#tew meta

[blood-darkened-moon]

(1/2) TEW question: If Ruben hadn’t been burned but was still a serial killer, what is his motive for killing? Since there’s no need for revenge, what would happen? SKs IIRC develop a fractured identity hidden behind a wall of primitive defenses, so it’s a horrible way of coping, like self-medicating (we know there’s trauma and a predisposition).

Ok, anon, I love horror movies and games and also read about some serial killers out of interest, but I’m not an expert on this topic, especially not on the psychological aspects. And I refuse to diagnose fictional characters with mental illnesses. The headcanons I write are just for fun and should be seen as an attempt to write a horror AU rather than an analysis based on the mindset of real people. I don’t think that I can give you a qualified answer to your questions, but I’ll try my best. Here’s a more analytical approach to the topic.

I agree with you that there was a predisposition, but was there trauma involved before the fire? I don’t think so, or at least I think there is absolutely no evidence for this within the game. Even Jimenez wrote in Research Entry #31, “After surviving the incident and subsequent abuse from his parents, it’s a miracle Ruben can function at all.” We know very little about Ruben’s past before the incident. Some information originates from Ruben’s documents or his recordings after the fire. At that time, he is deeply traumatized, hallucinates, and is overall mentally unstable, which becomes even noticeable in his records. His state likely influences his perception in a heavily subjective way. Due to this and the ongoing abuse by his father, he may evaluate his childhood as worse than it actually was. However, since there are no more reliable sources, I have to take his words for granted.

While I don’t see anything that could have traumatized Ruben as a child, I still think that there were conflicts that could have worsened even if the fire never happened. There was tension in his family, specifically with his father. Ruben already seemed to have a somewhat strained relationship with him before the incident. Yet, he still respected him, as Ruben stated in one of the recordings, “Father was a stern man. Proud, and I thought intelligent.” He was calm while he recorded this. Therefore, I think this statement is valid, and their relationship wasn’t that bad at first. On the other hand, Ruben also wrote: “He’s trying to punish me again. He always resented our closeness. Thinks he can use it against me.” He wrote this while he was clearly enraged, likely not fully accountable. It still indicates a conflict between the two.

The latter statement is somewhat strange, though. Why should Ernesto mind if his children get along well with each other? Isn’t this a good thing? Jimenez describes Ruben’s love for Laura as “almost on an incestuous level”, and considering Ruben’s records, that seems to be a legitimate interpretation. But the records are from after the fire when he was already a teenager or young adult. Moreover, he was locked up in the basement for years without any human contact (except for his father and a doctor, maybe). This long-term isolation would excuse Ruben’s affection for his sister reaching an abnormal level. Even in case little Ruben had a crush on Laura at that age (10 or younger), I think this would hardly be a reason to be concerned. He could likely outgrow it easily if he grew up under normal circumstances. So, it is unlikely that this was Ernesto’s issue.

I think it is possible that the statement relates to Ruben’s experiments in some way. We know Ernesto cannot cope well with problems that would damage his family’s reputation. After all, he preferred to lock his traumatized son away after the fire instead of organizing real help for him. Well, dissecting pig heads is not a normal behavior for a child, and yet Ruben had the equipment and a room where he could do his experiments. Why did Ernesto tolerate this behavior, which is significantly more concerning than suffering from physical and mental trauma after barely surviving a fire? (In the sense of the latter is an understandable reaction.) And why did he show it to Jimenez in the first place? This isn’t something that you show proudly around in the neighborhood. I assume that maybe Laura protected her brother, acted as the voice of reason, and convinced Ernesto that instead of punishing Ruben for his experiments, he should deal with it differently. Jimenez was just about 20 at the time he met Ruben. He can’t have been a doctor then. He was likely only a student. (The model in the game is older, probably due to time or budget reasons.) Jimenez wasn’t working at Beacon yet either. In Research Entry #16, he stated that he started working there but also mentioned Ruben, so he already knew him before that. Perhaps at Laura’s request, the Victorianos looked for someone with the necessary expertise to deal with Ruben’s behavior but who would do so in secrecy. Therefore, they went with a student. In the end, it backfired, and instead of talking Ruben out of his experiments, Jimenez confirmed his beliefs. Ernesto could take this amiss and think strict punishment would have worked better. This is highly speculative, though. Ruben also mentioned punishment in the document, but it is unclear what kind of punishment it was and when it happened. It could be something (long) before the fire, or he could relate to his recent confinement in the basement.

