#Character Study

[patchwork-crow-writes]

You've put together a very compelling argument here! I'm a horned headband truther myself, but you're absolutely correct that there are a number of incongruities that come with the idea of Ralsei being a fixed object, that him being a literal shadow (or the concept of shadows, even) explains very neatly! It's very elegant and eloquently argued, and I find myself agreeing with a lot of your points.

The sticking point with Ralsei being anything completely incorporeal like this, however, is that it takes the one thing that ties him to Kris - his resemblance to a Dreemurr - and renders it entirely arbitrary. I like the idea that he has chosen to look the way he does, as evidenced by the "seen it before" dialogue in chapter 3, but if as you say he has this angst surrounding how he appears, then why doesn't he simply decide to base his appearance on anything else? It's clear that Ralsei holds significant respect and regard for Kris particularly, even above Susie, so it's clear that he is tied to them in some way that hasn't yet been fully revealed, and I feel that significance doesn't hold as much weight if he could theoretically assume any appearance he wishes.

So, with this in mind, I'd like to suggest a compromise theory - Ralsei is based off the horned headband, BUT IS ALSO based upon the empty space INSIDE the headband. This would allow for him to shapeshift in the manner he does, while also keeping the significant tie to Kris that he's demonstrated throughout the chapters we have so far.

Take a look at all the forms he assumes - the one commonality between all of them (excluding his "downed" sprite) is the presence of his horns - they poke through his Chapter 1 hat, they're present when he's a horse, we can even see hints of them in his other costumes that have hats - they're the one constant and his most distinctive feature. And when do we learn about the horns? Right before Chapter 1 ends when we talk to Toriel, which occurs right after the moment Ralsei takes off his hat and reveals his bright pink horns. It seems intentional on the developers' part to let players draw a connection between those two things.

Him being the horns doesn't explain his shapeshifting abilities... but when we consider the space inside the headband, and the concept of pareidolia, we have an explanation that allows for the coexistence of both theories. Pareidolia is the phenomenon of seeing patterns where none exist, most commonly ascribed to seeing faces where there aren't actually any. The shape of a headband suggests the presence of a head, even when no-one is wearing it, so from there it's not a stretch to assume that Ralsei is able to morph his shadowy form around his physical horns to assume whatever shape he desires, or more likely whatever is most convenient for a given situation (remember how incredulous he is about being the Horse in the cowboy minigame - it seems that it wasn't his choice to assume that form). This would explain inconsistencies in his appearance such as his more hairlike ears in Chapter 1 - it's only the horns that are constant, while everything else changes around it.

Of course, the sticking point for the headband theory is that it fails to explain how Ralsei can travel between dark worlds without apparently having to be taken through the light world first. This presents a conundrum that the shadow theory handily solves, because shadows are everywhere and are dependent upon light to exist. But there is one explanation that allows for headband theory to be viable in this case, and that's the idea that Kris found the headband in the closet when they first met Ralsei, and it is now on their person in the same way that their knife is - an object that they own, but we as players do not have access to. This would allow for Ralsei to be wherever he is needed, as long as Kris is there too, and it also explains how Ralsei never turns to stone in any of the worlds - he doesn't belong to a place, but a person, and as long as that person is nearby, he is able to persist in any world.

I'll be the first to admit though, that explanation is clunky and inelegant, and doesn't account for all cases (such as, how is he able to stay with Susie in Castle Town while Kris goes to get the ball of stuff from the abandoned classroom in Chapter 2). It also relies largely on us not being able to disprove the notion, rather than on any tangible evidence we can point to in order to prove it IS what's going on. On that front, shadow theory wins here, hands-down.

I'll conclude by saying that, we don't really know 100% what Ralsei's deal is, so there's absolutely every chance that I'm wrong and he could be a living shadow, as you theorise here. Honestly, of all the "Ralsei doesn't have a physical object" takes I've come across, this one is the most convincing and the most well-put together, and I'm seriously impressed with your rigour and dedication here! You've certainly made me consider Ralsei from a new angle, and that can only be a good thing in my book, so very well done and thank you for the enlightening essay! :D

hm. dont usually put my own two cents for theories but somethings been kind of annoying me recently so yeah. ralsei thoughts.

i really dont like the idea that ralsei is a specific object. especially not with newer stuff from chapters 3 and 4.

For starters, most people that try to figure out what ralsei is in the real world are basing it off of this appearance

however, I feel like there's plenty of evidence to point to this not being his real form, right? People have already pointed out that his original shadowed form isn't fully consistent. It's possibly the most obvious when you compare his singing animations in both forms. His hat form makes what was later 'revealed' to be his ears look more like hair?,

Ears don't really split the same way that hair does, and theres other examples of hatsei having this kind of spikyness to his 'ears' that hatless ralsei doesnt have.

even the fangamer plush makes his ears spiky!!

its a pretty major part of how hatsei looks, and its certainly been talked about before. And then comes chapter 3+4. And we have plenty of evidence that ralsei is a shapeshifter, and I have seen literally nobody talk about it????? huh?????

