#Character discussion

[mandrake-mistakes]

There’s something very primal about Katniss, especially about her feelings for Peeta, that I love so incredibly much. The way she feels about him has nothing to do with any labels or social normals or gender expectations. When people try to label it for her she gets uncomfortable and confused. The way she feels about him is less the way a girl feels about a boy and more the way a wolf feels about its bonded mate. She wants to hide in their den together, to protect their pack together, lick his wounds, join up with him to assure both of their survival. Something about how feral she gets trying to protect him and keep him close feels like an animal standing over its wounded counterpart snarling and spitting and growling like a predator backed into a corner. Like when you put a feral cat in a carrier. People are like “katniss who do you LIKE like? Who’s gonna take you to the prom?” And she says “idk about all that human crap but I do want to tuck Peeta into a snug underground cave where he can be best defended against predators and make sure he has enough stock piled acorns to survive the winter.” It’s like she’s so stressed she’s devolved into animal instinct only and her inner animal is a guard dog.

[raffa-taff]

Posting this here too because it actually kills me but everytime arakawa draws alphonse doing this my heart breaks 5 million times over. it's just a really nice detail showing his age through body language and I really love it. It's also interesting in my opinion because he can't feel the cloth but he does it anyways because I'm assuming it was a nervous tic of his. Which makes me think more about how his whole situation works in terms of like proprioception and things that carried over from his human body like this nervous tic of his.

[yes-these-obsessions-are-healthy]

Once again obsessed with how they chose to execute Silco because they showed us upfront and center his vulnerable human side on multiple occasions. They didn’t save it to the very end. Throughout the run of S1 the animators gave us moments of him confused, off-balanced, frightened, distraught, introspective, conflicted, panicked, content, pleading, sentimental, smug, in pain, irritated, pathetic, petty, enraged, and ideologically sincere.

Like they could have just made him a one-note schemer. Too often villains are restricted to only a few emotions to preserve their threatening veneer—smugness, violence, sadism, and/or cold calculation, and thus when they are shown frustrated or confused, it is typically at the point in the story where the narrative begins to aid the hero in sabotaging this mask of smooth-sailing evil. But throughout the season Silco is shown front and center as being a man, and compared to the rest of the League lore not even that exemplary or notable. This man is a mob boss, a drug kingpin. He’s as mundane as mashed potatoes compared to Jinx or even Sevika. He’s just a rags-to-riches underworld wraith that managed to monopolize his city like the Mafia with nothing more than big plans, business acumen, charisma, and the back-alley-boardroom ruthlessness to see it come true. And even despite all of those dehumanizing qualities (what is it people say about how naked ambition or wealth can make you less human), he’s still shown displaying a wide range of emotions that I’ve not seen very often on ‘the bad guy’ of his make and caliber, let alone out in the open and throughout the runtime. These moments aren’t stingers or cracks in the facade, they’re presented as parts of him that flow freely in privacy. He has not granted himself a total emotional embargo. In fact they give us so many scenarios of Silco feeling different things and feeling them succinctly that Silco’s character arguably refutes the expectation of how a man —let alone a fictional man, let alone a fictional mob boss with a drug empire and a city and a murderous enmity for his enemies—should manage his emotions.

It’s just really good and cool, okay.

[polling-sonic-fans]

Who is the leader of team dark? Shadow, Rouge or Omega?

Thanks for the anonymously submitted poll!

Polling Sonic Fans for their opinions on all manner of things. Share good questions to indicate what you want asked. Submissions open.

[pollywog-frog]

I wanna hear everyone’s headcanons! Do we think Tommy Kinard was born and raised in LA or…?

[sweet-cuddlebug]

I just saw a guy declaring that Sasuke was abusive towards Sakura and that he doesn't deserve her... and now I want to implode because. What the hell.

First of all, Sasuke never wanted Sakura and that's something he made VERY clear to her.

The fact that she continued to pursue him shows the lack of respect she has for herself. Because she's not even trying to understand him as a person, she just loves (the idea of) him and wants to be with him, and after Sasuke makes it clear multiple times that that's not going to happen Sakura just starts to look stupid.

