#obviously there are plot holes because they're kids shows but it's still good

[iridescentis]

i really want to do a full lore analysis of just add magic soonish because damn i just remembered how deep it goes like that show had backstory all the way to the 1800s

unfortunately i don't really have the time to watch a whole show and take notes but it is really cool how much worldbuilding they put into the show from the spices and the book to the actual full timeline that revealed itself through the time travel spells they used

as i've said before i also want to do the same for mako mermaids, because i feel like it was quite shadowed by h20 since that show holds so much nostalgia for people and they were basically aired for two different childhood eras i think, but it has SO much story and worldbuilding that i don't see talked about very often

there is a whole backstory of mermaid politics that is just brushed over which i really want to go back and analyse it fully because it is really interesting and deserves attention! mako mermaids added so much to the overall lore of this universe and i love it dearly i just have to find time to rewatch it

i talk about both of these shows at the same time because i feel like there are a lot of similarities in which their backstories are very detailed and they have a similar plot structure (which is probably intentional given the glaringly obvious similarities between just add magic and just add water) but yeah i just feel like they deserve a more thought out deep dive into everything they have because it is so much fun to learn about

[theerurishipper]

The biggest truth that solves all plot holes in Miraculous: they’re bad writers.

No excuse of this being a kids show works because if you want to be not held accountable for holes then fine act like SpongeBob

but you can’t have everything

Yeah. I didn't give a damn about the "plot holes" in Seasons 1-2, or even Season 3 to some extent, because those were mostly monster of the week type of episodes. Sure, there were some semblances of plot and world-building, but it was still mostly episodic and the show still mostly focused on being goofy and entertaining, so I turned of my brain and enjoyed it greatly.

But then Season 4 came along and tried to change the tone of the series entirely, from being a monster of the week to having an actual plot and overarching story, and proved that the writers for the show don't really know how to do that? And then they started digging their holes deeper and deeper and made so many baffling decisions in the writing that the show just turned into a huge mess, full of unresolved plot points, underdeveloped characters, convoluted storytelling, and many unfortunate implications.

And it's like you said. If the show wants me to take it seriously, I will. I'm going to look at a show for what it is. When the show was presenting itself as a goofy episodic show to entertain kids, I judged it as such and I enjoyed it, because Miraculous is good at that. I loved Seasons 1 and 2. Season 3 less so, because it started The Plot™, and it wasn't good at that, but I still enjoyed a lot of it. But Seasons 4 and 5 came along and demanded I take them seriously, so I did. And they weren't good, because the writers aren't good at that kind of storytelling. They're good at goofy shenanigans, but not at complex plots and characters.

And "it's a kids show" is not an excuse. Kids shows can explore complex subjects and can have great plots and characters (ATLA). But it still has to be, you know, good. Kids aren't stupid. I know that kid me would have also hated the Season 5 finale, because Adrien is my favorite, and he wasn't there, and they made Marinette lose.

But at the same time, this is still a show for kids. Miraculous is a kids show, and therefore, it has the responsibility to not promote harmful messages. What would an abused child who is in a situation similar to Adrien's think when they see him call Gabriel a hero in the finale and say that he doesn't know if he'll ever be like him? Children aren't stupid and incapable of understanding anything, and they do deserve good quality of writing, but they also aren't capable of complex media analysis. And when you see people making these long-ass posts talking about how the finale is actually not what it seems like, actually, you have to consider the target audience. A kid isn't going to be picking up on the deep and nuanced hidden meanings in Gabriel final moments that prove he hasn't changed. They are going to see Gabriel hugging his wife, smiling and surrounded by pretty and warm lights while beautiful music plays. If we have to write all these long theories justifying the ending and trying to suggest that what was obviously portrayed on the screen isn't what the show is really trying to say, is a kid really going to get it?

Which is why you see so many people saying shit like "aw Gabriel was really a good man," or "he was never the villain." These people are probably like, 12–13 year olds, and they are watching a show meant for kids. And as a kid, I'm not going to like that Adrien wasn't in the finale, sure, but does that mean I'll understand that Gabriel is supposed to still be a bad guy when the show tells me to my face that he isn't?

It's not like the show can't deal with complex and nuanced characters. I myself have written many character analyses and have treated these characters as complex and nuanced, and they could have been. Again, look at ATLA. Zuko, for example, is a very complex character, but he is still brought to life in a way that allows kids to understand all the nuances and subtleties in his story clearly. There is a lot of rather complex symbolism, but the kids get the jist of it and can understand his story well, even if they don't catch all the minute details. Hell, take Azula. The show doesn't shy away from showing her doing bad things, but it also makes it blatantly obvious that you should feel sorry for her in the end, and that she's also a victim. Again, kids can understand this.

And that's where Miraculous falls flat. The writers fucked up their message. They wrote some deeply problematic stuff, where the abuser won. The bad guy won, but he was actually a good guy. So, people who act like Gabriel maybe aren't all that bad. What Gabriel did in the end was good, and we should all try to be like him. Kids aren't going to question it. In this way, "it's a kids show" goes from being an excuse to being a problem. It's what it says on the tin, and what's on the tin is not good. That's how I feel.

Thank you for your ask!

[posthumousvigor]

You know, I think its kind of cool how plot holes and bad writing encourage creativity in an audience. When I was a kid, I thought that the reason Anakin personally late-term aborted all them kids was because he wanted to ensure they were killed quickly and as painlessly as possible. I thought it was some sort of twisted compassion meant to show how his character had become corrupt yet still fundamentally the same. In trying to understand why something without sufficient explanation was happening, I gave the story new depth and meaning. Not like I'm a genius or anything, just an audience member taking part in creation.

I talked to my dad recently about the star war and he was surprised about the whole Force Jesus thing because this whole time he thought it was Palpatine's ~evil machinations~ or whatever. For over 20 years this man thought my boy Sheev abducted shmi and artificially knocked her up little green alien style as an experiment to create the most powerful force user. Which is kind of convoluted but I like it better than Jesus Christ Superstar laser sword edition full color vhs 50% off at walmart. Here's another person building their own art in their mind based on filling a hole (lol) left by the original media.

I mean, it happens in fandom all the time. Idk how many arguments I've seen where one or both people are duking it out based on... something that never happened. But in their beautiful mind palace it happened. And that would be such a wonderful phenomenon if they could only stop whipping out slurs every time they start to lose the argument. Keep on fighting those cuck windmills buddy I'm sure it'll work at some point

I'd still prefer a well written story, obviously, but I just love how people can't help but be creative, even if its 1999 and they're just in the car on the way home from the movies trying to work out what all that midichlorians shit was about. The collaborative process of creation can't stop, even if everyone held hands and agreed to never tag anything as #meta again. Art is never finished.

