#character essay

[genericnam]

Why, out of GF, Amphibia, and TOH, only Luz didn't have to leave her new world behind:

I've seen people complain about Amphibia and to a lesser extent, Gravity Falls, for having their series end with a goodbye; the main characters having to leave their found families and this world they've grown to love and return to regular life. But the thing is, the three shows all have MASSIVELY different morals, that each fit in with how the goodbyes (or lack thereof) work into the finales.

Gravity Falls has a large theme of temporary goodbyes and reconciling. Stan and Ford being the primary example. But there are others: Soos and Melony, Wendy and Robbie, even Dipper and Mabel to an extent. The show builds upon this with Gravity Falls being a VACATION, they aren't trapped there, they could theoretically go home at any time. Episodes such as Summerween and Dipper and Mabel Vs. The Future also build on the tone, telling that it's okay to both grow up and move on, but you don't have to leave behind what you once loved in doing so.

The final conflicts (Wierdmaggedon) are caused because of characters not being able to let go. Stan couldn't let go of Ford, Mabel couldn't let go of Gravity Falls, Gideon couldn't let go of Mabel.

Gravity Falls teaches the viewer that even if you love something, you have to let it go, and eventually it will return. In the words of Bill Cipher: "We'l meet again. Don't know where, don't know when. I just knew we'll meet again, some sunny day."

Amphibia has a similar theme of Gravity Falls, but it takes it further. Amphibia tells you that if you don't let go, sometimes things will only get worse. The primary example for this is the show's catalyst event: Marcy getting Anne to steal the Music Box. Marcy chose to go to Amphibia, rather than move away, and she dragged her friends into it with her. Instead of having a long distance friendship with Sasha and Anne, she took them to an alternate dimension in order to spend eternity on a massive adventure, and it got her killed. Marcy and Anne died and Sasha tried to kill herself.

And that's only Marcy. Sasha was a control freak that bordered on yandere at the height of her villain arc. Sasha couldn't accept that Anne was beginning to move on from the toxic friendship that the Calamity Trio had locked themselves into.

The trio were horrible to eachother, pre-character arcs, and they needed to focus on self improvement before they could even hope to be good friends. In the time between 'All In' and the epilog, the Calamity Trio would not have actually been able to be good for eachtoher. They say they forgive eachother, but that was forgiveness given during a WAR. Post show, the real feelings would start to bubble up. Anne's resentment for the betrayals, Marcy’s abandonment issues, Sasha's definite self hatred. The trio HAD to split up to have any semblance of a friendship.

Amphibia tells its audience that not all good things can last, and if you obsess and force it to stay, it can destroy you.

The Owl House has a completely opposite moral. It tells you to find your people, and fight for them.

Luz lived in the Human Realm, but it was never her home. Her home was with Camila and Manny, but when Manny died, Camila and Luz's relationship began to falter. That world wasn't her home. When Luz found the Boiling Isles, she was always supposed to be able to leave. This wasn't a summer trip she didn't want at first, or a one way portal. The Boiling Isles was HER choice.

Luz picked Bonesburrow. Luz picked Hexside. Luz picked The Owl House. Her home was always meant to be The Boiling Isles. She only started trying to find a way back to Earth because the choice was taken from her. Luz no longer had the choice to go back to the Human Realm. In fact, the only time Luz chose Humans over Isles was when she was PUNISHING herself for helping Belos.

Luz got to stay in the Boiling Isles because TOH tells its audience that where you start isn't where you should always stay. Find your place and find your people. And when you do, hold it dear and never let go. "Us weirdos have to stick together."

#the owl house #amphiba #gravity falls #luz noceda #anne boonchuy #sasha waybright #marcy wu #mabel pines #character essay #monologuing to the void #gravity falls spoilers #amphibia spoilers #the owl house spoilers

[sincerelystesichorus]

let's talk about that one scene in oops

(and fizzarolli in general bc me and my autism r obsessed with this scene and haven't seen someone break it down. also ft. blitz lmao)

just a general scene and vague character breakdown/analysis!

i first of all want to admire the perfect representation of best friends to enemies with blitz & fizz because ugh.

And like Blitz tells everyone this but the way it's so malicious here. Just the perfect simple dig and Fizz's little shit eating grin because it delivered how he knew it would sdfkjsdkf. Shoves Blitz to the side because really that's all he cares to say. Fuck you and what you did to me, bye bye <3 Fizz is so for talking shit and dipping (House of Asmodeus) I love how messy it is but also shows how he really doesn't hold malice for Blitz otherwise. Obviously we see this front and center later in the episode once they start reconnecting, but I like the subtlety and how he's so willing to snap at Blitz despite his usual anxiety with confrontation.

Blitz also knowing exactly what to say to really piss Fizz off once things escalate <3

(Fizz literally so smug and content with himself lmfao)

(smirk wiped off bc hey that's the thing i'm sensitive about!!)

But Fizz keeps his composure. And if you'll let me be alarmingly gay for a second, I love how his version of keeping his cool as a messy gay is managing to basically recreate this drag race confrontation in what is probably my favorite set of Fizzie lines.

eat him up babes. also it's so important that that shitty coffee and fizz were on this side of the street for framing i'll talk about it more in a sec jfskjdfksf.

and now my personal favorite exchange of this entire scene that is criminally underrated imo:

love his face after this line. I SUPPORT DISABLED PEOPLES WRONGS sfjdlkfsdd. literally so fucking nasty with his clown wit but also so justifiable because yeah blitz did just pull this nightmare and dip in fizz's pov. i cannot wait for that to get touched on more likeeee why were they kept apart ugh.

and finally!!

this cut to blitz,, specifically the scarred side of his face is sooo good.

the face of a man who just achieved critical vicious mockery vs. the face of a man that knows he can only win this interaction one way now

Blitz does deserve a little violence maybe <3 Fizz underestimated his ass jjdkfsdlk.

Idk I just love how indicative this whole interaction is for their characters but especially Fizz, it's a perfect build-up for him. Fizz has major imposter syndrome with dual layers because of general haters but especially because of Mammon and Asmodeus. Not on any fault of Ozzie's,, we just see Fizz obviously thinks he isn't fully deserving of their relationship/his situation and the healthy dynamics of it and so do most major news outlets apparently askjfsk.

(full fizzy meme post & also i like how this is a special also like damn do u think they were also apart of the crossword??)

It'll be really interesting to see how his character develops in future episodes because I feel like a lot of what I've rambled about here has come to a resolution after 2 Minutes Notice in the musical special lmao. I really like how here when he goes to compose himself, this is how he does it.

Makes me wonder how many times him and Ozzie have had the self-worth and imposter syndrome conversation before it finally stuck in the Mammon Musical Special. I just love their relationship and how they compliment one another,, and how it projects into Fizz's other relationships because they're healthy for one another. Love my OTP love Blitz & especially love Fizzie. Obviously.

#long post #words words words #character analysis #character essay #helluva boss #fizzarolli #fizzarolli helluva boss #blitzø #helluva boss blitzo #fizzmodeus #fizzarozzie #bless any1 that reads this whole thing love u #helluvaboss #qb #qb writes

[eternalera]

i like that we finally get to see what pushes alastors buttons in episode five.

we actually see him mad. you can argue that with vox hes also mad at the end of their song in 'stayed gone' but it doesnt really seem like that. its him threatening vox yes but in the end hes not mad. he isnt really losing his cool. its him basically just saying that hes still in charge

also throughout their whole song alastor doesnt really provoke vox, hes passive aggressive. never interrupting him and when their screens are split and he only pokes him once yet that one time was enough to send vox and black out the entirety of hell (although this mightve been alastor)

throughout the entiry of their song vox is constantly trying to block alastor to say 'he isnt a threat hes a nobody' but as we can see he's clearly failing. and as with each passing second vox gets more annoyed and as i said. he ends up causing a MASSIVE blackout one that takes over all of hell

throughout this entire time though alastor doesnt flinch. he doesnt fight for the spotlight because he doesnt need it. vox is making a fool of himself like alastor probably expects him to based on past encounters that we dont see.

yet with lucifer they probably have some sort of history.

alastor actually feels somewhat threatened/doesnt want lucifer there (whether if lilith told him not to assuming that he owes his soul to lilith but you get the point). he wants lucifer gone. not only that but hes pushing him saying that hes basically like a father to charlie already.

alastor is trying to replace lucifer but remember that lucifer not only the king of the pride ring (i forgot the terminology alr-) but hes also the king of hell.

despite lucifer acting like a joke in the singular episode that we see him in he is the most powerful being in hell. hes more powerful than lilith or charlie (and once again assuming that lilith owns alastor a pretty damn powerful being shes really fucking powerful).

if lucifer wants he could probably obliterate alastor in less than a damn second, yet he doesnt for a few reasons

hes important to charlie

hes important to what charlies doing

this basically gives alastor invincibility against lucifer going bonkers on him and killing him. then again why doesnt lucifer just help charlie? well hes probably got more important things to do (despite what we saw of him) and hes given up on the sinners.

he gave them freewill and never got to see the good done with it. he most likely never saw the people who went to heaven so for all he knows everyone ended up down in hell and are doing shit things with what he gave them.

he most likely wants them gone and wants the extermination to happen because he thinks that they dont deserve a second chance unlike his daughter. but remember that he also loves charlie, thats his fucking daughter and when she calls him he gets excited he wants charlie to like him. but that being said he doesnt think the sinners deserve his kindness anymore after they took his gift and basically made a fool of him.

so lucifer wont help charlie so he just has alastor help her instead to keep her happy.

not only this but in the song 'hells greatest dad' (i think its called that) unlike in 'stayed gone' theyre both fighting for attention. charlies attention.

once again we dont know what beef theyve got with each other but its most likely because of either the past or whether or not that lilith owns alastor and told him to fuck with lucifer.

in this scene we see the color constantly change and them constantly kicking each other out with them both losing their cool and making a fool of themselves. theyre an actual match for each other

lucifer is an actual threat and so is alastor for reasons that we dont know yet. this makes them have to prove their worth to charlie over whos more powerful and who can help her more because even though lucifer doesnt want to help the sinners (and most likely wont) he wants to make her happy.

and even though we dont know why alastor hates lucifer its probably most likely to do with whoever owns his soul and whatnot along with he needs lucifer just out of the picture and that isnt as easy to do as he'd like.

also damn did this become a rant and get off topic-

#alastor hazbin hotel #alastor #hazbin hotel #hazbin hotel theory #kinda #lucifer morningstar #lucifer hazbin hotel #lucifer morningstar hazbin hotel #alastor the radio demon #charlie morningstar #charlie hazbin hotel #hazbin #character study #character analysis #character essay #not really but might as well be that

[slamdunkhcs]

physical touch in slam dunk

There is a big difference between the dynamics of friendships involving two girls, compared to a friendship with two boys. Girls are more likely to be communicative with how they appreciate each other. Boys don’t communicate this verbally, due to not wanting to come off as “cheesy” or “corny”. Instead, they show their affection/appreciation towards each other through physical touch. While not all guys are like this, a lot of boys are very touchy with each other, even coming off as gay at times.

