#when the guy is such a narrative foil to you that you start to look ESPECIALLY lame | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

beybuniki · 2 months

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hiiii first off i love ur art so much i always look forward to seeing it on my tl or on here!!!! secondly i think ur dabihawks is soo hot and they make a lot of sense from an aesthetic pov for me but they don't compel me much outside of that so if i can ask, what's your interpretation of why u ship them? or like narratively what compels you to like them as a ship?

this is so long i'm so embarrasssed, but i tried to gather my thoughts a bit :)

first things first: a lot of fans say that horikoshi wasted dabihawks' potential but tbh i've appreciated that horikoshi has kept most of it between the lines for us to figure out, i think that mode fits reflects their dynamic (and the endeavor - dabi - hawks triangle) well.

Also I know you asked what I find appealing about the ship, not all of these interpretations are about romance/shipping; some are just about their general dynamic. as I keep saying, the yaoi is only secondary to their overall weirdness, that’s more appealing to me tbh.

the obvious canon dynamic: Dabi and Hawks are (filial) foils: they represent 2 opposing outcomes of what happens when endeavor/enji (we have to differenciate) basically shapes your life. they're two sides of the same coin that symbolizes endeavor's 2 sides: enji, that father who fails vs. endeavor, the hero who succeeds. I don't think I need to elaborate on this, but yeah it's pretty overt in the manga that they’re filial foils, the fact that they’re the same ages makes it even more obvious like they’re equal opposites and I love that sm.

my ship interpretation of their overall dynamic: dabi and Hawks can get under each other’s skin in a way that no one can; there is so much irritation but also uncomfortable intimacy, because how come this guy who barely knows me knows where it hurts the most??

I think dabi is easily irritated by hawks because – as mentioned above – hawks is the complete opposite of dabi, I just know hawks’ charming (& sleazy) hero persona would piss him offff, but that’s only surface level annoyance, once dabi starts digging, connects the dots, and realizes that hawks is weirdly attached to his colleague aka dabi’s dad? And that his dad basically saved hawks from his abusive dad?? and that endeavor set off hawks’s career as the youngest hero to enter to top 3??? That hawks basically has everything that was promised to dabi??? CUTE THE CAMERAS!!!!! the irony is NOT lost on dabi!!!!!!!!!!!! One thing I love about dabi is his resentment towards those who make him painfully aware of his failures in life, I think resentment, jealousy, grief for what could have been are so interesting to explore, especially for a 23yo character like you rlly lose your mind at that age.

But as easily as hawks irritates dabi, dabi can get on hawks’ nerves and hit him where it hurts like no one else, precisely because they’re inextricably tied to each other through endeavor. So dabi is ver intimate with hawks’ flaws & issues and likes to probe and poke……. I made a whole post about this, but I think the todorokis’ closure would’ve been less disappointing if dabihawks got to face each other one last time; this time with everyone present. Dabi could have reminded hawks that -- while he’s the one withering away in an oxygen chamber & hawks climbed up the career ladder and gets to work with endeavor – hawks is caged in a far more constricting way; he didn’t learn shit from twice’s death and that’s gonna haunt him, dabi would also say out loud what hawks is ignoring, namely that endeavor hasn’t chosen hawks once over his son (much to be said here let’s not digress oaughh). So hawks can have fun running after his father forever and secretly yearning paternal attention & validation. Dabi might be on the verge of death, but he got to reflect, let go, and change at least; Hawks’ character is SO stuck & and I think dabi should remind him of that <3 hawks should have nightmares sometimes <3 this is yaoi to me <3

This one isn’t about romance, but dabihawks are also so interesting to me because I think their relationship is kind of similar to dabi’s relationship with shoto: imo, hawks parallels dabi in a way that is analogous to the parallelism between dabi and shoto. As I said before, hawks and shoto both represent a life that was supposed to be dabi’s, but another parallel I see is that hawks and dabi are so similar and had the potential to connect (both as normal kids but also as damaged adults), but life is unfair and they never and on the other.

There’s a real tragedy in dabi’s isolation (endeavor forcibly isolating his children from each other is repeatedly mentioned), and I think that this can be extended to hawks as well, which is why there’s a LOT of fan work of them befriending each other as children 😊 but I think that in a more radical approach to the story, dabihawks could’ve also connected as damaged adults but let’s not get into that.

Tl;dr: they’re parallel lines that cannot reach each other or cross paths but there are enough hints to make you feel like they could find each other in a kinder universe…………… KILL ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ok now my yaoi interpretation of that: I think the dynamic that I’ve described in the point above lends itself really well to a vast array of outcomes they’re such a dynamic duo. I love the cute aus that are just about dbhx falling in love, but I also LOVE the doomed yaoi, there’s something beautiful about dabihawks doing their thing despite all the odds and the pride and the repulsion (let’s not get into that,,,,,,,,,,,). I love when their intimacy is permeated by an anticipation of betrayal like the quirks stay ON during sex, the breakup text is DRAFTED in their notes app, the IP address is always READY to get leaked, they have each other’s moms on SPEED dial to snitch on the other………………………… they’re not meant to be but they WILL fuck nasty ( and have surprisingly intimate moments) yup

attachment styles /yaoiimplied: I think dabi is an avoidant and hawks an anxiously attached partner. Which means that dabi is hyper independent and scared of emotional intimacy to the point of self-sabotage (he WILL create problems out of thin air and lash out at hawks when their weird situationship starts getting too comfortable). Which means that hawks is terrified of rejection (his parents left him & his clings so much to endeavor & he forces himself into the Todoroki family) and fears that he could lose whatever he and dabi have so he clings, which is so so scary to dabi. I see a lot of headcanons about dabi being possessive but I don’t agree at all; I think the second dabi feels like hawks might fall for sb else (they do cheat on each other I thin), he’s just gonna give lmaooo, dabi is NOT a fighter!!!!!!!!!!! His obsession is exclusive to his beef with his father!! He will NOT beg and fight for hawks’ love!!! Idk I like how their trauma gave them very different attachment patterns <3

names as another layer of intimacy (cute): this is in the manga so I don’t feel the need to elaborate on this, but there’s sth SO intimate about dabi and hawks both letting go of their birth names and those being such a big mystery for such a long time, both to the readership & characters. The fact that dabi finds out hawks’ name and CALLS him by his name during a fight ugh I love the juxtaposition of intimacy and violence. They probably use their 1st names during nice moments also keigo and touya are really cute names but I digress…..

names as another layer of intimacy (bad): while the paragraph above present this as rather cute and intimate, I think there’s also violence and a hierarchy at play when you use somebody’s deadname (I think we can call it that idk). Not only is there the juxtaposition of violence and intimacy when dabi uses hawks’ name, I think there’s also sth. deeply disrespectful about hawks using dabi’s given name like WHO are you to call him toya!!!!!!!!!!!! And the answer to that is that hawks uses it because endeavor uses it, which is so insane but whatever let’s not go there………….

also hotwings is such a good ship name sorry i was sold on that alone..............

sorry this whole page is yaoi to me, this fight is sexual in general well whatever let's move ON!!!!

Abjection: the aforementioned mutual irritation with each other that results from their uncomfortable & unwanted proximity feels so abject to meeeeeeeee

idk they have perfect yaoi equilibrium to me

the color symbolism :)

#SORRYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY #beybunaski #and we didn't even get to endeavor.................................................#dabihawks

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pachimation · 11 months

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redrawing my very first chiscara comic/art i ever did for chscr day!!

old comic under the cut!!

lol a bunch of sappy semi serious stuff below bc i cant help but be a bit genuine about this ship today :’3

i cant possibly put into words how important this silly little ship and its community mean to me haha,,,, this comic was made in 2021 but i didnt really get serious about chscr until late 2022 after a bunch of pretty bad interpersonal stuff happened and i needed an outlet,, COINCIDENTALLY a certain someone was announced to be playable around then and i was already thought chscr was Pretty Neat™️ so i ended up diving headfirst into the ship. it also gave me a good excuse to work on more comics too!! i’d done a pretty big zhongven comic earlier that year in the summer, but in terms of lore there was only so much i could have worked with at the moment.

childe and scaramouche have that perfect combination of silliness and angst and violence that could be explored or expanded in so many ways and i love love love seeing other people’s interpretations of their dynamic and relationship. they’re so complex,,,,they’re narrative foils,,,they’re narrative parallels,,,they’re trans allegories,,,they’re flies in the spiderweb of the games lore,,,they’re my stupid little meow meows,,, they’re just two losers i want to see make out,,,

in a nutshell, they’re everything to me. well, i hope i get that kind of sentiment across in my own comics,,,,

and i cant get started on all the people ive met through chiscara or the way that having something i can call “my thing”, as in, the thing that i like and that i will spend a lot of time and effort (and money, but lets not talk about that) to surround myself with because it makes me smile. its stupid to say, but being a nerd about these two stupid guys who have never had a single canon onscreen interaction in some random game has made me a much happier and confident person that i could have ever imagined back in my freshman year of college,,, when i say i dont know who i’d be if i hadnt gotten into chiscara, i really do mean it lol

i’m actually surprised i’m making it to over a full year of regular-ishly making art, especially for the same game and ship! thats never happened before and my art has improved so much over this past year!! more than anything else, i’m happy! i get to be excited talking about these characters with my friends and i love to see art of them pop up on the tl. i make stickers of them and decorate my phonecase with them and have little figures of them in my room that i look at when im up late at night working on schoolwork. sometimes just the thought of finishing a comic or daydreaming about a scenario or seeing what my mutuals are up to are some of the few things getting me through a tough day.

,,,,so believe me when i say, to both childe and scara and to everyone else as obsessed with these pathic losers as i am, thank you! i’m having a lot of fun!!!

(also i just found out tumblrs copy/paste doesnt work on my ipad??? idk if this ends up legible i may or may not have deleted smth by accident and im not in a mood to proofread haha)

#genshin impact #childe #tartaglia #scaramouche #chiscara #scarachilde #my art #comic #no super long rant in the tags this time bc i already made a chscr rant haha #happy chiscara day everybody!!

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she-who-fights-and-writes · 1 year

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Ideas for subverting popular character tropes? I've started a story and am having difficulty making my cast of characters unique. I'd love it if you had any fresh takes on tropes like the mentor, the sidekick, etc...

POPULAR CHARACTER TROPES AND PROMPTS TO SUBVERT THEM

A character trope, sometimes called a character archetype, is a “recognizable element within a story or plot that defines or conveys information about a character. Character tropes can either define a character's entire role in a plot or the character's personality or motivations.” (source: arcstudiopro).

Many people bash “tropes,” but what you have to remember is that there is no such thing as a unique idea; everything has been done before, and the reason why tropes are so popular is because (a lot of time) they work!

It is totally possible to have a "normal" trope in your story without making it a cliché. However, if you’re looking to subvert these expectations, here’s a list of ideas I’ve come up with!

(This is me brainstorming on the fly to help get your gears turning, so I apologize if these aren’t fully fleshed out or if they’ve already been done before!)

1. THE CHOSEN ONE

The “Chosen One” is a trope where “one character is framed as the inevitable hero or antihero of the story, as a result of destiny, unique gifts, and/or special lineage” (source: Wikipedia). The Chosen One is often depicted as naive or unwilling at the beginning, and has a progression of growth through the narrative when they “accept their destiny.”

Examples:

Luke Skywalker (Star Wars)

Harry Potter (Harry Potter)

Frodo (The Lord of the Rings)

Neo (The Matrix)

Subversions:

1. The protagonist who was believed to be the chosen one from the very beginning discovers that it was actually someone else the whole time and must come to terms with the realization that they no longer have this title that they’ve based their entire life (and perhaps personality) around. (Bonus points if the new Chosen One is someone they’re close to).

2. Every solstice, the “Holy Order” sends a Chosen One to defeat the monster that has been ravaging their town. None ever return. The protagonist is selected as the next Chosen One, only to find that being Chosen does not mean “Chosen to defeat the monster” but rather “Chosen as the sacrifice to appease the monster.” (Bonus points if the reason the Chosen Ones always die is because the “Holy Order” misguides them (gives them broken weapons/drugged food/faulty armor/directs them into traps/etc.)).

3. Having the Chosen Power comes with a price. After someone is Chosen, it is a death sentence. The protagonist must find a way to defeat the villain AND purge themself of the Chosen Power before it’s too late (Bonus points if the villain helps them purge the Chosen Power).