Anyway remember when everybody was foaming at the mouth over Jar Jar Binks was a Sith Lord theories? Good times

[pandasmagorica]

First watch: Kiseki: Dear to Me episodes 1-10

Damn you, Gaga. Okay, it's my own fault for not cross-checking on MDL. And for that matter, for not clicking on the last episode Gaga shows (11) and seeing even that's not showing until next week.

On the other hand, now that I've caught up, I can join the Tumblr conversation on this series. Yay! So once I've added my thoughts, I'm going to unblock the tag for this series.

So first off: I very much enjoy this series. While it is totally a crime drama QL, which is not my favorite genre, there is humor sprinkled throughout the series. I wouldn't call it a comedy, but on some levels it's lighter than dark. It's no 3 Will be Free or History 3: Trapped, but it's well worth watching.

There are more than enough coincidences and plot holes. I notice them, and still like the series.

Content warnings

Violence - hello, it's a crime series - dubcon and age.

While I'm not a fan of dubcon, it is at least met here with consequences: confrontation from the victim, regret from the violator - nobody treats it as if nothing happened.

While one character in the main couple is not an adult, they are of the age of consent in Taiwan (16 and over) and the actor is actually an adult (20). Actually, perhaps not in the context of the story, since the adult member of the pair is posing as the other's substitute teacher at the point they finally get it on. (And remembering this is acting, they're not actually having sex, and we don't see the NC-17 part.)

At this point, with either one or three episodes to go, I give it a thumbs-up with reservations.

If you want to avoid spoilers, skip to episode 11.

See also Getting to be a kid in Kiseki: Dear to Me

Spoilers and nitpicks follow

Thoughts about the series

While there were moments that made me uncomfortable, this is an intelligently written series, the acting is good, there is humor, and some good twists. I watched nine episodes the first day, with some time between each episode, and found it quite watchable. I could picture watching it again.

The actor playing Bai Zhongyi does a good job showing the awkwardness of the character. Both leads gradually fall for each other naturally while living a forced odd-couple existence. Just because Bai Zhongyi is young doesn't mean he's passive.

We have the accidental fall trope.

It takes a while for the shit to hit the fan, but when it does, it's intense.

We have to wait until episode 9 to catch up with the opening scene of the series, so be patient. The series doesn't drag.

Nice touches

Fan Jherui's father, the gang boss, has a gay lover.

There doesn't seem to be homophobia.

Taiwan having same-sex marriage is acknowledged and celebrated.

Ai Di looks adorbs in (Red Riding Hood) drag. Okay, he looks cute without drag but there's something funny about a violent gang member dressing up in drag for Halloween for the benefit of his colleague's budding boyfriend.

It's pretty clear without spelling it out that Fan Jherui's father knows the Bai family's every move: Chen Yi and Ai Di have no problem tracking Fan Jherui down at Bai Zhongyi's place and Fan Jherui's father knows Bai Zhongyi's father needs a heart transplant and is on a long waiting list for it.

Fan Jherui's father follows through on the deal for Bai Zhongyi's father to get a heart transplant and medical care if Bai Zhongyi takes the fall for Fan Jherui after Fan Jherui kills a member of a rival gang who was about to kill both Fan Jherui and Bai Zhongyi.

Nitpicks about plot holes

Supposedly, Fan Jherui has supposedly not been accepted into his father's gang because he's not ready to die for them. But when we first meet him, he's obviously been in some kind of battle - which so far we haven't learned anything about - and has a bloody knife that could serve as evidence against him. So, is he in the gang or not?

When Ai Di pretends to be a student, he uses a name that is very close to his real name, which would seem to be not a very bright move for someone who is acting undercover.

How do gang members get to go undercover in a high school with the adminstration's consent anyway?

When Bai Zhongyi goes to prison, he is almost immediately attacked. We learn that someone in Fan's father's empire is responsible. Yet somehow he makes it out of prison four years later without apparent further attacks and further opens a pastry shop without further attacks, at least as of the end of episode 10, even though we learn he is still under threat.

(However, it's not a plot hole that Bai Zhongyi was attacked. I can see the Fan family wanting to ensure Bai Zhongyi never revealed the true story or that the friends of the guy who was killed would want revenge.)

Gang member Ai Di chooses to take the rap for the attack on Bai Zhongyi. How? He wasn't anywhere near the prison. Still, I suppose he could have taken credit for ordering the attack. But somehow, he manages to be assigned to the same prison so he can keep an eye on Bai Zhongyi's safety and somehow he gets released on the same day as Bai Zhongyi four years later.

I don't have a problem with Bai Zhongyi and Fan Jherui having a random encounter in Taichung. The show is going to show us the interesting occurrences that happen during the story line. It's not going to show us all of the times when nothing happens. Still, if you don't like coincidences, you won't like this one either.

Continue with episode 11

See also Getting to be a kid in Kiseki: Dear to Me

[fanfictionfangirl]

Slytherin!Dick and why it won't happen 😭

(from me)

I want to cry. Dick Grayson literally has all the traits, the charisma, the pride, leadership skills and loyal personality traits that Slytherin is literally one of the houses he should belong to (let's be really he could go for any of them). And since I haven't found a single Slytherin!Dick fic, I decided to write one on my own.

Since I've decided to throw the whole Batfam into this, and I've decided that Damian is the only one who wouldn't just replace Harry and rain chaos into the world, he's got the honor of being the same age.

Now, since this is supposed to be a Dick-centric fic, I have to go back in time, where it makes sense for him to join Hogwarts. Through a lot of researching shenanigans and rabbit holes, I've come to the conclusion that he would have started his first school year in 1977. ...do you know what also is in 1977? The First Wizarding War. Not only that, but Harry's parents and Snape are still at Hogwarts. Which, awkward, but more importantly, WE'RE IN THE LATER HALF OF THE FREAKING WAR!!!!! And that's no problem, really, outside of giving me fascinating material to work with, a very interesting environment and Hogwarts being canonically unattacked, this only has perks.

Except, this is a war about pure-blood supremacists. Specifically, Slytherin graduates are in an all-time frenzy about getting rid of everyone who isn't as genetically "perfect" as them, which is a moral battle that leads to most major decisions made during that time.

Do you also know what this means?

It means that Slytherin is a pool of bigotry right now.

And guess who really has something against discrimination?

Dick Grayson.

Do ALSO know what that means?

It means that even if Dick is a perfect Slytherin, right now, in this social climate, there is nothing he could possibly be other than a Gryffindor!!!!!! I DON'T WANT DICK TO BE A GRYFFINDOR, I LITERALLY MADE THIS FIC SO HE WOULD BE A SLYTHERIN, DAMNIT!!!!!! And I can't even change my timeline anymore (I really don't want to rearrange history, I'd have to fill the plot holes and I'm not interested) because I'm now invested in Dick living in the war era. Even if he's 11 and Damian isn't even born yet. I'm invested, I literally have Tim partially ready to go, and he's like 3 right now.