Another issue Ruvik mentioned is his hatred for the church and his father always supporting them. He said, “Somehow he always supported the church, no matter what the newspapers said. He waved away the allegations as if they were infallible. The wretched, the vermin, the stern... All were taken in by that church.”, followed by “They were promised salvation and eternal life. But there’s nothing they could promise that I couldn’t take away.” Where his hatred for the church originates from is again not clear. We know the church was a shady place, but had it anything to do with child-Ruben? I think it is also possible that Ruben developed his hatred later during his time in the basement. He thought his father had taken Laura away from him, the one person he loved the most. Perhaps he then decided to take something away from his father that he cherished deeply.

This covers the conflicts at home we know of. None of them seem to be a major issue before the fire, though. I doubt that these alone had the potential to set up Ruben on the path of a serial killer unless drastic changes occur. However, there are still some other aspects.

Jimenez is one of them. He is not a good influence on Ruben at all. He could have tried to channel Ruben’s interests onto a healthier path. Instead, he affirmed that ethical and moral standards in science must be questioned if true greatness is to be achieved. Ruben knew very well that his experiments were unacceptable when they met for the first time. Jimenez probably had a chance of convincing Ruben to give up on them. Later, he continues to be a toxic influence. Despite his sympathy for Ruben, Jimenez often disregards his poor mental state and only tries to gain profit from Ruben’s results. Only after the experiments reached an extreme level of gruesomeness and the death toll went through the roof did Jimenez realize that he made a big mistake. “I had taught him from a young age that the end shall justify the means, but I could not have predicted things to be this extreme.” Not that it would stop Jimenez from leeching further on Ruben’s work.

Now, before I come to the possibility of Ruben still becoming a serial killer without the fire, I want to speculate a bit about his early experiments, because they could hint at a predisposition. We know that Ruben dissected pig heads, but I think this can’t be the only thing he has done. I assume the pig heads are slaughterhouse waste. (He can’t have killed and decapitated a large pig alone at the age of 9, right?) Little Ruben doesn’t seem to have the proper equipment to prevent the decomposition in his room. (How fresh were the heads when he got them?) As far as I know, brain matter decomposes rather quickly, though. How far can he get with a half-decomposed pig brain? He can develop and improve his surgery skills. However, Jimenez mentions Ruben’s studies, and he is really impressed by them (“… but Ruben... Comparatively insignificant, but even at his young age, his studies are remarkable.”). While it is not shown or otherwise described in the game, I think it is likely that Ruben also experimented on other smaller animals that were either still alive or killed shortly before he started. We don’t know what kind of studies he performed, but I think you likely need a fresh or well-preserved brain for most experiments. Ruben was also hesitant to show his experiments to Jimenez. He said they are gross and that Jimenez now thinks he is a monster. Ruben did not try to justify them. Would this be the case if he only used slaughterhouse waste? It would still be gross and off for a child but a little less disturbing than experimenting on animals he had killed first. At least assuming that Jimenez might think he was a monster for doing so seems like an exaggeration to me since the pigs were slaughtered beforehand anyway.

Edit: In the room where Ruben dissects the pig’s head, there is an eviscerated dog carcass (which I’ve apparently always overlooked). So he has definitely killed other animals and experimented on them. The cages in the room also point to this. Judging by the size of the cages, he probably mainly used cats and dogs.

