#such a devolution arc

[robbyykeene]

ngl I'm still pissed off that the writers wrote Aisha out of the show because "there are no more storylines for her" but then added a million different characters (most of them underdeveloped and nowhere near as interesting as Aisha).

Yeah, same :/ she was literally my favorite character and the show just has never been the same without her. I know season 3 was their last youtube season so there could have been budget cuts or smth associated with why they cut her, but ultimately the reasons don’t really matter to me as much as the effect it had on the show. I know she wasn’t a “main” character but she was truly the beating heart of the show for me in so many ways. Johnny’s first real student after Miguel, Sam’s childhood best friend, close friend of Miguel and Tory. She connected and humanized a lot of the other characters, as well as just being her own standalone character who felt real and compelling. I miss her so much

[iwritenarrativesandstuff]

I think another thing that makes Legato so incredibly tragic is… how do I put this?

Usually, in character arcs where the character in question wants to be important to another, it’s because they feel needed but not wanted, which is understandable, and I think a common experience that many of us have, which kind of explains its ubiquity - that feeling of being unwanted, and by extension, unloved.

But Legato is different. He wants to be needed - necessary to Knives on a level above everyone else. Because he has been wanted. Wanted in all the most horrifically perverse ways, wanted as a plaything, a creature of no dignity. To be needed then, is for Legato to be a person that Knives literally cannot do without, not just a “weak” want or flight of fancy or desire, but the key cog in the works that cannot be replaced. For his efforts and even tears shed on his behalf to be demeaned is devastating for him.

So even though Knives requests Legato be returned to him, which signifies some level of wanting him there, time and again… he never acknowledges him or what he does as needed, leading Legato to grow more and more desperate and unhinged, even going against Knives’ wishes, to get any acknowledgement that he is needed at all… which he never does.

And of course this really messes up Legato even worse. He needs Knives, we are told that outright. Legato has no will to live beyond him. But Knives doesn’t need Legato. (Or at least, that’s what Legato gets from their interactions - I’m of the mind that Knives couldn’t have been half as successful in anything he did without Legato tbh.)

And what’s so fascinating is that it’s ultimately selfish. Legato wants so badly to be Knives’ most important person, and honestly, much in the same way as being wanted is a form of love for most, I think being needed is the only form of love that Legato can even really accept. I think so often about that “I wanted to know him” line - Legato is not the embodiment of selfless devotion at all! This is a desire for a more personal connection that inspired everything Legato does.

But since so many other ways to be loved and appreciated have been so brutally perverted for Legato (such as wanting beyond needing), what else does he have, other than fighting to get the person he needs to need him back just as desperately?

[polarismirage]

i still wish we were getting getter arc+devo in SRWY

the interactions between devo ryoma and takuma would be incredible

well, maybe in the next game

[infinitegeli]

sorry if you've answered this before, but what do you think of taco's immidient switch into her viseral hatred of the game post losing mic? do you think its just her trying to get everyone to quit or does she genuinely detest the game for ruining what was her one honest happy relationship (with someone who knew the real her, not to deligate pickle and taco but to me their relationship is much different because of it)

THIS IS DEFINITELY SOMETHING ID HAVE TO REQATCH THE EP TO ANSWER CONFIDENTLY. but anwyays taco is very unreliable and what she says outwardly is almost always taken lightly by me because she contradicts herself a ton and lies a lot to avoid putting herself into vulnerable situations. I don’t think she cares about the other contestants very much and taco has always been a very self serving character. if ae really meant to write her as someone sincerely acting selflessly to preserve the wellbeing of people she hardly ever considers,I would be very very surprised...so the answer is the latter. she’s in her bitter revenge arc..she’s tearing up whatever she thinks ruined things between her and mic…which also happens to include herself as well but that’s not rly relevant rn

[waterdeepthroat]

oh my god.

the sharran anti-masturbation text has got me thinking some thoughts for the music industry au

[physalian]

3 More Character Types the World Needs More Of

Or at least, I do.

1. The denied redeemed villain

I need this. So badly right now. So, so, so many “redemption arcs” are half-assed and carry undertones of guilt by the heroes, gaslighting them into thinking the villain “wasn’t all that bad” right before they make some big heroic sacrifice, as if that’s ever enough to make up for the damage that was done.