... welp, that was a rant. Honestly, I'm just upset that there's still not going to be a Slytherin!Dick fic. I mean, the moment Dick gets to be a Slytherin, he's the main protagonist, the light of the show, the center piece really. A sunshine charmer, good with words, a leader, smart, a Quidditch prodigy (because if he can fly, he's doing acrobatics up there) social goblin that patches people together and makes it work. Obviously, kid Dick has anger issues, his birth parents are dead, Bruce is on the other side of the continent, and he's once again living with entirely unfamiliar people. Dear reader, this story writes itself. Give this a friction of plot and it's running on its own. Which is what I would love to read and write. That is, if there wasn't this FREAKING WAR. I love this war, but damnit does the social climate divide everyone from the Slytherins. Which would be fine, but I repeat, they're bigots! There's no way that the sorting hat would look at what is right now a radical supremacist environment and put in an eager and determined equality fighter. That would be like throwing oil into a fire. The explosion would never be worth it. So, Dick would end up in Gryffindor (freaking Gryffindor! Listen, I'm prejudiced and as such have something against Gryffindors) because I don't believe in Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw Dick, and as part of an overeager house, he accidentally drags an army of friends with him. Which wouldn't be bad if I had any idea on what to do with them.

Either way, I'm now left with discovering what the frick I want to do with this. If anyone has a suggestion, I'm so open to it.

[realisticintentions]

Top 5: TV Shows

Tagged by: @anotherbluesunday, I've been waiting for this one! I'm sorry it's late.

The Magicians (2015-2020)

Time loops and magic? What's not to love?

Yeah, they fucked up hard on season 4, but for whatever reason I still love this show.

The writing? Fantastic. The vfx make up? Phenomenal. The actors? *chef's kiss*

I think I love this show because I can tell that they loved their show. I hate that it ended the way it did, but I can't help it.

Scooby Doo! Mystery Incorporated (2010-2013)

The Scooby Doo I grew up on (this and What's New Scooby Doo). I was closer to my teens throughout it's run and I find myself appreciating it's story more and more when I look back on it. It wasn't afraid to actually be scary (those gator-lizard things in season 1 practically gave me nightmares) and dark and yet still be so funny. It was a mystery through and through, and I loved watching it.

Love, Death & Robots (2019-

A show that reminded me of the beauty of animation. It proves that just because it's animation, it does not mean it's for kids. It's an art form, and should be represented as such.

Usually I regard Netflix as kind of 'eh', especially during this strike, but they've got a few good ones. This one included.

6teen (2004-2010)

Just a fun show of nostalgia for me. My favorite mallrats. I think I've embodied characteristics of each of these characters. I wish by the time I was in high school, malls were still bustling like this. My group of friends could've been our own little mallrats, just loitering and having fun. Our mall wasn't like that though, and I wasn't driving 45 minutes to the next one.

I was debating between Total Drama and this one, but 6teen won out for rewatch-ability.

MTV's Jackass (2000-2001)

Funny enough, this is a fairly recent addition. Like, within the past 2 months, addition. I've always been aware of Jackass, but I would have never watched it, ok? I have standards and taste. Like Harry Potter.

Teenage me was fun.

Anyway, I'm 22 and I just needed to laugh ok? I didn't feel like trudging through plot, or bad writing, or being fed subtext about morality. Usually, I would gladly sit through it, but right then and there I essentially needed static noise. So, I watched the films, and ended up going down a rabbit hole of watching the series as well.

Watching grown men do stupid shit was funny and cathartic. And now I find myself enjoying it more, because they're having fun too and I actually like most of the crew. It's honestly impressive the shit they come up with.

...

So, yeah that's my Top 5. Obviously, I have way more, but it was Top 5, not Top 15 so.

Tagging: @nonamemanga @lovepoison9 @therulerofallpotatos @anotherbluesunday and everyone who sees it, I'll be watching.

[gaykarstaagforever]

On Highlander

I finally saw the first Highlander movie. I don't know why I had never seen it before. I saw II (ew) and The Source (double-ew), and a lot of the first TV show (mostly yay).

I'm not going to do a full review, because we are nerds and we all know it's a good movie. But I'll say this about it - for a movie from a first-time feature director, from a screenplay written by a guy who was still in film school, starring an effectively-blind man who barely spoke English at the time, it is way better than it has any right to be. It is rough and uneven and the dialogue is bad and the fight scenes are always two men frantically cracking aluminum baseball bats against each-other until one's hands hurt and he drops his. But all that said, it is a good fantasy movie, especially for 1986.

I think generally it has a reputation that is a little overrated, and people who stan this movie apparently fill in a lot of plot holes in their heads to make it work and aren't aware they are doing that. But it is still fun and pretty good in general as an old skool action movie about lightning vampires having sword fights for no good reason.

...The ending sucks, though, and is directly responsible for everything that is bad about Highlander II. I know this because I've watched it

"WHAT ABOUT THE RENEGADE CUT?!"

and about half of "The Renegade Cut," before the self-indulgent, completely senseless "Watch a director make a point to people who do not care at all!" shit got unbearable.

Adding slight less bad mid-90s visual effects and removing all the Zeist crap does exactly nothing to fix a plot that is 100% in service to no one having any goddamn idea what to do with this franchise after Conner wins The Prize. The Prize only exists as an undefined Macguffin that keeps these desperate people motivated, on the off-chance it frees them from this obvious curse. Whatever you officially make it, that is automatically stupid and lame and not worth it. That's the nature of the whole concept, and the bad ending of the first movie proves it.

Which is why, according to Wikipedia, the original screenplay NEVER DEALT WITH THAT. It apparently ended with Conner killing the Kurgan and then immediately "feeling" the presence of yet another Immortal they didn't know about. The Game goes on. There will NEVER be only one. It's a metaphor for the "curse" that is life, you keep going on the basis that you exist to achieve something, but you will probably never find out what that is before you die, all your plans and actions rendered fruitless. And that's really good.

But that isn't a happy ending, so...you can have kids now? And sort of read minds? Maybe? Of everyone? Which means...things?

Maybe you can build a giant shield around the Earth? I don't know. They're from Space. Whatever.

See the problem?

Also the Wikipedia article says Clancy Brown (and the original screenplay) saw the Kurgan as more of a stoic, world-weary villain, more one of circumstance than psychopathy. Clancy wanted to wear a suit and a bowler hat. That also sounds really good. Obviously him being nuts is one of the best parts of the first movie, just like Michael Ironside being nuts is one of the only good parts of the second. But is it dramatically compelling? The most profound part of the first one is when Conner finds out what the Kurgan did to Heather. The movie does that tactfully and earns the payoff. That was something that could also 100% work in a version where the Kurgan is just another Immortal who is dealing with his curse by taking a darker path than Conner does (hence why Conner is the protagonist).

