#literally the thinkers episode

[nutakuro]

Im sorry

[vaguely-concerned]

Visual Language Things in Improbable Cause/The Die Is Cast that are driving me INSANE

the stuff they do with light and shadow in these episodes is just. someone went 'I know artists who use subtlety and they're all cowards' and they were so right for that

are you telling me... that this man is caught between light and dark in this moment and hasn't yet decided which side his soul is going to come down on in the end. hm. interesting. (especially cool that when the shadows of his face are lit up in the runabout at the end, that's when you see the damage underneath. he's partially made that choice and he's illuminated, but not by a comforting light yet, those are danger colours. odo and garak bonding on a day trip to hell; the episode)

I think this shot is ultimately my touchpoint for the visual language set up in this episode -- julian bashir standing there in 'wherever you have to go, come home to this afterwards' light as garak walks into the shadows (and towards tain). where does the light in his life come from currently? we may have a clue before us folks

(This one is literally just because his expression here makes my chest feel weird and aching. oof. I feel like this is one of the rare times he lets himself be really openly soft because he must know there's a decent chance he's not coming back)

aaaand what's the very first thing that greets him once he 'returns to the light' so to speak? :) little bit of a moral and emotional horror show in the middle there admittedly but thanks to odo he did come home and no one like. died or anything. well. many many people died but that honestly wasn't his fault or responsibility. we'll call it a victory

some really cool odo shots too in this ep. I love you constable this was so fucking extra for no reason

fun little detail: when the defiant starts shaking upon taking fire, Julian immediately puts his hand on Garak's shoulder -- the same way and on the same side as Garak did to Tain minutes before, when Odo had to fucking. knock him out to make him let go. (again: odo I love you. a direct and decisive thinker above all)

[the-floral-perspective]

General creepypasta headcannons!

Ft: Jeff the killer, Ben Drowned, Ticci Toby, Dr Smiley, Puppeteer, Bloody Painter, Masky, Hoodie, laughing Jack, Jason the toymaker, Homicidal Liu and Eyeless Jack

Warning: these are not romantic! These are general personality trait headcannons. Also, a lot of the pastas are good friends with Ben. Mentions of weed and alcohol.

Also I’m using my AU where the creepypastas only kill r8pists and Peds (I’ll just call it the vigilant AU.)

I’m also working on a micheal afton smut rn, so y’all will get that soon.

Jeff the killer

-The worst person to drink with, he’s absolutely ruthless when drunk. (Angry, annoying or horny, you don’t roll the dice. He does)

-has a vintage tea set that was Liu’s (he stole it when he turned)

-he’s the most brutal and crude creepypasta, but whenever he’s mad he’s really fuckin mad.

-Ohioan tbh

-IAED (intermittent Anger Explosive Disorder)

-I feel like when he’s not having an episode he’s pretty likable (he’s probably accidentally one of the funniest creeps)

-this fucker definitely talks to himself, I feel like he might also have OCD.

-pop not soda

-his mouth slits are not that prominent (like food doesn’t fall out of his mouth) and he has his eyelids

-his skin isn’t smooth??? Mf was literally burned, he’s covered with a lot of old slightly healed burn scars.

-his hair care is better because of Ben.

-getting Jeff and Masky pissed off at the same time they will angrily tag team you (not sexually… maybe sometimes.)

-Jeff is very romantically detached and romantically stupid. Like he doesn’t really get attraction that much and when he does he doesn’t know what to do about it.

Ben Drowned

-vapes just a little (blue raz)

-weirdly responsible over the rest of the creeps (hygiene wise, he’s very meticulous) he’s the weed dealer of the house, his room in the attic is the major “fuck-it-up-and-party” Room

-not that angry of a person, very lax and chill.

-the funnest creeps to smoke the greens with. He’s fr just so chill (he’s also very funny too, trust me he’s fun AF)

-Ben is the funniest pasta, but only because of his pathetic-ness. Like he makes a lot of cheesy jokes and rhymes, it makes the other pastas laugh because most the time he doesn’t intend it to be funny.

-chronic mimicker, like it’s bad. If anyone else talks or says a word slightly different suddenly it’s the only word he’ll say for a month straight.

-his eyes are constantly bleeding and it pisses him off

-human eyes are brown and his skin is slightly tan.

-he’s very horny all the time but with no release. He doesn’t crush on the pasta girls, nor does he watch porn. This mf writes his own personal fanfiction in a diary (that the creeps stole one night while drunk and read)

-he’s honestly one of the cleanest creepypastas. (And probably the most popular for them all, at least. He’s friends with everyone.)

-ADD nightmare and screamo music daydream.

-I feel like if he sang he’d sound like that one song ‘King for a Day’

Toby

-he’s a little dickhead, but relatively lovable. It’s just cause he’s cheeky and devilish.

-doesn’t smoke weed or drink.

-he’s very jealous of Liu and Jeff since because of his sisters death. He wishes that like Liu, his sister would arrive one day somewhat alive. (It never happens)

-ADHD and bipolar nightmare, has a slender therapist lmao.

-Toby doesn’t like Jeff that much for trying to kill Liu. Liu and Toby are friends because Liu reminds him of Lyra (his sister)

-Toby is also somewhat close with the women of the mansion rather then the men. He’s good friends with both Judge Angels and Jane. Clockwork and him aren’t close anymore as she went off on her own.

-he’s a really deep thinker, and surprisingly sentimental. Though not for his victims. Toby is harsh whenever he feels like it.

-he’s a relatively quiet person. He’s good friends with Ben and EJ. Toby also has a slow reaction to danger, he’s the least likely in the group to get scared by something.

-Toby had to get a slender therapist because of his last manic episode (he made up “creepypasta” while accidentally high one night on Ben’s computer in 2010 and the pastas haven’t trusted him with tech since.)

-he wanted to become a writer growing up.

Dr Smiley

-originally, I feel like Dr Smiley wanted to do good for people. I feel like he wanted to be a politician until he forcefully remembered how people are. He’s also really bad at medical stuff, go to EJ for that, not smiley.

-awful trust issues, he doesn’t trust a soul. Ironically, Smiley is one of the most social pastas. Reverse psychology babe.

-smiley is good at a lot of things, this man’s a fuckin prodigy.

-one of the first creepypastas to join the gang. Also one of the most polite.

-he’s really classy and only ever accidentally taken an edible (never again). Smiley trips out hard whenever high, it’s almost concerning.

-definitely has a small garden for herbs. He’s either seen killing, out in the garden, or in his medical room.

-a lot of the pastas are convinced smiley doesn’t sleep (no one has ever seen it, though Ben did capture one singular photo as proof and that is it)

-dr smiley is always left in charge whenever Slender has meetings (he only has to approve missions sent by the pastas.)

-as much as smiley is a prodigy, he’s awful in the kitchen. It’s kind of sad.

Puppeteer

-smooth, might as well call this fucker MJ.

-he always wins in arguments bc he’s so sly. Sort of a kleptomaniac and will gaslight you.

-called pup by most (not like a dog)

-always has his business in other peoples faces, but unlike Ben, he doesn’t get away with it.

-Puppet laughs a lot but doesn’t really talk. he’s also pretty good friends with Jane and Helen.

-one of the least organized pastas. His room is really messy and so is he. He cleans up after himself, but don’t go into his room.

-Major Depressive Disorder

-him and hoodie always get A+ on their duo assignments. Though the two of them aren’t that close, they’re hella good at working together.

-puppeteer isn’t classy at all. He drinks as soon as he wakes up, but in a Fiona Gallagher way.

-definitely watches Shameless. His top show rn. Binged the entirety in 3 days. Didn’t sleep whatsoever. (His fave character is V bc she’s hot)

Bloody Painter

-LOVES Hozier. Like actively buys tickets for his shows. Either hozier or The Hush Sound.

-the most visual mf you’ll ever meet. If he’s real comfortable he’d ramble for super fucking long (and gets annoyed when someone gets bored or questions him.)

-work first, people last. Helen really just focused on the next step in front rather than the whole timeline.

-beat the shit out of Toby for the accident of 2010. Though the two made up.

-mentally I think he’s…. Alright??? He’s one of those disturbingly quiet people, very hard to read. Though, turns out he’s just mute. Also has OCD

-he has a problem trusting himself and his thoughts (as most ppl with OCD do)

-very unhealed, Helen is very raw. Like his wounds are barely closed. Sometimes Helen is able to relax though and that’s only when he’s alone or possibly with Puppeteer.

-Helen makes sure he has no bad blood between any pasta. He’s worried hoodie doesn’t like him, though.

Masky

-staring problem, huge staring problem. resting bitch face too. Truthfully he’s never really annoyed much.

-insomniac with a touch of depression. He’s always super tired. Chronic eyebag haver.

-probably has thin silver glasses.

-loves sugary coffee and tea. Drinks basic white girl drinks 100%

-really good friends with Eyeless Jack and often helps him get more medical supplies.

-dare I say slight accent??? Not rlly an accent, but sounds like he’s from Tennessee. His moms def from New Jersey tho.

-Jewish heritage. He also watches a LOT of Rick and Morty with Ben.

-buys his weed from Ben to relax. He was forced to stop smoking by Hoodie and Sally. Weed is the next best thing.

-he’s really good at voice impressions but almost never does them unless he’s with Sally or Lazari.

-Masky is very depressed and unmotivated, so Puppeteer is usually around him a lot. Not that either of them care much.

Hoodie

-he’s literally mute. Also believe that he’s short too. Like 5’7.

-watches attack on Titan, his favorite character is Miche and Armin. Besides that, he doesn’t watch much anime.

-his room is covered in posters.

-Slendermans favorite, second to Dr Smiley.

-he loves 80’s music. The puppeteer does too, they listen together sometimes on missions.

-in love with Diet Pepsi and cool ranch Doritos.

-knows how to knit (don’t ask.) (he got high with Ben one time)

-come to think of it, everyone has went borderline insane smoking with Ben before. Hoodie has a picture book filled with their embarrassing high moments.

-hoodies room has a lot of spare notebooks and picture books. Don’t know why. All of them are individually organized. If you looked through them you’d go insane tho.

-worst handwriting in the entire mansion.

Laughing Jack

-he has a grudge against all cheeses. Like he fucking HATES cheese. Especially blue cheese.

-worst diet of the pastas. He eats like a 6 year old mixed with the Elf. Everything to him has to be sweet, if not then it has to be crunchy. Like chicken tenders, he can eat those, but that’s about it.

-secret genius because everyone thinks he’s stupid (when he’s really the instigator) the only person who’s caught onto this is Ben, but no one believes Ben.

-constantly humming.

-he hates TV and phones but likes music. Though if you put on bubble guppies or some shit, his brain would probably shut down.

-he’s constantly eating the floor, this mf is so clumsy.

-Jack riots a lot and starts plenty of petitions. Like when slender tried implementing a dinner time schedule, he petitioned for it to be gone because he didn’t want pasta. That one chipped at Slender’s nonexistent heart.

-he’s rebellious in nature and very horny. He’s constantly doing the most, very over the top whenever he likes someone.

