#plating analysis

[agaselectronicmaterials]

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[wikipediapictures]

MTT assay

“A 96-well microtiter plate used in an MTT assay. Each column was incubated with different amounts of culture cells, increasing from 500 cells in column 2 (left) to 100.000 cells in column 11 (right), for 72 hours. After a short incubation with MTT, the purple formazan product was extracted using Dimethyl sulfoxide. As can be seen, higher amounts of cells result in higher formazan production and thus a stronger purple colour.” - via Wikimedia Commons

[a-bottle-of-tyelenol]

I often think about how Mutiny has that callback to Luck Runs Out and how it, as the last Eurylochus song, contrasts to his first.

Right now, something I’m currently thinking about is that line Odysseus has— please don’t do this, I need to get home.

In LRO, there’s a moment where the music changes during Odysseus’ verse when he’s parroting Polites’ philosophy and it’s meant to represent the way that Odysseus was reaching out to Eurylochus, not as a captain but as a friend. There’s a similar moment that Eurylochus has when he calls Odysseus Ody instead of captain. It’s a moment that strips away the sociopolitical factors that dictate a lot of their relationship and it’s personally my favorite in the entire show.

Odysseus follows that by, once again, calling out to his friend, rather than his right hand. What’s interesting, though, is that Odysseus says that he needs to get home, and then follows it by saying “reconsider— we can get home”.

This happens while Eurylochus is doing the same thing— starting by asking how much longer he must suffer, and then ending with the crew speaking with him and asking how much longer they must suffer. What I find particularly notable about this is the fact that Eurylochus, as the voice of the crew, is implied to be the one voicing their thoughts regardless of if they’re actually backing him. It’s implied in Keep Your Friends Close that Eurylochus wasn’t just voicing his concerns in LRO, he was voicing the concerns of everyone (which is part of the reason it was such a public confrontation). In Mutiny, the same thing occurs in the first half of the song, where Eurylochus confronts Odysseus and then we learn that the crew agrees and shares that sentiment right after.

In the second half of Mutiny, however, that isn’t the case. This moment is the only one in the entire show where Eurylochus is truly being selfish. Arguments could be made about him urging Odysseus to run from the cyclops or him choosing to tell Odysseus about the windbag before Scylla, but I would then argue that those moments are him acting for Odysseus’ sake as well. With the cow, in this verse, he is only acting for himself. He is only responding as himself— Eurylochus is not the voice of anyone else, he is only Eurylochus. He has isolated himself, for just a moment, from the rest of the crew. Most of the show is Odysseus acting for himself and, in this moment, Eurylochus is doing the same thing.

[brainjvice]

Rambling about Alexis' selfish-Ness [chara analysis ig]

Ness doesn't actually care about Kaiser.

Or well, he does, but in his own, selfish way.

He cares about the image of Kaiser existing in his mind, which consists in the material proof that magic exists and that Ness' dream did not, in fact, go to waste. Everything Ness has all ever believed in life finds its vessel in Kaiser, and Ness is desperate and stubborn enough to never letting that go.

He doesn't really see Kaiser for who he is (and that's also thanks to our mr male manipulator who literally STUDIED on mf psychology books what buttons to push to make Ness bond with him, like ok we get it but what the fuck).

Ness was chosen first as Kaiser's first "support system" (intended as someone whose role was to support kaiser's goal) but eventually ended up as the first person to indulge and feed Kaiser's narcissistic traits (and delusions).

Ness is used to Kaiser being mean to him and he lets him because, in his mind, he is still special. He is like "yeah he is mean to everyone, but I got more privileges than the others. I'm closer to him than anyone else will ever be. I'm the only one to actually know what's best for him" -> except he does not. He does not know Kaiser, he has no clue what's best for him. (he is my delusional puppy)

Ness people pleases and masks 24/7 so that he can keep being useful to Kaiser. So that his dream would not get thrown away. He doesn't even let Kaiser see his own real self, how is he supposed to know the real Kaiser?

Ness is the glass protecting the blue rose from the outside world: fragile, almost useless, if not to keep said rose safe from dust.

It will also cut when broken.

With this post I absolutely do not intend to victim blame. Ness was love bombed and manipulated and he did NOT deserve his first best friend to turn up being [gestures] that. But I still wanted to make light on some other traits that Ness has shown. He is not just a victim and he is stronger than some people give him credit for [insert mitski scream here].