2. THE SIDEKICK

The sidekick is a friend and helper of the main protagonist. They are often depicted as a loyal comic relief character made to emphasize the hero’s greatness, and may be killed off to advance the hero’s journey.

Examples:

Robin (Batman)

Samwise Gamgee (The Lord of the Rings)

Chewbacca (Star Wars)

Pan (His Dark Materials)

Subversions:

1. The “sidekick” is actually the hero of the story; the narrator just has an inflated ego and believes themself to be the hero. Meanwhile, their “sidekick” is the one saving the world.

2. Sidekicks are often depicted as younger than the hero. Perhaps an older sidekick might do good to spice things up (Bonus points if it’s without turning them into the mentor trope).

3. The sidekick is a former hero who had to watch their own sidekick sacrifice themself, and was convinced to leave hiding by the current hero. (Bonus points if the sidekick dies in a poetic way that is a narrative foil to the way his own sidekick died, perhaps in a “I didn’t understand why they would sacrifice themself for me but now I get it”).

4. A ridiculously strong/powerful Mary Sue type character is the sidekick to a Normal Guy™ (Bonus points if they are incredibly content in this position).

5. The sidekick is not a willing sidekick; they were kidnapped by the hero because they have an object/bloodline/power/etc. that is essential to defeating the villain.

3. THE MENTOR

The Mentor is the protagonist’s teacher, who helps them transition from a “normal” person into a hero. The Mentor is often depicted as wise and virtuous, teaching the protagonist not only the ways of fighting or magic, but also the ways of good and evil. The mentor is often killed off to advance the hero’s character arc, due to the fact that they are sometimes seen as a parental figure.

Examples:

Dumbledore (Harry Potter)

Yoda (Star Wars)

Uncle Iroh (Avatar the Last Airbender)

Mr. Miyagi (Karate Kid)

Subversions:

1. The mentor is the narrator. After spending so much time training the Chosen One and raising them like their own child, they must hear news that they have been killed by the villain. While still grieving (or perhaps fueled by revenge), the mentor must venture out and defeat the villain themself.

2. Have the mentor be a woman! You would be shocked at how overwhelmingly male-dominated the “mentor” archetype is!

3. The mentor turns on the protagonist that they trained…not because the mentor has turned evil, but because the mentor believes that the protagonist has become a monster (à la Kung Fu Panda). (Bonus points if the mentor is actually right and the protagonist really has become a monster).

4. The bright-eyed Chosen One thinks the world of their mentor, only to realize through experiences with others that the mentor trained them horribly, and that the mentor only used their training to boost their renown—without expecting them to survive their fight with the villain. (Bonus points if the protagonist is an unreliable narrator, and we as the readers feel just as betrayed by the mentor because we, too, thought they were a great person).

5. The mentor is the former Chosen One, desperate for the current Chosen One to not make the same mistakes. The current Chosen One resents the mentor for pushing them so hard and treating them so cruelly, but in reality the mentor is just overprotective (Bonus points if it’s not revealed that they were the legendary “Defeated Chosen One” until later).

4. THE DAMSEL IN DISTRESS

Although a Damsel in Distress is often associated with female characters, any character is capable of falling into this archetype; mostly known for being a passive figure who exists mostly as an object for the hero to save.

This is one of the few character tropes that is difficult to break the negative stigma, due to its root in misogyny and the disadvantages that come along with having a character without personal goals or motivations. In my opinion, if you have a character that follows this archetype to the T, perhaps you should consider some revising.

Examples:

Lois Lane (Superman)

Princess Buttercup (The Princess Bride)

Mary Jane Watson (Spiderman)

Ann Darrow (King Kong)

Subversions:

1. The passive, meek damsel in distress whom the hero has been working relentlessly to save actually turns out to be a villain! Their supposed rescue efforts were used as a distraction while the evil plot unfolds, and ends with a fight to the death!

2. The damsel in distress gets in a huge fight with the protagonist when they come to the rescue; they were undercover the entire time, and the protagonist has ruined their plans!

5. THE FEMME FATALE

The femme fatale is usually characterized as a mysterious woman who seduces and entraps men with her body. This doesn’t necessarily have to be a gendered archetype, but often errs into sexualization and misogyny (especially in works written by men).

Examples:

Jane Smith (Mr. & Mrs. Smith)

Nikita (La Femme Nikita)

Catwoman (Batman)

Catherine Tramell (Basic Instinct)

Subversions:

1. The Femme Fatale doesn’t know they’re a femme fatale. They are a master of seduction and gaining valuable information through licentious wiles, but it’s all an accident; they just-so-happen to sleep with rivals and they just-so-happen to say important information. The femme fatale casually brings this information up in conversation, rendering the team awed by their “impressive skill set.”

2. The Femme Fatale is male or nonbinary (Bonus points if they will seduce any gender).

3. There is a Femme Fatale team; an icy power couple dedicated to killing through threesomes.

6. THE GEEK (OR MAD SCIENTIST OR NERD OR KNOW-IT-ALL ETC.)

The Geek, or the Mad Scientist, is the character known for knowing everything. They often have a lack of social skills, and their vast knowledge of random things helps the characters when they’ve been backed into a corner…though they sometimes tend to be a quick fix for writers who’ve written their characters into a corner and need an easy solution.

Examples:

Sheldon (The Big Bang Theory)

Spencer Reid (Criminal Minds)

Spock (Star Trek)

L (Death Note)

Subversions:

1. The Geek has leadership skills and ability to inspire others. Awkward is not the complete opposite of charismatic; just because someone may have trouble talking to people doesn’t mean they can’t foster intense loyalty from their comrades. (Think along the lines of L from Death Note. Bonus if they’re the leader of their organization, and their subordinates would face God and walk backwards into Hell for them).

2. Combine the Geek with another archetype, perhaps an antithesis archetype like the Dumb Jock. For example, a Geek that enjoys the outdoors and extreme sports like rock climbing (but rather than to get buff, they just want to look at the fantastic granite deposits on the side of the mountain they’re climbing). Or perhaps a Geek Femme Fatale, whose “special interest” is the psychology of seduction.

3. The Geek hates what they do. The “passion” that Geeks usually have for machines/non-humans/their chosen expertise is forced upon them because they’re super smart. In reality, they’d wanted to take it easy going to business school but nooooo the world was at stake so they had to become an expert in the intergalactic space-time continuum.

4. The Geek is useless. Their musings are more mania than genius, their explanations and ideas incomprehensible to a normal human being, and the group only keeps them around with the hopes that one day they’ll come up with an idea that actually makes sense. (Bonus if that idea comes at the climax of the story).

8. THE DUMB JOCK (OR HIMBO)

The dumb jock, also known as “the brawn,” is an archetype that is often categorized by being all buff and no brains. They often are, or at least begin as, the antagonist of the story, and if they aren’t, they’re considered the “Himbo” character (with character traits being buff, dumb, and respectful to women), who are often reduced merely to their attractiveness and stupidity, without much depth.

Examples:

Jason Carver (Stranger Things)

Mitch Downe (ParaNorman)

Kronk (The Emperor’s New Groove)

Bolin (The Legend of Korra)

Subversions:

1. The himbo and/or jock is frustrated with the way that their comrades always reduce them to the brawn. They feel left out and isolated because they can’t understand the lofty conversations of their peers, and know that they, in a way, look down on them for not being as smart (Bonus if this becomes a major plot point in the character’s arc, causing a huge blowout fight that fissures the group because of it).

2. The himbo/jock’s stupidity does not reduce them to comic relief. The himbo/jock is well-respected and has incredible emotional intelligence and charisma/street smarts, but merely lacks in textbook intelligence.

3. The himbo/jock is a woman! Break through the stereotype of dumb strong people being men and put some herbos in your story (Bonus if you don’t sexualize her and just let her be herself).

4. An idea from the jock/himbo becomes an integral part of the plan to save the world!

9. THE ANTIHERO

The antihero archetype is categorized by their lack of conventional heroic attributes, their execution of their goals through morally gray means, and their frequent reluctance to be the one saving the world. Their motivations may be vengeance, hatred, or any other less-than heroic inspiration besides “the greater good.” In fact, the antihero is sometimes the antagonist of the story, but due to the fact that the audience is seeing things from their perspective, they often tend to root for them.

The antihero used to be its own subversion of the “Chosen One” archetype, but became so widespread that it itself became its own archetype. That’s why antiheroes are so varied, to the point where you may not even need a subversion due to how many possible ideas there are to choose from. (This was the hardest list to make!)

Examples:

Barry Berkman (Barry)

Harley Quinn (DC)

Cassie Thomas (Promising Young Woman)

Deadpool (Deadpool)

Subversions:

1. The antihero feels guilt. Oftentimes, an antihero is depicted as stone-cold and dead-set on their actions (and sometimes they’re right! If someone killed my family, I wouldn’t care about “being the bigger person”). However, an interesting subversion may be guilt or self-awareness surrounding their actions playing a large role in the execution of their goals.

2. The antihero is not a lone wolf, and develops meaningful and positive relationships with others rather than having it be 90% snarky banter. Sometimes, antiheroes suffer from a lack of three-dimensionality due to most of their dialogue being cheeky one-liners. Anchor them solidly into the story by building a web of relationships to support them! (They don’t have to all be lovey-dovey, either! Even enemy relationships can be more than snark).

3. An honor code. Giving an antihero with an interesting honor code regarding killing, stealing, or any of their other morally gray deeds could be an excellent subversion! Having characters who are stone-cold killers but draw the line (perhaps in an odd way, such as refusing to steal cars or kill pets), somewhere can be a great way to develop their personality and show the readers their motivations.

Hope these all helped, and happy writing!

#writing #writers #writeblr #booklr #writing tips #writing advice #writing help #creative writing #characters #character tropes

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venomous-qwille · 8 months

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hi qwille!!! I got questions for u! you have lots of characters planned out, and that’s super cool! but how do u usually go about that process? like all your characters are very unique, and I wonder about the design process, as well as how you make their personality distinct! how do you make character dynamics/relationships? because all the scenes I’ve read so far make the characters feel really organic, and mesh really well together! (sorry for all the questions! I’m super curious ^w^)

Hiya! Here is an answer I wrote for this question on discord recently ^^

I will try answer this as thoroughly as possible!

There was a LOT of kill your darlings involved in making characters for gitm. Originally I had a very long list of character ideas that I cut down and down based on the kind of things and themes they would give me the opportunity to write about. I love long ensemble cast stories, thinking back to ones I particularly enjoyed and the ways those characters gelled together helped me a lot. The most important thing when selecting characters was making sure they would give me something interesting to write about! I was also very keen on ones that let me explore the fics main theme of Family from a different angle. I'm not sure how helpful this all is! But yeah, I try to be pretty strict with myself about what I include. The only reason I would include two characters who were very very similar would be to emphasize a difference/divergence between them later on. Characters have to justify themselves by bringing something unique to the table, even if that thing is just a 'very different outlook on life' to the rest of the cast. Over time a lot of those character ideas became more fleshed out in my brain, and characters that were cut from the original shortlist made their way back in. They still have to be able to narratively justify themselves in order to earn a channel in the discord though!

For the gitm guys, while I dont have a literal sheet I fill out I do make sure to answer a couple of basic character work questions: What lie do they believe about themselves/the world? How does it impact the way they interact with others? What central theme do they embody most? What do they want more than anything else? How do they feel about humans? Who are they at their best and who are they at their worst? I found that by answering these sort of questions it helped me discover more about them, which creates more questions- rinse and repeat. The more questions I answered the further away they would get from each other in terms of similarities. The thing that really helped with the gitm boys, especially because their origins are so similar, was leaning in to how different their experiences were post-fazco. They are different people because the world has made them that way. Messing around with foils has been useful too! Characters are no fun in a vacuum, it's how they interact with others that makes them interesting. I like to create ones that will bring out the best and the worst in each other. I think about opposites a lot and I really like narrative symmetry- what lessons can the characters learn from each other? I find that stuff super exciting to read so I really wanted to include it. Some examples of character foils in gitm: Fool & Noon, Sombra & Sunspot, Misuta & Sol

When it comes to finding character voice, I do a lot of test drabbles (a couple of them are on this server), which I use to just fuck around until I find something that feels right. For instance- Sol was very very easy to find the voice of, where as Misuta took weeks of rewrites. Sometimes things take time. Spending this time figuring out their voices at the start really helps fic consistence in the long run, I think. Because of all that prep, I don't really have to do anything to 'get into character' when writing their dialogue (it's fairly second nature now).