Slam Dunk presents an accurate portrayal of male friendships. Their relationships with each other reflects on their age and maturity, and I believe it is part of why Shohoku and their dynamic as a team is so likable.

Something that I believe is notable is that the boys aren’t emotionally vulnerable with each other. Both Ryota Miyagi and Hanamichi Sakuragi are shown to have rough backgrounds, but neither of them are shown to tell their teammates about it. And they aren’t visibly depressed in front of the team.

I think the most emotionally vulnerable moments are from Mitsui and Akagi, who are both the oldest of the team.

Mitsui, who had hid his feelings of wanting to go back to basketball, finally broke down when Anzai walked back into the gym. Mitsui clearly did not intend to break down like this, I think he was just caught in the moment. The guys didn’t say anything about this, partially because they were still pissed at Mitsui for what happened, but also because they probably wouldn’t have known how to handle that at the moment.

The moment in the series to me that signified the most about how the boys aren’t vulnerable to each other was when Akagi cried, and said that the team was amazing. The guys didn’t comfort him, but instead were like “Why you crying?” and then went on to make fun of him. I think this is realistic compared to other series where the guys are all comforting each other, as they are teen boys and they don’t want to come off as soft.

Another vulnerable moment in the series was when Miyagi and Sakuragi both cried in front of each other because of their bad luck with girls. This wasn’t intentional either, and I think it was the result of the heat of the moment.

Instead of being affectionate through words, physical touch is used to show the boys’ friendliness with each other.

An example of this is during their games. When the team scores, they high five each other, fist bump, or pat each other. While this is typical behavior for teams, it is used to show Rukawa growing closer to the team, as he ends up engaging in this as well.

Additionally, when Shohoku lost against Kainan, Sakuragi cried. Akagi doesn’t say anything to comfort him in particular, but he pats Sakuragi and walks with him. I think this showed his care for Sakuragi, and he felt bad seeing him like that, it just wasn’t portrayed with words.

And when Akagi cried after winning against Ryonan, Sakuragi wraps his arm around Akagi and tells him to come line up with him. Again, nothing particularly comforting is said verbally, but it’s shown through actions.

Another big moment, arguably one of the biggest in the series, was Sakuragi and Rukawa going up to each other and high fiving after winning against Sannoh. Rukawa is shown before this to have high fived or fist bumped other members of the team, but not Sakuragi. Due to their “rivalry”, the two didn’t say anything and just looked at each other for a second before turning away. However, their high five signified how the two had grown close, as teammates and as friends.

Showing emotional vulnerability and closeness through physical touch is very effective and provides a sense of realism, and I believe that Slam Dunk would not have been as strong of a series if the physical touch between the team was not presented.

#slam dunk #スラムダンク #headcanon #slam dunk anime #anime and manga #blog #hanamichi #sakuragi hanamichi #hisashi mitsui #takenori #takenori akagi #rukawa #kaede rukawa #miyagi ryota #ryota miyagi #character essay #character analysis #essay writing #shohoku #inoue

[transigma]

bsd character design analysis ★

– part 1: borrowed clothing and its symbolism

word count: 1.3k

includes: dazai, beast dazai, akutagawa, ranpo, yosano

1.) Dazai's Coat (PM vs ADA)

Following the Port Mafia tradition of giving a new subordinate a superior's item as a sign of loyalty, Mori gives Dazai his jacket upon his entrance into the mafia. Dazai never wears this coat correctly, instead draping it around his shoulders.

On the other hand, the coat he wears in the ADA is not only worn in the correct fashion, but it also closely resembles Odazaku's coat.

The way Dazai wears his coat symbolizes where his loyalties lie. He was never loyal to the Port Mafia, or Mori himself. Hedoes takes on Mori's influence, specifically in his acts of getting something done no matter the means. Dazai does not mind playing dirty, and this follows Mori's own ideas of finding the most optimal solution. While I don't believe Mori is entirely the reason Dazai follows this path of action, it is clear that he did have some influence on Dazai with his teachings.

Dazai is loyal to the Armed Detective Agency, however, and goes to extreme measures for his comrades, including sacrificing himself in various ways. (Meursalt, dead apple, etc).

Going back to how his coat resembles Oda's, it gives light into Oda's influence on Dazai, that being him planting a moral seed in Dazai. His final request is for Dazai to strive to be a good person and not dwell along the dark side of humanity any longer. Oda is arguably one of the most important relationships Dazai has over the course of the series. He is the one who sets Dazai on a better path, and Dazai takes his words to heart. Otherwise, he would not have joined the Armed Detective Agency and found people he is loyal to.

2.) Beast Dazai

Beast Dazai noticeably has the same scarf Mori does. This could be a signifier of position as the Port Mafia boss, but I believe it represents tactics that Beast Dazai learned from Mori. I am specifically talking about the control they both excise on others. In order for Beastzai's plan to work, he had to gain an almost absolute hold over the world immediately surrounding Oda. This is why it is mostly him, SSKK, and Oda whose lives are affected by his actions. Most everyone else's lives remain similar to the original BSD verse. The members of each organization are the same, is what I mean.

The iron grip that beast Dazai has over the Beast universe in order to reach his goal resembles the tactics Mori uses as the Port Mafia boss. Absolute control.

Beast Dazai's coat is another important factor. Unlike PM Dazai in the main BSD universe, beast Dazai wears his coat correctly and not around his shoulders. Beast Dazai is dedicated to his goal of securing a world where Oda can stay alive and freely write his novels. His loyalty is not to the Port Mafia, but that goal.

3.) Akutagawa's Coat

This is another item that follows the Port Mafia tradition and Dazai gives him his own coat on the night that he picks up Akutagawa from the slums.

Akutagawa's coat is a representation of his trauma and dependence on Dazai's recognition to live. His goal is to receive the recognition he never got from Dazai in the past, and this hinders his own development. While Akutagawa does not care about Dazai as a person, the effect Dazai's training had on him was creating a dependence on this approval.

His coat is his most important item for the greater majority of the series. He does not use his ability without it, and keeps it on at all times, which is another topic to discuss upon his coat/ability and protecting himself. In fact, he believes for a while that he can't use his ability without his coat, either, or that he is defenseless without it.

This changes during the Decay of the Angel's arc, specifically in the SSKK vs Fukuchi fight. In a pivotal moment, Akuatagwa discards his coat in order to aid Atsushi in delivering a powerful blow to Fukuchi. He uses Rashomon without his coat for the first time in this scene, too, which shows his growth as a character, and no longer relying so heavily on having to prove himself to Dazai for a reason to live. It is an example of him making his own choices and not being under the influence of Dazai's teachings onto him that he needed to prove himself useful, or that he is even useless in the first place.

4.) Ranpo's Glasses

Fukuzawa gives Ranpo an ordinary pair of glasses in the Untold Origins novel as a way to "control" his ability. Now, it is well established that these are a cheap pair, and that they are useless since Ranpo is not actually an ability user, however, the importance of it lies in Fukuzawa's influence on Ranpo, and the facade Ranpo subscribes to.

Fukuzawa is a figure that represents an integral point in Ranpo's life. Before the events of Untold Origins, Ranpo had no one in his life as a result of his parent's death. Fukuzawa is the first figure to step up for Ranpo and try to guide him, he is the sole reason Ranpo realizes he is not isolated in this world. This is important because Ranpo needs that at 14 years old. Fukuzawa is the cause if Ranpo's worldview changes, otherwise he would have continued to stray on his own uncertain path.

This also marks the beginning of Ranpo's attachment to being viewed as an ability user. He has an innate need to prove himself above the extraordinary because he cares about protecting the ones he values, namely the Agency. His resolve to be strong for his friends and family is strong, and this relates to the fact that he is so driven on remaining this image of an astounding man. He can't afford to lose his place in this light precisely because he is such an important piece of the Agency. The Agency was created because of Ranpo, after all, as a place for him to utilize his intellectual gift and to belong with Fukuzawa to.

His glasses tie back as a symbol of this in the Ranpo and Poe chapter (32). He loses his glasses while in Poe's ability space, and has a meltdown over the fact that he can't use his ability without them. It has also been established that Ranpo is self aware of his non-ability reality, yet he still clings to it because he needs to live up to that self standard, and his glasses are the object of this.

(I had images for this and yosano but Tumblr has a 10 image limit ://)

5.) Yosano and Her Butterfly Pin

There is a strong theme between life & death, and rebirth & transformation within Yosano's character.

Yosano gets her hair pin from Tachihara's older brother, who was a soldier in the "immortal army" unit under Mori's command. The way she acquires this hair pin is important because he represent a huge aspect of her trauma during this time, as the repeated abuse of her ability on him ended with his suicide. This time also cements her connection with life and death through her ability. She has the ability to control life and death itself, after all. Life is important to Yosano, this is established from her herself during her fight with Kaji through her comments on death is the lack of life, and the way she strives to save lives with her ability.

Butterflies serve as a symbol of metamorphosis, whether physical or emotional, and Yosano follows this theme well. She changes drastically as a person, as she does not let her past nor her ability connect her to that level of inhumanity she is pushed into by others' views. Golden butterflies specifically represent transformation, hope, or something along the lines of past souls as well, which fits with Yosano well.

#bungou stray dogs #bsd analysis #character design #character design analysis #infodump #bsd #bsd yosano #bsd dazai #bsd chuuya #bsd ranpo #beast dazai #bsd beast #bungo stray dogs #allen.textz #character essay #can you tell Im autistic about these guys #part one I plan on doing more of these #bsd character analysis #bsd manga #allen bsd thoughts

[your-mums-nuts]

The thing I love about Protective!Ted in relation to tedbecca is not the whole ‘caveman angry because someone upset his woman’ but rather, how his anger and dislike for Rupert, and the way that he handles it, signals to (a very mistrustful) Rebecca that his charm and his kindness is not some farce he shows absolutely everybody.

Over time, we learn that Rupert started out charming. He told Rebacca all he wanted was to talk to her, he made her feel special. So when Ted comes in every morning to bring her a batch of homemade biscuits and just, hang out with her. She’s understandably hesitant, because that’s how Rupert got her, and she doesn’t yet understand the difference between charming and nice.

But when Ted faces off against Rupert (eg the gala, playing darts) his responses to her being insulted, belittled and spoken down to, all reveal a level of uncontrollable, genuine care.