He really needs to see that the real magic is within himself and that he should. Stop biting into a rotting carcass (kaiser ily but damn u kinda infected this boy).

Either that or he'll end up pulling an anakin skywalker at the end of ROTS type of move lmfao.

[dxxtruction]

The framed art on the wall in this scene is Louis Icart's Salome (1928).

Salome is known for her role in the death of John the Baptist, where she requested, upon being able to satisfy Herod with her dance, to be presented with his head. She was a popular depiction in the earlier half of the 20th century, and late 19th century, being seen as representation of the ultimate femme fatale - a character archetype of a woman out to achieve some aim and who, through her desirability, leads men to their doom.

There are arguably 3 femme fatales in this room.

(Larger image of artwork below)

[rainbow-sunshine-unicorn]

Still thinking about how Anthony’s lapel pin

Has this exact colour scheme, down to the purple and emerald green

Some husbands try to match their outfits to their wife’s, and then there is Anthony Bridgerton, who believes in paying homage to his wife’s entire look, including her accessories

[zomaxi]

the cello fits Vincent so well when i think about it. It parallels him in a way i don’t think i can quite fully convey outside my mind but ill try anyway

it’s deep resonant tone, the way it can sound charming and smooth one minute to sweet and tentative the next, then abrasive and downright intimidating seconds after. it’s so in tune with him. Generally it’s one of the string instruments i adore most because of its versatility, you can convey so many emotions through it because the instrument has the widest and most versatile range of any with 4 octaves.

And i feel like that is an amazing foil for Vincent’s character, that deep tone filled with so many shifts and layers that will skew your emotions this way and that is so akin to a person who maintains a stationary level of perceived impassiveness with so much complexity intertwined within motives and emotions hidden underneath. Both carry a sense of never ending surprise because you genuinely don’t know what you’re going to get next, which leads to such a fun viewing experience

[great-cats]

[fumifooms]

Namalin

Namari x Falin

Easy short rarepair spotlight post for prosperity~ This one I didn’t think of on my own for once, I don’t know if it’s just I forgot the decided-on ship name or what but I remember seeing really nice art and a couple posts about it that I can’t find again 💔 Namalin warrior you are out there and not forgotten ty for making me see the light

I like that Namari’s critical of Falin! I have a whole character analysis on Falin if you’re interested, but it’s generally well noticed that people around Falin idealize her a lot. Laios, Marcille and Toshiro all put her on a pedestral of ultimate goodness in the world, a saintess if nothing short of perfection. Sounds like Chilchuck felt sort of creeped out by her vibes, uncomfortable because he couldn’t read her, so unlike Namari it seems he preferred steering clear of her rather than debate opposed ideologies like he usually does. Makes sense if unlike Namari his issue is with her cryptic aura rather than the stances she does show. "… The dungeon is no place for soft hearts" my ultimate namalin scene <333 It’s fun because while this scene is there to show us a lot of things, mostly to establish Falin’s characters better as it’s the first flashback of her we get, the conflict in it is more than anything else Falin vs Namari in how they contrast and clash and approach situations differently. Namari wants security in swift effective violence and thinks Falin too soft for her own good when she prefers a pacifist approach and promotes compassion even for the "undeserving" in Namari’s eyes. Falin steps between the battle ready Namari and the ghost, fearless. Falin effortlessly gently exorcises the ghost without one step back, quickly. Falin proves someone wrong. Falin proves someone wrong.

I love thinking of Namari being surprised when she learns new aspects of Falin. I like Falin having the power to shape people’s views on her. With Falin ships the most fun part for me is usually that point where Falin/the relationship becomes a clean slate: the person realizes they haven’t been seeing all of her, realizes there’s more of her they hadn’t noticed or that she hadn’t shown, that there’s change, a shift in the views on each other and the dynamic a bit.

