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citruscitrushope · 1 month

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Why Ken Shiraishi is Still Written OK (aka why Vivid BAD SQUAD will never surpass RAD WEEKEND, and why that's a good thing)

An essay I wrote in someone's Twitter DMs as we discussed their belief that Ken's writing has been becoming out of character ever since On Your Feet, and my attempt to present a counter-argument that turned into an analysis of VBS stories up to this point.

1,089 words, warnings for swearing, spoilers, and the fact that this is barely formatted like an essay at all but was just a ramble I thought I gave some good points in and wanted to share.

So bro is openly going against the things that made rw what it was ("ok Toya make all the songs" <- that is not what happened with radder)" and I doubt bro would be full on ignoring it (nor clpl full on ignoring it seeing as they have all of the group's full stories planned from the beginning) and I personally theorize that it's to emphasize the four's strengths as well as to make them come face to face with their weaknesses to grow stronger (I think concerto is the most obvious case of this). Nagi's goal with rw wasn't to make something to be surpassed, it was to pass radder's dream to the next generation to reach the heights they couldn't (i.e. worldwide popularity) and I very much feel like the vbs story has enough backing them going in that direction (Toya's wl chapter, what I've seen of radder flashbacks, even Ken's whole reason for opening weekend garage).

For context, the preceding conversation was about how Ken has been going against a lot of his initial things (Running weekend garage to help the next generation, helping them not work as hard, etc), how he knew Taiga was gonna tell vbs the truth of RAD WEEKEND and that he should first but he didn't, and then how he's been overworking the kids and going against the team effort rw was by radder

Again, clpl kinda suck at writing vbs sometimes but dammit they ain't bad at foreshadowing, they teased Nagi stuff for a year or two before lutf and stuff after all. Plus they've never had a sudden decline with a character, it took two years for Mafuyu's mom to fully be revealed as bad, and even with Taiga that was a solid year. (Now what they do do a lot of are sudden "redemption arcs", sure the Otori brothers' was decent but all the times they've tired to have Shinodad or Toya's dad grow as people has been so bad like bro some people are just shit).

Plus vbs' story has been slower than most of the other units until this current arc (hell they took the longest to end their first arc), slow building blocks to surpassing RAD WEEKEND. So for this current arc to have them saying "our next event will surpass them" so suddenly just doesn't add up. It has to be a red herring. And again, Taiga's been this game's only true betrayal arc, others have been characters going from neutral to bad (Mafumom, one-off characters) or ones meant to be bad that eventually become allies to their respective groups (Arata, Iori, Otori brothers). Taiga going from an explicit ally to an enemy is an outlier, and I've noticed that they usually won't repeat plots and stuff in this game (well outside of Smile of a Dreamer and Our Happy Ending but I think that was on purpose).

I highly doubt that vbs' ending will involve them surpassing RAD WEEKEND, they're probably the only group who's initial goal hadn't changed over time (L/n "I wanna be with my friends again" -> "We wanna be pros that touch others with music". WxS "Let's save this stage" -> "let's travel the world to make our dreams come true" n25 "i need to save mafuyu" -> "she's seemingly saved but shits still tucked"). Even MMJ's which has seemed to always be "Let's be idols and give hope to others" has had steps to go through, it wasn't instantly "Let's perform in the dome" it was "Let's be idols" -> "let's do a live show" -> "let's do a solo show" -> "let's perform in the dome". VBS hasn't been like that, it's always been "let's surpass RAD WEEKEND" and never been anything but that, so their progression has just been them saying "this'll get us closer to surpassing RAD WEEKEND" with little to actually show for it.

It's a lofty, impossible task, and I think Ken and Taiga know that, but they view it in different ways. Taiga sees it as "you'll never live up to it give up stop trying" while Ken's is "you'll never live up to it but that doesn't change that you're still talented performers". Even though how characters always compare each other to radder (An and Taiga seeing Nagi in Kohane, Taiga seeing Ken in Akito) , they're not radder, they'll never be them, and I feel like that's what the story wants to have them and the audience eventually realize. That's what Nagi wanted, right? To have the next generation do what she and the rest of radder couldn't, to keep singing and to be known around the world. They've already contrasted how both Taiga and Ken have attempted to keep Nagi's wishes alive before (i.e. the whole "Don't tell An until she's ready" thing), and Ken handled this better than Taiga but both weren't the best at it, and vbs had to find the strength themselves to keep going. Taiga did it in a brutal and dream-crushing way, while Ken's was gentler and more honest but came too late, and I feel that they wouldn't get rid of that contrast with Nagi's other dream. Taiga ran off and became famous overseas, but never fully processed his grief. Ken is encouraging the next generation, but still isn't doing it perfectly.

So I feel that Ken's plan is to show vbs *their* strengths. The ones only they have. Not in the context of reaching radder's level, but in reaching their own, and truly fulfilling Nagi's wish. He's not doing it perfectly, he's overworking them severely, but I highly doubt that this is purposeful. Again, I just don't think they'd make the dilf have a villain arc.

But nothing anyone has done in response to vbs's dream has been perfect. Even from the main story with akitoya and Kotarou sabotaging Kohane, to Arata in sbd, to Taiga to Arata in bfby, and then lutf is obvious. It's a messy tale of unprocessed grief and unfiltered dreams, things that can lead to both triumph and tragedy. But I truly can't see any malice in Ken's actions, or even Taiga's to an extent. While there obviously was some there, to him I assume it was to protect the legacy of his sister and to not tarnish her swansong.

I don't fully know where I was going with this but all in all I think Ken has good intentions albeit with unintentional extreme expectations, VBS was never meant to surpass RAD WEEKEND, and the vbs story's messy pacing lately is purposeful

#project sekai #vivid bad squad #ken shiraishi #mine ☆#if the person whose dms this in wants this taken down lmk and i'll do it

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thekingofwinterblog · 5 months

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Why Maka and Crona works so well together

Probably my favorite part about any series is relationships between characters, what dynamics they have, how shared history drastically affects how they act together, and one of the reasons i love shonen so much, is how great the genre is at taking a relationship of mutual enemies, and flipping it on its head through two very disconnected souls suddenly developing a shared understanding, and a new and powerful bond blossoming from that.

Naruto and Gaara, Luffy and... Everyone, Izuku and Todoroki, heck series like Hajime no Ippo pretty much runs on this kinda dynamic. Even Fairy Tail, which didnt exactly start off great, and only got worse, managed to squeeze out one absolutely excellent character using this dynamic in the form of Gajeel and his relationship with the rest of the fairy tail crew.

In Soul Eater, this method of storytelling is used, speciffically to create the single best relationship between characters that the franchise ever made, in the form of Maka and her rival turned bestie Crona.

I'll leave a full analysis of why the actual fight that formed this relationhip was the series highlight for another day, as what i wanna focus on here is analysing what it is that makes this relationship so great post Crona's heelturn.

What makes Maka and Crona's relationship such a special thing, both in universe and from a storytelling perspective, is that both of them compliment the other perfectly, and helps them to grow... But it's not really spelled out the way that a less talented series might do.

Now with Crona, the way Maka helps in development and growth for the demon swordmaster is pretty obvious.

Timid, shy, afraid, and would much rather stay inside a dark safe, dark shell. That is how Crona starts the series, and doesnt exactly lose these qualities once Medusa's direct influence is lifted.

But that is not what Crona actually wants.

What Crona wants is to connect with people, but is way too terrified to try, as well as risking failing while doing so.

Crona needs someone who is willing to prod and poke, but also to show gentleness while doing so.

What makes their relationship hit so hard from day 1 is how Maka understands Crona completely, and is willing, and wants to give Crona the help and support to break the hold of Medusa. But not only that, Maka WANTS to be around Crona, valuing their relationahip enough that she is willing to stand up to Shinigami to defend Crona if necessary.

Maka thusly serves as Crona's anchorpoint, the center of all character growth and developments. She brings out all the best qualities out of Crona.

But the thing is that this goes both ways, because while the way Maka brings Crona out of the dark shell and into the Light, Crona does the exact same, just in a more subtle manner.

Maka at the start of the series, is a girl that is absolutely defined by her flaws, and all of those flaws are rooted in, not too dissimilar from Crona, fear.

"I wish all of you would just die!"

The total breakdown of her parents relationship, personally witnessing her father's many affairs, and not at all having come to terms with her mother abandoning her, has left Maka with a fear of many, many things.

At the start of the series, that fear manifests itself as being terrified at Soul abandoning her, her being completely unable to find it in herself to try to make up with her father, and her inability to confront the fact her mother abandoned her.

All of it comes together and it brings out all of her worst qualities.

Her hyper agressiveness, her short temper, her complete and total inability of giving her partner and friend soul the benefit of the doubt, and so on.

It also manifests itself in several moments where Maka's fear of danger hamstrings her, like when the sheer power of Stein's soul brings her to her knees, or when her hesitation to using Soul as a weapon(out of fear that he would get hurt) during her first fight with Crona ended up with him having to block an attack in human form, which drastically inreased the actual damage he would have taken as opposed to if she had just blocked the standard way.

Even when Soul was gravely injured, this fear also manifested itself as her being completely unable to really show how devastated she was over how badly he was hurt on her behalf before she was alone with the unconcious Soul.

She was afraid of her father, of stein, of anyone else seeing just how hard things could hit her.

This is not to say that Soul and Maka had an absolute trainwreck of a relationship at the beginning of the series, quite on the contrary.

They have a relatively functioning relationship, where they act as nagging siblings, or a bickering old married couple, but there is always that ugly side of their relationship hiding just under the surface, all fueled by Maka's flaws and fears.

But there is also the opposite, moments where the two strengthen each other, or take the bullet for the other if need be.

But what their relationship does not have, is Soul helping Maka truly grow past her flaws.

Maka at the start of the series and the person she was when she faced Crona a second time was a braver soul than she was in episode 1, but she had not grown past her flaws, merely become hardened, strengthened by expiriences.

Her truly changing from the girl dealing with the aftermath of her parents divorce, into the young woman that would defeat Asura, began in that basement surrounded by pillars.

After their shared experience of connecting to the other's souls, and understanding who Crona was deep down, Maka does something she hasn't truly been able to do since her parents divorce.

She shows genuine, honest compassion and kindness withouth the fear of rejection.

Compassion, understanding, and giving someone the benefit of the doubt.

It all begins here.