But you know what I never see? A villain who’s done some awful shit, wakes up to reality, tries to apologize and… is denied. No, it’s not enough to be sorry. No, you’re not absolved of your crimes just because you cry really hard on your knees. Yes, you have to work for it. Yes, even if you work for it for the rest of your whole life, those you hurt are not obligated to forgive you.

Example that sadly did not happen in canon: Enji Todoroki

2. The liar revealed who loses

This fucker lies and cheats his way into his lover’s arms (and liars revealed are always men, because their love interests are always women put in the place of “but he tried really hard and you need to forgive him uwu” unless it’s gay). Similar to above, no, you do not get rewarded just for feeling sorry.

This character builds an entire relationship (and it’s specifically romance that I take such an issue with) on a lie. They are not who they say they are, specifically, they lie about their identity because they know their lover would not let this happen if they knew the truth.

It’s one thing to lie about something inconsequential, or to lie about something unrelated, but to lie deliberately to present yourself as the perfect suitor—and these are never little white lies, these are usually entirely false identities, or secrets so damning that risking the truth could mean arrest or even death—just. Why?

Yeah, okay, you never thought you’d get this far. Cool. You don’t have to tell her the truth, but you have to leave before you trick her into sleeping with you.

It’s just. So squicky. And the lesson always is that he deserves love, that he makes up for it with everything else, that he’s just got a winning personality. She always forgives him, even if they fight about it, it’s so, so predictable.

Examples that did not lose: Aladdin, Evan Hansen

3. The paragon who loses faith

I don’t know that we need a whole bunch of these characters, but so many paragons are painted as heroes with unshakable loyalty to their causes and I’d love to see a devolution of character where they just can’t keep smiling and pretending it’s alright. That there is a limit to how much shit they can take.

They don’t have to go full villain, but maybe they just stop caring, maybe they get cynical, maybe they just don’t show up for work the next day, maybe they’re not there when they’re needed the most.

There’s a few stories I can think of where the masses realize they’ve screwed up and show the hero that their faith has been rewarded (Nolan Bats being one of them) but I mean really a hero who just cannot take it anymore, throws in the towel, and walks away knowing it’s the hardest thing they’ve ever had to do.

Example: (kind of) Captain America

—

Sorry this list is kind of a bummer. It’s a bummer kind of week.

[lynns-bonkle-blog]

Stuff that actually happens in Bionicle:

Sexy snakes invent capitalism and then face severe regulation by a bunch of demonic mad scientists.

One of said mad scientists impersonated the mayor of a Frutiger Aero dystopia and put all of the citizens into The Pokéballs That Make You Smaller.

There are six fish-themed warlords with (for the most part) really on-the-nose names. They weren't always fish-themed, they just happened to be in a prison that became flooded with The Water That Makes You A Fish. Their main underling is a four-armed squid-man, who is naturally immune to The Water That Makes You A Fish.

The setting's equivalent of Hephaestus made a bunch of useful stuff, including but not limited: to the first six protagonists, the leader of the Bionicle CIA, some cool planes, and the Bionicle CIA's prison-warden robots.

One of the Magic Frisbees that are the central macguffins of the 2004 arc was stuck between the teeth of the Bionicle equivalent of The Bloop.

Some shark guys who were the antagonists of the 2006 arc got put into the Water That Makes You A Fish. They got turned into eels.

There's an entire group of heroes who were brought together to protect the mad scientist I mentioned earlier, then got turned into tiny lizard creatures by one of the sexy snakes, and they didn't get turned back until thousands of years later.

A random villager from an underwater city (which is directly next to the prison that got flooded with the Water That Makes You A Fish) was transformed by the main macguffin into said prison's jailer, who by that point had already been dead for several millenia after being shanked by the blue fish-themed warlord.

There's a substance called Black Fire, which isn't literally black fire. The CIA's warden robots are filled with (and presumably powered by) it, and can shoot it out of their giant impractical swords.

The Makuta devolution scene.

Bionicle Frankenstein's name can also refer to his private island and also a giant plant monster.