Rupert would’ve easily brushed off any insults towards his wife with some charm and good natured teasing, he probably even joined in, the fucking guy. Meanwhile, Ted’s reactions to Rupert insulting Rebecca are always abrupt and defensive. He loses his cool, he says something he’s not supposed to, he reveals something he’s not supposed to, he becomes a guy that even we, the audience, are not used to. But his protectiveness never comes from a place of typical, masculine possessiveness or jealousy. (Okay, maybe a little jealousy. A girl can dream)

In the charity-gala episode, Rupert causes immediate stress for Rebecca. So Ted, not even knowing the full extent of it yet, visibly dislikes this guy from the moment they meet. Even when Rupert’s charming the pants off the crowd and raising charity ‘for the children’ Ted continues to react uncomfortably in his presence, no matter how friendly he is.

Then, when he does get the extent of it, (Rebecca crying, Rupert being the one to cancel the musical guest) he lets that dislike out, openly taking Rebecca’s side. Which isn’t surprising, but is still very sweet.

In the dart episode, Rupert reveals he’s gonna be in the owners box everyday. Ted doesn’t like this at all, but he doesn’t go off his own reaction, he observes Rebecca’s reaction to gauge her feelings on the matter. Rebecca is clearly unsettled and uncomfortable, and you can kind of see Ted mentally go, ‘yeah no, she’s not cool with that, that’s not happening.’

And then even before they play darts, first and foremost, Ted checks if Rebecca would like to leave. Now, we know his character hates conflict, especially after his train-wreck marriage, so we know that he would like to leave. But when Rebecca decides to remain in a bar with her horrible ex-husband, his child-bride and a room full of people who adore him, which is a little masochist-y even for me, he doesn’t even hesitate.

Her reasoning is very English. ‘Make yourself suffer out of obligation to polite society’ type shit. But instead of making her feel silly or ridiculous or forcing her to leave, Ted goes out of his way to ease Rebecca’s suffering and make Rupert leave her alone, even if it causes him discomfort.

Now, I know that Ted is a very caring character and a lot of this can be chalked up to him being a good friend. But with the way they present Ted and Rebeca’s relationship (he calls her boss, she calls the shots, she’s more authoritative) To see him take over for her, without thought, whenever Rupert upsets her, reveals more intimacy and depth to their relationship than we previously understood. And to have her be grateful, and in some instances, downright delighted by this display of care and protectiveness, reveals something else entirely.

Anyway I read twelve protective!Ted tedbecca fics last night and this is what’s left of my brain.

#can you tell I like italics #and commas #Ted lasso #Ted lasso essay #tv essay #in this essay i will #rebecca welton #apple tv #tedbecca #ted x rebecca #protective!ted #fuck rupert all the homies hate rupert #the Ted lasso team may not understand tedbecca but I do #I’m mostly joking #this can be taken platonically too!! #but know I mean it romantically #ted and rebecca #soulmatism #character essay #Ted lasso character study

[theromanticscrooge]

Professor Venomous, the Hot Mess in a Lab Coat

Note: If you haven't seen the entirety of O.K. K.O., please save this until after you've seen all the episodes. Even if the PV twists are obvious, he's a HUGE part of the ending and an important part of K.O.'s character arc.

POINT's origin in show starts when Silver Spark, El Bow, and Rippy Roo officially join the main team as junior members. Laserblast and Silver Spark immediately take a liking to each other and Laserblast comes up with convenient excuses for alone time with Silver. From what little there is of them on-screen, Silver is absolutely infatuated with Laser, partly because of his flashy attitude, his years of experience, the air of mystery around him, and definitely the confidence. These two were in the early, honeymoon phase of their relationship. El Bow's graphic daydream involving the weird sucker French kiss sequence tells the whole story: If these two weren't working, they were doing other things. Very often and very enthusiastically.

Besides tonsil hockey with Silver, Laserblast has a series of questionable projects he's been working on in a secret sandwich shop lair. Dr. Greyman, the brains behind POINT, discovered two of Laser's mysterious orbs and the consensus was "these were made by villains." When Laser suggests using them to stop bad guys, Greyman immediately shoots him down, citing that they're too dangerous for anyone to use. Greyman accidentally sets off one of the orbs and loses all of his powers. The new mission is find and apprehend the perpetrator. Laser prioritizes covering up his lair and experiments; he's more concerned about his image and standing than the well-being of his teammate.

When he goes with Silver and El Bow to scope out the sandwich shop, he insists on going first and alone. He puts on a show about how brave he is and promises Silver he'll be back. Then Laser enters the sandwich shop/lair and "disappears" into a blackhole. Silver is heartbroken and devastated. She blames El Bow for keeping her from potentially making it in time for that small possible window of opportunity to save Laser. This causes a rift in their friendship for years after. POINT unceremoniously drops El Bow and plants him as solely responsible for Laser's "death." After that, El Bow slowly finds new meaning and actualization as Mr. Gar; it's so painful for him to think about his past, he prefers to consider El Bow as dead as Laserblast is. Even after Carol has made peace with losing Laser, Mr. Gar is wracked with guilt and grief. He still blames himself and puts up a wall between himself and Carol despite her attempts to reach out or reconnect for a long time. In a nutshell, Carol becomes more emotionally mature, patient, and empathetic with time and introspection. She understands the importance of open, honest communication and that's what repairs, even strengthens, her relationship with Mr. Gar once he actually talks to her.

Laser made it out of the sandwich shop in time to avoid the blackhole and hides in a nearby storm drain. The evidence that he's responsible for the spheres is gone, but he hears Silver say "he wasn't powerful enough to get out." That comment is enough to seriously wound Laser's ego. He retreats, ashamed and feeling small and vulnerable. He's lost his powers. In his mind, he's nothing without his powers. He's too insecure to face Silver Spark or anybody else. The idea of her being more powerful; that she'd potentially push him out of the way or underestimate his abilities is something he can't bear. So, he starts desperately experimenting on himself and trying to regain his powers. He's connected so much of his self worth to how powerful he was that he doesn't know who he is without special powers. Until he can "regain his former glory," he refuses to return to POINT or his former life. And he doesn't trust Silver or anyone else enough to be vulnerable or weak in any way around them.

In a way, Laser's reaction to Silver can be roughly approximated to how toxic masculinity can affect how a man views himself. Men are supposed to be strong providers. They can't show any weakness. They're the the master; the cornerstone of the financial health and overall lifeblood of the household. When a man ties his all of his value to a specific personal trait, like how much money he makes or how strong he is, it's a threat when his partner makes more money than him or she's more proficient than him at "his thing." This single trait is such an important piece of his personhood that it pretty much is him. It's difficult to extricate that piece and figure out a healthier approach to who he is outside of that one trait. And he's not going to talk to his partner when she seems more like a rival than a friend.

For all intents and purposes, Laserblast- at least the idea of who Laserblast might have been-died. He becomes Professor Venomous; a respected, renowned villain that's a threat because of his scientific prowess and powerful because of what status and money he gains as a result. He's more satisfied and satiated as a villain than he ever was as a hero. The ideas that POINT balked at are celebrated and encouraged by his fellow villains. It's liberating. While Laserblast was a mask, Professor Venomous is the closest he's been to full self-actualization. It's not full self-actualization, but he's happier as a villain than he ever was as a hero.

Enter Fink. She's arguably the most important character and interpersonal relationship Venomous has. There's ample hints that Venomous rescued her from a rough life surviving by herself out in the streets. They call each other "Boss" and "minion" respectively, but it's just a title. Fink is his adopted daughter. When Fink talks about him, it's with strong respect, admiration, and affection. He's a patient, gentle parent at his best. He brings Fink to every event he's allowed to. He makes sure that Fink has what appropriate weapons or toys she needs at an outing. Out of everyone Venomous interacts with, Fink has seen and intimately knows the kinder, softer side of him. It's why she stands by him despite everything.

Despite their strong relationship though, Venomous still avoids bigger confrontations. He ran away from Carol and avoids the reality of K.O. as his son when he's Professor Venomous. So when Fink starts complaining, he throws expensive toys, video games, and gadgets at her to appease her. Usually, Venomous offsets these materialistic solutions with talking to her at her level or active parenting. Though, at the height of the later Shadowy Figure debacle, Venomous has completely given up when he uses gifts as the only means of interacting with Fink period.

This is speculation, but it's interesting that Venomous never actively talks about himself as "Dad" until it's a direct confrontation between Shadowy Venomous and K.O. Perhaps, Venomous uses a set of mental gymnastics to place some degree of separation between his father-daughter relationship with Fink and his nonexistent relationship with K.O. Fink is his minion. She's an important piece of his daily operations as a villain. As long as K.O. doesn't know or realize his true identity, Venomous didn't have to think about the fact that he abandoned his son. There's a lot of complicated baggage attached to a potential relationship with K.O. If Venomous wanted to successfully navigate how they could foster a father-son relationship or at least a friendly dynamic, it means he'd have to be more honest and introspective with himself than he's willing to.

Throughout the show, viewers are introduced to K.O.'s dark alter-ego T.K.O. T.K.O. is initially treated as a separate entity. He's angry, he's frustrated, he's angsty. He wants to watch the world burn as a means of catharsis and for his own entertainment. The truth is that T.K.O. is the manifestation of K.O.'s unresolved feelings about his absentee dad, always following the rules without intensely questioning why things work a certain way, questioning authority figures in general. It boils down to: T.K.O. is a personification of the existential angst that comes attached with K.O. growing up and becoming better acquainted with the workings of the world around him.

Shadowy Figure is introduced as Professor Venomous' equivalent to T.K.O. Venomous thought he was content with "power" accumulated through money and villainous feats. That was enough for a long time, but then Venomous reached the pinnacle of villainry. He had inventions like a giant death ray; an easy button for threatening the squeamish Congresswoman for obscene amounts of ill-gotten wealth. When Venomous started seeing there was more to Lord Boxman and his Snidely Whiplash-esque rivalry with Lakewood Plaza, he realized he'd been in the throes of ennui. Throwing his resources and talents behind Boxman re-ignited his love of villainry. Boxman knew how to take risks and have fun. Unlike other villains, evil wasn't a careful, calculated set of moves or a set of ideas that needed to be run through bureaucratic red tape. Boxman's attacks leveled up in a deeply gratifying way for both of them.

Yes, Venomous had a partner and lifestyle that were a fantastic fit for him. But he still hadn't confronted the trauma of losing his powers years ago. Consciously, he thought he had moved on, but really, he'd bottled up these feelings and resentment for so long they took on a life of their own. That's where the more active split between Venomous and Shadowy starts. Venomous' "former glory" isn't enough anymore. Now, it's a ravenous ghost that demands bigger, better, more terrifying; power that can match, if not more deeply fulfill, how long these feelings and dissatisfaction have sat untouched. When Shadowy looks at K.O., he sees a direct outlet for achieving his deepest desires.