This is the point where Maka really begins healing from her parents divorce, where she is finally able to truly bare her heart to another person again withouth the nagging feeling in the back of her mind that she is setting herself up for failure, that was always the big problem with her and Soul's relationship.

Crona is not the only source of Maka's development in the latter half of the series, but it all began here, and Crona keeps bringing out all of Maka's best qualities just by being close to her.

Maka brings out Crona's kidness, bravery, and a deep, deep wish to connect with everyone else, while Crona in turn brings out Maka's compassionate side, her kidness, her understanding side, all of which she had very deliberately buried at the beginning of the series.

And it all culminates in the sand pit, where Maka discovers that her faith in Crona ultimately was misplaced, and she got backstabbed, just as she always feared... And rather than fly off the handle, she reacts with a display of tough love... That is rooted in understanding, and compassion.

She forgives Crona, because she understands. She knows Crona, and she knows just how deep down the scars Medusa gave bites, and so she reacts with understanding, she gives Crona the benefit of the doubt, and her support, a far, far cry from the impulsive and angry girl who screamed that All men should just die in epsiode 1 after feeling hurt by Soul's seeming betrayal.

And when she thinks Crona is about to die, the girl who was once absolutely terrified of showing anyone around her how she felt when she tought Soul might be about to die in a similar situation, and kept it all in, no longer does so, because such display of stoicism to keep face, rather than show the people you care abouy you actually love them, wasn't really worth much to begin with.

Maka Grows a lot over the course of Soul Eater, but the development that really, truly matters, is all rooted in her relationship to Crona.

Understanding, forgiveness, the bravery to take the moral high ground, to show how you truly feel rather than keep up a facade that isnt really you... To happily take the risk of being hurt by opening your heart because you know the warmth and joy that only comes by opening yourself to another person... It's a side of her that only Crona was able to bring out, the same way that only Maka was able to bring out the best aspects of Crona.

And that, is why they have the best relationship in Soul Eater.

#soul eater #maka albarn #crona gorgon #meta #croma #cromaka #soul eater evans #relationships #character development

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lovelyrotter · 4 months

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okay but i actually kinda wanna know ur take on stridercest being canon compliant O_O <- autism stare

oh hey i am also hitting you with the autism stare. ill try to get my thoughts down in a way that makes sense to more than just me hahaha

bear in mind that im an epilogue lover and i think Meat/Candy are really valuable pieces that further all of the characters and are also hard canon in the sense that we're looking at just 2 post-game universe outcomes out of an uncountable number (the book in the picnic basket representing post-canon fanfic). i think the characters actions in the epilogues make sense and are satisfying to me. yes even jane (i love alpha jane and i will not do her the disservice of 'cleaning her up' w/o showing her work for it. thats not how you depict a character who grew up with fascist programming). i could totally go on a whole tangent about this specifically but thats another post lol we'd be here forever and its also not stridercest

but okay. canon stridercest. under the cut cause it got kinda long

basically it has to do with the cherubs and how their relationships and mating rituals are pretty obviously incestuous leaning even though cherubs dont have the human concept of Siblings or blood family. the cherub who predominates will search across paradox space to mate with another cherub who closely resembles the cherub they predominated which is like textbook Freudian sexuality. theres a lot of Freud and Jungian stuff in HS imo even if im kinda [wobbly hand gesture] at the validity of these theories applied to real life and real people. but theyre super fun tools and lenses to use in fiction and i mean. gestures at all of dave

so the incest aliens cherubs. the whole reason why im talkin about them is bc Caliborn is so incredibly interested and invested in the Striders in particular. caliborn as both Lord English and Lil Cal shapes earth NOT OVERTLY but more so embeds himself in earth society, but again, the Striders lives in particular. dave is full of incest jokes. hes even apparently got a list of his friends arranged in order of how likely theyd incest-elope with each other (thank you epilogues for this amazing factoid). he seems to think about it often enough to, yknow, Do That. have a good solid think about that and construct an organized list about it. bearing in mind dave makes jokes about stuff thats a) bothering him, or b) generally camping out in his brain. hes not even really aware of it most of the time (as we see in one of the openbounds where hes all 'why am i thinking about puppets???' after seeing dirk for the first time in that dream bubble. he is thinking nonstop about dirk at that point and going off his only frame of reference for ANY dirk, which is his bro. his bro who was most likely deeply warped by Lil Cal)

sorry for the long blocky paragraph lol. but now onto the next thing

Caliborn as Lil Cal is the centerpiece in the beta strider apartment. dave cant escape him and beta dirk grew up with him. what the fuck do you do when youre childhood comfort item is also the most evil creature across all of paradox space? if youre a dirk you try to fight it. but how long can you keep fighting something like that. its safe to say that bro was affected by Caliborns particular brand of perversion and sfw kink. i dont think i have to say how insidious abusive and toxic he is about those things. and looking at the truth of beta bro (16yo alpha dirk) you can start to see just how warped beta bro became. beta bro is a false dirk (still a very Real dirk but not the Truth of dirk. beta bro has been toxified and made infinitely worse by an absolute evil influence over decades of life. in 80s fuckin texas. presumably in the system. anyone would be fucked up after that)

so for this analysis/theory im stating beta bro as a false persona. using jungian terms he is apha dirk's shadow

both dave and dirk live with a fake, carefully manicured version of their bros. they live with personas (or shadows of their guardians on the walls. hello platos allegory of the cave). they dont actually know e/o and they dont until the striunion

alpha dirk especially grows up embedded in the Public Persona Of Dave Strider 400 years post mortem and completely alone with unlimited internet access. hes a self admitted expert on his bro and we dont get to see a lot if any of his early childhood but i can hazard a guess at how much he clung to that persona of his bro. he fuckin idolizes dave. he LOVES dave. right off the bat he is in some kind of love with dave and i think if you try to argue against that then thats you slippin. i think youre a fool and have to reread homestuck because i wholeheartedly believe the striders loving eachother is part of the win state

once again this is speculation cause we get barely anything about alpha dave, but from what we already know about him im guessing this bro-persona is

achingly effortlessly cool

oozing masculinity (toxic or not, not really interested in categorizing that although toxic coolboy masculinity IS something the striders contend with & is an important facet in their lives)

a skilled fighter

a dedicated moviegoer (hes a director need i say more. this one is probably the only genuine thing about his on-screen persona)

and now lets look at jake. someone whos grown up on pretty much nothing but movies, whos doubtlessly been influenced by hollywood and its idea of gritty 'main character' masculinity through that, and who also clings to more old-school ideas of manliness (think victorian/edwardian era gentlemanly-but-loves-a-good-scrum kinda manly. moustache twirly with a monocle kinda manly. basically everything that grandpa harley is)

but okay lets look at what jake wants to be. lets take a look at his teenager persona

achingly effortlessly cool (his own 'hollywood star' kind of cool also def influenced by his favourite characters like lara croft who is indeed achingly cool. you see him succeed in inhabiting this hollywood star persona on earth c)

oozing masculinity (the old school manly mans-man kind)

a skilled fighter (two pistoles always. harder to aim cause you cant use a free hand to make up for kickback. that takes skill)

a dedicated moviegoer (again one of the only genuine parts about his persona. his questionable-to-wretched tastes aside. but bearing in mind that the SBaHJ movies are intentionally bad which is what makes them loop around to good. such is the nature of intentionally 'bad' art. jake fuckin lives in this perpetual bad-good art loop. okay enough with the art tangent keep focused man cmon)

because dirk has obviously way more contact with jake i dont doubt he sees through jakes own (admittedly way more flimsy) coolboy persona but the point still stands i think. different flavours but the same kinda guy. dirk has a type and i dont think its a stretch to say that hes looking for aspects of the bro-persona he grew up looking at in other boys, much like the winning cherub looking for the one they lost in the cherub theyll mate with

also wtf is with dirks obvious boner for dave chasing him across paradox space to decapitate him huh?? the last few sentences in Meat are about that very thing. he wants to fuc fight dave sooo bad. haha remember how the cherubic mating ritual is one of the most violent and long running spectacles in paradox space? i sure do

#stridercest #davedirk #dirkdave #alphacest #my t #thank you if you read all this HAHAHA #i am dedicated to my craft (autistic) (indulgent)

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snakeeyesdraws · 9 months

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Overly Analyzing the Super Mario 3D World story intro

So I've been playing Super Mario 3D World a lot, and since I haven't seen many people talk about the opening cutscene, I wanted to do that since it contains a lot of very cute animations!

This will kinda be a scene by scene analysis with me just pointing out things I like, but if you'd like to see the full cutscene in better quality than my screenshots, you can watch it here!

The scene starts off with all of the main playable characters going for a walk under a starry sky filled with fireworks. I know blue/yellow Toads have been staples of Mario games now, since they colour code the main characters and Mario is obviously red, but its does delight me that Blue Toad is just invited on this little walk with them.

(Also if you listen closely, you can hear Mario say "Ah Princess, what a beautiful evening!" and I thought that was cute)

Their walk is interrupted by Toad noticing something offscreen, and they run ahead to see a broken pipe in the middle of the path! Mario and Luigi closely examine it, and then we get...

ACTUAL PLUMBING FROM THE SUPER MARIO BROS!

Real talk, the more the series goes on the less relevant their status as plumbers often becomes, so anything that references it or shows them actually using their plumbing skills makes me so happy. And their tools are colour coordinated!

A bunch of power ups and the green Sprixie Princess pop out, and we get some classic 2d artwork, which I absolutely adore. More of this in every 3d game, please.

The ground and pipe start rumbling, and this is where I really wanna focus on the character animation of the main four here. All four of them start looking around for the source of the tremors, and we see both Peach and Luigi lifting their hands up, Luigi looking more anxious.

Bowser suddenly pops out of the pipe and roars, startling all four main characters. We can see very different reactions from all of them.

Toad and Peach jump before covering their ears, very clearly intimidated by Bowser's roar.

Luigi is the only one to fall over completely from Bowser's appearance. He stays on the ground and holds one hand up in front of his face, flinching when Bowser roars. Dude is clearly terrified by Bowser.

Mario does jump in surprise when Bowser pops up, but he's the only one who doesn't cower when Bowser roars. Instead, he immediately gets into a confrontational pose, with one hand held out protectively towards Peach. This isn't his first time dealing with Bowser, obviously, and his instincts are to prepare for a fight and to protect Peach.