-he hates Japanese horror films

Jason the toymaker

-he doesn’t turn his assignments into doll’s because they don’t deserve a second chance at life. Jason is one of the only pastas that kill normal people. The normal people are tortured and turned into dolls, his assignments are tortured and left to rot.

-Jason has an eye for fashion and has sewn a bunch of dresses for Sally. He also has a very high pitched giggle.

-tbh Jason listens to Kesha 100% it just scratches the spot

-he’s almost a horder. More than once did Slender have to expand Jason’s toy shop.

-hates all animals, there is not a single animal that he likes. (Though somehow, smiledog really likes him.) (Jason hates him but doesn’t harm him)

-he’s honestly such a priss, like fr. He’s always gossiping os judging. It’s funny though.

-he doesn’t really like much of the pastas. He likes Ben and sometimes LJ is cool, but aside from that he just doesn’t care about the rest much.

-he absolutely fucks up thin mints and raisin cookies. His fave food is probably a cinnamon raisin bagel with cream cheese tho tbh

Homicidal Liu

-Liu doesn’t really remember Jeff, but Sully does.

- Liu’s other systems are named Ajax and Diane, both of which are female.

-he really likes keeping up on YouTube drama and actively prays on downfalls.

-Liu’s best friend is definitely Toby or Zero. Aside from that he’s really closed off, he admires Slender too.

-Dissociative Identity Disorder.

-he definitely almost got on Zalgo’s side, but something (he doesn’t know what) pulled him to Slender more.

-least picky out of the creeps. He can stomach basically everything.

-he was one of those kids that had chronic ear infections, Liu constantly would have cotton balls in his ears Bc of this 😭

-Liu gets sick really easily, his immune system is NOT happy. Prob because he really likes spicy food but still.

-definitely 100% the best cook out of the pastas (with Ben being the best baker)

-Slendermans third favorite after Dr Smiley and hoodie.

-he’s honestly so homesick, but he doesn’t remember what for. Feels a strange connection to Jeff, but also almost hates him? He’s conflicted.

-serious victim of medical malpractice and medical abuse, he absolutely hates hospitals and anything to do with them.

Eyeless Jack

-used to write music in college before he turned. Also actually really sad about how his life ended.

-he’s good friends with Ben and Masky and surprisingly talkative. I felt like he almost whispers though.

-I also like to think that Jack is very musically inclined and the reason he went to medical school was so he could make bank in the future. His parents definitely didn’t want Jack to be a musician.

-so he can definitely play electric guitar and some piano (he tries and learns everyday)

-really bad at sports and awful sense of direction. He’s always lost. Ben usually has to fetch him once he goes out for missions.

-though I don’t think Jack being lost is all his fault, the path to the mansion changes every three hours and Jack leaves often for kidneys.

-he sees sally as a little sister and does a lot to make her happy.

[david-talks-sw]

I think it's interesting that - in order to make his "free-thinking Jedi" characters hold any semblance of rationality in their arguments - Dave Filoni needs to resort to artificially dehumanizing the other Jedi and painting them all with the same "we dogmatically worship protocol" brush.

He does this with Huyang in the recent Ahsoka episode.

"Lolz he's so narrow-minded, preachy and by-the-book, unable to think outside the box, just like the Jedi in the Prequels."

My first reaction was being amused at the fact that Filoni had to resort to making the Jedi Order's ideals and rules be embodied by a literal machine for his anti-Jedi headcanon to start making sense.

But then I remembered: Huyang isn't just any droid.

In The Clone Wars, he had a sassy personality, he had a pep in his step, he had a sense of humor...

This character was human in his behavior, he was fun and whimsical.

But now he's been reduced to, I dunno, "Jedi C-3PO"? Basically?

"Ha! He's blunt and unsympathetic because he's a droid, but it's funny because the Jedi were the same, they were training themselves to be tactless, emotionless droids."

And Filoni does this with Mace Windu too, in Tales of the Jedi.

Mace, who brought a lightsaber to the throat of a planetary leader to defend the endangered Zillo Beast...

... and who went waaay past his mandate by mischievously sneaking around Bardottan authorities and breaking into the Queen's quarters because he felt something bad was afoot...

... was reduced to being an almost droid-like, rule-parotting, protocol purist who sticks to his instructions (and is implied to be willing to let a murder go unsolved so he can get a promotion).

I mentioned this at the end of my first post on Luke in The Last Jedi... while changes in personality do happen overtime and can be explained in-universe... if you don't show us that progression and evolution and just leave us without that context, that'll break the suspension of disbelief, for your audience.

Here, we have two characters with a different (almost caricatural) personality than the one they were originally shown to have.

Now... we could resort to headcanons, to make it all fit together.

We could justify Huyang's tone shift 'cause "Order 66 changed him". And we could make explanations about TotJ's Mace:

Being younger and thus more ambitious and a stickler for the rules, and only really becoming more flexible after getting his seat on the Council and gaining more maturity.

Being such a teacher's pet in the episode because we're seeing him through the eyes of a notorious unreliable narrator, Dooku.

There'd be nothing wrong with opting to go with either of those headcanons to cope with this. After all, Star Wars is meant to help you get creative.

But the problem I encounter is that:

Filoni has an anti-Jedi bias, so the above headcanons clearly wouldn't really track with his intended narrative.

We'd be jumping through hoops to extrapolate and fill in what is, essentially, inconsistent characterization, manufactured to make Ahsoka and Dooku shine under a better light.

And that sours whatever headcanon I come up with.

Edit: Also, yeah, as folks have been saying in the tags... wtf is "Jedi protocol"? The term isn't ever mentioned in the movies, I skimmed through dialog transcripts of TCW, never saw it there.

So it's almost as if - if Filoni wasn't draining characters like Mace and Huyang of all humanity and nuance - his point about "the Jedi were too detached and lost their way, but not free-thinkers like Qui-Gon, Dooku and Ahsoka" wouldn't really hold much water.

[prickly-paprikash]

There are two ways I see that SpyxFamily can go with the Authens.

Ever since we've been introduced to the world of SxF, last names have always been an indicator of who exactly it is we're dealing with.

The Forgers are literally a Forged Family. No-brainer.

Yor and Yuri Briar: both beautiful people but with sharp thorns to protect themselves and one another. Their coloring and their characters are related to Roses and Yor is literally Thorn Princess.

Fiona Frost: Ice Cold. Frosty Exterior. Snow Queen. Warm and melty and obsessed on the inside.

Franky Franklin: Frank, honest and blunt. He's always up-front with Twilight since the beginning. Franklin also comes from the word francos meaning 'free'. He's a free agent, allied with Twilight but not with WISE, since he is an Ostanian. He's also the first true free-thinker, holding no allegiance to any state but cares genuinely for the people around him.

The Desmonds: meaning South Munster, one of the provinces of Munster. While it doesn't necessarily have a defined meaning, it is said that the lucky number of this name is 11, and Damian is ranked 11th amongst 228 students for the exams. Neat.

So Authens, right? Sigmund and Barbara Authen. If Loid, Yor, Anya and Bond are a forged family, then Siggy and Barbs are an authentic one from the getgo. Ever since the introduction of these two, everyone has both been over-the-moon and skeptical. It's nice to add new members to the family in this show. It's nice to see a foil (and an insight into the future for them) to Yor and Loid, where the elderly couple are genuine in their love, while Twilight and Thorn Princess still struggle with what exactly their fake relationship entails. Sigmund and Barbara trust one another completely, while the Spy and the Assassin still have ways to go on that front.

Now, Anya is being tutored by Sigmund, a former University Professor, Lecturer and Neurologist. Similar to Loid in a way, who moonlights as a Psychiatrist. The Authens aren't just being shown as a "what could be" for Loid and Yor as a couple, but as parents and mentors as well as seen in this chapter.

Both Loid and Sigmund get into Spy Wars for the sake of educating their students. The difference however lies in the way they go about it.

Loid reads and watches the entirety of Spy Wars to show that he is a good father with a pulse on what his daughter likes, as well as an avenue for him to teach Anya since she responds well to the show. But Loid only memorizes the show and tries to brute force (relatively speaking) Anya's education with it.

Like... making a fake episode of the show just to try and make Anya interested in her studies.

Sigmund on the other hand really sparks a love and understanding for the material itself.

Loid tries to force Anya to see the value in education through cold logic and goal-oriented thinking. Anya should study to Prevent War from erupting between Ostania and Westalis. Sigmund guides Anya into seeing the worth of education by itself. The joys in learning for learning's sake. Loid tries a surface level approach, where Bondman's adventures are hamfisted edu-tainment. He thinks that since Anya likes Bondman, she'll be tricked into learning by using Spy Wars as a coat of paint to mask a really boring lecture.

Sigmud correctly identifies what Anya loves about the story itself, and then uses those elements to relate to classical language.

Loid and Yor are committed to their duties, but it doesn't necessarily bring them joy. To keep children safe and happy, Twilight will lie and Thorn Princess will kill, but their personal satisfaction isn't something they bother about. Sigmund, on the other hand loved his job. He loves teaching. He loves the altruistic element to it—cultivating minds, helping them along to their full potential, but he also has a personal joy in teaching.

Another thing is that Loid loves his family, but doesn't know he does and can't spit it out. He can come off stoic and cold. Sigmund readily shows his appreciation for his wife and for his new student Anya.

What troubles me now is what happens next.

Authen does mean authentic. I have no doubt that Sigmund authentically loves his wife. His love for his research is also authentic. His passion for teaching is authentic. His admiration for Anya is authentic.

But what's the context of this authenticity?

See, the first route is that Sigmund really is just a good guy. A simple, kind, brilliant man who probably had a hand in building Project Apple from the ground up with the goal of improving people's minds, starting with dogs. Maybe it was co-opted by corrupt officials, twisting it into a monstrous organization willing to harm children and animals to realize their goals for a powerful human weapon. A weapon that became Anya Forger. Sigmund and Barbara leave, aid in the war effort for civilians and victims, and make a life for themselves in Berlint. I do believe this might be the likelier option.

But what if the contrast between the Forgers and the Authens is taken to the extreme?

The second route takes advantage of the inherent and subtle darkness in SpyxFam. This manga is just a bundle of gooey joy, but that happiness successfully hides the brutal truth of the world. Every character in this show is touched by war.

Anya and Bond are intended as living weapons. We tend to forget about this since Anya is a goblin child and Bond is floofy goofball.

Twilight and Yor are orphans of war, turned into the most powerful soldiers on each side. We forget this since both are idiots when it comes to anything each other and their family.

Handler is a level-headed badass who radiates older sister vibes for everyone who works under her, and she genuinely cares for her agents. She's also a depressed wreck who barely functions outside of work and constantly relives the loss of her husband and daughter.

The Blackbells? Posh rich folk, right? But their money comes from warmongering. Martha, the kindly mother-figure/butler/security for Becky? A veteran of war. The seamstress who is fond of Yor? Most likely an anti-authoritarian activist, since Loid clocked her immediately as being arrested for political activity. Maybe a former Red Circus member. Bazooka Bill? Funny kid who hit puberty way too early and has a hilarious deep voice. He's also being groomed to be a venerated soldier at the age of six by his father, who has most likely committed war crimes.