Oh, and the hat casting a shadow on him makes no fucking sense because he goes onto wear SEVERAL hats in chapter 3 and he's normal????

also I know its like. A funny bit, but HE TURNS INTO A HORSE

WHY THE FUCK WOULD KRIS'S HEADBAND TURN INTO A HORSE???? WHY WOULD A GREEN CRAYON TURN INTO A HORSE???? WHY CAN HE DO THIS????? THIS ISNT A COSTUME THATS NOT HOW THEY WORK????? WHERE WOULD HIS BODY GO.

not to mention that changing shapes was literally his ability in the legend of tenna game???? he plays it off like 'oh every character has abilities i can turn into a box' but he can also turn into a dog? since ralsei was the only one who read the manual it very well could be an ability given to him since the real Ralsei is also a shapeshifter.

It would also explain why ralsei draws himself in his hat form

thats closer to what his natural form is. Dont have any screenshots on hand right now, but he's got two lines in chapter four (if you leave him lying on the ground for too long, and right before they find the first fountain) about how much longer he can 'keep this body for' that make it very obvious that he's only using a form that looks cuter to appeal to us. Him being a shapeshifter would also explain things like

His face being a deliberately made abstraction would also make this interaction make a lot more sense. Pre chapter three, I assumed Ralsei based his face on Asriel to either try appealing to Kris or as fanservice for the player/red soul, however, now that we've slowly started learning more about Ralsei, it's beginning to seem more like Ralsei just wants to have a face and more distinct appearance, like the lightners do. However, because of how dark worlds work, he can only base it off of what already exists, with that already existing 'model' being Asriel, although with modifications to make himself cuter— pink horns and eyes, and his usual glasses. It's why Kris is always quick to point out differences between them, and why Ralsei is embarrassed at being told that they look similar, he didn't have a choice other than be based off something that already exists.

Alright, so Ralsei is a shapeshifter. He still has to have some equivalent in the Light World though, since that's how Dark Worlds work. He was literally about to tell Susie what he was before getting interrupted, and Toby Fox is deliberately dancing around the topic.

However, I think the answer is actually pretty obvious. Ralsei is a being of 'pure darkness', which is why he can exist in any Dark World, unlike Lancer and Rouxls, who need to be objects that 'belong' in their respective worlds. His form is made up by the original dark fountain, and he describes himself as a 'Prince of the Dark'. Characters in the Dark World know about what happens to and around their real world equivalents, but Ralsei in particular seems to be especially aware of all of Susie and Kris's actions and movements. He doesn't need to be brought in by Kris like Lancer and Rouxls do, and he always appears in the Dark World a few moments after Susie and Kris do, while somehow almost always having pretty intimate knowledge of how the world came to be. Ralsei is also the most adamant on being depended on by Lightners, even more than people like Tenna. He talks about how a Darkners role is to be used by Lightners and to make them happy, and his character development in Chapter 3 especially goes into how he wants to be needed and how he's afraid he's slowly developing his own personality, and why he believes darkners shouldn't do that.

So, taking all of that into account, I feel like the most obvious answer for what Ralsei is is a shadow.

He's a literal prince of the dark. It explains why he can shapeshift, since shadows can be made to look like anything— I'm specifically thinking of things like shadow puppets, and why when he gets knocked out he seems to literally disappear, returning to the shadows. A shadow is also the most dependant on light, shadows literally cannot exist without light, or they'll just be darkness. It even explains his empty room.

His insistence that his only role is to help the Lightners, the way that people can never find anything notable about him (asking swatch for specials his suggestion for Ralsei is based purely on how he dresses and Queen literally forgets to get him a cage), and his ability to be in any dark world (since there's literally nowhere without shadows) all seem to point towards Ralsei being a shadow.

Ralsei being a shadow also means he's literally with you in the dark, could probably straight up not exist if the world was plunged into darkness, and also makes him a weaker version of a titan (explaining the 'prince' title. not quite king, but noble nontheless).

[kfuyu]

the fact that riddle is a perfectionist all product of his upbringing under his overbearing and controlling mother who imposed rules in every single aspect of his life and as a result he internalized the belief that following rules is the only way he can be accepted or valued and thats why he enforces the Queens rules so much, his strictness does not come from malice but more from fear of failure and rejection and emotional vulnerability because control is his coping mechanism which is why his relationship with his housemates/classmates is so important because he starts to soften and listening to what others tell him and ackownedging that freedom has value too without abandoning his love for order, he now leads with fairness instead of fear

[reekiiroo]

i care them

study of the l4d2 cast

[internerdionality]

Snippet from Wonder—Lawrence and Bellini talking about the last ballot

“You clearly heard the Holy Spirit’s message, however,” Bellini continued. 

“I… suppose so,” Lawrence said awkwardly. He was ashamed to admit how little striving for holiness had gone into his thoughts during that last, momentous ballot. But a moment later he chided himself for such a prideful dissimulation. “No. Not then, at least. To be honest, Aldo… I’m afraid I wasn't especially trying to hear the Holy Spirit at that point. I didn't think it would matter—I was as certain as you that I was about to be elected. I wasn’t about to vote for myself again, after what happened the first time, that’s all.” 

