#for a main protagonist to use

[whetstonefires]

see the really fun thing about luo binghe for me is we're taking the established critique of a certain style of protagonist, the guy who goes killing and fucking his way through the world, accumulating victories and treasures and bitches and wreaking deserved vengeance,

the critique of this kind of fuck-emperor (i'm told many centuries established in chinese literature) that he is very clearly miserable.

that you don't live like that unless there's a gaping hole inside you that no amount of sex or power can do anything to fill, and yet you can't find any other way to even patch it over.

and then it's like. okay so why is he like this. does he have another option. the narrative doomed him to this; he is the audience's little toy. he is the audience's collective scream. he is the cycle of abuse made flesh. he is thirteen years old forever. at what point was he still salvageable. could he have ever saved himself.

and the answer to that last one is simultaneously no, he could not, people aren't made to be alone, how can you learn to be good and happy when the world gives you nothing but pain and betrayal; everyone needs a little kindness, sometimes all anyone needs is just a little kindness. but also:

he was always the only person who could.

#hoc est meum #svsss #luo binghe #meta #they are both the scum villain and both the protagonist #and neither title means anything #and i will put up a spirited defense of this hill #i fuckin love semicolons guys gonna use two of them in one post nobody can stop me #poor little meow meows unionizing call that a main ship somehow

[bruhstation]

steam team's seniors during their baby years

A friend group so weird and toxic to people they dislike it could rival It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia’s. They're not immune to the "I came to Sodor to avoid my problems and wanted a fresh start" trope many Sudrians also follow

Edward Pettigrew

Age: 31 as of 1984

A kind, friendly NWR railwayman who didn’t mind a lot of things and was popular amongst younger folks for his looks and demeanor. He likes showing newbies the ropes of the NWR and Sodor as a whole because he just loves infodumping. Despite being made fun of by some railwaymen for his “weirdness”, Edward worked hard and was known as the jack-of-all-trades by his peers, usually treating younger and newer railwaymen to drinks after work to get them accustomed to Sodor (he did this to Henry, then Gordon, then James). Originally from the village of Pezë in Tirana, Albania, 1940s. Due to his beginnings in a small rural village and the Albanian government’s censorship of outside influences and heavy restriction of traveling outside the country, Edward’s hunger for knowledge about the world grew more and more. His family had connections to the Lëvizja Nacional-Çlirimtare and Edward’s particularly bright and good at talking, so he became a diplomat to travel outside Albania – a step into his plans of learning more about the world. After landing himself in the United Kingdom and studying everything he wanted, he believes it’s still not enough. He found out about an island infamous for its supernatural occurrences and cases of people missing just off the coast of the UK – Sodor. Being the curious man he is, he discarded everything that’s needed for the LNÇ to locate him and landed on Sodor, gorging himself with every mystery the island has to offer. Impulsive? Yes. But for the first time, Edward felt true freedom. However, Edward got too curious and nosy and became a casualty in an accident fueled by supernatural hysteria related to Lady of the Legend and was transported around 40 years into the future, landing in 1983 with his memories all over the place. Despite losing his sense of self and having no idea what he is, his thirst for knowledge still lives on inside his head. His cheerfulness, amicability, and kindness are extensions he formed to make up for the hole inside his heart. Edward does love his friends, but he believes that if he can withhold information from them and make them all live in blissful ignorance, they can be truly happy – this all stems from his fear of exceeding his limits and being discarded (which he later copes by being a typical wise friendly old man in 1999). He often sees visages of Lady in his dreams.