Namari often feels like an external view looking in to me… I need to make a proper analysis on her but like. I made a lamari post once (analytic more than personally invested rip sorry) and I go with the same Namari take here, I think she’s someone who tends to have an outsider view on people and relationships if that makes sense, she’s a coworker before anything else and she’s content staying at a distance, she’s not objective per se but she tries to keep feelings out of her choices and how she sees people (her lil arc on not staying to save Falin despite the existing camaderie but in the end asking to work for the Flokes more because she wants to stay with them). She’s serious no nonsense on the job but friendly off the job and likes having casual friends, but she’s not… She doesn’t really feel connected to the group. She’s so focused on doing her job, even if she does get impulsive and passionate and too assertive for her bosses’ tastes, so focused on working her reputation and life from the ground up that that professionalism and attitude limits her social life. It doesn’t help that her reputation makes her widely judged, so she probably enters social spaces on the derensive. The closest person she was to pre-canon as far as we knew was Chilchuck and even they have a very "coworker I get along with" dynamic more than friends, with a similar sense of boundaries, humor and world view. Also like canon says a few time, the party didn’t really try to get to know each other well pre-canon, didn’t hang out after work often no one knew where Marcille was from and no one thought that was weird (also how no one had the instinct to ask about Senshi’s past) etc, the notable exception is we’re shown Namari and Chilchuck hitting taverns together and having a grand time. Everyone’s fine with things as they are, they get along decent even if not everyone considers each other friends exactly. Where I’m getting at is that to me, it feels like she tries keeping emotional distance. Emotional distance from people in general being something which in my interpretation of Falin is also present, which would make it a theme and common thread interesting to explore imo. But yes like, Namari looking at Falin, and how everyone treats her, and being more skeptical, seeing her for what she is a little more, maybe even uncharitable. "Why is everyone treating her like she’s all that? She’s gentle sure but seems like a doormat to me" and then one day she comes running up with her mace ready to cave in someone’s face to protect Laios. So yeah… Keeping her distance but one day Falin offering her some gentleness that feels very too personal for someone who’s not used to being genuine and simply showing that they care… Them talking a bit which leaves her stumped and mindblown in a quiet way when Falin defies her expectations. Namari growing on Falin when she stays and decides to open herself up more, or when Falin ends up reading her really well like she’s shown to do with her parents and Marcille’s worries. She’s very attuned to worrying and why and when different people do it especially when it comes to when they worry for others, perhaps because she does a lot of that too, so I think she’d nail down how Namari does care for the rest of the party and it’d make Namari feel seen both in a warm validating way and in a scared naked way.

We see in the tentacles chapter that she’s someone’s who’s very protective and looks out for her peers in a tough love way. She’s overbearing but it’s because she wants everyone to have the best chances. I like that she’s very confrontational and somewhat pushy and rude, but it’s tough love, it’s protective care: asserting herself to better protect and defend. The opposite of Falin’s type of care, quiet and self-sacrificial devotion. They’re barbarian x healer but they’re also bodyguard x bodyguard in their attitude and role. … What I want for them is slow burn slice of life of being coworkers and slowly getting to know each other better, pretty fluffy, but god, put this way they’d have the potential to be such a hot layered mess of insanely mutually devoted codependence… Falin taking a hit for Namari and Namari being scarred by it forever, lots of arguments about it, my god.

I like that she’s the fighter to Falin’s healer. I looove thinking of scenes of Falin healing Namari, necessitating touch and like, a moment of slowing down and sitting together in silence, too intimate, the perfect opportunity to connect that neither truly want to take until one day they do. I love how onesided I imagine the relationship would be at first. Again, as per my interpretation of Falin, I think Namari would have all these little observations and opinions on Falin meanwhile Falin really doesn’t think of Namari much at first. So Namari thinks a lot about Falin and thinks she’s got her pinned down but hasn’t (not that she’s fully wrong, she’d have credit and confront Falin on some of her flaws like the doormat thing), while Falin is very passive about Namari and doesn’t think deeply about her or anything but she read Namari’s insecurities and logic well. Not unlike how Laios was the one who seemed to understand Namari’s way of care the best in the party in the tentacles episode, and how he was very understanding of her choice and reasons. In Falin’s case it’s more like, the objectivity of passivity… She cares about Namari less than Laios who generally seeks to form bonds, so her lack of investment allows her a neutral perspective. In that way another parallel with Namari that I’m drawing, except Namari lets feelings from her opinions seeps in more… Onesided beef my beloved. I’m going insane save me this post was a mistake. I think Falin takes the crumbs of friendship and love where she can without expecting or asking for anything more than what’s offered, and I think her relationship with Namari (or anyone really) would start out the way it did with Marcille: the other takes the initiative and they end up spending time together, Falin is friendly but unattached until the bond gets gradually and wordlessly strenghtened through regularly spending moments together. So! I think Namari would need to take a lot of the first steps, which since again she’s confrontational & argumentative and doesn’t hold herself back on that front that could spark a lot of conversations I think. Ooor since Falin cares about Namari less than Laios and Marcille she allows herself to be bolder herself lol. Or also circumstances force them to spend time together like dungeon party getting separated shenanigans.