SpyxFamily is genuine in its joyful moments. But it barely hides the darkness that constantly lingers. War is a shadow that haunts these bright pages, and it always recontextualizes the zany adventures our family goes on.

What if the Authens are like that?

Everything about them is authentic. But they're also twisted. An authentic love for neuro science can lead to an obsessive march towards human weaponry. An authentic desire for world peace can mean that the end justifies the means, even if that means a telepath that could, theoretically dominate an entire nation. An authentic love for his wife could lead him to hiding everything from her.

What if Sigmund Authen is authentic in every aspect of himself, and is still a man with a dark agenda? That would perfectly contrast Loid, a man who has faked every single element of himself down to his own name and identity, but has never once strayed from his goal of ensuring a bright future for the strangers around him?

What I'm saying is that it'd be really cool if Twilight, a living lie made human who will commit to any deception for the sake of children's safety and happiness would be heavily contrasted by Sigmund Authen, a man who lives so authentically to his creed that he is willing to put children in harm's way for the sake of World Peace?

With the upcoming chapters clearly focusing on Anya and her past, wouldn't it be cool to celebrate Spy x Family hitting 100 chapters by revealing more and more of its dark, haunting, war-torn world after more than a hundred chapters of Spy Family antics?

Uh... Anyway, here's Comedy by Gen Hoshino.

[ladyluscinia]

2x08 Reaction #7

Ok, last episode thing in this series I've finally circled around to being pissed about is framing Izzy as a mentor to Edward.

Because what the fuck.

When they had Stede do the whole "taught him everything he knows" bit in 2x05 I thought it was pure flattery, to the point I thought it was wild that Izzy even gave a little shrug like he might believe it. I thought we had established pretty clearly in S1 that Edward was the creative thinker and leader in their dynamic.

Izzy was useful - probably even essential - but he was the support. The tool. Good at the execution.

And he certainly seemed to know this. In 1x04 where they establish their pre-Stede dynamic, Izzy expects Edward to come up with a brilliant plan and tell him what to do. He only doubts him enough to try and take charge at the last possible second, seems mostly aware his own idea is "get shot fighting back instead of sitting and dying", and feels genuine regret for both having to shoot down Edward's first plan and insulting him at all once he saves them in the end.

Because Edward is brilliant. He's earned his place as the leader between them. As Blackbeard.

Which makes it absolutely infuriating that in pivoting him into a "wise mentor" role they have Ricky say to Izzy's face that he was the brains behind Blackbeard and Izzy doesn't even refute it??? Paired with killing him off as the mentor (supposedly), and paralleling him to Auntie as they really double down on the "mentor who has authority over strategy and is proud of you" thing, and the displays of respect in 2x07... it kinda feels like the show is saying Edward learned most or all of his shit from Izzy.

And, like... if they just meant swordfighting and getting an approving nod when he pulled off a complicated disarm that would be one thing, but they kept focusing on things like "brains of the operation" and "how to lead the crew as a Captain" lessons.

And Edward is so much less interesting if Izzy actually taught him how to be Blackbeard, or if he was doing things as Blackbeard for Izzy's approval.

Like I guess I'm glad they didn't flesh it out enough to make the implications fully textual so you can fudge them away from that direction, but they don't really tell you not to read it that way. The man is even giving emotional development advice for fuck's sake. The mentor thing is jarring enough because the authority and respect dynamic really never flowed in Izzy's direction, but it's also putting Izzy in a position where I feel like they are implying he made Edward the man he was for better and worse, and... no. Don't do that.

Stop giving Edward's anxiety-ridden henchman credit for his atrocities - he worked hard on those.

(Plus we literally already know the first authoritative figure in piracy he got round two of Daddy Issues and his fucked up ideas about piracy from. How many symbolic fathers pushing him in dark directions does one man need to kill / be visited by in purgatory / watch die before he can start addressing those???)

[thatsexcpisces]

Positive and negative traits of the moon signs

Aries moon

Positive:

Protective, resilient, is able to confront issues immediately instead of being passive, tells you what you need to hear, highly passionate and spontaneous, believe in themselves, confident in their decisions, bring excitement to any atmosphere, live in the moment, courageous, bold

Negative:

Over competitive, chaotic, short-tempered, rushes things instead of letting them occur naturally, impulsive, moves past their emotions too quickly, jealous over partners, explosive episodes of anger, cocky, selfish, want things done their own way, can’t rationalize correctly when upset, restless, impatient

Taurus moon

Positive:

Reliable, encourages you to go after your desires, very committed and loyal once they care, calm and gentle approach, independent, excellent skill set, good listeners, elegant, will spoil you with your favorite things, patient, connected to nature, complete things at a steady pace, sensible, always improving themselves, grounded

Negative:

Doesn’t change their mind easily, can be unnecessary rude towards others they don’t deem as “important” or just bc they don’t know them well, stubborn, overly possessive, difficulty in trusting, can’t accept the truth, bad coping strategies, lack of drive and motivation (mostly it undeveloped), struggle to be optimistic, petty, heavily attached to others and material possessions

Gemini moon

Positive:

Knows how to include others in the convo, carefree, can talk about anything, witty, outgoing, flexible/adapts easily to surroundings, has a signature personality that stands out, well-informed & intelligent, don’t take things to heart, well-liked, approachable, curious, find positive qualities in the small things

Negative:

Gossipy, unreliable, unpredictable, self-deprecating, inability to accept or directly deal with emotions, inconsistent with their decisions, over thinkers, nervous, unorganized thoughts and behaviors, difficult to understand, short attention span/not good at listening, can be immature/childish, overly-rational

Cancer moon

Positive:

sacrifices anything for their loved ones, comforting and gentle, incredibly loyal, supports everyone’s emotional needs, in tune with their sentiments and feelings, make others feel loved, nurturing, positive relationship with others, uses instinct, good at using their resources, forgiving of others

Negative:

moodiness, can go cold and aggressive when overly upset, secretive, holds grudges, unable to leave comfort zone, takes things personally, clingy, isolates themselves, may lack balance in their lives, trouble expressing themselves because they feel so much, focus on one bad aspect instead of looking at the bigger picture

Leo moon

Positive:

Super loyal, always hyping people up and making them feel good about themselves, romantic, always listening to the needs of others, generous, creative & expressive, welcoming, energy that makes others feel happy and included, finds happiness in tiny things, talented performers, know their self worth, can effortlessly cheer others up when sad, inspiring, trendy

Negative:

overly jealous, always need to be everyone’s favorite, can’t handle criticism, bossy, constantly seeking validation, possessive, prideful, over-dramatic, cares what others think, impatient, superiority complex, overly attached to their close ones, mean to others when they aren’t receiving enough attention, unrealistic expectations/standards are too high

Virgo moon

Positive:

does literally anything for those they care about, finds solutions easily, level-headed, trustworthy, always helping and lending a hand to others, logical way of thinking, organized and sticks to a routine, compassionate, puts effort into their work, classy, organized, faithful to those they love

Negative:

critical and judgmental, impulsively offers their opinions, bottles things up, takes their attitude out on others, controlling, hard on themselves, inexpressive, perfectionists, dry, grandiosity, overly anxious about everything, low self esteem, may be inconsiderate towards others emotions, blameful

Libra moon

Positive:

charming, knows how to make others feel comfortable, artistic, love being around others, good at maintaining harmony most times, social, good taste for aesthetics, always caring of others esp their friends, affectionate, they make sure to include everyone, optimistic

Negative:

lazy, liars (mostly to protect others), project a false identity in fear of being judged for being themselves, people-pleasing, using others for specific intentions, avoidant and incapable of confronting their problems, overly-forgiving, always want things to go their way, passive-aggressive, inconsistent

Scorpio moon

Positive:

Protective of their loved ones, intuitive, makes others feel understood, intimate and knows how to connect with you on a deeper level, authentic, smart, knows how to stand up for themselves, unique sense of humor, passionate, magnetic, loyal, they keep their word, dedicated

Negative:

possessive, gets angry easily, dwells on things for a long time, jealous, secretive, always expects the bad out of a situation or person, manipulative, complain about someone’s actions and then does the same to them, suspicious of everything, self-destructive, attaches themselves to toxic behaviors or people, gives too many chances without realizing it

Sagittarius moon

Positive:

Funny, tells you the truth, adventurous, always find the positive in everything, cheerful, will stick up for you, isn’t worried about what others think, spiritual, direct, open and shares things about themselves with others, good at self-expression, go-with-the-flow people, adaptable, knows what they want

Negative:

detached, hides emotions with humor, can be too nonchalant, unable to focus on one thing at once because they’re always looking for what comes next, overly blunt, hurts others feelings without thinking before they speak, inconsiderate, overly opinionated, easily irritable

Capricorn moon

Positive:

Dependable, hardworking, use their time productively, calm in tough situations, ambitious, caring of others, calculated, mature, good at being a leader, analyzes all sides of a situation, gift givers, supports others’ goals, honest, able to recover quickly

Negative:

pessimistic, withdrawn, easily offended, cares too much about their reputation/cares about how others perceive them, difficulty in connecting with their emotions, hides things, hate sharing with others, always has to be the best at everything, condescending, degrading, tendency to overwork themselves, strict, criticize themselves

Aquarius moon

Positive:

non-judgemental, intelligent, cares about their peers and community, open-minded, fun, unique, always coming up with creative ideas, trendsetter, don’t hold grudges, friendly, able to read the room easily, confident in themselves, innovative, observant, conversationalists

Negative:

god complex, stubborn, emotionally detached, uses too much logic and almost no instinct, forget about things easily, absent in others lives because of their love for freedom, try to hard to prove their originality, may struggle with understanding others emotions because of their rational approach, dismissive, cold, aloof, trouble allowing others to get close to them, indecisive

Pisces moon

Positive:

sweet, feel others emotions deeply/empathic, forgiving and understanding, artistic abilities, creative imagination, highly intuitive, heal others, peaceful, love people for who they are and what they mean to them, not afraid to be directed by their emotions, can fit in with other and environments easily, know how to read others like a book, gentle, comforting

Negative:

gives people too many chances, escapists, over idealizes toxic things/people, delusional, sacrifice too much of themselves, carry pain as a result of absorbing others energy, inability to take responsibility for their actions, victims, take things personally, inactive, distracted, heavy ego, flaky, alcoholics/struggle with addictions, woe is me, get nervous easily, detached

[erriga]

Pathologic and Edward Gordon Craig

In this episode, one very tired theatrology student will try to explain how Craig's ideas about actors and theatre in general might have factored into the way theatre is used in pathologic, especially when it comes to minor changes made between patho classic and 2. We'll talk about puppets vs actors, the role of directors and how it all relates to death. Yay!