So much to the background, now what could have happened without the fire? Firstly, Laura was 17 when the fire occurred; Ruben was only 10. Laura probably wouldn’t have stayed with her parents forever. Maybe she would have gone to college the following year. Ruben spent his teenage years in the 80s, so no internet, and telephones weren’t constantly available either. He still has to live almost without Laura for several years. As I said before, I assume that Laura protected Ruben in some way from Ernesto. After she leaves, Ruben has to deal with his father mostly on his own. Their relationship was already strained before and would certainly not improve over the years, rather the opposite. I can’t say how far Ernesto would ultimately go with his punishments if Laura isn’t on-site without further information, though. We should also bear in mind that Ruben is getting older and can probably hide his activities better from his father. Jimenez might also be able to help him with this. I think, it is unlikely that the situation would take on similarly traumatizing proportions as after the fire, but there is still a certain conflict potential.

The bigger problem is, in my opinion, Jimenez. Without Laura and with a tense atmosphere at home, Ruben would probably spend more time with him. At least initially, Jimenez seemed to understand and support him. He recognized Ruben’s talent and was his mentor, even if not entirely for selfless reasons. I think it’s possible that even without fire, he could lead Ruben down a similar path as in the game, but probably at a slower pace. Seeing Laura again would no longer be Ruben’s driving force, but she wasn’t his only motivation in the game anyway. Ruben took a lot of pride in his research. He became furious when Jimenez stole and published his results (“That cockroach, that sycophant; living off of me, feeding off of my work.“). Sure, Jimenez is an asshole, but he was somewhat correct when he said Ruvik couldn’t have published it in a reputable journal otherwise. If Laura was really all Ruben wanted, he shouldn’t have been so angry about what Jimenez was doing. So, Ruben’s own ambitions as a scientist may have played a role, albeit a subordinate one.

Jimenez has persuaded Ruben from the beginning that the end justifies the means, plus there is Ruben’s potential predisposition, now adding some overambition, nurtured by his mentor, on top. Ruben would probably not shy away from human experiments, as they would be more reliable than the ones with animals. Jimenez would certainly provide him with test subjects, and he might even urge him to take this step once Ruben’s abilities were sufficient. After all, Jimenez also wants to profit from his work.

I don’t think Ruben would become an ordinary serial killer, but, for instance, I could imagine him evolving in a similar direction to Josef Mengele. In the game, he no longer sees the people he experiments on as people. He describes them as vermin and microbes. Without fire and the years in the basement, he should feel less hatred towards others, but with Jimenez as a mentor, he may have come to the conclusion that the death of some people is justified in order to help others through scientific advancement. His test subjects may no longer be vermin to him but laboratory supplies. He still would use and kill them as he pleased.

Serial killers often have a traumatic past and use the killing as a coping mechanism, but not all of them. It is not impossible that someone could become a serial killer for different reasons. The scenario above is the best I could do with the little information we have. I guess my answer isn’t really what you wanted, but I cannot see a canon reason for Ruben to snap if the fire and the abuse afterward never happened. If we knew more about his past, perhaps this would change. (I left Mobius out for simplicity, by the way.)

[firyfox]

Lost meta from TEW fandom :

does anyone have a link or profile to this one analysis post discussing Sebastian & Joseph's relationship , with mentions of Ruvik using joseph to bait seb , and parallels to Silent Hill I think ? either that or some other iconic horror game ?

[serxarisa]

I don't know what got into me last year but apparently I made some TEW × Kirby crossover doodles. It's so silly I have to show it to you guys

Dialogues in ALT texts if you can't read my shitty handwriting

Yes, they are in STEM. It's the first TEW, just with Kirby. And Meta Knight.

Part 2

[my-rose-tinted-glasses]

Friday Ramblings

I don't normally do this but I have a couple of thoughts going on in my head regarding the last couple of days week in BL that I just wanted to collect them all instead of just doing it in tags.

