said before by multiple characters— he always ended up injuring Will in some way, whether it was his feelings or actually just beating the living shit out of him.

Literally any time he purposefully touched Will in episode 119, it hurt Will, even though Montresor was trying to “protect” him, he’s literally the reason Will has blood coming out of his mouth (I’m pretty sure the impact of Montresor hitting Will’s chest when he told him to stay back caused some sort of internal bleeding). And now, he’s panicking; you can tell from the crazed look in his eyes. He’s frantically trying to convince Will to get up but deep down I think he knew there was no hope. He’s more so trying to desperately console himself that he won’t fuck up something again like he always does.

Something’s changed— he’s noticeably more gentle now than he ever was before. Look at the way he holds onto Will’s robe, it’s almost like he’s trying to put it back on, like he’s trying to repair his mistakes.

Behold, Mont-don’t-fucking-touch-me-quit-bootlicking-me-tresor crashing out over the only time Will refuses one of his orders. What’s wrong? I thought you wanted him to stop boot-licking you 😗 bipolar much?

Montresor lashes out at everyone and tbh I think it’s from how he was raised. Ever since he was born he was literally deemed blasphemous. He got a ridiculous amount of attention from everyone around him and was constantly shunned for his actions, so I’m guessing he eventually succumbed to becoming the monster the church claimed he would be. Makes sense, why would he show sympathy towards anyone when nobody bothered showing any to him? But Will was different, he knew growing up that he could never be someone who mattered. NOBODY paid attention to him. I know people will reduce Will’s attraction to stronger men as “omg cute twink!1!” but really, insecure people are drawn towards people who they deem are confident figures that can provide stability to their lives, sort of like an anchor.

Do I think Monty’s actually confident? Lol no. I think both Will and Montresor hate themselves in a way— Will believes his self-worth depends on pleasing others while Monty believes that he’s already far beyond any form of redemption, so he’s kind of embraced being an awful person while Will’s dream is to just improve himself in a way he never could while alive.

Montresor lashes out at everyone because it provides some form of stimulation for him, it makes him feel better about himself— if the church labeled him as a monster, then hell yeah he’s gonna be one and scare the living shit out of them like they did to him. He isn’t sympathetic towards anyone and doesn’t expect anyone to be sympathetic towards him back. Yet here is Will, who STILL stuck with him after being violently beat and impaled twice, dying in his arms. I don’t think Monty can wrap his head around why anyone would do this and for the first time in his life he actually feels guilty for something.

Montresor doesn’t immediately shove Will off of himself, he lets Will grab onto his jacket collar probably because he thinks Will is going to use it to haul himself back onto his feet…except he actually kisses him, much to Montresor’s surprise LMAOOO

I didn’t notice this when I first read the chapter but Montresor puts Will’s robe back on before pushing him away— unlike episode 119, he actually tries not to injure Will further and avoids touching the shoulder with the bite wound; he uses the robe to safely pull Will off him.

He tried fixing him— the robe is on properly now.

The robe falls right off Will’s shoulder again. Montresor’s efforts ended in vain.

If this doesn’t prove the “Montresor never cared about Will” people wrong idk what will. We’ve never seen another circular speech bubble with the scribbly lines (hoarse/about to cry voice?) from Montresor besides maybe the church episode. He definitely didn’t give two shits at the start but now everything’s changed. We went from “you really are good for nothing” to “you did good, Will”. AAAAH!

Not only did Will die, he died doing something Montresor did NOT expect— idk if Montresor has actually even touched a religious text in quite a while since he doesn’t remember how to pray, but homosexuality was possibly discussed in the cult he grew up in. Even though Monty’s canonically an atheist, he literally swears in Jesus’ name when Will kisses him, he has a whole cross necklace under his uniform too; that religious trauma will never leave him, and Will kissing him only further cemented the fact that he is a sinner; the only person who’s actually compatible with him is a man. I also like how it’s fine when he sleeps with a gazillion women but when a man kisses him he starts tweaking— not really historically wrong if you consider that being gay was labeled as a major sin AND a mental issue in both Will and Monty’s respective time periods. Anyways cue closeted bisexual losing it lmao

Annnd I’ve reached the max image count but the scene where Will literally MELTS?? Straight (gay) nightmare fuel for Monty…left all by (bi) himself (“you’re not funny OP!” everyone says in unison while throwing tomatoes at me, yeah okay I’ll stop) Imo Montresor absolutely forgot about those clones, I bet he thought he was truly going insane and hearing Will’s voice in his head…but hey here’s right next to him and…perfectly fine? damn.

Anyways Will reaches for Montresor, but instead of Monty pushing him away, he instead turns the other way and knocks the crutches out of Will’s hand— he doesn’t hurt Will, he hurts himself by rejecting a mobility aid. Also Will just ignoring the huge bloodstain on the wall and floor right next to his slipper??? WTF??? Why the hell didn’t he say anything about it? Also, we’ve never seen other clones bleed like this before. I wonder if this remaining Will is actually a clone, but since he survived and real Will didn’t, he became real Will now, so the OG melted into wax.