The fact that people call their relationship abusive has to be some kind of stupid joke. You're telling me that Sasuke trying to kill her after she tried to stab him in the back is abusive? That him not reciprocating her feelings and not being patient or kind after the tenth time is abusive? That him not treating her like his friend when they're enemies at war is abusive?

And I mean the relationship does seem abusive but from another perspective.

Who ignores the other's feelings and tries to make it about her all the time? Who ignores the other's decisions and goes on with her own actions? Who crosses the boundaries set by the other person multiple times? Who ignores the fact that the other is a independent person with a history and only tries to have him under her possession and tries to kill him when that option is no longer plausible? Mhhh.

Sasuke: I don't like you. I don't want you. What I want is for you to get away from me.

Sakura: I'm gonna try to chase you and declare my feelings over and over again hoping that my tears will convince you to stay with me.

Sasuke: Are you at least going to try to understand me as a person and my motives?

Sakura: Why would I do that? I just want to have you

Sasuke: ... Well that's not going to happen, and you're starting to irritate me.

Sakura: *tries to kill him*

Sasuke: *tries to kill her back*

Sakura: How is it possible that you care more about Naruto than me?!

Naruto: *Is worried that Sasuke is going to put himself in danger and ruin his life. Does his best to understand Sasuke's history and his motives. Cares immensely for him and tries to protect him at all costs. Understands that they both have a special connection and if the only way for them to be free from suffering is to die together then that's what they'll do.*

Sasuke: *The reason he wants to kill Naruto is because he is his greatest weakness. He loves him too much and he knows it. He knows that Naruto has the chance to stop him in his attempt to avenge his family. He does everything he can to protect Naruto from dying unless it is by his own hand and trying to kill him brings him great pain.*

Sakura: but I want youuu >:(

[kaeyaswifefromsnezhnaya]

"fiction affects reality", then what about fiction about good? If we start creating content about a better life, will it change anything in reality? It would be nice

But I doubt it

[twst-hottest-takes]

Okay, now that I'm caught up on the game's EN release content it's time to talk about the thing!

Lucky post number 300! Hooah!

So, back when the Savanaclaw dream chapters came out in Japan, the translations had people a little bit confused about the implications regarding Leona's dream (see these posts for the drama). Now that we have an official English version, let's talk a bit more in depth about this update and what it means for Leona as a character at least as far as this localization is concerned.

Context First: Leona became king of the Sunset Savana in his dream, but in order for that to happen, we are told that in the dream world those before him in the royal family's line of succession (his brother Falena and nephew Cheka) are dead. The details of the supposed accident that cause this to happen aren't elaborated on and this has left a large question hanging in the air for a lot of people with VERY serious character implications for Leona: Is he responsible for their deaths in this dream scenario where the consequences of doing so don't exist? There is an unfortunate string of bad writing involving Leona as a character which leaves this question woefully unresolved. Did this dream start with Leona getting rid of his family? Or did the dream start at the point where he was inexplicably given the ability to have everything he wanted and continuing on from there without even Leona knowing the details for himself? I'm about to discuss this at length to establish what I personally think the answer is supposed to be, so please bear with me as I delve into this fascinating subject.

Setting the scene a bit; as we continue to travel through the various dreams to wake up our main cast, we notice that something in Leona's dream is very different from what we saw in the previous updates. Somehow Leona is not having an awesome amazing dream, but something that really seems more akin to a nightmare. True to form, instead of having any kind of original idea about where to take Leona's character we are greeted to the latter half of the Lion King where Scar is king and the Pridelands are shambles. It's pointed out by our dream-hopping cast that this is not in alignment with the established patterns of what Malleus' dream magic has done to everyone previously. The only bit that lines up with how we know the dream magic to work is that Leona has become the King of the Sunset Savana. In a world that should be devoid of negative consequences, the throughline should be that Leona is a great king and the kingdom is prospering beyond anyone's wildest expectations no matter what it is he does, but that hasn't happened. So what's going on?