In regards to coming up with a character's arc, I look at them and their themes and ask 'what the fuck happened to you, dude?' and then 'how has that entrenched a faulty world view on you?' 'what could you be driven to do because of that world view/misunderstanding?' 'what would it take to fix this world view/misunderstanding?' (the last question is the most important one!). Then voila, you have a very loose framework of a (hopepunk) character arc.

In regards to the actual planning of the fic/character arcs, I have a very big miro board (pic attached) that I use for all this! Most of the major character beats are marked out separately to plot beats etc etc. There are still a bunch of bits that only reside in my brain, but I do try to add them to my plan as soon as they become any kind of concrete. All of the characters also have a background chapter (or rather, a series of chapters that form a short story) attached to their arc, that will recontextualise everything you have learned about them so far! I am so deeply looking forward to dropping these (I already have quite a lot written).

I would say that- for your question on character relationships- the answer does come down to being really specific about what you include. Make sure characters are meaningfully different from eachother, give them goals and experiences that clash and then force them to live/work together in the same space. If you have put time into building your characters before that, then you just need to create opportunities for them to get into conflict and bring out the best/worst in eachother. I really do believe that characters are quite boring in a vacuum- which is why I put so much emphasis on including narrative foils ^^ Tyvm for the ask <3

#gitm au #ghost in the machine au #ghost in the machine #asks answered #fnaf dca #qwillewrites #qwillechatter

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tanoraqui · 3 months

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Dungeon Meshi Liveblog: Marcille Takes Charge!

You know what, this is actually a very fair answer to my earlier question of "why couldn't the ancients just kill the demon?" Points to you again, Ms. Kui.

Truly I can't wait to see, like, every single Mithrun fight scene in the anime. The whole First Floor Incident is presumably going to be Episode 1 of Season 2, and I'm sooo excited.

At first, I thought the Lion was being snarky here, but in retrospect, knowing its whole story and nature, I think it genuinely is just fond of all its former dungeon lords. What wonderful meals they gave it!

That said, the Lion DOES have enough personality to Judge Marcille for her aesthetic choices; and I think that's beautiful :) <3

MARCILLE, NO! You're showing how corrupted you've become/how you were never suited to this role in the first place by acting directly contrary to explicitly stated themes of the story!

There is, however, something very satisfyingly country-ruling foreshadowy about Laios (and Kabru!) looking down at all of this spread out, though.

It IS painful watching Kabru try desperately to play both sides, keeping Laios safe from the Canaries without letting him go side with Marcille. Bud, I'm sorry but you HAVE lost control of this situation. And Laios is smart enough to have put everything together about what happened while he was unconscious, even when you deliberately didn't tell him.

[whispering sternly to myself] It's not fealty. It's NOT fealty. It's the start of a beautiful best-friendship which just so happens to include 1 guy looking at another guy and deciding that yeah, he has good potential to fill the king-shaped hole that guy #1 has been searching to fill - but just, like, on principle; genuinely NOT for any personal emotional need. The best-friendship is a completely unrelated emotional need. The ONLY fealting in this story is, so far as I can tell, between Shuro and his ninja squad, because they're from a completely different culture and, tbh, genre of anime.

But Laios, conversation is his means and mode! His sword and shield! If he can't talk it out, how is he possibly going to convince you to do anything, including save the world and be his friend?!

God I love this. It's this perfect combination of "You are my polar opposite; you love the thing (monsters) that I'm terrified of, and I want to know how so I can do that, too, because I'm so tired of terror" and "You love a thing (monsters), understanding it to the point of being very good at killing it, the same way I love a different thing (people); we are the same and I just want you to recognize that like I do so we can happily vibrate on the same frequency forever."

It's very tragic-funny that Kabru genuinely try to introduce himself to Laios in a normal way, before resorting to taking his entire party to stalk him to dangerous levels of the dungeon and eating monsters. It's not his fault that Laios is completely immune to small talk.

I DO think that every pair (or throuple, etc) of narrative foils in every piece of media ever should at least try making out. At a certain point of narrative foiling, you might as well, you know?

Note: Pattadol says she's "reporting" to Flamela, indicating that she's subordinate within the greater Canary structure even though she's 2nd in command of the most superior hunting party.

Also, it seems that the Canaries we know, the senior-most party, are genuinely the badassest of the badass and meant primarily for advanced dungeons including confronting dungeon lords and the demon directly. Tier-3 groups have less experienced guards, maybe criminals as well, and go on more scouting-type missions with no serious combat expected.

She's not wrong, she's just a jerk about it!

I get where the elves are coming from, I do. It's impossible to tell people people that there's a demon underground who'll grant their every wish while also communicating the dangers of this sufficiently that nobody goes searching for it. Even we the reader, don't entirely understand how bad it can get, how fast, until we watch Marcille do All Of That under the demon's active influence.

HOWEVER, it IS human nature to respond to this sort of thing with "well I/my friend won't go insane." There's gotta be a compromise wherein at SOME POINT far down the 'everything is going wrong in this dungeon' line, they just fucking tell people. They at least TRY. Otherwise they're just rolling their eyes at the short-lived races dangerous ignorance while actively refusing to reduce that ignorance.

Again: Shuro is living in a slightly different, much cooler genre of manga than the rest of us. Also:

TEAM TOUDEN LET'S GOOO!!

The best part of this is that earlier, when our heroes were trying to figure out who might help them eat Falin's dragon half, I was like, 'hmm...they liked you, sure, but eating dragons is pretty weird...'

But now we are outright ALLYING AGAINST THE ELVES!

Lmao. Classic adventuring party members, baffling NPCs as a team.

oh this is cruel. this isn't fair.

boys, focus.

the comedic timing...

lookit, that 30 seconds of desperate verbal flailing actually did help! Kinda!

yeah, I DO really like that everyone looks to Chilchuck for his opinion on Marcille's 'make everyone live to 10,000' plan, as the guy with the shortest present lifespan and also the most age-wise of all of them.

I Do Not Like This Visual. I Do Not Like the disproportionately large lion with human arms and hands shoving himself out of this book.

Not to be pedantic, but I think if you're trying to entice a team of people into doing your will by calling out each of their individual strengths, I think you shouldn't make 2 of them as repetitive as "curiosity" and "inquisitive mind." That's not really what Senshi is bringing to the table anyway - I'd say "care" or maybe "sense of balance." Also, sorry Izutsumi but how tf is her "wildness" contributing to this mission?

oh, Marcille, no...

#dm lb #dungeon meshi #delicious in dungeon #dungeon meshi spoilers

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lakesouperior · 11 months

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🐻🐤🐰🦊 just some thoughts on the fnaf movie

🐻the attention to detail that was put into it, with all it’s little details and easter eggs. the posters in the background, (and i haven’t seen anyone bring this up), the guy who got face-mauled by the cupcake wearing a midnight motorist t-shirt. the spring lock scene. the fact that scariest of all the jumpscares (of which there weren’t a lot but it’s kind of for the younger demographic ig they can’t make it too bad) was freaking balloon boy. the highest kill count going to MVP Carl the Cupcake. this is what i mean when i say movies from established franchises should be made by fans, for fans.

AND THE MATPAT CAMEO. HIS ACTING ISNT EVEN BAD AND EVEN IF IT WAS I EOULD STILL LOEV ITTT DVDNFB

🐤 you can tell they put a lot of thought into the child actors. abby is phenomenal. the five missing children? properly creepy and sad looking.

🐰 characters were all really well written and entertaining. the karen aunt, for all that she is an antagonist and very much hateable, still manages to be funny. even background characters are hilarious, like Doug for example, and don’t even get me started on the friggin matpat cameo i nearly screamed in the movie theater.

🦊 vanessa and mike are naturally each other’s narrative foils (and stand-ins for respectively Michael Afton/Elizabeth Afton (MichaElizabeth if you will) and Charlotte Emily imo), and them saying the same line, the “that’s two jobs”, mike at the beginning, and vanessa at the end, TO THE SAME CHARACTER?? TO THE BIG FUCKIN BAD HIMSELF??? WHO THEY BOTH HAVE DEEP HISTORY WITH???? literally this is good writing. i’m not saying the movie is perfect because it isn’t, but this is good writing.

🐻 and vanessa, as much as she kind of is, doesn’t feel like a coward because her worst fear does come true. her own father, the person who she thought the world of, tries to kill her as soon as she steps out of line. her fear wasn’t unjustified. she spent her entire life under his control — has literally never known anything else, and to still rebel after so long must’ve been the hardest, most terrifying thing in the world but she still did it because she’d grown to care for mike and abby.

and this is what i mean when i quote that one post: “strong female characters ≠ characters who are female and punch good, but strong female characters = well-written female characters” like yeah, vanessa’s an antagonist, or an anti-hero i suppose, but she’s still, once again, likeable and mysterious and funny. and the “bring her here again and i’ll fucking shoot you”?? that was probably her first act of true rebellion, aside from telling mike more than she should’ve about the pizzeria.

🐤 mikes arc is a very obvious “let go of the past and learn to cherish the present” which isn’t exactly revolutionary, but i think it’s done quite well though it could be improved a bit. and as much as you think he is an absolute cabbage head for telling them they could have abby for even a second, but you still, once again, get it.

our man’s running on like two hours of sleep and also meds, finally getting to see his baby brother up-close and even touch his face for the first time in probably more than a decade of blaming himself, and then getting told he could go back and see his parents again, the grief over who he probably hasn’t been able to process since he had to take care of abby when they died (possibly even took his own life in the father’s case if he’s supposed to be a henry stand-in like i think and doesn’t that just make it fifty times worse)

and it’s set up that he wants that perfect family back, the kind that he had during his childhood, that abby never got to experience.

and maybe he feels guilty for that. maybe he thinks, in his sleep-deprived and grief-ridden mind, for only a moment, that she would be better off, since she seems to like the animatronics and their ghost children better than him and he still feels like he doesn’t know how to raise a kid.

🐰 speaking of abby, for once Child Character in the horror movie isn’t just there to do some stupid shit for Plot Reasons (cough, The Curse of La Llorona, cough cough). i mean yes, she does go with them at the climax, but she has been given no reason not to trust them and considering the fact that they are other children, it would honestly be more suspicious if she didn’t trust them (also we’ve been shown she doesn’t really have friends before the end, so they’re also her first and only friends, no wonder she’s clinging to them) plus she’s been left alone with the aunt she does not like, possibly still believing mike is abandoning her. you get it.

she’s also very entertaining in her sassiness. like “are you here to arrest my brother?” or “yeah, love you too bro, kinda don’t wanna die tho, can we leave?” literally i can’t stand kids in general, but especially so in in horror movies, but i would give my life for abby.

🦊and the drawing thing? it’s beautiful and sad and really hammers home the fact that these monsters, however scary they have been made by their brutal and cruel deaths, they were, and are, just children who didn’t deserve to die and communicate the same way children like abby do. it also makes abby herself relevant to the plot and actually useful.

🐻and about abby; i have my own Theory there. we know she wasn’t in the picture during Garrett’s disappearance, which means she’s at least twelve years younger than mike. it’s actually quite common for couples who are going through a rough patch to have kids to try to fix it, which i think is what happened here, made even more possible if they also had her as a sort of replacement for Garrett. this, as i said earlier, makes mike’s indecision all the more understandable — if abby doesn’t just look a lot like Garrett, but was actually supposed to be him and would’ve never existed if not for the tragedy.

but that’s Just A Theory. 🐻🐤🐰🦊

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greenerteacups · 6 months

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my heart aches for one Theodore Nott after reading the latest update 😭 GTC, could you tell us more about your thoughts on him, his characterizations, how you manage to write him so poetically and beautifully, and (a shot in the dark, but i'll bite) the role he'll play in books 5, 6 and 7? congrats on another chapter GTC, i love you tons 🩷

Thank you so much, friend. I love talking about Theodore Nott. I'll gladly bite on that question.