"Power" is represented as a DBZ-esque energy source that can destroy planets or even the universe at large. It's simultaneously an in-show love letter to shounen battle nonsense while acting as an abstract stand-in for a parent living vicariously through their child. Shadowy Figure is the beginning phases of an overzealous parent pressuring their kid to become the sports star, the Harvard Law doctor, or any number of other concepts. The parent wasn't able to achieve this goal for whatever reason, but then they look at their child as a malleable lump of clay. The child is an extension of themselves; the last chance to achieve this dream the parent holds as their penultimate achievement. This dream is more important to the parent than everything; to the degree it supersedes the fact their child is an autonomous, independent being with their own wants, dreams, and needs for their life. The child has become a tool.

While there is still a degree of separation between Venomous and Shadowy, it's brief hope that he can catch himself and pump the brakes on how he's overstepping with K.O. When he outright calls himself Shadowy Venomous, he's completely surrendered to his need for power. Shadowy Venomous is the realization of who and what he thought he wanted to be. Its the means to a horribly self-destructive bender. He can do whatever he wants. Nothing is a challenge or threat to his self-esteem now because no one is more powerful. And if they are, he has a means to make himself greater.

K.O. has a solid support system between Carol and his adoptive family Mr. Gar, Enid, and Rad. Though, even with a solid support system, K.O. wanted some kind of relationship with his bio-dad Venomous. Parent-child relationships can be really complicated and messy. Even if a child has a fantastic mom and stepdad, the right combination of feeling unheard, misplaced, or having certain emotional needs unaddressed can make the originally absent parent appealing. Even if this other parent hasn't contributed as much, there's a want for their attention and validation. They're here now. They're trying now. They have something other loved ones can't offer. More importantly, it's a means to fill an existential hole in their life.

When K.O. takes a moment to acknowledge T.K.O. as part of himself that he's been grossly neglecting, he starts learning the importance of self love and that acknowledging and accepting his trauma is part of growing as a person. He's been able to empathize and show compassion for everybody else around him, but he refused to give himself the same kindness and patience. Shadowy Venomous exploited this. T.K.O. hoped that Shadowy would listen to and commiserate with him in a way nobody else was because Shadowy seemingly had a similar chip in his shoulder. They're mirrors of each other, right? That's what the wanton destruction and chaos were all about. When K.O. finally gives himself the consideration he needed, he realized that looking to Shadowy was never about him. It was only about being the convenient part that Shadowy needed. Shadowy was never interested in really reaching out and developing a meaningful connection with him.

Because of his self-reflection, K.O.'s relationships with his chosen family will be fuller and richer because he's including his inner voice as part of those intimate, heavy, vulnerable conversations with loved ones.

Despite Professor Venomous royally fucking up, the ending montage in the last episode shows he's not completely irredeemable. K.O. deliberately asks about him, too. At the very least, K.O. still cares about the Professor.

The President of the Universe gives Venomous a personal planet to destroy. In a way, that's Venomous finally confronting how much losing his powers years ago affected him. He has a healthier means to process his feelings around that sensitive subject and it's highly effective. He repairs his relationship with Fink; he's a more active parent than he was previously and encourages her interests more. There's a scene where he tells Fink he doesn't like video games and suggests she practices her piano scales while he's gone instead of further gameplay. Years later, he's enthusiastically cheering her on from the audience after she, presumably, became a professional gamer and won a gaming tournament.

Venomous also apologizes to Lord Boxman after their messy break-up during his spiraling as Shadowy Venomous. One sequence features a wedding ring. The bulk of these scenes are very fill-in-the-blank or connect the dots, but they're powerful. Seeing Professor Venomous with a wedding ring means that he learned how to have a vulnerable conversation with Boxman and that they trust each other enough to make that serious of a commitment. Previous scenes are very much coded as them having a gay romance and building a blended family as "business partners," but this cements it and cinches those last few parts of Professor Venomous' character arc. Its honestly beautiful how Venomous comes around to his equivalent of the healthy, satisfying life and family that Carol has between Mr. Gar and K.O.

A redemption arc isn't realistic for every person that fits a Professor Venomous mold, but its meaningful to see a character like this work on himself. As an older fan, its appreciated how much attention and care are given to found family for all of these characters in a variety of situations and circumstances.

#ok ko #ok ko let's be heroes #character analysis #ok ko professor venomous #professor venomous #professor venomous character analysis #shadowy figure #shadowy venomous #tko #laserblast #voxman mention #character essay #i'm up at 3 in the morning writing about cartoon characters #hdthtfhztrjsryj *keyboard smash* #yeah....the voxman shipping corner is next #RIP my sleep schedule lol

[savethegrishaverse]

We’re back with our next round of prompts Third Army! This week (January 14th to January 20th) we want to talk all about “resilience”. The theme of always coming back, the theme of making things our own.

We will never give up, we will never die out. And to aid that we are going to give out prompts and boost content about our Grishaverse, and we need your help! Come join us, send us your fanfics, post your art, and make sure to use hashtag #Third Army so we can see each post!

Writing prompt: "Genya felt like a statue as she sat at the head of the council room's table. She felt marble and cold and distant, but David's hand was across the table and out of her reach. She was alone here as she prepared to give her speech, but she had to do her best. She had to make the Triumvirate proud and win over the councilmen of Ravka, lest they continue to claim Nikolai a monster."

Writing prompt: Why not make an “incorrect quotes” post for Shadow And Bone! It can be a modern social media AU or a text post from the canon era, whatever you prefer!

Writing prompt: It’s a staple in the fanfiction community, but for good reason. Take your favorite ship and throw them in a “flower shop right next to tattoo parlor business rivals” AU! 

Art prompt: We've seen Dan Zollinger's art of the Saints, now draw your favorite Saint in your own style.

Art Prompt: Kaz says he will tear Pekka down “Brick by Brick” - let’s see that again, but with literal building bricks! Reenact a scene from Shadow and Bone/Six of Crows in lego form!

Photoshop challenge: Jesper says that maybe he likes Wylan’s stupid face - let’s photoshop that “stupid” face on all sorts of different things! The more bizarre the better!

Photoshop challenge: Let’s practice tailoring with Genya! Give the Shadow and Bone characters makeovers - maybe the Darkling is going through an emo/punk phase (it’s not a phase Baghra) or how about giving Alina a nice cottage-core makeover. Maybe even give Inej a kpop idol dream aesthetic!

Mixed Media challenge: Some of the iconic Crooked Kingdom book parts made it on screen, but not all of them! Why not draft up a gifsets/art/edit to show a Crooked Kingdom scene we haven't had on screen yet?

Video edit prompt: Compile together your favorite highlights and quotes for a "the Shadow and Bone cast once said…" video edit!

Question/Answer prompts: In the Lives of Saints, we learn to apologize and forgive - among other things. We also learn to stand our ground. Never apologize for campaigning for what you love, but maybe we should at the very least send an apology message to the poor Netflix social media managers who got caught in the crossfire of campaigning?

Every week I want to ask people to share happy/hopeful stories about Grishaverse and the campaign. Let’s talk about the friends we’ve made, the kindness in the fandom, and any moments of hope we can share to keep our spirits strong!

#six of crows #grishaverse #shadow and bone #netflix shadow and bone #netflix #soc #six of crows fandom #sab #soc and ck #saveshadowandbone #third army #character essay #save the grishaverse #save shadow and bone #six of crows spinoff #sixofcrowsspinoff #shadow and bone netflix #shadow and bone fandom #writing prompt #art prompt #netflix series #grishaverse fandom

[correctproseka]

Toyafuyu and their parallels:

I did say I wanted to make this post. And Toya and Mafuyu have similar issues at home with a similar way to deal with them, so let's start.

Problems at home:

Both of them have similar problems at home, mainly with their parents.

While we dont actually know what toyamom and mafudad are doing, for barely being even mentioned, Mafumom and Toyadad are extremely similar on their behavior towards their kids.

- Toya's dad wants Toya to practice and practice piano, making him practice the entire day, even as a child, with the consequences of that, Toya didn't have hobbies, barely had any friends before (besides the Tenmas) and barely even knew what he liked.

- Mafuyu's mom wants Mafuyu to study and study the whole day, trying to make her quit archery and music so she can focus on her studies. As a consequence of that, Mafuyu didn't have any hobbies, no real friends outside if niigo and doesn't know what she likes.

Toya's dad wants Toya to be a classical musician, Mafuyu's mom wants Mafuyu to be a doctor. Both of them push their children in places they don't want to go in and have said they dont.

Both of them already had their confrontation, as of jp right now, both of their parents still disagree with what they're doing, but the difference in the acting because of it comes later.

Their mental health:

Because of their parents being both suffocating, they have similar issues.

Toya's only real friends were the Tenmas, and that was because his dad knew them, possibly he knows other people from his dad, but only the Tenmas actually became friends with him.

Mafuyu didn't have any real friends before niigo.

That made one of their differences, also will explain later.

None of them had any hobbies before music.. you could possibly count Archery as a hobby point for Mafuyu, but at least at the start she didn't feel much about it and it was probably just a small escape, a tiny start of a rebellion.

They both felt stuck, but they describe it in different ways.

Toya felt stuck inside a bird cage, forced to sing like birds.

In which he finally managed to open.

Mafuyu felt like a Marionette, making what her mom/the person in the strings asks

One that she also managed to escape

Both of them only managed to escape with the help of music and real friends (vbs and niigo).

Main differences

On how they're treated by the parents theres only a few.

Toya was able to rebel earlier, by influence of Tsukasa, not only that but he has more.. freedom to rebel than Mafuyu ever had.

Mafuyu's first rebelling influences were niigo, mainly Ena and Mizuki on this part, and even then she barely could do it without her mom taking away everything she had.

The differences in how they're treated on here may be because of the rest of the family.

Toya is the youngest of 3 songs, both of the older ones are already at classical music, so his dad can afford to have one Black Sheep, his legacy is already being fulfilled, so even if he disagrees with the style, he doesn't need to outright stop it.

Mafuyu is an only child, there's no one else to follow mafumom's dreams and expectations but her, this puts her under a tighter leash than Toya has.

And without friends, she couldn't do that first step out of that house.

Their real family

The people who help them be themselves, who let them have a break from their house, their real family and home

Mafuena and Akitoya bonus:

Imagine an akitoya image here i already did 10 images

Nothing much, just both like how lively the shinonomes are with each other, because of how cold their house are.

There is a reason both Toya and Mafuyu are associated with snow.