I'll be brutally honest, I have no idea what Idia was trying to say in terms of saying Leona's dream was a "sandbox" style game (akin to minecraft or the sims I guess). The explanation is botched, and nothing they say tracks with what happened before this specific dream. My best understanding of what is going on is as follows: Leona has an insane amount of imagination, intelligence, and mental aptitude that enabled him to subconsciously game the system Malleus had in place to keep everyone in their dream lands. While most dreams are made on the idea of certain negative events being erased or altered while maintaining important people from their lives to keep the dreamer immersed and happy, Leona's dream cannot be founded on things he finds illogical. Falena and Cheka must not be involved so that he can be king, but it would be unrealistic to pose that they don't exist, therefore it is that somehow Leona's dream says they died so that he could get the throne (back to that point at the end). Leona also seems to have the presence of mind to have very strictly altered the nature of the dream to favor keeping him asleep as opposed to keeping him happy. Something about how Leona thinks has dictated that anything "improbable" or "impossible" would break his immersion and consequently cause him to wake up. As a result of this, there is no way his actions in his dreams can lack the negative effects he acknowledges are possible as a result of him doing whatever he wants as a ruler, leading to the nightmare that ends up unfolding instead of the more typical "unrealistic" dream and further ends in him falling into the deeper dream state to escape an already failing one.

In the deeper dream we get a typical recreation of events in the game where reality is altered so that our Overblotter's scheme has gone off without a hitch and he is snapped out of it by getting a harsh reality check. Upon waking up, he gets dragged down one more time and is forced to confront the nasty part of himself that is what caused him to overblot and do a little soul searching before defeating it, accepting it as a part of himself, and returning to the base dream to reunite with the primary cast. (An abridged summary.)

Now we can get to the fun part where I actually analyze what we have got here:

In a wild twist of fate, I have come to the conclusion that the writing of Twisted Wonderland has done something unprecedented and actually given us some character development on Leona's part, or at least some solid characterization that finally shines some light on his depressive disposition. Based on what we were shown, Leona, while being a cut above everyone else in terms of imagination and magic power has forced Malleus' magic to act differently on himself than all the previous dreamers. For comparison, Floyd would have loved a world where his chaotic nature led to any number of negative outcomes for the sake of it, he is unable to change the nature of the dream state and ends up in a perpetually bored state of limbo. In contrast, Leona cannot fathom a world that works unrealistically outside of the mentality that he is currently stuck in--that there is no good end for him in any scenario. Negative consequences need to happen or else he risks waking up, and when those consequences do happen it triggers his regular coping mechanism--giving the hell up and living listlessly--which inevitably drags him down into the second level of the dream state. What this culminates in is the idea that Leona cannot imagine a world where a happy ending is possible for him, the only result of which can be an actual nightmare.

Now what one may ask is, "How does this help us determine how Leona actually feels about his family and if he was actually willing to kill them or not?" I simply posit that by FINALLY being able to acknowledge the perpetual state of resignation to his fate and self-destructive behavior Leona lives in, we can get a better understanding of his behavior in his dream. When sent to confront his past (overblot) self, Leona describes him as pathetic. This twisted version of himself is completely okay with spouting that he hates his lot in life and wishes death on his brother and nephew, but this is acknowledged to be a flawed and weaker version of the character. There is a lengthy discussion to be had about how emotional outbursts can affect what someone says and how much truth can be gleaned from the most visceral exposure to the world the dark recesses of the human psyche can have on us, but for the short of it: The basest version of your emotions are NOT a definition of you as a person, and the same should be applied here. I am of the firm belief that while there are many times where Leona has intrusive thoughts about how all it would take is a well-orchestrated accident to get him to be the next king, he does not regularly harbor those feelings and is not willing to make such a scheme happen. It is my own impression, and belief that this is the intent of the chapter, that Leona's initial dream characterized by him being the king starts at the point where kingship is bestowed upon him and the reason he accepts this as reality for the time is because such an accident happened, and it happened without his causing it, because while it is tragic it is also the only way he can fathom such a thing being real.

Oh, by the way we are absolutely not done here yet: If all you want is my conclusion then you can stop reading, but I have so much more to say.