I think their personalities match cutely, I think falin would try to protect namari like she does others but also Namari simply doesn’t need protection, just support. And I think they’re complementary in that way that Namari’s friendly but also won’t sugarcoat things, and I think if she takes an interest in Falin it could go from there and she could develop some understanding of her and idk like an intrigued crush….

Namari wants stability & security & to, like, not be judged and rejected and exiled lol, to find her nest her pack the place where she feels good and wanted in. I think having a fitting partner would help in that (similarly to how the found family with the Flokes seemed to. Oh another parallel, Falin’s top priority is protecting Laios her brother and what Namari are a family figure) and I think Falin would fulfill that cozy protection and that warm ‘being seen and not judged’ feeling. But also Namari would run up to her and yell about her trying to sacrifice herself ever.

Another fun thread to explore: post-canon guilt for not having gone to save her. Sure, they weren’t close, but they had some nice memories, didn’t they? Namari cares, and it stings despite herself when it feels like people think she doesn’t. Oh it wasn’t a lost cause after all, oh it’d have worked out, oh I could have stayed loyal and it wouldn’t have compromised myself in the end. Wanting to apologize to Falin, or just ahnging out with her and sharing a moment after she wakes up. And tangent but that’s interesting to think about… Narratively, I think the purpose of Namari and Toshiro in the story, beyond strenghtening the theme of "seek to understand what is different from you and promote unity despite them" and fleshing the cast and worldbuilding, is Toshiro’s purpose was being a foil & tool in Laios’ arc (trouble connecting with people) while Namari’s was being and a foil & tool in Marcille’s arc (standing up for ideals without being out of touch with harsh realities and needs). They are the conflict that push our protagonists to grow— and they explore different ways of dealing with a situation or topic, different ways of growing into themselves on that end: Laios needing to listen to others more and Toshiro needing to focus on voicing himself more to be able to connect, Marcille needing to learn ideals sometimes cost too much and Namari needing to internalize that ideals are sometimes worth risks (not only to be able to find a reasonable but fulfilling life balance, but also to get in touch with their compassion: Namari restricts her own too much and Marcille is too harsh on people she deems to be breaking values, like Namari not risking her life and career for a friend with no promise of success, or even like how Namari is harsh on Falin’s way of doing things : too gentle, too soft, too idealistic) (similarly to Chilchuck’s arc with Marcille too, and he also plays a hand in advancing that arc in the Namari chapters). We are getting far from namalin sorry ummm preview for future analyses like Toshiro’s contrasting approach to grief and accepting loss.

More post-canon namalin! Thinking about a timeline where… Namari is fond of Falin finding herself and going off to do her thing. "Finally!" she thinks. If she’s still for hire, maybe Falin would want her to come along, either as guide or bodyguard <3, she knows Namari has a lot of good avice on a lot of things to give, plus they’ve worked together before. She hires Namari and they travel for a bit. Travel would do Namari good too I think, even if her end goal is to settle and I think Falin’s would be too eventually. Seeing sights that light her wonder for the world and going places where people don’t know her story, don’t recognize her face or her name. Them, feeling free. Finding a companionship that feels uplifting instead of stifling or charged. Namari having been too in her head about reputation and social games and money that they hit the roads and spend time in nature and it’s like, woah. I’ve been living in a small world with made up rules.

Ahh yes romance, Namari and Falin kissing after 3 years of not really knowing each other despite seeing each other every day then 2 months of wanting to spend more and more time together until they’re an inseparable duo! Workwives. I want them to stand next to each other during campire time and Namari cracks little jokes and Namari laughs. I want Namari to gift Falin a bug caught in amber and for it to be their wedding/promised to each other thing.