To start off, Theodore's middle name might as well be "THE FOIL," because everything about him is tailor-made specifically to Say Things About Draco Malfoy. He practically hands Draco a card saying "I AM YOUR JUNGIAN SHADOW SELF, PLEASE HANDLE WITH CARE" upon introduction. They meet when they're both fresh off the train. (Hermione beats Theo to Draco by a matter of hours; there's a ton of ways this story spins differently if minor details about the first chapters were changed, and that's definitely one of them.) Then Theo and Draco ride in on the boats together. (Admittedly, I was not aiming for subtlety points with this intro. They are literally "in the same boat.") Immediately, Theo is throwing out narrative parallels like he's getting paid for it: they both have a dead parent. Both parents died under weird circumstances. Their fathers were both Death Eaters. Both of them are the sole heirs and only sons of great wizarding houses. Then they go into the Great Hall together, standing in line, but — and @piedrafundamental left a really banger analysis of the Sorting Hat scene in the comments on that chapter, but I'm going to crib just one line — crucially, "M comes before N." Draco's sorted before Theodore is, and he goes into Gryffindor. Immediately after that, Theodore's shunted into Slytherin, and their paths diverge. Call this the prologue of their relationship. They're not actually gonna get to know each other until Book 2 and Book 3, but this is the part where the narrative is basically jumping up and down and waving its arms at you, going "HEY! THIS GUY! IMPORTANT TO THE STORY! GET WORRIED ABOUT WHAT HE'S DOING, OKAY?"

Then we meet him again in Book 2, and just like Draco, a year at Hogwarts has changed him. He's a little more confident, a little more cocky, a little more comfortable, and — hey, look! He's got a weirdly intense friendship with a girl around his age, too! (Surprise, surprise, Draco is with Hermione when he meets Theo again, and who makes her debut in that moment but Pansy Parkinson?) And there's Daphne, the third leg of the Slytherin Trio, the kind of girl Draco probably would end up with in Slytherin — pretty, sociable, cunning, knows his family history (literally cites it to him in their first introduction, like c'mon), is the sister of his canonical wife, etc. etc., we got layers to this shit like lasagna but this post ain't about Daphne so we gotta move on — point being, either way he flips, Draco's going to be the fourth of a quartet. Which is the entree into the Slytherin politics storyline of Book 2, a.k.a. "the temptation of Draco Malfoy," where Theo is — I mean, to be honest, for once he's really not doing anything that sinister; from his perspective, he's kind of just putting his fucking back out trying to make a friend? He's drawing Draco in a regression towards prejudice and comfort, naturally, but that's not how he sees it. But there's a counterpoint between what Theo's offering and what waits for him in Gryffindor.

So that's the starting block of his character. The rest of the work is building a real person out of that; obviously, you can't just go "this is Foil Man, does whatever a Foil Can" and expect people to be interested. Part of what makes Theo interesting, to me, is that the traits he shares with Draco include a lot of what we tend to like about him — he's driven, intelligent, cunning, and brutal in the defense of those he loves — it's just that the people he loves, the people he surrounds himself with, are deeply prejudiced people committed to doing profoundly bad things. He's been trained from birth in the art of making bad people happy, and he's gotten good at it. And he's just enough of a coward (again, pot and kettle) that he can't imagine a world where that's not the case.

And it drives him fucking crazy that Draco won't admit that. Because I think Theo thinks if he can get Draco to admit they're similar people, it'll validate the choices he's made — like, yeah, he's fucked up horribly, but anyone would do the same, if they had to face what he has. Even Saint Draco. And of course, Draco is absolutely unwilling to go there with him, because:

(a) he very much does not want to believe that his years of grueling internal growth and struggle for betterment are just the product of some good luck with a hat; i.e., a suggestion that is not just insulting but terrifying because it suggests how very close he could be to regression at any time; but also:

(b) it is a fundamental tenet of Theo and Draco's dynamic that Draco does not like Theo as much as Theo likes him. Because where Theo sees his mirror in the light, Draco sees his mirror in the dark. And it's an increasingly ugly picture.

#greenteacup asks #lionheart spoilers #lionheart

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emiliosandozsequence · 7 months

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okay i'm gonna be very frustrated and angry probably but none of this is directed at you guys i promise!!! i'm just!!!! upset!!!!!!!!!! (tagging you so you see this emily!! 💕 @thesparrow1996 )

let me start off by saying i am not a book purist by any means, but when visual media is being made from a book, i would like it to, at the very least, be telling the same story and that isn't what happened here. it wasn't even telling the same story as the first film in the series.

in the last film, it seemed pretty apparent that paul's visions were going to become a reality and then in this one they Sort Of did that, but Not Really but that isn't even my biggest gripe with it. my biggest gripe is that the last film was telling the story of the book and this film was telling a different story altogether.

my other issue is how chani's character was completely changed. and think is probably because i've been obsessed with her character and the lovestory between her and paul (which is CENTRAL TO THE PLOT OF THE WHOLE SERIES BTW) since i first discovered dune when i was in high school.

in the book, she's supporting paul. she agrees with everything he's doing. she and the fremen all support him because the fact that the bene gesserit are controlling things from the shadows is NOT!!!!! a well known thing!! in fact no one knows that except the bene gesserit!!! OF WHICH CHANI IS CANONICALLY ONE!!!!!! (and even then the bene gesserit are very much a 'knowledge divided' kind of people so no one knows everything about the society) she and irulan are literally narrative foils!!!! like the entire reason i made this web weave was because of how much i fucking LOVE chani's storyline, and because i really love how it shows even the most well meaning of people can fall into the trap of doing the wrong thing for the right reasons. but i suppose it makes less sense to anyone else who hasn't read the book because they also entirely erased the existence of paul's first son.

in the books, paul has a son before he has his twins and that son is murdered by the very last of the harkonnens in a last ditch effort to erase the atreides bloodline. before this, paul is refusing to take the water of life because he has a family and he doesn't want to jeopardize that!! after his son is murdered, he takes the water of life, so he can enact revenge on the harkonnens and start his holy war. by then, he his so distraught that he really doesn't care if his visions become a reality and, while they tried to do this with the destruction of sietch tabr in this film, it does not have anywhere NEAR the same emotional impact because of how it was done (without paul really ever spending any significant time among the people there).

also, as you can imagine, i've got an issue with how they leave this film especially since this isn't even really the full first book and chani and paul's lovestory seems to not be anywhere near as central to the main plot as it is in the books.

all of this is an issue if they want to make further films because they've literally wrecked the storyline with this film. as i said: paul and chani's lovestory is central to the plot. everything happens the way that it does because paul is in love with her and treasures her above everything and, without the existence of his son, without him really seeming to truly care about her, the rest of the story is just going to come across as cheap by comparison.

i wouldn't have had as much of a problem with this if they'd started out the last film by steering it in this direction, but they so very much did not do that. this film really feels like denis villenueve was writing his own fix-it fanfic and that's what i hate about it most.

as for things i did enjoy:

everything on geidi prime; the black sun was so fucking cool. i completely forgot that was a thing from the books. i also loved how the fireworks looked like ink blots

stilgar!!! he's not really like that in the books, but i didn't even care bc it was genuinely funny and i had a good time whenever he was onscreen.

the way chani refused to bow to paul because they're supposed to be equals (you deserve so much better, babygirl, i'm so so sorry for what they've done to your story)

florence pugh did exactly what i thought she would and made me like irulan a WHOLE lot more than i do in the books and the miniseries.

crazy paul and jessica and alia!!! deeply obsessed with their evil family slay

also all the weird family stuff in general, including when feyd and harkonnen made out in front of the whole population of geidi prime

the whole bit with paul learning to ride the sandworm!! that was so fucking good

the part where paul is walking toward rabban out of the fog of the sand on arrakis after he tells muad'dib to come face him. that literally was my fav scene and it was only a few seconds long.

#BUT IT'S WHATEVER!!!! IT'S WHATEVER!!!#I'VE ONLY WANTED THIS PART OF THE BOOK TO BE FILMED RIGHT SINCE I WAS 17 BUT IT'S WHATEVER #dts #txt

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midnight1nk · 19 days

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Love is a powerful force.

The love between friends, family, partners. And most importantly, the love one has for themselves. In the SMG4 show, this is no different. I’ve touched on this back in my ‘ONCE UPON A Ṕ̷̱E̴̺̽R̵̖̎̕F̵̢̗̈́̀E̴̞̍C̴͈̽T̶͓̘̈́ SMG4’ theory. In IGBP, Boopkins said this:

“Love wins! Love always wins!”

[’It’s Gotta Be Perfect’ // timestamp 28:56]

He wasn’t wrong. The countless enemies the Crew has encountered, all were resolved one way or another through the power of love. No one ever said love didn’t come at a price.

The good guys indeed win, but not without sacrifice. They kept their promise, but not without loss.

However, despite everything, love always remained.

A connection bounded by love is delicate. It can either make itself stronger or it could break.

For our returning character, Marty, his connection with Mario was broken due to a one-sided betrayal. As I also discussed in my ‘WOTFI 2024 Predictions’, Marty would take his revenge on Mario in WOTFI 2024. Ever since his debut, Marty has been overworking and feeling underappreciated. Underestimated. The only ally he had was Mario. That was until Mario, his own creator, abandoned him for a plate of spaghetti. And that is who Marty will go against.

There is one more taking his revenge on the crew: Mr Puzzles. As seen at the end of The Meme Factory Arc, Mr Puzzles swore that he would be back and indeed did in ‘SMG4: Inside Out’. Well, at least that was how it was. With the current episodes coming out, some people were confused about why this wasn’t mentioned again.

The truth, my dear fellows, is that his plan has already started and we didn’t even realize it.

Follow me as I discuss the parallels between previous arcs, a callback to narrative foils, and most importantly: a sequel…

PUZZLEVISION 2: NOW AIRING

⚠️ DISCLAIMER IN INTRO POST ⚠️

“The worst of times are when you have to force your biggest smiles…”

I’ve made many theories on SMG4, a few now posted on Tumblr. However, this was the actual first theory I came up with, not ‘ONCE UPON A Ṕ̷̱E̴̺̽R̵̖̎̕F̵̢̗̈́̀E̴̞̍C̴͈̽T̶͓̘̈́ SMG4’. It all started back after the Puzzlevision arc ended when, out of pure curiosity, I decided to check out the PV website. It was mostly to see if it was still up and, to my surprise, it was. Not only that but it was replaced with a whole new image.

If Gravity Falls taught me anything, it’s that something never truly ended.

Ever since then, every Wednesday and Saturday, I would check back at the website to see if there was any change. It seemed like my efforts were worth it because, on one of those days, the image became a GIF. I unfortunately wasn’t able to capture it to show but I know I’m not the only one who has seen this. All I could offer instead is this…

Back when it was still the PV arc, there was a moment when you could save a PNG of Mr Puzzles, and every time it did, it would show a message.

“Downloading me is pretty rude” (correct me if I’m wrong) — Mario’s Mysteries ”Still pretty rude of you” — Once Upon an SMG4 ”You don’t seem to listen, do you?” — Scooby Mario, Where'd You Go! ”HAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHA” — Mr. Puzzles' Incredible Game Show Spectacular!

Now, when you save the image this is what comes up:

“Now Airing”

And if you look closer, the file type is also there [gif-to-webp]

The term "Now Airing" is obviously used when a program is currently on the airing schedule of the channel. The people behind SMG4 didn’t need to put this image in, they didn’t need to keep this website on. But they did.

"That's All Folks!" Yeah, right. Nice try.

Looks like this website is about to come back to life, and a new game is afoot.

WOTFI 2024

In my ‘WOTFI 2024 Predictions’, I’ve picked apart the episode ‘We Must Kill Mario’ and how it would relate to this year’s WOTFI.

I’ve intentionally left some details/questions out from the post. The biggest example being Marty’s speech. It stuck out for me when I first heard it, it was way too specific and way too familiar.

“The one person I trusted the most has left me behind for�� SPAGHETTI! Now I’ve escaped! …And it's time for… everyone to suffer like I have! At the hands… of the one thing YOU love the MOST.”

Then I realized why: the Meme Factory mini-arc.

Mr Puzzles never had friends growing up, it’s what got him obsessed with television. It was also the core motive to creating the perfect show, that any kid who is just like he was won’t be alone anymore. Of course, he got defeated by the SMG4 crew.

In the mini-arc, Mr Puzzles and Leggy went through the Meme Factory so he could have power again. For the first time, he got to experience what was like to have a friend. While he initially wanted to do this on his own, he had Leggy as part of it. That was until the Crew beat him once again, turning Leggy back into Meggy. This was different, this truly did hurt.