Shadow

I'm pissed. I am a big fan of anything horror or supernatural themed stuff so I was really looking forward to this. (Don't even get me started of how disappointed I am at the disappearance of the other horror themed show I could be watching) And the first part did not disappoint. It was a strong first half, good set up of the different story lines and all the players and I was really excited about it. There was such good meta written about the show, and it turned out to be superior to what the show eventually gave us. (@wen-kexing-apologist specially gave us such excellent meta on this show that I wish they were in charge of the second half of this show) I agree with @lurkingshan about everything they said here. Something which I thought was interesting was that I think in this second half the show purposefully made the fake arm really obvious. I don't know if it wanted us to know before Dan but I also don't think it was an accident. But I'm also not gonna theorize about the reasons because I really don't care that much. The "BL" bait was just another thing that pissed me off. I'm not upset it's not BL, I'm upset because it was sold as such and no one will convince me otherwise. For a couple of episodes, at least, the show wanted us to think that Dan was falling for Nai. The prom moment was just fucking ridiculous. The parallels with October 6 could've been really interesting if there wasn't so much going on that it kinda took the weight of it away. One of the questions I like to ask myself when watching any media is - what is it trying to tell? Sometimes nothing and that's fine. It's pure escapism and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that. It can still be excellent. And sometimes it tries to say too much that it ends up not having a cohesive message and it all falls flat. Religion, communism, family trauma, homophobia, mental health, infidelity, teacher-student relationship, pregnancy, murder, police brutality, friendship, bullying, the oh so many supernatural elements, I could go on. You get the picture. So in conclusion, I am not happy.

VIP Only

It's cute. I like both of them enough and it's a good mellow way to start the friday madness.

Last Twilight

This show is surprising me so much. In the best ways. As I said before this pair didn't do much for me in the past but I've surrendered completely, specially to Jimmy. He was so good in this episode that I felt obligated to gif it just so I could keep watching his expressions.

That whole final scene just floored me. His eyes just carried that moment and that whole scene so well that by the end a lonely sunflower brought tears to my eyes. ( and I do not cry easy). After all the cute dates, this scene was a gut punch.

I'm just really stuck on this show, and it holds my attention all through the episode.

My Dear Gangster Oppa

This episode was silly, I couldn't care less about the gangster side of the story at the moment, I'd rather spend more time with the gamer friend group. Wahl got a bit of a redemption but I still don't like him. I liked that Guy stood his ground with Wahl and Tew, but hated the stalker behaviour. If you wanna go dude, just leave!

Sahara Sensei to Toki-kun

Japan my beloved. They just keep giving me all I need. Toki is giving me some Aoki vibes and I could not be happier. And Toki now has got two friends in his corner and I'm so happy. This one and Kinou Nani Tabeta are currently my main sources of joy and my heart is full.

Pit Babe I'd like to thank @pharawee for giving us the novel commentary because it makes it a bit less confusing while I watch this. I have no clue about omegaverse so a part of me is confused, sometimes bored, another part of me is just waiting for Jeff and Alan to be a thing and all of me is happy that Pavel is on my screen weekly.

Twins

This show is dragging and I'm officially bored. I don't mind a slow burn if the rest of the show can hold it together. But the team animosity is just tiring and annoying at this point, the side couples are not engaging ( a bj in the shower does not a side couple make) and for a show named Twins, I would like to see more of them.

Middleman's Love

I'm 99% here for the sides. They are cute, they give me some Ram/King vibes and I wanna see more of them. I was super happy to see Ngern again and the family dinner was a good moment. I don't have the patience for this sort of misunderstanding anymore so that ending annoyed the hell out of me.

(I'm watching For Him too but I have nothing nice to say, so I'll say nothing at all. And yes I know I just did that with Shadow but I was never that invested in this one)

Really looking forward to Kinou Nani Tabeta tomorrow morning and The Sign in the afternoon.

I wish all a great weekend and thanks for reading💜

(because I needed a good cry)

[imminent-danger-came]

Hello! I just recently watched LMK and predictably immediately got brainrot and I've been Loving reading your meta and theories! Love your takes and analysis, they all feel very well though out and well supported by canon and i can't help but chomp them up like a little goblin.