TLDR

Rowdy but levelheaded barbarian x gentle healer that will also cave your face in with a mace I like it…… They’re an interesting duo of mixed stuff. Protection being your purpose and what you’re worth for, literally being a meat shield (Laios, Tansu), finding your individuality recognized and validated through a growing bond with the other. Sticking around as a love language. Also bug immortalized in amber and it being beautiful.

Nevermind this wasn’t short. Um! Anyways.

[iri-desky]

I love you characters who are an extension of other characters. I love you characters who are inherently defined by their relationship to other characters. I love you characters who people hear the name of and go "Oh, (name)'s friend/partner/enemy?" but barely ever the character's own role in the world. I love you characters who are defined by their relationships and who want to be something more but just can't, maybe because they just plain don't want to. I love you characters who love the character they're an extension of even if they do the most awful horrible things, even though everyone else hates them for it, because that's what they're meant for. I love you characters who just devote themselves to this "role" in such a painfully awful self deprecating way even though they could be so much more. I love you characters who even risk their life for it. I love you characters who still recognize it can be unhealthy. I love you characters who don't even know it's unhealthy to begin with. I love you characters who still burn bright regardless. I love you characters who might not even ask for anything in return. I love you characters who beg and yearn for what's due to them. God, I even love you, characters who aren't even truly all this, who FORCE themselves into this role out of sheer self deprecation, believing themselves to be an extension while absolutely everyone else sees them as their own unique individual in a tragic case of unreliable narration. I just plain love you characters who are considered an "extension" but in truth this existence as a flat "extension" is what makes them a richer character due to the complexity of their dynamic with the other character that initially seemed simple. I love you. Anyway, this is so sad. Alexa play Tightrope from the Greatest Showman soundtrack

[pinkarsonist0]

I just got done playing Dead Plate, here are my thoughts and analysis:

It's so interesting how Rody and Vincent perfectly parallel each other, though Vincent's way of mirroring Rody is shown with metaphors and symbolism.

Rody tries again and again to try to win back Manon, he loves her to death more than anything. He job hops in order to get money to impress her, he waits by the phone hoping she'll answer his calls he even has to hear from VINCENT that Manon has ended their relationship when his love for Manon blinded him of their breakup.

But Vincent's parallel to Rody is shown metaphorically, look at his cooking:

He scribbles out reviews from critics that are less than perfect, when Rody reveals he has been letting Vincent's meals for him collect dust in his fridge he looks as if Rody just spit in his face and he is constantly changing the menu.

Vincent said he lost his taste as a child. The dude literally considers his favorite food to be a lemon. A god damn lemon. He has been shown to become VERY upset over mistakes, big or small in his kitchen (Unless it's Rody).

I'm convinced cooking is a metaphor for trying to impress people and feel accomplished but failing every time. I think Vincent comes from a not very good household, and it's manifesting in his adulthood. Vincent has a passion for cooking and food, I believe this had been the case ever since childhood, but when he saw his families apathy towards it, he grew desperate to impress them. To show them that he could do something GREAT with his talent, he works and works to improve, finding any dish that would wow people, yet nothing.

He starts cooking to impress people, he no longer does it for himself, it's too feel accomplished. This goes on until cooking isn't even considered a hobby of Vincent's, he's doing it for others rather than himself. It gets to point he barely enjoys cooking and food in general, so losing his taste is symbolism for Vincent losing out to his hobby to impress others.

He says after losing his taste, he is desperate for a dish. Everything tasted the damn same. It drove him crazy. He wanted something different if we connected that with Vincent trying to impress Rody with his dish, we can also connect that to the theory that Vincent was in love with Rody. If he did like him, I don't think Vincent saw him as an actual potential lover, he saw Rody as another chance to impress the people he couldn't, could Rody remind him of someone that Vincent was desperate to impress? And seeing Rody, he saw a second chance to be a big shot, to prove others wrong and to finally be accomplished?

Vincent literally agrees to date Manon despite being a gay man, just to cook her and feed her to Rody in hopes that he'll love it. Vincent knew Rody LOVES Manon, as long as she's involved he will love whatever it is, so Vincent sees Manon as his key to his goal and kills her. But that doesn't work, and he dies.

They both mirror each other in such interesting ways, I love it.

Rody probably learned his lesson and eventually moved on from Manon, but Vincent didn't see what was the problem, that there was no unique dish that he needed he just needed to rediscover his passion and stop using food to seek validation, yet he died chasing a goal that would never happen.