Because what’s worse than having no friends? It’s to be betrayed by someone who you thought was your friend. And the SMG4 crew was to blame for it. Now with the Marty speech, it applies to him:

“The one person I trusted the most has left me behind for… them! Now I’ve returned! …And it's time for… everyone to suffer like I have! At the hands… of the one thing YOU love the MOST.”

If that's so, then what is the 'one thing'?

Well, with spaghetti going from Mario’s one true love to becoming poison, it’s only logical that Mr Puzzles would turn someone from the Crew to go against them. A friend that would destroy their friendships. And he already had the perfect choice:

“And SMG4, who knew you could play an antagonist so well! High marks from me.”

[Puzzlevision]

When Mr Puzzles returned in ‘SMG4: Inside Out’, he latched onto Four’s mind and took over. For what purposes, we don’t know. Yet. But the Crew would have to save Four once again.

But Four isn’t showing any signs of control or possession?

No, but it doesn’t mean Mr Puzzles isn’t working behind the scenes, watching over Four’s every move.

Back in ‘We Must Kill Mario’, when Karen’s kids were flipping over the videos on the SMG4 channel, they stopped and jumped for joy at ‘Mario’s Mysteries’. A Puzzlevision episode.

Later on, when Marty revealed his motive behind his poisonous spaghetti sauce and declared that he was going to come back when he escaped from Karen, it left many questions:

How did he escape from jail?

Who is driving the helicopter?

How did he even get inside the house?

We can assume. But to know in absolute, no.

After Marty escapes, Karen thanks Four and Mario for keeping her kids safe, saying:

“I owe you one.”

Now, I did say that this could mean that Karen could have a big role in WOTFI ‘24 where she will finish the job. But it also could be interpreted in another way.

You saved my kids, but now let me help save your life, SMG4.

If Mr Puzzles is really working behind the curtain, then it would turn out that, as of right now, two arcs are happening simultaneously.

And this wouldn’t be the first time.

WESTERN SPAGHETTI & WOTFI 2023

Let’s rewind to Marty’s debut episode, ‘SMG4: Mario is Fine’ when, just as any other episode, a wacky adventure with Mario. Except for the very end, when the episode ends with an ominous close-up of Marty, clearly implying that there is more than what meets the eye. For the rest of the episodes, it went along like this:

[Marty’s debut]

Marty’s strange and subtle appearances (he was just standing there)

the Western Spaghetti arc

Marty’s even stranger appearances that none of the crew took seriously (like the interrogation scene with Shroomy in 'SMG4: SMG4 Kids')

WOTFI 2023 (the Notebook arc)

It starting to parallel to episodes we currently have:

Mr Puzzles’ Return (’SMG4: Inside Out’)

His sudden appearances like 'Mario Lost His M(o)ustache'

(+ perhaps future subtle hints that something is wrong with Four)

WOTFI 2024

"something is really wrong with Four" moments

Puzzlevision 2

Structure-wise, it is similar. But with Four involuntarily along for the ride, this makes things more complex character and lore-wise. Hmm, curious…

Possession, power, perfection.

Do any of these words ring a bell?

…I think it’s time to revisit an old enemy of the SMG4 crew, one achieved far greater than anyone of us could’ve imagined.

To create the perfect universe.

GENESIS & REVELATIONS: THE INFAMOUS TWO-PARTER

Before I called this "Puzzlevision 2: Now Airing", this was the "Reverse Genesis" theory because I saw how Genesis and Puzzlevision were really similar. Genesis had Revelations right after, so I suspected that Puzzlevision would have a sequel of sorts. Let me explain:

GENESIS

⭐️ Initial Motive

Zero, a virus from a different universe. He traveled from universe to universe, destroying them by killing their corresponding avatars.

Zero had the power to convert Mario into his new Avatar and a new universe. He was close to completing the process until the SMG4 crew intervened.

⭐️ Zero's Defeat

The Crew worked together to save Mario. Three and Four were able to use their guardian powers to transfer meme energy to Mario.

Axol sacrificed himself to save everyone and defeat Zero (but didn’t outright kill Zero).

REVELATIONS

⭐️ True Form

It turns out that Zero is two people: SMG0 and Niles.

SMG0 wanted things to go back to the way they were when the memes were getting corrupted > Niles and the creation of the meme cycle > Niles getting obsessed with the idea of a perfect universe.

He returns in Revelations to carry out his plan, carrying a grudge for the other Meme Guardians.

We see Zero’s true appearance, the one without Axol's physical features.

⭐️ Controlling the Most Vulnerable

Nine latched onto Melony, who was grieving over Axol’s death.

He used Melony to learn her god powers so he could use her to get to the God Box and reunite with SMG0.

⭐️ The Drawing

Melony drew a picture of her and Axol a week after WOTFI ended.

In her mindscape, Niles impersonating Axol ridiculed Melony for not being strong enough and for hanging on to Axol, ripping her drawing.

Melony fought back, claiming how their friendship gave her strength and it would be the same thing that she'd use to end Niles.

⭐️ Round Two: The End

Another fight against Zero in his true form, back to where it all started: the God Box.

Zero finally gets defeated, being killed in the explosion, allowing SMG0 and Niles to move on.

⭐️ A Sacrifice

Terrance was sacrificed to save everyone before the God Box gets blown up.

PUZZLEVISION

⭐️ Initial Motive

As I already mentioned, Mr Puzzles didn't have friends growing up and got obsessed with TV.

He wanted to be on TV and tried to achieve 5 stars with his streaming service, Puzzlevision.

He managed to get them and create the perfect show where the audience gets to be involved. At least, for a moment.

⭐️ Mr Puzzles' Defeat

While he managed to get 4.5 stars with 5 episodes, the Crew beat him with 5.5 stars within an hour special.

Mr Puzzles received a final but non-fatal blow from SMG4.

Technically, Luigi sacrificed himself by taking the hit from Mr Puzzles instead of the Crew. But no one really died.

NOW AIRING

[We're entering the predictions part of this theory, let's go:]

⭐️ True Form

Due to the Meme Factory arc, he is motivated more than ever to crush the SMG4 crew.

PREDICTION: he might show this true self(?), one where we see his body mingled in wires and metal

⭐️ Controlling the Most Vulnerable

Mr Puzzles has three choices regarding who to control:

Meggy — Tortured in ‘Western Spaghetti’, was friends with him when she was “Leggy”

Four — Possessed in ‘It’s Gotta Be Perfect’, terrified that another IGBP incident would happen, a perfect narrative foil to Mr Puzzles and the most likely choice.

Three — Notebook stolen for WOTFI 2024, has the most to lose (his café, friends, domestic life, etc), and able to emotionally manipulate.

⭐️ The Drawing

Just like Melony, Three drew him and Four in his notebook after WOTFI. The only difference is that her page is more open and seen whereas his notebook is personal and secretive.

This drawing will come into play whether Controlled!4 or Mr Puzzles find it and ridicule him for being soft, ripping it even.

Three would use it as proof to Four that Three really cared about him, that as much as he denies it and play it off like they aren't, they're friends. What he said when they were in the pit wasn't out of desperation to save himself. He meant it.

⭐️ Round Two: The End

Final Battle with Mr Puzzles, perhaps this time being his final goodbye.

⭐️ A Sacrifice

As mentioned in my ‘ONCE UPON A Ṕ̷̱E̴̺̽R̵̖̎̕F̵̢̗̈́̀E̴̞̍C̴͈̽T̶͓̘̈́ SMG4' theory, someone may be sacrificed. A character doesn’t necessarily have to die, it could just be a fake death, which leaves us with several options:

Three — to show that he does care.

Four — feel guilty for being a “villain” again, so he would have to take Mr Puzzles down himself. Turning Mr Puzzles own weapon against him.

Pedro — Yes, Pedro of all characters. From his first appearance, it's likely that he's not going to come back. But then again, narrative foils. Pedro was created to be a funny man for Mr Puzzles (Pedro was able to still remain funny by the end) meanwhile Marty was created to take over the pizza shop for Mario (constantly being underappreciated and underestimated). If he doesn’t sacrifice himself to save Mario in WOTFI '24, then it would be here.

Another meme like in Revelations (please not the children please not the children please not the children)

ROLLING DOWNWARDS

With all of these arc parallels and Four's mind being invaded by Mr Puzzles, there would have to be hints about something being wrong with Four. Well, there kind of was. There are a few ways that I could think of that Mr Puzzles could use Four:

Man on the Inside

In 'Mario Lost His M(o)ustache', Mr Puzzles overhears Three’s idea to rig the votes, stopping the idea from even happening. Of course, it could be that they were right next to him, and/or they were loud. That was what I initially thought. But it could also be that Four at this point is still under his control. Four could be acting as his eyes and ears when he isn't near, unintentionally becoming a spy for Mr Puzzles.

(Those familiar with Sonic X and the Cosmo Arc, yeah, it's like that.)

Mr Puzzles could listen to every conversation, every detail. And he would know if the Crew is plotting something to get rid of him for good.

2. "Tear Themselves Apart"

Another thing I left out of my WOTFI '24 Predictions was that Mr Puzzles could speak for SMG4, interfering with Four's thoughts to make him say what Mr Puzzles wants him to say. A script of sorts.

Being in Four's mind gives him a huge advantage: Mr Puzzles has access to all of Four's memories. For one, Mr Puzzles could find out about the cosmology lore and all of the Crew's adventures.

Second: Mr Puzzles could interfere with his memories and change them. He could make Four forget about stuff.

Third: Mr Puzzles could go through and pick out what makes each member of the crew tick, making Four do all the talking for him. For example, he could bring up Desti for Meggy, Terrance/the Youtube Arc for Three, etc. Mr Puzzles wouldn't have to even lift up a finger when they can tear themselves apart.

If I wrote it: I would have Controlled!4 namedropping someone from their traumatic past or bringing out their insecurities in a passive-aggressive manner. Basically, like the examples I gave. And every one of them would start to leave the crew, hanging out less and less at the castle. SMG3 would be the last one Controlled!4 would break. I imagine them getting into a heated argument that becomes way too personal, something along the lines of:

Four?: “Dude, you fell off. You’ve gotten soft. Domestic even. And where did that get you? Oh, that’s right… Terrance.” Three, offended: "Don't you dare bring him into this!" Four?: "Hmph. Oh, yeah? What about Eggdog? Face it, SMG3, you'll always end up alone." Three: "Did what I told you at the pit meant nothing to you?" Four?: "Like I would ever believe you! You just didn't want to die. Even if you aren't a villain anymore, you are still a selfish piece of shit. Still comparing yourself to me, ha. I don't get why you would even try, you'll always be second best."

Then, Mr Puzzles, talking through Four, would slip up. Mr Puzzles would be more interested in finding all the Crew's weaknesses so any detail that wasn't part of it was skipped over. It wasn't like it was important, is what he thought. But for Three, it was everything he needed to know,

This isn’t the real Four.

Three, smirking: "Oh, so this was your big plan? I would've come up with something better than that. I guess we meet again, Mr Puzzles."

3. What if: the demonic goop is still in Four...

“Oh, SMG4! It never left.”

It would be a sort of Venom situation that, even if you tried to get rid of the parasite, some of it still remains. [insert spider-man 2 black suit theme]

During the Meme Factory arc and in several episodes, his strange behavior from IGBP came back. At times, scenes looked incredibly identical.

[........Announcement?????? // I Put Mario In Danger For Views]

Could it be bad writing? Likely. But the fact that IGBP was referenced once again for this arc, everything has to be put into consideration.

If it is confirmed that the demonic goop is still inside Four, Mr Puzzles will use it to his advantage. After all, it did work the first time in IGBP, so why not again? Not only that but it also gives him a bonus advantage, he could be working on his plan in two places at once and none of the crew would notice, thinking that they already got rid of it. It has a lot of potential to bring back the keyboard, the goop, the pit, the USB with the perfect video, and even Peach.

And if we are acting like it's a Venom situation, then maybe we could have the goop have a voice on its own. Could you imagine a "We are Venom" moment, that would be sick! (sorry, I'm just a spider-man fan.)

HIDDEN IN PLAIN SIGHT

What else could happen in Puzzlevision 2?

It may be a bit too early to call since we still have to go through WOTFI. However, knowing me, that doesn't stop me from trying. For that, we have to dive into some semiology.