I was wondering if you could share your thoughts on something that i've noticed and feel could make for intriguing developments and/or conflict later. Something I've noticed is every time after MK comes down from his monkey form he seems wildly drained (most obvious in s4e8 and tew special), and i was wondering what you make of it? Is it just the effect of him constantly pushing it down, does it seem like it's too much for him to physically handle? some other third thing? More importantly, if it's a Thing that's gong to be a constant symptom of his monkey form how do you think it's going to come into play in future episodes? Especially relating to any of your theories (eamk, mk vs wukong, mei hero mk warrior, etc...)? Just thinking how MK could be convinced or manipulated into a position where he's at risk of hurting himself from power overuse or maybe how in a direct fight against monkey MK the win condition might not be overpowering him but out lasting him.

Aw thank you! I'm so glad you enjoyed the show!

Anyways *inhales cigarette* I wish I knew what was going on with MK any of the time anon. It seems like he can't help but flicker into Monkey Form at some points, yet prolonged use leaves him weak. During his fight with Azure he starts off feeling very un-MK-like, but halfway through he begins to act more like himself. At the end of 4x13 he's practically thrown out of his Monkey Form by reality fraying apart. And, despite his monkey form being his true identity (maybe), it hurts him. It causes him pain whenever he starts flickering into it. Like, what. What is going on here

So at this point, it seems like MK's Monkey Form is too much for his body to handle...but why. I've drawn a connection between Monkey Demon MK, Samadhi Fire Mei, and Jade Emperor Azure many times before, like the way they're all containers for uncontrollable power, but MK's case is particularly strange.

My first thought would be that it's tied to the way MK views himself and his identity. So maybe it's part him pushing it down, part it being too much for him to physically handle, and part secret third thing.

But yeah, I'm super intrigued to see how all this will be implemented in the future! I really like the idea of outlasting MK to beat him

[sapphire-weapon]

This may be a headcanon of mine, but at the altar when Saddler mentioned being aware of Leon's "very thoughts" and right after touched Ash... that seemed so provocative to me, seriously.

That moment was the moment that I crossed off "TEW Reference" from my bingo card, because it was very...

I know what you crave... what you fear... will you be able to live with yourself, knowing what I'm going to make you do?

and then the entire hivemind sequence was just "oh okay it's STEM" and then luis's lab having notes about how saddler's agenda was basically just mobius's i was like lmao okay i see it i see what you're doing. but that's a different point.

Because, like. I haven't been able to put together a solid meta case with canon examples for it yet, but I don't necessarily think that Saddler was lying in that scene. I think he was exaggerating, because Leon's plaga obviously isn't fully mature yet, so clearly his flesh, bones, and thoughts aren't fully "one" with Saddler and the hivemind yet...

but it's getting pretty close.

I'm reminded of that moment just before the Verdugo fight, where Leon has a coughing fit and the screen goes blue with hivemind awareness, and that's how Salazar knows where Leon is/that he's still alive in order to send Verdugo after him. They can get inside of Leon's head, if only briefly.

And, I mean. Saddler got all up inside Ashley's head for a solid 30 seconds in the castle -- so, if nothing else, he knows that Ashley's had at least one thought along the lines of "just give me an opening and a good 15 minutes, and I will suck this man's cock until he's on the verge of tears, trembling and whining and breathless and bucking his hips as he comes dry because there's nothing left in his balls to shoot out anymore." (okay and now maybe I'm the one exaggerating, but it's still probably not that far from the reality.)

So, I do think Saddler was aware, if only vaguely, of how "personal" things had become between Leon and Ashley. And if he had been less of a religious fanatic and more of a sadistic-type villain like Ruvik, I do wonder what kind of commentary he would've made in that scene -- if he would've twisted the knife that Leon was so close to Ashley but still can't touch her; that she'll always be just beyond his grasp; that he's selfishly using Ashley's body in a way not dissimilar to the way he's angry at Saddler for using Ashley's body, with all of his little touches and moments of physical closeness in order to fight off his own feelings of horrible, crippling loneliness. Or even if Saddler would continue the whole fairy tale meta theme and mock Leon by telling him that this isn't a spell that can be broken with true love's first kiss.