Bellini cast him an incredulous look and then—to Lawrence’s surprise—he started laughing. “I’m sorry,” he gasped, between paroxysms. “I just… I didn’t realize—you’d just voted for yourself—for the first time—when the explosion… But you don’t think you heard the Holy Spirit?” Bellini slapped his hand down on the table several times, his cackles turning into gasping chortles as he began to run out of air. “At least God didn’t see fit to slap me quite that hard upside the head!”

[lilithine-vmp]

A Superbat comparison study fic (?)

grumpy / sunshine, very Bruce centric.

not sure how comic accurate or canon this is but please enjoy anyway. constructive critisism welcome this is my first time posting my writing.

Batman is dark and moody and guarded and spiteful, he is so compelled to do good and help others so that they dont have to feel the sadness and trauma he felt. He took in 7 kids because he didnt want them to be alone and hurting. he longs for a big happy family and doesnt care that theyre dysfunctional because theyre his kids.

Superman is good, he is goodness personified. he is kind and a gentle giant, hes a farmboy who loves his ma and pa and listens to silly emo pop punk and thinks its hardcore. but hell yeah its punk rock to be kind, and to care. He's not technically human but he has so much humanity, he makes mistakes and he has insecurities but he keeps smiling and being a becon of light and hope.

Bruce is stuck between who he is and who he can be, hes Batman— reserved, analytical, and sharp, the worlds greatest detective. hes Brucie Wayne flirty, flamboyant and a playboy, really its a wonder someone so airheaded could maintain wayne enterprises, but then again hes no more than a figurehead now, right?

but who is Bruce? without the masks and personas... who is he when hes 8 years old and his parents died and hes left with their family manor and name, with only Alfred to look after him. When hes devoting his youth to training to become a hero and rid gotham of crime. Who is he when he becomes the batman at only 20 but creates and has to keep up this vapid persona. When hes on some date and sees the Flying Graysons fall, when he sees a little boy haunted by the death of his parents the same way he was. when he sees the same devestation and need for revenge that he felt so he takes him in hoping to heal something within them both. who is he when he watches his robin grow up and then leave him, when he finds another troubled kid and takes him in giving him his sons name and then months later watches his second robin die.

Who is Bruce with his past and his masks and his family who he tried so hard not to fail. He isnt so sure anymore, parts of Batman and Brucie and Bruce, hes smart and hardworking, hes afraid to love to much because he knows how much it hurts to loose so he flirts and pretends to be no more than his money so no one gets too close. but still he cant help himself from taking in a troubled teen in need. he wants to do good but hes haunted by darkness, he is a bat afterall.

But Clark Kent is so entirely sure of who he is all the time. hes a kansas farmboy through and through, hes clumsy, hes inquisitive and a damn good reporter and he cares so much. Hes Kal-el kryptonian sent to earth to protect and serve goodness so he became Superman. Superman who is almost indestructiblly strong but he didnt want to cause public panic or fear from his superhuman abilities, he didnt want to scare the kids hes trying to protect so he wears bright colours and silly trunks to appear more friendly. He is hope and light and a better tomorrow, he needs the yellow sun to give him his power, but to metropolis he is their sun.

[azycheese]

Spencer wanted to become a God for his own personal gain, he wanted to become one in the aristocratic tradition , to possess the divine right to rule over others, go back to the times of kings and kingdoms.

Wesker understood what it meant to become a God and heavily calculated what it took to become one, he surpassed Spencer’s vision of Godhood . Power wasn’t something he was intent on acquiring unlike the founders of umbrella, he was just a human device set up and programmed to solve a problem, devoid of any personal desires . And he did just that, he figured out what made God , well the entity that it was ( thing is this whole ordeal was rigged from the beginning because God’s creations are unable to grasp what he truly is, so am guessing Wesker did the best he could with what he had on hand ) .

At the end of the day Wesker acknowledged that becoming a God wasn’t just limited to obtaining power. God is all powerful but he is also many other things, and that’s what Wesker delved into and tried investigating about.

“Only thing that can defeat power, is more power. That is the one constant in this universe. However, there is no point in power if it consumes itself.”

"The right to be a god? You? Arrogant even until the end. Only one truly capable of being a god, deserves that right. The right... with Uroboros, I have that ...”

Technically speaking, Wesker didn’t fail, he just chewed on more than he could swallow, and we all know who’s fault that would be ( the individuals that set him up on this path to begin with ). He’s no more than an artificial intelligence you ask questions to, if you order a robot to jump off into a pool of hot lava despite it signifying its destruction, it will do just that, because it’s got only one objective to follow through with , and that’s what you program it to do, it doesn’t acknowledge it’s lifespan because it’s not alive to begin with.

Wesker wouldn’t have stopped until he had become dead, what he was subjected to wether it be by the indoctrination he was put through, the life path he was set on or the vision the capcom game developers reduced him to, he was always destined to carry it out until the very end.

He’s a plot device. That's what purpose he serves. Him being biologically alive in the franchise is just meant to throw you the viewer and the characters he interacts with off.

[iamyourwayout]

We talked about it so much with @bloodandbutts - he made a little handy map for me <3

We decided that Remmick was probably moving through the Southern states (which is interesting he didn't explore more in 21 years he's been in America), cause it's been eating me alive trying to figure out if he was telling the truth about North Carolina.

If he lied, I assume he picked a state further apart from Mississippi so the jukers would be less likely to see through his act.

