Character Analysis - Blog Posts

Starscream from Transformers: G1 is autistic!

My favorite thing is when people take something that was /never/ meant to be taken that seriously, and overanalyze it so much that it improves the canon 10fold

i love love love love love names when it comes to character analysis... not meanings (well. meanings too but this isn't what this post is about.) but how they're indicative of a character's identity and therefore their authenticity and trust of other people.

i've been thinking about this with grunkle stan specifically. notice how even after stealing ford's identity he still goes by stan?? yeah. he IS stan pines. by the time the show starts the only context in which he was pretending to be ford was legally. when people think of stanford pines they don't think of the strange man doing god knows what in the secluded cabin in the woods, and why would they?? they hardly knew the real ford anyway. to the people of gravity falls, there wasn't much identity for stan to be stealing. he isn't really lying to people about who he is, he just isn't telling the whole truth. hence stanley vs stanford. yeah?? yeah???

so like. isn't it funny that the character having a legal dispute with him over stealing his home calls him by his supposed full name. gideon doesn't care about stan as a person, he only cares about getting the shack off him. stan is literally just a legal obstacle to gideon. is this anything.

ALSO ALSO. the majority of the fake names he used still have some aspect of his real name in them. this man can't help but be authentic to some degree. literally the only reason he lies about who he is is for self-preservation. he doesn't want to lie to people — he literally risks being found out by using similar fake names just to keep being somewhat himself — but he has to if he wants to stay safe. stanley middle name pines they could never make me hate you.

Satoru.

I love reading analyses on tumblr (always open to recs), hearing others' thoughts, what they considered. It's a bit sad for certain series because of how something *should* be true but isn't. Sometimes it's far-fetched, but with JJK it becomes a mix of all of these things but also a necessity because of the lack of explanation I feel.

That's not a problem, as long as thematically it's consistent, if a character is repeatedly shown to want to be seen as more than their exterior, the name, the power, etc, we should give it to him. Which is why it's so funny to me that some people revolve his character around fighting, or his upbringing, or Suguru, or Sukuna. It's almost like another point for the self-fulfilling prophecy because we do to him in our world, what exactly they do in-universe. Now I'm not saying that these don't define him, they do. But this man acts childishly with his students even if all the higher-ups and people in charge look down on it. He continues to be completely not-hostile to his hostile colleagues (or friends that have known him for years). It's interesting how he doesn't care too much about hierarchy and respect even if that could benefit him greatly.

Sure he wasn't a cat-loving father or a playboy. Maybe he isn't some cunty twink or a simp obsessed with a man from 10 years ago. He was just him, and his as a character first declaring to win and reinstating that just to lose (with a messy fight no less). Then his peers and students and friends and colleagues disregarding him, even in the last fucking chapter. But worst of all, he believed it, he isn't human according to him, and I can't put my thoughts properly but I need to make a series of long JJK analysis posts or re-write it or something because damn is it taking up my time.

Today’s Autistic character of the day is:

Professor Henry Higgins from My Fair Lady

Psychoanalysis of Ranpo….

Ahem ahem

So, in canon, Ranpo's parents died when he was 14 years old. (He was my age by the way), after which he showed up in Yokohama, where… he met Yukichi, and actually… that's how the Armed Detective Agency appeared (Yukichi founded it for Ranpo). What if Ranpo spends most of his screen time acting so childishly because he's trying to compensate for the trauma of his parents' deaths, which prevented him from growing up normally. That is, he hasn't changed his character in 12 years, because at 14 something happened that absolutely broke him and he's trying to fill that gap… that's why he acts so immaturely. Because of the death of both parents, Ranpo wasn't really taught anything, so he doesn't know obvious things and can't even, for example, clean up. Ranpo could have been more serious if he hadn't been traumatized to such an extent that already in adulthood he tries to forget about what happened and simply drowns out the pain. This is not some kind of developmental delay, it's just that Ranpo has a serious trauma that did NOT allow him to grow up normally and he simply remained dependent and lazy (well, almost. He can behave responsibly as we know). Ranpo was not allowed to grow out of his 14 years, so he behaves like a child. By the way, Ranpo practically does not see the bad sides of people who are dear to him. A good example is Yosano. She has sadistic tendencies. And Ranpo notes kindness in her. And what do we see? In canon, it is shown that they are VERY close friends. And … again, this is more typical of children. That's when he is really serious is when something threatens Yukichi or the entire Agency. And the reason is precisely that Yukichi saved Ranpo and he CLEARLY does not want history to repeat itself.

So, I looked at the signs of infantilism, and… Ranpo matches all of them. FIRST! Ranpo almost never takes responsibility for his actions. SECOND! Ranpo has an overly high self-esteem, he thinks that he and only he is right. Of course, this is also connected with the fact that, in principle, everyone is always praising him, but more on that later. THIRD! Ranpo has quite risky behavior. He is always teasing someone regardless of the person's status, almost sacrificing his life for Yukichi, and so on and so forth. In short, Ranpo is a VERY childish person, so the fact that he is like this at 26 is NOT surprising at all. Moreover, the turning point happened at 14. At this age, children are already perfectly aware of what is happening and understand everything. And the fact that Ranpo realized what happened only makes the situation worse. By the way, no one at the Agency told Ranpo that he doesn't have any ability (I remember that he knows about it, I'm just saying it as a fact), and… something like this is common with children. That is, everyone at the Agency is aware of Ranpo's childishness and just puts up with it. They just agree with him and praise him at every opportunity, and the latter happens not only because he's smart even without the ability. They simply understand that Ranpo should be treated like someone younger, although out of the entire Agency team, not counting Yukichi, who is their president, he is the oldest. This is clearly seen in the fifth episode, when everyone at the Agency was cleaning up after the Black Lizards' attack, and Ranpo did nothing (he was just sitting on the table during the attack) and drank ramune. And let me remind you, Atsushi didn't know anything about the Agency team back then, and… just imagine his reaction, Ranpo does nothing and they tell him how good he is. Here it would seem possible to write off that they praise Ranpo because he is smart (for which he is respected in the Agency), but… if you look at Ranpo's reaction… in response to praise he simply starts praising himself and saying that he is better than everyone else, and no one says a word to him, not even Kunikida, who would strangle anyone else for such a thing on the spot. Why does no one say anything to him? Because they understand how traumatized and infantile Ranpo is and are simply trying to please him so that he feels needed. And now I will quote Ranpo. "Because my friends think that I am invincible." That is, such praise gives him MOTIVATION. The Agency is simply trying to motivate Ranpo so that he does not become completely lazy. And, by the way, Ranpo really values ​​them all.

Ranpo has serious problems with society. This is most likely due to the conditions in which he lived for the first 14 years of his life. His father, by the way, was also a detective, and famous throughout almost all of Japan. And Ranpo seems to have followed him, or something like that. Ranpo hardly communicated with his peers, and I did not find any specific information about whether they loved him at all or paid little attention to him. Ranpo was already childish at 14. And then his parents died, Ranpo was left without any kind of care. He studied at the police academy for some time, but he was kicked out because he did not follow the rules that he did not like. As a result, Ranpo was left completely alone. Throughout the novel, he does not understand adults and how this world works. Ranpo CANNOT accept this, because he was completely broken by both the death of his parents and the lack of normal socialization. Ranpo can openly express his dissatisfaction, insult someone, simply because he can't shut up in time. Throughout the novel, Ranpo openly despises adults or something like that, I don't know what to call it exactly. Ranpo says that this world is full of complete fools, most likely meaning… I don't know, the cruelty of some adults? Ranpo, despite his age being close to 30, does NOT understand adults and does not understand their cruelty, because no one explained anything to him. Because, again, he is a very infantile person, he should have been explained this back when he was 14.

If there is anything wrong here, I apologize.

Stupid Kunikida theory because i love him

So, this is a theory about Kunikida's past and why he is so aggressive...Don't rush to kill me, I'm just guessing

Perhaps Kunikida grew up in such conditions that aggression became something normal for him. Nothing is known about his childhood, but... I can guess a couple of details.

Most likely, physical violence was used against him. There is a possibility that Kunikida grew up without a father, because...Rokuzō has a father who dies. Kunikida feels guilty for this and tries to look after Rokuzō. This may be a consequence of the fact that Kunikida himself experienced something similar and simply does not want anyone else to suffer from it. If Kunikida was treated badly as a child and already in adulthood he behaves SO responsibly, then he could have lived in such conditions that he had to grow up early. And if we add the possible absence of one parent (most likely his father), then it turns out that Kunikida had a bad relationship with his mother. This leads to the theory about those unknown 58 points...maybe Kunikida is just looking for someone who won't be like his mother. Even externally. Cuz, look,Kunikida had a short romance with Sasaki. That is, she is technically the only character who somehow fits these 58 points. Sasaki has black hair. Kunikida is blond. Maybe he is like his mother in both in appearance and behavior. Children may unknowingly act like their parents. So, Kunikida is aggressive because his mother treated him that way.

I know, I know. Most likely the theory is extremely stupid and illogical, but... I tried.

i wish so badly that we had gotten to see foreman and amber really really interact cause they're very like eachother in terms of narrative function and character. both of them ARE house, one step removed - foreman is black and amber is a woman, and neither of them can afford to be as messy and reckless as house can afford to be, because they know that they won't be seen as good enough even if they're right all the time. foreman is running from his personal life and feels like an outsider in every situation. amber understands her place and knows that if nobody likes her, she has to be right, to make up for it. both of them have the guts and the brains to be house, but they are just too far removed from the qualities about house that allow him to get to where he is in the world with very few barriers. they're both such fascinating examinations of what you can get away with when you're not at a disadvantage from the beginning

The moment that everyone has been waiting for, I present; why I think Rui is autistic, or at the very least, neurodivergent, the sequel!!! This is the second part to this post that I made a few months ago, so feel free to check it out if you want. - 1. For starters, I would like to talk more about Revival My Dream, as it provided a lot to work with. When Rui asks his mom if he really is different from the other children because that was what his peers and teachers had been calling him due to his intelligence, she agrees and says that he is different from the other kids without specifically using the word "smarter", which suggests that his eccentricities and isolation did not come from his high intelligence alone.

Upon reassuring him that it's alright to be different and sympathizing with his situation, her advice to him was to simply cherish the things that he likes and he would soon find people who support and accept him for him, rather than about his intellectual prowess being in use.

Following this, an interview that he watches, which ends up significantly impacting his mindset concerning shows, uses the term "minorities" among other examples of audiences to express that people can share the feelings that shows invoke no matter how different they are. This wording can imply that he is also a sort of minority, too.

(tl by Arvon Oven on YouTube) - 2. He's blunt / straightforward and struggles to empathize with people. His bluntness is more noticeable during the rare occasions that he's upset at somebody else, with the Main Story and Smile Of a Dreamer being examples of this.

(first screenshot taken from the global version of Project SEKAI; tl by Caramel Subs on YouTube)

There's also a segment during A Once-In-A-Lifetime Pandemonium!? where Taniyama expresses his envy at Rui getting such good scores on tests, which he responds to by saying that it is indeed nice because it means that he can focus more on shows. Taniyama then exclaims that he should at least be more humble.

(tl by tsukasa's #3 fan on YouTube; video is unlisted)

The second point is quite downplayed. Once again returning to Revival My Dream, when he proposes that he and his classmates make a show together that includes one of them jumping out of a second story window to a nearby tree, he's unable to understand why they're so afraid, and even jumps out of the window himself without any safety precautions in place aside from a safety mat to prove that it was safe.

(tl by Arvon Oven on YouTube) I was going to add more but forgot what, so that is it I fear !!! thank you for attending my yap session

"I know Sanji exhibits sexist and transphobic behaviour, but thats because Japan has those issues right now!" Which is why people speak up about misrepresentation in media. You're basically asking people not to speak up and clouding it as "hate".

"I know Sanji behaves inappropriately towrads women including Nami, and even though he did sexualise her body whilst he was in it, at least he didn't do the same thing as Melidoas! And I'm so thankful for that!" 'Thankful' he did the least of bare minimum, whilst still being gross, so not even doing the bare minimum.

The standards are on the fucking floor. Look, we all have problematic faves. Just own it. Own that Sanji is extremely flawed In these departments and Oda messed him up for whatever reason, just admit it. You can still acknowledge that he is a great character in many other ways, but him being a borderline sex offender is a huge rotten piece, especially when you can notice how it just got worse post-timeskip. Don't try to defend it, acknowledge it, own it.

All the Sanji hate...

I’ve done something of a character and problem analysis to defend Sanji against all the hate he’s been getting on tumblr and in forums for a long time now. Both fans and haters could read this, but please try to remain civil as this is my own opinion.

So there are several reasons people usually bring up when explaining why they hate Sanji, and I think anyone is allowed to think what they want. But l also feel that it’s gotten out of hand and with all the hate spreading I have even seen some Sanji fans feel guilty about liking him. I just want to talk about this because I feel like Sanji does deserve better, and most of all his fans deserve better.

I love Sanji and even though I know he has flaws those flaws seem to be exaggerated by those who hate him and I just want to defend Sanji and his fans a little. This is a long rant, but I’m not going to apologize for it. This is my opinion and yes, of course Sanji has faults, but so has everyone else! (Including me and every other One Piece fan out there.)

Keep reading

i was inspired by @vingler-mirror's post breaking down the isokania's matching garments' voice lines, so i made my version of a deep dive into them. my friend said you've got to applaud bluepoch, how do they manage to doom isokania further and further without a single minute of extra screen time and i hard relate. bluepoch when i get you, when i get you, bluepoch when i GET you!