In conclusion, Dead Plate's theme is trying to impress people and seek validation that we lose ourselves and don't even think about what we want. At times, it may even end us.

[flower-me-not]

So to start of this post- im not gay

at least I dont think so

BUT THIS DAMN MAN

LOOK AT HIS SCRUMCIOUS SMILE

so i went back to think of all the men i

ever

so

dearly

love

and i see a pattern

They. Are. All. Baby. Girls.

Which I'm now looking at them and realizing a bigger pattern

As we can see the defining feature is that they are all baby girls. But as we can also see, they could be classified into two different categories, edgy emo and golden retriever.

(I would put N from murder drones on here, but I am counting anime boys- boys in general is a whole nother can of worms.)

So to whom may see this, I bid you farewell.

PS; I don't know who to credit for Xiao and Chuuya art

Casper, Sasaki and Rody are all official art by the creators

[saltyowlets]

I like Rook. I think their character is fine, and they deserve to be the leader of the Veilguards. They are working double time to save the world, to help their team members, and the factions.

But there is something about the original trilogy protags. They are just BEASTS

Hero of Fereldan, Champion of Kirkwall, and Herald of Andraste, they are just monsters on their own right. They feel indomitable, forces to be reckoned even without their crew.

[hey-cringelord]

mouthwashing is such a good game! wish people would stop talking about it

[kohakurin8]

~ A Devouring Obsession ~

Dissecting the message behind the bistro horror game, Dead Plate

‼️ WARNING ‼️

This post contains spoilers for the entire game and all 4 endings. If you would like to play the game before reading, you can download it at the link below.

Being a French Waiter Sounds Fun, Right?

First of all, I'd like to start by saying I absolutely LOVE this game by @racheldrawsthis and the amazing people at Studio Investigrave. The story will permanently occupy a part of my brain, which is exactly why I'm taking the time to share my thoughts on it.

In this game, we play as a happy-go-lucky waiter named Rody, who's just started his new job at a famous 1960s French bistro, La Gueule De Saturne.

His boss is a prolific chef named Vincent Charbonneau, who's equally odd as he is talented. He stands in the back of the bistro kitchen and watches his cooks meticulously prepare his day-by-day cuisine, meanwhile Rody is mysteriously the only waiter.

It's worth noting that the "diner style" gameplay is incredibly fun and really impactful to the overall experience of the story. Even though it seems to only be particularly relevant in the first playthrough or so (however long it takes you to buy the Matches), I still absolutely love the feature.

The Difference Between Love and Obsession

Sadly enough, I've seen a lot of debate going around in the fandom and Rach's ask-box about shipping connected to the game. While I support headcanons and unique interpretations of the source material (and don't hate the ship), just as any creator should, I also cannot stress enough that this is NOT a story about Love!

The story of Dead Plate is incredibly immersive and very well written, meaning that just as in life there is very much a possibility for the events between Rody and Vince to have ended better. But the point of the story is to actually illustrate the tragedy of Obsession and how it can ruin a person.

To preface, if neither Rody nor Vince had indulged in their obsessions, things could have ended a lot better for everyone involved. But sometimes in life, tragedy strikes, and there's nothing you can do but learn to accept it. The best outcome, the happy ending, isn't always the reality.

So if any of you out there still believe that the game of Dead Plate was "shipbaiting" somehow, or if you struggle to see the differences between Love and Obsession portrayed in the story, well...

Allow me to elaborate!

The Manon Hangup

We all know Rody and Vince, whether you've played the game or just got a bit curious about it on the Internet. But, the third major character who holds the stories of these two boys together like glue is our dearly departed Manon.

Although her identity is mostly hidden until after the first ending, Manon is soon revealed to be Rody's ex-girlfriend and Vince's current girlfriend. She serves as both the object of Rody's obsession and the catalyst of Vince's obsessions — although, despite her being the story's primary victim, I can't help but feel she's also a bit guilty of Crime of Inactivity for the events which transpire.

Rody and Manon had been dating for a while, I think since even before Rody dropped out of university. He would spend all of his time and money trying to make sure she was always happy, neglecting himself to the point that Manon finally broke up with him.

And then went after a rich, famous chef almost immediately... Ya know... As normal people do...

