milkywaydrinker

[milkywaydrinker]

just letting y'all know that me and @milkywaydrinker's oc betty exists in deadendia vol 3 and she's zagan's bff

#this is very surreal still even tho i knew it was happening for like a year now

[milkywaydrinker]

Due to Tumblr's CEO being a transphobic Zionist I'll be moving to co-host. I know I haven't been very active but if you'd like to see me post I'll be over here.

I'll be taking requests and suggestions for content as soon as my profile becomes active so come and join me.

I plan to start posting regular media analysis on topics both picked by me and voted on by you as well as fanfiction.

[milkywaydrinker]

Do you think Belos is not as complex as his fans makes him out to be?

I don’t think it’s a case of more or less complex, it’s that a lot of Belos stans mischaracterize him to the point they make him a different character.

The “Belos” a lot of Belos stans present is the guise he wears to manipulate others and himself, hiding his actual character and nature beneath.

Belos is one of my favorite villains, because he manages to be a truly reprehensible villain with no redemption in sight, while also having a lot of layers to his psychology. He’s a villain whose thought process/general psychology I find fascinating to think about, as I think it’s quite well-written and reflective of people like him in real life.

With a lot of people, there’s this perception that in order to be interesting, a villain has to be sympathetic or redeemable in some capacity.

This is an attitude that comes from the backlash against cartoonishly evil villains who just are evil for the sake of it, in simplistic morality stories about the good guys defeating the bad guys, with no real nuance. People are either born good or evil, and they fight.

That is an easy narrative that isn’t reflective of real life, so a common solution to this is to give villains sympathetic motives or backstory, and even redeem them. That avoids the “I’m doing evil things because I’m evil” type.

And this type of villain can absolutely work, it’s just not necessary for every story, or for a good villain. You can have a complex, layered villain whose psychology is fascinating to think about, without them actually being sympathetic in any way.

Belos doesn’t think “I’m doing evil things because I’m evil.” He justifies himself with a twisted line of thought built around his own selfishness, insecurities, immaturity, and possessiveness, as well as the Puritan ideology he embraced.

A lot of Belos stans erase what makes Belos, Belos. A big part of his character is that he warps reality in his own mind to suit his needs. That’s why his mindscape is literally layered, with the beautiful, heroic paintings at the start hiding the more true, ugly memories. He isn’t just lying to other people; he’s lying to himself. He’s so caught up in his own delusions and persecution complex, he’s lost sight of reality and starts to be confused by his own lies.

The show makes it clear how his view of the world, that he is an oppressed victim, is delusion. It shows Caleb embracing his brother warmly in the Boiling Isles, despite the terrifying aggression he displays. It shows people were friendly and trusting during the time period he arrived, and only lashed out at him once he began to kill and oppress, like the demons avenging their trusting brother Blue Fang. His child disguise used to manipulate Luz is shed to reveal the true sinister man underneath.

His misery is of his own making. He killed Caleb, he refused to change. Even after four hundred years, he refuses to do anything but whine about what witches and demons took from him, despite the fact he was always the aggressor.

Belos’s story is the story of a man driven by an extreme selfishness, a desire for coddling and protection, to have everything revolve around him and his needs, at the same time as he claims to want to purge the sins of others for being selfish and evil. A man who is so caught up in his layers of lies and manipulation, he himself loses sight of what he believes, and eventually descends into a crawling, whining monster, still screaming about humanity, while he changed himself into anything but.

It’s a pathetic end that is his own fault. He caused the events that took place, even though he insists on shunting the blame to others. It’s a fascinating exploration of this type of person, how they think, and the horrific impact they have on other people.

But Belos stans want to ignore all that in favor of believing the simple narrative he presents at face value - that he was a mistreated kid whose brother abandoned him to cruelty and persecution on the Boiling Isles. They take the story to be a simple “tragic orphan was wronged and now he’s bitter” instead of an exploration of the psychology of this kind of truly reprehensible human being, who absolutely does exist.

The thing they portray is fine for a character story, but it’s not Belos. It’s so blatantly missing the entire point of his character, that they might as well just create an oc.

We have to shed this idea that a complex villain means a sympathetic one. You can have a rich, layered character who has basically always been a piece of shit, and remains so. Sometimes those are the best villains out there, depending on the themes of the story.

So no, Belos isn’t less complex than they make him out to be. He’s just a different character entirely.

#also prev tags 100% correct #though i do feel like an aspect of fanon is one of exploring the understated bits of canon #caleb haunts the narrative through belos and i think thats the main point of appeal #its not a justification for sidelining main and equally if not more complex main poc characters of course #but its an explanation i find to be the most likely one

[milkywaydrinker]

Storyboard Samples by Oliver Hamilton

#dead end paranormal park #i miss this show so bad

[milkywaydrinker]

i know these have already been posted here but i just wanted to share the screenshots with the director's commentary bc i think its neat!!!