Gordon J. Gresley

Age: 26 as of 1984

Joined after Henry. Looked like he was fresh out of a funeral. A young hotshot who was more polite, quiet, and reserved compared to his 1999 counterpart. Gordon started out as an apprentice fireman for the Wild Nor’Wester’s previous driver. He treated his arrival on Sodor as a desperate last resort to escape his issues and grief and pitifully believed he was “lumped with the social pariahs in the boonies”, but he’s gotten better and believed that this is where he can truly outshine everyone, much to the annoyance and chagrin of his seniors. Gordon acts like he knows what he’s doing in order to build up his image as someone who’s dependable and strong and revels in small basks of limelight. However, he was constantly uncomfortable with how Edward treated accidents as normal due to their survivors being in tip-top shape the next day and how Henry is so distrustful of and odd about everything and everyone and sweats 24/7, but he’s been masking and convincing himself that he’s not like the rest of them. He’s normal. He’s normal! Let’s all hold hands. Don’t be fooled by his sad face. Young Gordon can be arrogant and think he knows everything for being a youngin.

Henry Stanier

Age: 27 as of 1984

Joined after Edward, so he’s quite close to him. Gordon’s “senior” by 6 months. He’s always, ALWAYS scared endlessly about anything “out of the ordinary” and beats himself up over it, much to his own disgust. Henry had a deep rooted hatred and jealousy towards his peers for pitying him after a coworker revealed to other railwaymen that he’s narcoleptic without his permission. He’s been masking his disabilities despite it being detrimental for his well-being, but as long as people treated him “normally”, Henry would endure (dreadfully). He did this especially with Gordon, the newest addition to the Northwestern Railway at the time, because he didn’t want anyone else to treat him differently when they find out about his health issues. As an extention, Henry developed a vitriol towards Gordon too – he’s particularly jealous about how he’s so “ungrateful” of everything’s given to him like his fair looks, clothes, and position as the to-be face of the Wild Nor’Wester. They did become friends though despite the process not being easy. It’s okay. They became besties that were mean to old nosy folks. Initially wanted to pursue arts, but due to circumstances from his past related to his health and paranoia fueled by his past failures and “jinxes”, he came to Sodor as a half-hearted last resort to get a job. He wasn’t hopeful of having anyone respect him for who he is, but things do get better, much to his surprise.

James A. Hughes

Age: 25 as of 1989

Joined the NWR 5 years after Edward did. At that point, Gordon already discarded his GNR Green look and went for the blue attire (minus the big coat). Flaunts his beauty almost at any given time, especially when someone mildly complimented him. He’s more of a nerd (word used loosely because he acts like a know-it-all when he actually has no idea what he’s doing) compared to his canon, 1999 counterpart. James came to Sodor for a fresh start and believed he deserves more than what he’s given. He thinks he’s so tough and hard as nails – in fact it became his source of hubris because he gets into accidents and was scolded by his seniors for being so vain and stubborn. He doesn’t want to get dirty, he doesn’t want to shovel coal, he doesn’t want to get wet from the washdown suds – he only wants the good out of the work and doesn’t want to accept the “bad” sides as well, so James was branded as the “problem kid” of the NWR by older folks. James, who can’t handle harsh criticism and labels well, grow even more distant with them. He primarily hangs out with the RWS trio because they seem to understand his situation and the feeling of being “outcasted” (despite Gordon’s annoyance at his boastfulness). 

#thomas the tank engine #thomas and friends #ttte edward #ttte gordon #ttte henry #ttte james #casa tidmouth #senjart #ngl using the phrase ‘’steam team’’ for cstm make me frown because it makes the main cast sound normal or closer #when it cant be more far from the truth in cstm #young edward's rockin the persona protagonist default expression #can you tell I had fun coloring gordon's piece #ALSO can you tell that young gordon is significantly thinner here #and henry too. #james looks like a handsome woman. a bokukko if you will #(well technically he CAN be a woman whenever he wants to be but you get me.) #when james joined gordon already got his blue uniform (minus the coat) but I HAVE to draw greendon SO. SOOOOOOO

[beloathedboygirl]

the thing is, in terms of yellowjackets’ plot it makes perfect sense that jackie dies. the fact that she symbolises normalcy and civilisation so she has to for the rest of the group to spiral completely into cannibalism and cultism. and with the more basic fact that jackie obviously has the least amount of survival skills in the group like why would she be one of the survivors out of everyone? and yet actually thinking about her death tears me up inside so much. that she was killed by alienation from the group, as someone who was supposed to be their leader. that she died thinking shauna hated her. that she was killed by both her and shauna’s own stubbornness. that her death was Completely avoidable. and that any other night staying outside wouldn’t have killed her at all. dying in her sleep, possibly the tamest way to die out in the wilderness and yet the most haunting