Needless to say, Rody believes he's madly in love with Manon. He's constantly talking about how absolutely in love with her he is — about songs he wants to write for her, and things he wants to do to make her happy. And all of this definitely gives the illusion of love, but if you actually pay attention to what he says and how he acts, it's pretty obvious that Rody isn't in love at all.

Rody is obsessed with the idea of being in love...

See, when you're in love with someone, you talk about them — who they are, what they enjoy, how they make you feel, etc. But Rody never says anything like this about Manon; if he did, then we would have understood who she was better before Ending 3. Instead, everything he says about her is an "I" statement.

"I bought her gifts!"

"I want to take her to dinner!"

Yet, even when asked questions about Manon, Rody can barely answer them. The best detail we can get out of him is that she might be a little materialistic.

Rody's obsession was never about Manon, it was instead about how having a girlfriend made him feel. That's why he held onto her so hard, why you have the option to try calling her every single night, and why he simply can't even accept the fact that she broke up with him.

This likely has something to do with trauma in Rody's past, although we'll never really know. What we DO know is that Rody's behavior could have possibly been corrected if Manon had simply acted sooner in the relationship.

Why did she wait until he was so far gone to finally take action?

Why did she start dating a richer guy almost immediately?

We don't know enough about Manon to say for sure, but I suspect she may have been passively taking advantage of Rody until the guilt was too much to bear. Which in itself didn't exactly lead to her death and the ruining of three lives, but Manon still had the opportunity to stop this entire debacle before it even had a prayer of happening.

The Torment of a Chef

So now we slide over to Vincent's obsession, which is admittedly more detailed and complex than Rody's. After all, he's a trained chef in France, the capital of culinary arts! It's no doubt his job is way more high stress than you could possibly imagine.

But there's so much more to his psyche than that...

Rach has given us a lot of details about Vince, and I'm going to be referencing them quite a bit in order to properly explain the nature of his complex obsession.

Let's start with the fact that, although it isn't directly confirmed, it's been mentioned quite a lot that Vince's parents don't show him any love — this of course would be the reason why he has no idea what love actually is or what it feels like. The only thing he's probably ever loved in his life is food, which makes it all the more devastating that he lost his sense of taste when he was a small child.

Vincent spent his entire life learning how to cook perfect food, yet he despises eating and can't taste ANY of the masterpieces he cooks. That alone would be maddening.

Yet, it gets worse for him. Because Vincent doesn't understand love, that also means he doesn't understand how to put love into his dishes — the one ingredient every chef will tell you is most important in cuisine. (I should note I actually have a little bit of a background in professional food services) It's a huge insecurity for Vince, and rightfully so! Despite all of the people who praise his skill, there's always a handful that will call it "bitter" or "soulless" despite that.

But that's fine, he's fine. He's managing that insecurity. So what if he can't cook with love? Who even knows what love is anyway? He's still famous, and talented, and well renowned. He doesn't need those heartless critics.

Until he met Rody...

The two of them went to the same university, although it's pretty evident they didn't interact much back then. It's possible that Vincent's obsession with Rody started in university, watching him from afar, but that's uncertain.

What is certain is that Vince became obsessed with Rody after the ginger became a waiter at the bistro. Vincent heard Rody talk constantly about how much he loved Manon, that it started to make Vincent think... What if that was his key to cooking with love..?

Remember how Vince doesn't understand love? Well, it's important to consider that although one might not understand what love is or how to show it, that doesn't mean that they don't feel love.

Vincent is canonically gay, and also canonically obsessed with Rody. But why did he become obsessed with Rody in the first place? Usually when you latch into a person like that it isn't for some random, niche reason. So it seems highly possible that Vincent was in love with Rody.

He even did his best to show his love to Rody in the only way he knew how — by cooking.

Each night, Vince sends Rody home with "leftovers" — except, they aren't actually leftovers; they're dishes which Vince specially cooked himself specifically for Rody. He desires more than anything for Rody to enjoy his cooking, because he has no other way to show his love.

The issue with that is Rody is one of the people who expressly believes that Vince's food is soulless. Granted, he's the sort of person who would praise Burger King so honestly his opinion should be taken with a grain of salt, buuuutttt... That's not how this works.

Vince loves Rody, therefore Rody's opinion is important.

Rody "loves" Manon, therefore Vince is jealous of Manon.