That’s right, we’re going in the deep end here.

Let’s head back to a familiar arc:

It's Gotta Be Perfect

While I was going over the movie for these past theories, I remembered something that piqued my curiosity.

The goop itself.

As someone who is into mythology, I spotted some familiar symbols and I've decided to give you an insight into what they are and explain why they were one of the top-tier design choices of the show.

Let's start with this one:

The Eye of God

You probably have seen this before. This is as its name states, the eye of God.

It's also known as the All-Seeing Eye because, according to Christianity, no matter what you do to hide your sins, God would see it. He sees all.

The symbol consists of an eye in the middle of a triangle. The triangle represents the Trinity (Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit). Because of this, this symbol is used for protection.

It is also similar to the Evil Eye symbol, where it's a circle instead of a triangle. This one is to ward off evil spirits/energy. (I actually have one of these myself.)

Secret societies use the symbol for other reasons: for power, wisdom, and control.

Well, yes. It would make sense why it would be in IGBP. Four's audience watches his every move and no matter what secret he has, they will pick up on it. But the symbol is also used in a negative connotation; the keyboard and Mr Puzzles use their power to control Four.

The Eye of God is also known to be the 'Third Eye', which God uses to put judgment on the people. On a human face, our third eye would be in the middle of the forehead.

And where on Four exactly did Mr Puzzles take control of?

That's right, in his mind, near where the third eye would have been.

Now, onto the next one:

The Eye of Horus

In Egyptian mythology, there are two eyes, both from deities, that are considered sacred. One of them is the Eye of Horus from, you guessed it, the sky god Horus. His left eye, to be precise.

Symbol representations include: protection, wisdom, good well-being and health, re-establishment of order from chaos, and the moon.

The eye is used as a form of measurement for pigments and medicines. We'll get to that.

Two myths connect to this symbol:

In a fierce battle between Seth (the god of deserts, storms, disorder, violence, and foreigners) and Horus, Horus got his eyes ripped out. Thoth (the god of writing and secret knowledge) helps him restore them back to where they belong, becoming a symbol of life and restoration.

The eye itself can be divided into 6 pieces, each one representing the six senses (smell, sight, thought, hearing, taste, and touch) and a specific numerical fraction. Think of it as a measuring spoon. But if you put the pieces together, the fractions don't add up to a whole. Some suspect that it was because of the magic Thoth used to restore the eye. Some say it represents the fact that perfection isn't possible.

Perfection isn't possible, that is exactly what was said in IGBP. I went frame and frame to see if this eye was flipped in any way (due to it being a texture pattern). But, nope, it stayed exactly this way. This will come back in some way in PV2, especially if the whole "the goop is still inside him" theory comes true.

PREDICTION: by the end of Puzzlevision 2, something will change about Four’s left eye (heterochromia, blind, etc.)

Still don't think it is relevant? I present to you this frame:

His left eye is within the corruption of the goop.

To the fans who had this as a headcanon, congrats on predicting this somehow!

Now, let's not mistake the Eye of Horus for the other important eye:

The Eye of Ra

While the two eyes are similar, the Eye of Ra, the right eye, is different in terms of appearance and purposes.

Symbol representations include: power, violence, fury, and the sun.

The eye is the embodiment of his daughter, Sekhmet.

Pharaohs would adorn them as amulets as a form of protection against their enemies, usually painted with a dark red. It must be handled with care because its power can easily get out of control.

Similarly to God's Third Eye, the Eye also obtains information from what it sees.

A little fact about this god: Ra places a solar disk on the top of his crown aka his head.

Again, there is a myth linked to this:

Ra was becoming old and weak, making him vulnerable. That made the people of his kingdom disrespect him, they ignored his laws and instructions. They basically made fun of him. Furious, he set his daughter (Sekhmet) to punish anyone who did this. The lion's eye, Sekhmet, went on a rampage, her roars so powerful that they conjured diseases. This killed millions of people. When Ra saw the devastation she caused, he tried to call her back to his side. She ignored him and continued on. Blood-thirsty, literally. Without a choice, he tricked her into getting drunk by using a mix of beer and pomegranate juice. She passed out for a few days and afterward, she calmed down. It wasn't all bad as the priests who worshipped her were able to create new medicines. Without her, there wouldn't be medical advancements, naming her the goddess of medicine.

What does this have to do with the SMG4 show?

Narrative foils are a constant in the show, especially in arcs. Two sides, complete opposites, are more similar than they ever realize.

Three versus Four in IGBP

Meggy versus Wren in Western Spaghetti

Four and Three versus Mario and Marty in WOTFI 2023

and of course, Four's crew versus Mr Puzzles

Then, who would be the Eye of Ra to Four's Eye of Horus?

It's Mr Puzzles.

Mr Puzzles and Four are indeed different but they are also really similar with one thing: they want to keep their audience happy. What makes them different is that Mr Puzzles sets himself is high standard for the sake of being popular while Four does it for the sake of his audience.

Just as Ra places his solar disk, Mr Puzzles got rid of his head and placed a TV, a luminous object, in its place. His obsession became his identity.

From the Meme Factory arc, Mr Puzzles swore revenge on the SMG4 crew after they disrespected him. That he seemed like a laughing stock.

But we haven't seen the Eye of Ra anywhere in the show. Unlike Four, Mr Puzzles doesn't face a humanoid face anymore. How could he have the Eye when his face is just pixelated screen?

Actually, he does and we saw it ourselves.

I present to you this from the Puzzlevision arc:

In the most human we have seen of him, we can see his right eye. Not only that, it's almond-shaped, the same shape as the Eye.

That is why one of my predictions was that we might see his 'true self'.

Am I reading too much into this? Yes. But if they were able to put the name "SMG4" into the castle door frame design, I would think twice about these design choices. This fits just perfectly right.

THINGS I WOULD LIKE TO SEE IN PV2:

Signs of Controlled!4

If the whole “he still had the demonic goop inside of him” is true, then Four’s pink scars might return.

Even better, I want to see Four already having scars from the incident, hidden under his glove and sleeve.

If not scars, then they could show his change through his wardrobe. I mean look at them:

All Four needed was some suspenders, a hat, add in a puzzle piece pattern, and they're basically twinning. Give my guy a new outfit, please!!! Hell, give him a mask even!

Meggy talks to Mr Puzzles

She confronts him for the last time, telling him that she understands where Mr Puzzles is coming from but it should give him an excuse to do what he did. What he did was unforgivable and Mr Puzzles will have to see that.

Three’s Part of the Crew

Three tells the Crew that they are his friends. Probably it slipped out or he did it on purpose. Either way, he meant it.

Three would confirm to Four that they’re friends. As much as it was Three denies it or acts very tsundre about it, he meant what he said in the pit back in IGBP.

BONUS: Three promises Controlled?4 that he would take them home. (She-Ra moment OMG!)

Mr Puzzles’ True Form Prediction

With the power he has left, he’s going all out, revealing his body mingled with wires and pieces of metal.

Cosmology Lore Returns

Before the battle, the Crew would have to gear up. Three might return to the Meme Factory to get as many memes as possibly could, using the Meme PokéBalls. He urges Eggdog to stay home.

At the battle and Four is saved from possession, Three and Four use their meme guardian powers to defeat Mr Puzzles. Add in the WOTFI 2020 tracks and the crowd goes wild!

(For those who were in the Owl House fandom, it would be a 'GROM' moment!)

Reprise of the Song ‘Creative Control’

Originally, it was about how Mr Puzzles was willing to do anything to get 5 stars and his perfect show.

Reprise could be about the SMG4 crew fighting back against his control, accepting imperfection.

(sort of how real-life TV show executives put limits on the creative team on what is allowed in the final product.)

SMG4’s Left Eye Prediction

Using the meme powers and/or defeating Mr Puzzles affected Four’s eye.

Pink - a reference to his scars and pigments, matching his ‘S’ logo (also because he looks good in pink).

Blindness — due to his scars

Mario’s ‘Best Friend Award’ For SMG4

Mario wasn’t able to give his award on MAR10 day or after IGBP.

He has the chance to give it to Four here.

THINGS ARE DEFINITELY ARE NOT GOING TO HAPPEN, BUT COPIUM

SMG4’s Locket

We never got to see who was inside Four’s locket. Who was the person waiting for him back home?

They could bring it back and finally reveal what was inside Four’s locket.

X and FM Return (+ Redesigned Models)

To be fair, it’s their choice not to be back, but I would love the Meme Machine(TM) together again.

The Boarded-Up Room & Upper Floors

Finally reveal whatever the hell is that closed-off room in the SMG4 castle.

"...And... This...Well...I'm not sure what's behind this door."

"...uh we don't talk about that room."

[SMG4: The New Castle]

Hey, Four, now is a good time to show it off. C'mon, I wanna see!

.・-: ✧ :--: ✧ :-・.

And that is my "Puzzlevision 2: Now Airing" theory and predictions. Undoubtedly, a sequel to Puzzlevision is going to happen. But as to what it is about? We would just have to wait and see if the power of love would be perceived once again. An arc starting from a betrayal.

"…And it's time for… everyone to suffer like I have! At the hands… of the one thing YOU love the MOST.”

The game is afoot and with that, my dear fellows, we shall see in the next upcoming episode. But, in the meantime, that’s just a theory…

AN SMG4 THEORY

🎶Thanks for dropping by🎶

#smg4 #smg4 theory #smg4 mr puzzles #smg4 puzzlevision #smg3 x smg4 #smg34 #< implied #puzzlevision 2 #once upon a perfect smg4 #wotfi 2024 predictions #THE LOREEEEEEE #please give my boy a cool new outfit PLEASEEEE

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fumifooms · 9 months

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Marchil crumbs part 5

Part 1 - Part 2 - part 3 - part 4 - part 6 - part 7

The anime has come and since I have my shipping goggles on I am going to notice so much. This part will be less spoilery for anime onlys (tho if you want to see me talk about why I ship them and why they’re complementary this is not a good part to start with haha). Edit: After completing this part I can confirm it’s fully anime-onlys friendly and spoiler-free! For manga veterans though there are still some fun tidbits to be found, some recontextualisations and new extra content.

Holy shit guys they’re mirroring each other in the mural and reaching out to each other AND looking towards each other?!!!! Their pose is so striking and like perfectly align?! Which means it was so intentional and the staff wanted to highlight them (for an aesthetic and/or narrative purpose I’m sure but it happened)! I will never let this go we won so fucking hard let’s goooooo we are so back

Character foils!! Dynamic duo!!

Soulmates!!

In the opening at 1:16 he looks at her to see if she’s really going to it as the most critical of monster food & muster up courage to dig into it himself lmao… "Marcille doesn’t look too grossed out, she’s picky so this food must be fine then" Aka treating her as a poison taster/good cuisine judge lmao

Doodle from the animation director (source). I should translate it but I’m procrastinating on it so uh director’s brotp? Anyways they hanging out look at them :]

Laios is thinking to himself there (he’s the one saying the subs), and in the meantime Marcille and Chilchuck talk, likely figuring out the money situation. Strategizing duo back at it again not wasting a second

In the beginning of ep 1, when Marcille is rambling about where they could go to get food and what to grab, Chilchuck listens with a big smile & even closes his eyes as they walk. The implication is that he’s thinking about food, but man the scene hits different now that it’s voiced and I remember that indeed Chilchuck is closing his eyes to her voice and enjoying hearing her talk and ramble. I may be too far gone into the marchil pit

I feel like already they’ve come far from when Chilchuck dreaded being alone with Shuro and Marcille, waiting for the Toudens and Namari to arrive.

Ok this might actually be smth I’m gonna complain about but I feel like blushes have been drawn too vividly so far. Why does Chilchuck look like he’s confessing when he tells her she’s not a burden and he didn’t mean to make her feel that way. It almost comes across as "Woah she cares what I think?" 💀 The banter ensuing is of course also great

Ep 2 was an episode centered on them both that had the "Magic/Traps are my domain, don’t interfere!" parallel… And now with ep 3 we’re back to them being haters together. That’s her emotional support man

In ep 4, it doesn’t show well with a screenshot but when Senshi talks about his unmanned vegetable stand with a treasure chest, while in the manga Marcille and Chilchuck both think the same thing, "That’s why that treasure chest akways had money in it…", but in the anime instead they literally finish each other’s thought. Talk about being on the same wavelength.

