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hi-my-name-is-cosmopathy · 3 months ago

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The Batter Is One of My Favorite Video Game Protagonists Ever

News of the upcoming remake recently got me back into OFF, and as I played through the game for the first time in years, I was struck anew by just how great a character the Batter is.

Not just for his role in the subversive meta-narrative, which was fairly new in video games at the time, but also for really being just a really nuanced and fascinating character.

Now, even knowing the twist and the way the game ends, it might be tempting to write off the Batter as a one-note character, like, "Oh, he's just an uncaring thug who wants to kill everyone," but no, I think that's a very shallow read. The Batter has a lot of depth if you take the time to really look.

So, because I've been chomping at the bit to gush about my favorite character, let's go down a list of some of the character traits that make the Batter great.

1. Doesn't Give a Fuck...or Does He?

Years ago, there was a post on Tumblr (that I won't even try to find now) that said of the Batter, "Man, this guy just does not give a fuck," featuring a bunch of screenshots of him saying things like this:

Don't get me wrong, his terseness and lack of reaction to some of the game's most outrageous or even harrowing moments is hilarious in a kind of black comedy way, but to imply that the Batter doesn't care about anything is inaccurate.

For one thing, he drops the blunt speaking style and becomes very eloquent and even passionate when confronting those he sees as "impure."

That the game acknowledges him to be a figure controlled by a player by no means necessitates that he's merely an automaton, passionlessly following orders. He's devoted himself to his mission with the zeal of a fanatic. He fervently believes that he is right and just and that anyone who opposes him must be cut down for the greater good.

Confronting what he perceives to be evil is the most surefire way to loosen his tongue and get him fired up, which brings me to my next point:

2. Has a Strong Moral Center...Too Strong

The Batter's main goal may be to wipe out every living thing in this world, including all of the Elsens, but that doesn't mean he's indifferent to the Elsens' suffering. Far from it. He's actually deeply offended by their mistreatment.

In Zone 1, the Batter decides that Dedan is hostile and must be destroyed before Dedan has even had the chance to interact with him, meaning that Dedan being hostile to the Elsen is what made the Batter decide he has to die.

He also conveys a sense of urgency during the timed mission in Zone 2, as though urged by the sight of the Elsens in immediate danger. I don't remember his exact dialogue if you run out of time during this part, but I recall him saying something like, "We're too late..." which (if I'm remembering the line correctly) would show that he's motivated not just by a bloodlust for the Specters but by the need to save the Elsens' lives.

However, what makes this morality disturbing instead of redeeming is its lack of two things: empathy and nuance. While the Batter is able to understand that people being killed or mistreated or abused is bad, he isn't capable of empathizing with the victims. The knowledge that the people he's fighting so hard to save in Zone 2 are going to end up being killed anyway once he purifies Japhet doesn't give him pause for an instant. The inherent dissonance in that is beyond his ability to comprehend. He's so self-righteous that he sees each of his actions as good, even if they result in the same outcome for a particular individual as something he's trying to prevent. In simpler terms: When a Specter kills someone, it's bad and evil. When the Batter kills someone (even if it's the same damn person), it is right and just.

The lack of nuance in the Batter's moral compass manifests as a very simple worldview: Everything that is evil must be destroyed. This philosophy is key to the game's satire of morality in video games, where evil deeds and creatures are swiftly and violently punished by the main character, usually with death. By sticking to this worldview, the Batter is ignoring the nuance of the setting he's actually in. The Elsens whose mistreatment he's so outraged by don't want him to kill their leaders, and they don't want to be killed by the Batter anymore than they want to be killed by the Specters. But the Batter is so set in his worldview that he isn't willing to adjust. If the Zones operate in a way that he deems to be evil, then they too are inherently evil and must be destroyed. This chain of logic is taken to its natural conclusion when the Batter annihilates the whole world because, yeah, that's really the only way to eliminate evil, isn't it?

It may be tempting at this point to say that the Batter doesn't care about anything except his mission and punishing evildoers, but even that is oversimplifying the character.

3. Surprisingly Human

Mortis Ghost has very clearly stated that the Batter is not human, and I believe him. (Why wouldn't I? It's his game.) That being said, some of the ways the Batter reacts to the things he encounters strike me as surprisingly human.