SPOILERS FOR BOTH GAMES AHEAD

THEATRE IN PATHOLOGIC

So, anyone who's seen Codex Entry's video essays might be aware that Pathologic very visibly uses and plays with various theatrical ideas and concepts, especially when it comes to XXth century avantgarde movements. So far, Ruby has discussed the influences of Artaud (my boi), Brecht and Beckett, but today we're going to take a little step back and focus on one thinker who might have just been on of the most important theatre theorists ever and whose ideas definitely influenced all those that came after him. We're talking about our favorite theatre malcontent- Edward Gordon Craig

Soo, Craig was a theatre theoretician, actor, director, and founder of the magazine "The mask" back in the 1910s. In it, Craig would talk about his thoughts on theatre, which were largely counter-cultural, at least in comparison to the standard established back in the mid XIXth century. His works are often cited as fundamental to the Great Reform movement, which included among others, Stanislavsky, Reinhardt, and Appia. Their works paved the way towards avant garde theatre and a completely new understanding to it.

Now, why is Craig so important? Basically, he complained a lot and had very cool, albeit sometimes impossible ideas which were later inspired other in creative ways. His main ideas were:

Theatre is not a synthesis of other arts but rather something autonomical, unlike SOME OTHER PEOPLE THOUGHT (im loking at you wagner)

The director>>>>>>>> some dumb smelly actors

The actor shall one day be replaced by the Uber marrionette (tm)

Today we'll focus on those last two, since they are interconnected and most relevant in Pathologic.

The second point is pretty self-explanatory. Craig proposed that the director and their vision is the most important part of any given theatre show. The director should have a holistic vision, knowledge about all the arts participating in theatre and abilities to make their ideas reality. Before that, directors were more like the caretakers of shows, while the main focus was on the star actors. And this way of thinking leads us directly toooo:

THE UBER MARRIONETTE

(project by Oscar Schlemmer)

So, what is the uber marrionette? Basically it's a slightly esoteric idea that somewhere between puppets and living actors exists a form which would be perfectly responsive to the director's artistic vision. Human actors were ego-driven, restricted by their bodies and minds which generally not malleable enough to be a good material, even going so far as to suggest that acting is not an artform at all, since it is driven by chance and not specific intentions.

In contrast to that, Craig explained the nature of puppets- perfectly controlled, humble, objects of worship. And also symbols of death. Which he thought of as perfection. So, in some way, a perfect actor is a ...dead actor. Or, not literally dead, but posseing the perfect stasis of death, one usually assosciated with inanimate objects.

OK, WTF?

As I mentioned those ideas are very cool theories but are rather hard to actualize in the real world, especially since Craig was sometimes vague about what he ACTUALLY wanted to see. He would complain about people misinterpreting his works and declaring that he wants to replace actors with literal machines, while also never specifying what he actually meant. So different artists tried to bring his ideas to life, mostly by "mechanising" living actors, or using some blend of life and artificiality. In practice it was mostly shit like putting actors in giant metal pots and making them communicate in mono syllables to restrict their natural expressions od self as much as possible

OK, BUT HOW DOES THAT RELATE TO PATHOLOGIC?

So my theory is, that by portraying the player character(s) as puppets in classic, and as actors and tying all of this to the idea of death, the makers of PAthologic are playing (pun intended) with the concept of the uber marionnette and maybe even proposing a solution to this impossible problem.

Let's start with classic, because it's pretty straight forward. The characters are dolls/puppets (I'll be using those words interchangibly because fundamentally they serve the same purpose). The theatre itself is specifically said to host puppet shows (which is in itself a nod to the long standing tradition of folk puppetry in Russia and other eastern european countries)

Which in hindsight, are a direct reference to the fact that the very story you are playing is nothing more than a game/puppet performance hosted by in-world The Powers That Be and at the very top by the makers of Pathologic. In that way it is a very straight forward (but ultimately incorrect) use of the uber marionette- the player character is a humble vessel through which an idea is manifested. It's a puppet made out of polygons and lines of code instead of wood or felt. Your role as a player in this performance is two fold- you are both the puppeteer (the one who moves the dolls) and the spectator (because you are being told the story, not the other way around). What you are not is the Director- that role, personified by Mark Immortel and later by the Executor and Tragedian is out of reach for you. So, as you can see it's definitely using puppets, but not necessarily uber marrionetes.

AND THEN WE HAVE PATHO 2

So, the theatre inspirations in Patho 2 are a lot less...subtle than in classic, one of them being literally namedropping my boi Artaud's concept of the Theatre of Cruelty.

But what I want to focus on in this case is the seeming dissapearence of the puppet metaphor from the first game. You are no longer compared to a puppeteer moving a vessel, but to an actor inhabiting a role. A role which is in a way highly restrictive, since there are only four endings, and only two choices that actually impact what happens in the end (what you do with the documents, and whether you take the fellow travellers deal or not) You are faced with the idea that you are replacable, so your personal ego is not valuable to the director in universe and the game creators out of the universe. And finally, to make it even more interesting, you are in-universe faces with the neverending cycle of life and death, through the system of deaths having consequences/being part of the game's continuous timeline instead of just out of universe reloading. I think you might already see where i am going with this.

I THINK THAT THOSE TRAITS MAKE ARTEMY'S PORTRAYAL SIMILAR TO THE CONCEPT OF THE UBER MARRIONETTE

So not the concept itself, but something that heavily resembles the ideal version of what it could have been. Now, does it theory make perfect sense? No, but I thought it was a cool though experiment to do nontheless. The idea of an uber marionnette is onfusing theatrologists to this day, and many people have claimed to having founf a way to realize it, but since Craig himself was unclear about it, we will never know how relevan those tries were. But I still think that the topic of video games and theatre concepts is a fascinating one (that will probably be the topic of my bachelor's thesis lol), and pathologic is a perfect examples of those two ideas working together. If you have any other ideas about it, please let me know, and if you're interested i can make more posts about the theatrological angle of patho!!

[originalaccountname]

Fun BSD French translation details and choices - Episode 21 (by someone who does not understand Japanese but thinks the differences with the English translation/subtitles are fun)

General notes: (get comfortable, Stuff Happens and blorbo is here)

A lot of weird little things today. Kouyou said she was delivering Dazai's message to Mori "to thank the ADA for their hospitality". Mori talks like he's mistaking Dazai's tan coat for the coat he gave him years ago and is delighted Dazai still wears it. Dazai says he only recently learned about the thinkers Mori mentions. Stuff like that, that shifts time or intent slightly.

Dazai's final jab to Mori was "les monstres ont tendance à croire que les autres sont des monstres également" (monsters tend to think others are also monsters).

Soukoku's name in French in the anime is "Double Noir", literally "Double Black" (though 'noir' can mean both 'black' and 'dark'). Fun fact: on the French wiki, they are also listed as "les jumeaux de l'ombre" (twins from the shadows).

After nullifying Steinbeck's ability, Dazai says "Oh, le salopard!~" (Oh, that bastard!~), as if he's sarcastically replying to Steinbeck's shock at Dazai's ability, instead of complaining about having to deal with Chuuya.

When Chuuya asks Dazai if he knows was a Pétrus is, Dazai actually answers and says yes he knows, it's an extremely pricey bordeaux (Oui, c'est un vin de bordeaux extrêmement coûteux).

Dazai call Q "the sleeping princess waiting to be saved" (la princesse endormie qui attend d'être sauvée). Chuuya sneers "yeah, talk about a sleeping princess" (ouais, tu parles d'une princesse endormie).

"Écoute, tant que Q sera en vie, vous aurez besoin de mon pouvoir pour désamorcer le sien; je vous serai des plus précieux, et la Mafia veilleras sur moi comme une tendre mère poule" (Listen, so long as Q is alive, you will need my ability to disarm hers*; I will be invaluable, and the Mafia will watch over me like a sweet mother hen.) (*Q is a girl in the French dub)

Skk's plans are called "Remords et crapaud" (Remorse and Toad), "Pluie derrière le treillis" (Rain Behind the Trellis), "Mensonges d'une fleur décorative" (Lies of a Decorative/Fake Flower) (side note: they all sound like one of them has to hide and/or cause a diversion...)

"Listen Chuuya... I have one last thing to ask you before I die..." (Écoute Chuuya... j'ai une dernière chose à te demander avant de mourir...)

Chuuya refers to using Corruption like it's a strategy name like the other 3 were just before. It's also called Pollution, which is the same word in both English and French. It sounds less cool than Corruption (which would also be the same word in French), but it does fit the tainted+ vibe. Dazai does later refer to it as "Chuuya's corrupted form".

Ô, pourvoyeurs de pollution noire, Autorise-nous à lui fermer les yeux à tout jamais. (O , purveyors of dark pollution, Allow us to forever close their* eyes.) (*singular, unspecified gender pronoun in French)

Today's quotes:

VF: Alors c'est quoi ce tentacule? Un caprice de la nature? (So what's that tentacle then? A freak of nature?) Eng: If it's not an ability, then what is it?

Dazai: Le choix te reviens, mon vieil ami. (The choice is yours, my old friend.) Chuuya: Le choix me revient, le choix me revient... c'est facile à dire ça. En plus, je sais que quand tu prononces ces paroles, c'est que nous n'avons justement plus d'autres choix. (The choice is mine, the choice is mine... that's easy to say. Plus, I know that when you say those words, it's because we don't have any other choices left.) Eng: I'll let you choose. // You'll let me choose? Whenever you say that, I never actually have another choice.

Chuuya: Je me suis servi de ce pouvoir parce que je te faisais confiance, et toi...! Tu as intérêt à me ramener à la base, si tu veux que je... te pardonne un jour... (I used that power because I trusted you, and you...! You better bring be back to base, if you want me to... one day forgive you...) Dazai: Tu peux compter sur moi, coéquipier. (You can count on me, teammate/partner.) Eng: I used Corruption because I trusted you. You... better take me... to the extraction point... // You got it, buddy.

[stoopid-turtle]

made-up thoughts about dd's thoughts

Hi there! I warned y'all that I might post more and I've been watching SDC so I wanted to compile my massive load of DD thoughts. Apparently, I think about dd a lot.

I've struggle with how to organize these thoughts because they're so scattered and there are just a whole bunch of them. So I decided to center them around moments I think about a lot. Not necessarily fun dd moments, though some of them are fun. But just...moments that I feel tell me a lot about dd.

As a disclaimer, I'm making up a bunch of nonsense about dd as a person, but I don't actually know him and you shouldn't take anything I say seriously. I'm very likely to be wrong about most of it. In fact, if dd somehow managed to read this humble post, he would probably roll his eyes. And you know what? It would be an honor for him to have done so.

There'll be a few posts. There are three others in drafts right now, though I may combine two of them. We'll see. But I'm starting out with this one just because it was done first.

I'm at around ep 8 of SDC4, and I think the only way to watch subtitled versions of SDC5 are by downloading an app that Google won't let me download because of region restrictions (and then paying a subscription fee). Needless to say, I probably won't be able to watch SDC5 anytime soon. :(

(those episodes are sooooo looonnngggg)

There's an episode in SDC4 when the captains have picked 4 leaders to start off their teams. They put together a rehearsal battle to show the other contestants the captain's style and help make decisions during the next recruitment segment.