But it is what it is. The first one is good, II is technically a well-made movie but is a fascinating disaster in any cut, and I didn't see 3 because I'm not paying $4 to rent what I hear is another not-good Highlander movie.

...Also, Ramirez probably would have lived a lot longer if he'd actually used that katana like a katana and not like a broadsword. But I guess no one in 1985 was going to tell Sean Connery to take two weeks of kendo lessons.

And a last word on the stupid Renegade Cut. How the hell did changing it from "alien planet" to "anachronistic Bronze Age, with time-wizards" solve a single problem with this childish nonsense? They still have amnesia for no given reason, they still go by the names we know neither one of them used until just before they met, Katana still shouldn't be drunkenly making sarcastic references to 20th Century things he wouldn't know anything about, even if it's fun (and it is; Michael Ironside is a Canadian treasure). It is all still such impossible anti-sense that not even the most adventurous writer of professional wrestling storylines could glue the pieces together into something that makes these railing kills emotionally impactful. There are a thousand possible fantasy stories that Highlander II could have used to try and explain why the hell people who are immune to bullets shoot lightning when you cut their heads off, and they picked "-B *fart noise*". You can't redeem that with editing.

And again, no one should have tried to explain it in the first place. That's not the point. Explaining any of this should never, ever be the point.

Because when it is, THIS happens:

[ordinaryschmuck]

Deadpool 1 & 2 are the best non-movies I've ever seen.

Bet THIS wasn't the movie with a red-suited, smartass hero you'd expect me to talk about this weekend (I'll talk about No Way Home at the end of the year with the rest of the MCU films and shows made this year).

So...the title says it all.

I love Deadpool.

And I really loved Deadpool 2.

Both are movies that are funny as hell, has some epic and creative action, and some pretty effective drama when it wants to.

The best thing about both movies, obviously, is Ryan Reynalds as Deadpool. He nails this smartass character that manages to annoy quite possibly every single person he meets. Those characters are a blast to watch, especially when he's perfectly balanced out by some effective straight men. That's the key to comedy: You want to make people laugh effectively? Pair the oddball with the straight man.

So, yeah. I love these movies...the problem is that they're not exactly movies.

Plot structure? Practically non-existent. It's basically watching Deadpool screw around for two whole movies with the occasional standout moment. And, the thing is, those standout moments are really great. Here's the best of the best:

Deadpool counting bullets.

Wade and Vanessa's reaction to finding out he has cancer.

Deadpool's murder montage (the Zamboni bit kills me).

Deadpool spelling out Francise's name with the bodies of his dead soldiers because Deadpool's THAT much of a petty a-hole.

Vanessa punching Deadpool and him going "I deserve that."

The opening title sequence in Deadpool 2, sweet mother of all that is holy.

Wade finding out that Russel's been abused in his orphanage.

A scene I like to call "The Massacre of X-Force."

Deadpool just nonchalantly getting on a scooter as it it was the plan the whole time. I don't know why, but that's the funniest thing to me in Deadpool 2.

The car-chase in Deadpool 2.

Deadpool calling Cabel a racist not because he actually believes he's racist but because Deadpool knows it pisses Cabel off.

Colossus vs Juggernaut.

Wade reuniting with Vanessa.

And ALL of the fourth wall breaks.

These are great moments, but they don't really connect. At least, not as well as you might remember.

As for themes and messages...they're not really there either. Well, at least in the first movie. I STILL don't know what point they were trying to make with that one. Deadpool 2 at least has a message, and it's why I'm willing to say it's better than the first, but it's hardly focused on until, like, the last few minutes (I'm going to piss so many people off with that, aren't I?).

As great as these movies are, to call them movies might be an exaggeration. They're more like...experiences. They're fun, hit hard, and directed well. It's just that there's not much you're going to get out of them aside from a good experience...

...

...Oh s**t.

I sound like that one pretentious movie director who hides his jealousy for the MCU behind bulls**t film criticism!

F**k!

Anything but that!

(But seriously, these films are great. Watch them if you can but avoid them if you're REALLY young. There's some blood and violence in this those kids shouldn't see unless they're twelve and demand to be considered adults)

[ftstorm]

My take on 5x10

Welp, that was a big one!

You know, before going into this episode I reminded myself this was the first episode of a new era, the first episode completely made by the new team.

So with that in mind my expectations were "Okay, let's see what they've got."

And oh boy did they surprise me.

DISCLAIMER: this text post is long af, not kidding.

1. THE INTRO SCENE.

You guys have no idea how glad I am that we got Mac doing a usual MacGyvering in his house. It's been ages since they implemented this format of showing his dynamics outside Phoenix and around his house.

I wasn't worried about the proposal thing at all. Guys, you have to accept that MacRiley was always going to happen after that 4x04 episode.

There was also the fact that this was the intro scene (usually the most important plot issues happen in the outro scene), Bozer's weird reaction and the melancholic audio cue.

If that proposal was happening, they would've made it more uplifting.

(I gotta say that watching Monica Marcer and the official MacGyver account making damage control in Twitter 3mins into the episode was a funny experience)

So my initial questions about Mac wanting to propose were: "what are his motivations?" and "how is this not going to work out by the end of the episode?"

The second question we got the answer later on. The first question remains unanswered. If we take on Mac's words, he says:

Mac: Unexpected, I know, I know. But that's why I like about it. You know ever since I lost my dad and Jack I've been thinking about the bigger picture. A commitment to make things work it's exactly what Desi and I need. A grand romantic gesture. *cue melancholic music*

Here we're presented with a bunch of things worth analysing, in my opinion.

He's trying to see the "bigger picture" which, for me, it means he's trying to tackle down different issues from his life with one specific, efficient action [the proposal]. Those issues being:

> his current romantic relationship: make is aware they have an inconsistent relationship > his performance at work: he needs balance between his personal affairs and his work, which is based on saving the world in a daily basis and for that he needs to be focused. > dealing with his past losses: to my understanding, saying "ever isn I lost my dad and Jac I've been thinking about the bigger picture" means that he doesn't want hopelessness to take over him, he wants to keep on moving and being proactive about his life.

So... you have to understand that in some sort of way, this proposal thing is a signal that Mac is healing. In some sort of way, if you were in Mac's shoes you would see that it was a positive thing for him. A step forward.

The thing is, we [the audience] have an extended understanding of the situation and we know that an engagement would be an incredibly rushed decision.