Here’s a quote from a LocalScriptMan video that summarizes why the “Annabel is a Type Six because she seeks out allies” argument is simply not it for me:

“You can tell Six leaders apart from non-Six leaders because Six leaders believe their own propaganda. When they say ‘we have to destroy the whatever’, they mean that shit. They believe in that cause. With an Eight leader or a Three leader, you never know if it’s a psyop, but Sixes? They believe in the thing 100%.” —Writing with the Enneagram: Type Six, LocalScriptMan

It’s a psyop. It’s literally a psyop. She does not believe in her group’s cause and is literally lying to all of them💀

The Case for Annabel Lee as a Vain Type Three

I’m making this as a response to the outrageous fact that users on Personality Database have typed Annabel Lee as an Enneagram Type Six, which ????

I am a Type Six. Annabel Lee is absolutely not.

This is copied from the comment I just posted on there, so don’t worry: I am only plagiarizing myself.

Annabel Lee is a Type Three, likely with a dominant social instinct. Here’s why I think so:

In a situation that is, effectively, a social game, the first consequential decision that Annabel Lee makes is in Episode 9. After Ada has offered herself, as well as a handpicked group of other students, as an ally willing to follow Annabel’s leadership, Ada must clarify one thing before their alliance is solidified—that Annabel Lee is exactly who Ada wants and expects her to be.

Ada is banking on this; within the first two days, she’s gone the mile of sucking up to Annabel Lee, making enemies with Lenore and her friends to “[sort] the wheat from the chaff”, and gathering allies for Annabel’s approval. This is because Ada has clocked Annabel as a social magnet, someone who carries the mark of a leader, and someone with power (because of her class demonstration as the ‘Lady in White’)—hell, she compares Annabel to a queen in their first conversation.

So, when Ada asks Annabel, “[that odd girl Lenore] seems to think that she’s your…friend. Is she?” It is a test to confirm that her expectations are correct: that an elegant, socially powerful young woman like Annabel would not associate herself with losers or ‘class clowns’, so to speak, and, as such, is capable of carrying Ada to the finish line of the game they’ve been forced to play.

Annabel Lee has two options: she can break Ada’s expectations or she can conform to them. Ultimately, Annabel Lee chooses to defend herself by relying on the E3’s particular defense mechanism, which is identification. We see Annabel walk through the academy halls observing and responding to a social environment that seems to favor and admire her, with Ada talking in her ear about how “posh” she is, or how much she’s like a queen, and that she and Ada are “the same sort of person.”

It’s clear, to Annabel, what people want from her, and because she is not like Lenore, who would almost certainly reject any kind of unwanted conformity, and because Annabel has learned that survival means living on the expectations of others, she does exactly that: “…Mn. No. The poor darling. I don’t know what I did to give her that impression.”

A quote from ‘The Complete Enneagram’ by Beatrice Chestnut, which explains identification:

“Naranjo explains that ‘central to type Three is identification with an ideal self-image built as a response to the expectation of others,’ which often starts with the defensive effort to match ideal characteristics their parents valued. Threes defensively transform themselves into what important others—people in their environment whom they want to impress—admire and appreciate. By noticing and adopting characteristics that others regard as valuable, Threes seek to match an external model to assure approval.” — The Complete Enneagram, Beatrice Chestnut

And Annabel commits to this. She does it over and over again, to the point of gaining ire from Lenore herself, on many occasions. Annabel’s reliance on this defense mechanism, and the manipulations and cruelty that result from attempting to maintain a particular image and “win” the social game, is at the CRUX of their relationship conflict.

It is extremely Type Three-coded, which is why I’m baffled that anyone would ever call her a Type Six, as a Type Six myself.

…and that’s all folks. Maybe next week I’ll talk about the outrageous typing of Will as a Type Two when he is a TYPE NINE. Come ON people, what are we doing here

Viktor, in both Arcane and in LoL, despite his character's whole thing is being an emotionless robot.

He FAILS miserably at it, he will always be bound to his frustration, sadness, anger, and anguish. The very emotions that are so inexplicably human.

People complain about how he isn't emotionless in arcane which is really stupid because his character REVOLVES around failing at being NOT human.

He does all these things to get rid of "humanly emotions" yet in the very end his want to get rid of his emotions is also driven by the very thing he wants to get rid of.

He is cursed to be forever human. Born into this world as a human and will die a human death and this is shown in arcane, he died the most human way possible. He died being loved.

How I view Secco

+ My interpretation of Seccolata

Lotta people view Secco in many ways, Here's my take on him, because I do truly love Secco as a character.

For me, it's a balance, he is not entirely alien to the world and knows how to function as a typical civilian but still relies heavily on the support of other people, similar to Hol Horse Secco prefers to always be just below someone, finding it safer than being solo or a leader.

Secco himself is a failure of a person, he couldn't function in a normal society if he tried. He struggles with the boundaries of others and lacks proper communication skills, not to mention his lower intelligence and high temper make it hard to function.

Secco's motives are simple: Protection and Luxury, anything else he gets is an added bonus.

He stays with Cioccolata because of his own selfish desires, he views the world the same way Cioccolata does and it gives him even more of a reason to stay with Cioccolata: They are the same morally. Cioccolata's intelligence and wealth give Secco something to fall back on, something and someone to rely on.

Secco is also banking on the fact that Cioccolata is willing and happy to spoil him, it gives Secco a sense of purpose in a world not meant for him. Feeling loved by someone gives him

Since he isn't that smartest he relies on the intelligence of others, but that doesn't stop him from being a person.

Secco shows the ability to understand and learn. Despite the fact that he struggles with language and speaking, he shines in other areas: Like his combat, he is a beast when it comes to fighting, it's what he's good at. Secco isn't braindead, he is capable of calculating and observing his surroundings in order to make the right call, he's fast when he fights which requires skill, he adapts in order to not make the same mistake twice.

Some of Secco's intelligence shines when he:

Mimicks a Stand-Rush by hitting his elbows against the ground, using the elasticity to make his movements faster.

This isn't as cool but Secco shows a bit more understanding here, he is fully capable of calculating a distance between two things and making an accurate estimate based on his hearing alone.

Again, here he shows quick thinking, adaptability, and understanding of distance. In order to hit the stray sugar cube with the other one, Secco needed to know how hard to spit, the distance of the stray sugar cube, and the angle it was headed In order for his hit to land without him losing both cubes.

(I couldn't get a better gif) but this is basically him using his resources to his advantage, he knows how his stand works and how to use it. He adapted to the situation by changing his strategy in order to catch Bruno off guard.

Stupidity

Despite his combat skills, Secco isn't the best when it comes to communicative skills or situational skills, unlike Cioccolata he acts on his tempers and can easily stray off course when it comes to thinking of things with a level head, he's quick to lash out at others.

Secco's superiority complex makes him believe he is better than everyone else, that no matter what he deserves more, that he will always get what he wants: He's spoiled.

Secco doesn't do well in stressful situations, when put in a stressful situation he tends to freak out and think irrationally, especially when injured. He's so used to having the upper hand on regular people that he can't fathom the fact that someone else can injure him, that someone else is better than him.

He is easily tricked, tricking him in a battle isn't hard.

Secco and Cioccolata's relationship

Before I start with this part, I will say, I am a Seccolata shipper.

Secco is willingly acting as Cioccolata's pet, in no way is he being forced into the role, it's a role he enjoys playing.

My interpretation of Seccolata is that it is entirely consensual on both ends. Not mainly love driven, relying heavily on reliance, self preservation, personal pleasure, and selfish means with a tiny bit of mutual love and affection sprinkled on top.

It's an unofficially unstated relationship, not communicated between them what they are, both keeping unlabeled sexualities. Started as just a beneficial relationship before shifting into something deeper sometime along the way.

It is very dysfunctional and not good 🫶 anyways, onto the headcanons.

Despite his selfish nature and reasons for being with Cioccolata, Secco respects and loves Cioccolata in his own twisted, selfish way.

I believe Secco to be around 29-30 years old, born with a developmental disorder that affects his actions, as well as being mentally ill, past drug usage and past addictions further damaging his development and mental states, the two met after Secco had an overdose and Cioccolata spared him.

Cioccolata isn't abusive to Secco and mostly let's Secco do what he wants: After all, Secco is his pet and he knows the other will always come crawling back to him.

Secco is deeply troubled, struggling to regulate his emotions and seeking comfort and consolation from Cioccolata, who he believes to be incredibly smart and able to fix his problems. Secco tends to lash out and overreact to minor things and requires reassurance and guidance, something Cioccolata can give him.

Sometimes Secco will unintentionally or accidentally harm Cioccolata or speak negatively to him, Cioccolata is mostly unaffected by this part of Secco, though he finds it annoying occasionally when Secco pulls his hair or hits him, even unintentionally. Secco always struggled with keeping his emotions in check and his hands to himself which left him unable to create long lasting and meaningful relationships which is why he clings onto what he has with Cioccolata.

Secco's original motives for following and staying with Cioccolata were selfish, for money, protection, and praise, but somewhere along the lines he grew fond of Cioccolata and the idea of being in power alongside him, growing an attachment to him and his “lovey” and enthusiastic antics, I believe Secco enjoys acting the way he does, being underneath a higher power gives him an outlet where he isn't forced to do the thinking, just the doing. He gets a sense of self worth when he does good, the fact that someone else is so infatuated with him excites him and inclines him to do better, seeking more attention, causing jealousy when Cioccolata’s attention is on something or someone else.

Secco views other people as inhuman, unworthy of a happy life, nothing more than a pest in his way. Which is why he doesn't mind aiding Cioccolata with his sick fantasies, whether it be recording them or taking part in it (Both as the recorder or the test subject)

Secco is almost equal with Cioccolata, freely able to do what he wants and pitch in when time comes, but Cioccolata will always be the dominant power and what he says goes.

Uh yeah, that's all,, probably not the best but yeah 🫡 that's what I think

Thomas {Hewitt}'s Voice

Because I swear he can talk 🙏

Hii - I’ve been thinking about this for a while now: What would Thomas’ voice sound like? I decided to waste my time {watching TCM interviews / bts} so that I could gauge what Thomas’ voice would sound like.

Evidently, Thomas would have an accent reminiscent of those around him. Luda Mae, Henrietta, and Kathryn / The Tea Lady have the most authentic ‘Texan’ accents out of the family, considering those actresses are the only ones from Texas. Hoyt / R Lee Ermey is from Kansas, and Old Monty / Terrence Evans was born in Pensylvania. Andrew Bryniarski {Thomas} was also born in Pensylvania - Which is very evident in his accent in later interviews.

Things to consider: Bryniarski has been suspected of the usage of sterroids and alcohol abuse - Which can alter your voice - This is extremely prevalent when comparing modern interviews to older interviews.

Bryniarski’s voice is slightly nasally, a bit raspy, and on the deeper-end of the spectrum. At times, his pitch is average - Others, it’s lower. His voice never gets ‘high’ when he’s speaking, but it can through non-serious or extreme measures. I.E; When Thomas' leg gets cut {1:19:15}, Erin chops off his arm {1:25:07}.

Speech Pattern:

Thomas' vocal cords don't appear to be damaged, just scarcely used. This could make speaking a difficult and uncomfortable {mentally, physically} task for Thomas. It's a chore rather than second-nature. This also applies to his oral and mastication muscles. The only time he uses his mastication muscles is when he eats - which is AT MAX three times a day. I'd say maybe just two. This would lead to muscle atrophy - weakening or loss of mass in the muscles. When we talk, the neck and tongue muscles {Strap muscles, Thyroid muscle group, Cricoarytenoid muscle group, Genioglossus, hyoglossus, palatoglossus, styloglossus, Superior lingualis, inferior lingualis, vertical lingualis, and transverse lingualis} do the majority of the work.

Considering Thomas' mastication muscles are weaker, he'd {most likely} have difficulty pronouncing "t", "k", "d", "g", and "r". Thomas would also be prone to slurring, mispronunciation, slow speech / common pauses, enunciate the wrong syllable - or enunciate equally, and inconsistent speech / errors.

Here's clips of Andrew speaking on the TCM set - I figured clips of him on / around set would be more accurate to how Tommy speaks JUST BECAUSE Andrew would be in the headspace of Thomas during this time.

{Warning: The audio quality is so ass I apologize 😞}

I think Thomas' voice would be more like Bryniarski's in the third video - where he's talking about Leatherface's relation to the chainsaw | 'Leatherface's best friend is his chainsaw.' {Which I will be making a post about that specific statement.}

Obviously - Thomas would have a southern {Texan, specifically} accent, though I don't know how 'rough' or 'thick' his accent would be. I have an inkling that Thomas would have a rasp because of his weakened vocal cords. Probably lots of depth to his voice, though it wouldn't be excruciatingly deep. Most likely reminiscent of Andrew's pitch - With minor changes depending on the situation, energy levels, hydration, headspace, and how much he's spoken that day {I'm projecting here ☝️🤓}. His preferred form of communication would be minimal, blunt statements, using as little words as possible. Simple 'yes'' and 'no's' would be portrayed through nodding / shaking of the head. Directions would be communicated via pointing.

For example;

"Have you eaten yet? / Are you hungry?" = "You eat?"

"I like green." = "Green, good."

This is NOT because Thomas is dumb - Contrary to popular belief of the town. It's because talking is a chore for Thomas. It's something he has to think and put effort into as opposed to yapping your ear off. He'd also only speak if it was really important. I doubt he'd be a chatterbox, but he'd make noise like grunts or groans - Some incomprehensible sounds that are only distinguishable by those who've been around him long enough. You'll get the hang of it - Recognizing certain sounds correlate with specific experiences or responses. Do NOT try to imitate them - He'll glare and shut off socially; Which is the opposite of what you want if you want to get close to Thomas. {And Luda Mae would beat you black n' blue for making fun of Tommy.}

--

tldr; Thomas would {most likely} have a voice reminiscent of Andrew Bryniarski's - Slightly raspy, heavily molded by a Texan accent and pronunciation issues.