Ep 5 is a marchil goldmine actually, it showcases perfectly how much of a package deal they are lol. Always sticking close to each other. Glancing at each other during meals… They literally nod at each other before they try a bite to steel themselves. They exchange a serious thoughtful glance when Laios talks about Falin truly being gone atm. They argue a bit but they go right back to sitting right next to each other after the meal <3 My god I can’t deal with them they are so…… "Hate this bitch, not my friend" 3 secs later "Heyy bestie!!" Also he’s worried he brought her mood down after mentioning Falin. Made a post about ep 5 collecting even more screenshots.

Episode 6 my hero my beloved… Again I made a post about the ep collecting all my screenshots here, and even a clip! But this IS the marchil crumbs masterpost thus I must collect the major ones here as well. First of all, fun staff drawings for the first screening!

I already posted a screenshot from the trailer of when Chil had his head on his knees sitting next to her, but after seeing episode 5 I think it’s a fun and interesting trend to notice that they sit next to each other way unnecessarily close wow. They continue to banter a ton, she continues to be very casual with touch, and they’re really cute! I love just how much Marcille blushed damn- It’s really cute too when you remember with the bicorn chapter that Chilchuck teases Marcille BECAUSE he enjoys getting a rise out of her, flustering her and seeing her reactions. I support the teasing -> laughing because her reaction is over the top all-Chilchuck economy. Also she apologizes for having let him go alone and be gone for so long by helping him with sewing his cowl… Cuties

She looked so happy when he opened up about his age!… And then seemed… Disappointed? When he "truly was just a kid". "So you really are a kid! How boring…" This implies that her intent was to tease him for funsies… Ok lads we reached 30 pics see you next post, I’m gonna cover the "wake up clumsy head" manga-anime differences and we’re gonna go back to our usual spoilers yummy schedule.

Here’s Marcille cosplaying as a succubus in the newest Daydream Hour… She may not be a half-foot or have deep-set eyes but let’s be real I think he’d explode

part 6 here!!

#Dungeon meshi #dungeon meshi anime #marchil #Chilchuck tims #marcille donato #ppl in the server don’t agree with me that the mural mirroring is huge… I am alone on this barren earth #/lh #This is one day after I said I had no more marchil crumbs. Yesterday me was a blind fool #This part is only halfway done I’ll edit in more stuff as we go and I find more crumbs #Bros… Broskis I’m losing my mind #The mural……..#Idk if I wanna go there but this might be my favorite/the biggest marchil crumb. Holy shitttttt #For legal reasons /j disclaimer that yes yes I’m sure the staff’s intent wasn’t shippy like I said #But also I think it kinda undeniably ties them together in some way. Shows a bond either from a meta a narrative or an interpersonal #Standpoint. Their pose align and mirror perfectly but beyond them and Laios & Falin that can’t truly be said with anyone else. WHAT DOES IT #MEAAAN. It’s probably just bc it’s a nice composition 😔 But it happened and that means marchil nation is feasting today #Anyways I like my ship crumbs post to flow nicely from one point to another like a web but for this one i’mma be putting them in the order #That they come at since I don’t have them all on hand from the start

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lyledebeast · 3 months

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The Duality of Martin

Over the years, let's not dwell on how many, I've found that a lot of people's problems with The Patriot lie with its main character, and most of those lie with his inconsistency. Benjamin Martin doesn't support the war, but then changes his mind when the very things he predicted come to pass. He loves his children, but he abandons them multiple times. He's a devout Christian who spends most of the film's plot pursuing vengeance. He has and eats his cake like a certain queen of France, but without facing similar consequences, of course. All this contributes to a character who is meant to be complex but is instead incredibly frustrating to watch. So, this rewatch, I wanted to think about how he might actually be made interesting.

Commentors I have much respect for have suggested that just acknowledging that Martin is not a paragon of moral virtue would go a long way. I agree, but I think acknowledging that there are two different Martins would go further. There is one man who is genuinely concerned for his family and wants to keep them from harm, and it is this same Martin who plans to return to his children after burying Gabriel. It's possibly even the same Martin who declares that his men will, henceforth, spare any wounded or surrendering British soldiers while nearly standing on a pile of dead ones. Then there's the other guy, the one who arms his children and takes them to a massacre where they collectively kill twenty men, punctuated by him hacking a fleeing soldier into mincemeat. It's not just that Martin has a temper when provoked, because the same Martin who does this, who ordered the atrocities at Fort Wilderness, also believes what he does is justifiable.

While watching over Gabriel's corpse, Martin asks, "Why do men think they can justify death?" Well, Benjamin, let's rewind to just about twenty minutes or so earlier when you said, "As long as your officers target civilians, I will order the shooting of officers at the start of every engagement." I mean . . . if you don't know . . .

Wouldn't it be so much better if the violence, and the justification for it, belonged to one part of Martin's psyche and the awareness of guilt and consequences belonged to the other, and the central conflict of this film was between these two parts? It would mean giving up Colonel Tavington as an antagonist, which would be a wildly different film, but just hear me out. If Martin's main conflict was internal, there would be opportunity for genuine reflection and change. Martin could actually deal with his past instead of just shutting it up in a trunk and hoping everyone forgets about it.

The story we have spends about a quarter of its screentime setting Martin up as this humble, peace-loving father, but that characterization is quickly overshadowed by the violent, sanctimonious one and only trotted out when needed to do damage control for the second characterization's antics. Instead of actually giving Martin complexity, the narrative relies on Tavington as a foil to show what a bad war criminal looks like. That this contrast minimizes Martin's atrocities is probably unavoidable.

Martin's choice of violence in this film is, initially, a response to British violence. I'm not saying the British wouldn't commit atrocities in the version I imagine, but that could be accomplished without a British main antagonist. Let's say a British officer does order Gabriel executed, burn the Martin home, and murder the Continental soldiers and Thomas. But then we never see that officer again. Let's say Martin and his sons carry out the massacre in the woods, but rather than having Martin say "I have done nothing, and of that I am ashamed" after he's done . . . THAT, let's make THAT a relapse he deeply regrets. Let's have him endure the fear in his children's eyes for more than just one (1) night. Let's have Martin. not Gabriel, be the one to flip out over his men shooting surrendering British soldiers. Martin claiming to be traumatized by his own actions at Fort Wilderness nearly twenty years ago would carry a lot more weight if he hadn't committed similarly extreme acts just months prior that are never referenced again. Let's acknowledge the horror of Martin's violent actions and let his better nature prevail.

I'm not saying this would be a better movie than Roland Emmerich's The Patriot (2000), but I could sympathize with this version of Martin far more than the one who gets to enjoy all the benefits of violence without facing any of the consequences (at least not himself). This has been an intellectual exercise. Obviously. the version with Tavington is more enjoyable because . . . Tavington!

#the patriot rewatch 2024 #benjamin martin #mel gibson #roland emmerich

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lotus-tower · 8 months

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okay so. i've always thought it was obvious that yoshiwara in flames arc's main relevance to gintama's overall narrative is as the prelude to rakuyou. like it's not thematically very interesting on its own, right? but it exists mainly for kagura and kamui's sake, establishing the sort of parallelism that gintama lives off of. it isn't really that connected to the red spider arc even though at first it might seem to be.

but i had no idea about the meaning of the name "rakuyou" until i saw @suchira 's post about it earlier today. and before that i also hadn't thought about utsuro's connection to the sun, which they've also talked about.

given everything that happens in rakuyou, this has expanded my thoughts quite a bit! i'm going be thinking through this as i go, so this is going to be me rambling.

housen is one of the few big arc villains who don't feel related to gintoki. jirocho, jiraia, oboro, takasugi--these kinds are obviously meant to be foils to gintoki. isaburo functions differently as a character, but even he gets directly compared to gintoki by nobume. but housen isn't really there for gintoki--he's there for kamui. he isn't a particularly interesting character, nor is his death very satisfying because of the wishywashy writing about hinowa showing kindness to him at the end. previously i'd thought that his thing with the sun was just a weaker example of craving something that would destroy you, and/or running away from one's weaknesses and vulnerabilities to the point that you become a sort of husk.

that's probably still a thing, but the introduction of the sun motif on the much more meaning-dense end of gintama adds so much more. because now the pre-existing thematic framework of gintama can do the heavy lifting for housen (who is, again, a pretty uninteresting character), hinowa (who is cool, but suffers from both Woman and Mom in shounen), and tsukuyo (who is very cool, but suffers egregiously from Woman in shounen).

so what is housen, really? he's the guy kamui chose to go with when making his very bad life decisions, the end result of the path he decided to pursue. for simplicity let's call him kamui bad end, though they aren't very comparable in canon itself because housen doesn't come across as nearly self-destructive enough. but the basic logic is that housen is one of those characters who gave up everything in single-minded pursuit of power--he's a flat character because he already "emptied himself out", as kamui says, before the series started. (but then he got scared and lonely, and all that.)

what's funny is that if housen is a bad end, then the guy who he considers his rival automatically comes to mind as an opposed route. i think it would be a serious stretch to call umibouzu the "good end" for kamui, and that's definitely part of the point in how the yato are written. but in any case, kamui clearly looked both ways (insert roads leading to two castles meme) and saw housen stereotypical villain bad end on one side, and his dad on the other. so obviously he chose housen.

rakuyou is a planet where it's always overcast. you could say that kamui chose to leave that "safety" in order to pursue something that shone much brighter to him, even if it would disintegrate him in the end. or, since rakuyou's name invokes the sun, you could say that he chose to flee the place of his weakness and pain, where his family was, like housen deciding to flee the sun and build an underground paradise.

when i go over my gintama cast tarot assignments, i always hesitate over hinowa. is she the Sun? or the Empress? how can i choose? and i think this is essentially the same conundrum. and i think the fact that she's both (thankfully, actual gintama storytelling isn't restricted to 1 character = 1 arcana) also provides us with the best answer here. hinowa is the object of yearning of both housen (as the sun) and of seita (as a mother). obviously, as i said before, the whole seita-hinowa thing is meant to lay the groundwork for kamui's motivations, and is also why he's introduced in this arc in the particular way that he is. but kamui is both seita and housen. he's the child yearning for his mother, but also the warlord who fears the sun so much he'll lock not only himself but countless others into the dark forever. but housen also desperately longed for the sun. kamui looks down on seita for being weak, and he looks down on housen for choosing to drown himself in vices at the end of his life. in the end, he doesn't kill either one of them.

if the sun is what kamui yearns for, he wants to leave rainy "rakuyou" behind--and/or he misses his home, his childhood, his family, even if these things feel like they will destroy him. or, if the sun is what kamui seeks to avoid, he wants to turn away from "rakuyou", all the things that hold him down so that he can throw himself into single-minded pursuit of self-destruction--and/or he's afraid of the weakness and pain that the sun inflicts on him, and desires to be strong enough that he won't feel them. see, a whole lot of words to say the same thing over and over.

i've always assigned housen the Emperor arcana. and i've often wondered, should it be umibouzu instead? should it be utsuro? and that, i think, is another illumination. thank you tarot for being an icon. it's so effective here because gintama is predictably built on parallels, and overlapping arcana assignments are bound to make you think: why?

in the end, housen builds a city underground in order to avoid the sun, but he also severs hinowa's ankles so that he can hold her, the sun proxy, captive in his grasp. he can't bear to feel sunlight, but he can't bear to let it go either. kamui is much the same, but he's young--he thinks he can let it go, his fears and regrets haven't caught up to him yet, because he still has so much to reach for. housen attained the peak of his strength and notoriety, and then there was little left for him.

what else happens in rakuyou? well, oboro and takasugi fight. oboro is sort of a seita figure in his own right, if seita had burned down yoshiwara in hopes that it would drive hinowa running to him. of course, seita didn't know that hinowa couldn't run; and oboro didn't know that shouyou couldn't, either.

but aside from seita and housen, there's another character in yoshiwara who yearns for the sun--not to possess it, but to protect it, to serve it. tsukuyo is an interesting character heavily let down by the realities of living in shounen jump. from my own understanding of sorachi's character, i don't think the following was intentional on his part. but i do think there are real reasons why these parallels are textually present (mainly through gintoki).

tsukuyo is the closest oboro has in this series to someone similar to him. not in the sense of a reflection in the mirror or hole-sided adjacency, but as in someone who sort of has a similar job and background to him. or had, anyway. as i implied earlier, the few, specific, clearly intentional similarities she has with gintoki (hello red spider) bleed over into her similarities with oboro, of course, because gintoki and oboro are... you know. just look at them.