Bonus 2: event

Imagine an event with them, they start talking about their family to each other and bonding with similar rules and expectations, maybe Mafuyu also meets Ken as an image of a better dad. Maybe someone else is with them, someone with good parents stopping and going: that is not normal.

Just so they can grow a little bit together, find reliance on each other from their issues.

#project sekai #proseka #colorful stage #prosekai #pjsekai #puroseka #mafuyu asahina #toya aoyagi #touya aoyagi #character essay #.. idk what came over me

[cleabellanov]

Jet-Skiing through Identity: a deep dive into Mobius M. Mobius (part 5)🚤

The analyst is now going on missions, and he is doing such a great job. Plus, he's looking damn good doing it.

I think that in episode 2, "Breaking Brad" (one of my favs, like i really really love this one) , we get to see both extremes of Mobius as a character, which is great! We begin with his steady personality, looking for trouble to resolve it, not to cause it.

This is when we can see Mobius and Loki use that trust that they previously built, and working together. The comfort emanated in the scene where they're trying to fix that TemPad, for example, feels so good and natural specifically because it has background. (...and they're very, very good together. And Tom and Owen always knew what they were doing. Anyway, you get the point.)

Brad/ X-5 is a complicated person, and the others knew that when trying to get information out of him. Does that stop Mobius from trying to ease the atmosphere with one of his jokes? No: he's still running to the beat of a good heart, he can't help it. His way of being, this approach, is part of him, and we've seen that in season 1 as well.

The trigger is, however, pulled in him when Brad tells him he's a nowhere man. He usually endures things well, so what made him snap this time?

I think that hearing it out loud, AND put like that (f u brad), Mobius finally got hurt by the emotions he was trying so hard to suppress.

Distancing from that, and all the past he knows nothing about, he alienated from himself too, because they are essentialy part of him.

Saying "You're a nowhere man" to Mobius is similar to saying "What, like you did with your mother?" to Loki. It's a half truth that hurts especially because it was left in the darkness. Like someone flashing a lantern in your eyes after you've been wandering though a cavern.

We can see he uses denial too as a coping mechanism, in our most beloved scene: the pie room one. He doesn't admit it at first, but with Loki being Loki (and the person he cares the most about as well), he admits he's wrong: "Listen, that wasn't tactical. I lost it".

So it's not pride when he doesn't want to see his mistakes! it's a need to make everything perfect, for others more than for himself.

It's also no secret that Mobius finds comfort in food, especially pie. So having a sweet with Loki certainly calms him down.

Next, he tells Loki:

"The TVA is the only life I've ever known. I like it!"

and

"Something bad I can handle. What if it's something good?"

Does he really like his life there, or only the meaning of it?

I interpret him not wanting to look, not even now, for avoiding feeling guilty about leaving that behind. Maybe he even draws a parallel, and realizing that he has a life on the timeline it hits harder that so did all the people from the timelines he pruned

But also, he can't leave his mission! He can't leave Loki! Remember how in season 1 he told Ravonna that if he could go anywhere, anytime, he'd go to his place on the timeline? This changes now, when it's actually possible. A life he never known doesn't have a purpose for him. This one, though? This one definitely does.

One last thing thing I want to mention *for today* is how sweet Mobius is telling Loki that he's the God of Mischief. After years of this title being used negatively, Mobius says it as a compliment. He not only knows the comfort of touch (s2e1), but of words of affirmation too:

see you for the next part!! I underestimated how long this series of analysis would be :)), but only 2 more parts to go 💙

#well come on you're the God of Mischief!!! Right?? #english is not my first language #so sorry if i did any mistakes #character essay #character analysis #mobius my beloved #mobius m mobius #owen wilson #loki #loki series #lokius #lokius nation #tom hiddleston #marvel #mcu #mobius #💚💛 #show some love to this💛💚

[zanethepa1n]

GARMADON ESSAY

// SPOILERS FOR NINJAGO SEASONS 3, 8, 9, AND 16

So this is real different from my usual posts, but this is something I've wanted to write about for awhile.

In this post I'm gonna just...explain my views on Garmadon? Not really sure of the best term to use to explain it; of course, it's just my opinion, but I wanna give people different views on his character, yk? I have really strong feelings about this topic so...I imagine this post will be pretty long.

If you have any requests for Ninjago characters you'd want me to do essays on like this lmk and I'll definitely try and get to it...I'll probably do one on Zane at some point.

Anyways, lets beginnn

Okay so let me just warn you again, this post is probably going to be EXTREMELY long and is all just writing. Basically an essay because I'm not sure how else to express my feelings on the matter other than in writing.

Anyways; I am going to try and structure the points I want to make chronologically...kind of. In each of the sections, I will be focusing on the main topic listed, but I may pull evidence from future or past seasons to support what I'm saying. So, the topics go chronologically, but the evidence will not...if that makes sense.

Here are the topics im going to cover in order, I'll expand on them in each of their respective sections;

Sensei Garmadon

Season 8 Fight w/ Lloyd

Christofern

Oni Training w/ Lloyd

Sensei Garmadon

So, this a lot more of a personal opinion, but I do not consider that Sensei Garmadon is different from Lord/Emperor Garmadon. I may be taking what people say wrong, but in my opinion I don't think that Sensei Garmadon is different from current Garmadon in any capacity; he was just in different circumstances. So, let me explain my views on this.

This is obviously not the best evidence because it can be easily defended by what is literally said in canon, but I thought I'd mention it anyways; I do not believe that the Great Devourer bite caused Garmadon to turn evil. It definitely changed him, but I don't think it corrupted him. In my honest opinion, I think that the only thing the Great Devourer bite did was awaken Garmadon's Oni side, and the FSM considered this to be "corruption".

But, despite my above claim being basically blatanly disproven by canon, it's...technically not completely disproven. It is obvious throughout the show that Garmadon is not completely cold-hearted and evil. He shows obvious care for Lloyd, as well as Misako. So it can be said that, even if the Great Devourer did corrupt him in some capacity, it did not do so completely.

Anyways, what I'm trying to say is that I think that Garmadon only turned out "evil" because that is what he was viewed as. His entire life, he was raised to believe he was evil, and everyone around him believed he was evil. The FSM saw Garmadon's Oni blood obviously outweighing his dragon blood, and considered that to be evil, and likely passed that belief onto Wu, whether intentional or not.

Now, this is where I go back to the main topic, Sensei Garmadon. I think that Sensei Garmadon didn't act "evil" because he felt as though he didn't have to any more. I don't really know how to explain how exactly Garmadon's form changed occurred as a result of the Overlord un-possessing him, but Oni can shapeshift, so it is plausible that Garmadon didn't change as a person, but his view on himself changed. Therefore, he felt he no longer had to be evil because nobody around him was claiming he was anymore.

Season 8 Fight w/ Lloyd

This is like, one of the biggest points I have to make. I want to say, before I get into it; I am not trying to completely remove all blame from Garmadon, but I just want to explain my personal thoughts on the situation.

So, firstly, I'd like to address Garmadon's very first line of dialogue before the fight; It was foolish to come here.

Now this shows that it's likely Garmadon did not want to fight. Of course, it could've been more of a threat, but in my mind it seems more as though he had hoped Lloyd would not fall for the trap.

I would also like to mention how much is probably going through Garmadon's mind during Season 8 and Season 9, in general.

He has just been ripped from the claws of death, and is probably in insane amounts of pain (his voice sounds strained during the fight, not mention his ribcage is literally showing), and the first thing he is told is that he has to kill his son to reach his true potential, and to protect his father's realm. A lot of people don't acknowledge that Harumi literally manipulated Garmadon and I think that's really crazy?? Like, she takes advantage of the fact he's struggling with amnesia and is in pain and is like "lol i brought you back as purely evil and all you can do is cause destruction because you're fully oni!!! go murder your son now!!!" Anyways, what I'm trying to say is that I don't think that the fight with Lloyd in Season 8 is entirely Garmadon's fault. There's a lot of things that fueled how he was feeling-- not to mention what he says right after Lloyd speaks to him for the first time; You've...you've changed.

I'd be kinda upset too-- if the first time I see my son in years, he's completely changed, basically gone through puberty.

tldr, I think that manipulation and generally being overwhelmed fueled a lot of what Garmadon did in s8-s9 in general, not just the fight scene.

Christofern

This one means a lot to me. Like I have such strong feelings about this.

I HATE when people say "Garmadon cares about a plant more than his own son!!"

Guys. The plant is Garmadon's way of trying to learn compassion and be better so that he can make it up to Lloyd. Christofern in general is a metaphor for Lloyd, Christofern is Garmadon's symbol for Lloyd.

They even point this out in the show during a discussion between Nya and Garmadon!

Nya: Why are you carrying around a plant?

Garmadon: It was the only green in my life. I had hoped it would grow, and thrive, and perhaps, one day ... forgive me. But now it's gone, and I am alone.

Nya: We're talking about the plant, right?

Garmadon: Of course! What else?

Obviously Garmadon says that he's just talking about Christofern, but,, c'mon...do you really think this man is going to admit he's a little sentimental to any of the ninja... he's literally the emotional wall of the century... /hj

Also, this conversation with Nya is had IMMEDIATELY after Lloyd storms off because Garmadon said he was positive they would lose to the Overlord.

So the line But now it's gone, and I am alone. could easily be Garmadon projecting that he's upset that their conversation ended badly and Lloyd stormed off, and that Lloyd will probably get hurt or die in the battle.

Oni Training w/ Lloyd

This one is pretty simple for me to explain, but I've seen a lot of people that don't like how harsh Garmadon was when he was trying to teach Lloyd how to achieve his Oni form.

Personally, I'm nearly 100% sure that Garmadon was only being as mean as he was to inspire Lloyd to be angry so that he could achieve his Oni form; of course this isn't really the best way to go about it, but Garmadon probably only knows how to trigger his Oni form when it is correlated with anger and/or distress, so he probably assumed it would be the same for Lloyd.

I also think this applies to him faking his death; but of course it was extreme and I can understand being upset about it.

So...that's all I had to say. I might come back and add more later? Sorry if this was really incoherent I just typed this all up in one sitting to get it off my mind. In general, I just hope to give people a different perspective on Garmadon's character I suppose? I just,, don't really like that he's like...usually hated or only simped over.

But, again, this is just my opinion, and I'm not trying to change yours <3

#ninjago #lego ninjago #ninjago garmadon #garmadon #lord garmadon #ninjago lord garmadon #garmadon ninjago #character essay #i dont think you want to know how long i spent on this #sorry if like none of this makes sense #zane writes

[yourgaywashingmachine]

There was a bit of confusion in the fandom since we are not sure if q!Cellbit decided to stay or really didn't have time to get to the boat, but in case he canonically decided to stay:

Personally I think I can understand q!Cellbit's decision, he spent nights awake just to try to figure out where his son went, he even went crazy and started murdering people all of this because of the eggs disappearance, he gets a chance to get his son back and he wins the purgatory, but even if red team won, at the end he couldn't get Richas back, its very brave of him to not surrender and to decide to stay in egg island, he is in his right to do so.