#watching the show im like yea her death makes sense and then i turn the show off and stare at a wall in the dark and think ….. jackie……. #yellowjackets is almost tearing my brain apart man #jackie haunts the narrative for the entire show like girl you are the root of everything #probably mostly bc shaunas the main protagonist and she carries her grief abt jackie everywhere but also bc jackie was the captain. #she held them together before the wilderness decided she had outlived her usefulness #yellowjackets #yellowjackets rewatch

[theprinceandthewitch]

Hmm... it's interesting how they made Luz wear a witch's cloak in Hunting Palisman - the episode where she introduces Flapjack to Hunter. This is also the episode where Hunter defies Belos by choosing Luz over him. He goes back to his palace empty-handed and he doesn't hand over Flapjack to Belos. Unbeknownst to Hunter, he is following Caleb's footsteps.

But then, in Hollow Mind, they made the choice to have Luz not wear her witches cloak - instead they made Luz wear a jacket with a giant "E" on it. They could have given Luz a completely different outfit like they did in Hunting Palisman. But they don't... they make her wear this specific jacket...

...They also make Hunter wear Caleb's symbol in Hollow Mind... an episode where Luz and Hunter are trapped in Philip's mind... where we can see paintings of the two most important characters in Philip's life - his brother and a witch from another world.

But I'm sure this is all unintentional.

You know, like this is:

oh, nbd, just a painting being paralleled with the scene happening right before our eyes

here's a more high def image of the painting

Oh, hmm, okay, this is a painting of Caleb standing next to a witch with short dark brown hair and who just so happens to be a witch from another world. Both of them are startled by Philip...

Hunter, the Grimwalker who looks the most like Caleb, is standing next to someone who ALSO just so happens to be a witch from another world with short dark brown hair... both are startled by Philip's monster form...

Hmm, must be unintentional I guess.

there's also this:

Mhm, okay, I see... I see, very interesting. Here we have Caleb being lead away from Philip by a witch from another world after the brother's have a fall out. This fall out marks the point of no return for them, as Philip later kills Caleb out of anger.

Hunter and Philip's relationship completely deteriorates because of Luz, which leads to Philip's decision to kill Hunter. She shows Hunter Belos' true nature and she offers Hunter sanctuary at The Owl House right after he finds out Belos has been lying to him his whole life... Luz saves Hunter's life and changes it forever.

Hmmm... very interesting

But I'm sure this is unintentional [I'm being sarcastic]

#lunter #there is literally no way they didn't have a name for Evelyn at this point bc they already had a final design for her character. #Hunter also saves himself using wild magic - the thing he was taught to fear - in this episode. #i like the implication - regardless if it was intentional or not - that wild magic saved Hunter from meeting the same fate of Caleb. #Once In Hollow Mind and the second time in TTT - Flapjack is made of wild magic #hm. interesting. #I also like how Flapjack is the one who brought Hunter back looking like Caleb... in an episode where he asks Luz #-who is dressed like a witch and is #a witch from another world - to help him avenge the physical representation of Caleb and Evelyn's love #interesting. Since TOH was canceled right after TTT i guess we'll know how the ending would play out :( #but yeah TOH has an audacity abt it where it thinks it can just eff around for a full season #without ever letting the protagonist and main antagonistic force intereact UNTIL the end of season 1 #so crazy #speaking of TTT I still can't believe they made Hunter's fav animal wolves knowing Luz's school team is called wolves #then they color coded his wolf shirt and made that one lady say Luz must have been raised by wolves #hm yes. unintentional. whatever helps the antis sleep at night #like how that lunter kiss in SAI was unintentional teehee

[shehsart]

Someone on twitter said dabi reminds them of winter he just embodies winter so well and I'd just like to add that the alternate spelling of his real name "Touya" actually means winter night or starry sky while "Toya" which is the official translation means ignited arrow. That's so adorable both the meanings actually fit him so well.