____

The Hewitts are Hypocritical Religious Cowards - Minor Character Study :)

{Literally just these three but y'know - Monty's sleeping as usual with his lazy ass}

I think Luda Mae fears God; Hoyt doesn't..at least not as much. They were both raised the same, by the same people, in the same environment, of the same religion. But Hoyt was - is, a product of sin, in my interpretation. Hoyt was born of sin and will die of sin; Born to commit the sins of his father. Because of his "predestined" behavior, I think Hoyt views what he's doing as either a form of redemption {for himself and his mother} as well as a final 'fuck you' to God. {Inconsistent ahh religious relationship}

its seems almost as if Charlie views himself as someone who's predisposed to hell. "I was born of sin, I'll die of sin - Might as well have some fun." His experiences in the world most likely drove him away from religion and weakened his faith in God overall - Further fueling this mindset.

In some individuals, religion can develop into a form of psychosis.  I don't think Hoyt has that {on the surface}, but Luda definitely does. I doubt God is going to make you burn for fucking up, Jesus didn't care as long as it was genuine mistake. If he did, everyone would be in hell right now. The only reason Eve was punished is because she prioritized herself and her pleasure over the boundaries of God. That's not the same as messing up, people forget that. But in the case of the Hewitts - They chose the same path as Eve - Just more viciously.

The Hewitts {Hoyt more specifically} prioritized family pride over the lives of other people. They'd rather stay on their land than move away. They'd rather be forgotten by society - Kill and consume outsiders, instead of adapting to another town.

Remember the dinner scene in TCM: The Beginning? Just before Bailey dies, as Chrissie's insulting the family. That right there is the perfect example of the family's philosophy.

C: "I have a question for you, it involves the family tree - the lineage, if you will; So I guess this one's for the table: You guys fuck all your cousins or just the ones you find attractive?"

H: "You blasphemous bitch! This is redemption, lady, that's what this is! Oh, you're all gonna pay for your sins, that's right! And especially you."

Hoyt knows what they're doing is wrong - they all do. Yet they reframe it as "cleansing the world of sin." The mindset "we do what we have to in order to survive."

H: "You starve to death, or survive."

Hoyt views what they're doing as means of survival. They were starving to death - which he explicitly says in the 'first supper' scene

H: "Thanks to the good sheriff here, we ain't gonna go hungry tonight. Matter of fact, we ain't never gonna starve again."

____

Dean deserved to die because he failed his country. His fellow soldiers. Morgan, Kemper, Pepper, Andy, Erin, they all deserved to die for their possession of weed and their disrespect towards the family. Chrissie and Eric deserved it for the same reason. Bailey was with those 'disrespectful draft dodgers.' She was a whore, too - Just as sinful in the eyes of the lord.

stfu Hoyt as if you haven't done worse

Erin and Bailey disrespected Thomas - This would set Luda Mae off so bad. SHE LITERALLY SAID "Get her out of my sight" to Thomas in reference to Erin. She's disgusted by them - Disgusted by anyone who insults her, Thomas, {anyone in the family really}, or God.

L: "I know your kind - Nothing but cruelty and ridicule for my boy, all the time he was growing up. Does anybody care about me and my boy? Huh?"

--

E: "What's wrong with you fucking people?"

H: "Nothing wrong with us..?"

L: "Tommy; Thomas Brown Hewitt, you get in here right now! Get her out of my sight."

--

None of them deserved a second chance. As soon as they stepped onto the property, they solidified their fate. The Hewitts view themselves almost as a necessary evil - Angels of Death, if you will. They kill who they do based on how 'sinful' they are. That includes how they treat the family. {Which I doubt is based on 'respect' being one of God's values - I think it's because of how prideful these people are.}

____

Luda fears God. She fears The Rapture. When Jesus walks the Earth to gather his sheep. The day he waltzes into the Hewitt household taking the form of a 'helpless draft-dodger.' When the molded wallpaper and dusty lace tablecloth aren't enough to hide the rotting carnage, seething beneath the decaying floorboards. As he takes his place at the table, looking down at the family -

"This is redemption, lady, that's what this is! Oh, you're all gonna pay for your sins, that's right! And especially you."

You.

The wailing. The begging. The prayers falsely spoken by your forked tongue.

"I'm not gonna hurt you, honey."

Liar.

A shepherd? No, - Vicious wolves clothed in the skin and cloak of the fallen guardian. Harboring the sheep to their intemperate slaughter - You selfishly feast upon.

Did you feel it?

Do you feel it now?

Whilst the blood spilt from between her legs; Staining your sheets - The same ones Mama's washed over and over for the same selfish reasons.

Rewarding, was it not?

Did the screeches of pain exhort you? - Ravish you. It feels good to take what you deserve.

Except you didn't deserve it; Did you, Charlie.

Not by my teachings - and certainly not by your mother's.

"You poor thing; Sweet mourning lamb. There's nothing you can do - It's already been done."

But she deserved it.

She sinned - Did she not?

And sinners don't deserve patience - Nor do they deserve mercy.

They're vessels possessed by the Devil - You were only doing what's best.

Clearing them out.

And the cowardly - I didn't teach my children to be cowardly, did I? No, I did not. You're not a coward, are you, Charlie? Most certainly not - Not with what you've done to serve your country. No; You're a hero.

Heroes don't rape

Our Hero.

Heroes won't yield

My Hero.

Coward.

And cowards heroes like you deserve a special place in hell Heaven.

____

this is so ass 🙏 #yapville

Hiii - As an ode to my first post {Thomas' Medical Analysis}, I thought about making him a 'medical chart'.

Thomas my little microorganism

Not everything on this chart is canon {such as diagnoses dates}

The Basics

Thomas {Brown Hewitt} was born on the 31st {not canon} of August, 1939 - He is currently 34 years old, canon-timeline. Thomas is 6'5 and around 300-330 lbs / 136-150 kgs.

____

He has been previously diagnosed with:

Mental Retardation

Mental Deterioration

Deteriorating {Flesh / Facial?} Disfigurement | Interchanged with: Disfigurative Facial Disease

{Unreadable} Birth Defect {Assumed to be an Incomplete Unilateral Cleft}

Tendencies Towards Self-Mutilation

____

What His Skin Condition Could Be

Cutaneous Lupus {CLE}

Pustular Psoriasis

Severe Cystic Acne

Pustular Rosacea

I'm gonna make this very clear - as I did in the original Medical Analysis - Thomas does NOT have skin cancer. He would not survive. And even if he did, He'd be bed-ridden or severely weakened.

____

What His 'Mental Retardation / Deterioration' Could Be

Depression

Generalized Anxiety Disorder

Autism / ASD {Most likely 'Level 1', also called 'Low-Support Needs', 'High-Functioning', Asperger's}

PTSD

Apraxia of Speech

____

Here's screenshots of the document I made for him 🤓

This is my autism on full blast vro 𓆣

I love how Hazbin Hotel consistently portrays Alastor’s biggest strength as not his raw power, but his mind. In Ork terms: Hez not Brutal an’ Cunnin’, but Cunnin’ an’ Brutal.

In stayed gone, Alastor doesn’t cause the power outage. Instead, he makes Vox so frustrated he does it himself.

In Husk’s flashback, it’s shown that Alastor didn’t beat him into submission- but forced him into a contract via a deal and a game.

In Scrambled Eggs, he doesn’t discount Frank (the egg boi) and uses him to covertly spy on them instead of using his possibly identifiable shadow magic.

And later he leverages the knowledge gained from Frank to get a deal with Charlie and possibly snap those strings of his.

Sure, he’s absurdly powerful as an overlord- but we’ve met characters far stronger than him. That’s not what makes him a threat. He’s a threat because he’s a cunning manipulator who’s startlingly good at reading people and using their wants and insecurities to his advantage.

Overanalysing Konstantin Baragosin before anyone else does because I had nothing better to do, fell into a rabbit hole of character analyses and decided to make one of my own

As some of you may already know, I like «Cyberfarm» and I also like to analyse my favourite characters and why they act the way they do…and lately I’ve been thinking a lot about Robogosin so here’s a compilation of my thoughts on him! Starting with…him possibly being neurodivergent!

Yes, there’s a big possibility of Kostya being neurodivergent or, at the very least, neurodivergent-coded. Throughout the first S1 of the series you can see this guy stimming and exhibiting narcissistic behaviour. The stimming is plain and simple, so let’s talk more about the narcissism thing:

Narcissists simply don’t think about how their behaviour affects others. Obviously, Baragosin considers his opinion the only right one…and, when others disagree with him, he views it as a personal attack, triggering his fight or flight response - his defence mechanism being threats or name-calling. Moving forward - narcissists think nothing of stealing your ideas or looking through your mail…which is exactly what happens in the series. Not only that, but those are what sparked the conflict between our two main characters in the first place. And, even when Kolya tries to "teach his friend a lesson" it doesn’t really work…

Because narcissists are extremely resistant to changing their behaviour, even if it’s causing them problems. Instead of changing something about himself, Kostya turns the blame on others. That’s actually what I really like about the way he’s written - it would’ve been extremely out of character if he drastically changed for the better in the span of the first ten episodes. Not to say that he didn’t even try to change…

It’s just that the only thing narcissists understand is their own needs…and thus, they don’t think twice about taking advantage of others to achieve their goals. Even when Kolya points out how bad that is to Kostya - he still doesn’t truly get it. No, in his world view everyone would’ve done the same thing if they were on his place.

Besides, how can anyone hate the most influential person in the entire galaxy who’ve made so much good for the company?! Yes, narcissists often exaggerate or outright lie about their achievements and talents…while, at the same time, projecting their faults and flaws onto others - just like Baragosin did in that one moments from episode nine.

However - narcissism isn’t the only thing that’s actively ruining Kostya’s life, so let’s move on to the next section of this character analysis.

Let’s talk about toxic masculinity - a thing as fragile as Baragosin’s robot body. This topic was already present in the very first episodes of the series - so I’ll just start with that and slowly make my way to discussion of later episodes, describing what toxic masculinity even is along the way.

Power. One of the many ideas of heteronormative masculinity is that "a man provides", and thus needs to earn money and achieve a high status. That’s the only way for a man to earn the respect of others. From what it looks like, Nikolai never really sought that out…unlike Konstantin. If they invented a truly marvellous invention - they should already test it on humans despite all the risks - only then will they take the world by storm. If Kolya was fine with a quiet farm life if things don’t work out - Kostya didn’t even consider that option. And, of course, he will never cancel that construction on Mars - his company is the only remaining piece of his power, that he clings on to like his life depends on it. And, rightfully so, considering that he already lost everything he had, including his own body. Of course all that is stressing Kostya out, which brings us to…

Aggression and "toughness". It’s believed that men should "act tough". This idea is directly mentioned in the series itself, but let’s talk about how exactly it affects Kostya and his surrounding. From the very first episode we can see how badly Baragosin reacts to criticism…which is why he deliberately surrounded himself with people whom he considers to be lesser than him. And, everytime these people question Baragosin’s authority - he lashes out or tries to get rid of them. Which is mostly noticeable with Pasha and Kolya. Things get a lot more interesting once Kostya’s consciousness gets trapped in a robot. Because now that he has lost his human body, his authority is always questioned. Now that he’s seen as just a "piece of iron" - he’s lesser and unequal to his human surrounding by default. Baragosin always viewed Pasha as a loser and still considers him such…but it’s not the same with Kolya. No, Kolya effortlessly fits into the heteronormative idea of a real man, despite being an unambiguous "softie" and thus not fitting into Kostya’s perception of manliness…which, obviously, pisses him off and results in conflicts between the two. Speaking of…

"Helping" behaviour. Studies show that people who experience toxic masculinity may not want to engage in what’s called "helping behaviour". They don’t want to help people either because "well, what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger" (like in Ilyusha’s case in episode five) or because they don’t wanna risk losing their status…actually, let’s talk more about the latter. As I’m writing this, Cyberfarm is still an ongoing series and we still don’t know much about what really happened between K&K…I do have some thoughts on it though. In the first two episodes, Baragosin mentions the board of directors and how things weren’t as simple and one-sided as Kolya thinks…and I don’t feel like he’s lying. Perhaps the shareholders really are the ones to blame for Kolya’s departure from the company. Though, I feel like Kostya could’ve done something to prevent that from happening and instead he just…didn’t. I suppose back then he was too scared to lose his CEO post and wasn’t as reckless as he is now.

Stigmatisation of mental health. Ok, let’s be real - Baragosin is very much mentally (perhaps physically too) unwell. The man is canonically 40 years old and is still suffering from his childhood trauma - just because he can’t let anyone see him in his moments of vulnerability and thus would rather indulge in alcohol instead of going to therapy or seeing a doctor.

Another "fun" fact about toxic masculinity - men who experience it are either homophobic or suffer from self-hatred due to being queer themselves…which results in them hating the person the secretly love the most, yet wanting to spend more time with them. I’m not implying anything, I’m just saying that…nvm who am I trying to fool here, you already know how I feel about baralibin (kostya x kolya). Not only that but it was recently revealed that the "robocism propaganda" joke wasn’t really an allegory for racism and more so an allegory for homosexuality and how it’s illegal in Russia. I suppose robots can be gay apparently if you reprogram them with a free will of their own. Which is also illegal to do. Wanna know who made it illegal? Baragosin. Who, in the very first episode, becomes a robot himself and embarks on a journey with his FrIeNd to get his human body back…idk guys sounds like a "homophobic homosexual" to me lol.