However, Bowser's target this time isn't Peach, but instead the green Sprixie Princess. A lot of people poke fun at the set up for this game - "if Princess Peach isn't in danger, why do any of them care?" - but I always like when Mario & Luigi and the others try to rescue others simply because it's the right thing to do.

Bowser turns to glare at Peach and Mario, taunting them to react. Peach and Mario are both upset by the capture of the Sprixie Princess, but neither react too strongly to Bowser. Both of them have interacted with him enough to know what he's like.

Conversely, both Luigi and Blue Toad react much more when Bowser turns to them. Blue Toad stumbles onto one foot, while Luigi cowers back further, keeping his hand raised defensively, which seems to be a common mannerism of his when he's frightened. Bowser seems to be grinning a bit more in this pose, as if he knows he can get a bigger reaction out of these two.

When Bowser disappears down the pipe, all four of them regain their bearings and jump back up, reaching out for the green Sprixie Princess.

Peach is the first one to rush forward to the pipe. She sort of flounders on the edge of the pipe before she slips down it - yeah, I don't think she had a game plan there outside of trying to rescue the green Sprixie Princess. But proactive Peach being included on the adventure is always a win!

Before Luigi even lands his startled jump, Mario is already rushing forward to follow Peach down the pipe, and Toad is right behind him. I'd say it's out of mostly courage on Mario's end, and mostly out of loyalty to the princess on Toad's.

Then we get to my favourite animation of this scene (can you tell I'm biased?)

While Mario and Toad follow Peach down the pipe, Luigi pulls himself together and slaps his cheeks twice to hype himself up. It's one of my favourite quirks for characters to do, and it's doubly endearing on characters who are timid in nature. Luigi was arguably the most started and scared by Bowser's appearance, but he knows he has to do something! Totally adopting this as a common mannerism of his

Luigi then follows the others down the pipe, and they travel to the first world of the game, bringing the opening cutscene to a close.

Fun fact; since I've only ever played this game solo, and since I main Luigi, I assumed that his animation of landing on his stomach outside of the pipe was unique to him, since he's established as quite clumsy.

But in 4 player mode, you can see all of them coming out of the pipe together, and Mario lands on his stomach too. Just thought that was a cute detail.

So that's the opening cutscene of Super Mario 3D World! It's not terribly complex, but I've always adored it for showcasing a lot of personality with the main characters, and since I didn't really see any discussions on it, I wanted to highlight it!

I do recommend you watch the cutscene since a lot of the nuances and details can't be shown in screenshots - or better yet, play the game yourself! It's a ton of fun ^^

#snake talks #Super Mario #Super Mario 3d world #smb #mario #super mario bros #woke up with the urge to info dump about this game so. here we are #this was fun too do!! I might do more of these :]#just as a character animator I really care about and love small details like this #this cutscene isnt long but it tells so much about the characters and its very cute

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thedomesticanthropologist · 6 months

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Spoilers for Halsin?

Halsin is INTERESTING and I want to talk about this man, but I haven't done a FULL deep dive into his dialogue and romance so I'm gonna need you guys to help me out if I make mistakes here.

So we know he comes on strong pretty much from the get go, and even if you don't flirt he's got some language around admiring you/wanting you/bring with you "and now I have you" etc before the shadow curse is broken

Once it's broken man is like a bear in HEAT coming after Tav, in the most respectful way he can. He is smart, careful with boundaries, if you're romancing someone else he's great with consent but the whole time he makes it clear: he wants you. And he phrases it in a way that any romance novel enthusiast would be melting.

But then there's this neat thing about wood elves someone dug up re: Astarion being OK with you going off with Halsin that I want to make note of. Though not included in BG3 specifically in a book or otherwise for the player to read, there's this:

He says his heart does not stir lightly, he has had many lovers but his heart stirs for you, now. However, if you press him about your relationship he, though not teasing or mocking you AT ALL, does emphasize that the word relationship doesn't match his vibe Essentially, that you are BOTH free to persue others and at this time he says "you are all I want but you should -"

And a lot of players took this as oh, he only wants me and is not interested in pursuing other lovers because his heart does not stir lightly but I get to go bang whoever with his consent

And I'm like.... Kinda? But that really erases everything he says about how HE views relationships. He views them as the wood elves do, something to passionately engage in when you want it, and to freely disengage from when the time feels right, no possession involved, clear communication being important along the way.

And then at the end of the game

He leaves you.

And people flipped out over this, and I agree that the Epiolgues SUCK SO HARD

But I don't feel like this is... Out of character for him, for a wood elf, I just feel like the writers missed an opportunity to actually EXPLAIN HALSIN and Wood Elf views on romantic entanglements? They really slap you hard with his overwhelming attraction and devotion to Tav during their journey and do not prepare (except in bare hints of him tell you YOU are free OF COURSE and not that HE is also free, that part is IMPLIED and even so he never says he intends this to be an interlude, but he also has NO concept of how relationships work outside of the context of his own experience which has been rooted in Wood Elf culture)

And he never talks to you about it before the ending either "hey this was great but I'm gonna dip soon-"

Idk I wanna start a dialogue about it, because I don't have enough information but I'm trying to figure out what the writers wanted from his Character here, and how they wanted us to perceive him and his romance and like... Yeah.

Would love some extra character analysis from Halsin fans who have done a better deep dive than I have so far!!

#baldurs gate 3 #halsin bg3 #tav x halsin #baldurs gate halsin

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mirrormazeworld · 11 months

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TWST Theory : A Way For Yuu to Go Back Home (Deep Analysis Based on Alice in Wonderland and Through The Looking Glass) Part 1

⚠️WARNING⚠️

⚠️CONTAINS SPOILER CHAPTER 7 ⚠️

⚠️VERY LONG THEORY AND CONTAINS MATH. MIGHT GIVE YOU HEADACHE, PROCEED WITH YOUR OWN RISK⚠️

Finally we got some more essential informations from Diasomnia chapter 3 so it's finally time to end this long analysis of TWST Theory : Deep Analysis Based on Alice in Wonderland and Through The Looking Glass . The analysis and theory is longer than I expected so I'll divide it into parts. As for now part 1 of this theory is only about introduction to warm up our brain so it's still easy to understand before I drag you to this rabbit hole of a theory later. This is just my own personal assumptions, analysis and opinions as the fans of Twisted Wonderland and Lewis Carroll's work of Alice in Wonderland and Through The Looking Glass and isn't necessarily right, so please take it with a grain of salt. And as Alice in Wonderland and Through The Looking Glass are full of logic and Math, this final analysis will have Math as well.

Side note : I recommend you to read at least this previous theory first so you'll know what I'm talking about.

Epel: “What is your favorite class?”

Ace: So now you wanna know what I’m actually good at…? Mmm, I wonder what it could be… I guess maybe Enigmics?

Epel: Eh, Enigmics!? That’s one of my weaker classes, so that’s amazing.

Ace: Hah, yeah, there’s a ton of guys who’re not that good at this class, huh～ But hey, I kinda get it.

Ace: Like, when I first saw questions like "Express the strength of this fire magic as an equation," I was super confused.

Ace: But you can figure it out as long as you just remember the formulas to use, right? And…

Ace: There’s also stuff like “Express phenomenon A using this magical formula,” or “Derive the power of magic B using this equation.”

Ace: ‘Cause there’s only one possible answer, I don’t really gotta stress too much.

-From Ace's Broomquet Card-

(Translated by @/mysteryshoptls)

One biggest mystery of Twisted Wonderland that's Yuu's main purpose in the game and something Crowley has been avoiding the whole time to answer is : "How can Yuu go back to their original world?"

We all know that when the first time we play the game we see Dark Mirror with Crowley's voice guiding us to take the hand reflected in the mirror and then this is how we(Yuu) start to enter the world of Twisted Wonderland.

Ortho said there might be "specific conditions" and "coincidence" in order for Yuu to go back home. From what Ace said in his Broomquet card, in Twisted Wonderland, there's something equivalent of Mathematics in our (Yuu's) world called "Enigmics". It's said that a phenomenon in Twisted Wonderland can be expressed in the form of equation/formula in the same way as Math and Physics.

In chapter 7 Diasomnia part 3, it's revealed that Malleus can disturb spacetime. In the prologue, Crowley also said something about spacetime teleportation.

In physics, spacetime is a mathematical model that combines the three dimensions of space and one dimension of time into a single four-dimensional manifold.

So just as "Enigmics" is something to calculate and do some magic with certain formulas and equations like Math and is also claimed to be something that can answer and explain any phenomenon ocuring in Twisted Wonderland just the same as how Physics explain somewhat "magical" phenomenon before the formula was discovered, just like how Lewis Carroll put extreme level Math inside his works of Alice in Wonderland as the logic behind his writing, what if Yana really put some kind of real life Math equation as the concept for Yuu to go back home so that all this time what Yuu seek is actually this equation?

Looking back at my previous character analysis about Crowley having the role of Mad Hatter (and I recommend you to read it), if it's really true that math and physics has influence in Twisted Wonderland then the only reasonable and suitable "condition" that can explain all of this is the spacetime equation, the four number system called "quaternion" that is the main inspiration of Mad Tea Party from Alice in Wonderland. And if Twisted Wonderland is truly based on "Alice in Wonderland" and "Through The Looking Glass and What Alice Found There" by Lewis Carroll, then that would also means that this "quaternion" is actually also a way and a condition for Yuu to go back home.

The Key to Go Back Home : "The Missing Characters of Alice in Wonderland"

Have you ever noticed that despite the name of the game being "Wonderland", we never see some famous characters from Alice in Wonderland like White Rabbit or Mad Hatter? And yet we don't even see those characters in Heartslabyul dorm even though Heartslabyul is the dorm of Alice in Wonderland...

Ortho said each individuals in Twisted Wonderland has different specific conditions.

In reality, Mad Hatter, March Hare and Dormouse which appears in chapter Mad Tea Party from Alice in Wonderland are actually represents three terms of quaternion. In the same way, if Yana really put quaternion inside TWST then that also means we can put twst characters that meet specific conditions into quaternion as well, which means each TWST characters that meet specific conditions to be put inside quaternion will be the key characters for Yuu to go back home.

And those "specific conditions" are the traits/conditions that has connections with the characters that appears in Mad Tea Party from Alice in Wonderland, and those characters are the characters that's hidden by Yana, "The Missing Characters of Alice in Wonderland". Today I'll reveal who those "missing characters of Wonderland" are and also the "key characters" of Twisted Wonderland for Yuu to go back home

Mickey the Dormouse

We will start from the most obvious one which has already been confirmed by Ortho that Mickey is one of the "key characters" for Yuu to go back home.