In previous chapters while Will is talking to Montresor, he constantly has this crazed look in his eyes. Will’s eyes are greyish-blue but you can’t even tell in most scenes because they look so black and small all the time from him being so nervous while talking to Monty, like the toothbrush scene and also Will suddenly becoming religious out of nowhere and telling Monty he’s gonna pray after seeing that Monty wears a cross, then completely doing a 360 and agreeing when Monty shares his beliefs as an atheist. Will’s big fat crush was so obvious tbh.

Annnd now Monty is the nervous one. We see one of the first scenes where Will’s eyes are normal sized and blue. Personally? I think Will is actually going to grow a backbone this time and realize Montresor didn’t treat him well. Clone or not, a part of Will just died, and it the most sensitive and vulnerable part that had feelings for Montresor.

I feel like they’re going to (somewhat?) flip their dynamic, it’s definitely going to be hella awkward between them since only Monty remembers the kiss (…and also Will’s dead corpse melting into the floor while reeking of blood, but uhhh yk 😅), I feel like Montresor will be more nervous now while Will will gain confidence. Lenore said it herself, Monty is always scared. I want to see what happens without his mask.

Anyways thanks for coming to my deranged willtresor essay (is it obvious I have audhd), keep writing fanfics (no, not the gooner NSFW willtresor AO3 fanfics…I’ve already found multiple…I SEE Y’ALL—) and uhhh stay strong willtresor nation 🤑🙏

We're always talking about Annabel's crazy devotion but not half as much of Ada who is also helplessly devoted;

Ada was a maid who fell inlove with a man who couldn't care less for her and she knew it

And yet? She still fell inlove with this man; enough to fall for the first guy who resembles him even though she didn't have her memories

Even though he doesn't like her at all; not even in a sexual way like Thomas did

And when she does get some of her memories back?

She all too easily fall for Montresor who -unlike Prospero- acts so much like Thomas did

Shot out to @lovelyn06 post

So Ada is still inlove with Thomas

The man who killed her (and maybe her unborn baby if she was actually pregnant like another theory -which I don't know where the source of is- suggested)

The man who mercilessly cut her to pieces like Lovelyn06 came to the conclusion of

And she died deep down hopelessly praying he'd come back for her

After everything she still wanted that scum of a man to come back for her. Despite what he's done to her; despite him cutting her to pieces and taking her life

She still wanted him then; and she still wants him now

It's dumb and awfully so very tragic

Ada isn't just helplessly devoted like Annabel; she might just be more devoted than her!

And isn't it ironic that she doesn't have any idea that her queen is not too different from her?

Both of them are so inlove with the very same people who ended up killing them

Hell, perhaps that's the reason on why Annabel both belittled and saved Ada in the chapters 71 and 113; Because she understands what Ada feels all too well

In conclusion: Ada is more devoted than Annabel to a shitty man who brutally killed her and would never give a fuck about her and it makes me feel almost like crying

Jackson's diary preview Chapter 19:

PS:much easier if you read the chapter after or while reading these notes

°uh yes. The satisfaction of exer's plans failing miserably

Chapter 20:

°alright I don't get how David doesn't realize exer likes brenda. It's just too obvious

•ron and David reaction to Jackson's behavior by trying to not associate themselves with him as much is pretty understandable; exer got what he wanted and Jackson accidentally helped him out with it.

Jackson's diary preview Chapter 18:

(Changed this series name because yes)

We left off at:

https://www.tumblr.com/loo011/755474519500718080/so-i-have-a-theory-that-jacksons-diary-is-less-of?source=share

PS:much easier if you read the chapter after or while reading these notes

•honestly if we didn't know exer's being a manipulative ass it would've been nice and understandable of him to tell his friends to give Jackson space but we know the truth; he's only saying that so Jackson doesn't join the reds.

•crazy how exer and Pamela's relationship turned into when it's awfully clear he held no remorse whatsoever for what he's done to her. Quite the opposite he seems as annoyed by her existence -maybe even more- as he is with Jackson.

•once again exer's acting skills are Top Notch! He genuinely looks shocked I can almost believe it

About their memories. Annabel lee isn't just going backwards and lenore forward; Annabel is remembering faster and more compared to lenore

Moreover Annabel remembers the trivial memories, the supposedly less important ones.

For example Lenore would remember Annabel's first and last visits while Annabel would remember lenore showing up as Leo and a casual picnic together.

So basically lenore remembers being inlove with Annabel while Annabel remembers falling inlove with Lenore.

It's why Annabel is so hopelessly devoted and lenore isn't. Lenore remembers Annabel saying she wants her to have a better life even if she(Annabel) is forced into needlepoint. Annabel remembers the why

As much as I hate saying it; I think this is all because Annabel was more attached in life, that she loved lenore more than lenore loved her and it carried into Nevermore.

I swear Lenore's the biggest personification of Katy Perry's Hot N Cold song I've ever seen WHEEEZES

This isn't going to be very nice to Lenore, and in general the "remembering in pieces" mechanic, so just don't click read more if you don't want to see me tear into it thanks.