It isn't true that the Batter doesn't care about anything outside of the mission. There is quite a lot that he doesn't care about, but he's also capable of forming opinions that have nothing to do with the mission. If you look out one of the windows in Zone 0, the Batter will say, "I think it's a nice day out," which is a line that really surprised me when I first found out about it because it's the only time I can think of where the Batter makes a positive comment about something.

There's also the way he insists on sitting in the front seat of the rollercoaster and always puts his arms in the air while on the incline. He's not obeying you when he does these things; he refuses to get on the coaster if you try to make him sit anywhere but the front, and there's no button prompt or anything to make him put his arms in the air; he just does it.

I also love his reaction to the "Panic in Ballville!" comic in the Room.

Not only is he decidedly unimpressed with this comic, he also refuses to read it again if you try to make him. Whether he realizes the implications of his own resemblance to the villain in the comic is unclear, but his refusal to even look at it again means that he might. Regardless, moments like these show that the Batter is more than just a single-minded puppet. He does have opinions and won't hesitate to put his foot down if you try to make him do something he doesn't want to do.

He's even capable of being taken aback, as Enoch's dialogue about the Specters being the souls of the dead appears to give him pause.

That brief moment is the only one in the game where the Batter shows any sign of hesitancy or uncertainty in what he's doing. He was very convinced up until this point that the Guardians were controlling the Specters (despite Dedan accusing him of the same thing in Zone 1). Not only that, but he's never taken the time to think about what the Specters actually are. I kind of interpret this as a rare introspective moment from the Batter, where he begins to realize there might be aspects of this situation and what he's doing that he hasn't considered.

However, he quickly recovers from this moment of doubt and hardens his resolve to eliminate Enoch because of his...

4. Unshakeable Faith...But in What?

A lot of the language the Batter uses to describe himself and his mission contains a lot of religious overtones, with adjectives like "holy," "sacred," "righteous," etc. His perception of his himself matches with portrayals in the Old Testament of God as a punisher of evil and a smiter of the wicked.

I don't think I need to list all the references to Christianity throughout the entire game because that would take way, way too long. Needless to say, everyone has noticed the religious motif in this game, and when an Elsen in Zone 1 straight up asks the Batter if he's religious, he doesn't deny it.

However, I don't think it would be quite right to call the Batter a Christian. While he uses a lot of language that's reminiscent of Christianity, his dialogue doesn't contain any references to specifically Christian practices or beliefs, such as Jesus, the Bible, the saints, angels, baptism, the Resurrection, etc., etc. The Batter may have devoted himself to his mission with a religious zeal, but is the mission alone all he worships? The kind of faith he exhibits is usually that associated with a deity.

Identifying the "who" at the center of the Batter's worship is not easy. When the same Elsen from Zone 1 asks who sent him, the Batter straight up says, "Nobody." I've seen it suggested that the deity the Batter "worships" may actually be the player, but I don't think that's right either, since he's pretty quick to turn on you, without any sign of hesitation or angst, if you side with the Judge in the final boss fight.

But I have another theory. If we're still using Christianity as a reference, then the Batter would presumably be worshipping some sort of creator deity. Who is the Batter's creator?

When the Batter meets the Queen, she tells him to go back home. His response?

He outright refers to Hugo as his father. As you may recall, "Father," is one of the aspects of the Trinity (Father, Son, Holy Ghost.) The Father is God the Creator, God the Progenitor, God the Origin of the World. This, I believe, is how the Batter sees Hugo.

Remember how the Queen attacks the Batter by saying, "You don't even know his first name"? Could that be because the Batter only knows Hugo as "Father" and not any other name?

This revelation becomes even more enlightening (and disturbing) when you take these lines into consideration:

What does the Batter see as the Queen's only important role? To care for Hugo. Why does the Batter feel compelled to complete his mission? Because of Hugo. Why did he come all this way? To see Hugo. Where is his home? With Hugo. Everything is for Hugo.

That the main goal of his mission is to kill Hugo fits the mold in a twisted way. After all, Christianity rather famously centers around a God who died. That death is believed to have saved the world.

