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the insane experience of missing a fictional character . like you can always go back and reread the book , replay the game , rewatch the show or movie , you can always go back & see them , but you can never experience them & their story for the first time again . its absurd to miss them because they'll always be there , but you'll miss when there were still new things for them to say .

for a small time they were real & growing and changing and you hung onto every new word, but now all they can do is repeat the same story forever&ever & they're not real anymore because you know everything they're going to do. & you miss them. its fucked man...

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Fwend

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You're definitely not alone @mage-ical-character-person, I actually really enjoyed the mini arc too, even if some parts of the writing were a bit messy. I always appreciate seeing new sides to characters, and it was clear from the moment Mr. Puzzles returned that he was winging it, and not doing a great job. As you pointed out, his “genius” idea was giving the crew the ability to think again at all. Sure, it technically worked in his favor, but letting Mario run around freely was a huge mistake (not that controlling him was possible; that’s chaos he can’t get a handle on). He’s never been a perfectly put-together villain when taking direct action; his best plans were always the ones where he stayed in the background.

That said, at no point during the arc did I feel like it wasn’t Mr. Puzzles. Even while brainwashing the crew, he was still his usual goofy self, he was just in control, which made his behavior feel more dangerous. We saw what he was like when everything was in his control, minus the audience (and Mario) that, of course, he couldn't please enough, no matter what. His eccentricity becomes threatening when the stakes are high, and that's what makes him unsettling in earlier appearances.

But once that threat is removed, when the cast and audience treat him as someone desperate for attention rather than as a villain, the tone shifts. The narrative signals: he's not dangerous anymore. And technically, that’s true. The factory was all an act, a ploy by Four. (I do wish we’d gotten more glimpses of what Four was setting up behind the scenes. When did he decide to preemptively act?)

So now, when Mr. Puzzles acts in a goofy way, it just seems pathetic and sad, watching him skulk around doing a silly ‘villain walk’ and the like. And that’s kind of the point. The whole mini arc makes a fool of him, humiliates him. Every episode since his defeat chipped away at his image: the big, shadowy villain who traumatized SMG4 and gave a simulation to Wren is now stumbling and falling, and we, and the characters, get the satisfaction of watching. Let him struggle, let him also come to realize then that he actually, in fact, does need friends.

The arc actually sets him up really well to explore themes of friendship. Because if his entire identity was formed through loneliness, no matter how ok he acts with the whole ‘no friends’ routine, this was a part of his character that needed to be expanded on. This did just that.

His connection with Leggy was shockingly wholesome at the time, and it worked precisely because the tone wasn’t overly serious. It let his vulnerability shine in a way that felt natural, not forced. It reawakened something in him: the desire for companionship. Even before he realized how horrible in reality the brain rot channel was, he wasn’t satisfied as soon as he remembered there was no one there to listen. There was no one to share success with. Without Leggy, that part of him might’ve stayed buried. Now, his themes seems to be shifting away from TV horror (for now) and back toward the original loneliness and need for connection pretty bluntly stated in Creative Control. And that could tie directly into whatever dynamic he ends up having with Mr. WPNZ.

The mini arc probably could’ve been written more tightly. But for me, Mr. Puzzles never felt like a completely different character, it was just the context that changed. He balances comedy and horror so well, and that contrast makes the return to menace in Mr. Puzzles' Clubhouse even more chilling. Everyone (even the crew) let their guard down (they should’ve never walked into the theme park even if chasing after Mario, they underestimated what he could do). His last big schemes were stealing a mustache and making a brain rot YouTube channel, so the “switch” wasn’t the writing reverting, but him reaching that breaking point and being handed an opportunity on a silver platter where he could plot and have control again.

Mr. Puzzles fits perfectly in that space between silly and scary. Honestly, a fully serious, always-terrifying recurring villain wouldn’t fit SMG4’s tone. One-offs can pull that off, but Mr. Puzzles isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, so the comparison to SMG3’s former role feels accurate. And I must agree with you too, that his being a bit silly and pathetic actually does help him feel more like SMG4 for their parallels, no /hj needed. : )

And Four being able to make something taking advantage of Mr. Puzzles' need for attention and face from grace... his cleverness should be acknowledged more (I wonder if SMG3 was so proud of how devious the plan was). I still have questions about his treatment of Leggy, though… and how long SMG3, Luigi, and Bob were in on the whole plan. Mr. Puzzles couldn’t see what was happening inside the factory, right? So who was the whole “Willy Wonka” bit even for?

But that’s a discussion for another day.

Been thinking about Mr. Puzzles character arc. And how people didn't like how he was developed after the Puzzlevision movie. Mainly during the Memewave arc. (I'm personally a bit iffy about that arc. But I did enjoy the Puzzles and Leggy dynamic. I'm just a fan of characters being fleshed out in general. However thats a talk for another day.)

I don't think anyone ever considers the fact that Puzzles fits into the "how the mighty have fallen" trope. There was a reason why he seemed so "pathetic" after the movie. Puzzles had quite literally had lost all his power. He no longer had his audience. No ratings to give him power. Had lost his complete control over everything. Puzzles had fallen from grace, and he fell hard.

Could it have been executed a bit better? Yes, definitely. They could have toned down the silly aspects. But I wouldn’t call it outlandish to see him flounder for a bit like that.

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hey guys have you ever heard of THE CHARACTER. i’m thinking about THE CHARACTER. honestly can’t even get shit done because i’m thinking about THE CHARACTER. i’m listening to a song and imagining THE CHARACTER. all i know and love is THE CHARACTER

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DAY 2&4 of Mr Puzzles Week!! Tv Colors and Stars (: (i'll prolly make another one for day 2 but i just wanna get back on track soon-)

Turns out color studies of Mika Pikazo and TVs do mix surprizingly well, hehe

do tell me if you like it! still kinda new to this style, lol

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„you look lonely…I can fix that 😼”

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Well, hey, he's finally got an assassin to fulfill this lovely dream.

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Even if working on this project for three whole months nearly made me wanna explode (in the non-silly way) I am so PROUD to finally present to you all the finished work of art!! There are so many facets of his character that I adore, along with the incredible talent of people who draw or write Puzzlevision fanworks. I wanted to take all that love (from myself + the wider community) and pour it into making an animation all about encapsulating Puzzles story! I love the angry pathetic tragic T.V dude very much and I’m very glad others feel the same :)

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sometimes I wonder why y'all are obsessed with specific characters and I'm like "why them" but then I remember that sometimes its literally not your choice you just look at them wrong and all of a sudden they're taking up your every thought forever

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Now, I'm curious.... there are people who don't like him as a character and thinks he's overrated. So, what's his reaction to that? Kinda the exact opposite of you're last drawing post! Sorry if this is a bit much.

Painfully obvious about it

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Before become a Tv head

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"The Past and Present"

I introduce to you my human Mr. Puzzles design!

I don't have too much context for this other than I have a headcanon that human Puzzles had manic episodes from time to time.

I imagine he was having one when he cut off his face and put a TV in its place.

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I'm a bit late of course but DAMN, memes were so funny xDDD

based on this ⬇️

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You can only reblog this today.

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This is just My delusion