In summary: Leona is NOT willing to kill his family in order to usurp the throne.

Do I blame anyone else for thinking that he was implied to have done it himself in this case where supposedly he was living the coveted "no consequences power fantasy?" Oh, heck no. Leona's writing has been atrocious for the vast majority of the game up until this point. Even the first two-thirds of Leona's dream story makes it apparent that the writers still struggle to give him any kind of characterization outside of "Scar from The Lion King." They lean so heavily on the source material with this character specifically, of course we're going to believe that Leona would kill his family if they were to come right out and say it (which they nearly did). He tried to get Malleus trampled in a stampede of normal people and regularly espouses underhanded tactics in favor of winning outcomes--Where's the lie? Idia seems to float the idea that Leona made a dream to be played on "challenge mode" which is what triggered the abnormal results, but you can't pay me to believe that when Leona is a notorious lout, cheat, and shortcut taker. Thankfully, the last section of this update did some serious legwork in terms of finally making Leona into a likeable guy that I can solidly say that his visceral impulsive feelings that make him want to be king regardless of how are just that. Feelings. They suck sometimes and Leona actively acknowledges that those kinds of awful actions aren't really the solution to his problems which is why he never does anything. The most surprising part of this entire confrontation between Leona and his id is that he doesn't just accept his negative feelings as what they are, and call it a day saying "This is me, and the world has to deal with it." He says he's going to follow his ambitions and reach his goal somehow of having a throne and pride of his own someday, which is. . .just vague enough to work? Y'all let's be honest, we are so starved for good Leona content that I have to latch on to this with my grubby little fingers and take it for all it's worth. This statement sounds surprisingly motivated for this guy. The vagueness of the statement leaves room for the interpretation that his throne and his pride might not end up being conventionally defined. One might almost mistake this as character development instead of the constant stagnation these overblot confrontations have been feeding us. While it might be a pipe dream, there is some real groundwork being put down here that Leona's got some actual redeeming qualities and I have to happy about that. The execution is still messy of course--a better version of this is one where Leona is stuck in a dead-end time loop of nightmares where nothing he tries works, justifying his self-destructive behavior before finally sinking deeper into the darkness--but at least one person writing this chapter threw us a bone. Leona did the odd sacrifice play to save Ruggie, and didn't make fun of Jack (much) for crying when he came back to the crew intact. Heck, I think it's fair to say that at the end there they even did a manly hug reminiscent of the Stardust Crusaders finale. That's some oddly good stuff for main-story Leona, so there's grounds for optimism going forward.

It's probably too good to be true because this is Twisted Wonderland, but we'll take what we can get.

LONG LIVE THE KING!

Thank you for reading!

Bonus notes because I can't shut up about this stuff: Bruh, Leona modded his dream to have a custom NPC of Kifaji and it was epic. He's the second most powerful student at this school at this point BAR NONE. Leona's mental projection of Kifaji reflects so much respect and even a gleam of hope. Like even if Leona can't believe in a happy ending for himself he still subconsciously believes in Kifaji as a constant. I want to talk about the potential sincerity of Leona's remorse as well regarding him knowing that Falena and Cheka are dead. I want to say that this is where we actually break away from him being "sexy scar" and he wasn't being performative about it. Like he genuinely might be upset being reminded that in that world they were dead somehow and got even more pissed when a fake Cheka showed up later. As though it wasn't Cheka that upset him, but he fact that someone would be impersonating his DEAD NEPHEW to overthrow him. We're getting into fanfic and headcanon territory here, I'll admit that, but Leona could be such an amazing character! I HAVE WANTED TO BELIEVE THAT LEONA DOESN'T ACTUAL HATE HIS FAMILY THAT MUCH FOR SO LONG! WHY HAVE WE NOT GOTTEN MORE SOLID EVIDENCE OF THIS CHARACTER UNTIL NOW!? WHERE WAS THIS MAKING ME FEEL FOR THIS LION JERK BACK IN BOOK 2 HUH!? WHY IS IT ALL SUBTEXT BEFORE NOW!? Justice for Leona! They should not have been holding out on us like that for this long! Give the man his redeeming qualities!