I suspect this is why Vince was willing to agree to a relationship with Manon in the hopes of killing her. See, he's so obsessed with cooking "love" for Rody that if you choose to give cheese to the rat in the kitchen on Day 4, Vince cooks the rat as one of the meals for Rody.

Why? Because Rody showed it love.

It's the exact same reason that he decided to murder and cook Manon into the Grilled Hanger Steak.

I know you're going to say "But, wait! He wanted to eat Rody too!" and yeah, he does eat Rody in Ending 4. But let me impart some wisdom onto you all as to why his meticulous plan took these tragic events.

I know it's tempting to buy into the idea that Vincent intended to eat Rody all along, but consider his dialogue in Day 7 for a moment.

As he's talking to Rody, Vincent reveals his true nature — all he wanted was for Rody to eat the steak he made and taste the love he felt for Manon. He never once mentions a desire to eat people himself. Not until Rody tries to escape and Vince snaps, declaring:

"But... Maybe you ..."

It's only then that Vincent actually starts attempting to kill Rody. After all, if he really wanted to kill Rody, he wouldn't be so willing to have a conversation with him (or get mad when he couldn't escape the freezer in Ending 2)

The issue in Vincent snapped when Rody found Manon's locket in the freezer. His plan was completely ruined, and with no plan B, he lashed out. It's also worth noting that Rach confirmed Vincent is a lightweight when it comes to alcohol.

Funny how he attacks Rody with a corkscrew and you find a broken wine bottle in his office, huh?

It isn't confirmed, but I consider it highly likely that Vince was drunk on the night of Day 7.

If Vince was inebriated when Rody made him snap, it would explain his impulsive and irrational behavior. Drunken minds lead one to do all sorts of things, and it's likely that it played a role in Vince's plan shifting from making Rody taste love...

...to eating Rody in the hopes of tasting anything love for himself.

Because it isn't Rody's love of Manon that Vince thinks he'll taste. That was never how the theory worked.

It would be Vince tasting his love of Rody.

Who's the Real Villain?

Vincent might be the antagonist of our story, but that doesn't necessarily make him the villain. After all, his actions were entirely circumstantial to Rody's behavior. Which means that—

You guessed it

Our true villain is Rody.

This is something I really love that I've noticed in the 3/5 Studio Investigrave games I've played so far — the protagonist tends to be an unconventional villain.

In Rody's case, I'm sure it comes as a shock considering his himbo-puppy demeanor, but if you take a step back and look at him it's pretty obvious. Everything in the story happened because of Rody's self-sacrificing behavior.

Rody's obsession with Manon fueled Vince's obsession with him. His unwillingness to see the consequences of how he treated himself allowed it to hurt everyone around him.

If Rody could have accepted his break-up with Manon, she might not have ended up dead. If he could have reigned in his obsessions then neither of them may have ended up dead.

In a better timeline, Rody and Vince may have even been able to find love in each other.

But this isn't that story.

This is a tragedy.

A timeline where everything goes to the worst possible outcome. Where obsession devoured three lives...

Thank you all for taking the time to read all of this!

If you'd like to discuss the theories or have any questions, feel free to ask or send me a message ~

[kyuuuu]

Something something blah blah blah Rody is quite perceptive about Vince's tendencies. He's able to make very deep cutting comments about how Vince is too selfish to make a good meal (translation: love someone) and will never be satisfied- but despite being good at reading people who he doesn't even particularly like, Rody himself is not good at self reflection (ex. his bad handling with Manon's farewell and his surprise at that everyone thought he was going to flunk out of college)- further feeding into the fact that he's someone who would pour himself out for others but is incapable of thinking about himself. He's similarly insatiable like Vince for the opposite reasons, his selflessness makes a poor and inaccurate self image and will probably, ultimately, lead to his own destruction

PS: Probably the reason he's so selfless is bc of a toxic cycle where he's unable to perceive himself and his inner strengths -> he believes he's better at loving others than loving himself -> he gets hurt from his give no take policies and has his self esteem plummet -> rinse and repeat??

PPS: I genuinely don't think that any of the endings of Dead Plate is a 'happy' ending bc of this since Rody is ultimately unable to overcome his obsessiveness. Vincent may be the antagonist but he's not Rody's greatest enemy. Rody's enemy is himself. Even with Vincent gone Rody has a long long way to go.