Last but definitely not least - yes, all of the above stems from Kostya’s childhood trauma and his mom’s neglectful parenting. I don’t even know what to say here because this is explored in-depth in episode seven of the actual series so like…just go watch episode seven of Cyberfarm it’s actually my favorite episode in the entire series so far!

Now, with that out of the way let’s finally talk about K&K. First things first - yes, despite everything that happened between them - they’re still near and dear to each other. Sure, Kolya’s mad at his ex, and for good reason too - Kostya stole his ideas and kicked him out of their own company…but Kostya is still his "only friend" and deep inside his soul Kolya missed him and was happy for Kostya in episode ten (that is until he realised what actually happened back there but I digress). Kolya’s point of view is plain and simple…so let’s talk about Kostya’s point of view.

Kolya is self-confident and better than Kostya in almost every way possible - he’s the kind of person insecure narcissists like Kostya would actively avoid. But, defying all odds, the two were best friends for at least a whole decade…which is very telling to say the least. I don’t think Kostya was just using Kolya for his personal gain, like Galya suggested - no, I feel like he really does enjoy spending time with his ex, even now that they’ve fell out of love. But, unfortunately for both of them - Kostya doesn’t truly understand how much harm his actions are causing to Kolya. And, even when he knows that what he’s doing is wrong - he still goes through with it. Because what other choice he has? He can’t just abandon his wealthy life he’s gotten so used to, can he? Obviously I’m not excusing any of his actions here, I’m just explaining them.

Also I can not stop thinking about how happy Baragosin was to see his friend in the first episode. So much so that he wanted to gift him and his family a ten room apartment, which is probably as far as his kindness for others goes. It is only after Kolya refuses Kostya’s offer and attacks him that Kostya finally shows some resentment towards his ex business partner too, meaning that Baragosin really missed his old pal and just wanted to talk to him…But Kolya probably ghosted Kostya and thus he had no way of knowing what happened to his ex and was surprised to find out that Kolya’s actually that one weirdo from Mars Pasha was talking about. Moving forward - my interpretation of that one "friends are with you as long as they need something from you" is that Kostya didn’t expect Kolya to just…ghost him and move to Mars once he got fired. But he did. So, instead of admitting that he fucked up real bad, Kostya decided that all this time Kolya just wanted to create a business together and now that he’s fired he doesn’t need Kostya anymore.

In conclusion - K&K are both deeply traumatised people who are still dealing with the consequences of their divorce departure. Kolya has a family but doesn’t have any friends…so he invites people to his village and takes home random robots that he then treats as if they were real people. Meanwhile Kostya doesn’t even have that. He ruined his and Kolya’s relationship and abandoned his family, becoming completely lonely and miserable in the process. Now all that he can do is bully others just to feel something. K&K need each other…but don’t want to admit it throughout the whole first season of the series due to their personal grudges with each other…I just hope things will change for the better in the next season. For now though - thanks for reading all that, I really appreciate it

Оверанализирую Константина Барагозина раньше, чем это сделает кто-то другой потому что я сейчас не в ресурсе для рисования и мне было нечего делать и меня вдохновили чужие анализы других персонажей решила тоже что-нибудь такое написать

Как многие уже знают я люблю «Кибердеревню» и мне нравится рассуждать о том, почему персонажи ведут себя так а не иначе. И особенно интересно в последнее время так рассуждать о Робогозине…поэтому данный пост является целой подборкой моих мыслей по этому поводу! Приятного прочтения (eng.version of this will be posted soon too)

Решила начать с близкой мне теме - нейроотличность. Да, Костя скорее всего нейроотличный и мне кажется, что так и было задумано…я бы даже сказала, что его стимминг и нарциссизм очевидные, но давайте разберём второе поподробнее:

Нарциссам плевать на мнение других. Очевидно, Барагозин считает единственным правильным мнением своё собственное, и когда другие ставят это мнение под вопрос а то и вовсе критикуют и осуждают - он воспринимает это как агрессию…а как говорится лучшая защита это нападение. Люди с нарциссизмом также не видят ничего плохого в том, чтобы красть идеи и читать личные письма своих друзей…что мы собственно и видим в сериале и из-за чего и происходят конфликты между главными героями. И даже когда Коля пытается "проучить" друга это ни к чему не приводит, потому что…

Люди с нарциссизмом крайне неохотно меняют свои привычки, даже тогда, когда они сами страдают из-за этого. Косте явно не легко живётся с таким характером, но вместо того, чтобы меняться самому, он винит во всём окружающих. Так что не удивительно, что за первый сезон мало что поменялось и я уважаю создателей за это решение т.к было бы странно если бы всего за неделю Барагозин полностью исправился, хоть и пытался…

Но для него собственные нужды всё ещё превыше всего. Причём в половине случаев он даже толком не осознаёт, что сделал что-то плохое - в его мировоззрении любой на его месте поступил бы также и вообще обижаться тут на на что.

Да и как вообще можно обижаться на самого влиятельного человека во вселенной который сделал столько добра для компании! Да, нарциссы частенько преувеличивают и даже лгут о своих заслугах будь то работа или отношения. При этом свои провалы и недостаки они проецируют на других, как было в той сцене в девятой серии.

Но нарциссизм далеко не единственное, что мешает Барагозину нормально взаимодействовать с окружающими, поэтому переходим ко второй части разбора.

Итак, поговорим о токсичной маскуллиности - такой же хрупкой, как и новое тело Барагозина. Эта тема в сериале поднимается ещё в первых двух сериях, поэтому начну с них и постепенно буду двигаться к остальным сериям, попутно разбирая наглядно что токсичная маскулинность вообще из себя представляет.

Власть. Одна из главных идей гетеренормативной маскулинности в том, что мужчина - добытчик, который должен добиться в жизни денег и высокого статуса. Лишь тогда он сможет заслужить уважение других. Николаю, судя по всему, это уважение других особо сильно никогда и не было нужно…в отличии от Константина. Если уж они изобрели нечто великое - надо сразу испытывать на людях, не смотря на риски - только тогда они смогут покорить весь мир. Если Колю с самого начала устраивал вариант в случае чего уехать в деревню и спокойно вести там фермерскую жизнь - Костя этот вариант даже не рассматривал. И стройку на этом самом Марсе он тоже отменять не станет - потому что компания это единственный клочок власти за который он цепляется как может. Барагозин уже лишился своего тела, без которого его не то что "настоящим мужчиной" не считают, а даже просто напросто человеком - он просто не может себе позволить лишится ещё статуса. Всё это нервирует и раздражает Костю, что приводит нас к…

Агрессия и "твёрдость духа". Считается также, что мужчины должны быть "жёсткими", как и их воспитание. Эта мысль напрямую проговаривается в сериале и тут всё довольно очевидно поэтому хочу поговорить о другом. А именно - как из-за этого Костя относится к окружающим. По первой серии можно заметить, как Барагозин окружил себя людьми, как ему самому кажется, слабее себя. И каждый раз когда они подрывают его авторитет он обращается к ним как к неравным себе и пытается от них избавиться, что особенно заметно в случае с Пашей и Колей. Но эта тема становится ещё интересней, после того, как сознание Барагозина переносится в робота. Потому что теперь, когда он робот, его авторитет подорван по сути всегда. Он буквально неравен Коле и Паше в глазах окружающих. Особенно сильно его в этой ситуации раздражает Коля. Потому что если Барагозин всегда считал Пашу ничтожеством и даже становление роботом этого не изменило - с Колей так не прокатит. Коля не "жёсткий", не стремящийся к деньгам и власти и не доминирующий…и при этом он прекрасно вписывается в гетеронормативные представления о мужественности, причём ему для этого не приходится прикладывать никаких усилий…что, конечно же, раздражает Костю и приводит к конфликтам между этими двумя. Кстати о них…

Нежелание помогать. Вот тут начну с канона и продолжу спекуляцией. Дело в том, что как было выяснено из соцопросов - мужчины которых растили "жесткими" зачастую не желают помогать другим мужчинам. Либо потому что "трудности закаляют" (как в случае с Илюшей), либо потому что не хотят рисковать потерей статуса. С первым всё и так понятно, поэтому сейчас расскажу насчёт второго. На момент написания этого анализа сериал ещё не закончен и мы толком не знаем что именно произошло между К&К, но у меня уже есть мысли на этот счёт. Судя по вкинутым в первых двух сериях фразах Кости про совет директоров и то, что "всё было не так однозначно" - думаю, что в увольнении Коли действительно виноваты именно акционеры…однако Костя наверняка не сделал ничего, чтобы помещать этому и помочь другу. Скорее всего потому, что на тот момент он ещё побаивался с ними конфликтовать.

Стигматизация лечения. Итак, давайте честно - у Барагозина есть проблемы. И много. О чём вообще может быть речь если в 40 лет он до сих пор страдает от непроработанной детской травмы…А всё потому, что мальчикам с детства закладывают в голову, что показывать другим свои слабости нельзя, из-за чего вырастая они, вместо того, чтобы пойти к нормальным доктору и психологу, занимаются "самолечением"…которое чаще всего сводится к алкоголизму, чревоугодию и блуду. Что мы, собственно, и видим в сериале.

Ещё один забавный факт о токсичной маскулинности - многие такие мужчины являются либо гомофобами, либо квир-людьми страдающими от ненависти к себе, т.к токсичная маскулинность это продукт гетеронормативного общества и их тайные мысли и желания в это самое общество не вписываются. Отсюда появляется отторжение, неприязнь и при этом желание проводить с любимым человеком как можно больше времени. Ни на что не намекаю, но…да кого я обманываю, конечно ж намекаю, вы знаете, как я отношусь к баралибину (костя х коля). Особенно учитывая то, что в шутке с "робосизмом", как недавно выяснилось, речь шла не столько о расизме, сколько о гомосексуализме и его запрете в России…видимо роботы могут испытывать такие чувства если перепрошить их на свободу мысли. Что тоже запрещено. Барагозиным. Который потом сам оказывается в теле робота и отправляется в приключение со своим ДрУгОм чтобы вернуть себе свое тело…хз ребята звучит как "гомофоб гомосексуал" хд

Детская травма. Вот мы наконец и пришли к тому, откуда все проблемы Барагозина и пошли. Да, разумеется всё вышеописанное не появилось из ниоткуда и, конечно же, проблема была в воспитании, том самом злосчастном "с мальчиками нужно быть жёстче" и желании добиться уважения. Тут и говорить нечего, т.к седьмая серия целиком и полностью посвящена этому и упустить такое можно только если вы полностью лишены медиа грамотности.

Итак, осталась лишь одна вещь о которой я ещё не говорила и которую решила оставить напоследок. Начну опять с канона и закончу лично моими спекуляциями.

Вот мы и дошли до подробного разбора отношений К&К. Над которыми крайне интересно думать потому, что не смотря на то, что произошло между этими двумя и какие у них отношения сейчас - они определённо очень дороги друг-другу. С Колей всё понятно - он зол на бывшего не просто так - всё-таки тот украл его идеи и выгнал друга из их же компании…но он также является "единственным другом" Коли и в глубине души тот скучает по нему и явно радовался за друга в конце сезона пока не понял, что там произошло на самом деле. Мы видим точку зрения Коли касательно произошедшего на протяжении всего сезона - она простая и понятная каждому зрителю. Однако в этом анализе я хочу разобрать менее однозначную точку зрения, которую нам толком не показали - точку зрения Кости.

Ведь, как я уже писала выше, одним лишь своим существованием Коля его порой раздражает. Раздражает своей мягкотелостью, наивностью, и тем, что даже по словам родной матери Коля лучше Кости во всём…И тем не менее они дружили и к тому же дружили долго, что говорит о многом. Как минимум, если бы Косте правда не было бы дела до Коли - он бы ни за что не показал ему свою слабую сторону и не открыл бы душу, как было в седьмой серии. В моей интерпретации персонажа Барагозин не "пользуется добротой Николая" как предполагала Галя - он правда его уважает как друга. Но, увы, просто напросто не понимает сколько вреда наносит Коле своими действиями. А когда понимает то не может поступить иначе - на кону его жизнь и жизнь их с Колей "детища", которыми он дорожит также сильно как и другом. Всё это никак не оправдывает его действия, просто многое объясняет.

Я также много думаю о том, что в первой серии Барагозин действительно был рад встрече с другом и даже готов был подарить ему десятикомнатную квартиру - что, в его понимании, верх доброты и щедрости. И обиделся Костя на Колю только тогда, когда тот не просто отверг его предложение но и напал на него. Исходя из этого и из удивленного лица Кости в той же первой серии, тот давно хотел встретится с другом, но Коля намеренно игнорировал бывшего партнёра из-за чего тот даже не знал где он и как поживает…Продолжая тему - моя интерпретация момента с "друзья с тобой до тех пор пока им от тебя что-то нужно. поэтому лучше быть одному. тогда тебя никто не кинет" заключается в том, что Костя надеялся что даже увольнение Коли не помешает их дружбе. Однако Коля улетел на Марс и с тех пор Костя больше его и не видел…и тот, не желая признавать свою ошибку решил, что видимо Коле всё это время от него нужен был только общий бизнес.