In Disney Alice in Wonderland, Dormouse is one of the character at the tea party and he is always sleeping inside the teapot.

The dormouse is a nocturnal rodent; its name is derived from the French dormir, thus “sleeping mouse.”

In the newest Diasomnia book 7 chapter 3, it's revealed that everytime Mickey come to that room and interacted with Yuu through the mirror (and finally meet Yuu and Grim in person)those are all happening in his dream when he is sleeping.

Dormouse is also somehow "in a different place" which is inside the teapot. Mickey is in different place from Twisted Wonderland, which is inside/behind the mirror. In addition, if we put some wordplay like Lewis Carroll did in his works, Mickey only appears in ramshackle dorm and not anywhere else. Which makes him the "Dorm Mouse" (Dormouse)

Crowley the Mad Hatter

Not only because of obviously he knows something about the way for Yuu to go back home (and even if he doesn't really know he is in charge of researching it anyway), If you read some of my previous theory mainly from here about Crowley, you might already know that Crowley has Mad Hatter aspect in his character concept besides Diablo (in which makes him both Crow and Raven and thus also met the condition to be associated with Mad Hatter), but I'll give some more explanation and also conclusion from the previous theories about Crowley.

From this analysis I did previously, his name Dire Crowley, are both refers to a raven and a crow. Dire is read "Dia" in Japanese katakana, retconned to have similar pronunciation as "Diaboro"(Diablo) which is the name of Maleficent's raven. In Diasomnia book 7 chapter 3 Yuu, Grim, Silver and Sebek meet Maleficent's minion in Lilia's dream, which wear similar mask like Crowley's that only shows the light of their eyes. There are no official confirmation yet, but this is a strong sign that Crowley might be the minion of Thorn Witch/Thorn Queen, moreover her right hand man, as Diablo is Maleficent's right hand, which makes Crowley also a raven and therefore meet the condition as Mad Hatter from Alice in Wonderland as well, since raven is the key to Mad Hatter riddle, and crow is the key from its sequel, Through The Looking Glass which refers back to quaternion in Alice in Wonderland's Mad Tea Party chapter, both raven and crow are revering to the time itself. More about the explanation of Crowley's name that's associated with Mad Hatter riddle can be found there in this post.

Silver the March Hare

I know what you are thinking, Sliver is just a normal beautiful human and not a hare nor a rabbit fae nor he is born in March but why is he the March Hare?

Just the same way as I did an analysis on Crowley previously, I will need to solve the riddle in Alice in Wonderland first and then I can show you why Silver has the role of March Hare.

The Hatter was the first to break the silence. “What day of the month is it?” he said, turning to Alice: he had taken his watch out of his pocket, and was looking at it uneasily, shaking it every now and then, and holding it to his ear.

Alice considered a little, and then said “The fourth.”

“Two days wrong!” sighed the Hatter. “I told you butter wouldn’t suit the works!” he added looking angrily at the March Hare.

“It was the best butter,” the March Hare meekly replied.

“Yes, but some crumbs must have got in as well,” the Hatter grumbled: “you shouldn’t have put it in with the bread-knife.”

The March Hare took the watch and looked at it gloomily: then he dipped it into his cup of tea, and looked at it again: but he could think of nothing better to say than his first remark, “It was the best butter, you know.”

Alice had been looking over his shoulder with some curiosity. “What a funny watch!” she remarked. “It tells the day of the month, and doesn’t tell what o’clock it is!”

“Why should it?” muttered the Hatter. “Does your watch tell you what year it is?”

“Of course not,” Alice replied very readily: “but that’s because it stays the same year for such a long time together.”

“Which is just the case with mine,” said the Hatter.

Alice felt dreadfully puzzled. The Hatter’s remark seemed to have no sort of meaning in it, and yet it was certainly English. “I don’t quite understand you,” she said, as politely as she could.

In that captions from Alice in Wonderland, it's said that the Hatter's watch tells the day of the month and doesn't tell what o'clock it is, so we can assume his watch as a calendar-watch, and he said his watch is "two days wrong"

In reality, there was exactly two days’ difference between the lunar and solar calendar months, therefore we can assume that Mad Hatter’s calendar-watch runs on lunar time, and this explains why the watch is “two days wrong.”. Besides, "Mad Tea Party" can also be called a "Lunatic Tea Party".

Silver is one of the seven metals in Alchemy, and often associated with the Moon. The symbol for silver is also associated with the moon in astrology as well.

The Hatter shook his head mournfully. “Not I!” he replied. “We quarrelled last March—just before he went mad, you know—” (pointing with his tea spoon at the March Hare,) “—it was at the great concert given by the Queen of Hearts, and I had to sing.

“Well, I’d hardly finished the first verse,” said the Hatter, “when the Queen jumped up and bawled out, ‘He’s murdering the time! Off with his head!’”

“How dreadfully savage!” exclaimed Alice.

“And ever since that,” the Hatter went on in a mournful tone, “he won’t do a thing I ask! It’s always six o’clock now.”

A bright idea came into Alice’s head. “Is that the reason so many tea-things are put out here?” she asked.

“Yes, that’s it,” said the Hatter with a sigh: “it’s always tea-time, and we’ve no time to wash the things between whiles.”

“Then you keep moving round, I suppose?” said Alice.

“Exactly so,” said the Hatter: “as the things get used up.”

“But what happens when you come to the beginning again?” Alice ventured to ask.

“Suppose we change the subject,” the March Hare interrupted, yawning. “I’m getting tired of this. I vote the young lady tells us a story.”

In the captions from "Mad Tea Party", it's said that Hatter quarrelled with Hare last March (Spring) just before March Hare went mad, at the concert of Queen of Hearts (party) where he was murdering the time and thus stuck in tea time and can't move past six.

We all know that Diasomnia chapters of twst JP are all released in spring. The frame story of Alice’s Adventures—in both the Under Ground and Wonderland versions—mirrors the story of Persephone’s journey to the underworld, in which Persephone herself is the Goddess of Spring.

As this part is only introduction, I'll not going to explain into details here, but I can confidently say that what Malleus did is actually mirroring to what actually is happening with Twisted Wonderland itself, NRC, Yuu, and Grim.

In chapter Diasomnia, the one who went mad is Malleus who is using his unique magic that can freeze timespace and murdering time itself within the range of his magic that keeps expanding as he also borrows magic from nature as he is a fae.

In Diasomnia chapter when everyone fell asleep because of Malleus' UM, Yuu and Grim appeared in a dream behind ramshackle mirror, which is Mickey's dream, and because of it's behind ramshackle mirror and in Mickey's dream, the number on the calendar is reversed. Assuming it happened in the same month as when twst JP released part 3 of book Diasomnia, it seems like Mickey had this dream on May 15th, which means when Yuu and Grim arrived in that room because of Malleus' magic as Malleus went mad and freeze the time at 21:18 , it happened the same day as Silver's birthday. It's similar to the Hatter who murdered time at Queen of Heart's concert (party) and made the time stopped at six, which also at the same time when Hare went mad. Although in chapter Diasomnia the one who went mad is Malleus and not Silver, remember what kind of tea party is in Disney's version of Alice in Wonderland where there are Mad Hatter, March Hare and Dormouse? It's "Unbirthday Party", as it's the opposite of "Birthday Party", the same way as the reversed number in calendar as Mickey's room/dream is "The Dream Behind the Mirror".

Then you will wonder, "If Mickey, Crowley, and Silver are the three terms of quaternion, then who is supposed to be fourth term? Isn't it supposed to be four?" This is why in the beginning Crowley said "Grim and Yuu are one student" as they both represent the fourth term of quaternion.

How so? This is only an intro to the theory as I said so I won't explain it here, this is all for now. I'll post the next part after I finish writing it as it'll be even longer and much more difficult than this so please look forward to it!

#twisted wonderland #twst theory #twst thoughts #twst crowley #dire crowley #twst yuu #twst grim #twst silver #twst malleus #malleus draconia #malleus twst #silver twst #twst theories #twst chapter 7 #twst chapter 7 spoilers #twst ortho #ortho shroud #ortho twst

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accirax · 8 months

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DRDT New Character Talent Analysis

WHO ARE THESE GUYS???? GOING CRAZY GOING STUPID

Ahem.

As likely everyone has now seen at this point, DRDTdev made a very exciting announcement on Twitter– namely, that he’s been working on another fangan alongside DRDT! (Very relatable, once you make one fangan it’s kinda hard to stop.) Understandably, assuming this fangan is ever developed in full, it will be several years down the road, given that it would only be published after DRDT is complete.

However, we have these designs now, and I wanna know what their talents are, dammit! The blurb says that they are students trapped in a killing game, so I assume that they have been given Ultimate abilities. Thus, here’s my best shot and first look analysis. I tried not to look at anyone else’s work too much before presenting my opinions in order to get them out as fast as possible, so, sorry if I missed any major details that people have uncovered!

Notably, when I downloaded the images to my computer (so I could look at them without waiting for the website’s load time), all of them saved with weird number/letter codes. These probably mean nothing, although they do all end with “_o”, which could indicate that they were put through a code scramble of some kind. At the very least, the codes are a kind of convenient way to refer to the characters, so I’ll use the first three letters as a name. Also, I’ll be using they/them pronouns for all characters, since we don’t know how they identify.

We’ll start with the Protagonist, and go alphabetically by code from there. I’m so excited!!! Here we go:

I’m glad that this guy is basically confirmed as the Ultimate Teacher, because I honestly have no clue what I’d call them otherwise.

The main thing I noticed throughout their design was the repetition of red undertones everywhere. You can see them in two places: on the jacket, and in their hair. We know from the July 31st Q&A that characters in the Despair Time Fanganronpa Universe (DTFU) see blood as red, and that Monokuma’s color palette is black, white, and red. It’s kind of a suspicious color– the children’s hospital color theory of it all. O-or, maybe it’s just their favorite color…!

The bows in n9Z’s hair kind of remind me of the one on Peko’s sword case (sorry I didn’t put in a picture), although I doubt there’s a connection there. The gloves make me think of something fancy, the trenchcoat makes me think of a detective, the ID makes me think it’s something top secret… dude, what are you doing?