[burst-of-iridescent]

the thing with zuko and azula that people, specifically azula stans, seem to forget is that they are intentionally and specifically characterised in opposition to each other.

i keep seeing discourse about how azula deserves a redemption arc & even leaving aside the fact that a) saying someone “deserves” a redemption defeats the purpose of what redemption is and b) there was no space in the original show for azula to redeem herself anyway, azula could not have been redeemed because part of her narrative purpose is to be a foil to zuko.

zuko and azula are each the metric against which the other’s evolution (or devolution) is measured, and it’s the striking disparity between their character arcs that makes said arcs as impactful as they are: the child who swallowed the poison vs the child who spat it out. the fire nation royal who perpetuated the cycle of violence vs the fire nation royal who broke it. the abuse victim who became an abuser vs the abuse victim who became a protector.

would zuko’s redemption have felt as satisfying and hard-won if we hadn’t seen in azula the alternate path he might have so easily gone down? would azula’s downfall have been as terrible and saddening if we hadn’t seen the possibility of a better future embodied in zuko?

thematically speaking as well, the fire nation royal family exists as a microcosm of the fire nation itself — the generational trauma and violence passed down from sozin to azulon to ozai to azula and zuko is symbolic of how the fire nation’s warmongering has turned inwards, back on itself, a self-inflicted wound that grows and festers and rots until they’ve destroyed themselves just as much as they’ve destroyed the world. but where zuko represents a way out — hope for healing, for peace, for an end to the self-destructive nature of war — azula represents the cost of that war, the damage that can never be undone, the danger of remaining mired in an ouroboros, forever the snake that bites its own tail.

a version of the show where both zuko and azula redeem themselves together would have lost the grave, sobering impact of that message: that getting out as zuko did is the exception, not the norm, because the system in which they exist is built to be a trap. and even when that system is dismantled, the destruction it’s wrought cannot be fully erased.

the point of zuko and azula’s story lies in its inherent juxtaposition: there was never going to be room for both of them to rise or even fall together, not in the world in which they were raised and the virtues it extolled. and it’s because zuko exists as who azula could have been and azula exists as who zuko might have been, that their individual arcs are so powerfully poignant, and their relationship so infinitely tragic.



[shabbytigers]

top tips for young people: you know the back stretching thing? the one where you start from standing up, lean over all the way, dangling your arms, then actually stretch your arms lightly downward so your hands are hanging out around your feet, and then slowly uncoil your back upward, going “vertebra by vertebra” at least in theory, lifting your stretched arms in front of you to describe an arc, until you’re standing with your arms above your head in a sort of tall O?

it’s a bit like a sun salutation but not the hard part, where you plank out for the down-on-the-ground back arching. the thing i mean is simpler. you literally just stand there and repeatedly fiddlehead and unfiddlehead yourself

so i had to do that in like eight different phys ed etc contexts in my childhood through early twenties? and tbh i always thought it was pointless and boring

well. it isn’t pointless and you should keep doing it every couple of months just to check things are still good, because if you go like twenty years without thinking to do it — which is easy, right. you’re no longer getting phys ed serendipitously in the course of school. maybe you were so busy formal exercise had to be deprioritized. maybe you’re active, but only doing cardio, or only playing football, or stretching regularly but only your legs, not your back —

your back might kinda fuse up into regions that act like frozen plaques each of which won’t coil or uncoil internally anymore such that you can no longer fiddlehead and unfiddlehead yourself in one smooth motion, but can only do a weird jerky version of the thing, like what a guy made of lego would do

this is: A Bunch Of Bullshit

i’m not the world’s biggest athlete, i always had minor issues with balance and agility, but i’m very physically functional generally speaking, and it absolutely frosts me that my back is basically this

and it feels like actually doing the thing on the regular maybe would have avoided full devolution into patio

so, you know, have the free advice for what it’s worth

[tangerinearies]

Scum Villain Masterlist

Explicit Rating | Mature Rating

Gotcha4Gaza

Compelling Argument - QiJiuYuan

Jealous YQY - LiuJiu

Exploring Gender - ShenYuan

Sleepy Cuddles - QiJiuYuan

Steam - ShenJiu

Respecting Shizun - BingQiuYing

Clingy - BingQiu

BJ - BingYuan

CatJiu - QiJiu

BingQiu Cards

5 Years - BingQiu

Prison - BingQiu

More Art

Pathetic Husband - BingQiu

Videos

Abyss Arc SQQ

Skinzun

Animals

Zhuzhi Lang Snake + Sketch

Bingpup Devolution

Skinzun

All

Text

What animals are Shen Yuan/Jiu

[sihayadunee]

THE MAIDEN and THE PREDATOR

a thread on the mythic character archetypes found in amc’s immortal universe, following rowan mayfair and louis de pointe du lac

This thread is based on the character archetypes researched, identified and summarized by author KM Weiland.