Oh, and of course if they weren't constantly leaning on The Lion King as shot for shot template for Savanaclaw as a whole then Jack yelling, "REMEMBER WHO YOU ARE!" to wake up Leona would have had so much more punch to it. Just . . .UUUAAAAAAAAAAAGHHHHHHHHHH!!!! *Deep Breaths* Okay, now I'm done. The Blog Owner is signing off for real now.

P.S. If you've read this far, guess what? The Askbox is going to be open for a little while, so I'll let you know that as a bonus thank you for reading all the way through my most recent screed.

[librariansrose]

I think it’s fine to have headcanons for your favorite ships but if the dev themselves made a statement about their own characters sexuality/orientation then you shouldn’t make jokes about disrespecting that canon.

As someone who is an Unlabeled person, I’m really grateful that Teruko Tawaki is also unlabeled and sports that flag. It’s representation that I’m grateful for because unlabeled characters aren’t very well known in media at all.

My point is. Please don’t bash canon representation because you don’t agree with it. They aren’t your characters.

It’s fine to have your own headcanons, takes, what have you but at the end of the day. Canon is canon.

I get annoyed too when people conveniently erase the fact that David is Bi but not open with his feelings about that fact. That is incredible representation because growing up it is how I felt about my relationship with labels since I didn’t understand my feelings.

DRDT is aimed at an older crowd that’s on the cusp of when LGBTQIA+ wasn’t widely accepted or even legal like it is now.

So representations like Nico being closet NB, David being a repressed and conflicted bisexual man as well as Teruko choosing to be explicitly unlabeled is incredibly important representation that shouldn’t be ignored or overwritten just because you don’t agree with the creators narrative.

My point isn’t to pick a fight with anyone, mind you. I am genuinely just asking you to consider why Dev has written their characters in the way that they have and that it should be respected.

[ghaasy]

So last night me and my girlfriend went to see Les Mis in London and we were talking about how differently every production presents Enjolras and Grantaire's dynamic — whether it is one-sided longing, reciprocated, a bit overlooked or very much back and forth, etc etc.

Let me just being to say that last night's Grantaire was absolutely perfect. I could clearly tell there was a whole characterisetion that had been established and that came out in the little details. He was a skeptical Grantaire, yes, but there was more to it— almost a frustration in the awareness of his inability to avoid what is inevitably going to come. This Grantaire — ad this was a detail I loved— was truluy part of this group, lots of students had many interactions with him in a very familiar/comfortable way, and even the scolding that happened from time to time was light, not as repetitive and insistent as I've seen it before. Grantaire was very much part of that group, he had his own established role.

With Enjolras, let me just say that there were a lot of very interesting decisions that were made in terms his and Grantaire's positions on stage. There were multiple moments when the two would stand in a diagonal way— with Enjolras always being in the highest corner of the frame (either on top of the barricade or on the stairs of the Musain) and Grantaire being on the bottom corners, always diagonal to Enjolras, always a few steps away from the other students who were naturally drawn to their leader. This was truly a beautiful composition, it really helped to oppose them but also draw a connection between them.

Then, to go back to the E and R dynamic I was talking about before, at one point, my girlfriend said to me, "They are already dating in this". And let me tell you it made so much sense.

Grantaire's bits during Red and Black were acknowledge by Enjolras, but he didn't stand there glaring at him or trying to get him to sit down/put his wine away the whole time. It almost felt like Enjolras was used to this— not to him being, well, Grantaire, because that is obvious in every single production, but to him having his opinion on the Revolution, on their ideals, on Enjolras, on their friends— in this, it felt as if Enjolras had already acknowledged Grantaire's voice, had already understood it and kept it in the back of his mind, as a "i know you, I don't agree with you, but I know where you stand, because we've talked about this". That is why the scolding didn't feel as severe, why it almost felt as Enjolras didn't acknowledge him much during Red and Black, when in reality, he was always aware of what Grantaire was doing or saying, despite him being busy discussing things with the other students. There was a familiarity, I think, with the presence of the other.