I guess there is the question of what exactly this person teaches. If we assume they’re the teacher Min mentions in A History of Hope’s Peak, it seems like the answer would be, “Ultimates.” If you want to teach Ultimates, you need to know and be able to do a lot of stuff, so that could explain the utilitarian design. They could have also initially had a background as something else, such as a government agent or employee of XF-ture Tech, before winding up as a teacher.

The fact that their eyes are always closed is also notable. Given DRDTdev’s penchant for putting important stuff in the eye designs, it’s possible there’s some important info in there that he's not ready to release yet. Like, if n9Z had black/red heterochromia or something, that would send us spinning. (Personally, I’m kinda hoping there’s an apple in there…) I also had the thought that n9Z might just permanently have both of their eyes closed, kind of like how Setsuka Chiebukuro of SDRA2 always keeps one eye closed. That would be a cute parallel to Min, whose eyes are always obstructed.

So, yeah. Ultimate Teacher, probably. Despite the fact that we more or less have their Ulimate talent, I somehow feel like we know the least about them…

My first impression of this person is that they’re definitely athletic in some regard. The ponytail that ends in a braid would be keeping the hair out of their eyes, and the athletic shoes would be helpful for running around.

About the marks under the eyes... While the comparison to my superhero design for Arturo is still a lighthearted jest, the reason for them being there may be fueled by the same reasoning. The superpower that @1moreff-creator gave Arturo was a skill that involved his vision, so I put those marks under his eyes as a natural mark that would mimic eye black. If you don’t want to read the entire link, eye black is those lines of paint (or sometimes stickers) that baseball or American football players wear under their eyes. While it’s not entirely scientifically proven, the point of the marks is supposed to be absorbing the rays of sun around the eyes to reduce the glare you would see. Thus, 0a6 may have these marks under their eyes to make it easier to see in a fast-paced situation (even though they're not particularly dark in color).

Additionally, if we didn’t already know who the protagonist was, I would guess it was 0a6. They have an ahoge in very much the same way that Teruko does, and they share an eye design with Hajime Hinata. The styling of their belt buckle also reminded me of how truth bullets are designed. However, 0a6 is NOT the protagonist, which must mean that these things mean something else. I don’t have much to say about the ahoge, but the eye design might instead imply that this person’s talent has to do with rejecting, opposing, or ending something. The bullet could be a regular bullet, and therefore imply that this person’s talent has something to do with guns.

For whatever reason, the hairstyle already made me think Ultimate Archer at first glance, so with the gun thing, I’m going to submit my guess as Ultimate Sharpshooter. This talent (and other slight variations of it) shows up pretty commonly in fangans (Kiyoka Maki of DRA, Desmond Hall of P:EG), and for good reason. It’s a talent that gives off a cool vibe, a potentially level headed yet aggressive personality, and can obviously be involved in many cool murder tricks.

My other guesses besides Ultimate Sharpshooter are in a similar ballpark– aforementioned Archer, Ultimate Bounty Hunter, Ultimate Spy, etc– but I could be way off track. I don’t see any weapons on 0a6, which would be weird for any of those talents. It could be more of a Debater type talent (with the eye symbol and truth bullet), or the blue gloves could hint at something more scientific (a la Charles and Arturo), although I don’t see the benefit to the sporty under-eye mark in either of those cases.

3Km is interesting, because they’ve got a lot going on. Hexagons, fire, zebra print– put it all together, and what does it mean? One interpretation is that their personality, too, is a lot.

I was immediately drawn to the markings on the left side of 3Km’s face, because I don’t know what they are. They could be angry veins, but… I don’t think veins really work like that in the shoulder. It’s far more than the typical anime stylization, not in the same place, and they don’t look particularly angry, so that's probably wrong. In that case, it’s probably a scar. But, what kind? Acid? An animal? Fire, like the symbol on their shirt?

Let’s move on for now and take a look at their pants. There’s a zebra pattern, which could imply a connection to animals/zoos or travel/Africa. The kind of pants they’re wearing are called chaps, which, hey, are typically ridden by horse riders! They’re meant to protect the rider’s legs from “thorny vegetation, extreme temperatures, and the animals they work with.” That definitely makes it seem like the zebra is important, as an equine animal.

Thus, my guess for this character is Ultimate Wild Animal Tamer. They wear chaps and gloves to protect them from the untamed animals they work with, yet they may have gotten a scar from a taming gone wrong. They’re strong so that they can get the upper hand, and the fire and piercings could speak to their rebellious, similarly wild personality. @venus-is-thinking also suggested that, as a Wild Animal Tamer, this character could work in the circus, which could further explain the flamboyant clothing and fire motif. They definitely seem like a character who could be putting on a show.

As for the other character pictured… that person is almost certainly 3Km’s sibling, likely a twin. However, as a fellow member of the killing game cast, we’ll get to them later! For now, let’s check out somebody else.

This character is one of the ones that I’m the most baffled about. They don’t wear a lot of symbols or field-specific clothing, so, it’s kind of a shot in the dark.

They definitely seem kind of fancy, what with the super swirly hair. Square scarves also typically seem to be worn in professional circumstances for stylish people. They’re wearing a lot of layers (including said scarf and a sweater), so it’s possible they work in a cold environment? Or maybe they just naturally run cold. There’s a lot of draping elements in their clothing, between the folded jacket and two-layered skirt, but that doesn’t really correlate to a specific location or profession.

The eyes patterns are also weird. They’re very spiky and not perfectly circular. What they reminded me of first were either an explosion, a loud noise, or a circular blade distorted while spinning quickly. Glasses are typically associated with nerdy or smart characters (like Eden and Charles), but anyone can wear glasses, so I wouldn’t use that as a huge selling point.

Anyways, the combination of fanciness, loudness, and potential nerdiness made me think some kind of talent incorporating a voice and art. I had ideas ranging from Ultimate Opera Singer to Ultimate Art Critic. In the end, I settled on Ultimate Stage Director, mostly as a vibe check. I could imagine this character ordering writers, actors, and set designers around with the goal of following their vision. A person like that who’s used to being in charge could be an interesting figure in a killing game. Again, though, I don’t have super strong feelings about this, so I’m extra looking forward to learning more.

I was going to slam dunk this one as the Ultimate Shepherd until @fuji-iri pointed out to me that there’s actually a sewing needle pattern in their eye! I’m kind of glad, because it gives me more to talk about and might explain some of the weird things I noticed if this character were the Ultimate Shepherd.

Besides the sewing needle, the eyes are definitely reminiscent of a sheep. Same with the braids in their hair– they’re arranged in a spiral reminiscent of a sheep’s horns. The cloud-like pattern on their cloak, as well as the soft-looking trim, seem fluffy and wool-like. 9lt definitely has a sheep motif, but that doesn’t mean it’s the talent exactly.

9lt’s bell hints at that concept. Although sheep often wear bells, according to google images, they’re more often regular bells than the circular bell depicted in their outfit. It seems like sheep can wear these bells, but they’re more commonly seen on cats.

There’s also a strong focus on pastel colors in the design, particularly pink. The design is very fun and childlike, it’s silhouette appearing smaller due to the large bow and lack of visible arms. (They’re also just pretty short.) The cloak, which obscures most of their body, kind of reminds me of Toshiko Kayura of P:EG. Small, cute, and childish, yet kind of mysterious and strange: that’s the vibes this design is giving me.

Given the sewing needle, it’s tempting to give this character a talent in fashion design. They do have a very specific style, which could play into their designs. However, with the strong connections to animals and fluffiness makes me think that they actually might be something along the lines of the Ultimate Plush Maker. It’s cozy and cuddly while also involving the sharp eye (of the needle) that a creator needs to have.

Now, this is a character with a lot going on. They’ve got symbols all over and a really fun hairstyle, so, let’s see how it could all fit together.

One of the aspects that first caught my eye was the flower in hwR’s hair. I’m pretty sure it’s a dandelion, which could be read in a couple of ways. The first is that a dandelion is a weed. hwR could be a character who often isn’t wanted, but manages to persist regardless. Secondly, dandelions have a lot of medicinal benefits if you consume them. So, hwR could be a character focused on health, especially in alternative ways. Thirdly, there’s the superstition that blowing on a dandelion will grant you a wish. I’d lean against this one because the dandelion isn’t… ripe(???) enough to be blown on yet, but the interpretation is still there.

The bunny symbol also has a lot of interpretations. As I listed out in the image, some options are good luck, longevity, opportunity, and adventure. The white rabbit is also a main character in Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland, which DRDTdev is clearly familiar with if the LGI MV is anything to go by. Generally, rabbits are also fast, cute, and known for multiplying. White rabbits seem to have generally positive connotations, which is a good sign for this character.

Other symbols include the crescent moon and sparkle type shapes, which seem to indicate nighttime or mystery. The symbol in hwR’s eyes is a spiral, which is also mysterious and could have to do with hypnosis. Apparently they also represent the circle of life, which could be suspicious…? Dying and living, killing games, and the like.

Anyways, with all this supernatural and superstitious imagery, I feel like the talent has to deal with something similar. I’m not exactly sure what to call it, or what the specific niche is. The one I wrote down in my notes was the Ultimate Alternative Medicine Practicioner, tying in the medicinal uses of dandelions and therapeutic uses of hypnotism. However, that title is a mouthful, and there are definitely other options. I sort of wanted the talent to just be someone who believes in spiritual practices, but given that a spiritualist is apparently someone who believes in talking to ghosts, the best name I could come up with for that was Ultimate Believer. hwR could also be something like an Ultimate Fortune Teller or a straight up Hypnotist, or a Lucky Student who really leans into the title. There are plenty of options, but I think it’s something in this genre.

This guy is fun! The fashion is pretty plain so there’s not a lot to work with, but I’ll give it my best shot.

As compared to 8CT (the one with the curly hair), Jfl at least has the very obvious symbol on their shirt to point us in the right direction. I’m pretty sure those are audio levels, which means that their talent probably combines something with sound with something with technology. I don’t know why they would need a lot of pockets or a hat with a visor for that, but hey, always good to be prepared.

The hat is pretty plain, but there is that green square on it. It may just be a large tab, as appears on many baseball caps to show off a logo. This one is blank, though, so it could be something else. It kind of looks like the press marker that appears on stereotypical reporter hats in, like, the 1920s, but those weren’t typically lime green, either (unless the black and white movies are fooling me hard).