Rowan and Louis both begin their arcs in a shadow form of their maiden archetype. Rowan as a Damsel and Louis as a Vixen. These archetypes are not gendered, they simply represent the life stage the characters are in.

A Damsel is avoiding the consequences of their dependency on others.

A Vixen is selling their integrity to obtain or maintain security.

During the Maiden Arc, the protagonist is typically faced by two antagonistic forces, which represent their outer conflict and inner conflict. The Authority and The Predator. The specifics of Rowan and Louis’s stories will determine which is which.

THE AUTHORITY

Despite all Rowan’s achievements in life, her Too-Good Mother’s choice to hide truths about her identity and power cause Rowan to be ill equipped for the Real World. This then evolves into an abstract concept of “institution”, that being the Talamasca.

She has many Authority Figures: Cortland the Naive Father who “sacrifices” the Maiden. Carlotta the Devouring Mother.

Thus, she becomes dependant on everyone else to save her, to have the answers, and runs from Authority figure to Authority figure for protection.

For Louis, this antagonistic archetype is also best identified as abstract, because it is the “system” with which he as a gay black man in 1910s New Orleans must contend, in order to provide for his family.

This is the root of where his shadow archetype of a vixen originates. This is “Louis the Pimp”.

Louis shamefully suppresses who he truly is, and sacrifices his own integrity to do disreputable work that will make money. It even leads him toward aggressive behaviour he feels guilt about.

This also doesn’t stop after he becomes a vampire, as he is still trying to exist in his old world.

THE PREDATOR

The typical depictions of The Predator are seen in “The Seven Wives of Bluebeard” and “The Girl Without Hands.”

Lasher’s key in the show was directly influenced by Bluebeard. Meanwhile Lestat “breaking” Louis is reminiscent of the rejected Devil cutting off the girl’s hands.

The Predator always wants a willing bride/groom, and is initially persuasive and seductive, typically presenting themselves as having the answers the Protagonist needs to get away from their old restrictive world.

Lestat’s alter proposal, and Lasher’s thrall are both these scenes.

This is the point where we have to talk about Death and the Maiden and how the Predator can be redeemed as the previous excerpt describes.

To do so the Predator must set themselves apart from the Death figure who consumes the Maiden or the Monster ultimately vanquished.

Both Lasher and Lestat bridal carry Rowan and Louis, crossing thresholds to their lairs, and toward beds for consummation of union. These are characteristics of raptus and themes compatible with Death and the Maiden or Hades and Persephone.

But will these Maidens remain in the underworld?

Louis remains in the underworld for a significant amount of time, succumbing often to devolutions in his character arc.

But eventually with the help of his Protector, his anima—Claudia—Louis is able to slay the beast. Just as the bride is helped by her sister(s) to defeat Bluebeard.

Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estés talks about the ending of the Bluebeard tale and how his death allows him to be dismembered, incubated, and reborn—redeemed.

We see how Lestat is similarly disposed of. Literally thrown in the trash. Then given time to slowly gestate and reemerge from his coffin.

This is followed by that acknowledgment Weiland talks about. Lestat takes ownership for his behaviour, and does not continue to try and posses Louis through manipulations and control, instead lets him grow. Live his life. Thus allowing for Lestat’s redemption as the Predator.

Rowan herself embodies Hel the Goddess of Life and Death, her magic being something to kill or to heal. She literally incubates and facilitates Lasher’s rebirth.

Reborn Lasher also deals with the evil he has done/his nature as a “Beast” which makes him the redeemable Predator or Animal Husband.

In the finale of S1 Rowan finished her transitions from Maiden to Hero. Whilst Louis stays a Vixen half of Season One, and becomes a Damsel toward the final half before becoming a Hero.

Both are Heroes by the end of their first seasons.

In both cases, these Maidens transition out of this Arc through the death-rebirth of their Predator antagonist.

The Predator representing their inner conflict.

Whilst their Authority Figures are outer conflicts, which control the societal dynamics suppressing Rowan and Louis.

FIN.