Man, that last one would've been really fuckin good, actually.

CAPCOM HIRE ME I HAVE GREAT IDEAS

[2am-poetry]

“MECHMAFIA BE DOING TEW MUCH” fon

Gravity Sketch

#GUNDAM

#northwest

#vr #META

#Furthereyes

#StanLee

#yewest

#architecture

#Olympics

#KanyeWest

#kimkardashian

#WillowSmith #quantum #church #MetaCognition #JadenSmith

#ai #Zendaya #Drake

#poetry #Marvel #ChuckNice #yewest #writingprompts #love #StephenColbert #streetphotography #ChrisRock

“DO YOU KNOW HOW TO PLAY HEART$?”

I’m just an action figure for the older self

DATA/FLIP oh that's why okay

[laylawatermelon]

I loved this episode. I live tweeted and will be writing meta in the future after the season about all couples and characters cause this is tew juicy.

[amyritter2]

roooooooll credits.... getting a bit tew meta

[croik]

Hello! Could I ask a TEW question, please? I've seen a few posts about Joseph that portray him as being only half Japanese, with the other half being "Canadian" -- which I took to mean "Native Canadian"; i.e., First Nations Canadian. Do you know whether or not there's anything in canon that supports this interesting idea, or do you think it's just a headcanon some people went with?

Oh, I haven’t heard this one actually!  I’m pretty sure his nationality being Japanese Canadian is canon, but I never considered he might be Native.  I don’t think there’s anything in canon that either supports or disproves it that I’m aware of.  Probably just a headcanon that has some popularity.

But if he was, he’d probably be descended from a famous one, considering Mikami lol.

[swordmaid]

sometimes I see that criticism that’s like there’s more to this media than shipping and it’s like SUPER FAIR but also the extent that people go to show how they’re not ALL about shipping is so beyond me. to me at least, part of considering why these two characters work together is the amount of effect they have on each other whether it’s their own characters or the narrative that they’re in, but when you’re so eager to show that this isn’t all about shipping!! to the point where you’re blatantly ignoring the effect that this character has on the other’s development, when you’re not even considering the other character as part of the other’s narrative because you so want it to be not be about shipping i just .... I just do a little laugh 😳

[blood-darkened-moon]

The Evil Within

TEW1 Sebastian Castellanos | Joseph Oda | Juli Kidman

Leslie Withers | Marcelo Jimenez | Tatiana Gutierrez | The Administrator

Laura Victoriano/Reborn Laura | Ruben Victoriano/Ruvik

Ruvik Doppelganger | Shade | The Keeper | Amalgam

TEW2 Stefano Valentini | Lily Castellanos

Obscura | Guardian

Ships/Groups RuLa

Others TEW Meta | TEW HCS | TEW Trivia | Snails

[havvha-93]

Four_face_44 original fan art

This is an edit

[serxarisa]

Part 2 of the TEW × Kirby silly crossover doodles. Sebastian and Meta Knight shenanigans because I think they're funny together (feat Ruvik's hand and DMK's mask)

Aaand that's all I have. Thank you for watching

Part 1

[snpshooter]

also just the journey of elena, at the start of it all, trying to encourage nate to go legit somehow like she is, then culminating in her watching him actually get a normal job but she just has to see how much it kills his soul and his excitement. and she doesn’t necessarily blame herself, but she does feel a little bit guilty--even if this was a mutual agreement. then the scene in tew’s manor when elena rediscovers that passion in nate and gets to witness the most raw, unfiltered version of himself, and she’s finally gained full understanding of him and what he needs at this time in his life.

[evilwithin]

Mobius pls...

Y’know, there comes a time when you have to admit to yourself that your ethically ambiguous shared consciousness brain machine-based utopia just may not ever work.