(Of course Grantaire's staring at Enjolras when Marius was raving about Cosette and about a love so strong that comes without a warning and completely takes over you didn't go unnoticed, I feel like it deserves an honourable mention.)

And then. Then, when they were on stage at one point, right after Do You Hear The People Sing, there was a brief moment where Enjolras was the one being playful with Grantaire, gently shoving the flag towards him, and then at one point he leaned in, both of them face to face, Enjolras' mouth already open because he was singing— let me tell you I would suspect I was gaslighting myself, but since my girlfriend had the same reaction as me (our mouths dropped open) I feel better about affirming that it looked like Enjolras was going in for a kiss, then pulled away last second. Now, whether that was intentional or not, it doesn't really matter, does it? And regardless, I wouldn't exclude the intention behind it because we have seen several instances of Enjolras kisses on stage. I'm just saying.

Finally, the barricade. Drink With Me? The way Grantaire sang the line "is your life just one more lie?" Altered my brain chemistry, because I've never heard it delivered in such an intimate, betrayed way, the sorrow was there, the awareness that Grantaire was going to lose Enjolras and everyone else, the way he whispered the word "lie", in such a resigned, tired, hurt way. Like the two of them have had that conversation before. The way Enjolras grabbed his arm, and there was no surprise from Grantaire, no pause to think "oh he's finally acknowledged me", he only shook Enjolras' hand off him and walked away, he looked broken. And this is why we said this didn't feel like an unrequited sort of longing, or like Enjolras had not acknowledged him until that point, or like Enjolras was being stern and only focused on the Revolution, on the other students' morale. No, this felt like Grantaire finally giving up to the idea that this is going to happen, it's a "I wish you could change your mind" knowing that it won't happen, not because Enjolras doesn't care, but because they have had this conversation before and they've never agreed on it and this is now inevitable. The care was there, you could see it so clearly.

When the National Guard began shooting, Grantaire didn't even flinch. When all his friends died on the barricade, he slowly made his way to the same spot where Enjolras had been shot, looked over at the National Guard, yelled to catch their attention and let them shoot him— no attempt at fighting back, no "vive la république", because that is not the reason he will be killed— only a yell to catch their attention and the awareness that this is what it was going to be all along, the moment he'd lose Enjolras, his friends, he'd lose himself too.

Rant is over now, but I just want to say one more time how perfect this whole cast was, how perfectly put together the whole show felt— every scene made sense, everything flew, every actor clearly knew their character inside out. If you do have a chance to watch it, then do so, you won't be sorry.

[lovely-cherubs]

Disassembly Discussion #1: N is NOT obsessed with Uzi

Am I the only one who doesn’t like/disagrees with the whole "N is obsessed with Uzi" and vice versa argument? Like I’m sorry, but as somebody who’s been an outcast my entire life and wasn't able to find people who treated me like a human being until like high school, I find that argument to be pretty vague. Like obsessed how? Like Marionette DuPain Cheng obsessed?

To me, I don't see N being obsessed with Uzi at all. I mean think about it: his whole entire life he been treated like an outcast by his own two teammates. V pretended to not notice him and J abused him physically and verbally.

Then we get to episode 1, he finally found somebody who saw him for who he was, who DIDN'T think he was "useless and terrible", who in general he could relate to (aka Uzi). It makes sense that he would be closer to her than everybody else in the group. I mean, from the beginning it was already established that he wasn’t that close with V or J, especially J for obvious reasons.

Not only that, but people seem to forget that episode six, he literally lost V and assumed she was dead. If I were him, I'd probably become more on edge with the fear of losing the only person I have left with me. And don't even get me started with Uzi. She’s been treated like an outcast by everybody in the bunker. Add her negligent father to the picture along with being constantly bullied by Lizzy, we can see how that took a toll on her self-image, self-confidence, and everything.

It may seem like obsession/limerance, but it's really not. When you’ve been treated like crap your entire life by those around you, it can be pretty easy to get attached and close to somebody who finally treats you like a human being. Speaking from experience.