We know that he is canonically messing up the accent / slang, so they are already onto him, but throwing out a random state gives him plausible deniability.

Tho (and I am not a history buff, so I am parroting other pll I talk to) The Appalachian and Irish have some history - so it was probably intentional.

And I personally believe he was on the ship on purpose, trying to create another family that he majorly fucked up, as per usual.

You think Remmick was actually in North Carolina before he got to Mississippi? Do you think he was accidently on the Celtic Hare and just rolled with it?

i think he'd been travelling a whole bunch because if i was a vampire i'd be really bored with all the time i had, so he was probably going around america harassing whoever he wanted and turning whoever he pleased, so it is most certainly possible he had been in north carolina before he got to mississippi at all, however that leaves open ambiguity for whether he went straight to mississippi after north carolina, or went to some other state after being in nc and THEN got to mississippi. or he lied because he's devious like that, but he's over multiple centuries old so he's been at some point during his time in america i'd assume

but he was most certainly on the celtic hare on purpose, i don't personally see him making such a drastic change in environment just on a whim, + perhaps he found that he'd have more acceptance in america than he would his own colonised land

a whole lotta nothin i hope this makes sense holy yap

[patchwork-crow-writes]

Holy WOW.

Like, you think you know how badly Kris's life sucks. Divorced parents, brother off to college, no friends, some strange higher power hijacking their body and going off on adventures without them... but hey, at least they're able to take some control back from us sometimes! At least they can go off and eat all the pie in peace! At least they can open a dark fountain in their home so they can spend more time with their cool friend Susie! Yay! I'm sure they're just leaving the door open for the cops to get in so they can save the day!

And then. AND THEN. Chapter 4... happens. And everything we thought we knew about Kris crumbles to dust before our very eyes.

Those snatched moments from the player? They weren't the triumphant grasp at freedom we thought, but another, yet more insidious layer of control that has been exerted upon them. Because for the end of Chapter 3 to have happened, a few things had to be prepared - the TV had to be plugged in, Susie had to come over, the tires had to be slashed so the police would be called, and the door had to be left open so that the Knight could gain entry - not the police, but The Roaring Knight. The Enemy.

And make no mistake - they didn't want to do ANY of it. Drinking in the Holidays' kitchen... the way their head turns whenever Susie or Noelle mentions them... Carol's ice-cold hand on their shoulder ("in the shadow of the Knight's hand")... do any of these things indicate Kris as a willing co-conspirator? Or rather, a child who has fallen into the clutches of a very manipulative - and very real - authority figure, who is being groomed and coerced into performing dangerous acts that threaten the lives of not just their friends, but their family, their town, and quite possibly the whole world?

We knew that Kris Dreemurr's life sucked before this. But we could never have anticipated just how badly it sucked, just how little control and agency they truly have, in any aspect of their life. This situation has been going on for MUCH longer than we've been around - you can tell that much from the birdcage. Their situation is so utterly, catastrophically FUCKED that death seems the most preferable outcome for them.

Remember Susie noting how Kris responds to Queen's offer to "Perish" with enthusiasm?

Remember the way they crumple onto the floor when Spamton NEO is about to kill them and take their SOUL, not even attempting to fight back?

Remember them whispering in Susie's ear in "the_newest_girl_girl"?

...yeah. It's THAT bad.

And you have to wonder... if we were never shunted into Kris's body... if we didn't literally FORCE Kris to move, to go to the dark world, to Fight and Spare enemies - to FORCE them to play at being a hero, in spite of their situation... What would have happened?

Would Kris even be alive now, if not for us?

[shitpostingsapphic]

"Caitlyn never verbally apologized" no, she did so much more than that.

She betrayed Ambessa. She let Jinx go. She led the battle against Ambessa in the finale. She lost an eye and nearly died. She gave up her seat on the council to Sevika so that Zaun could be represented.

Does it fix everything? No. Systems of oppression aren't fixed with a handful of well intentioned actions.

But Caitlyn DID feel remorse and DID make attempts to reverse her wrongdoings.

Did you want Caitlyn to change, or did you just want her to be punished?

[qvert]

So uh... I've been busy... studying

You know any of the times I've complained about Vis secret soft ingredient? Well I certainly hope/suspect I've learned smth after this :D

Things I have definitely learned however:

Despite being the small one she is still just 2/3 legs which is INSANE

Her chin is way more pointed than I thought!

Her Hair is also usually bigger than initially thought

Eyebrows are always crunched :D

Her shoulders are quite slim actually! Bulky and round but still kind of slim!

Biceps for days though :))

And very cute butt

...No 6pack actually but im SO okay with that - give that woman some nutrients

At this point I hate those bandages almost as much as Caitlyn probably does

[insert-thenewbl-here]

I'm about half way through this video.... hoo boy.

I wasn't able to "buckle down" as much as I thought I would. but I've been working on this every doay since announcment so I WILL finish it! I might finish a smaller video first as I have started other video ideas too. we'll see.

so this week I'm crammed and can't work on the Max video at all.. but I'm still dedicated to finishing it asap. here's a propper sneek peek for all 2 people who care ;)

(if the audio is poorly leveled it's because I can't do the leveling until the very end) I can't wear headphones)

also, tell me if ya think my voice is slow enough to add music or if ya think it's fine without it.