The overall color scheme plus the fingerless gloves sort of make this character look like an Ultimate Hacker to me, but then I’m not sure what the connection to the audio levels are. They could also be something more like an Ultimate DJ, but the hat, jacket, and cargo pants make me feel like it’s something a little more active/outdoorsy. Thus, I’m going to go with the kinda-compromise that this character is the Ultimate Podcaster. In my mind, they would do some field reporting first (hence something that looks kind of like a reporter hat), and then come back to their home office and talk about it to publish in a podcast.

With my argument about the clothes feeling more outdoorsy, I have a few ideas for what the podcast could be about. The first is something along the lines of hunting cryptids. Jfl goes into the woods, looks around, and then reports their findings in, like, a ghost log. A little more in the realm of realism, Jfl could tail important figures around, either as a paparazzi-type person or someone who’s unraveling a conspiracy, and then release a report on them. That could also get Jfl involved in some kind of scuffle with XF-ture tech, which makes me lean more in that direction.

With the fish scales, knA is pretty obviously nautically coded. Their talent probably has something to do with water, but, in what way? Let’s look at the other details.

Just like Nico, knA has slit eyes. In Nico’s design, it was meant to make them look catlike, due to their profession as the Ultimate Pet Therapist. Similarly, 9lt has horizontal slit eyes, which are meant to make them look like a sheep. It seems like these elongated pupils are meant to make us think of animals, so knA’s talent probably heads in that direction. They also have a catlike mouth ( :3 ) and wear a collar, which (like Nico) makes them lean feline. Maybe it’s a catfish? Or maybe that’s more of a personality beat.

On the other hand, knA’s eye pattern has two circles in it, a larger one that goes around the long pupil and a smaller one that’s sort of hidden behind it. In context, this most reminded me of a sonar/radar system, which sailors use at sea to make sure they aren’t running into anything. Through that lens, the belt(?) that wraps around their leg reminded me of an anchor wrapped around a post. That’s kinda confirmation bias with the water thing, but it may have been intentional.

To be honest, I was really back and forth on whether to call this character the Ultimate Angler or the Ultimate Diver, but by the bolding, you can tell I settled on the former. I liked Ultimate Diver because it would place the character more among the fish (why they’re coded as an animal) as opposed to someone who catches them. But also, cats are known for catching fish, right? Plus, my interpretations of a sonar and an anchor would connect the character to a boat, which is less important for diving and more important for fishing.

Now this is the character that seems to be the talk of the town! And for good reason, too: they have a lot more recognizable imagery that specifically ties them to DRDT than anybody else.

First off, there’s the obvious XF-ture Tech logo, shaped like a hexagon, which appears on u1l’s jacket. That certainly connects them to the company in some way, whether they’re an employee or just someone who received some merch. This is extra interesting given that u1l wears the same pin that Min has on her design. In A History of Hope’s Peak, Min says she was sponsored by XF-Ture Tech, so maybe this guy was, too? It could be a kind of alternate company logo. Or it could have some kind of bug to listen in with. That’d be fun.

Otherwise, it’s pretty nondescript. They have regular eyes, a regular shirt, and a regular ol’ pink tie (other than the connection it may have to the Sleepy MV). The jacket is tied really weirdly at the bottom, kind of looking like a fish tail, but I think it’s a normal jacket. The boot design kind of reminded me of Xander’s, which could indicate that this character has to be prepared to run around.

Pinning down u1l’s talent is kinda hard because… honestly, I kinda feel like they’re just “Ultimate XF-Ture Tech Guy.” Like, they’re clearly connected to the company, and may be here as their representative. Thus, in my notes, I called this guy the Ultimate Technician.

A technician is “a worker in a field of technology who is proficient in the relevant field and technique, with a relatively practical understanding of the theoretical principles.” Is that vaguely tech-ish as hell? Yeah. Is XF-Ture a tech company that also does vague other things? Yeah. Ultimate Technician lets this u1l have a lot of skills yet not have to elaborate on it at all, which is something that I feel like they would enjoy. Just like how they might enjoy how all of us are chomping at the bit to learn more about them, and yet, we probably won’t hear anything for a while…

A very pretty addition to the cast! I love their vibes. Time to figure out what they mean.

There’s a lot here that signifies wealth. The crown hairpin is very obvious in that regard, as is the cape. Purple is often thought of as a color of royalty, and uBg is wearing a lot of it. Same with the cape– it’s an article of clothing often worn by kings. Their eye pattern contains a diamond within a circle. Diamonds are a jewel; wealth, royalty, etc.

This character also has some elements of promiscuity to them. Garter socks (which is what I think is what they’re wearing on their left leg?) are typically thought of as a sexually-charged thing to wear, and their other leg is fully exposed (oh my!). You can also see their bra peeking out from under their shirt, as well as some cleavage. Is this related to talent, or just to personality? I’m not sure.

While it’s tempting to go with something more along the lines of Ultimate Celebrity or Ultimate Heiress, I’m actually kind of partial to my interpretation of Ultimate Treasure Hunter. They wear a crown because it’s the treasure they’ve won, and there are diamonds in their eyes because that’s what they’re looking for! The cape could read as more of a heroic/adventurer thing, and the gloves also feel like ones belonging to someone more active. I’m aware this has nothing to do with the promiscuous aspects, but… like I said, that could just relate to personality! Plus, if you’re traveling the world searching for treasure, you might want a chance to tour the people, too.

Finally, we’ve returned to the probable sibling of 3Km, the potential Ultimate Wild Animal Tamer! If the similar color schemes and eye designs weren’t enough, the fact that their little chibis were obviously paired together makes it pretty obvious that they’re related. Assuming that everyone in this cast is the same age (18+), they would be twins.

However, I also want to propose that 3Km isn’t the only character XWu is “related” to. Remember how I mentioned that the XF-Ture logo was a hexagon? Well, the pattern in 3Km and XWu’s eyes is a hexagon. Could they also have a connection to XF-Ture tech, and thus, u1l? Maybe they’re part of the family who founded the company. It’s a big stretch, but it’s possible. Just wanted to bring it up.

Back to XWu, it’s interesting that they’re probably the twin of 3Km, ‘cause their designs are pretty opposite. While 3Km seems wild, XWu is very fancy. They have a chain, much like uBg; some boots that look sort of princely; and a very fancily-patterned vest. I didn’t notice while I was making my visual, but I think that the vest has snowflakes on it to mirror 3Km’s fire. Honestly, I don’t know if that means it’s more likely that it has something to do with their talents, or less…

I feel like XWu might have some kind of managerial talent. It could be something more business-y, related to XF-Ture Tech, or if 3Km is part of the circus, XWu could be, like, the Ultimate Ringleader. Leaning on the former, I settled for the Ultimate Business Consultant. I was thinking about 3Km going around the world taming animals or whatever, and XWu tagging along, making business connections and deals along the way. The “X” in their bangs makes me think that they might have a talent or personality that revolves around rejecting things. That could lean business leadership, so… yay?

And that’s that! To summarize, the cast of talents as I determined them were Ultimate Teacher, Ultimate Sharpshooter, Ultimate Wild Animal Tamer, Ultimate Stage Director, Ultimate Plush Maker, Ultimate Alternative Medicine Practicioner, Ultimate Podcaster, Ultimate Angler, Ultimate Technician, Ultimate Treasure Hunter, and Ultimate Business Consultant.

Obviously none of this is concrete, and I’m speculating based on very few details. I won’t be disappointed no matter what the talents are because, hey! We get more fangan content from DRDTdev either way! I feel like the Ultimate Winner with that fact.

I hope you all enjoyed reading this, and, if you have alternate interpretations or design elements I missed, I'd love to hear about them! I might make an update if we get any additional information any time soon.

#danganronpa despair time #drdt #drdt mystery fangan #what are people calling it #anyways IT IS DONE #sorry that it took so long everyone i was kinda busy today so i had to keep jumping in and out of it #like i said i really haven't looked at what other people have said yet so i have no idea if i'm #A) repeating what everyone has said already #B) totally off the mark with others' beliefs #or C) the only person who's attempted this at all so far #and that's not even counting websites that aren't tumblr. gosh #this was fun though! ultimate designs are always so creative :)#my theories #every day there is more drdt content to analyze /pos

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moonlessdusk · 4 months

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oh how i've missed your mkulia analysis. i love ur interpretation of mkulia, ur brain is so huge i was wondering if there is to be a season three, how would you personally want MKulia to happen if they were gonna be canon? and how would you want them to be handled? i feel you can go a lot of ways with it julia discovering she likes women arc, mkulia being one-sided/angsty mkulia, another character setting up mkulia, plain fluffy mkulia are a few i can think about! but idk what would hit the nail and/or work best for everyone

Thank you for indulging me anon, I’m pecking you on the forehead like a kitten ❤️

I think I kinda wanna start with what I hope the writers don’t do if they plan to make Mkulia canon. It’s sorta a blanket statement but I don’t want MK and Julia to get flanderized. TD’s writing has this issue where as soon as a couple becomes canon, the characters personalities are just reduced to the context of the relationship. I’ve griped before about Priya’s capabilities getting neutered this season for Priyaleb, Axel’s character development got derailed over Ripaxel, and Emma doesn’t get to be a character outside of Chase and twice now got eliminated right after him. Tbh the writing feels misogynistic in that sense, which might be why Rajbow has avoided this pitfall and Mkulia might avoid it too, being a wlw ship.

I hope Mkulia doesn’t just become a complete fluff ship because I’d also count that as flanderization. I still want MK to rib and annoy Julia but also have moments where she’s enthusiastically praising her, with occasional moments where she’s the serious one. Julia still needs have this 75-25 split of being the so called “straight man” to MK’s outrageous side vs just being being silly/flustered. This balance is what makes them enjoyable to watch.

I also don’t want MK to suddenly be flustered, I think she should stay the more foreword, self assured one. I just think Julia staying as the one more easily flustered and and self conscious one is more interesting for her character. Being worried about how MK perceives her is really the only context we see Julia feel vulnerable because otherwise she has such a good social and physical game in the competition that she’s never really anxious in a way she feels like she can’t take control.

I don’t think I really have a preference for how the show can set up the ship, they really can just do anything to establish it. If they don’t want to rehash the plot line of a character (almost certainly Julia in this case) realizing their sexuality, they really could just write Mkulia as casually getting closer (more touchy and having deeper conversations). It’s not like a point of conflict or anything, just passively happening. Maybe the other characters notice and it gives them sympathy points that help them dodge elimination because literally everyone else here votes based on who annoyed them that day or failed the challenge he hard enough as opposed to actually voting strategically.