As well as it is that Mac's trying to move forward, he obviously hasn't been able to pinpoint the true issue behind his relationship with Desi. He isn't wrong about them lacking in the commitment department, but forcing the relationship to scalate isn't the right move. He should be asking himself: "Why are we avoiding commitment?"

And that's when he'd find out that they have very deep and important trust and communication issues.

~~~~

2. Moving on. MURDOC.

Russ: I can process it more efficiently by having it all spread out ahead me, you know. I reckon see the bigger picture at once.

This is when I realized that the episode was centered on this whole "bigger picture" idea. Russ struggles to see the full picture until the very end and Mac finds out that he hasn't been seeing the full picture of his life at all by the end of the episode.

Fast forward, the team's in Mexico, Riley knows about the ring already and she has already had the talk with Bozer in which she refers to her feelings for Mac in a past tense.

Then Murdoc appears.

And as if the episode wasn't already a rollercoaster after Mac's reveal, now Murdoc shows up to put everything upside down.

First I gotta say, man Dastmalchian is SUCH A GOOD MURDOC. Excellent actor. The way he delivers his lines, his facial expressions, all of it make an original and very entertaining Murdoc.

He always gives me such a Andrew Scott's Moriarty vibes and I love it.

Secondly, his dynamic with Andrews: *cheff kiss*

I loved how Andrews was so over Murdoc's theatrics, to the point his facial expression screamed "Why did I even reclute this guy" LOL.

Back to the story.

This is something I was hoping it wouldn't happen but at the same time I don't see another way it could've happened which is the explanation behind Murdoc's escape and how Phoenix didn't know about it.

Because what they told us is that the FBI didn't let them in on Murdoc's escape, right? Does that imply that the FBI has a corrupt agent in charge? Does it imply that the order of not letting Phoenix in came from above? Maybe someone with higher clearence than Matty? A politician? Governement conspiracy?

It smells like plot hole, tbh. I feel like the Murdoc's escape is a classic "it is what it is". We'll see if they come back to this in later episodes.

~~~~

3. BIG SECRET REVEAL 1.

By now we're at the point of the rollercoaster where you're going up and up and up. Your tension building more and more as you're getting close to the drop.

Bozer and Riley's audio was the drop.

You know, during this scene I jumped from my seat, closed my eyes, cringed, squealed, my heart accelarated, forgot how to breathe...

As a person who is a little bit bipolar when it comes to romance (I can be very shy about it or very outspoken about it) that scene made me SO UNCOMFORTABLE.

Imagine having your feelings exposed not only to the person you have feelings for but also his girlfriend who happens to be your friend, your boss and the criminal that's threatening to kill hundreds of people.

I was like: "Not like this!!"

And Mac's reaction didn't help because of the lack of it. I don't know what I expected but his slightly monotone reaction broke my heart.

Thankfully, I've recovered since then and I don't mind that it happened that way.

Still, imagine how suffocating it must've been for Riley. That idea was what made me so uncomfortable and I think that's what they were going for. They wanted to make it as straightforward and awkward as possible.

But it doesn't end there. It's followed by Mac revealing the ring to Desi (and Riley). Mac's in "fuck it" mood and Desi kinda panics.

Little side note here, using GUM and a DIAMOND to break a bullet proof glass... BIG YES. That's an intrinsic MacGyverism.

~~~~

4. BIG SECRET REVEAL 2.

Then we get a breather from this drama by introducing another drama, Leanna's death.

Bozer's reaction to the news was heartbreaking for my already heartbroken heart.

I have my suspicions as to why they decided to kill her... The other episode completely made by the new team was the Quarantine one (5x06). During that episode Mac and Bozer bond over Bozer's pain. After learning about Bozer's mom, Mac chooses to share a piece of his own pain with him.

So, hear me out, I think they writers are planning to help Mac process his own grief THROUGH Bozer's grief. Keep in mind that we still have a Bozer centered episode coming up.

This is just a theory. I may be wrong, but I think it may be right too.

Back to the episode.

Once again we see a three dimensional Russ. He does something accordingly to his own judgement thinking it's the right decision [hiding Leanna's death], he realizes he screwed up, he gives Bozer a very heartfelt apology about it.

Henry's acting talent shone with this narrative. Actually, most of the actors had the chance to shine THANKS to the NARRATIVE. Murdoc, Andrews, Desi, Mac, Russ and Bozer... they all had their highlight moments (I'll talk about Riley later).

Parenthesis here... THE NARRATIVE HAS RETURNED THEIR SOULS TO OUR DEAR CHARACTERS!

WOW, they aren't brooding, angry, sad or whiny ALL THE EFFIN TIME. ABOUT TIME!

~~~~

5. LAST ACT.

For the third or fouth time in this episode my heart broke again when Mac was friendly towards Riley, after she explained herself. It really felt like he was friendzoning her.

But here's something to point out. Riley visibly relaxed when he reacted that way. What does that tell us?

> She had been so tense up until that point. Imo, she's on the defensive now. You can even see it in her wardrobe, make up and hairstyle choices. They're very contrasting to Riley's most vulnerable moments in this show (like when Audrey broke up with her).

Riley has had a year to sort out her feelings. We see in this episode that she spoke about them in a past tense. Whether she achieved it or not is unknown. We just know that she has at least tried to move on.

> She was mostly afraid of ruining her close relationship with Mac (who's her only family, along with Bozer) and her friendship (?) with Desi. We've seen it over and over again: Riley DID NOT WANT to get in the middle of them.

Keep that in mind as we go in the last scene.

It took me a while to figure out a possible thread of thought inside Mac's mind. Why did he look at the ring and decided to go to Riley's house? It really didn't make sense to me.

One moment he was thinking about his proposal and somehow that lead to him having the necessity to know if Riley still had feelings for him? Why??

My theory is that he went to her apartment for permission.

His question was a way of asking Riley for permission to propose to Desi. It was a way of reassuring himself that proposing was still the right decision.

In a way, he could also be fishing for an excuse to not do it [the proposal].

Because now he has doubts. He's confused, unsure.

Mac asks:

Mac: Hiding your emotions and letting it pass. Did it go away?

What could her answer have been? Here I wanna go back again to Riley being emotionally defensive, added her strong desire of not wanting to be in the middle of Mac and Desi's relationship.

I think she would've said "Yes, it worked."

Because it also lines up with my idea that the love triangle has changed from "Riley's a better match for Mac" to "Mac needs to win Riley's heart".

Riley's done her job. She worked out her feelings. Now it's time for Mac to sort out his humongously messed up internal self and reignite her spark. That's what I think.