He is such a contradiction. Fire quirk but cold resistance. The blue flames giving a cool appearance while being blistering hot, the lack of ice quirk which almost led him to death saving his life in the end. Looks like he's laughing when he's crying and saying he's lost all feelings when his emotions are literally out of control. Man.

#yeah this is one of horikoshi's sick tricks to make us sad #dabi #touya todoroki #bnha #lov #MHA is 2/10 but dabi is 11/10 #all this symbolism #I'll forever love the way hk writes his villains and makes their struggles akin to the main protagonists #hell it feels like the story was about them in the first place #bnha manga spoilers

[skoulsons]

“Joel was wrong it should be Ellie’s choice”

Yeah, it should be Ellie’s choice. Because she’s a child and this is everything her journey has been building up to. She should know all the risks that could come with and what it ACTUALLY (apparently, considering they did no scans or nothing???) takes to make a cure. She should be told everything. But if they kept her alive, she’d probably ask questions that the fireflies would not be willing (or able) to answer, hence keeping her under and not telling her. They were scared. They didn’t know what the hell they were doing

But think, for a second, that he’s the not the one who ‘took it away’ in the first place. The fireflies took Ellie and knocked Joel out. They did not tell her what this would entail. They got her under, somehow, and had no intention of waking her up again. They took away her choice and any agency she had WAY before Joel did. They were going to murder her in cold blood with NO certainties

Is what Joel did morally wrong? Yeah, I mean he killed a ton of people, that’s terrible no matter what way you slice it

But that is his child. I have little kids in my life that I love more than I can comprehend. You know what I’d do if their life was on the line like that? Whatever I had to to save their lives. You expect Joel to just sit there and say “yeah, go on ahead”??? Joel would not do that, not after what they’ve gone through and what they’ve become. He wouldn’t do it because he is a father. Because his child means more to him than some world that’s already twenty years deep into the infection. He loves her more than a world full of raiders, slavers, and cannibals that a cure couldn’t change the ways of

Marlene wouldn’t have compromised with him. He wouldn’t have compromised with Marlene unless they woke Ellie up and were able to run scans and things and Ellie agreed to let them do things that would NOT kill her. But that’s not how it went, so it came down to the extreme. Kill them all to save her. And really, you can’t blame him

#I get it. he’s our main protagonist. he’s her father. #but you need to stop and think and use your brain for one second #the fireflies also took it away. they took it away even WORSE than the game #because she was awake in the show until they put her under #they had the chance to tell her everything. to let her talk to joel. #but they didn’t. #ALSO?? ITS BEEN TWENTY YEARS OF THE APOCALYPSE??? WHY WERE THEY IN SUCH A RUSH??? #THAT is what REALLY doesn’t make sense. #okay! great! you found her! so take your time?? don’t rush in to it because you CLEARLY don’t know what you’re doing #let her be with her father and discuss with them everything it would take??? #run tests on her?? figure things out so you’re sure of what you’re doing?? #the world can wait a few more days or weeks. #it’s already waited twenty years #the last of us hbo #tlou spoilers #joel miller #ellie williams

[almea]

#RWBY #Blake Belladonna #Yang Xiao Long #Bumbleby #ice queendom spoilers #🥺 Seeing this scene again just made me so happy #Especially with this different spin of Yang being more interested in what Blake was writing and wanting to read it #There's also something kind of fun about how Best Day Ever was used as a beginning in volume 2 #But they used it as an ending in Ice Queendom #Low-key kind of want them to do another season of anime RWBY just because I think volume 2 era is a good time to focus on Blake #I will never forget the jokes about volume 2 Blake stealing Ruby's main protagonist role #Especially in the first half #There's another gif I made of this scene where Weiss is looking at them like 'What are you two even doing' #But it's visually less impressive than these shots so I left it out lmao #otp: bumblebee #For my own tagging purposes

[hamable]

Y’all ain’t talking enough about the cricket conscious. Looking for any spark of humanity in Jack Horner, losing his goddamn mind, his whole perspective in life shattering. We don’t get enough truest chaotically evil villains these days and having this one be an absolute stinker voice by John Mulaney is peak comedy to me.