DD picks 4 top dancers as his leaders. These are fantastic dancers, specifically battle dancers. And they do horribly in the rehearsal battle because they're not used to dancing routine, there are no choreographers so while their performance was highly technical, it wasn't really entertaining or meaningful, and the team itself just didn't cohere because these are all people who specialize in battling alone.

DD has a little meltdown while his team loses, and it's kinda uncomfortable to watch. He says in a debrief with his team afterward that he's one of those people that likes winning (which, yeah, duh, DD).

I think a lot about DD's initial strategy. It seems straightforward. Get the best dancers. Have the best team. Work hard. Win.

DD's not a deep thinker. I don't mean he's stupid, because he's actually pretty smart and quick to pick up on things. But he just doesn't see the need to introspect or dwell on things. He strikes me as the type of person who might go through some difficult event and come out the other side wanting to just move on because, "It's in the past. Why bother thinking about it?"

(I think he is getting more introspective as he gets older, as evidenced with his performance of Like the Sunshine. I think that's typical as one ages though)

I'm also struck by the feedback he gives as a captain. He usually makes pretty detailed comments about the technical aspects of the dance, and sometimes, with the more thematic pieces, he'll just outline the story of it. He's pretty literal and straightforward in his thinking.

In any case, dd stands out among the captains for his emphasis on winning. The captains of the other teams cultivate a family atmosphere and often make an effort to emphasize having fun over winning (dd emphasizes fun...as long as his team is winning). The other captains will break down in tears when they have to eliminate dancers, and they'll give nothing but praise to the dancers.

DD is the prototypical "not here to make friends" competitor (though he does actually make friends). One of the most common comments dd gets from dancers or judges is that he works really hard and is a perfectionist with his technical performance. (As a fangirl, I love hearing other people remark on how impressive dd is. I'm all like, "Damn right, that's my bb!"). Dd has high expectations of himself and of the dancers in his team, and he'll criticize the dancers if he feels they fell short.

It's not mean-spirited but it is blunt and is something that the other captains don't do. DD will point out mistakes and be outspoken when he's disappointed with a performance. He also doesn't cry when he has to eliminate someone. He obviously doesn't like doing it, and I do think his style of doing it quickly without the anxiety of drawing it out is kinder. But it also fits in with his decisive, direct way of doing things.

I think about this all in connection with the bts of gg saying he prefers men without makeup. DD gets incredibly defensive, misconstruing what gg's saying as a slight against idols. It's a funny bts, because gg's clearly trying to pay dd a compliment, but dd doesn't even realize this because he's so caught up in defensiveness.

But the defensiveness tells us that dd's felt belittled and looked down on for his idol background, I think especially in some of his hobbies and other activities. Professional dancing, motorcycling racing, skateboarding. His being an idol has made people not take him seriously (I think that's what happened at the beginning of SDC3 when dd got the fewest towels of all the captains from the start).

I think that can be frustrating because dd's initial interest as a teen boy was dancing. I don't know all the decision-making that went into him going off to get trained by Yuehua as an idol, but doing so ironically made it harder for him to get respect from the professional dancers that he admires.

That's why dd works so damn hard, often to the point of overwork. He's demanding of his team just as he's demanding of himself. This is a guy who puts himself into the hospital with how much he works (and then forgets about it afterward). He's wearing himself out in trying to prove himself, and I'm glad that he recently actually took a day off when he was sick. GG's a good influence.

This all takes us to another DD moment, one that is more fun to watch, and that is dd's whole thing with the waacker, Xiao Bao. During a battle, Xiao Bao touches the back of dd's head, and dd immediately stands up and grabs Xiao Bao, keeping a hold of him even as he tries to dance away. Then there's some minor waacking and, um, lip-licking from dd.

When asked at hotpot, dd explains that he was trying to get Xiao Bao to run out his time by keeping a hold of him so he couldn't dance. By touching him, Xiao Bao had challenged dd and dd responded according to street dance rules. DD seems confused by others' confusion because it's self-explanatory to him.

It is just...so very dd to be so single-minded about a thing that he doesn't even realize how incredibly gay it looked. Just, immensely fantastically gay. (I'll get back to this in another post, but I'm focusing elsewhere here)

Honestly, he's sometimes come across as being on the spectrum, though that may well be me overidentifying with some traits. But he has his special interests and while he may be generally quiet, he will start happily rambling if asked about motorbikes or legos or skateboarding (or if plopped down next to gg). He's incredibly fidgety and has a weird thing with stroking tassels.

I know people on the spectrum are more often associated with sensitivity to lights and noise, but there is variation in that. Some folks tend towards the opposite and end up being thrill-seekers.

Some of his mannerisms and social interactions ping me as spectrum-y. During the "JC's fake butt" bts conversation with the rest of the cast, gg characterizes dd as the type to bluntly go up to JC and ask him about the fake butt. He's probably not wrong.

In the bts, dd also has several moments of not being properly romantic by gg's standards or of being a little mean to gg and then apologizing later. This may be more of a young man thing than a spectrum thing, though. IME, guys that age are more prone to that sort of thoughtless behavior than guys who are older.

In any case, dd's reputation as aloof is surface-deep, as seen when he's comfortable with people. He's able to joke and play around with others once he warms up to them. I know gg is often seen as uniquely able to soften dd up, and I do think dd is distinctly more affectionate/playful with gg. But it's a difference in degrees. DD also seems comfortable with the other DDU hosts, with his UNIQ brothers, sometimes with the other SDC captains (though not as often), with certain dancers (like Bouboo and Yang Kai).

Heck, Yang Kai even lampshades this in SDC S4. The captains are recruiting their team members and they send gifts to the dancers to woo them. Even though Yang Kai is a definite joiner on dd's team, dd sends him a framed photo of the two of them from Yang Kai's win the previous season. He also gifts Yang Kai a charm for his newborn son. Yang Kai is touched and he comments that he wouldn't expect these gifts from dd because dd just doesn't express his emotions like this usually. (I wonder if dd had some help in choosing the gifts, because all his gifts are incredibly thoughtful in a very uncharacteristic way (sorry, dd))

So, yeah, I have so many thoughts about how dd shows him feelings. I'm not super-attached to the autism spectrum thing, so don't take it too seriously. Hell, don't take any of this seriously. I've never met the guy. I'm just wildly extrapolating from translated glimpses of him.

[short-and-ugly]

Really normal length Skoodge analysis

Gonna just start with the simple things. Things you can get from watching one time alone. Maybe. Probably not I don't think you people think about him enough to gather any of this. No. I'm sorry I love you all. I'm just a specific level of detached from average not-Skoodge viewers and don't know what all is expected. It's that one meme "Even when compensating, experts in any field will overestimate the average person's knowledge."

It's rough. Let's get into it.

Speech is probably an easy one! Yeah? Yeah.

A lot of the things he says are very literal... there's a lot of tacting things that are currently happening. A lot of stating the obvious.

Admittedly... this is probably a byproduct of him not being a "main character." His dialogue is a lot less important than that of characters like Zim and Dib. But it's still worth talking about! I'd like to think it's genuinely just his personality to be obvious and talk about things as if people aren't already aware of them. Maybe even have him be a bit tone-deaf. That's more headcanon territory though! So let's walk on past that before I confuse myself and all of you.

DOUBLE NEGATIVES...!

... only happen once. In the background. While he's being talked over by a bunch of teammates.

("Yeah; really that's actually good and more logical cause I don't really wanna make a chain or nothing like that.")

His speech is a lot more casual and, in transcripts for unfinished episode(s)(?) almost innocent!

frothing at the mouth at this one actually i dont like it. not good. this is just exposition. he would not fucking say that (probably wrong) (this was written by the shows writers) (it still makes me angry)

This one I just wanted to add because it's silly. Look at how silly he is. He's just a fun loving guy. Why does his mind go to dancing straight away? We'll never know... the inner machinations of his mind are an enigma.

Skoodge reads as... more impulsive than anything (and maybe a little anxiety-riddled but that might also just be me projecting). He doesn't strike me as a critical thinker who really tries to like... weigh the consequences of his actions. He just does shit and when it doesn't work out he does more. I imagine that's what most irkens are like, actually, now that I think about it...

His gut instinct must be controlling him because if it isn't then I honestly can't find any good explanation as to how he's survived for so long.

Which perfectly segways me into something a little more analyzing-like:

Skoodge is a cockroach.

He got shot out of a cannon and still comes back to the Empire. He... really does seem to believe that being here will help him out somehow. As if it hasn't already been proven that nothing he will do will satisfy the society he hails from.

Desperation can make you do desperate things; and Skoodge's entire character just reeks of desperation.

From apparently being considered to eat his own skin (before being deemed too much by the network) [no screenshot available because I don't even know how I'd begin to look for it] to the more canonical screaming-like-a-baby whenever something happens to him, it kinda makes you wonder how the hell he even got to where he is in the first place.

Now, this is more speculation than actual evidence, but I think it's a fair enough bet to say that Skoodge earned his title as an invader. He has no height to propel him forward in society, so whatever he did would've had to've involved sheer tenacity and an inclination for survival.

He is almost definitely, genuinely, afraid of death. And because of that, he just... doesn't die.

I know at an objective view, he doesn't die because it's funnier that way, and helps with jokes and gags, but like... c'mon. This is a deep analysis post. I'm allowed to get a little indulgent with it.

Treading into more theorization-territory here.

Irkens are raging Xenophobes.

And Zim fits this bill perfectly! He's slotted himself into this mindset without any issue, making up... unique slurs for humans and other things he comes by. Because he tries too hard to be a perfect irken. Maybe. That's a topic for someone that's insane about Zim, not me. This is about my guy.

If Zim is the perfect representation of an irken soldier (on a purely superficial level), then Skoodge is an outlier. Not in that he's good at his job; he's supposed to be! No, rather, his differences lie in his temperance. His composure, whatever you call it. He is far too complacent and even possibly a bit meek, if you wanna go ahead and call him that.

You see that? That right there is respect for a... honestly almost certainly, by irken standards, inferior species.

Now, this could either mean one of three things.

Either A) Skoodge is not space racist (best case scenario)

or B) Skoodge lacks self-confidence; not seeing himself as superior, and thus being compliant and respectful to the obvious figure of authority in front of him.

or C) Skoodge does not have respect for his Empire (very unlikely, seeing as the only reason he's still here is because he's trying to gain a promotion from said Empire)

Shooting down option A immediately with this dialogue here (Battle Of The Planets)

Sorry folks... he is very much so still space racist.

As for option B...

I'm going to be completely honest here. I think I've been interpreting this wrong in my series. I have a whole lot of complex reasons explaining why Skoodge doesn't have much confidence, but honestly, he reads as more... chill. And down-to-earth, than he does as self-loathing.

There is possibly evidence of him having a more quiet and subdued personality, instead of just him not being a xenophobe; and it comes from the very first episode!

Crying in front of the tallest at the Assigning. Admittedly, Larb cried too; but he at least had enough push in him to say something.

Skoodge doesn't. He's even disheartened by the Tallest's initial jeering of him! Which admittedly, might not be the best example of low self-esteem, because those are the literal Leaders of his fucking Empire... but it is definitely a shift from him being the proud, confident, short-and-ugly invader that he's shown to be in Battle Of The Planets. Invading Blorch must've really (rightfully) inflated his ego.