tsukuyo swore herself to hinowa, but technically she was working under housen. she led housen's paramilitary force--fortunately, the hyakka loved her a lot more than the naraku were probably ever able to have an opinion about oboro. i don't think tsukuyo and oboro would ever get along--but they did have the same job. oboro did it in the heavens, tsukuyo did it underground. anyway, hinowa "saved" tsukuyo by teaching her about fighting from inside one's cage, and so tsukuyo gladly walked into the cage, just like oboro returning to the naraku without shouyou. because they thought it would be worth it. and also because tsukuyo had been groomed from a young age for the Hole (apologies to those who haven't read my ouroboros essay), to give up on her selfhood, and also to kill her sensei (hello gintoki). but hinowa remained around, unlike shouyou. tsukuyo never thought she could really free her--but protecting her, being able to see her, was enough.

oboro's life problem is a bit like if hinowa and housen were the same person. but kamui would see in that pairing only a reflection of his parents. and also, kouka is a bit like if hinowa and utsuro were the same person. but utsuro is already like if shouyou and utsuro were the same person--because oboro's actual life problem is that shouyou and utsuro are the same person.

i've spoken a lot about tarot, but the moon in gintama has little to do with the Moon arcana. in gintama it's the backdrop, the symbol of promises--promises made, promises fulfilled, promises held on to dearly whether they can be fulfilled or not. i don't truly think that the sun as represented by hinowa interacts directly with this. but tsukuyo and oboro share moon-related names, and their promises (or rather, their vows of devotion) towards hinowa/shouyou are one-sided. one-sided promises aren't a problem in gintama--our silver-haired protagonist wouldn't be alive if it weren't for them.

if the naraku, if utsuro, if oboro under utsuro is associated with the sun through the yatagarasu, perhaps it's because of the evaporation of the promise through the eclipsing of the moon. shouka sonjuku, after all, burned down, and utsuro emerged from a pyre. and though i think that the sun is overall a motif much more strongly associated with the yato--that which they avoid, are weak to, and secretly long for--i don't think that's incompatible with the crow-meaning.

rabbits can die of loneliness, you know--or they can die from overheating in the sun. i think the question here is, is this a trick question? are those two the same thing?

#i love starting a post with no idea of what my conclusions will be. thoughts can only be sharpened through writing #gintama #kamui #tsukuyo #oboro

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c-is-for-circinate · 1 year

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I would love to hear more mike wheeler - Steve Harrington masculinity thoughts (also whatever happened to Hopper to make him action guy my beloathed)! Also will we get a mike chapter for and they were married?

Okay yes! I am fascinated by Mike and Steve as narrative contrasts, and I always find myself looking for fic where the two of them meaningfully interact, and I keep meaning to write about them.

(Also: Mike deserves his own chapter of that fic, but he's getting folded into Dustin's. What Mike really deserves is his own fic that takes place in that universe, because I know what his deal is there and it's a doozy, but that is a very different post.)

Anyway! For starters, I don't think that Steve and Mike are intentionally meant to be foils. There's an element of it in the first season, where Steve exists to support Nancy's character, and Nancy and Mike are meant to be foils -- Steve is the Popular Kid, the antithesis of Mike and his friends' little group of nerds, he and Tommy and Carol are written into the same category as Troy but older and less actively murderous, and the fact that Nancy's dating him says things about her -- but they end up occupying oddly similar spaces and cool parallels come out of that anyway.

A core thing about it is that Steve and Mike are both the guy in their respective age group casts on the show. The Guy. The central one, the normal one, the presumed-to-be-straight one -- and yes, this is fandom and we have Opinions about that, but the Duffer brothers think they're both straight, and that matters here. They're white, they're able-bodied, they have money. They are, in a sense, normal.

Narratively, they very often act as central/POV character for scenes they're in, at least once Steve gets past the fistfight in S1 and awakens to the fact that he's a person who can make decisions. And that makes sense, because being The Guy also means they're the closest to the classic TV protagonist archetype, the guy who does the hero shit and gets the girl in the end. Hopper is also The Guy, and always has been: in S1 it's just him and Joyce, but even as we add more adults, the only real challenge to his The Guy status is Bob (which is of course why Bob had to die). Murray is a bizarre conspiracy nut, and queer-coded besides that. Owens is an affable bad guy. Alexei and Dmitri and Yuri are all Russian.

Being The Guy comes with a certain amount of baggage. All three of them have to be romantic leads, and have to be crossed in love about it. All three of them are protectors in one way or another. And all three of them are on occasion assholes who have one hell of a time with sincerity and affection.

And this is where we get into Toxic Masculinity, because again, while I don't think the Duffers intended a pile of parallels between these three guys, well. Firstly, The Guy as an archetype is built on a pile of toxic masculine stereotypes, so that's often there to begin with. Secondly, it's the same writers, so certain themes rhyme whether they're intended to or not.

In particular, one of the core tenets of toxic masculinity, not just in ST but as a thing in the world, is when and where it's acceptable to experience soft emotions of affection, care, and vulnerability. The first rule of toxic masculinity is don't. The second rule, the caveat rule, is a little asterisk saying 'except, occasionally, with a female romantic partner, if you absolutely must.'

And so we actually see a lot of unfolding of this in Steve! One thing we know about Steve, without precisely being told, is that he's deeply lonely -- for a popular kid he sure seems to only have two Actual Friends when the show starts and they hardly seem to even like each other. He has a new Favorite Person every season, and he clings to them with the joy of a devoted golden retriever. His mental image of happily-ever-after is a house full of kids with enough siblings to never get lonely, family vacations about close quarters and spending time together. We never see his parents. For all a lot of the 'horrible abuse' fanon is very much fanon, Steve is inarguably a lonely kid. And where do we see him reaching out for affection?

It's not Tommy and Carol, although until they break up he's constantly in their company unless he's alone with Nancy. They hardly even seem to like each other very much, and yet they've stayed at his empty house enough for Tommy to know about his mother's fireplace and Steve to insist he do laundry while he's here. No, the person who Steve is allowed to feel things with and for is Nancy, because she's the caveat, she's the exception. This is why Steve is consistently focused on getting Nancy back, getting a new girlfriend, getting a date. That's the rule!!!

The really fabulous thing about Steve's arc across the first three seasons, and even into S4, is that this quest for romantic affection and vulnerability is both thwarted and rewarded again and again. He tries to apologize to Nancy, to win her back: by the time he sees her again, Nancy's got a new boyfriend, but Steve has a new brother. Dustin is Steve's favorite person by the start of S3; he gets Steve's haircare secrets, he gets Steve's loyalty, he gets Steve's joy. In S3, Steve tries to pour his whole heart into a different girlfriend, and Robin turns him down flat while also simultaneously opening herself up with such vulnerability that they instantly become best friends. Robin is S4's Favorite Person, but the great thing about these relationships being platonic is that Steve gets to have more than one! He gets to have both Dustin and Robin in his life! He gets the other kids as part of the package! Bit by bit, instead of a girlfriend who Steve is "allowed" to be soft with, Steve gains actual friends who he gets to be real with whether it's allowed or not.

And the really tragic thing about Mike Wheeler is that he's doing the opposite. Mike starts out with three friends, three best friends, absolutely devoted to one another. As kids, they're young enough to be free of most of the stranglehold of toxic masculinity yet, although of course it's starting. And then there's El.

Mike charts a really interesting course over four seasons, and the shape of it is not a straight trajectory from 'Mike adores and is BFF with Will' to 'Mike thinks only about El.' Hell, from what we see of S1, the Party are all best friends pretty equally before Will goes missing -- Lucas is the one ready to break into a government lab for him, not Mike. Mike's trajectory is far more 'I derive the bulk of my personal self-worth from protecting other people, and as soon as somebody needs to be saved I go fully into Paladin Mode, making me feel worthwhile and important." It just so happens that the two people in Mike's field of vision who most generally need protection and saving are Will and El. Which leads to Mike's intense Will-focused devotion in S2 (El is gone but Will is also in really significant need, and Mike just straight-up activates, jumping immediately into solicitously taking care of his friend because Something Needs Doing And I Can Do It). And Mike's intense El-focused devotion in S4, where El needs a literal quest to come and rescue her. And just a lot of Mike in general.

The problem with all of that is the part where, unlike Steve who keeps forging new platonic relationships, Mike keeps neglecting his more and more. The S3 Will fight is so good at illustrating that, because look -- we all know Will has a crush on Mike, but at no point during that fight does Will ask, even subtextually, for romantic attention. He's asking for platonic attention, which Mike is absolutely failing to give. "Where's Dustin right now? You don't know, and you don't even care." But as Mike says, they're not kids any more -- and this is how growing up is supposed to work!

(Note: I don't want to say that it's toxic for Mike to be in love with El, or really caught up in that relationship -- he's fourteen! she's his first girlfriend! he thought she was dead! But Mike's an asshole in S3 because he's caught up enough to not notice his friend's feelings until they explode at him, and yeah, I do think part of that is because he knows he's Not Supposed To.)

S4 is a lot, because here's where we're really seeing the culmination of a lot of what Mike's been unfortunately moving towards. We've hit a point where those vulnerable feelings that Mike's allowed to share, at most, with his girlfriend, feel like too much to even share with his girlfriend. He can't say 'I love you'. He can't even talk to Will. The conversation he does have with Will is honestly mostly about Mike and his feelings of inadequacy, of not measuring up, not being special, but it has to be couched in the context of El. If there's a reverse-Bechdel test to be done on S4, past the very first episode I'm pretty sure Mike fails it -- I don't think he has a single conversation that isn't about his girlfriend in one capacity or another.

In contrast, S4 Steve is, yes, pretty focused on girls-in-general and Nancy-in-specific, and yeah, there's a little bit of backsliding going on there. But he's also having conversations with Robin about her fears and longings, having weird little interludes where Eddie's the one bringing up Nancy rather than Steve himself. He's hurt at the end when Nancy is clearly still with Jonathan, but he's able to move on, to go fold clothes and care about Robin's love life instead of his own -- his optimistic happy ending in S4 is that his best friend is going to get the girl, not him.

I think there's a lot more to say, which I only brushed on briefly here, about other aspects of Mike and Steve that work in parallel or contrast -- their protector thing, which feels very intrinsic but shows up very differently in both of them, the way Steve says 'I love you' so easily and Mike has trouble saying it at all, the way they are both very much extremely normal guys, at least on paper. There's so much to say. I think that has to be a different post.

I will say, in terms of Hopper: Jim Hopper is what it looks like when those pent-up feelings that you aren't allowed to express to anybody other than a romantic partner sit and fester for decades. Fuck, there were things about Vietnam he didn't even tell his wife, that sat like poison both emotional and biological between them. When we meet him in S1, he's processing grief with drugs and drinking and processing fear with rage. He has spent so much of the past four seasons processing fear as rage.

Of course Joyce is the one person he's allowed to, sometimes, on occasion, be soft with. Of course nearly his every interaction with Mike is macho dominance posturing. Of course the entire trajectory of his relationship with El is a push-pull of Hopper retreating into authoritarianism and anger instead of the terror of honesty, and then getting to see the consequences of that when his daughter pulls away. Every season has broken him down a little more that way, but then the yo-yo pulls back (Season 3 whyyyyyyyyy). By Season 4, he's been beaten and starved and frozen and shattered enough that we get maybe the most honest monologue of his life, to a Russian prison guard, because they're about to die so what do the rules matter any more. It's a clear window into an endless pit of self-loathing, because for twenty or thirty years Hopper's been letting those feelings eat in instead of out, and bit by bit they've been devouring him.

El is hope, for him, and Joyce is hope, and the cracks that broke open in Kamchatka to maybe let in a little more air that might not seal right back up again are hope. But it's hard. It's hard! It makes him an absolute asshole, including and especially towards the people he wants most to protect. (And there's that protector thing again.)

Anyway, I am on the record as liking Steve a lot and having very little patience for Mike and Hopper, but like. They're not that different, at their core. They just put the pieces together in a different order.

#stranger things #driveby meta attack #asked and answered #shit this is really making me want to write those D&D class breakdowns I keep promising #maybe I'll get to one or two of those this weekend #mike wheeler #steve harrington #jim hopper #at least a bit

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