Also, if anyone has any idea on how the song that played in that scene relates with the moment please share it with me because I don't really understand the song choice lol.

~~~~

6. ADDITIONAL COMMENTS

Desi. I'm not sure what's going on in her mind. She seemed stressed out by the ring, very serious about Riley, lenient with Mac... I'm really not sure.

My guess would be that she doesn't want that type of commitment but she wants to be with Mac yet she can't ignore Riley so does that mean she has to end it with Mac? That's the thought process she may have had? Idk...

I'm glad they let her be mature about it, with no overreactions, no whining, no blaming, nothing of that style that we're used to see in her.

I'm also glad about that moment when she defeats Murdoc and Andrews. THAT'S HOW YOU WRITE A TOUGH DESI. It was filmed with such a gracefulness and elegance. I liked it.

From a MacDesi point of view, she's probably being open minded and giving him space and waiting for him to come back to her... but somehow I got the vibe that she's actually... running away?

Lastly but no less important.

THE HISPANIC REPRESANTION OMG. RUSS SPEAKING SPANISH AND THAT CUMBIA MUSIC FILLED MY HEART WITH SO MUCH PRIDE!!! :')

[dukereviewsxtra]

Duke's Monsterween: Scooby Doo The Movie

Hello, I'm Andrew Leduc And Welcome To Duke Reviews Xtra Where We Are Continuing Duke's Monsterween...

Where Yesterday On Duke Reviews, I Reviewed The Original Dracula, Starring Bela Lugosi But On Duke Reviews Xtra We're Going A Little Kid Friendly This Year By Reviewing Some Halloween Movies Done By Disney In An Effort To Somewhat Continue Our Look At Disney...

But...

We're Not Looking At Disney This Week, But Instead We're Going To Look At 3 Scooby Doo Movies This Week, Starting With Scooby Doo The Movie...

This Movie Sees Mystery Inc. Breaking Up After An Argument Between Fred (Played By Kanan Jarrus) Velma (Played By Hawkeye's Wife) And Daphne (Played By Buffy The Vampire Slayer), Leaving Scooby And Shaggy (Played By The Best Shaggy In The World) To Go Off On Their Own...

But Years Later When The Gang Is Invited By Theme Park Owner Emile Mondavarious (Played By Mr. Bean) To Investigate His Theme Park When People Start Acting Weird When They Leave The Park...

Will Mystery Inc Be Able To Put Aside Their Differences And Work Together For This Mystery?

Let's Find Out As We Watch Scooby Doo The Movie...

The Film Starts At The Wow-O Toy Factory Where The Gang Is Working On The Case Of The Luna Ghost...

(End At 2:51)

Once The Ghost Is Captured, We Get A...Pamela Anderson Cameo?...

No Offense, But Of All The Celebs I Would Rather See Have A Cameo In This Movie, Pamela Anderson Was Not One Of Them...

With The Ghost Revealed And Everyone Except Shaggy And Scooby Start Arguing As Fred As He Always Takes Credit For Velma's Plans While Daphne Is Just Tired Of Being Captured During Every Mystery...

This Leads Fred, Velma And Daphne To Quit Mystery Inc. Leaving Shaggy And Scooby To Go Off On Their Own...

Two Years Later, Shaggy And Scooby Are Asked By A Representative For Emile Mondavarious To Solve A Mystery At His Theme Park, Spooky Island, But Not Interested In Going To Anyplace With The Word "Spooky" In It, They Initially Refuse...

But When The Guy Says That There's An All You Can Eat Clause In Their Deal, Scooby And Shaggy Change Their Minds And Are On Board...

Going To The Airport, Shaggy Finds Out That Fred (Who Has A New Book Out) Velma (Who Works At NASA) And Daphne (Who Has Become A Black Belt)

Because It's Sarah Michelle Gellar And We Have To Make Use Of Her Skills On Buffy In Someway...

Have Also Been Asked To Go To Spooky Island As Well By Mondavarious...

But Only Seeing Shaggy, Velma Wonders "Where's Scooby?" Which Leads To Scooby Entering Disguised As A Woman As They Don't Let Big Dogs On The Plane...

But As Velma Starts Arguing With Fred And Daphne Again, Shaggy Tries To Play Mediator And Try To Make Them Realize How Great It Would Be If They Teamed Up Again...

Daphne's On Board But Only If Fred And Velma Are In, Which They're Not...

Once On Board The Plane, Shaggy Falls Head Over Heals For A Girl Who Likes Scooby Snacks Also Named Mary Jane (Played By Isla Fisher, Or As She's Called Nowadays Mrs. Borat)

And Yes, I Know Mary Jane Is Another Word For Marijuana, But To Me, It Is Just A Name, Let It Go!

But Unfortunately She's Allergic To Dogs So Shaggy Has Scooby Go Spend Time With Fred And Velma While Shaggy Gets To Know Mary Jane A Little More, But When Scooby Sees A Cat, He Starts Barking And Chasing It All Over The Plane...

With The Gang Arriving On Spooky Island, They Meet Emile Mondavarious, Who Notices A Slight Change In The Teens That Leave Spooky Island, Believing That It's A Magic Spell And They Definitely Notice A Change...

The Type That Causes Your Pants To Poop...

With Mondavarious Very Terrified And Scared For The People That Come To The Island, They Decide To Help Only Fred, Velma And Daphne Go Off On Their Own...

Later That Night, Velma Catches A Stage Show Hosted By A Man Named N'Goo Tauna And His Partner Zarkos, Who Tell A Story Saying That The Island Was Once Home To Creatures, Who Lived Undisturbed On The Island..

But When Mondavarious Built Spooky Island, He Antagonized The Creatures And Have Since Been Plotting Their Revenge...

Meanwhile, Shaggy Is Out On His First Date With Mary Jane, While Scooby Gets A Phone Call Saying That Someone Has Hamburgers For Him All He Has To Do Is Go Into The Dark Shadowy Part Of The Forest Where No One Can See Him...

Seriously? Did You Honestly Think Scooby Was Going To Give Up Hamburgers Even If It Was A Scary Voice On The Phone Who Told Him To Go To A Scary Place To Get Them?

Hell, No!...

But Unfortunately When Scooby Gets There, He Discovers That The Hamburgers Are Fakes And That There Was A Monster Waiting For Him...

He Tells Shaggy And Mary Jane About The Monster, But All They See Is A Guy In A Costume...

But As That Happens, Daphne Take With A Resident On The Island, A Voodoo Man, Who Warns Daphne To Get Off The Island And Stay Away From The Castle On The Top Of The Hill...

Despite Coming Up With Various Stupid Theories On What Might Be Up There, Daphne Gets Shaggy And Scooby To Help Her, Despite Refusing At First Because It's A Spooky Castle...

Joined By Fred (Who Followed Weird Footprints Up To The Castle) And Velma (Who Thought It Was The Most Obvious Place To Hatch An Evil Plan) They All Decide To Split Up And Search For Clues With Daphne Staying Where She Is, Scooby And Shaggy Going In Search Of Food...

And Fred And Velma Searching Other Parts Of The Castle...

But Someone Activates The Ride And Causes All Hell To Break Loose!...

(Start At 0:11, End At 2:15)

With The Ride Shut Down, Velma Finds The Secret Access Panel That Opens The Secret Room, Leading Her And Fred To Discover What Looks To Be A School For A Secret Cult...