Which he normally lacks.

He lacks ego, but that doesn't mean he lacks confidence. He knows that he's good at things in spite of his flaws, and takes pride in it! Even though that pride ends up shooting him in his own foot. Sad.

And why is it that he lacks ego? Every other irken thus far (sans maybe Sizz-lorr) has demonstrated just how... important. It is for them to have one. How almost ingrained into their nature their egos are. Why does Skoodge not go on to boast about his glory when any other irken in his situation would? Again, it's going to be another one of those things that I just can't be too sure about, but I'm going to hazard to say that it's because he's so physically flawed. Short and ugly. (Probably the reason why his uniform is stained. Why put forth the effort to make your uniform look good if it's impossible for the rest of you?)

There is. Almost no doubt in my mind, that he's had to fight tooth and nail to get to where he is, claw his way to the top. And if he's done that, he knows the struggle of being lower? He knows because no matter how high he gets, he'll still always be that "lower"? augh. what the fuck.

Skoodge has been humbled by this because he's been reminded of it at almost every point in his life. He doesn't boast to inferiors because he knows that there is nothing to boast, that he is technically one of those inferiors. Because even despite his successes, someone will always go on to point out his flaws.

Which really brings attention to Battle Of The Planets, to the Tallest pointing out his flaws. He just had his greatest success. Purple gave him one flaw, he gave another. And he gave it proudly.

... SECRET FOURTH OPTION D YEAHHHH BABY!!!!

FAWN RESPONSE.

With his inclination towards survival it would make sense to reason that he's only polite in front of potentially-threatening company because it means that he's less likely to get pummeled for being. Anything else.

Being polite is just as credible a survival technique as anything else! We just don't get to see any other irkens using it.

Skoodge is. Competent. He conquered his planet first!

He's a good invader. And that's probably because he knows when to run.

He's very vocal about it, if he knows (or thinks) that there's someone around to assist him. Silent with his impending doom (ha) at the Assigning, but very very loud when being chased down in the canyon by the hogulus in Hobo 13.

Now, I don't know about you, but irkens don't really strike me as the kind of species to back down from anything. To me, they read as more of a "do it or die" kinda group. Again, this whole trait kiiiinda almost begging to be pegged as outlier. The only thing that makes me on the fence about this one is, again, the fact that it's a cartoon and Skoodge's fear might be for the sake of gags.

That doesn't really explain this though. He has literally no reason to be scared here. In this specific scenario (Day Of Da Spookies! unfinished episode) he's disguised as a human. Every person there is none the wiser to him and his alien nature. He's just... like this...? All the time? Apparently? Maybe?

Or maybe! There's other things at play here!

Skoodge is competent...

... but.

A friend put it into better words than I could:

His brain turns to mush whenever he's around Zim.

(Honestly, the volunteer line might actually add on to his possible lack of self-respect? Hard to say if it's that, or if he's just that desperate to give respect at the sign of any spare bit of authority, even if that authority comes from an irken shorter than him.)

It makes me wonder if most of what we've seen of him is just Zim's influence on him. Scared at the Assigning? He didn't know Zim was there, so that had to have been genuine. Saluting to an inferior species? He had to have known that Zim was there, because Zim introduced himself first (and very loudly at that), but I think it was also genuine because Zim wasn't directly influencing him?

Screaming because of the hogulus and running like a child from some humans? Those are almost definitely Zim's doing. I just. Don't know How.

Screaming is a weakness, I think; at least it should be (in the eyes of irkens), and when Skoodge does it he does it because he seems convinced that Zim will help him. And yet Zim never does! Skoodge has no reason to believe this!

But still, believe he does.

They had to have been... kind of close? At one point in their lives.

Potentially. I don't know how close a person can get to Zim, but Skoodge has just barely managed to do it, by virtue of the fact that he is quite possibly the only living thing in the universe that can tolerate being around Zim for more than five seconds.

And his cockroach-itude. That definitely helps. You can't be killed by Zim's passive destructive radius if you genuinely just can't fucking die at all.

But that explains nothing of his weird eagerness to do things for Zim. It borders on obsessive. It might actually be obsessive, since he's apparently been living in Zim's vents ever since the events of Hobo 13. Without telling him.

Skoodge is fucking deranged. Skoodge doesn't even register as a blip on Zim's radar of people-to-acknowledge, but he will still always just do things for him, and be excited to, too!

I don't know what's wrong with him. The less easy and definitely one too many steps detached from canon explanation would be that he views Zim as the ideal irken and strives to be like him. The easiest explanation would be that he just really likes Zim.

Gosh. Even that still raises the question of how or why he would. Zim is fucking terrible to not just him, but everyone. He is unbiased in whose life he ruins.

And Skoodge is perfectly content with just letting Zim ruin his.

man. i hate him. i really really do.

[rabdoidal]

So I saw your first hunchfucks (objectively funniest ship name ever) drawing and went huh ok cool I don't see it personally but really awesome art THEN THIS WEEKS EPISODE??? WITH THE CAR?? BRENNAN'S "his fingers always somehow end up in your mouth" ADDITION?? holy shit dude you were ahead of the curve. forward thinker. my eyes are open now. I see what you see.

literally eli andromelite and sam kindlestuck on twitter were making the push for fuckshunch and i was like hee hee hoo hoo this is funny but its real???? its real and it happened to me??????? insane.

[kerubimcrepin]

Episode 44 - My Papycha, the Secondhand Dealer (Part 1)

I'm very normal about this episode, but thankfully, all the writings to translate will probably distract me from the need to gush about Kerubim and Joris's love for one another.

The text on the left says "PAPYCHAT!". Usually, "!" means "M" in Amaknean, but I think Joris is just very enthusiastic.

The text on the right says "BROCANTE". It means "secondhand store". Also, there's a kama there. Cute :)

"HACHE" (axe) and "BONG" (??????????????????????????????????...probably onomatopoeia for the sound that contraption he drew makes.

Doesn't make Joris writing "bong" any less funny.)

A literal bear has entered a literal china shop. Warning, warning!

To my memory, this is one of the two times old Kerubim cries during the series, the first time being when he thinks Joris will be stuck for the rest of his life in the Heads for No Tails restraint.

I think he should be legally allowed to kill that pandawa guy.

I do think he loves them, but also, something tells me, a vase that took 20 years to make probably costs an amount of money that I don't even want to fucking imagine.

"VIEUX VASE" (old vase)

WHEN WILL JORIS'S REIGN OF EVIL END? Did he steal that piece?!

Though, it seems that even without it, the vase was still restored, — because, judging from all the cracks on it, the photo was taken after The Incident. I guess this story has a happy ending, despite the missing piece.

Photo of the clock: "REVEIL" (alarm, waking up) Bottle 1: "ELIXIR" Bottle 2: "BONBON" (candy) Bottle 3: "MIEL" (honey)

(the clock itself reads "5AM". Maybe Kerubim's alarm. I doubt he makes Joris, who isn't in education, wake up so early. Or maybe Joris wakes up at 5AM and then goes back to sleep. That would be the funnier possibility.)

This action will have consequences.

DO YOU SEE WHAT I TOLD YOU ABOUT JORIS AND HIS NEED FOR ROUTINES AND HATING BEING TOLD TO GO TO SLEEP?

It's obvious that Kerubim is just trying to get him to stop asking, Joris knows that, — and it's generally always why he's being asked to go to sleep early.

The text says: "PIERRE MAGI(Q)UE" (magic stone), with "Q" (::) being accidentally replaced by "N" (:)

Joris's guesses for this thing are: "Is this a ball?", "Is this a thing to do sport with to get muscles?", "Is this a geode?" and "Is this an egg?"

Truly, he is a dedicated thinker.

"VIDE GRENIER" (attic sale)

The first two vinyls say "GUST PRODUCTION" and "SADGUIRAM#2" respectively, while the third one says "ROMAIN".

The existence of vinyls also implies the existence of bands and their fans. We already know that, and all, but this still means a lot.

I wonder if slavery has always been a thing in the World of Twelve, or if it came back in style after centuries of being out of style only in Waven. Love their nonchalant response to it, too.

Chances are, this is just normal.

SEE WHAT I MEAN WHEN I TELL YOU JORIS IS A NIGHT OWL? He is NOT good at being awake early.

I also am beginning to suspect Kerubim is a morning person, unlike Joris. hdfkghsdgf.

Kerubim makes buying things a sort of a game for them to play together, to educate Joris on how to be a salesman in the future and continue their family business, but in the process pretty much hugs him and also look at Joris's face and then hand on shoulder car door man hook car and and um and [CAR CRASH] [GLASS SHATTERING] ‘GOOD LORD!’ [GENERAL COMMOTION] [BABY CRYING] ‘WAAAAH WAAAAH’ [YELLING] [POLICE SIRENS] WEEWOO WEEWOO [HELICOPTERS] ‘WE’RE REPORTING LIVE-‘ [EXPLOSION] ‘MY LEG… MY LEG…’

Yeah I'm okay./ (starts foaming.)

"LUIS"

Joris... I have some amazing news from the future. You'll never guess.

At heart, Kerubim is an optimist, and Joris is a pessimist, and they've always been that way, even as kids. I think it's cute that they both have these contrasting characteristics, and that they've had them their whole lives.

It makes them both really like each other, — but also, probably makes them annoy each other to death, across the 600 years of coexistence.

[yeetlegay]

Why Kinn’s voice fucks me up: a silly little analysis

I’ve been obsessing over this for a solid month now but haven’t seen anybody really talk about it in depth so I’m taking it upon myself to write this meta. Dw my brand as Unhinged Shit-Stirrer in the tag remains intact. 🤙🏻

This post is kind of hard to do without audio clips (and I’m way too lazy to do all that lol) but hopefully screenshots will still give you a sense of what I’m talking about.

First things first, let’s talk about Mile’s voice. Especially next to Apo, he comes across as a lot quieter, more reserved, and even when he’s excited his voice tends to be softer, not really high per se but lighter. My guess is he’d be a tenor if he sang, mayyybe a baritone with a more limited lower range.

In real life, interviews, BTS clips, etc, his voice makes him sound gentler, more mature, more approachable, even a little shy. His voice projects kindness and gives you the sense that he’s the sort of person you’d like automatically if you met him.

It would make sense then, in his role as Kinn, if he altered his voice, spoke lower or louder, affected a different timbre and tone, all to add to his appearance as someone dangerous and maybe even violent. It’s an obvious choice to make, given not just Kinn’s personality on the page but also the world he lives in, a world dominated by men and toxic masculinity where he’s already dealing with derision and snide comments for being openly gay. It would be completely reasonable for someone like Kinn to use every tool he can to protect and enhance his image and especially his masculinity, which would include his voice.

But Kinn doesn’t do that. Mile doesn’t do that. His voice stays more or less the same in the series as it does in real life, obviously with a little more dramatic tension involved. Kinn speaks softly, calmly, even when he’s at his angriest. Sure, he can go a bit louder in certain scenes, like when he’s running from those gunmen in ep1 or when that hot assassin is beating the shit out of him with her baton (ma’am I am begging u for literally just one date, pls), but there’s always a softer undertone to his voice despite the occasional need to yell.