I talk about him in a meta text only in the begining lol, the rest of the hour is him as a character

[severepink]

Observing Adam

Where I go way too deep into something that probably isn't that deep. It's long, it's long as hell.

Okay, so you'd think with how Adam talks he's just a typical misogynist, right?

This man worships pussy. So much so, he's named a whole ass angel, one of his best, Vagina. You'd say that he objectifies them and thinks of them as being lesser, but I don't think that's the whole story. In fact, I think he might be the original simp.

All of these exorcists so far have been women. All of them. He refers to them as ladies or bitches interchangeably, he sees them as being completely capable of absolutely decimating leagues of some of the most vile beings who have ever existed, and they have, to the point it was only after thousands of years that there's been a risk to this hierarchy.

He's a self-centered, egotistical, loud-mouthed, arrogant asshole, no doubt about it, but I'm beginning to suspect something now.

If Adam and Lilith were created from the same dust, if they were created as equals, I am more than willing to bet... Lilith is also a self-centered, egotistical, arrogant asshole. But, she's likely far more intelligent, composed, and duplicitous.

Lilith was allowed to refuse Adam and leave of her own free will and garnered her own independence. A new wife was created for Adam, she was replaced. My guess, is she thought Adam wouldn't be able to live without her, to come back and find herself replaced entirely, she was enraged.

I believe both Adam and Lilith were both incredibly dominant individuals who fought over ideas, thoughts, and ultimately in the bedroom as well, if we take into account the creationist stories.

I'm willing to bet she likely manipulated Lucifer into twisting humanity against its original concept. What if Lucifer's intention truly was to just spark something within Eve, like independence and thought and creation, but it was Lilith's poison within the fruit that tainted her, then subsequently Adam, with sin.

Lilith thrived in hell, while Lucifer's dreams of creation were dashed. She didn't suffer as he did, instead the power of her voice grew with hell. Her voice grew so powerful that heaven found it to be a threat, her actions instigated the beginning of exterminations.

Charlie said that when she was a little girl, she didn't know Lucifer at all. I don't think this was because of Lucifer, he's seen here, picking her up, inviting her to share in his thoughts and dreams, showing her something wonderful. Something she could see within herself.

Charlie says that it's this moment that sparked her will to fight for her dreams. Which is strange, because at the very beginning of the story, Charlie says it was her mother's dream that was passed down to her.

Lilith took Charlie away. In this scene, Lucifer wasn't done showing Charlie his thoughts and dreams, he's still yearning to show his daughter these things at this point.

Lucifer loves his daughter. He loves Charlie so, so, so much. So why wasn't he allowed to build a relationship with his daughter for the longest time? He was waiting for the opportunity to get to know her, but with how much he adores her why didn't he do it sooner? He didn't comment on 'It took you a while-' he just said he missed her smile. They don't want to be pulled apart, again.

Now, we know Vivziepop has said that Lucifer and Lilith love each other, but Lilith 'wears the pants' in the relationship. We see all of the pictures all over the walls of a supposedly happy family. I don't think the relationship was as loving as originally portrayed and Lilith is a woman who desires control above all else. She likely tried to mitigate what influence Lucifer had over their daughter when she thought his angelic thoughts and behaviors became more than what she approved of.

Lets take it back to Adam and Lute for a moment. Again, Adam is a loud mouthed idiot, he's a jerk. The moment he realizes there are demons in heaven, he's ready to go on the attack. It's only because of Lute that he didn't end up doing something absolutely idiotic.

I gotta say, Lute and Adam's relationship is an absolutely fascinating one. He's a disrespectful dick head in how he talks, but how he acts is a different story. He allows Lute to man-handle him. He does listen to her, even if he's a whiny bitch about it.

Look at him, this is the face of a man listening, a dumb one, but a dude listening all the same. He doesn't manhandle her back, he doesn't even pull away until she lets go of his collar. Of all the shit he complained about, between being grabbed and being told what to do, his biggest complaint is that she's telling him to shush.

We know that Adam is the one who suggested the exterminations to begin with, so Sera says, and this was because of the power that Lilith was amassing. To him, Lilith is a threat. Even when he was willing to move on, to go to another wife when Lilith didn't want him or want to submit to him (fair babe, he's a bit of an idiot), she came back with an angel and proceeded to manipulate his new wife Eve. This is the supposed progenitor of man-kind, the original dick (hilariously enough), the reason civilization even exists at all. He and Eve had to fight for their lives after being tempted with the fruit. They had immortality, they had no ideas of shame, they were supposedly 'innocent' creatures before Lilith and Lucifer came along. He and Eve had to fight tooth and nail to survive after being cast from Eden. I think it shows in how willing and ready he is to take lead and do what he believes needs to be done, now out of a need for entertainment rather than a need to defend or protect. But, he still stopped to listen to Lute's advice. In the mythological story of Adam and Eve, Adam is the one who has to tell Eve that god said don't eat the fruit. Eve never heard god speak to her, so she was vulnerable to the snake's manipulations. She will now die because she ate it, and because she did not want Adam to take another wife, convinced him to eat it unknowingly. Funnily enough, Adam tried to explain to god that 'she lied to me and gave me the fruit' and in this actual mythology, Adam was punished for listening to his wife. Even without mentioning Lilith in the original mythology, Eve didn't want Adam to take another wife, so when we consider it within the context of Hazbin Hotel, it may be likely that's how it went down. Eve knew of Lilith, knew that she could be replaced, and decided that she would take Adam with her.