Which Means It Could Only Be One Person...Granny Goodness!

Ok, It's Not Granny But It Could Have Been...

Meanwhile, Daphne Comes Across A Golden Pyramid That Was Left Alone In The Middle Of A Room, So, She Decides To Grab It, But Turns Out That...

Luckily Though Daphne Manage To Escape Before The Trap Fully Activates...

But As That Happens, Shaggy And Scooby Discover A TV Studio Where...Well...See For Yourself...

(End At 1:11)

With Alarms Going Off, The Gang Reunites And Quickly Fills Each Other In On What They Found Before Having To Hide From Henchmen Headed Their Way, One Of Them Being Zarkos, N'Goo Tauna's Right Hand Man..

Eventually Managing To Escape, They Head Back To The Spooky Island Hotel So They Can Fill Mondavarious In On The Clues And Their 3 Suspects Which Include N'Goo Tauna, The Voodoo Man And Mondavarious Himself (But Only Because He Freaks Fred Out)

While Daphne Researches Cults On The Net, Velma Looks At The Mysterious Pyramid She Discovers That There Is More To It Than Meets The Eye.,,

Talking With A Boy She Met Earlier, Velma Tells Him That She Believes That It's Called The Daemon Ritus (After Hearing A Guard Mention That Name While The Gang Was Hiding)...

And That It Describes An Old Race Of Creatures Through It's Inscriptions That Are Reminiscent Of Ancient Pandaemonous Texts Which Explain A Sort Of Ritual...

Eventually Velma Starts Reminiscing About The Past Which Leads To A Flashback About The Old Days Where We See Everyone And I Do Mean...Everyone...

Ok, I've Dreaded Coming To This Moment, But Obviously I Have No Choice Especially Since Since Some People Tend To Complain About This Character, Let's Talk About Scrappy Doo...

First Off, I Would Like To State That I Love The Character Of Scrappy Doo, I Think He Is Very Cute, Is One Of The More Memorable Hanna-Barbera Characters And Sidekicks And Is Not As Annoying As Everyone I've Heard Talk About This Character Believes Him To Be...

The Sad Thing However Is That This Movie Does Not Play To Those Good Traits...

They Make Scrappy An Asshole And A Complete Egomaniac

And I'm Sorry But I'm On The Side Of Mystery Inc, That Brat Needs To Be Taught A Lesson! Maybe Not As Extreme As Leaving Him On The Side Of The Road But Still..

Anyway, As Velma And Her Possible Love Interest With No Name Laugh At Scrappy's Expense...

Scooby Sees One Of The Monsters And Starts Panicking, This Leads Fred To Berate Him Before Telling Everyone That There's No Such Things As Ghosts Before Being Proven Wrong, 2 Seconds After Saying That..

Monsters Scour The Entire Hotel Kidnapping Nearly Half Of The People There, Including Fred, Velma, Her Unnamed Love Interest And Mr. Mondavarious, With Shaggy, Scooby,Daphne And Mary Jane Escaping Before The Monsters Got Them...

They Follow Them To The Area Where N'Goo Tauna Had His Show But Their Path Ends Up Blocked By A Stone Slab, This Leads Mary Jane To Call The Coast Guard But They're No Help As 2 Of Them Are Monsters...

This Movie Is Quickly Becoming Body Snatchers 2...

The Next Morning Everything Seems Back To Normal With The Hotel Repaired And Nearly Everyone Completely Back (Though Not As They Once Were)

Deciding To Split Up, Mary Jane Goes To Find Her Friends While Daphne, Shaggy And Scooby Look Around...

As Daphne Has An Encounter With Sugar Ray...

Not The Boxer, The Band!

Shaggy And Scooby Find Fred Only To Discover That Everyone On The Island Has Been Possessed By The Monsters As Daphne Gets Kidnapped By Zarkos...

(Start At 0:46, End At 2:12)

But As They're Driving, Scooby Discovers That Mary Jane Is A Monster As Well...

He Tries To Explain This To Shaggy, But He's Too Blinded To Even See It Leading The 2 Friends To Fight, But When Scooby Is Captured, Shaggy... Doesn't Figure Out That Mary Jane's A Monster But Decides To Put His Friendship First Before His Relationship...

Dropping Into The Same Hole That Scooby Fell Into, Shaggy Finds A Vat Filled With The Spirits Of Everyone Who Arrives On Spooky Island...

Hearing Velma's Voice, Shaggy Saves Her So She Can Go Back To Her Body So She Can Discover That The Creatures Are Weakened By Sunlight...

Shaggy Also Manages To Save Fred And Daphne Too (Whether Daphne Likes It Or Not) But There's A Little Mix-Up...

(Start At 0:46, End At 1:33)

Ok 1st, If I Were In Sarah Michele Gellar's Body, I'd Do The Exact Same Thing And 2nd, You're Married To Her, Freddie, See Her Naked On Your Own Time...

When The Gang Reunites, Daphne Gets Mad Over Fred Touching Her Body, But The Problem Is Soon Remedied By The Daemon Ritus Which Switches The Team's Bodies Until They're Back To Normal...

Seeing An Explosion Afterwards, It Leads Them To The Voodoo Man Who Was Doing A Sacrifice In An Effort To Protect Himself From The Creatures Darkopolips Ritual, Which Will Allow Them To Rule Earth For 10,000 Years...

Or In Other Words...

However, In Order To Pull It Off, The Leader Must Absorb A Pure Soul In Order To Do So, Thus...Scooby...

But The Question Lies Who Is Behind All This? And Unfortunately, It's The One That Brought Scooby There....Mondavarious, Who Convinces Scooby To Be His Sacrifice...

With Fred Still Wondering If Mondavarious Wanted Scooby Why Did He Bring All Of Them, Shaggy Tells Fred That It Doesn't Matter And That They Have To Save Scooby...

This Leads To Fred, Daphne And Velma Finally Reconciling So They Can Come Up With A Plan To Save Scooby...

With The Plan Set, Everyone Arrives For The Ritual Including Mondavarious And N'Goo Tauna, But As They Prepare To Start, Fred And Velma Are Discovered As Shaggy Joins A Bunch Of Henchmen In Bringing Out Scooby Which Leads The 2 Buddies To Reconcile...

But They Don't Run Off In Time And The Ritual Begins As Scooby's Spirit Is Taken From Him. Luckily, Shaggy Frees Scooby From The Spirit Pincher And Back To His Body While Hitting Mondavarious With The Pincer In The Process...

Going To Check On Mondavarious, Fred And Velma Discover A Possible Mask But Actually Mondavarious Is A Robot Who Is Piloted By...(Sighs) Scrappy...

First, Let Me Say That While This Is Defiantly A Disservice To The Character, This Was A Good Twist Despite Some People Thinking That It Was Too Obvious...

With Some Souls In Him, Scrappy Transforms Into Scrappysaurus Rex As He Reveals That He Brought The Team There To Witness His Moment Of Triumph...

Meanwhile On The Roof, Daphne Tries To Open The Vent So Light Can Enter The Cave As They Release A Skull Disco Ball Which Will Destroy The Creatures But Unfortunately, She's Confronted By Zarkos Which Leads The 2 To Fight...

(End At 2:46)

With The Souls Released From The Vat, The Creatures Are Ejected By Their Host Bodies As Scrappy Reverts Back To Normal And The Disco Skull Is Released Causing The Creatures To Go Boom...