So, I’m sorry but I kind of find this whole idea that N is obsessed with Uzi to be pretty ignorant and it makes me think that the people who say this have been liked by the people around them their entire lives, much more, weren't outcasts growing up. Let me know what you think. Feel free to disagree with me, but I don’t think that N is obsessed with Uzi by a longshot.

[mango-macaron]

Tragedy? In Dunmeshi? Yeah it's there alright.

Kabru, an orphan, raised by a high elf who views his species as infants. Who hates monsters because his home town was massacred by a dungeon being overrun.

Laois, alone for his childhood years, floating around and only finding direction in his sister. Wanting to save her because he doesn't know what to do or where to go without her.

Falin, sneaking out of school to see her brother, only in the magic school because of helping one spirit and being outcast by the village that saw her save him. Using her last amount of energy to save her party, knowing she would die.

Marcille, tied to the hip with Falin. Her best friend, follows her and they teach one another. Uses dark magic to resurrect her crush to see it crumble in front of her eyes as her best friend turns into a monster, something she hates.

Senshi, not feeling the same interests as his race is associated with. Treats monsters with delicacy, how he wants to be treated. Saw his olders die from a monster he didn't know, slowly starved in front of him as he barely got enough to survive. Makes sure they don't feel the same hunger he did.

Chilchuck, divorced. The one love he had separating from him, barely seeing his kids. Union worker, has seen first hand how his race has been treated and strives to make them protected as workers.

Izustumi, unable to be wholly human. Part monster, feels pitied on by Shuro's family, can't accept the Touden party's affection since she's not used to the feeling. Craves parental love more than anything, but can't break down the wall she's made of herself. Afraid to get hurt.

Toshiro, alienated from his family much like Laois was with the army. His culture is part of him, engraved into his core, but no one on the island understands. Not even he understands sometimes.

They're all my favourites because I, too, make really depressing oc lore./j

[skyenish]

In reference to your Vil OB post I wondered if he hated being cast as a villain because a part of him worried that deep down, that’s who he was.

Definitely. It’s implied that a reason he doesn’t like getting typecast is because he doesn’t like being seen as the villain. I imagine that when Vil would play a villain role very well, he’d wonder if he did it so well because he’s similar to that villain, and he doesn’t like the fact that he can play them well. He wants to prove to the world (and himself) that he can play the hero!

[yes-these-obsessions-are-healthy]

The conversation had between Silco and Vander really shows the writers' asses as being centrists in retrospect because Silco is talking about a nation for Zaun and Vander is like "You had my respect and the Lanes' respect, but it wasn't enough for you".

Yeah God forbid a man want to be respected by people at large and not used as human fuel for economic exploitation amirite? God forbid the poor want dignity and respect from the rich who are killing them slowly by inches with pollution, poverty, and poor working conditions. What the fuck are you even talking about Vander you limp dicked mouthpiece. The line "it wasn't enough for you" can either be taken as Vander being completely idiotic or it's to plant the seed in the viewers' minds that Silco is in fact doing this for his own ambitions and that everything he's doing is symptom of a huge ego. The show rides the fence on this by offering subtle hints as to Silco's ego--him applying makeup in Part II, him upgrading his wardrobe and indulging in luxuries in the timeskip, him bringing the hammer down on the chembarons when they step out of line (necessary and understandable but with these 'he's an egomaniac' seeds planted everything looks like a sign of a narcissist).

But even then why isn't he deserving of having an ego? Of being shamelessly who he is (besides the villain part). Are poor people not allowed to think highly of themselves and that they deserve better? To resent the upper class for depriving them of their success (i.e. is he not entitled to the sweat of his brow)? Because lazy miners aren't a thing. Those don't exist.

When it comes to the matter of the A Plot, aka Zaun, the writing I've come to realize is really terrified of stating anything definitive without couching it in some Freudian reasoning. Zaun's independence as Silco's motivation takes a backseat to Silco himself simply being a drug kingpin. You could chalk it up to "they had only 9 episodes" but I'm going to be super ignorant and entitled and say that you can always add more dialogue to any animated project. Don't even have to animate the mouths. There're tricks to get around that.

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