#ugh #those are all so good

[milkywaydrinker]

#dead end paranormal park #ough *minecraft damage sound*

[milkywaydrinker]

i see a convo w a character ai and i keep scrolling

#im sorry but this blog is anti AI i hate those generative models so bad #they will never substitute for real human interaction #even if you are socially awkward i promise you talking with fellow fans you will find someone to rp with

[milkywaydrinker]

i see a convo w a character ai and i keep scrolling

#im sorry but this blog is anti AI i hate those generative models so bad #they will never substitute for real human interaction #even if you are socially awkward i promise you talking with fellow fans you will find someone to rp with

[milkywaydrinker]

Miss drawing animals and furries, but don't want to stop drawing Hilda, so I present to you;

He,,,,

Didn't have any thoughts or ideas for anyone else though, just David for now akfnskd

#i love those so much you have no idea #1/4 wolfdog Hilda is a great idea

[milkywaydrinker]

a lack of foresight

#oh i love this #psychonaughts 2

[milkywaydrinker]

“homework should be done as late as possible on a sunday night in a state of desperation tinged with regret”

#the freaky friends #i love them so much you have no idea

[milkywaydrinker]

Having watched Amphibia and thought it over, I guess I can understand why some viewers interpret Marcy's arc as having unfortunate implications regarding her parents, even if I personally don't see her parents as abusive.

Judging by Braly's statements regarding Marcy's father, the job he took that required his family to move out of state was a big 'opportunity' for him. From the way Braly worded it, Mr. Wu took the job not out of necessity, but because he wanted to, which can easily come across as selfish and uncaring, especially since Marcy's house in L.A. already looked pretty well-off.

With that in mind, I can understand why some would object to Amphibia answering this situation with 'Well, things change and it's healthier to accept it, for good or ill, rather than fight it.' In response, some people are like 'Hold up, why are you just ignoring the way Marcy's dad is acting? Surely the right thing to do is have Marcy's dad realize he never needed this job, appreciate what he already has, and start putting what his daughter wants ahead of his own wants.'

Now, a route like that would obviously clash with a story that desires to end with Marcy accepting the move. But looking back on things, I think one of the biggest reasons it's a shame we don't see Sasha or Marcy's parents is that we never get to see how Marcy's dad viewed his own choices. We see Marcy's reaction to it, but we never get to see his side of things.

I mean, what if Mr. Wu thought he was doing a good thing for his family by taking a job he didn't necessarily need? What if he understood he already lived a pretty good life, but believed that, if there was a chance for him to provide an even better life for his wife and daughter, he should take it?

I think there were ways to explore this that didn't make a villain out of the man and still end with Marcy moving. For example; Mr. Wu could learn it's not inherently wrong to desire more for yourself; what's wrong is ignoring/forgetting the feelings of those you love. Meanwhile, Marcy could learn the same lesson as in canon, with the added understanding that her dad, while making mistakes, genuinely thought he was doing good by her by taking the job. Knowing that, as well as her father apologizing, combined with her accepting that distance and time won't mean she loses Anne or Sasha's friendship, makes her more comfortable going ahead with the move. Mr. Wu could still take the job with Marcy's blessing, while promising to do better by her and make a greater effort to understand her better.

Think there was a missed opportunity for a more nuanced story here, or am I looking too deeply into things?

Sorry for the late reply! I think you're very much onto something here.

As someone whose parents decided to move just like so, this specific aspect of Marcy's story bothered me.

With enough time and perspective, as an adult living on my own, I grew to understand why they decided to do so. Despite that, moving as a neurodivergent child was a really traumatic experience for me. I had great friends in my first school, I had a group of peers who had the same hobbies as me and understood me. After the move, it took me many years (until high school) to get something similar again.

My parents also realized how much this hurt me, and while they couldn't undo the move, they did everything to help me through this time and after a few years apologized to me for their decision.

Showing what Marcy's relationship with their parents looked like, would've helped with actually fleshing out the emotional impact of the story.

(Same with Sasha but that is a whole another can of worms)

In the show, the narrative fails at making its points. It's both pro and anti authoritarian. It's trying to play the "respect your culture, respect your parents, be a good child" card and then calls it all off with adding Andrias and his backstory into the mix. It's not thematically coherent. I love children's media but it requires a delicate balance. It's an art of its own, to make a story that's both thematically cohesive and engaging without being overly scholastic.

Marcy does what she does for a good and valid reason. Sasha and Anne are her support network, people who tolerate her quirks and often indulge her even if they aren't even half as invested in her hobbies as she is. Tearing her out of her safe environment is cruel and hinted to be unnecessary. It's a "Parents know what's best for you so don't fight their decisions" moment. Showing something that would balance it out would have made it less harsh and seemingly cruel.

#amphibia critical #long post #ask #we dont even get to see a lot of her perspective at all but shes a character that many relate to for a good reason #her story feels lackluster because they never added the necessary dimensions to it that would make it pop more

[milkywaydrinker]

#listen

[milkywaydrinker]

wow they are not normal (not ship)

#blowing them up with my mind #deadendia

[milkywaydrinker]

In 2024, their journey finally ends.

Preorder DeadEndia: The Divine Order here: unionsquareandco.com/978145494901...

#deadendia #i cant wait to see how it all works out

[milkywaydrinker]

#guilty as charged

[milkywaydrinker]

I still think about these two ;-; <3

#me too... #adventure time #simon petrikov #betty groff #fionna and cake