So how exactly does the exact same voice manage to convey two totally different personalities and general energies? How does Mile totally embody this character who’s extremely dangerous, possessive, ruthless, and often violent, with that soft, gentle voice?

Because in the context of the story, that voice tells us something about Kinn. It’s intentional on Mile’s part, an interpretation of who Kinn is and how he interacts with the world, and it immediately breaks him out of the mold of this archetype that viewers will want to instinctively place him in.

In the first episode alone, that voice tells us three things.

1) Kinn is comfortable and confident in his skin. Does he have issues? Fuck yes. But he doesn’t give a shit about trying to appear threatening or dangerous. He expects that everyone already knows this. His quiet voice in moments like that first scene with the Italian mob show that he doesn’t need to appear anything. He knows he’s in control, and he’s confident everyone else knows it too. His reputation precedes him, and he doesn’t bother with projecting power through his voice when he already sees the power as his. (Another indication of this is his clothing. His suits could present as a kind of armor, and they do in a way, but he’s just as comfortable, emits the same level of charisma, when he’s in casual clothes or even matching silk pajamas. I won’t talk more about the silk pajamas because the things I want to say would all get god’s lightning bolt on me w a quickness.)

2) He’s a strategic thinker. He’s learned to keep his outward cool in almost every situation, and moderates his voice accordingly. Even when he yells, it’s well-controlled and only to make himself heard, not to show strength or aggression. In fact, his voice tends to pitch higher when he speaks louder, maintaining that softer undertone. It shows that he’s not reactive, that he’s working to manage his emotions and think ahead while he’s talking. All of that is external though; he’s still a freak and certified gay disaster on the inside.

3) He’s not cruel. He may look like it, may even want people to think he is, but his voice gives him away. His scene with Yok in the bar is staged to threaten Porsche, to make him nervous, but the way he speaks to her, even though it’s partly for effect, is still courteous and kind. He wants Porsche to feel the threat of that interaction, but he doesn’t make anyone else feel that threat unnecessarily. Yok may understand more than she lets on about what’s happening, but there’s no sign she’s overly nervous or uncomfortable around Kinn despite that. (As an aside, the low-class mafia comment and the way he says it is hot, but it also ties back to the first point. He has no need to force artificial authority or strength or power into his voice. His confidence and charisma speak for themselves, and he’s so self-assured that the people around him don’t need any reminders of who he is or what he’s capable of.)

There are a few scenes from eps 2 and 3 that stick out in my mind too where Kinn’s voice is especially important to setting the tone for the scene.

The coffee scene:

Kinn adds a bit of bluster to his voice in this scene, inflecting more and speaking just a little louder overall than he usually does in ordinary conversation. His body language and facial movements are also interesting here, along with the blocking, with him seated and looking up at Porsche, but that’s another post lol. Essentially he’s projecting his voice more, which he doesn’t do much with Porsche, and directing it upward to meet Porsche’s eyes. It adds such a subtle vibe to the scene that I didn’t even notice it on a first watch, but after seeing it a few times it’s obvious what his voice is indicating here: he feels bad. We know (from how he talks but also just the hints we’ve gotten so far) that he’s not cruel by nature or needlessly violent. He did what he did in the previous scene to protect Porsche, but he didn’t like doing it. I wouldn’t go so far as to call it real guilt. He’s practical enough to know he made the right call and he’s not close enough to Porsche to truly care about him yet. But I really think in this scene he’s working a little too hard to meet Porsche’s eyes, to act like himself. His voice is a little louder and more...provocative isn’t the word, but something like it, to give no room in the scene for any appearance that he does feel bad for what he did. This is one instance where he does raise his voice to project an image of strength and maybe even defiance, and all so Porsche doesn’t have any reason to wonder if he regrets hurting him. Babie behavior imo but go off king

The wound tending scene:

Kinn does this really fun thing where when he’s being possessive or reasserting his dominance (jfc Kinn are u gonna pee on him next, like ffs), he softens his voice, makes it a teensy bit slower, and enunciates very clearly. When he does this, it’s to make you lean in to listen, to make you pay extra attention. It’s a power play, and it’s interesting that he uses it so often on Porsche. He wants Porsche to lean in, to pay extra attention to him, and even if he thinks it’s solely to put an employee in his place, it’s obvious to the viewer that there’s something else going on.

The pier scene:

This is pretty much the first scene where we see Kinn really let down his guard and be emotionally intimate with Porsche, even if it’s only because he’s drunk and his inhibitions are lowered, as seen earlier when he was shaking his tiddies at Porsche like it was a Lizzo concert. It’s not just that he’s looser and smiles more easily and talks more freely; it’s also that his voice is lower, which lends a sense of intimacy to the scene despite the open space around them. He’s talking to Porsche, focusing his eyes and his voice on him, rather than at him. There’s also something about his tone that feels...idk receptive, like he’s speaking to Porsche on equal footing for the first time. It makes me wonder what he’ll sound like when he’s being genuinely affectionate and loving toward Porsche, because his voice here sounds like a taster of that even though they’re nowhere near that point yet.

In general, Porsche makes Kinn’s voice do things it doesn’t usually do. Kinn is actually a little less well-modulated with Porsche, given how much he gets under his skin, and it shows. His voice has more variety in it when he talks to Porsche; he swings from a soft murmur to a more brash, loud tone in the span of a few seconds. It’s like Porsche’s chaos is rubbing off on him a little, messing with his control. He feels more human because of it, more dynamic, which I think is a good indicator of how Porsche will change him more generally as a person.

Other posts in this series:

Kinn’s voice in episode 4: basically my man is losing it

Kinn’s voice in episode 5: Kinn, respectfully, go to therapy

Kinn’s voice in episode 6: aka Kinn’s Camp Rock “this is real, this is me” era

Kinn’s voice in episode 7: heart boners everywhere

[longdeadking]

dashboard simulator

👯 crows-on-a-log

guys im literally undergoing a crisis right now can anyone hear me

#my dad goin craaaaazy #he stole the lightbulbs out of my ezbake oven for the fifth time :( #vent post #delete later

2 notes

☠️ williamaftonshugepersonality 🔁

😶‍🌫️ boypenis Follow

MEDIA DASHBOARD SIMULATOR

😃 blogname-here

did yall see the new episode......... glopp sploinky was sooooooooooooo

#im normal about him! #<- blatant lies #media liveblog

(24 notes)

😼 discourse-haver Follow

i just dont see why we have to portray every male character in Media as female....... cant we just leave them male, as the creators intended? lol

🪴 rational-thinker

what world do you live in that people are being forced to hc male characters as female????

😼 discourse-haver Follow

youd understand if you were a fandom elder like me.......

🪴 rational-thinker

your blog is a month old

(104 notes)

😚 trustedmutual 🔁

👙 cup-size-tournament Follow

glopp sploinky propaganda:

he's literally just a cisgender man with 5 minutes of screentime

Woman McAwesome propaganda:

she has a canonical rack, she's a lead character, she's super buff and could crush you, she has an interesting arc and her emotional narrative factors into the main plot in impactful ways

#vote glopp sploinky!!!! #GLOPP SPLOINKY SWEEEEEP!!!!! #thats my husband! fuck woman mcawesome lol

(1,267 notes)

🖌 supercoolartist 🔁

🖌 supercoolartist

made a little doodle <3

if you dont reblog my art ill kill you btw <3

#self rb for the morning crowd #glopp sploinky x blorbo C #gloc fanart

(12 notes)

Based on your Likes!

😈 guy-you-have-blocked Follow

hey anyone want to hear the worst take of all time as shown through a low-effort meme that i stole from reddit?

(127,363 notes)

😚 trustedmutual 🔁

💝 fandomroyalty Follow

i would let woman mcawesome step on my face

💝 fandomroyalty Follow 🔁

10k woman mcawesome hornyposting

#happy woman mcawesome hornyposting wednesday

(11,560 notes)

#long post #dashboard simulator

13,498 notes

🍊 the-real-onceler

all im saying is that homestuck is actually a modern epic poem a la gilgamesh the oddesey the journey to the west etc. essay below the cut if you want me to cite my sources

Read More

#onceler essays #i literally wrote my thesis on this

1,045 notes

🤡 puns-are-for-losers

goncharov ebby deepy glup shitto blorbo old man yaoi vanilla extract post simulators tournaments tumblr live homestuck 2 barbenheimer. we didnt start the fire

656,099 notes

🦋 axels-random-blog 🔁

🌹 girluterus Follow

what if weevils had tumblr

👤 burrowing-for-goodies-deactivated-2024

guyssss i just found the juiciest tomato to chow down on.... hmu for my location in the garden

150 insectoid notes

🐛 evil-weevil

attention garden dwellers!! do not eat the fresh produce in the southwest corner of the garden!! the humans just sprayed insecticide on them, so if you eat them you will die!!!!

🪲 carapace-is-popping

wtf this is blatant misinfo..... my buddy @burrowing-for-goodies just ate some tomatoes from the southwest corner and hes fine. youre just hoarding bro its so obvious

12k insectoid notes

🪲 carapace-is-popping

hey ummm has anybody seen @burrowing-for-goodies recently? hes not responding to dms. im going to go look for him

🍃 random-bugg

op is your friend ok? what happened?

🪲 carapace-is-popping

hopital

4,506 insectoid notes

🔴 girluterus

what was that

10,041 notes

🔮 the-wizard-hatter

she fireball on my small enclosed space til i TPK

9,156 notes

💀 longdeadking

do you guys think post simulators have gone too far

1 note

[denwenai]

Breaking down Aziraphale's decision.

This is not a theory, all the information below comes from what we've seen in the show. I want to write down my thoughts so I can come to a conclusion about what drove Aziraphale to take that decision in the final episode. I firmly believe he did it consciously, and I'll go through his previous behaviours and knowledge to better understand why this decision is on character.

Disclaimer: it will probably get messy or reiterative sometimes. This is because I'm not a linear thinker and I keep coming back to previous paragraphs to add more stuff without checking if it keeps making sense as a whole.

Part One: He still needs Heaven.

I'll start with the current status of his relationship with Heaven, and how he feels about God and the other angels.

Aziraphale doesn't let it show, but he was struggling with how things ended with Heaven after S1. On a surface level, he makes it look like he's fine with it, but even with Crowley on his side, he's still programmed to respond to Heaven. That's his nature.

We've seen them actively working together through the years, and they're closer now, which makes sense for us because we know they're all each other has after S1. They're both against Heaven and Hell, they're on their own team. So it makes sense to assume that Aziraphale is ok with this situation. Heaven rejected him, he doesn't agree with Heaven either, but at least he's got someone who understands him. Everything worked out, everything is great.

But the truth is Aziraphale is not ok with this. It's evident when you look at some little details. Like how since he's not reporting to Heaven anymore, when he talks to Crowley he tells him the latest stuff he's been up to.