However, season 2 was just full of rehashed plot lines so there’s a decent chance they’d do the discovering their sexuality thing again, which I’m not opposed to. I feel like they’d have to establish early that MK’s a lesbian though. I don’t know, maybe when Chris and Chef are explaining an unpleasant part of the first challenge MK makes a salty quip like “Ugh, sounds like my ex-girlfriend,”. Cut to Julia making a confessional where she looks flustered and says “Her what?”. Cut back to Bowie saying “Your what?” and MK rhetorically asks if she stuttered. Cut to an MK confessional where she shrugs and says something to the effect of she didn’t have a reason to bring up her sexuality earlier.

I think that Julia could periodically have confessionals where she shifts from defending herself with comphet (even if for clout), to denying she could be attracted to MK’s supposedly annoying traits, to a more pragmatic she can’t have a crush on her alliance partner because it would mess with her game, then finally lands on she can’t have a crush on her only real friend and risk ruining what they have if MK doesn’t feel the same.

Maybe further deterring Julia from saying anything is MK revealing that she’s actually had many short relationships that she cut off because she felt held back by them, she does pride herself on being honest and cold hearted, after all. But the piece of info MK omits is that she felt held back because her exes had an “I can fix her” mentality, whereas Julia loves MK’s sneaky and underhanded tendencies. I think it would be entertaining if MK catches on to Julia’s crush early and thinks it’d be hilarious to act oblivious while playing in to it until Julia makes a move.

I’m not going to get in to my specific hopes for season 3 story beats or what I’d realistically expect, but I’d like to see a midpoint merge Bowie/Julia double elimination where they really screwed over each other and MK and Raj go to see them off. Bowie has a quip about how it’s almost cute that his boyfriend and her girlfriend are both there. Julia is flustered but MK leans in to it because it’s funny, which gives Raj and Bowie a chance to say their goodbye.

This then leaves us with the MK vs. Raj, the wlw on mlm hostility feud I know a lot of use wanted. In this situation, Priya and Caleb are eliminated already so no one could oppose MK by association with Julia. Nichelle and Damien could still be floating around but I don’t think they would feel as threatened by MK. Wayne is gone too so Raj doesn’t have a morality pet. I’d like to see MK have moments where she goes “what would Julia do” and angst about not having her to lean on. Realistically it’s because MK’s social game sucks but it can have gay undertones. Then we get to the finale where both the gays lose, in actuality it’s because of Raj’s proximity to a winner and former runner up, and MK can’t win because she’s an antagonist and her proximity to a runner up. Maybe MK can get a kiss from Julia and promise of a date as a consolation prize. Idk if that’s verging into fanfiction territory but this more subtle approach is how I realistically think they’d write it if its not the main romance of the season.

A completely out there way they could write it is make them the first two boots. Cut the monologue every contestant has during their walk of shame. Instead have 30-60 second bonus clips like the ones from world tour but it’s framed as Julia and MK live-blogging the arrival of the next loser. But! It’s in the “Get Over Yourself” format where they’re mostly talking about themselves and we get just a couple lines from the eliminated contestant. Throughout the clips we can get a sense of their relationship progressing to romance.

On one hand, I think having a bunch of bonus clips with these two would be fun, on the other it would sort of suck to delegate them to this until the finale. But also I could hypothetically see it happening if network executives think featuring two gay couples in the show proper is too much to ask.

I guess what I really hope is that Mkulia just gets developed in some way at all. I’d hate for season 3 to start off by telling us they got together off screen, that would kill so much of the excitement over them being canon. I’d also hate for the relationship to be developed just to regress back to them disliking each other. TD’s writing has so many examples of taking a character or relationship (romantic or platonic), then getting to a point where they don’t know what to do with it anymore and go “fuck you for being invested” and ruin it.

I have hope though because if they could maintain Rajbow between seasons while writing season 2 without any fan input, I think they can do it with Mkulia. The writers have to be well aware by now that Mkulia is right next to Rajbow for most beloved ship of this cast so assuming there’s no network meddling, I expect season 3 Mkulia to be made canon and handled with care.

#total drama spoilers #total drama reboot #total drama 2023 #mkulia #td julia #td mk #total drama julia #total drama mk

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redhoodinternaldialectical · 6 days

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5 and 8 for Jason, and 19 and 21 for Tim?

Hello laufire :D I've seen you around in my notes a fair few times, thank you for the ask!

Jason first bc I am predictable 😌

5. First song that comes to mind for this character?

Dana Dan by Bloodywood! I had it as his theme song long before I started headcanoning him as religiously Hindu and the music video feels all the more appropriate now that I do!

youtube

There are a LOT of runners up, sixteen in specific I could name off the top of my head bc I made a whole character playlist for him and I listen to it every time I drive (burned CD in my car :3)

8. What's something the fandom does when it comes to this character that you despise?

Hoo boy, that competition is FIERCE lol I try my best not to talk about it in terms of complaints though. That's just not the energy I wanna have most of the time. That being said, since you asked for some salt ye shall receive hehehe!

I think the through line of the most annoying stuff is that people will point at something Jason did in his villain era and twist it wildly out of proportion into something unequivocally EVIL and then everyone else will (incorrectly imo!!!) claim that it's out of character and due to writers that hated him and we should throw it out.

The worst example of this by far is his fight with Mia Dearden

First of all, it was written by JUDD FUCKING WINICK so yeah this was not a matter of an unfavorable writer!! Second of all, I think it's a goddamned masterpiece of a comic, and THE successor to UtRH

So like you have the second Robin, born into grinding poverty, having to commit crime to survive, joining up with a vigilante mentor, and killing someone for the greater good, and then being utterly destroyed... and then you have the second Speedy, born into grinding poverty, having to commit crime to survive, joining up with a vigilante mentor, and killing someone for the greater good, and then growing from that to become a fully fledged hero in her own right! So similar and yet their paths have been so different with Mia healing and becoming even stronger and Jason having been isolated and pushed to villainous extremes.

Then during that confrontation each of them know about the other through hearsay and research, but have never met before. Each make their own assumptions and then prove that they are more than what was assumed of them! Jason makes a deeply flawed but earnest attempt to try and connect with Mia and she rejects it because she has the support he never did and therefore has already long ago grown passed what has destroyed and consumed him!!

And some people REDUCE their fight to just "evil scawy Jason trying to hurt poor widdwe Mia"???????????????????????????? Might I challenge those responsible to a duel of paintball rifles at dawn?!?!?!?

Kinda the entire fucking point of an antagonist is to let the complexities and nuances of the characters shine, and that's doubly true of antagonists that used to be protagonists! Mia and Jason are such amazing narrative foils for each other, and tbh, Jason himself is an extremely good foil in general! On top of that the Arrows have long been foils of the Bats, so Bruce and Ollie also foil each other in the background brilliantly as Jason runs rings around them both!!!!

I would need to start pulling up pictures of comic pages and write a full length essay to get into proper depth with it (And I do intend to eventually!!) but the way they each interact with that fight and with their own histories going into it is great for both characters and it's just... gah... basically my favorite comic ever and it's stuck in this meaningless tug of war over "characterization" from two sides who both mostly haven't read the damned thing, let alone properly dug into the analysis of why Jason did any of that or what it might mean to Mia beyond just being unpleasant...

I would KILL to get DC to let me write a Mia and Jason comic. There's so much fun shit that they could do together, no matter if they were allied or enemies, I'm gonna have to write it as fanfiction tbh, but the fact that Green Arrow (2001) #69 - #72 is completely ignored until someone wants to use it as flat proof of 'Jason bad and ur bad for liking him' is just...

Le sigh...

Anyway what the fuck was I doing? Answering an ask lol??

Okay here we go: Timmy Time!

19. A relationship in canon that you don't like?

Its gotta be Steph simply due to how badly it was mishandled. As usual with female characters, I feel like Steph's nuance and strength as a character was in direct conflict with how the authors implemented her narrative role as a love interest. The fact that Tim was flat out casually misogynistic to her for her whole introduction and it wasn't treated properly as a flaw is a deal-breaker for me. The amount of Steph's Wikipedia biography that's Tim's love life makes me want to commit arson. The ship itself in isolation from much of the canon may have potential, and the canon material itself isn't all bad by any means, but to me the relationship still feels like a net loss.

21. I do indeed write, uh, a considerable amount of fanfiction about this dude, so: What's your favorite thing to do in fics when it comes to this character? Something that you don't like?

I like making him more unhinged. Or rather, I interpret his early actions as having been spectacularly unhinged, and like to imagine he kept that energy up into later years. I'm so not interested in Tim being a well adjusted person tbh I want him in my wonderful little Freak 4 Freak ship being spectacularly messed up and incredibly weird with nonsensical ideas about how boundaries work

For what I don't like... Hmmmm, this one's a little hard to answer because most of that falls into the neutral category of stuff I have no interest in writing at all, and so I just don't lol

I suppose I don't like to do apologies, though I have written one. I like to get down into the messy depths of sympathy and resentment by having him talk about those conflicts with the allies that have hurt him. However, I think the direct contrition and simplicity of apologies has less and less appeal to me the more I develop as a writer. Apologies retroactively cement an idea of fault and blame. I think there's more room for exploration in having the characters talk through all of the components of the issue without ever having that particular kind of confrontation.

Thank you very much again for the ask!!! I hope this was a fun read :3

#jason todd #tim drake #damian's tomfoolery

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that-fanperson-meg · 4 months

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ok so I kinda went crazy and made a song analysis of “A Drink to Death” by Chonny Jash because of how much I associate it with Pleiades.

Pleiades and Dulciana belong to @loaflovesdoodling

also here’s the song if you’re curious lol

So let’s get started:

"Make sure my glass is full" "Let's crash and see how fast we go" He took a shot and held his breath "I'm gonna drink myself to death"

These first few lines are about Ades himself I think, what with him drinking away all of his problems away and wanting to drink himself to death despite being immortal.

It'll eat your insides Your brain burns and your skin dries Bumbling through the alleys like you think you're still alive I wanna hold you closely, I wanna smell your sweat I wanna drink myself to death

I see this part as him just kinda rambling on, as seen in the bolded lines that I interpret as him wanting to have Dulciana back with him again and Ades still grappling with her death (also the mention of ALLEYS? Come on the comparisons are too easy lol)

There will be no candles There will be no romance I will be alone We will not hold hands There will be no toasting There will be no romance You are young, I am an old man

This section is a sort of continuation of the other bold lines where Pleiades is wanting back Dulci and reminiscing about how they were back when she was still alive but now knowing that he’ll never do any of the stuff that they did together ever again.