Подводя итоги - противоположности притягиваются и эти двое притянулись ещё и из-за одной общей черты - К&К одинокие и травмированные люди. У Коли есть семья но нет друзей, и чтобы создать иллюзию френдзоны он постоянно тащит со свалки роботов и зазывает на Марс других людей. У Кости же нет и этого а роботов он использует как козлов отпущения, унижая и калеча их, чтобы испытать хоть какие-то эмоции. К&К в жизни необходимы друзья и они, скорее всего, правда скучали друг по другу…но весь сезон всё никак этого не признают - один из обиды, другой из ЧСВ. Довольно печальная история и как человек у которого в жизни такое тоже было понять могу, но надеюсь во втором сезоне эти двое всё-таки помирятся. а ещё я их бывшими называла не только в плане "бывшие бизнес партнёры"you know-

Something I've been thinking a lot about recently

Would be Eurylochus's line in mutiny, "If you want all the power you must carry all the blame!" Because even though he sings it to Odysseus, it's not about Odysseus at all. That line perfectly encapsulates Eurylochus's own arc, and foreshadows his death.

I'm sure other people have talked about this as well, but I had to comment on it and how clever it is. Because Eurylochus did want all the power. For a while now, I think. That isn't to say he's been power hungry, but throughout the course of the musical he has grown increasingly dissatisfied with Ody's decisions. Especially from Ocean saga onwards, when Polites isn't there to keep the peace, I get the vibe that he feels that if only he was the one in charge, he could get them home. He would never have gotten them into these dangerous situations they find themselves in. It's his coping mechanism - blaming Odysseus helps keep his own guilt about the wind bag at bay. It's probably why he feels he can tell Odysseus about the wind bag, because he feels that it isn't entirely his fault.

Odysseus doesn't agree, of course, and all of this pent up anger and frustration finally comes to a head in Mutiny. Eurylochus yells this line to him, fully believing that Odysseus doesn't deserve to be in charge anymore and he has a point but that's a post for another day. What Eurylochus doesn't realise, though, is that when he takes Odysseus's power from him and becomes the leader, he will be held to the same standard.

So when he chooses to kill those cows, his words become a self fulfilling prophecy. For a moment, he had all the power. He made a choice. And he had to carry all the blame.

Why Chrom Fire Emblem is The Husband of All Time: An Essay

SO. There was a screenshot going around of a reddit thread asking about how Chrom has managed to maintain such lasting popularity as a Fire Emblem husband even 6 years after Awakening came out. Given how beloved he still is another 5+ years later, I could not resist taking the opportunity to talk about just what I think makes him so great and endears him to players.

Character Introduction:

Let’s start out the same way Awakening does—with Chrom’s in-game introduction. This is one of the immediate ways Chrom sets himself apart. The game boots up and before anything else happens, Chrom is there expressing his unshakable faith in the player character. You take down the Bad Guy™ together, he turns and gives you this wide, puppy-ish smile and then you push him out of the way to take the hit from an oncoming spell in his stead. Right away you know this is someone your player character cares about deeply—and clearly that care is returned, because he’s immediately running over to make sure Robin’s alright.

Of course, as we all know, things go south very quickly after that. But as the cinematic plays out, and you proceed to watch yourself stab him in the chest, the *first* thing he does, the very first words out of his mouth are: “this is not your fault”. Chrom has just been completely blind-sided and arguably betrayed by his best friend, possibly his spouse, and his immediate instinct is to absolve Robin of guilt. He is literally more concerned about Robin blaming themselves for what happened than about his own imminent death. That alone tells you so, SO much about the depth of their relationship. It tells you both how deeply Chrom cares and how well Chrom knows Robin too. And not only that, but his final request, the ONE and only thing he asks of Robin before dying is that they will promise him they will escape from this place. In his last moments, his single “selfish” wish is for Robin to assure him that they will do what they can to survive. Chrom’s final request is for Robin to give him the comfort and peace of mind he can only obtain through the assurance that even though he won’t get out of there himself, Robin will. He just wants to be able to die believing they’ll take care of themselves and be alright—and knows them well enough to realize that unless he makes them promise, they likely won’t.

AND THEN. And then!!!! You jump cut to Robin waking up in the field with all the sunshine and Chrom’s smiling down with the softest expression and his ridiculously blue eyes. He lifts Robin up by the hand and pulls them right up to his face (because he has no concept of personal space, apparently) and OUUuuggh.

Those scenes in direct sequence make me so insane. You get Chrom’s life ending with Robin immediately followed by Robin’s life starting anew with Chrom. Chrom’s unwavering faith in them and his eagerness to extend his hand and bridge the gap between them from the moment they meet until his last breath. The warmth and kindness and love that Chrom treats Robin with is communicated so effectively in the first few MINUTES of the game it honestly makes me feel unwell. Showing how profoundly Chrom cares for Robin immediately endears him to the player. And he only gives you more reasons to love him as the game goes on.

Personality:

There can be a tendency in some corners of fandom to simplify Chrom to just being either a generic prince charming type character or a lovable himbo. I’m not here to police how other people enjoy him, but I will say that those characterizations fail to get at some of the aspects of his personality I find most compelling.

Chrom is deceptively nuanced. While there are certainly ways in which he aligns very closely with the standard jrpg protagonist, I suspect that a lot of his enduring popularity is the result of the ways he deviates from it too. He is brave and loyal and cares deeply for his friends, yes. He has profound conviction in his ideals and strives to do the right thing, as is typical for that archetype…but what makes Chrom so lovable is his determination to keep trying to be good in spite of the ways it does not come easily to him.

We see this in the Valm arc, when he’s struggling to reconcile his own beliefs about justice with his sister’s ideals for peace. We hear echoes of it when he talks about the horrors the Ylissean people endured at his father’s hand and how despite that, he has never been able to understand how Emmeryn forgave them for the cruelty they once directed her way. He has so much admiration for his older sister’s ideals despite the fact that peace is not his first instinct. 

When Emmeryn first sacrifices herself, Chrom is consumed with grief and rage, and it takes some time for him to understand why she made the decision she did. “Peace above all else” is just not how he’s programmed to operate…yet he wants it to be. If you count the drama CDs as canon, then that serves as another excellent example as well—where the message of his sister’s sacrifice is so lost on him that his first instinct is to respond to it with violence and prejudice and hatred directed at the very people she sought to reach out to. For a moment there, we see him veer from the person he wants to be towards what we as the player can only assume is the person his father left him afraid that he would become.

And yet he finds his way back. He stumbles, he lashes out, but his love for his friends and fear of losing more of those he holds dear is able to help him course correct.

I love that tug-of-war in him. I love that we get glimpses of the darker paths he could have gone down and that there are tangible consequences for his mistakes. Early in the game, we see Chrom lose control of his temper and how Gangrel and Aversa are able to take advantage of that to officially declare war on Ylisse. Chrom later tells Gangrel that were he alone, he can imagine losing himself in that need for vengeance but reiterates that it’s love that is able to keep him from succumbing to that.

And it’s not only that he’s able to stop himself from being horrible—his losses are the catalyst for him coming into his own as a leader. He’s able to pick himself up and hold himself together to see their troops through the rest of the war. And he manages that despite the fact that in the course of mere days, he lost both his home and his most important person and has been freshly saddled with the duty of ruling an entire country. That’s…a lot. And really goes a long way in demonstrating Chrom’s incredible strength of character and conviction. We get some wonderful moments of vulnerability where he confesses to being riddled with doubts about his own capabilities and worthiness, but in spite of that, he is still determined to try to be the person that Ylisse needs him to be.

All of this leads me right into another wonderful aspect of Chrom’s personality, which is that he is just…so driven by emotion. He feels DEEPLY, and while the narrative definitely uses that as a way to hurt him and force him to grow at times, something that really stands out to me about Chrom is how the story isn’t here to send a message that it’s wrong for him to be that way. Chrom’s big feelings are one of his greatest strengths in addition to his greatest weakness—they’re what saves his life and ultimately Robin’s too, if you go the sacrifice ending route.

And ya know what? I honestly think that’s such a breath of fresh air. I love how much he does NOT embody the emotional disconnectedness that you see pushed a lot of times with stereotypical masculinity. I love that he is the hero, and he's gallant, and very traditionally "manly" in a lot of senses…AND that he's also very emotional and guided by his heart. If you’re playing with f!Robin then you wind up with a really refreshing inversion of gender stereotypes from that: in which Chrom is the emotional decision maker and Robin is the more calculating and logic driven of the two.

Beyond his big heart, I can’t talk about what’s so charming about Chrom’s personality without touching on the ways he embodies a certain level of gap moe as well. Chrom is so stern and serious, as well as quite charismatic when he’s speaking from a place of passion. But on the flip side of that, we get to see him as an absolute bumbling mess when he’s out of his element. He’s easily embarrassed / flustered, self-conscious about his appearance, and often socially awkward where romance is involved. While these traits may seem of minor importance compared to the whole rant above, I think they’re really important for humanizing and rounding him out.

There are lots of other nuances to his characterization that go a long way in fleshing him out too. Despite being a prince, Chrom is blunt and completely unmindful of formalities. That, along with his impulsivity, definitely gets him into trouble sometimes. He’s melodramatic and blisteringly sincere. He’s a little bit clumsy and doesn’t know his own strength. He has a dry sense of humor and can be surprisingly funny. He’s optimistic and trusting—not due to naivete or stupidity but because he has decided that giving people chances and believing the best of them is an important value to him and one that is worth embodying in how he lives his life. 

Lucina’s presence in the story and his immediate and complete acceptance of her is an extremely effective way of demonstrating what an incredible father he is too. Honestly, he just has really wonderful relationships and deep admiration for a lot of the women in his life and that absolutely earns him points in my book (and I suspect in many others’ as well). When you look at all of that together, I don’t think it’s hard to understand why he’s so beloved.

Design:

Slightly less serious note here, but I think it warrants discussion regardless because character design absolutely contributes to player’s feelings about and interpretation of a game’s cast members.

And Chrom is…well, he’s eye candy, honestly. He’s got the nice, exposed arm, the messy blue hair, the completely nonsensical outfit he somehow manages to look handsome in anyway (his questionable sense of fashion is a charm point, okay?). Add in the square jaw and the surprisingly long eyelashes and he’s just. He’s very pretty. Idk what to tell you. Bonus points for the summer scramble cg where he has the most inexplicably flat butt of all time. And I really do believe that some of the oddities of Chrom’s design lend memorability to him and go a long way in setting him apart from other lords in the series with similar design concepts. The insistent asymmetry across many of his outfits, the fact he’s showing a little skin, idk it just WORKS. Chrom is hot, I don’t make the rules.

Relationship with Robin / the Player Character:

Last but not least, I want to talk about Chrom’s relationship with Robin.

I touched on some of this in his character introduction already, but Chrom is just…the biggest Robin stan. If Robin has only one fan then that is Chrom. If Robin has no fans it’s because Chrom is bleeding out on the floor with lightning in his gut. 

He just has such deep respect and admiration for them. He values Robin’s opinion and insight and thinks so highly of them and their ideas, often serving as an enabler in many cases (setting the boats on fire, the volcano, etc.). Chrom’s faith in Robin is SO unshakable that when his daughter tells him that Robin is going to be magically controlled and forced to murder him, his response is, “That won’t happen because Robin and I love each other so much that everything will somehow be okay. No, I will not elaborate.” And ya know what? He was RIGHT. Their bond DOES wind up being so strong that it’s able to change fate. The narrative is quite literally validating his slightly ridiculous insistence that him and Robin just care about each other The Most of Anyone Ever. He is Robin’s biggest advocate from the moment they meet when he defends them from Frederick’s suspicions all the way to the game’s close when he either assures Robin that their life was worth preserving or, as in the case of the sacrifice ending, that he will spend the rest of his own life searching for them until they return.

Honestly the fact that Chrom was willing to potentially risk dooming the whole world to the fell dragon’s awakening 1,000 years down the line just so he doesn’t have to lose his comfort tactician is WILD. For the game’s hero to literally say “we don’t have to defeat this evil for good, the people of the future can figure it out” JUST so he can keep Robin is absolutely unhinged behavior and I love it. I think it’s incredibly humanizing that he’s a little bit selfish about the people who are most important to him…that despite his willingness to sacrifice himself or run headfirst into danger, he draws the line at losing Robin because he’s already lost his most important person once and he’s not going to let it happen again. Chrom and Robin absolutely come across as a little codependent and a lot obsessed with each other and personally I wouldn’t have it any other way.

And then there’s his love confession to Robin. GOd...

I think that’s the most flustered Chrom appears in any content in the entire game…and it’s because he treasures their friendship so deeply that he is petrified about messing it up or saying the wrong thing. I love that he goes into their S support dead set on NOT telling Robin what is going on but the second he realizes that Robin is under the impression he doesn’t care about them or like spending time with them anymore he is so horrified and desperate to correct that line of thinking that he blurts out the full love confession on the spot.

He’s SO earnest throughout the whole thing, but then at the end he hits you with the whole “this is the best day of my life”, and the “You are the wind at my back and the sword at my side. Together, my love, we shall build a peaceful world, just you and me” (thank you Matt Mercer for your services), and the cg image of him staring right at Robin with what are basically heart eyes and. I just. There were no survivors.

That’s not even their only proposal / love confession scene either! The fact that the game gives us an entirely separate alternate proposal that’s more serious in tone is the icing on the cake. How many ships out there can say that they get not one but TWO canon proposals that are both that good? Truly no one is doing it like chrobin.

Closing Remarks:

Chrom is a well written and nuanced character who struggles and grows over the course of the story while always remaining true to himself and his ideals. His intense and unending trust, admiration, and love of Robin endears him to the player from the moment the game begins all the way to its conclusion. He is kind and good while still being fundamentally flawed (and it doesn’t hurt that he’s very handsome to boot). Bearing all that in mind, while the message of Awakening may be that nothing is inevitable, Chrom’s conceit and execution were always going to lead to MANY of those who play the game coming to love him and pick him as Robin’s husband…and there may be no greater evidence of that then the fact I’m out here writing all of this eleven years after the game’s release.