I believe that Adam does and did rely on the women in his life to help him with direction. I think Adam knows he can be an idiot and is willing to listen, even if he doesn't agree with what he's hearing. He did listen to Charlie in the beginning, he just didn't believe in her, like everyone else and he, out of anyone there, probably had the most reason not to. Cain and Abel were his and Eve's sons, his own child became the first murderer. Out of jealousy, the same kind of jealousy that no doubt has caused Lilith to act how she did. Adam isn't going to have empathy for sinners. His family, his legacy, were filled with the original sinners. He probably had to kill his son Cain in hell during the first exterminations. What do you think he would have had to feel, if it came to be a fact that sinners could be redeemed? That maybe his son, could've been redeemed? Or any of his progeny for that matter? How did it feel when his sons, his progeny, weren't given the same mercy as the Hellborn that Lucifer managed to keep protected through some deal with the angels or god? Not to mention that Charlie could've been his daughter. Charlie is the product of the people who completely and totally destroyed the paradise he'd been born into. She's the daughter who is protected and immune from the slaughter while all of his sons and daughters are judged and killed. I believe, even though he was a dickish prankster to Charlie, he was surprisingly patient and even somewhat amicable, willing to even ask her how her weekend was like he was just trying to get to know her.

Adam could just see all of the angels under his employ as being disposable. He doesn't have to name them, or think about them in any individual fashion. But, he knows Vaggie, recognized her instantly. Thought she was badass. Lute's the one who saw her, tore her wings off, and walked away. I'm surprised they even let her live, because this just goes against everything they're doing. They're an army and they saw one of their own showing empathy to the enemy.

Look at this dumb ass. He's being a shit-head, a dick, a bastard. But, he admires Vaggie's ability to pull Charlie, congratulates her, this dude isn't even judging her for being a lesbian. I don't think it's because he objectifies women, this dude loves women, he just does. He respects fellow vagina lovers. I don't think he respects liars in the slightest though. He's being underhanded, he's trying to be manipulative (he's not very good at it). I think he's brutally open and honest about everything and that's probably one of the reasons he's such a bastard anyways, because sometimes you just need to shut-up and he's not good at that.

I don't think he respects Sera for that either, he's more than willing to let others know what the hell he's doing, but under Sera's lead, he can't be open about it. I don't think it's his jam to act this way, it's why he sucks so bad at it and I think that's why Lilith is so antithetical to him. I also think that's why he's possibly even being manipulated.

It's kind of crazy that Adam is the only one who tries to come up with what allows someone to get into heaven. So here's his list: 1. Act Selfless: Maybe at one point he was! He had to have been, to be one of the progenitors of mankind, he would have had to work, sacrifice, and give to his wife and children for them all to survive. Eve would have had to do the same, no doubt. He may not seem selfless, due to his raunchy behavior, but he's served heaven since he's been there. He's served humanity in some kind of facet. 2. Don't Steal: Considering the only other humans are his spawn, he likely had to try and get them to not steal from one another for them all to have an equal opportunity of survival. He and Eve likely both knew they would need to work together to survive.

3. Stick it to the man: This, however, is interesting. Who is 'The Man' he speaks of? God? The only other people over him or were equal to him were women. He speaks like a rocker, and I think in this case he's using the term 'The Man' in a gender neutral way. I think he allowed some amount of Authority to Lilith when they were supposed to be seen as equals, it comes so naturally to him as a character when it comes to the other women he's been interacting with. I think she is the 'man' that he's been sticking it to- Pun somewhat intended. ((This third one may also simply be a tongue in cheek reference to when Alex Brightman played Dewey in School of Rock on Broadway! Thank you to the user who brought this to my attention!))

Adam is a bit of a hypocrite, isn't he? He likes to fuck, he's made that abundantly clear. Full of lust you could say. It was his original purpose after all, and he is judging Angel Dust for something he probably would've done himself at one point or has considered doing (maybe not the having sex with men part). Angel Dust does all of these things, Adam doesn't even deny it. He even looks nervous. He's angry, but doesn't deny that Angel has done those things. He doesn't explain it away or try to lie or move the goal posts, he's just asking what is an actually very valid question.

Why isn't Angel Dust there if he can do things equal to what Adam himself hasn't done? Serenity continues that line of thought. It isn't until Charlie is realizing no one knows what it takes to get into heaven.

Adam is more than willing to let Lute take the lead here, he's willing to give her the stage to clap back, he's giving her back-up antics. By all means, they could be pushing and fighting one another, there could easily be body language expressing something other than their general comfort around one another. They aren't fighting for a spotlight like you'd expect Adam to try and do considering his egotistical attitude.