Regardless of how exactly he came to that conclusion, the Batter truly believes that killing Hugo is what's best. Even his infanticide (patricide?) is driven by his twisted devotion to Hugo, his creator and his God.

All of this is why the Batter is my favorite character in this game and none of the others (as great and memorable as they are) can even come close. He's not just a brute in a baseball costume. Each time you peel back a layer of his motivations, you only see more layers underneath. He's an incredibly rewarding character to analyze, and I never get tired of talking about him. He's a fanatic, a devoted apostle, a self-righteous murderer.

And he always sits up front on the rollercoaster.

#off game #the batter #mortis ghost #character #analysis #dedan #enoch #hugo #rpg maker #elsen #vader eloha #theory

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hi-my-name-is-cosmopathy · 3 months ago

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◈ Hunting and Gathering Societies

◈ Horticultural & Pastoral Societies + Agricultural & Neolithic Societies + Social Evolution

◈ Industrial Revolution

◈ Post-Industrial Societies

(just something I did for my UCSP class. That I rushed very badly)

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hi-my-name-is-cosmopathy · 3 months ago

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I really want this pairing to be explored more—

Queen likes coffee in her sugar

#off game #the queen #off #sucre #sugar #vader eloha #sucreen

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hi-my-name-is-cosmopathy · 4 months ago

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This is like the first OFF animation I did, very sloppy cuz I was also learning a new program with it and I'm too lazy to fix stuff hehe

AAAAND explanation of symbolism under the cut because I love symbolism & in case anyone be curious

BUGS: the bugs that are displayed for Queen and Batter on their chapter title screens. Little moth is Batter.. gets a bit monster like there with chomp chomping the Queen moth. Also they're on flowers from the Nothingness. The queen moth has been destroying them until Batter moth got there.

COFFEE: Queen's line "do you want some coffee... my love...?" comes off to me like it's her last way to hurt the Batter, calling back to the bitter resentment between Hugo's actual mom and dad (both of them being probably bad people). I imagine Hugo's mom said this exact line in Hugo's presence as a way to covertly insult his dad without their child picking up on it. This goes along with the fact that Batter and Queen are creations of Hugo's based on his parents. So, I give you.... overflowing coffee YOU WANTED COFFEE RIGHT? TAKE YOUR DAMN COFFEE idk lol also, pointing out the coffee pot handle is one of Queen's add ons hehe

Batter falling to his knees with hands over his ears: Cuz Queen attacks with verbal statements meant to tear him down mentally

Hugo as Batter's shadow: when I made this, I had this theory that Batter was meant to be Hugo's "new" self, created by Hugo to do what Hugo could not: complete a mission to get rid of all the monsters that scared Hugo, and, though perhaps unintended, get rid of and supercede Hugo -- the "old" version of himself trapped in a terrified, sad child. The Batter could only accomplish this if he was created to be immune to fear and emotional turmoil. In this shot, the shadow / echo of Hugo behind the Batter cowers to the manifestation of his mom's verbal abuse.

The above also pairs with Batter and Hugo sharing a tear: As versions of the same person, the Batter cries Hugo's tears. Fulfilling his purpose, the Batter is able to stoically brush the tear away, and do what he needs to do to end Hugo's terror.

Queen being torn to shreds: I didnt finish this shot lol. Anyway, cuz the Queen scene is narrated like a book, and because she uses words as weapons, she shreds like paper when Batter destroys her.

ZOOM into Batter's head, to shot of him falling into the Zones & spectres, then zoom out of Hugo's eye: Symbolizing the connection between what the Batter experiences and what Hugo sees, being the same person. Also just a nod to the fact Hugo is watching the entire time.

Unlabeled book thing behind Hugo: it's the ballman comic lol

Heart monitor line thing: based on theory that Hugo is actually a real person in a coma, and that's his heart beat. This was going to be a motif if I did more of this song. It was gonna speed up when Zacharie shows up LOL (batter and hugo sharing feelings, and they both clearly are fond of Zacharie, who in this theory is basically an insert of a friend Hugo has irl.)