Or when Crowley ironically tells him he did a good job over the phone and Aziraphale gets all flustered and replies oh, do you really think so? He's genuinely craving positive rewards. Under other circumstances, he might have caught up with the sarcasm, but he subconsciously took it literally because that's something he actually needs to hear. He wants his efforts to be acknowledged.

After S1's arrangement, Heaven closed a door on him without actively punishing him. It's like a silent treatment because they still consider him an angel but don't give him orders or expect him to report back. They just don't want him anymore. And that was the ideal solution for Crowley with Hell. But Aziraphale needs Heaven because that relationship is what originally gave purpose to his existence. I don't think he's being vocal about it the way Crowley is, but neither seems to have a purpose now. Although they both deal with it differently. Aziraphale's solution was what I mentioned before, using Crowley as a figure to report back to. It's merely symbolic because Crowley isn't giving him orders or expecting him to do anything, and he's not his superior in any way. Also, Aziraphale apparently just talks to him about everything he does; everything is potentially a report. The mechanics are the same, so it helps Aziraphale ease his mind. On the other hand, this situation makes him expect feedback from Crowley, just as it would've happened with the angels. The Pavlovian logic here is: he reports, he gets feedback. That's why he takes comments like the good job one as compliments, especially if he just told Crowley what he's been up to.

This system is as good as it gets, at least while being an off-the-grid angel. And Aziraphale is very aware of this, that's why he accepts his fate and goes on with this. Reporting his daily activities to Crowley is not ideal, but it's good enough for him to trick his mind into believing he's following his usual angel routine, and that's comforting enough.

It's also important to consider that his issue with Heaven was different than Crowley's issue with both Heaven and Hell. Crowley doesn't agree with either, and he doesn't need to feel like he belongs somewhere. But Aziraphale needs to feel like he belongs, and he genuinely believes in Heaven being the good guys; that's why he feels contradicted when he sees the questionable things they do. Still, even though he might not agree with the means, he cares about the ends. God's plan is ineffable, after all. We could say, then, that he's on good terms with God, he just happens to disagree with how things get done. And since he won't ever dare to think that God does bad stuff on purpose, he assumes everything he doesn't like about Heaven is the management's fault. You can't question God, but you can disagree with Gabriel, Michael, Uriel and any other angel.

Part Two: Assumptions about Crowley's desires.

There's something we can tell about them and it's that they never really talked about how Crowley feels about the fall. We've heard Crowley goes along with Hell as far as he can, but that's just it. He never told Aziraphale if he regrets falling, or if he'd like to come back to Heaven. And if he did, we know he probably wouldn't say it out loud. Aziraphale knows this too. So we'll work with what Aziraphale knows to figure out what he assumes Crowley feels about being a fallen angel.

Aziraphale met Crowley before the beginning, and it was the most joyful he's ever seen him. Crowley was full of optimism and illusion. He loved his star factory. He felt fulfilled with this job.

After he fell, Crowley still loved the stars he helped create. He even wanted to go to Alpha Centauri if things went wrong on Earth (which we know is basically Aziraphale & Crowley's favourite place). This is important because it means he isn't resentful about his creations. He still loves his work in Heaven. For Aziraphale, this could mean Crowley doesn't hate fully Heaven, because he likes some of the stuff he created under Heaven's direction.

Crowley's been redundant about not agreeing with Hell either. Aziraphale doesn't care that it also means he doesn't agree with Heaven. For him, it's enough to know that Crowley isn't really on Hell's side. He still doesn't understand that Crowley is on his own, because for him that's lonely, and since he has this strong need for belonging -as I stated in part one- he figures Crowley has it too, and he would rather be with one group or the other rather than alone.

If Crowley isn't on Hell's side, it means that he's not evil. If he's not evil but he doesn't agree with Heaven, then it's because he's got the same problem as Aziraphale. He's got a problem with the management. So, if these angels leave, if they're not the ones giving orders, then it might be ok.

Aziraphale sees falling as the worst thing that could ever happen to an angel. This is evident when we see his reaction after lying about Job's children. He feels guilty, he thinks it's over. Just listen to the pain in his voice when he says he's a demon now. He doesn't want to be a demon; this is his worst nightmare. And again, he assumes Crowley feels the same. Because they were both angels, they must feel the same about falling. He doesn't get that Crowley doesn't care.

Even if he believed Crowley is ok with being a demon -which we can assume he doesn't-, he still knows that Crowley actually feels lonely. And that's enough for him to think that Crowley would be better being back in Heaven, because he wouldn't be alone anymore. Because he'd be with other angels, and because he'd be with him too.

Aziraphale takes all this into account and figures that Crowley feels lonely and would secretly like to be an angel again, as long as the angels in charge change and the system is fixed. This way, he could come back to creating nebulas, he could be happy and fulfilled again.

You could come back to Heaven and everything. Like the old times. Only, even nicer.

He's basically saying: you can come back and do the things you used to love. But now it will be better because I'll be in charge and I won't destroy your creations after 6 thousand years. I'll be in charge and you won't be lonely anymore, because we'll be together and there will be more angels, so you'll never be alone. I'll be in charge but you'll have a say, an opinion; I won't punish you for asking questions, and there will be a suggestion box. Everything you think is wrong with the system, I'll fix it.

Part Three: His reasoning

Imagine you've been rejected by Heaven. They don't seem to need you anymore, but you desperately want them to need you because that's what you've been taught. That's been your purpose since the beginning. That's all you ever learnt, and that's the only feeling you were allowed to have; that you must serve a higher purpose and you're worthless if you fail on your assigned tasks.

So you play pretend, you replicate what you used to do for Heaven because you can't do it anymore. Your superiors don't like you, and you know they will never change their mind. And to be honest, you didn't like them that much either; at least by the end you changed your mind about them, because of how they treated you.

But you still believe in that higher purpose. And you still believe the actual boss is on the right and knows what they're doing. Your problem is with the people in between. Everything you don't like about how Heaven gets things done is probably their fault.

Imagine now that this person you still believe in tells you your superiors are useless and they want you in charge instead, because they believe you can fix stuff. Suddenly your feelings are validated. Not only because God also thinks there's stuff that needs to be fixed, but because if they think you're the one for the job, then it means you've been right all along. Every time you doubted God wouldn't like the way things were getting done, you were right. Every time people told you "that's how God wants it, that's their plan", they were wrong. And you get the chance to be in charge, which means you can fix everything that's wrong with the current system. You won't be an outcast anymore and you'll still have your routine of following orders, only that now these orders come directly from God -the only authority you truly believe in- and not from the people that hurt and discredited you.

Plus, you get the chance to make things better for the person you love. And you don't know if he really wants that because you don't ever talk about it. But you would feel so bad if you were in his place, you'd like to be restored as an angel if you were him, so you assume he wants that too, even if he doesn't admit it.

So this opportunity is the best deal ever. You're accepted back in Heaven, the people you don't like aren't in charge anymore, God validates your concerns, says you were right all along & you're the only one that can fix things; you get to make things right for the one you love. Everything is perfect.

Why would you say no? You really believe your partner will say yes; because you firmly believe he's been secretly desiring to be back, to be an angel, to create more stars, and to be with you.

Part Four: His true intentions

Aziraphale isn't being selfish, he's actually thinking about Crowley's well-being when taking this decision.

We know Aziraphale never wanted power. He just wants that little corner in London where he can be around people and books. That's why his first reaction is saying no. He doesn't want to leave his bookshop, his life on Earth.

But he also wants Crowley to be happy and safe. After all, he's his only friend. That's why the offering of restoring Crowley's angelic status changes everything. Because Aziraphale really believes that's what Crowley would like. That's why he comes back excited with the best news.

And it's not that he prefers Crowley to be an angel. He loves Crowley regardless; he always has and always will. And he just found out about Gabriel and Beelzebub. So, he knows they can be together without the need for Crowley being an angel or him being a demon. And they've been together for a while now, neither Hell nor Heaven care about it anymore. So, it's not like he wants to turn Crowley into an angel so they can be together. He wants to help Crowley because he thinks that's what Crowley secretly wants.

Aziraphale's willing to leave his life on Earth for Crowley; he's willing to assume as a leader -something he never wanted- for Crowley. He's willing to fix the entire system for Crowley. You're against Heaven because you don't like how they work? But you surely want to come back to create your stars. Then I'll change the system for you, so you can come back safely, so no one will bother you.

There's this ambiguous dialogue that's been given different interpretations, even between Crowley and Aziraphale. But I think it's clear evidence of Aziraphale's intentions.

You can't leave this bookshop.

It's not just about the bookshop, and they both know it. The bookshop symbolizes Earth. People. Humanity. And everything they love about it. But the meaning of this phrase is different for each of them.

For Crowley, who knows how much Aziraphale loves Earth and people, it's a way of making him aware. You'll lose everything you love, angel, you don't want to do this.

For Aziraphale, it's Crowley's way of saying I appreciate what you're doing for me, I want what you're offering me, but you're risking something you love and I don't want you to. Crowley doesn't want him to make that sacrifice, but he longs for the results.

Oh, Crowley. Nothing lasts forever.

For Crowley, this means I changed my mind. I love Earth, and I love what we have, but I want to go now. It's been fun being just us. But it's over. I'm done being an outcast. I want to go back to Heaven.

For Aziraphale, it means I love Earth, but I also love you. And if you need me to leave my life on Earth so you get your angel status restored, then I'll do it. I wasn't supposed to have a humanized life anyway, it wasn't supposed to last this long. So it's fine if it ends now, if it is for you.

This is why Aziraphale doesn't understand it when Crowley rejects him anyway. That's why he desperately tells him I need you. Because it's not that he just wants to go and rule Heaven and make it a better place. He wants to go with Crowley, and to make it a better place for him. Aziraphale doesn't get how Crowley doesn't accept if he's offering to restructure Heaven for him.

Part Five: The consequences

The problem is that this is not what Crowley wants. So he rejects the offer. But Aziraphale is confused because he didn't expect this reaction at all. And when Metatron comes back, he's so in shock that he doesn't know what to say. He already compromised because he assumed what Crowley's response would be.

He still loves Heaven. And he believes in God's plan. And if God thinks he's the one who can make things right, then it's his responsibility to live up to those expectations. Aziraphale finds comfort in following God's orders; we already know that. This wasn't just about giving Crowley what Aziraphale thought he wanted. This was also about finally returning to his routine, to fulfil his purpose. This was supposed to benefit both of them. So, imagine Aziraphale's surprise when he sees this is something only he wants. He thought he was doing something for Crowley too, but Crowley didn't like the idea at all. But Aziraphale has a responsibility now, Heaven and God are counting on him. He can't turn back now, it's already too late.

Then we see the way he looks outside the window, distractedly saying nothing I can think of. How he takes his time before he decides to follow Metatron. How he reunites courage -but not enough- and says I think I... nothing at all.

And Crowley knew Aziraphale thought it was the best for both of them. That's why when he went out, he still waited outside the shop instead of leaving (like he did after Gabriel's arrival). He was waiting for Aziraphale to realise the implications of his proposal; he was confident he would understand. That's why it hurt so much when Aziraphale looked at him one last time before getting into the lift.