🖤 ✨ 🖤 ✨ Rika ✨ 🖤 ✨ 🖤

Let's start with Rika...

⚠️possible spoilers ahead, be warned⚠️

I can't believe I actually didn't realize that. I mean, I did it. Like 7 years ago, but I had no clue on how to explain it.

Besides it needs from Mystic Messenger Timeline *which I'm still working on, and trying to finish* to actually make sense.

Disclaimer: Please take into account that whatever I say here, it's only my opinion after playing the game so many years. I'm not a psychiatrist or a psychologist, or therapist of any kind. I'm just a writer, who loves to spend time analysing characters and stories.

I did asked to my mom to help me with this and the other characters because of how difficult the task ahead of me was. My mom, who is an actual therapist, did her best to help me, but I did most of the analysis here, since I'm the one who knows the in's and outs of this game. Besides, I did my research and I'll make sure to quote it! So give it a chance and keep reading even if you disagree with me. And then, I'd love to read your thoughts on the topic 💕

Narcissus. Also known as daffodil.

Should I talk to you about the dark side of the flowers and tie it to MM characters?? Anyways, Rika is a narcissistic. But also has a profound trauma. One doesn't exclude the other. Here's a quote from Mayo Clinic:

«Narcissistic personality disorder is a mental health condition in which people have an unreasonably high sense of their own importance. They need and seek too much attention and want people to admire them. People with this disorder may lack the ability to understand or care about the feelings of others. But behind this mask of extreme confidence, they are not sure of their self-worth and are easily upset by the slightest criticism.»

Causes: The cause is likely complex. Narcissistic personality disorder may be linked to:

Environment — parent-child relationships with either too much adoration or too much criticism that don't match the child's actual experiences and achievements.

There are other two, that are genetic, and neurobiology causes, but I'll be focusing more on the environment, which let's be honest, it's what is displayed on the game. If you're interested on reading more about it, there's a link before the quote and, on References, I'll also be leaving every single link.

So let's go back to Rika and please read the next three images while remembering how's her relationship with V, and Saeran. Sometimes even with MC, and Mika.

As you can see...

Attention:

* Creates the RFA. Receives attention.

* Creates Mint Eye. Receives attention.

* Says V is her Sun.

* As soon as she gets tired, says V's killing her and wants to leave

* Wants to mix RFA and Mint Eye. I assume is because despite everything, she feels like she's losing attention on everything she created. And MC is the reason of that too.

They don't choose losers:

V is a millionaire

Jumin is a millionaire

Zen is super sexy and hot

Jaehee and the twins are really smart

Do I need to keep going? Even Elizabeth the 3rd is one of the most beautiful cats ever seen.

Grooming:

Here's the part that keeps bothering me because I realized about it before I could actually explain what it was going on. Seven years ago I decided to play the game, and I finished feeling a bit too weird on how everyone was so infatuated with Rika... it wasn't any other person that just dies and then the group dies too. It was still active two years after losing her (?) Even though they have only know each other for... 4 to 6 years?

Some even less. Like Jaehee. Which randomly brings me to: She's an ENFJ so she does focus on details like Jaehee (Jaehee might be ISFJ, ISTJ or even ESFJ considering how well she manages around people too. But that's another story.) Her enneagram is probably 1.

I can understand Yoosung, but... you know what I mean. It was weird. And once I reached the first VN novel about V and Rika I felt even more weirded out by these two.

I don't think I can pinpoint it but I felt like Rika was manipulating V so I was surprised when I realized some members were tying these two as lovers and a beautiful couple. Do you guys remember V being surprised by Rika quoting "The Sun is the mother of all"?? Yeah... Even back then, for me it was a highlight of how messed up their relationship was. But again, I couldn't exactly pinpoint it. Until, now.

After Cheritz released Another Story, and Rika DLC, many of my theories came true. But still in a disorganized way. Which is why I created The Mystic Messenger Timeline.

I did confirmed one thing:

Rika is a narcissist and V is a people pleaser (that doesn't make him any less villainous of what he is, but I'll explain once we'll reach his profile. I promise.) at least at the very beginning of this story.

She probably has psychopatic tendencies

She definitely has sadistic and abusive tendencies: I have a hard time putting through her whole behavior during Saeran's Route and especially during his AE. But she takes pleasure in hurting others. V, Saeran, MC, Mint Eye associates, etc.

A bit of One on the Enneagram:

It is called The Reformer.

Because Ones have a “sense of mission” that leads them to want to improve the world in various ways, using whatever degree of influence they have. They strive to overcome adversity—particularly moral adversity—so that the human spirit can shine through and make a difference. They strive after “higher values,” even at the cost of great personal sacrifice.

If you think I'm too far off, then please check the levels of healthy and unhealthy Ones can have. They sure ring a bit too much for me on Rika's behavior. From Level 1 to 9, we can see her evolution during the game. But here you have a couple of her worse traits.

Unhealthy Levels

Level 7: Can be highly dogmatic, self-righteous, intolerant, and inflexible. Begin dealing in absolutes: they alone know "The Truth." Everyone else is wrong: very severe in judgments, while rationalizing own actions.

Level 8: Become obsessive about imperfection and the wrongdoing of others, although they may fall into contradictory actions, hypocritically doing the opposite of what they preach.

Level 9: Become condemnatory toward others, punitive and cruel to rid themselves of wrongdoers. Severe depressions, nervous breakdowns, and suicide attempts are likely. Generally corresponds to the Obsessive-Compulsive and Depressive personality disorders

If you want to know more about this, check this.

So, why do you (player) like Rika as character?

Because it's okay, I know people who actually like Rika. I don't, but I definitely don't hate her either...

You don't need to be worried about it as long as you know what she did was wrong. That's it. Now, why do you like her/identify with her?

Things that might, or not, ring a bell:

* Trauma: Rika has a traumatic past. And you might feel like it's a mirror of your past. Hence identifying with it might not be something difficult. Of course this doesn't mean you are leader of some religious cult.

* Her willingness to fight despite having everything at odds. Let's not forget that before she goes nuts and starts brainwashing people, she did a lot of great deeds. Tried to stay positive and all that.

* Her kindness (we can discuss over certain things, but as much as she did terrible things, she also did amazing things, like creating the RFA to help people. Wether she did it with a certain master plan in mind or not, she did helped as much as she hurt and that's the important part.)

* She's just a great villain! It might be hard to understand for some people but you actually just look at her character as what it is, a character, and you're impressed by how many discussions and hot debates she brings onto the table. Understandable!

* Her flower means forgiveness♡

Do you have any other ideas for why you might like Rika? I'd be happy to read them. 💕

Also, this might be one of my last post about her. Might not be the last but I do need to finish with the Mystic Messenger Timeline, and I will but I don't think I have a lot more material to write about. So thank you for sticking with me all this time! I'm linking the main post on MysMe theories I have, I still need to finish tying up all nicely. But we're coming to the end. I'm definitely talking about trauma, coping mechanisms, parenthood, childhood and societal pressures but it'll be in other posts, possibly not even linking them to this one. Who knows? Stay tuned~!

References:

Mayo Clinic - Narcissistic Disorder Personality

Between Narcissistic & People pleaser

Medium - Beware a narcissist with a hero complex

Paired Life - Hero & Narcissist

Enneagram Institute - One

hope and sacrifice.

I need to expand on this more on here because I'm going insane thinking about this.

the main themes in the rise movie center around hope and sacrifice. hope, being a ninjas greatest weapon and what leo ultimately uses to get the team motivated, and sacrifice which leo actively uses. these two concepts are interchangeable and are used to develop this unhealthy view of being a hero.

leo being the prime example of this.

leo is notorious for being a martyr in the movie not because he wants to be self sacrificial and thinks he deserves it (although a small part of him might think that) but because thats what he's been taught and grown up to think. of taking responsibility. of allowing to take hold of the "burden" of caring for his team, for his brothers. he must sacrifice a part of himself in order to be a worthy leader. no more immature pizza stacking competitions, no, leo must sacrifice that part in order to mold into being a leader. he must sacrifice his childhood.

its no surprise leo wants nothing to do with this idea, its no surprise he's constantly rebelling against this notion and not taking it seriously because as much as we have seen leo act dumb and immature, we know that he is smarter than he acts. he knows that being a leader is sacrificing the part of freedom he loves so much. the part that can joke around with his brothers and can allow himself to easily fight off bad guys without worrying because thats not his job. he's just leo.

thats raphs job.

raph has sacrificed this part of himself. his identity is surrounded by being the oldest, being the responsible one, having the "raph chasm", being the leader. raph was born as the eldest son to take the responsibility and with little to no help from splinter (because lets be honest raphs relationship with his brothers is also very parental), raph has had to create this idea of what being a leader is not only to himself but for his brothers. he has created the mold of being a leader from shows, from experiences, from being the oldest. he must sacrifice a part of himself, a part of his freedom, a part of his childhood, in order for his brothers to be safe.

and now his younger brother is being pushed into this with little to no warning.

(now I could go on and on about how the season 2 finale was the catalyst for raph and leos bond and brotherhood to slowly unravel BUT thats another thread.)

the rejection of the leader position from leos perspective makes so much sense. leo is still a kid. this responsibility isn't for him, he's not equipped to make these decisions. thats for raph. thats for the oldest.

which makes why raph is so upset with leo in the beginning of the movie so much more real. all he's known is this great weight of carrying the burden and guilt of his brothers and the actions that could cause them to get hurt, he has taken the fall, taken the blame, and has done so without faltering (kind of). although leo is the "faceman", all of the brothers show some sort of mask to hide behind in an unhealthy way. donnie hides behind his science and his title of being the "smart one", mikey hides behind the fact that he is the youngest and his many dr. personas. leo and raph both hide behind some form of bravado that masks the fear they have for their brothers and their safety. raph uses his anger while leo uses his laid back attitude. both are hiding their fear. their both scared.

this is where hope and sacrifice begin to blur.

casey jr. introduces us to the idea of hope because he essentially is the human personified version of hope. he is future leos last hope. he is what is left of an entire civilization that has now been destroyed. but what is hope without sacrifice. casey jr. has witnessed both future mikey and future leo sacrifice themselves for the greater good. for hope. since this is all casey jr. has ever known, especially with how he grew up (another major theme but ill talk about that another time) the idea of sacrifice is hand in hand with hope. with winning. with being a hero.

so when leo comes back after raph sacrifices himself so leo can escape, casey jr. is more thrilled than anything that they have the key. because they "won", because raph sacrificed himself, because hope is nothing without sacrifice.

and this is again another reason why leo begins to put the two together and create his own warped idea of being a leader.

being a hero.

learning about his future self, of how much casey jr. idolizes him and calls him "the greatest ninja the worlds ever seen", of how he was a leader and led the entire revolution. of how he saved the world by sacrificing himself. its only until raph does the same does the gears begin to turn.

being a leader is about sacrifice.

and so getting thrown into the prison dimension is the responsible thing to do. its the right thing. its the sacrifice that someone like leo believes is what a leader would do because yeah leos the leader now and leaders do whatever they can to make sure their team is safe.

that their brothers are safe.

the words "its not about me" play into this mindset and although by the end it helps leo learn that he needs to put more trust in his brothers and allow the burden of being a leader to fall on more than his shoulders, "its not about you" is exactly the mindset that raph had in the beginning of the movie. and because of this, raph and leo both are stuck in this cycle of responsibility and freedom. of having to navigate between wanting to sacrifice their future of being heroes in order to just live like normal people for a few minutes or sacrifice their own individuality to bare the weight of the world on their shoulders. and with their situation of being literal mutated turtles created only to become super soldiers, they automatically are deemed special and were brought into this world in hopes of fighting against humanity.

A ninjas greatest weapon is hope after all.

an analogical analysis from an intrulogical idiot

as a newly converted analogical enjoyer and orange side/dark side logan truther i feel the need to mention that their arcs FUCKING MIRROR EACHOTHER. I AM SO NORMAL ABOUT THEM. so because i have absolutely nNO life i am going to give you, unlucky scroller, unwitting follower or one of the folks who followed me for invader zim, the play-by-play of these emo nerds.

so

in the beginning (only going from the start of the series) they were admittedly at odds, but not as much as say, virgil and princey or logan and patton. the first time (to my recollection) that they interact outside of the group setting is the negative thinking episode where they debate, in which virgil (to my recollection) receives the first positive feedback from any of the lightsides. now, at this point in the series, logan is still relatively respected and listened to by the lightsides and thomas while virgil isnt, given he's a darkside its not that surprising. in this period logan gets progressively more and more ignored and brushed off, slowly but still, an important piece in this timeline that i dont think is recognized enough is mind vs heart in which is the first of MANY times he is forced to compromise or back down to keep the peace. in the same time however, more and more virgils points are heard out and taken into account and compromised with (dark side of disney, alone on valentines day, etc) for virgil being compromised with is a step towards being heard, for logan being forced to compromise is a means to shut him up.

then excepting/accepting anxiety happens. OH BOY! i feel the need to point out that our bespectacled boy very much does his best to help the situation by providing hard facts that "no anxiety=bad". but the consequences of this episode should also be mentioned, that being, when virgil gains a seat at the metaphorical-but-also-probably-literal-given-this-series table, logan's is all but ripped out from under him. this is shown in the episodes immediately following, in which patton copies logans logo (minor but should still be said), being forced to be stage hand in can lying be good, etc BUT something i skipped over on purpose so i could talk about it here

THE FUCKING NOSTALGIA 2 PARTER (aka 38:33 seconds of why patton is my 2nd least favourite side) now before i continue, do note i am relentlessly biased about how based logan is in this episode because his advice in it prevented my own anxiety spiral SO BE WARNED. so, in this episode logan suggests that partaking in recreational nostalgia could help thomas cope with being reminded of his breakup, this leads to the whole crew (+ janus who was probably in disguise as roman but i digress) going on a field trip to pattons room. this causes virgil to freak out and logan likely blaming himself for hurting his anxious associate because of his mistake (likely associating this with his other mistake of misdefining infinitesimal and that might be why he doesnt like to be reminded of it but thats just a theory A FILM THEO-) so logan leaves and lets everyone else sort shit out, starting a pattern in which instead of causing what he perceives as unnecessary conflict logan attempts to remove himself from the situation at all costs, while virgil becomes more vocal when he's uncomfortable with an idea or plan.

then a bit later things continue going downhill for logan with his contributions being more ignored and solutions dismissed, becoming more vocal, confrontational, aggressive and frustrated when he is pushed aside (sound like a certain early arc anxious side anyone?) this period also features an odd 2 episode alliance between logan and roman that i still dont quite understand but feel like it is worth noting. also during this time virgil generally doesnt show up in an imprtant role for a while for whatever reason (truly the episodes, why do we wake up through learning about ourselves fundamentally confound me) also during the period of crofters the musical going forward logan fixates on being taken seriously more than usual. now one of my least favourite and simultaneously favourite episode.....