Adam fucking sucks at keeping his mouth shut and he sucks at lying. He nearly blew the secret out of the bag once, this time, Sera is the only one who tries to stop him and to be honest? Lute looks a bit too thrilled at it. He knows he fucked up, but he doesn't think it's a big deal that anyone would know. For fucks sake, they've already condemned souls, his progeny, to suffer. What's the big deal if he kills them?

I have to re-iterate what's happening here. Charlie is proud she caused this chaos, that she caused these angels to fight amongst themselves, even if in this case it's a good thing. But, this is like history repeating itself to Adam, the reflection of his ex-wife, entering his domain, causing strife among his people, being happy about it.

And the venom he expresses when it comes to the 'liar' portion, god Alex Brightman destroyed when he got to this portion specifically. There is some vehement disgust in his tone when he says liar.

Adam isn't a good person now. But, I think he used to be a good person. By all means, Adam himself could've been the first murderer when his wife made her mistake. He, at one point in time, had to have been good enough to foster civilization itself with Eve. Both good and bad. Adam's original purpose was to be fruitful and multiply. Ordained by god (or maybe just angels) himself, divine power directed and created him to fuck. He didn't chase his ex-wife down, he was given a new one, Lilith was allowed to leave. When he left things alone, when he tried to move on, his ex-wife and a scorned angel destroyed the paradise he was in with Eve. He had to struggle and toil, he had to feel shame in his own body. He had to find out his first born son was the first murderer. His second son killed. We don't know if this is going to be canon in the story, a lot has changed, and if Adam is the first soul who reached heaven, then what did happen to Abel? Was Abel considered a sinner? Or did Cain kill Abel after Adam had passed? Either way, he had to witness his children kill, he had to watch his descendants behave in a range from saints and monsters. He's seen genocides, he's seen famine, war. Adam is desensitized to the plights of his descendants. Maybe he even saw it as a duty to cleanse the universe of their existence at one point, because they were his responsibility.

At the end of this episode, he is properly scolded by Sera and does seem ashamed of himself. He isn't huffy, he is reminded that he should be ashamed of acting that way.

I love Lute's enthusiasm, she's absolutely brutal when talking about Vaggie and with how she handled Vaggie. I think it's funny that Lute is so brutal she's even made Adam uncomfortable. It's cute that he's made uncomfortable by the excitement and all he does is tell Lute, the premier hype woman over here, to chill. She's so proud of herself too, look at her.

He fully expects these exorcist bad bitches to go in there and fuck shit up. But, you know it's hilarious that he's throwing horns? This dude, this angel. First human soul in heaven, loving rock n' roll, the devil's music, and throwing motherfucking horns. It's poetic really. I think we can probably assume where things are going.

Now, this is the first point we've seen Adam being a real piece of shit to Lute. I don't think Adam likes it when people think he's too dumb to notice something, especially something so damn obvious. This is such a drastic moment of vitriolic, uncontrolled anger directed towards Lute. Adam knows he isn't the brightest tool in the shed. He likely knows he's obtuse and misses shit. It's why he sucks at lying, he knows he's not smart. That is why I think he's afforded women opportunities to direct him without fighting back against their advice and their choices. I'm sure Lilith made it obvious how dumb she thinks Adam is. I'm wondering if this might be where their ground breaking fight might've come from. Who's to say he didn't allow Lilith to take the lead, or listen to her like he's done with Lute here and now? Perhaps to an even greater point? He listened to Eve and ate from the fruit of knowledge and he was punished for it. Being seen as so dumb he can't formulate a simple fact is a sore spot for him.

Adam is incredibly powerful. It took a bit out of him to exercise that power, probably because he's out of practice just like Lucifer said. At one point, he probably wasn't so sloppy and weak willed. He's gotten lazy. Sloth like.

I think it got real personal here. How viscerally and personally he attacked Charlie. No one but Charlie truly thought sinners could be redeemed, or that they were even worth it. Not even one of the original sinners. Maybe he never considered the possibility, maybe what happened really did make him see the world as black and white to cope with that happened to him, his wife, his children. Charlie's desire to fight this idea would destroy the foundation for all of his coping through the years. He stopped seeing them as family, even though he's grandiose about his founding role in humanity. Does that itch the guilt that may lurk under the surface?

I don't think Adam thought much of Charlie at all. I don't think he had any intention of coming to kill her in the beginning, despite seeing her, despite who her parents were. But, I think with the constant push, with how eager she was to disrupt the pre-conceived idea of order, it reminded Adam and reflected her parents so much, he was eager to kill her for revenge against them. I think this electrical interference on the mask is a direct reflection of sin. Namely, wrath, in this moment.

Now, this. THIS. Is something that made me want to write this whole fucking essay. Is Lucifer implying that he not only gave Eve the Fruit from the tree of knowledge, but FUCKED HER TOO? Homies, I'm sorry but holy shit. That is some hydrating tea. I'd be pretty pissed too, fucked over twice by women who were supposed to be literal soul mates, who you were made for, who were made for you?

I knew he would have a goatee, I could almost hear it. I gotta say, I'm a sucker for how he looks. I think he's hot. He is a bastard, but so are a lot of the hot dudes in this show. It's just a theme.

This exact series of lines prompted so many of the thoughts that I had about Adam and why he thinks or acts the way he does. At one point, Adam did have to work himself to the bone and learn to survive from scratch alongside Eve. He isn't entirely without cause to not think that he deserves some respect or recognition from his descendants.