I just hope people don't go and start hating on ccCellbit, it was his decision on his character and even tho some people might not like it, it's not that important for people to start mass hating.

#qsmp #cellbit #qsmp purgatory #purgatory event #guapoduo #spiderbit #q!cellbit #character essay

[slamdunkhcs]

the solitude of ryota miyagi

While I consider Slam Dunk a perfect series, with amazing characterization, I believe that the weakest aspect of the story is the lack of backstories. While a backstory is not needed for every character, it would have added much more to the main characters and their development. The main team members of the series are already very well developed and they had plenty of development (especially throughout the Sannoh match). However, Ryota Miyagi, Shohoku’s point guard, seemed like a static character in comparison to his other teammates.

While he isn’t a badly written character by any means, we didn’t see much of his story throughout the manga. His main thing was being the short boy who had a crush on Ayako.

During his introduction arc, Miyagi was overshadowed by Mitsui, who had his whole backstory revealed in that arc. In comparison, all we knew about Miyagi was that he was a problem child who liked Ayako, and became friends with Sakuragi.

Throughout the rest of the series, we don’t truly see much of Ryota’s struggles, aside from his height leaving him at a disadvantage. This issue is shown throughout the Sannoh match. The readers are shown how Ryota is concerned about if he can even match up to Fukatsu, but we aren’t shown much of Ryota’s inner thoughts compared to Akagi’s thoughts of comparison.

More of Ryota’s story is revealed in a spin-off chapter that was released after Slam Dunk’s serialization, titled Piercing. We finally learn more details about Ryota’s life, such as how he had known Ayako since he was young and about his brother’s disappearance. This added some depth to Ryota and potentially explains why he’s a problem child, but it is still rather vague and left many questions unanswered.

However, over 20 years later, Ryota’s story was finally revisited. In The First Slam Dunk, Ryota is the main character and we finally learn about his background and even his inner thoughts.

What shocked me the most was learning just how passionate Ryota was about basketball. Aside from Sakuragi (who himself became serious about basketball towards the end of the series), I felt Ryota was the most casual about basketball. He had even explained to Sakuragi that he wasn’t sure he wanted to play basketball in highschool until he saw Ayako. However, it’s shown Ryota had played basketball since he was a child, and his older brother had taught him. And despite Ryota’s mother disliking basketball (due to it reminding her of her late son), Ryota continued to play it.

His family life which is hinted at in Piercing is fully revealed in the movie. Ryota’s brother is confirmed to be dead, and we truly see how much it affected Miyagi. While in the manga he doesn’t seem depressed or anything, we learn how it deeply affected him and led him to become a delinquent. He was even bawling in his cave hideout that he used to visit as a kid. And the fact he wrote to his mother that he wished he was the one who died instead speaks volumes.

Ryota had always come off as a very nonchalant person. While he did get pissed at times, he didn’t seem like he had serious issues. Ayako even states to him that he always looks like he’s fine. I think that this shows how strong Ryota was mentally, he always looked okay in front of his teammates and the average reader wouldn’t figure he had anything too serious going on,

As stated in a lyric by Taylor Swift, “No one sees when you lose when you’re playing solitaire”. Ryota seems to keep his problems to himself, similarly to Sakuragi. It seems like nobody in the team has any idea what happened, aside from maybe Yasu and Ayako. And Miyagi doesn’t act depressed either. However, I believe that his background reveals that Ryota tries to keep his feelings and struggles under control.

Something I think is notable is Ryota’s friendship with Sakuragi. It’s shown that they don’t get along, until they open up to each other one night regarding their bad luck in love. Their entire conversation that night wasn’t revealed (and I believe there is a possibility they could’ve talked about things outside of their love life), but it still shows that Sakuragi was the first one Ryota opened up to on the team. Additionally, Ryota was the first one on the team that Sakuragi confided in about any struggles he was facing. As a result, I believe that this was why they were able to become friends so easily.

While Miyagi is already a stand out character in Shohoku, the additional information regarding his background makes him an even better written character.

#slam dunk #スラムダンク #sakuragi hanamichi #hanamichi #ryota miyagi #miyagi ryota #ryota #character essay #slam dunk manga #anime and manga #slam dunk anime #headcanon #hcs #blog #character analysis

[transigma]

dazai/yosano character parallels analysis ★

includes: connection/past with Mori, themes of humanity, dehumanization, life/death, change, and Elise(?)

wc: 1.5k

Beginning with the most glaring similarity, they have a mutual connection with Mori as a mentor figure in their past. (I'm not sure if I would assign the “mentor” role to him for Yosano, but for the lack of a better word, that's what he will be called here </3). He represents an important part of their traumatic pasts but in different ways. I want to stress the importance of understanding that the two of them were abused in different ways because of how Mori himself regarded each of the two, and that this is not to say one was worse than the other. I would also like to negate any argument that Dazai was not abused by Mori, this is false. While that is another topic I want to discuss in the future, I just want to get that out there.

Both are victims of Mori's tactics of controlling abuse and were utilized as tools for his plans. Yosano was used for her ability, as she was useful under Mori's immortal soldier regiment, while Dazai was picked up with the intentions to mentor him as a future successor to Mori because of their shared traits (refer to the 15 quote provided, their “common destiny” is being the Port Mafia boss). The reason I say they are abused in different ways is because of the methods Mori enacts on the both of them. While I don't want to say he respects Dazai more as an individual because of that inherent fear he carries of Dazai, however, I'm not really sure what else to word it as. Dazai is able to carry out a lot of his own volition while under Mori in the Port Mafia, and while he was still in a horrible place under this treatment, he did have some level of freedom on his own because of the way Mori viewed him. Mori recognizes that: one, Dazai lacks morals at this point in his life, two, that he is not loyal to Mori and could take him out at any moment (I would argue that he expects it if anything), and three, that Dazai is an extremely intelligent child beyond his years. Since he recognizes all of these aspects, he still controls Dazai to the degree he acts to everyone else, but he also does not push Dazai too extremely. Of course this is not to say his abuse to Dazai was not harsh, I am trying to compare the way Mori treated Yosano vs Dazai, and how this has affected them individually, not by the severity of either. He noticeably treats Yosano harsher, and he does go as far as to lay a hand on her, in the form of grabbing her hair. While he is not a physically abusive person, instead using psychological methods more often, this is an example of the disregard he has for Yosano as an individual herself. She is diminished to her ability in his eyes, and Dazai is almost akin to a mirror in at least Mori's eyes. Both of these lead into my next point, the way both of them experience dehumanization.

Both Dazai and Yosano are, to some degree, seen as inhuman for their abilities and past sins. This can be seen in something as simple as the names they are given by others in their lives. They are the "Angel of Death" and the "Demon Prodigy." Both of these names assigned to them from those around them serve as stark reminders of their past wrongdoings, to which I will expand upon later. Yosano was essentially forced to play God with countless lives until she created her own undead hell, and this burdens her for the rest of her life. As a result of these events, even though it was not something under her control as an eleven year old child, she is viewed in a vicious light for her ability and involvement. Similarly, Dazai's humanity is disregarded by those around him because of his actions and behaviors, but most importantly, his nature. To follow a commonly stated metaphor in BSD, his blood is mafia black. During his time in the Port Mafia, Dazai racked up a laundry list of crimes, and the methods he used were seen as cruel even by Port Mafia standards. Of course, his actions are not justified by the fact that he is a child during this time. Dazai is very much a person guilty of crimes enacted upon others, so he is not absolved from all agency in this, but it is still important to understand that his actions were heavily for survival and his own self destructive pursuit to find something to live for.

Coming back to these two and their pasts as these inhumane figures, both also go through a series of changes as a person to go on a better path. Dazai himself could care less about good vs bad during his Port Mafia days because there was no person who guided him properly on that course, but once Oda's death sets Dazai's path in stone on the good side. Oda's final request to him is to be on the good side, despite the indifference Dazai harbors. Dazai lives out this path up to the current events of the timeline, and he clearly benefits from being in the Agency. He goes to deliberate lengths to hide from his past as well, he avoids any possible association with that and denies similarities between him and those he has harmed during his Port Mafia days, namely those he hurt, like Akutagawa. At the same time, as I pointed out, Dazai is making the conscious choice to change. Yosano follows this similar path of trying with the Agency because of Fukuzawa and Ranpo picking her up from Mori after the isolation facility. The Agency does not require her for her ability, unlike Mori did, she is more than it. She chooses to continue to save lives with her ability because she so heavily values human life.

And this brings me to my next point, their shared connection with life and death, and their attitudes surrounding it. Both Dazai and Yosano greatly value life, as ridiculous as that sounds for a character like Dazai. Yosano is intrinsically connected to the cycle between life and death because of the nature of her ability. She holds life as having more value than death itself, and she expresses this with her drive to save lives. Dazai does not have the ability to control the cycle itself, but he does have a connection to it through his suicidal nature. He stumbles between the line of living and dying due to his inability to find a purpose to live, but he does appreciate life. Dazai appreciates the way other characters such as Oda live their lives, and the humanity Dazai sees in them. He does not believe there is an inherent value to his own life, but he voices his opinions on the human experience and he admires how others do find a reason to live. Dazai and Yosano's frame of mind surrounding life and death is not the same, however, they do share a mutual value for humanity and life in some fashion, even if Dazai seeks out death more than Yosano ever does.

Now, to address Elise. Her as a topic is separate from the rest only because the connection between her, Dazai, and Yosano is speculation on my part. It is not something observable as fact to canon, unlike something as the two's relationships with Mori or their shared themes. It is clear that Elise is at least partially inspired by an eleven year old Yosano. Before the events of the Great War, Elise is shown to follow orders blindly. She is a subservient ability, and her usual liveliness is not present at this time. This changes after Mori loses Yosano, and Elise behaves like an average child at this point, but the specific traits he takes from Yosano are her willpower and opinionated personality. Another notable detail in Elise's design is her hair bow, which does resembles Yosano's hair pin. This can be attributed to Mori's obsession with Yosano at this age, but I don't believe her likeness to Yosano is only because of that. She also shares traits with Dazai. What I'm referring to his her hair and attitude towards Mori himself. Outside of the time when Elise is based upon someone else, she wears her hair up in a bun. Though she is absent from timeliness between the Great War, we do see her after that, and she now has more open, wavy hair. While you can attribute to this design just for the sake of it, I do think it is interesting to point out this similarity between her and Dazai because Yosano has perfectly straight hair. Elise also chastises Mori, something that Yosano does not do, but Dazai does voice his disapproval of Mori and straight points out his faults, which Elise does too. She also exhibits similar behavior to Dazai in negotiating for what they want, neither lies, and I say this is a trait she got from Dazai only because Yosano does not do this. I think that Mori projects traits of these two onto Elise, a manifestation of his desires, both because of the obsession and because Yosano+Dazai symbolize regret from the past.