…I say this and then use the tags to talk about all the other incredible things about the movie and I get it actually there’s so much good to process…

#puss in boots #I could write an essay on how instead of a few characters following a complicated plot this movie took many complex characters following a #simpler plot and the dynamics there in were so intriguing and captivating #like you follow the main protagonist with his own internal conflicts joined by a slightly antagonist mutual turned ally #along with a sympathetic family of antagonists that are fun and interesting as is but then they also go through a personal arc #a villainous side antagonist that’s just good evil fun #and a looming haunting threat of an antagonist that doesn’t overstay its welcome but never leaves your mind #just as death is for every one of us #always there in the back of your mind waiting to catch up with you #FUCK THHS MOVIE IS GOOD AND IM IN LOVE WITH GOLDI

[chirpsythismorning]

Wait a damn minute…

They’ve got Finn (Mike) listed first before everyone else in the cast on the Tudum site aka the most official, up to date site for the show besides Netflix.com?…

This got me thinking… I wonder if they—

!! MIKE MAIN CHARACTER ERA IS MAKING A COMEBACK IN THE FINAL SEASON OF STRANGER THINGS !! MARK YOUR CALENDARS 2024 !!

#stranger things #mike wheeler #byler #I don’t think they intentionally did this in terms of it being a literal smalltown boy reference #however if the duffers were to broadly explain the synopsis of the show…would they use the word smalltown?… #my main shock is Finn (mike) being listed first… #not only before Millie who follows right behind him #but also the older cast whose getting pushed to the end #which is a result of them choosing to put mike first out of all of them #you know what that means? #we’re going full circle #we’re going back to s1-2 roots #there’s literally nothing else they could mean by saying that #and it’s because the main difference between s1-2 and s3-4 is Mike used to arguably be the protagonist #and so… yeah that’s clearly what they’re referring to in terms of vibe #we’ll still get other povs and focuses just like we did back then #and there will be scenes with Will being the focus and el being in the focus for their arcs storylines #but Mike arguably is going to have to circle back and return to us as his own character as well #the ga is gonna realize they missed him dearly I can’t wait

[themyscirah]

Suffering more than Jesus atm (being a fan of 80s/90s Suicide squad in 2024)

#god amanda waller what did they do to you.... #i KNOW i never shut up about this but GUYS ITS SO BAD #fucking WHY would you take the interesting antihero protagonist and then strip her of any redeeming quality and use her as this horrific #unforgivable villain who is treated as a hated antagonist in her own comics #WHERE SHE ISNT EVEN THE MAIN CHARACTER MOST OF THE TIME #like why are you trying to make me sympathize with fucking harley quinn or smth when the actual main character is right there. why are we #turning her into this horrific villain w a million master plans making deals with the devil and shit. #we are supposed to like her. like maybe not all dc fans do because shes almost always an antagonist in other books but in her own shes the #main character!!! there should be some aspect of interest or sympathy for her. as opposed to just making her like badass or whatever #so sick of this #and its in freaking EVERYTHING right now on god i cant read other comics that are otherwise good (like ga) and enjoy them without the #obligatory intense demonification of one of my fave characters #like shes my no 6 in locg for a reason i genuinely love waller like yeah she sucks sometimes but shes INTERESTING. #this is not interesting or creative in any way what theyre doing with her #this genuinely could have been any government baddie like honestly #dont flatten 3 dimensional characters into 1 dimension (or at best like 1.5) to tell a story you tell the story around the 3d characters. #why do i need to say this. basic competent storytime #blah #amanda waller #istg i throw out another waller rant every freaking tuesday on here #suicide squad #you know what. at least we had the movie #you heard me. higher hopes for the new gunn dceu series than actual comics for the forseeable future #viola davis save me... #need to do a bit of 00s reading still to verify but on god watch this all come down to a fucking new 52 thing. like not to say that i think #thats where it all went wrong bc i need to read more to verify but i have an idea of what rlly did it and i think it was a nu52 decision #but then again maybe im stupid