LEARNING NEW THINGS ABOUT OURSELVES!!!! MY BELOATHED!!!!!! THIS IS THE EPISODE THAT STARTED MY 3 MONTH LONG PUPPET OBSESSION (DONT ASK)!!!!!!!!! now while i will gladly go into more detail about my thoughts on this episode at a later date i'll do a quick run down. thomas calls out that logan has a temper in the overlap bit (orange side probably= anger temper= logan therefore anger= logan and logan probably= orange), logan rebounds like a goddamn kickball from the prior episode into desperately trying to prove that he is serious, logan is a LOT more resistant to compromise than usual, while virgil just rolls with it when earlier in the series the opposite would be true, logan and roman are back to fighting as usual, and thomas says that virgil doesnt have to go puppet if he doesnt want to but literally everyone peer pressures logan to. i will go more in depth on this episode later, mark my words fam(ILY).

now, the next several episodes (besides are there healthy distractions, which has some adorable analogical btw) follow the format of "darkside pulls up/patton in the plushie episode, puts logan in their crosshairs, silences him for the episode, problem eventually fixes" (listen as much as i ADORE svs: redux, the amount of disrespect for logan in it is lethal to my system)

to summarize

1 for virgil being compromised with is a step towards being heard, for logan being forced to compromise is a means to shut him up.

2 when virgil gains a seat at the metaphorical-but-also-probably-literal-given-this-series table, logan's is all but ripped out from under him.

3 a pattern starts in which instead of causing what he perceives as unnecessary conflict logan attempts to remove himself from the situation at all costs, while virgil becomes more vocal when he's uncomfortable with an idea or plan.

4 logan becomes a LOT more resistant to compromise than usual, while virgil just rolls with it when earlier in the series the opposite would be true

5 thomas says that virgil doesnt have to go puppet if he doesnt want to but literally everyone peer pressures logan to

... am i the only one who sees this??? their character arcs are going in opposite directions!!!!!!!! if we analyze this trend, we might be able to gleam where logans arc is going next!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

A short analysis of the Chapter 3 culprit

I’m not going to fact check what I’m saying and this is mainly just speculation, but I noticed something’s that could make things more interesting.

spoilers for Chapter 3 of course

I think Dr. Yonekura was a neglectful mother towards her daughter Okazaki, and didn’t care about her and only worried about how Okazaki’s behavior reflected onto herself.

One thing that the video Regulation Review made clear about their relationship is that Yonekura doesn’t care about Okazaki. I think this is also shown in how Okazaki viewed her ‘rival’ Tsuno.

Okazaki stated that she wanted to kill Tsuno because Tsuno refused to acknowledge Okazaki and acted like she didn’t know her. She was dismissive and acted like she didn’t care about Okazaki until Okazaki started hurting Wada.

I think Okazaki was neglected by her mother, and now hates when people ignore her. Yonekura only cared about Okazaki when she said that Okazaki made a fool of herself.

Okazaki probably started to act out so her mother would acknowledge her and would give her attention, even if that attention was negative. When Tsuno, someone she thought she had a twisted connection with ignored Okazaki like how Yonekura did? Well Okazaki couldn’t just take this injustice.

I’m not saying this excuses Okazaki of all her actions. She’s a horrible person who doesn’t care about others unless it involves herself. But she is so interesting to me and I want to know why she acts like this. Or well, acted like that.

TLDR: Yonekura was a neglectful mother and ignored Okazaki. She would only give her daughter attention when Okazaki did something that made her look bad. Okazaki started doing bad stuff to get her mother’s attention, and then somehow got tangled up with Tsuno and got the idea that they were “rivals”. (Still don’t know about that). When Tsuno ignored Okazaki, she saw that as a personal attack and started acting out in a way that would get Tsuno’s attention, just like she did with her mother Yonekura.

This was a most interesting and informative post.

You Simple Vile Monstrosity: Rook and the Flowers of Evil

My other two dumb history posts have at least a semblance of fun fact to them, but this is mostly going to be literary analysis and some theory. There's some interesting stuff here sure, but I don't really think it adds much to the overall landscape of twst theories. But it does make Rook make more sense to me so I am making this post anyway.

So without further ado, if you are like me and enjoy reading twst theories, you might know that the beginning lines of Twisted Wonderland are something we have been debating the meaning of since the game came out really. While I think we have been closing in on their true meaning as Chapter 7 progresses along, the phrase "Flowers of Evil" can actually refer to something specific: a french poetry collection of the same name (Les Fleurs du mal in french) by a poet name Charles Baudelaire originally published in 1857. The collection was extremely controversial, but today it is highly lauded and has inspired several other literary works, including a manga series by Shūzō Oshimi of the same name. I found out about the poetry collection while working on this request and finally finished reading it... and another essay by Baudelaire for reasons we can talk about later on in the post. For now let's talk poetry.

Beauté! 100 Points!

I don't speak french, so I read an English translation done by Aaron Poochigian that does contain the original french text in the back half of the book. The Flowers of Evil is split into seven-ish parts: The Flowers of Evil (just containing "To the Reader"), Spleen and the Ideal, Parisian Scenes, Wine, Flowers of Evil (again but with 12 poems this time), Revolt, and then Death. The sections are more or less organized by the subject of the poems, Spleen and the Ideal is the largest with Baudelaire musing over what the ideal concept of beauty is while Wine deals with getting drunk (on wine mostly if you can believe it.) One of the things that jumps out very quickly about Baudelaire's work is that his concept of beauty is almost synonymous with his concept of evil. He writes a lot about maggots eating corpses, about decay, he has a few poems that talk about vampires appearing to be the highest form of beauty but really being husks of rotted flesh; it's all very much about this acceptance that evil is a part of life and human nature, so therefore there must be beauty in it. The concept of "ideal beauty" must by it's nature be divorced from the concept of "morality." When Rook talks about the potential for Leona or Malleus to kill him and how beautiful that would be, I think he means the act of destruction itself would be beautiful. The circumstances surrounding it and the consequences of it are irrelevant to the concept; this is also why while he initially says he cannot find the crimson lotuses in GloMas beautiful Deuce accuses him of doing just that after everything is said and done. He cannot find beauty in Rollo's actions, but the visual and the fight are beautiful because of the effort he and the other students put in to stop them. And perhaps most importantly, it's why he is willing to drink Vil's poison and look upon what is supposedly ultimate ugliness and say "In this moment you are the fairest of them all." Because how could an act born out of such raw and genuine emotion be anything but?

Le Chasseur D'Armour, The Hunter of Love

Baudelaire wasn't just a poet, he fancied himself a critic and wrote multiple essays, the one I read for this post is The Painter of Modern Life. Which is actually a collection of several but they are all related, and I was directed to them by this wordpress post. In it, Baudelaire muses over how things can be both beautiful and ugly, and why:

"Beauty is made up of an eternal, invariable element, whose quantity it is excessively difficult to determine, and of a relative, circumstantial element... which severally or all at once, the age, its fashions, its morals, its emotions."

He was talking about fashion plates that depicted outdated costumes, but his point was more or less that if you strictly look at the design of the costume they look ridiculous: ugly. But when you take into account their historical value (these particular plates were all from the around the time of the French revolution) they become exceedingly important: beautiful. He also mentions in this same essay the importance of not just taking into account the opinions of so called "masters" and sneers at people who think they understand what is beautiful just because they have seen a painting done by a professional:

"... to declare that Raphael, or Racine, does not contain the whole secret, and that minor poets too have something good, solid and delightful to offer... that we might love general beauty, as it is expressed by classical poets and artists, we are no less wrong to neglect particular beauty, the beauty of circumstance and the sketch of manners."

In chapter 5, while helping Vil judge the auditions for VDC, Rook gives every audition 100 points because, well, in his mind they are all an example of perfect beauty specifically because they are the work of amateurs, and that is no less valuable to him or less worthy of praise that the work of the master. Now granted he clearly does value professional quality (he did have reasons for voting for Neige other than being a massive simp. Valid ones even if loosing does sting) but that's only in the context of strict rules and guidelines. When Rook is asked for his opinion, while he certainly does believe there is an absolute, academic definition beauty, he doesn't place any value on where that beauty comes from. Baudelaire muses over how human life "accidentally" puts mysterious beauty into the world, and the true appreciator of beauty must make himself not strictly a poet but:

"...an observer of life, and only later set himself the task of acquiring the means of expressing it... For most of us... the fantastic reality of life has become singularly diluted. [But he] never ceases to drink it in; his eyes and memories are full of it."

I strongly dislike suggesting in these posts that xyz is "the definitive reason" for why a character acts the way that he does, but I do think it is very interesting how well this describes Rook's ethos. He thinks of himself as a hunter, but in order to do that he needs to observe. Sure he takes it to exceptionally extreme lengths, but it makes him one of the most lively members of the NRC cast. Baudelaire is right, there are a million things about life we miss on a day to day basis wherein true beauty lies, but Rook sees all of it. His eyes, memories, camera, and secret photo albums are fit to burst with it.

My Noble and Beautiful Flower of Evil

I mentioned the opening text at the beginning of this post, and I stand by my interpretation that the phrase "flower of evil" it uses likely is not a specific reference to any of the poems themselves... beyond the obvious note that it is a collection of poems about finding beauty in, well, evil and most of the characters are based off of villains.

But there was something that started gnawing at me when I read the introduction to my translation, which was written by a poet named Dana Gioia. It was a very well written summary of Baudelaire's life and the significance of his work, but it mentioned a connection that I have seen brought up in twst theorizing before: Edgar Allen Poe.

You see, Baudelaire was obsessed with Poe. To the point that (according to the introduction) "He considered Poe a sacred martyr for art and referred to him as 'Saint Edgar.' In his morning devotions, Baudelaire prayed first to God and then to Poe."

I have nothing to say on that (because really what could you) but the point that Gioia wanted to make in that introduction was that Poe had a massive influence on Baudelaire's writing style. He wrote multiple essays on his work and translated them into French because he felt like Poe deserved the recognition, so while Gioia used this to argue that Poe's influence on Baudelaire shouldn't be underestimated...

I can't find the post, but someone was talking about how Malleus's mother's name Meleanor is very similar to "Lenore" and I recall people sort of brushing that connection off. I don't that name is a coincidence. I think the poem "Lenore" might very well have been something thought about when constructing her character, and that the themes in Poe's work might be very relevant to the overall story of Twisted Wonderland.

Something about ravens and telltale hearts just feels like they fit; maybe we have got it all wrong and Yuu's visions aren't coming from the mirror in Ramshackle, but the floorboards.

Semi- Unrelated Fun Facts:

If you read the name Baudelaire and thought to yourself it sounded familiar, you might have be thinking of the Baudelaire children from A Series of Unfortunate Events. This isn't exactly a coincidence as the author of the series admits to his writing being heavily influenced by Charles Baudelaire to the point he actually wrote the afterword to the translation I own.

Dana Gioia is the former Poet Laureate of the state of California, something that deeply confused me. Apparently the Governor of California appoints someone to a 2 year term and they travel around the state to promote poetry and literacy which is apparently something that 46/50 U.S. states and D.C. does to????

My glorious motherland of Pennsylvania is not one of these states, apparently we only ever appointed one, then eliminated the position entirely after he retired, and then started just. Handing out ones to people in individual cities and counties. Which is so par for the course here I don't know why I am surprised.

One of the first things any college level literature course will try to drill into you is that you don't examine the life of an author when examining their work. It might sound silly, but I think Baudelaire is a great example of why that's important. The man was addicted to drugs and sex, refused to get a "real job", lived off his inheritance from his wealthy father and eventually whatever money he could convince his mother to send him his entire adult life, and had her use her political connections to bail him out of legal trouble multiple times.

If I thought too hard about that it would make his lines in "Skeleton Laborers" (Nothingness is treacherous.//Even Death is a deceiver.//Alas, forever and ever,//work may be awaiting us) fall terribly flat, which I think does them a disservice. The man was very talented and I am glad he wrote them because I felt very seen when I read them.

Baudelaire opened his publication with a note to the reader, but he made it a full poem entitled "To the Reader." I liked the ending stanza so much I used a version of it to title my blog, and eventually my current masterlist: (Boredom! Moist-eyed, he dreams, while pulling on//a hookah pipe, of guillotine-cleft necks.//You, reader, know this tender freak of freaks-//hypocrite reader-mirror-man-mytwin!)