#bsd #bungo stray dogs #allen.textz #bsd dazai #bsd manga #bungou stray dogs #dazai bungou stray dogs #yosano bsd #bsd yosano #bungou stray dogs yosano #allen bsd thoughts #character essay #bsd analysis #this was from last month but Im posting it here

[littlegaybean1]

Helo I would absolutely read your essay on Ianto Jones

The people have asked so the people shall receive - here's my 2000+ word essay on Ianto Jones through episodes 1-4. I have another in progress for episode 6 and the audio Broken, which I have not listened to but I have read several different summaries of it.

Ianto Jones's official role in Torchwood Three is the Archivist. However, he acts as general support, receptionist, butler and crime scene cover up in addition to this role. Prior to the episode Countrycide, he remained in the Hub during field operations, however the sixth episode of the first series saw him in his first on-screen field mission. At 23 when the show begins, he is Torchwood's youngest member, however he is far from its least experienced.

Before joining Torchwood Three (Cardiff), Ianto was employed at Torchwood One, the London branch whose downfall is shown in the Doctor Who episodes Army of Ghosts and Doomsday. He originally worked there as a junior researcher, however he also took on the job of Yvonne Hartman's personal assistant. He spent a short time as a junior field agent before returning to work as Hartman's PA. Whilst working there, he met and fell in love with Lisa Hallett, whom he started dating. This becomes significant after One's fall, upon which Ianto becomes one of 27 Torchwood London employees to survive the events, out of over 800. Having grown up in Cardiff, Ianto returned there and convinced Jack Harkness to hire him at Torchwood Three.

Despite being qualified, Ianto had to ask three times on three separate occasions before Harkness eventually gave him the job. By the time the program begins, Ianto has been at Torchwood Cardiff for three months. For the first three episodes he has very little screen time, appearing last out of any Torchwood Cardiff employee. He is first seen when Gwen, the protagonist, arrives at the Torchwood Hub for the first time. In this scene he is acting as a receptionist for the tourist office that is run as a front to the Hub. He is completely separate from the other employees, isolated even within the 5 person team. Rather than introduce him as the archivist, Jack chooses to say "he cleans up after us and gets us everywhere on time." This introduction paints the picture of him as a butler or lower-level employee, rather than someone with five years of experience within the organisation.

This image of him continues, with him appearing in the second episode to provide the team with food and then assist Jack when a prisoner escapes. Other than this, he remains either off screen or in the background, a lonely figure about whom the audience knows very little. He is never presented as one of the team, nor does any member of the team make an effort to include him. The only times in which he is seen in this episode is when he purposely draws attention to himself, something which he only ever does occasionally. He remains in the shadows, not a character who the audience is meant to focus on. Given the constant action and his rare appearances, it is easy to forget that he is ever there, something reinforced by the bold and full personalities of the other characters.

The third episode highlights his role within Torchwood. During the major action scenes, he is nowhere to be found. When they are desperately failing to find Harris, nobody even thinks to call Ianto and see if there's anything he can do at the Hub. He appears almost as comedic relief at some moments, with the "Splott/Sploe" comment being the most notable. He is seen only when he chooses to be, forgotten once more due to the high stakes, fast moving action and dynamics between the other characters. The only hint towards what sort of relationship he has with any member of the team is the tiny tidbits of flirting exchanged between him and Jack on two occasions. Even this tells us next to nothing about he and Jack's relationship, since one of Jack's most renowned characteristics is his constant flirting with any and all adult characters, including robots.

However, the scene that speaks the loudest about his character's role is the very end of the episode. Having understood the full, terrible potential of the Ghost Machine, Jack has Ianto lock it in the secure archives. This would be a tiny thing, considering the fact that Ianto's domain is the archives, if it weren't for the way that he is told to do it. Jack simply says his name and holds it out in Ianto's general direction. He never looks at him, responding only with a nod when Ianto asks "Secure archives?". He treats him not like an archivist, or a survivor or even an employee, but like a servant, someone he pays to do menial tasks for him. He does not see Ianto as someone who he needs to show respect to, and none of the others question it. The entire team is present, but none of them have any reaction to the way that Ianto is treated. Not a single one of them sees a problem with the fact that he is being treated as lesser, or being disrespected. For Gwen, this is understandable since she is dealing with the grief and guilt of being part of a man's death, however Tosh and Owen just act as if this is normal, which leads to the assumption that this is a regular occurrence. Different versions of that interaction must have occurred multiple times over the short period that Ianto had worked there.

Which brings us to Cyberwoman. The very first scene mirrors the end of Ghost Machine - Jack handing something to Ianto without acknowledging him, before immediately turning his attention to someone else. Ianto is left behind whilst everyone else goes out, he is always the outsider, the other. At this point, it is revealed that he has been hiding the remnants of Lisa in his basement, half converted and in pain. Ianto had no way of knowing that Lisa was not still herself, she spoke and acted like any human would if they were injured and dying. Somehow, Ianto was able to smuggle a full conversion unit/life support system and Lisa herself into the Hub without anyone noticing. Whilst he undoubtedly took many precautions to avoid being discovered, the fact remains that he could not have done so if any member of Torchwood Three had paid him any attention. All of them were perceptive, intelligent and presumably able to recognise a cyber conversion unit, this presumption coming from the fact that Owen recognised it, who is neither a tech expert nor the longest serving agent. The only one who wouldn't have been able to identify what it was was Gwen, who wasn't part of Torchwood when Ianto brought Lisa into the Hub. Once more, Ianto was ignored by the rest of Torchwood, fading into the background immediately after the worst event of his life, surrounded by the only people he knew who knew the truth of the "battle".

Later in the episode, Ianto still remains loyal to "Lisa", even though the Cyberwoman no longer has any part of her left. This is what the team, specifically Jack, blames him most for, telling him to "stand as part of the team". However, prior to this, no effort has been seen to involve Ianto as a member of the team, allowing him to become invisible. He was constantly undervalued; they used him as a dogsbody. Lisa had seen him, relied on him and loved him. If they had been thinking logically instead of acting emotionally, they would have realised that there was no reason for Ianto to choose to stand with them and every psychologically based reason for him to try and save Lisa. He lost everyone who could have provided him with support after Canary Wharf at Canary Wharf. Due to the secretive nature of Torchwood, Ianto could not legally tell anyone about the horrors that he experienced there; and the only people who knew shut him out completely. The only person he had left was dying and in agony; and she leaned on him so heavily that he could not lean on her.

Another point to consider is that the way Jack acts around Ianto is entirely based on what suits him. He allows Ianto to become unseen when he has no need of him, but orders him to be part of the team when he is faced with the reality of his treatment of Ianto. This demand is done with Ianto on his knees and a gun to his head. The only motives that Ianto would have had for agreeing were fear of execution and planning a future betrayal. In this scene he is filled with too much rage to be afraid of the threats; and he never had any wish to betray Torchwood Three, his only goal was to heal Lisa. To assume otherwise directly contradicts his actions in future episodes.

What can be considered the cruellest action towards Ianto is the use of Myfanwy to attack the Cyberwoman. Ianto came to the Hub with Myfanwy, named her and was the one who fed her and cleaned her nesting area. For Ianto, Myfanwy would have been something of a very large, dangerous, untamed pet. Something else that he cared about ripped away from him just as brutally as in London. However, what's almost worse than London is that she remains present, still exactly the same but completely different to him. Her existence for Ianto will forever be tainted by the memory of her attacking the Cyberwoman who bore Lisa's face. Such a minor loss at the time compared to Lisa, but nevertheless something he cares about also taken from him.

As if the episode did not already cause Ianto enough emotional anguish, one of the most emotionally charged scenes had not yet come. After Myfanwy’s attack, Ianto attempts to enter the Hub again through the tourist office. Before he has a chance to enter however, the other four members of Torchwood catch him up, leading to him pointing a gun at them and stating that he has “nothing left to lose”. Jack is able to call his bluff and disarm him, pinning him against a wall with a gun to his head once more. What follows is a furious exchange in which Jack demands that Ianto enter the Hub again to execute Lisa if she was not already dead and Ianto refuses, saying that “I won't do it, you can't make me”. His only attempt to defend himself is minor struggling when he is first pinned to the wall, after which he remains still. He has no way of knowing whether or not Jack will actually follow through on his threat “you execute her or I'll execute you both”, meaning that he is fully prepared to die rather than comply. At this point, Ianto has been completely stripped of his humanity - threatened with a deadly weapon, defenceless and being forced to choose between killing what he still sees as the love of his life and dying in defiance, which would do nothing to prevent the Cyberwoman’s execution. He doesn't know if she is already dead, but chooses death over pretending to comply then running or taking the chance that he will not have to shoot her since she could already be dead. He eventually is submissive and goes after her, however it can be safely assumed that his intention was not to kill her but to attempt to save her again. He goes in alone and could easily have run, but he chooses to cling to what he has, the remnants of Lisa.

A dreadful scene awaited him within. The body of Lisa with chunks of flesh torn away from the bones lies in a pool of her own blood; and an unknown woman stands before him. A bloody line is drawn across the woman’s forehead; and she recognises him. She calls to him, revealing the horrific truth of the Cyberwoman's actions. This woman has the body of a young pizza delivery girl, one that Ianto had called here, and the cybernetically modified brain of Lisa Hallett. The bloody line is from where the Cyberwoman had opened her skull, performed a brain transplant and fused the skull pieces back together. This moment truly annihilated any hope Ianto had left, forced him to see that there was nothing of Lisa left in the most brutal of ways. Ianto raised his gun but could not pull the trigger, whatever this monster was still had some of Lisa's memories. By talking of the times Ianto spent with Lisa, the Cyberwoman poisoned those memories. He had lost so much, now even his happy memories have been destroyed for him. Lisa Hallett died at Canary Wharf, but that was the day that her lover’s soul died with her body.

#ianto jones #torchwood #ianto #essay #character essay #ep: Everything Changes #ep: Day One #ep: Ghost Machine #ep: Cyberwoman #it's totally normal to write an essay about a fictional character #right? #Ianto Jones is such an interesting character #he has the angst #he has the trauma #he has the backstory #he has the dead loved one #he is the true main character

[theromanticscrooge]

Lord Boxman, the Lonely Tyrant of Boxmore

Note: I've been wanting to return to writing beefy character essays for awhile and I was finally able to start back up after rewatching O.K. K.O.