But, that doesn't give him the right to act like god himself. It's... well... Blasphemous. Isn't it? One of the worst sins is to think yourself to be worthy of worship, as if you're a god.

This is the moment that gave me empathy for them both. You could probably see the kind of loving person Adam could have been at one point with how he looks at Lute, even as he's laying there, dying. He's not crying like a bitch, just looking at Lute softly. Lute screaming for him, screaming his name. They cared for each other deeply.

And this... and this.... and this. WHAT DEAL DID YOU MAKE, LILITH? Did you make it with Sera? Did you make it with Adam? Did you make it with Lute? Did you really just want a little 'vacay' away from the hell you helped create? Left her husband, depressed and lonely. Left her daughter without any care or guidance. Maybe Alastor was sent in her place, perhaps? Seven years since he was seen after all, but why wouldn't he show up sooner if Lilith did care? Did she make a deal with Lute and Adam? Did she let Adam smash it so she could stay in heaven? Did Lute let her stay in exchange for getting Adam out of a position of power? Or was it maybe Sera who commissioned Lilith with a deal? Either way, I'm in full belief that it wasn't Adam's idea to move the extermination day up. I think he's a patsy, a scapegoat. I think Lute may have been manipulated, potentially, into manipulating Adam into this position. Was it even really Adam who came up with the idea to do the exterminations? Or was he the one who simply decided to fight originally because he was told heaven was at risk due to Lilith's rising power? The Road to Hell is Paved with Good Intentions. I think it could be any number of these. Either way, Lute certainly does think she had authority over Lilith. Is it Lute just having hubris? Or is Lilith truly bound, just like Alastor, Husk, and Angel Dust?

Of course, now that we know a soul can be redeemed... and we certainly know that angels can fall. I don't think this will be the last we see of Adam.

[k9effect]

I've been seeing so many Thunderbolts tower fic headcanons where they say something along the lines of "Bob stays behind and does the household chores" or "Bob loves to help out around the house" all because of the end credit scene where he says he did the dishes.

I don't think people are realising he said "I did the dishes though!" the way he did, because it was an accomplishment. If you can do the dishes every day, saying you did the dishes means nothing. Bob is a canonically mentally ill character who struggles with depression and related issues. Doing the dishes isn't something he would enjoy or be proficient in, I know from experience. He makes sure to point it out so clearly and proudly because that was a monumental achievement, to do the dishes. He said it how he did because he wanted to show that he WAS able to contribute to the household and was carrying his weight.

Bob doesn't "love" to do the dishes or the household chores. It's something he struggles with, that is a task and a challenge for him daily. People headcanoning that he loves to help out all the time are clearly missing the point of that line in that scene and also like, so much of who he is as a character. Its just mischaracterisation.

[themaidenofwords]

Have I mentioned how gut wrenching the slow progression from "Jonathan Sims-- Head Archivist of the Magnus Institute, London" to "Jonathan Sims-- The Archivist" is?

These are Jon's introductions of himself. He had already had people simply calling him "The Archivist" way back in season one, but he never introduced himself that way. He declared his title of Archivist as what he saw it to be-- a job title and nothing more.

And then we reached season three and there was a gap where we had "Jonathan Sims, former Archivist" and the words were still spoken as one would a job title but with a certain sense of grief that was incongruous with the professional veneer.

And finally, the reveal of what the Archives were and what being The Archivist truly meant happened, and Jon stopped pretending-- even to himself-- that it was just a job. No, he was Jonathan Sims-- The Archivist-- and it was spoken with the gravitas and responsibility of a king's title. It was now part of who he was.

And then, season five, and it's no longer "Jonathan Sims--". It is merely "The Archivist". Because Jon believes his humanity to have died along with the world he was tricked into dooming. His person-hood is secondary-- and can perhaps be considered more of a job title now in a similar way to how Jon referred to being The Archivist in season one. In season five, Jon believes his entire being to have been consumed by the Watcher. The Archives and his job as the Archivist can no longer be seen as a job, or even as a part of who he is, because it is ALL he is. There is no part remaining of Jonathan Sims, because he is The Archivist first and foremost. He doesn't believe his own humanity great enough to be mentioned.

He is, of course, wrong. But it wouldn't be a tragedy if he didn't realize that until it was too late.

[lime-bucket]

Im saying this not as an opinion but as a matter of fact that hades should have never been the default villain in modern greek myths retellings,becuz dionysus had been always a better fit by leagues & i feel like writers/artists both overlook & underestimate him.Like the fucker wasnt just a silly drunk god,his whole domain tethered on the thin line between ecstasy and madness,embodying both chaos & pleasure. All of these qualities historically had made him simultaneously adored & feared within & outside of his fanatical cult,& circling back to the madness part,idk if yk this but dionysus have this lil tale in wich he caused his followers to go drunk w/ frenzy at a party they literally ripped apart the son of hypnos, i repeat hes so powerful he made a buncha humans kill A GOD! & he didnt face any repercussions fr that!!!

Now ik im skipping on other infos but all of this sounds to me that dionysus is perfect fr the charming & sinister mastermind trope