Afterward Velma And Shaggy Reunite With Their Potential Love Interests, They Rescue The Real Mondavarious And Fred And Daphne Consider Starting A Relationship In Both The Movie And Real Life...

News Crews Arrive On The Scene, So Velma Can Tell Them All What Happened And Who Did It As The Gang Announces Mystery Inc Is Back Together...

We Get A Pre Credits Scene Where Spooky Island Delivers On Their All You Can Eat Deal And Shaggy And Scooby Gorge Until They Drop...

And That's Scooby Doo The Movie And How Is This A Bad Movie?

The Story Is Interesting, The Characters Are Funny, And The CG On Scooby (Despite Some People Saying That Gollum Was Better Done Than Scooby) Was Pretty Good And Lifelike...

Yeah, It May Not Have Been A Great Mystery But This Is Scooby Doo, Not Sherlock Holmes, You Want A Great Mystery, Then Go Solve The Mystery Of Your Huge Ego, But If You Want A Funny Mystery With Funny Antics, This Movie Is Definitely For You...

Till Next Time, This Is Duke, Signing Off..,

[phantastus]

How do you think the SH protagonists interacted with regular people after the game? What weird things people notice they do? What do they speculate about them? Are they like the weirdos on the edge of the street people talk about? What rumors are there about them? When people meet them are others like, 'Oh yeah, they're crazy. There was one time when...'

OKAY sorry for the wait on this, all February long has been a never-ending parade of chaos so I’ve been pretty out of sorts.

But I really like this ask so I want to do it justice with my answer. 

I think that it goes without saying that ALL of them come out of Silent Hill with some problems integrating back into “regular” life, but the specifics vary by character.

HARRY MASON: Being basically the “only” survivor, Harry took it hard. I headcanon that for probably the better part of a year, he almost completely withdrew from the public with baby Cheryl/Heather. Shades drawn 24/7, extremely secretive and paranoid, basically completely self-isolating and only leaving the house to buy groceries. However, probably around the time that the reality of his situation fully sank in, he kind of got his shit together and went from being a complete social nonentity to actually being able to pull off “normal” better than most of the other protagonists. You’d have to really be watching him to tell that anything was off because he’s good at being amiable and approachable– but he still draws maps of his surroundings, mentally plots escape routes, and is always figuratively looking over his shoulder any time he’s out of the house. Being attacked by the cult again when Heather was a toddler amplified the paranoia even more and while he was still able to maintain a “normal” outward facade, Harry still had countless little habits like taking meandering, circling routes while driving home from anywhere, only ever letting the phone go to message machine (in case someone was trying to check if he or Heather was at home), etc etc. General public opinion of Harry though is that he’s friendly and very normal.

JAMES SUNDERLAND: Short answer: badly. Long answer: if you’re so inclined, please enjoy 200,000+ words of James being increasingly dysfunctional in public (with the disclaimer that I started writing it literally a decade ago so the first chapters are QUITE CLUNKY).

HEATHER MASON: In many ways, and not coincidentally, she winds up dealing with it a lot like Harry. Like her dad with the bogus murder investigation after he killed the cultist trying to kidnap her, I headcanon that Heather ALSO came out of the frying pan and into the fire in that there is literally one dead body in her apartment and another one on the roof of the building. That plus a delinquent teenager with a probable reputation for trouble in school showing back up after having disappeared with her father’s blood still on her clothing, I pretty much headcanon that the first thing to happen to Heather upon leaving Silent Hill is getting fucking arrested for Harry’s murder. FORTUNATELY, she has Douglas’s word (and the family history that he dug up while investigating her and Harry to begin with) to back her up so chances are she didn’t stay arrested for very long, but still, like. Extra trauma. Especially since, as a troubled kid to begin with, “I heard she literally killed her dad” probably follows her around in her final year of school. AFTER THAT… I think she also withdraws a lot like her father did at first, keeping in touch with Douglas but really not anybody else, and generally nursing a RAGING bitterness for authority (which was already there, but gets even worse after the experience) and holing up by herself. Eventually she attends some form of community college (where her reputation as a killer won’t follow her) and starts to come back out of her shell a little– but like dad, she also spends a lot of time idly drawing maps, caching weapons and supplies, and taking very weird routes to go anywhere in order to shake off hypothetical pursuers. Also people around her on a regular basis quickly notice that if she’s ever startled or caught off-guard for like two seconds she will literally become the most terrifying-looking person in existence before catching herself and realizing that it’s someone asking to borrow a pen and not a cultist who needs to have the pen shoved through their eyeball. She remains Ready To Fight at all times and anyone who spends any time getting to know her will be able to tell she’s been through something.

HENRY TOWNSHEND: Immediately after SH4 Henry literally launches from one end of the anxiety spectrum to the next where instead of isolating himself indoors, he gets actively afraid to be inside buildings. Obviously he’s kind of forced to get over this fairly quickly (because the alternative is continuing to just sleep on the street) but he still is VERY panicky about having doors closed or going deep into buildings there there’s no direct exit to the outside immediately visible. However, he actually has a little bit less active fear of being stalked or pursued (having the closure of basically killing Walter himself was good for SOMETHING) than Harry or Heather– it’s still there for sure, but he doesn’t feel it quite to that degree. On the other hand, being more socially awkward and anxious to BEGIN with, he still is extremely nervous-looking and timid while interacting with people in public,and frankly even moreso than he used to be. If he stays with Eileen, he pretty much stays in her shadow and lets her do the talking. He remains a complete weirdo in the eye of almost everyone he interacts with.

AND THAT’S ALL I GOT IN ME ATM I don’t have quite as much material stored up for the other protags. Hopefully this is what you had in mind! Reading it over I realize I went into a little more detail about their circumstances than how they actually BEHAVE, l-lmao.