[persephoneincarnate-deathblooms]

i find it very interesting that there is an uptick in jeff fans in the new season, and i am seeing this trend mostly with people who really dislike shauna because of her actions. i truly am not going to defend her because she IS acting insane, but for me that just makes her more compelling and interesting to watch. however, ive been seeing a trend in the way that people consume media currently where they feel that their enjoyment of a character has to be justified by the character’s morals or the morality of their actions. from my perspective, the people saying that shauna has “gone too far” and that they “can’t defend her anymore” are missing out enjoying the devolution of her psyche accelerated by her paranoia. i want to see her get and act worse, and my enjoyment of her does not speak to my own morals/values nor does engaging with her character and her arc make it so that i would endorse that behavior in real life. i would also be remiss if i didn’t point out that part of what plays into this compounding issue is misogyny. liking female characters requires a higher level of justification and that becomes even worse when they are flawed and/or “villains”. a comparison to demonstrate this would be comparing the character hannibal lecter from nbc’s hannibal to shauna shipman from yellowjackets. when i get edits or content about hannibal rarely go i see comments going “he literally killed and ate people how can you like him” or “i can’t believe your endorsing cannibalism”. however when i get edits or content about shauna i see comments like “im in enemy territory” or “how can you like her after everything she’s done” flooded in the comment section. when enjoyment of a character is made into a reflection of a person’s character/morality, fandom spaces cannot engage in interesting or grounded discourse because it becomes disagreements turn into defenses of people’s own character instead of discussing the characters or plot. it gets very tiring. to circle back to my point in the beginning, i find jeff stans amusing (especially those who hate shauna) considering that jeff is the catalyst for all of the conflict in the adult timeline and the paranoia/wilderness taking over the surviving girls, and i think that should be discussed more when talking about the adults actions.

[dailycass-cain]

I did not like the newest (paywall) episode of Batman: Wayne Family Adventures. So consider this my review of Episode 157, "Orphan" and WHY I think this is the weakest Cass-centric episode of WFA. I will not be posting pictures of the episode. Just talking about the plot (due to respect for the series).

So consider anything below...

So the current "arc" is Cass grappling with Lady Shiva showing up and telling her the only solution to end the Joker's spree of terror is for Cass to kill him. Breaking the endless waltz that Batman/Joker do.

That eventually an innocent life of the Bat Family might occur (i.e. Steph being the example used given how the free episode ended today, but Shiva generalizes it could be anyone).

When it comes to that I don't mind it at all. I'm gonna leave the Shiva stuff to a certain Talker of the Lady when they read the story itself. Me? There's a LOT to unpack in this episode.

#1 I don't like is how Barbara and Steph phrase the situation that Shiva is the one forcing Cass to kill. Shiva is just pointing out the way she's seeing it. That Batman/Joker will keep his up and eventually-- someone in the Bat Fam might pay the price.

This is something akin to near the end of Batgirl #73 where Cass is asked by Nyssa and Shiva. That she has the power to stop those who bring death and end this cycle of violence.

It's why in his very episode #73 is referenced with Cass/Shiva's death duel and Cass admitting in this episode she did kill her mom (but again there was a Laz Pit nearby to bring her back to life).

The episode goes into showing the "death" Cass did for both David Cain and Lady Shiva. Showing she wasn't ever given the choice by either in taking a life. BUUUUUUUUUUT....

The episode kind of ignores a certain OTHER chapter in Cass's life when she killed. The one that probably SHOULD'VE been mentioned...

The whole "a worthy opponent" for a duel to the death overlooks the actual themes in #73. "A worthy opponent" for a duel to the death was #25. The problem is Cass still refused to kill even when realizing she and Shiva were similar in many regards (which allowed her to win).

The theme in this episode is Cass was "forced" to kill and well.. the only real time that happened besides in David's original training was during her EVIL phase (which is something the current ongoing isn't shying away from surprisingly).

So the whole point of the episode is Cass's trying to decide should she or not kill the Joker? And here's where the story goes MORE south for me...

After posed by Babs that does she want to kill Joker? Cass admits she's tired of fighting "what I am. What I chose to be". Again, the point of the confession is to showcase she "chose" the Orphan codename because she didn't want to no follow David or Shiva's paths.

But.... While this is the writer of the series trying to define the Orphan codename akin to Young Justice did "an Orphan shunning what she was in blood and life". That COULD have worked it just doesn't BECAUSE--

-- they then bring up New 52 David Cain and that Cass chose the name to again "stand alone" from her parents. Once again you're making Cass's origins convoluted as it already is.

That is the one problem I have in explaining the origin of Cass in the current DCU because with "everything being canon" cause it is rather confusing. Because one origin happened but didn't. So a new origin took place but then the old one bled into the new one so BOTH are here.