And the song ???? Well, Batter is doing all this destruction because he cares. He doesnt want Hugo to be sad and scared anymore.<3 so ya lemme kill ya cuz I love ya buddy. Lol

#the batter off #off the batter #the batter #off the game #off game #off mortis ghost #off #off vader eloha #vader eloha #hugo off #off hugo #off the queen

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hi-my-name-is-cosmopathy · 4 months ago

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Thank you so much for this :D !!! (Malleus my bbg ♥)

Malleus, Romantic (but no established relationship), "Usually, I'm all by myself" (From Treehouse - Alex G)

"Usually, I'm all by myself" || Malleus Draconia

𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐲 𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐞'𝐬 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭

𝐒𝐨𝐧𝐠: Treehouse by Alex G

𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭: 710

𝐓𝐚𝐠𝐬: Pre-Relationship, Pining

Malleus has always been alone.

He is powerful—one of the strongest beings in the world—but power does not keep the loneliness at bay. He has Lilia, Sebek, Silver, loyal in their own ways, but even they remind him, in their reverence, in their unwavering devotion, that he is above them. That he is a prince. That he has no equals.

It is lonely at the top.

But then, one night, he meets you outside Ramshackle, and his world changes.

You're standing beneath the broken lantern light, frowning up at the flickering bulb as if sheer determination could will it to stay on. The moment you notice him, your face brightens—not with fear, not with the stiff politeness he is so accustomed to, but with familiarity.

“Oh, hey, Tsunotaro!” you call, as if he is not a prince, as if he is not a creature that could level the ground beneath your feet with a single thought.

And just like that, his world shifts.

Even when you learn who he is—when the whispers of his title reach your ears—you do not change. You still call him Tsunotaro. You still take his hand and pull him along when you find something new, something interesting, something you want to share.

“Have you ever been to a festival?” you ask, and when he hesitates, you grin. “Then let’s go.”

“Do you know how to carve a pumpkin?”

“Have you ever tried finger painting? No magic, just your hands.”

His world, once so vast yet so unbearably small, expands with you in it.

You take him to places he has never thought to visit, show him things he has never looked at closely before. A stray cat napping in a sunbeam, the way the stars ripple in the lake at night, the warmth of a hand reaching for his without hesitation.

He has never known this kind of belonging.

He loves you, he loves you, he loves you.

He does not say it. Not yet. But when you pat the spot beside you, when you lean your head against his shoulder and sigh as if he has always belonged here—he thinks, maybe he does.

You once told Malleus about a place you go when the world becomes too much.

It wasn’t a secret, not exactly. But it was yours—your solace, your sanctuary. A space untouched by expectations or prying eyes. He never asked where it was. He never wanted to intrude.

So he does not look for it.

But one evening, as he wanders beyond the usual paths outside Ramshackle, he stumbles into a small clearing. Fireflies drift lazily between the branches, their glow flickering in the dim twilight. A fallen log sits nestled beneath an ancient tree, and upon it—you.

You are sitting with your legs tucked to your chest, gazing at the sky as if the stars are speaking just to you. There is something delicate about the moment, like stepping into a dream not meant to be disturbed.

Malleus realizes, with a start, that he has intruded.

His first instinct is to leave—to vanish into the night as silently as he arrived. But before he can turn away, you shift, catching sight of him in the dim glow.

Instead of surprise, instead of irritation, you smile.

“You found it,” you say, like it was always inevitable. Then, you pat the spot beside you. “Come sit.”

Malleus hesitates. This place is yours, your retreat, your shelter. But you are looking at him like you want him here.

Slowly, he moves to sit beside you.

The silence is comfortable. The sounds of the night weave between you—the whisper of the wind, the distant hoot of an owl, the rhythmic chorus of crickets. It is peaceful. It is warm.

He has always been alone.

Even in a castle filled with voices, even with Lilia’s watchful care, with Silver’s quiet respect, with Sebek’s relentless devotion—he has been alone. A prince with no equals. A king with no friends.

But here, in this place that belongs to you, where you let him stay—

He is just Malleus.

And Malleus loves you, he loves you, he loves you.

Masterlist ; Valentine's Event

#twst #twst x reader #twisted wonderland #twisted wonderland x reader #malleus draconia x reader #malleus x reader #twst malleus #malleus draconia #malleus

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