Likewise the title of this post is also taken from part of a poem, "Hymn to Beauty" (Beauty, you simple, vile monstrosity,//I cannot care about your origin,//provided that your gaze, smile, feet show me//a sweet infinity I have never known.) I think that fits Rook's ideals rather well, don't you?

An analysis of A Human Condition by @crypt-idkeeper while you wait for the next update!! They’ve done a seriously amazing job with this! Come check it out and enjoy it! 🥰🥰

Bill’s relationship’s part 1

yet another analysis of a human condition, this time in parts :3

I wanna start off this ranty analysis with the relationship between Bill and Mabel, especially after chapter 28, I think it provides some wonderful examples of their relationship, and for the moment I will probably mostly focus on said chapter due to its relevance and recency.

Within this chapter we see Bill attempt to manipulate Mabel in a way we’ve yet to see, one that more resembles how he would control his Henchmaniacs and even other followers he’s had in the past, one that has no other purpose other than to fuel his fragile ego and remind said followers of their worth to him. This is obviously caused by the recent events regarding said Henchmaniacs, Bill is hurt and he’s feeling weak, so he turns to his usual attempts at power play to hold himself above the only member of the family that seems to respect him, at least in his eyes. This could also be an attempt to distance himself from Mabel emotionally as to allow him to continue to manipulate her. And of course, when this fails, he returns to his old habits, and tries to buddy up with Ford again, something he seems to repeatedly do when he feels emotionally isolated, but this isn’t about Ford.

We as the readers have known Bill has had a soft spot for Mabel since he backed out of hurting her further in her mindscape in an attempt to hold further power over her through fear mongering, some might say his emotional dependency on Mabel started when he saved her life, and while I might agree, I see that event more as him keeping his options open with just a hint of that emotional value, one where he sees her as similar and chooses to help, perhaps in a way that mirrors the guilt he may feel for Euclydia, though I may be pushing it there.

Mabel choosing to help Bill understand what it means to be human, or his condition, if you will, is an obvious extension of her guilt towards her previous actions and her analytical nature, sure she’s not as observant as Ford or her Brother, but she’s more emotionally intact than they are and less stubborn for that matter, after all she forgives pacifica quite quickly in the show, and in this fic this appears to continue, choosing to spend time with her outside of the main plot. She’s not nearly as scared of Bill and because of this she sees him for what he is, what Stan is beginning to see him as, pathetic, and ill informed, like a neglected toddler taking his frustrations out on his daycare attendants, yes, he needs to be supervised, but he needs to be supported even more so, and he needs to be taught.

Mabel however foolish her family thinks it is, has undoubtedly begun to trust Bill, but she seems to know how to handle herself against him, I mean the immediate deflection of his recent manipulations shows how surprisingly capable she is, yes Bills approval seems to be important to her, but she doesn’t need it, she has the support of her family, something Dipper didn’t think he had when Bill gets to him in the show, and something Ford certainly didn’t have prior to the show, Bill prays on the weak, and Mable is far from weak.

The way this chapter ends with this connection between Mabel and Bill going from what it was, cautious and not without independent values goes to one that now surpasses this, one where Bill has found a reason for human relationships, one where we as the readers can feel that perhaps Mabel will be safe around him, that perhaps his ill intent will fade as his understanding of human emotions and connections continue, as he starts to separate love and fear. What I found strange was the authors inclusion of their minds embracing one another, it’s a very intimate action that felt out of place for Bill, but the descriptions reminded me of Euclydia, that perhaps this form of bond mimics how Euclydians would engage in such physical contact, such embrace, something unique to Bill, something that truly shows the evolution of their relationship and how dependant he is on her.

My final topic of interest is how Bill didn’t shy away from Mabel after Dippers rant to him, after Dipper got into his head Bill didn’t attempt to manipulate her, didn’t distance himself for his own emotional gain. To me this says that Bill craves this emotional connection, and even if he believes its fake, or believes it to be temporary he will still put in the effort if he deems it important, if he thinks he needs it, even if he tells himself he doesn’t he holds these people close, Mabels sweater to him, now serves another purpose, the same purpose as his hat, and the atom from his home, it’s a reminder of his connection and relationships, although the atom is probably more a manifestation of guilt and the hat is something that pushes him to seek power, due to the sacrifice of wealth it symbolised for his family. But the sweater, that’s just connection, human connection, a form of unnecessary care, something to fill the void the other two items make.

In writing this I was tempted to make this more of an actual analysis with quotes and facts to provide evidence more than the statements that I have made here, however I still enjoyed it and I feel the other parts will be the same, but perhaps when this fic is complete, I shall honour @sapphosscribe with a proper analysis or five :3

People are ANALYZING MY CHARACTER INTERPRETATIONS?!? 🤩 Actively trying not to get a big head about this. ☺️ @crypt-idkeeper has written this lovely post about A Human Condition. Check it out! Incredibly flattered to be analyzed. 🥰🥰

a moment of appreciation for 'A Human Condition'

this fic is by @sapphosscribe and believe I discovered it when there was only 8 chapters, there is as of now 24 chapters and I need to consume it, it is my preferred alphabet spaghetti and probably my favourite fic of the moment, when it's complete I plan to binge read the entire thing from start to finish.

what I really want to discuss today, is how bill specifically is written, and maybe in the future the pines family, cause it's written in such an enthralling way and deserves to be discussed.

many fics struggle to really capture Bill and his motivations though since the Book Of Bill I've seen a drastic change as each version people make of him gains more depth as the mysteries behind the character have now come to forefront he's no longer just this sadistic character with an unknown backstory.

the book of bill brought to light just how pathetic of a character Bill Cipher really is, despite not understanding love he seems to crave it just as much as he does survival, he wants to be adored and he needs to be important.

@sapphosscribe chapters this essence in their work and almost every action Bill makes is for his own survival in one way or another, it's very reminiscent of how characters that feel defeated try their best to seem confident and full of spite. Bill is very spiteful and finds joy in bringing those he's villainising in his mind (the pines family) pain or discomfort and despite how confident he tries to come off he's constantly flinching away from Mabel when all she's doing is trying to be nice, he antagonises ford and stan until they both physically harm him just so he knows he still has some power and he continues to threaten dipper, because dipper is the most scared of him, he needs to be in control, and he needs that power now, cause that's all he has. but he has basically nothing over Mabel accept in her dreams, which as of chapter 24 he no longer does, as she is now somewhat aware of what he is doing, and before that he is scared of her physically, until he is aware she can be useful and is basically harmless.

what I find the most compelling is how the author is able to recreate this sense of almost 'loyalty' that bill has towards those he has connected to, this confusing blur of selfless action he doesn't quite choose to do that remind me of when in the Book of Bill, he gives Ford 3 days, 3 days that confuse him, he's never given anyone such a large bracket of time to obey, and this action confuses him so much, that he chooses to get to drunk and waste those days away, getting so drunk that he forgets his own mother has been dead for at least a million years. I see this being replicated in how he treats Mabel in the fic, saving her life instead of taking his chance to escape and when he hurts her in the dreamscape, there is a moment where he feels actively guilty for doing so, even just for a moment. sure he wants to use her in a way that actively represents the quote from Alex Hirsch where he says "My concept is that Bill genuinely believes Mabel is kind of like him. he sees Mabel a chaos agent." but isn't that also a similar reason as to why Bill liked Ford, in chapter 21 he says "you know how it feels, to be the only one who can see the stars." directly addressing what made Ford special, he saw him as being similar to himself, he sees Mabel as being similar to himself and it causes empathy, sure Ford currently isn't giving Bill reason to empathise due to their negative relationship, but Mabel is, and we're seeing Mabel actively gain his trust to a point where he almost doesn't want to hurt her. A similar thing seems to being happening with Stan, not only is Stan beginning to compare bill to Wendy and Soos but they've actively bonded over their similarities, specifically criminal activity, Dipper is the only person in the family he is yet to bond with in some way, including Wendy.

further Soos and Melody bringing up Bills depression to Ford in this most recent chapter is very interesting, I mean he's clearly unstable and yet Ford refuses to believe it's not of his own volition, that Bill is just Bill. but like why can't an interdimensional demi god esk creature, be unwell. mental health isn't just human, even dogs and cats can become depressed or mentally unwell, and surely the more cognitive load and ability, the higher the likely hood of mental anguish, aren't people known to have the most realistic views of life society also seen to be depressed and constantly negative? he has every right to, he was literally poisoned when he was child and can't remember his home dimension due to the trauma of destroying it and at least in the Book of Bill he has convinces himself he was the hero, that he "liberated" them.

additionally as someone with sensory issues myself, Bills experience of being human, and learning what it means to feel, and eat, and tire, is very relatable and it makes sense why he would feel so weak now, the last time he had to deal with these feelings, was back in Euclydia, when he was in most definitions 'weak' and different, when the sensation of the "feelers" of other shapes was to much, when his medicine hurt and tasted gross, when the only person on his side where societies rejects, or his own mother. so obviously he stops trusting food when it makes him sick, like he did when his parents fed in 'medicine', obviously he takes control of his senses by inflicting pain on himself, and when he miss judges and painfully bangs his hip on the bathroom counter, he refuses to show Stan he is in pain, he feels like pray when he used to be the predator.

either way I absolutely love how this story is written and how Bill feels real, I mean, technically he was never really real, not physically, not in their dimension, but now he is, and now he is confined to their life, and Stan mirroring Bills complaint about the human body, "you think I want to be?" that anyone wants to be human, to be stuck in this incredibly mortal flesh? it's gorgeous, and I praise @sapphosscribe up and down for this lovely creation and I'm very excited to see where this goes now.

I hope to continue these rants, cause I love this fic.

My Take on the Hero of Time's Personality (Adult Era - 19 Years Old)

I don't really see many characterizations of Time being arrogant besides like...joke videos on YT and shitposts, I personally think he's a bit of an ass in a way that Revali is, annoying but loveable. I think he'd be arrogant, partially because as a kid he was made fun of by the other Kokiri (though mainly Mido and his gang) for not having a fairy and dreaming of leaving the forest, something that was strictly forbidden to the others because they would perish. Since self-confidence isn't much of a concept to younger children, I feel as if he didn't understand why he felt bad about being different and thus, developed insecurity and low self-esteem. Another reason for his arrogance is probably because he doesn't want to be seen as weak. He was the only one that experienced the time jump between 'current' and 'future' Hyrule, but for him they were empty years. He wanted to seem like he had actually did something in those 7 years, so he tries to show off his skills so he doesn't seem like a fraud to himself, and weak to those around him, especially his enemies.

Annnnywho here's the blurb of his actual personality I came up for him, I kinda put it as a summary:

Link is an adventurous spirit, always trying to find new places to see and new things to do. Even so, he’s not good at navigating, and oftentimes gets stuck in a situation he threw himself in without thinking.

Link is also very impulsive, and he tends to say things he may (or may not) mean to people. He likes to joke around a lot, even if he’s supposed to be serious, due to the fact he still has the immaturity (and some innocence) of a child from the 7 year time skip from pulling the Master Sword.

Link is quite confident in himself as well, and he often likes showing off his various skills, even if he’s not as good at them as he chooses to believe.

Despite these traits that could come off as annoying or negative, he still will help others in need, even if it's begrudgingly so. He has a very strong sense of justice, as he fights with his heart and soul to bring an end to the darkness and evil that has taken its hold on Hyrule.

Link cares about the people around him genuinely, even if it doesn’t seem to be the case for some people, or if he jokes about or around them a lot. He tries his best to consider everyone’s well-being when he does things, though he doesn’t do a good job at it most of the time.

Link sometimes exhausts himself to finish something if he’s close to reaching a goal, as his thoughts are that ‘I’m just that close, I might as well finish’.

Link is also quite intelligent, even behind his seemingly dense act he puts up sometimes if he just doesn’t want to do something. He sometimes doesn’t think about his surroundings, and often misjudges how far things are from him, even with his perfectly normal eyesight. Oddly enough, he is overcome with fear in a lot of situations, but as the bearer of the Triforce of Courage, it gives him the strength to pull through and continue fighting, no matter how scared he may be.

When he is scared, he hides it behind a confident bravado, seemingly unfazed and fearless, despite the fear and anxiety within.

Link also has a softer, more relaxed side, that usually shows when he’s alone, out in Hyrule field, or at Lon Lon Ranch, oftentimes helping Malon with the horses. (He…also goes there to see her anyway.)

Link gets fired up in an angry determination when he sees that the people he cares about are in potential danger, or when Kokiri Forest has been overrun by monsters.

Overall, Link is a slightly immature jokester with a heart of gold.

I think I'll be posting the Hero of the Wild next :)

Something curious that I’m not sure translates well when it comes to Karamatsu’s painful fashion is his infamous sunglasses. In Western countries, sunglasses are as functional as they are cool, and lighter colored eyes are more prone to sensitivity toward the sun. Dark brown Japanese eyes are typically more resistant to the sun. For a first hand account, when I wear sunglasses in Japan, I always receive stares for doing so. You will not see a lot of sunglasses there outside from (usually) young people wanting to make a fashion statement. 

Because eye contact is so important in Japanese communication (it’s how emotions are understood), I find Karamatsu’s sunglasses especially interesting as he is someone who resists being his “true self” (i.e., when his cool guy voice cracks). Whether or not this was intentional or just him following Western fashion trends the same way he picks up English words is anyone’s guess, but I thought it might be interesting to point out the anomaly in his fashion and perhaps part of the reason why people find it so cringe-inducing.