[cosmos-dot-semicolon]

hey quick question about kaycee hobbes from inscryption

why wasn't she the main character

#inscryption #kaycee hobbes #LIKE COME ON YOU HAD THE PERFECT PROTAGONIST RIGHT THERE #creative. hardcore gamer. died in a fire. a self-shipper in the arg. #everybody loves her. she has actual relationships with the other main characters #could add to the tragedy of the story if she was the one who died by hanging on. instead of us just watching a guy smash a disc #why were we turned into some random wannabe youtuber instead 😭

[tiny-cloud-of-flowers]

Hmm

maybe i should make cliorenza a thing

#for context: lorenza is my FFXIV self-insert #and I ported clio into FFXIV to be the main protagonist for my version of events #and.. I still love her a lot but until we get more missing link info I feel like I can’t make any progress with the story of the selfship #from a KHUX perspective (using KHUX as a shorthand for kingdom hearts in general) #and if I make a hypothetical selfship for her using lorenza I would also feel more able to gush over her FFXIV iteration haha #plus it *could* help me get over some of the logistical problems I’ve been running into for my version of FFXIV events! #so.. it would be nice I think #it’s just mostly a case of whether it makes sense from lorenza’s perspective #heart of the void #selfshipping #love: crown of clovers (clio) #FFXIV!clio #of shards and crystal (FFXIV)

[mars-graveyard]

i know there was a poll for this a while ago (that i accidentally voted for behemo on because my phone hates me) but i think allen and nemesis should be the unofficial main characters of evillious

#yes by association levia and elluka #there's not really a reason here #i always used to think allen was the would-be main character because he gets an entire novel to himself then i read the others #i do think his central role in scap is nice tho #and nem just feels like she'd make a good protagonist (she does narrate the entire novel to my knowledge) #i read half of it. #evillious chronicles #nemesis sudou #allen avadonia #arte.txt #if any of this is glaringly obvious to people i apologise but i'm having Thoughts about the allen and nem stuff from heavenly yard

[stanielman]

YOU KNOW WHAT?? I MISS WHEN MIKE WAS THE MAIN CHARACTER

#yes please main character will arc #but ALSO #MIKE WHEELER #HELLO??? #he used to be so important to the plot and the main mystery solver !! #season two mike come back in the form of protagonist #byler

[androgynous-sack-of-flesh-3]

ok I just had a dream I was watching a musical but the musical doesn't exist in real life? crazy. Can't even remember any of it except for one (1) scene :(

rip that musical you will forever be missed

#the sack of flesh speaks #I know like there was kidnapping involved #The main antagonist has a cult and kidnaps a teacher #and then kidnaps the protagonist's sister and uses her body as a puppet to terrify her into giving up the throne? #idk #the thing is the first two acts were completed #but whenever the antagonist would show up the camera angle would change from illegally recorded phone to proshot with fluid camera movement #and the third act existed only in a notes app

[lathrine]

when i say hexadecimal would be a smash hit with the queer crowd, this is what im talking about

#local villianess found family's herself into the protagonist group #after being awfully brutalized and abused by her twin brother #(and also after spending hours tormenting the main cast) #because she's not really dangerous she's just weird and lonely #like she's VERY EXTREMELY dangerous but is just super not interested in using her power for true evil. just chaos. #she is the Queen of Chaos after all. a benign virus. #no one in the protagonist group really trusts her but She Persists and ultimately saves everyone's lives *because* she's a virus #anyways this is your local Hexadecimal propaganda #i know it doesn't look good and aged like milk left on the counter #but if you ever watch reboot with me i will love you forever. one of my dearest shows and very crucial to who i became as a person #you can see glimpses of how i tell stories in it #and i quote it Constantly its just that no one around me knows its a quote so i just sound like im making dumb jokes #got a guardian icon pin a few years back and i almost cried. i hope someone makes those in enamel someday