Like I know we all love to call Annabel a manipulator, and she is, but THIS MOMENT is kind of egregious as fuck to me.

The audacity to call her a monster (AND mad) to her face and then comfort her when she reacts badly over it

The audacity to look at her like this:

and then immediately after do this:

Why is she even saying "I don't know what I'd do with myself" if she's not supposed to remember that they were close?

But then why would she be acting like this if she DOES remember that they're close???

The worst thing is that it's so obvious how Lenore cares for the Misfits but when it comes to Annabel it feels cheap? Like it doesn't feel like there's any connection there other than "I remember I'm supposed to love you but do I actually?" rather than there being any genuine emotions involved. (Is that the point???)

WHERE is the delusion? The "Annabel must have surely had a reason—"

WHERE is the trust?

WHERE is the loyalty? <- truly my biggest gripe because Annabel is so fucking devoted I cannot let it go, I can't LMAO

WHERE is her not actually being as mad as she SHOULD be despite all of her misgivings and thus making Duke and Pluto suspicious as all hell?

Lenore has never ONCE given Annabel the benefit of the doubt and I understand that in the beginning when she knew nothing, but now? NOW? After THIS

Clear realization?

At some point I have to think that the flashbacks we're shown are not things they remember in canon unless we're explicitly shown them waking up to it because THIS

does not make sense otherwise.

Lenore WHY are you not losing your mind here? After saying that you're done with Annabel's whole game?

Go crazy go feral???

Annabel gave you the same reasoning, Lenore. Why are you tolerating this from him? You were manhandling Annabel and inches away from pulling a gun on her but now Duke has Annabel by the throat and halfway past a balcony railing and you're just TALKING?

Lenore tell me. Tell MEEEE!

Is it because Annabel treats it like a "game"? She's being playfully and giggly rather than being serious and "there's no other way" like Duke, even though she said THIS

before.

That's the worst part, really. Annabel has been VERY transparent the ENTIRE time and yet Lenore gets mad over her doing exactly what she said she'll do.

Conclusion to my rant:

What do they remember, what do they NOT remember? I don't know!

Annabel is devoted to the depths of hell even to her own detriment but is that because she remembers or because she's just Like That™?

Lenore is full of doubts and perpetual suspicions, and is willing to call her a monster to her face, but at the same time she sprouts "I don't know what I'll do without you." and jumps off balconies. Is that because she remembers or because she's just Like That™?

What is going ON

It's been a week, give or take, right? So they remember, what? 5 days worth of memories? Unless they remember much, much more than just a singular happening a night?

It feels inconsistent at best and utterly pointless at worst.

Just show us the flashbacks as an outside thing, it didn't have to be organically connected to their Nevermore storyline,,,,OR have them remember everything only when they first go Specre

The master post of my Nevermore analysis

This post has links to all the extensive reviews I've written about Nevermore (webtoon) so it doesn't get lost in the depths of the internet. I'll update it as I write more and I'm going to try to maintain some degree of order in this mess.

Another detail: if you see that some of these reviews contradict each other or are not entirely consistent with each other, it is because I write them as the comic progresses, so it is very possible that one or more of them end up being outdated, but anyway I think it's worth keeping them.

An unnecessarily detailed analysis

These are practically vignette by vignette revisions of certain scenes or moments of the comic.

An incessantly detailed analysis of the (re)encounter between Annabel and "Leo"

An unnecessarily detailed analysis of the (re)encounter between Annabel and "Leo" (part II)

An unnecessarily detailed analysis of Lenore's face when she realizes how gay she is

Literary analysis

Reviews of Nevermore from the perspective of literary theory.

Nevermore is a gothic tragedy. Part I: Classical and Shakespearean Tragedy

Nevermore is a gothic tragedy. Part II: Supernatural Brides

Character Study

These are character analyses. Some of them could fit in the previous category, but I decided to leave them aside because they are much more specific.

Annabel Lee Whitlock: The Hypocrite, the Vampire and the Femme Fatale. A review of archetypes

Lenore Vandernatch: the rogue, the gothic heroine and the courtly knight. A review of archetypes

Montresor is the Bad Ending of White Raven

Montresor is the Bad Ending of White Raven II: Electric Bogaloo

Montresor (and Willtresor) is the Bad Ending of White Raven III: now it is personal

I think the Deans are fucking Lovecraftian gods

Nevermore themed cocktails

Fun fact: I'm a cocktail/mixology aficionado, here are some cocktail recipes based on Nevermore.

Note: the knowledge required for the preparation of mocktails is very different from the knowledge required for the preparation of cocktails. Therefore, while I may occasionally upload non-alcoholic versions of these cocktails, I may not always have the skills to make the transfer from one to the other.

Harlequin

Posh Besties

Stolen Moments

Stolen Moments (mocktail version)

The box of cookies (which has no cookies)

Here's basically whatever nonsense I've burned more time on than I should and don't want it to go to waste.

A detailed explanation from my headcanon that Annabel has ADHD