It's a problem enough in the main comics that explaining it in WFA is more crazy. It is the grand problem that's always hovered over the series. There is no Batgirl. Steph is Spoiler. Babs is Oracle. But therein lies the problem...

Steph/Babs were given or they evolved into these identities (which felt natural). No matter how much you try, Cass becoming Orphan wasn't a natural transition identity that she grew into. It was an identity "forced" upon her because Babs was THE Batgirl.

This goes into the core of "Orphan" identity being a "devolution" of the character than an "evolution". Because in the end, the codename "lessens" the character of Cass.

Yes, WFA creators have "skirted" around this by throwing bones. But either throw the bone or don't entirely. Because the Orphan codename doesn't deserve the history behind it. Cass never "evolved" into the codename.

Therein lies the problem of the story. By "giving" you're really taking away what was a key component of Cass. Because she understands the nature of the bat symbol like Bruce and well... without one it makes the identity more pointless.

Again, by "choosing" family you kind of negate the purpose of the Orphan identity. Cass choses to forsake everything. That's kind of hard to turn your back stuff when she's literally all about FAMILY.

Cass deserves more. Ironically the WHOLE point of Batman & the Outsiders made by Shiva herself.

Why also when a certain someone was axed in DC, the irony that Cass (and Steph) became Batgirls again well...

Look I know the creators have restrictions when it comes to WFA. But.. the episode did a great disservice to Cass. This is the first time I'm REALLY disappointed in the series on handling the character.

But I understand the good this series does. These are just my problems with this particular episode.

[polarismirage]

wish so badly that getter devo was in SRWY so its ending could serve as the ending for arc as well

(also bc takuma meeting the simulated ryoma would go hard as hell)

[khruschevshoe]

You know I'm starting to realize that my basis for my favorite Doctor Who pairings is people who change/affect each other on a fundamental level, character arcs entwined with each other's in some rather impossible (and often in both hopeful and tragic ways) and that's why although I like TenRose well enough, I ADORE NineRose (and NineRoseJack, under the same parameters). I will ship some version of TenMartha forever. TwelveMissy is my beloved. Even ElevenAmyRory functions somewhat under that same umbrella.

The trick is just that the change has to go both ways, so ElevenRiver and Thasmin (though both have their merits) just never vibed for me PERSONALLY.* River and Yaz were both changed on a fundamental level by their Doctors, but their Doctors didn't always seem to be changed fundamentally in return. Like, clearly, canonically, Eleven and Thirteen both loved River and Yaz respectively, but their character arcs and growth and/or devolution at characters were not inextricably linked by other's influence on their life.

*This is an extremely subjective opinion. Not trying to start any flame wars. Just my take on things.

[ardentpoop]

hey! not sure if you have a post about this but I'd like to hear your thoughts on Sam's wardrobe change. In the first few seasons he dresses very characteristically, very himself, I get that he grows older but later seasons just feel like a copy of Dean's wardrobe and i wanted to know if you think that mirrors his lack of autonomy and fading anger at being mistreated, just kind of absorving this environment he used to really hate (and i honestly think he still does)

I haven’t made a post abt this before because I really don’t think I have anything fresh to add in terms of how sam’s change in style reflects his shrinking role; everyone in (non-D/C) sam circles already gets it :)

could be interesting to contextualize sam’s style devolution within the show’s hunter dress code in general since the flannels (for example) were not as prevalent among the Good Guy characters at the start of the show as they became by the end. obviously a glaring symbol of americana/the american “every man”, so the fact that they became such a fixture of the show’s costuming can be attributed to the steady loss of subtlety in the storytelling, and it can also be attributed to the show inadvertently landing in a much more conservative place than it even started in, as its Us Versus Them framework of hunting shed its initial shades of gray to the point that (for example) s12’s BMOL arc is hideously uncomfortable to sit through if you understand who exactly the “monsters” represent. which tracks, given sam (the early show’s central monstrous figure) lost his powers/his vampirism alongside the distinct personal style that was most characteristic of “hot-headed”/“bitchy” s1-s3 sam, not quite fully dedicated to hunting, convinced he would still be able to make something else of his life than “the family business.” he um… assimilated.

I was gonna say “if anyone else wants to write the post feel free” but I think I mostly wrote the post after all lmfao