Lord Boxman started out wanting to build a robot army strong enough to defeat POINT. Look at his early interactions with his first sapient robot Mr. Logic. This was his original business partner; someone he 'invented' to help fill in what gaps and blind spots he might have. Someone he wanted active feedback and suggestions from. Boxman himself was a lot more open-minded, patient, and collaborative at this point in time. He immediately called Mr. Logic his 'best friend' and treated him with warm, open affection.

Mr. Logic advised Boxman that he shouldn't immediately jump at his goal because he didn't yet have the manpower or resources to pose a legitimate threat. Instead, Mr. Logic proposed using Boxman's inventing abilities to tweak and improve upon his current inventions, to sell these inventions to other villains, and build a villain supply chain store. With time, hard work, and concentrated efforts, Boxman would eventually have the resources and power to successfully launch an attack later. It was a big-picture, long-haul plan. The Mr. Logic-Boxman team led to building the main Boxmore company headquarters and establishing Boxman as a trusted robot minion supplier.

Unfortunately, Boxman isn't a big-picture man. He didn't stop to consider that heroes could also start up and maintain a hero supply chain. Suddenly, POINT wasn't an abstract, 'someday' goal-post anymore. The heroes were right in Boxman's backyard with the presence of Mr. Gar and the developing Lakewood Plaza Turbo. Boxman thought he had ample time to become an indomitable powerhouse, but if the heroes had the same advantage, he'd never be able to catch up and had to address that problem now. When Mr. Logic said to "ignore Lakewood Plaza," Boxman was too lost in himself to listen. He felt threatened and intimidated enough that it stoked his insecurities and anxieties.

When Mr. Logic ventured out to investigate Lakewood Plaza, it could be seen as someone talking to the "other" that their parent, friends, or whomever painted with broad strokes and demonized. Boxman told Mr. Logic that his role was to fill in the "logical inconsistencies" with his plans, but he never asked Mr. Logic what he wanted to do with his life. With Boxman, everything was tailored to realizing Boxman's dreams and ambitions. When Mr. Logic spoke to Mr. Gar, it was a partly about what the Plaza was for and what Mr. Gar hoped for the future with the other part inviting Mr. Logic to share his plans for the future; plans about and for himself, not just the sustainability of Boxmore.

After Mr. Logic had his perspective broadened and returned to Boxmore wanting something fundamentally different from Boxman's new "Destroy the Plaza!" direction, it was the straw that broke the proverbial camel's back. Boxman was already knee-deep in plans to stop this new existential threat; to have full control over his environment and his life. When Mr. Logic challenged Boxman's worldview, Boxman saw it as a challenge to him personally. Seriously considering Mr. Logic's arguments here meant that Boxman would have to self-reflect in a way he wasn't equipped to. So if Boxman had to shave down Mr. Logic's personhood to a black and white concept of "obstacle in my way" to safeguard his ego, that's what needed to be done.

GIF by zevzevarainai

The episode "Lad & Logic" is a fantastic launchpad to unpacking Boxman's screwed-up dynamic with his other children. His creator-robot minion dynamic is an allegory for an emotionally abusive parent that sees their children as extensions of themselves rather than full, autonomous beings with their own wants and desires. Mr. Logic was fully self-actualized and wanted something different than Boxman. Despite what he said out loud, Boxman knew that Mr. Logic was on even footing with him. Everything came down to power dynamics. So, when Boxman invented his next set of robots, he opted to be their "parent" because of the power imbalance he could exploit.

Shannon, Darrell, Raymond, and others strictly and obediently follow their father's wishes because they were deliberately conditioned and threatened to. Boxman pits them against each other to vie for his favor. The only TV they're allowed to watch at home are movies he carefully filmed to reinforce his "father knows best" agenda. It's similar to strict Christian parents banning their kids from watching certain shows or reading certain books because they may contain "undesirable" properties. Anything that encourages their child to question Christianity or endorses more critical thinking about their household values period is a threat to their authority and maintaining a "functional" household.

While Darrell, Shannon, and Raymond seem satisfied with their lives, unconditionally love their father, and gleefully attack the plaza, every time Boxman threatens them with the "furnace" or yells at them for failing, it's an exaggerated, blunt example of bad parenting. The "furnace" is a catch-all punishment for not being able to meet or exceed Boxman's expectations with anything and everything. He leaves some amount of ambiguity in his demands so that he can tug the proverbial leash every time he feels he needs to.

Granted, it's important to look at everything that led up to Lord Cowboy Darrell. Boxman's most egregious display of favoritism was when he built Boxman Jr. and refused to acknowledge how stung Darrell was. He kept pushing how much stronger, more competent, and better Boxman Jr. was overall. Generally, Darrell's respective relationships with Shannon and Raymond were strong enough to buffer against Boxman's picking favorites tactic. They'll fight each other for Dad's affection, but there was always an implicit understanding that they had each other's backs under normal circumstances. Jr. is different in that he had no significant relationship with his other siblings, only Boxman. And Boxman blatantly showered the newest addition with praise and affection the others never received.

Pushed to his limit, Darrell took matters into his own hands and staged an effective coup d'etat against Boxman. Through his disillusionment with his father, Darrell stepped up and became the focused, tight-knuckled business operator that Boxman could never be. Boxman tried to fill the mold that Mr. Logic helped him create and focus on appeasing his board of directors. But his all-consuming obsession with destroying the Plaza was always his true life's goal and work. This was such a core part of his character that he was miserable and hollow if he gave up on that goal. In contrast, Darrell can follow orders and do what needs to be done with whatever task he's given. The result of Lord Cowboy Darrell was one potential future of Darrell as a self-actualized villain without Boxman putting him down and actively demoralizing him.

After K.O. convinces Boxman to talk to Darrell and tell him he's proud of his achievements, it leads to the pivotal moment that Boxman couldn't give Mr. Logic. For once, Boxman looked at one of his kids and saw them as a separate, autonomous being rather than an extension of him. For that brief moment, he placed Darrell on equal footing. Darrell took over Boxmore partly out of spite but also out of an earnest interest in following in Boxman's footsteps. Without Boxman, he's a better Boxman; with Boxman, he's a co-conspirator that's as eager to destroy the Plaza as Boxman is.

GIF by the-green-sailor

Enter Professor Venomous. In stark contrast to Lord Boxman, Professor Venomous and Fink call themselves "boss" and "minion" respectively but it's really a father-daughter relationship. Venomous makes a point of bringing Fink along to important events or letting her tag along where relevant. He brings along what extras are needed to accommodate Fink whether it's a high chair, crayons, or even glorbs for a high-powered attack on some heroes. At their best, Venomous makes a point to talk to Fink on her level and she speaks very highly of what kind, affectionate gestures he does for her. Where Venomous trips up is discipline. Fink can do whatever she wants. Babysitters are run over by her reckless energy and disregard for other people that aren't Venomous. Any sign of a complaint or a tantrum is pacified with an expensive gift. When Venomous starts getting overwhelmed, the gifts replace all usual attempts at parenting or communication period.

After re-watching O.K. K.O. recently knowing that Professor Venomous was K.O.'s biological father from the jump, perhaps the "boss" and "minion" labels were Venomous' coping mechanism for knowing he abandoned one of his kids. It was easier to interact with and care for Fink as long as she was his "minion." That's a different enough relationship that he can compartmentalize it and distance it from what guilt or regrets he had from his past as Laser Blast.

When Boxman became business partners with Professor Venomous, it led to obvious shifts in his approach to parenting. After his night out with Venomous and Darrell and Shannon babysitting, he gave them T-shirts as rewards for their efforts. No pushes at playing favorites or nitpicking for once.

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With Professor Venomous in the picture, Boxman finally had the business partner he wanted and needed. While Mr. Logic's approach worked beautifully for kickstarting Boxmore, Boxman needed Venomous to cultivate it into exactly what he wanted vs what it was when tied to a board of directors. For a short time, Boxman and Venomous were building a blended family that was more successful together than separately. Boxman encouraged exercises and attempts towards Fink and Darrell getting along better. The Boxbots all received personalized upgrades from Venomous to improve and augment what weaponry or abilities they had. Fink now had access to what 'toys' Boxman could invent that were several grades above what Venomous could just buy. In short, Boxman dating Venomous led to him becoming a more proactive parent in a surprisingly organic way.

Venemous' intense self-destructive and literally destructive stint as Shadowy Venomous further elucidated what impact he had on Boxman. When Boxman had to step up as the responsible parent, the first problem he addressed with Venomous was how he'd been failing Fink recently with the "You missed Fink's recorder recital" comment. He was also emotionally strong enough to realize that Venomous was causing enough problems in the household that things had reached a boiling point and he had to leave. Breaking up would be emotionally devastating for him but Boxman was prioritizing the emotional well-being of his house and kids overall.

Even the devastating scene where Boxman leaves his kids to go off on an ambiguous "finding myself" quest was meaningful improvement on his part. Similarly to his confrontation with Lord Cowboy Darrell but with all of his kids this time, Boxman told them that they didn't need him. He was cutting the dependent and toxic grip on his apron strings. The Box kids are resilient and capable enough that they could carve out their own path.

There's a quote that Boxman brings up in another episode: "I'm a villain. I'm not a monster." In context, the quote was a punchline for a dark joke about Boxman potentially being a cannibal. Though, it interestingly applies when looking at Boxman's actions during his confrontations with Shadowy Venomous. Shadowy was the kind of monstrous villain that wanted mindless destruction and to see the world burn. Seeing the absolute lowest his partner could reach led to Boxman establishing what lines he wouldn't cross.

He wants to destroy the Plaza, not the world, and a pretty face isn't enough to convince him otherwise when he finds the self-assurance and confidence he needed. It's the pique of his character development as a father. While there is a lot more room for exploring this part of Boxman's character, there's enough substantial story here that it's an interesting look at a "bad dad" that was actively working on becoming better. Boxman and Venomous get back together later but only after Venomous proves that he's working through his bigger issues in a meaningful way with real, tangible results.

Over the last several years, there have been several stories tackling generational trauma that include parents realizing their failings and working on course-correcting with those failings. This has been a point of contention about a recurring to the point of tired stories in recent Pixar animated movies and the core of what made Everything, Everywhere, All at Once the powerhouse that it is. It's not too far of a reach to include Boxman as another one of these stories or even a decent starting place for digging into stories or characters dealing with generational trauma.

In Boxman's case, he could be seen as an example of an insecure parent that uses their role as a parent to reassure themselves in a constantly changing, unpredictable world. He only starts to get better when he starts changing and adapting to fit into that unpredictable world rather than trying to make his little corner of the world continue to conform to just him alone.

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