And if I pass out, wake me up I may be drunk but I'm not drunk enough And everything keeps fucking up We were nice together, weren't we, once? I'm drunk but I'm not drunk enough We were nice together, weren't we, once?

I see these lyrics as Ades fully spiraling as he keeps drinking more and more to stave off the pain and grief of Dulciana and talking to himself.

Make sure my glass is full We can laugh 'til I am blasting off From now 'til nothing's left I wanna drink myself to death (I'm gonna drink myself to death)

The chorus repeats the same things as expressed in the first time

When I woke, it was daylight and the clouds were pink The sun was coming up... or going down, I think (I'm gonna drink myself to death) You can't see their silver linings when your vision's blurred A 151-proof tear detergent to clean what's down my shirt (I'm gonna drink myself to death)

Ok now this is where it starts getting fun :]

I personally see the first lyric as Ades’ talking about Dulciana in a metaphorical sense, saying that she’s the daylight and she brought light to his world…however as said in the lyrics the sun was going down (referring to Dulci’s terminal illness) and the next lyric only enforces this by saying that his vision was blurred (which I choose to interpret as Pleiades crying over Dulciana’ passing hence his vision being blurred by tears)

Make sure my glass is full Let's make the evening magical The lies have no regrets I'm gonna drink myself to death (I'm gonna drink myself to death)

Make sure my glass is full I'll crash to see how fast I go I'll take a shot and hold my breath I'm gonna drink myself to death

Once again the chorus only reinforces Ades’ grief and him using alcohol to cope.

And the nights have lost their minds And the mornings are unkind And this, the last I see of you The glass! Don't let me see it through

OK NOW THIS IS THE SYMBOLISM I CRAVE.

Alright so let’s break this into two parts (blue and red)

So I believe that the lyrics in blue would be Pleiades taking about his parents, what his mother being the night and his father being the morning

and the red lyrics are Ades hallucinating Dulciana because of all of the alcohol with him saying “the last I see of you, the glass!” Basically him seeing her through the glass

Make sure my name is known 'Til the pain will make you wish you don't Of life, we're all bereft I just took mine before the rest

I see this as Pleiades completely loosing himself in the alcohol as also represented by the music getting more frantic and intense.

Make sure my glass is full Let's watch this white light turn to gold Tonight is all that's left I'm gonna drink myself to death

Now this chorus is slightly different from the others and the bolded lyric can actually fit pretty well with Ades’ hate/fear of hospitals because the most common color in a hospital is white (hence the which it’s light) and Pleiades’ blood being gold and the theme that persists throughout the song of Ades wanting to drink himself to death so he can finally be back with Dulciana

And when I pass, don't call my bluff I may be drunk but I'm not drunk enough To fight the me that's on this stuff We were nice, but now I'm coarse and rough I'm drunk but I'm not drunk enough We were nice together, weren't we, once?

and finally the music slows and so does Pleiades as his thoughts begin to slow and his own grief takes over his thoughts, and as the last lyric asking Dulciana, “we were nice together, weren’t we once?” And with that it all fades away.

So yeah TLDR: Poor little meow meow misses his wife and wants to see her again

congrats if you actually made it through all of my ramblings lol, here take a cookie :]

🍪

#kirby original character #Idk why I made this #I guess I was just in a silly mood #Spotify

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athemarina · 10 months

Text

writeblr comeback!! (for real this time!!)

hello (again), marina here! i am back from another long break, and this time i am determined to rejoin the writeblr community properly, because i really truly missed it here!

it's been a couple months since i've been here, and there have been a couple of changes in my life and to the way i want to run this blog, so i thought i'd give an update to anyone who might still remember me and maybe get to know some new writers! <3

who am i?

i am marina/mina, 27, from austria. i've been on writeblr for quite some time now, but had to take a break due to work and uni being really demanding, and also my personal life kinda falling apart lol. but i've realised once more that writing is one of the things that give my life meaning and stability, and i want and need to reconnect with it.

i work full-time and am still finishing up my degree, so i'm quite a busy bee. nevertheless, with uni summer break just around the corner, i want to spend more time writing and finding inspiration here!

some random interests of mine: philosophy, linguistics, the beauty of greece, musicals, folk songs and folklore, horses, and formula 1. what a list.

what do i write?

i have put all of my previous wip on hold because i had no time to work on them at all the last few months. right now i am in the worldbuilding phase of a new fantasy story (it takes some elements from children of the king but will go in quite a different direction! there's robots in it now!!) i want to take working on this new wip really really slow though. i've spent the last couple months feeling horribly burnt out and don't want to push myself around so much anymore. so while a proper intro post will have to wait for a bit, i'll still share some of the stuff that's floating around in my head and can't wait to get to know other people's wips again!!

i want to try my hand at writing poetry and flash fiction! it's not something i've dabbled with a lot in the past, but i really want to expand my horizons!

i have read quite a lot this year and would like to share some reviews / media analysis as well!

things i love to write and read....

all kinds of fantasy, anything that includes vampires, grief and healing and not-healing from it, characters who make all the wrong choices, questions of identity, queerness, and love.

if any of that vibes with you, let's be friends pls!!

i'd love to be part of the community again, and i love talking about reading / writing / just about anything so pls never hesitate to send me a message if you wanna chat <3 i also love to do tag and ask games, but it might take me a while to get to it!

thank you for reading, and thank you all for being such a lovely community here! i'm back babyyyy

#hello!! it's really me!! i am back!! (and very sorry it took so long but life has been Messy)#since it's been literal months and a lot has changed i thought i'd update my writeblr intro a bit #for everyone who still knows me and hopefully some new faces too!#i'm very happy to be back again!#writeblr intro #writers on tumblr #writing community

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chelledoggo · 6 days

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My Analysis of "Lazarus Drug" by Meg Washington, and how it pertains to Bluey's "The Sign" [MASSIVE BLUEY SPOILERS]

(This post is going to deviate from my typical "all lowercase" typing style because I kinda want it to be taken seriously lol.)

So, I was doing some dishes earlier, and I started thinking about the song "Lazarus Drug" by Meg Washington. I started mulling over the lyrics and thinking about how it was used at the ending of the Bluey special "The Sign." The wheels kinda started turning and I felt compelled to attempt to present my interpretation and the thoughts I have about it.

Now, I'm not a music theorist or a seasoned philosopher or TV critic. I'm just about as much of a layperson as one can be. I'm just kinda calling things as I see them.

Although only the final portion of the song was used in The Sign, I wanna go over the full version of the song to give a better understanding of what all the pieces mean put together.

This probably won't be a play-by-play of every lyric (because I'm not that smart lol), but I'll do my best to get the point across.

Let's begin!

[MASSIVE BLUEY SPOILERS BEGIN BELOW THE CUT]

I am asleep, I am a slug I am a thief, I am a thug

The first lines of the song give the impression that the singer perceives herself as an impure person. She seems to bring attention to her vices of focusing too much on the self to the point where it could potentially hurt others.

You are grace, you are belief You are a Lazarus drug

This is where the song title comes in, and this section in particular is clearly very heavy on Biblical imagery.

Lazarus was a figure in the Bible, specifically the Gospel of John (John 11:1-45). He died of illness and had been in the tomb for four days. Jesus loved Lazarus so much, that he had wept upon the confirmation of his death. He then went to the tomb where Lazarus lie and resurrected him.

Note how the singer refers to the subject as a "Lazarus drug." When you think of a drug, you think either of something meant to treat an illness, or something meant to give someone a high. However, in this case, I think it's both.

Meg Washington said the following in an interview with ABC's (Australia) Double J radio station:

"'Lazarus Drug' is a song about love and euphoria and revival. It's really just an ode to whatever it is in your life – or my life – that makes you feel like rising up and floating in the middle of the air and splitting into light beams of happiness. "Writing this song was really special for me, because every time I sing it I feel the same way that I felt when I wrote it. I really wanted to make something that sounded like how we can make each other feel if we try very hard to share love."

The subject of the song is a loving, caring figure. You could even argue that they are a Christlike figure. The love and compassion that they extend to the singer not only heals their pain, but makes them feel high, as illustrated in these lyrics a few lines later.

And when you make A perfect circle in the sky I get so high I get so high I'm like a planet And I can't come down Oh, I can't come down

The next verse begins like this:

You are an angel And when you weep, the heavens rain I am a mermaid, eating at the sushi train

The "mermaid at the sushi train" metaphor is kind of up in the air, but I believe it might once again be highlighting the singer's selfishness.

Like, why would a mermaid be eating sushi? Why would she be eating her little fishy friends? Like imagine if Ariel was advertising frozen fishsticks... Oh wait...

It seems like a metaphor for thinking more about your own hunger rather than the needs of those you're meant to care for.

We sort of see this in both Bandit and Rad's subplots in "The Sign."

Bandit gets this high-paying new job in another city. He's going to have to uproot his family's life and take them away from the people they love and care about in Brisbane. However, Bandit doesn't really seem to consider too much how this might emotionally affect Bluey and Bingo. The way he sees it, he's doing the right thing. He believes he's guaranteeing a bright and comfy future for the Heeler family. He means well, of course. But in this case he's being so short-sighted that he doesn't seem to really take his family's feelings into account.

Likewise, Rad plans to move himself and Frisky out west after their wedding... Except that he didn't bother bringing this up to Frisky herself. His motives were arguably even more self-centered and short-sighted. He didn't bother asking Frisky how uprooting her own life would affect her. He just... assumed he could just smooth it over after the wedding. (I love you Rad, but... dick move, man. Dick move.)

But when you look in me With language in your eyes I get so high I get so high I'm like a planet And I can't come down

When the singer stops and looks at the subject, gazing into her eyes without needing to say a word, that "Lazarus drug high" comes back. She realizes that she's not in it alone. That there's people around her that love her and care for her, and they matter just as much as she does.

When Rad finally catches up to Frisky at the Lookout, they have this moment:

Now at surface level "I know you like it here" could just be referring to the Lookout, since it's one of Frisky's favorite places. But on a deeper level, I think we can tell what this really means. It's referring to Brisbane. You can even see the city in the background here.

Rad finally wakes up and realizes how much Frisky's home means to her. Neither one of them has to say a word about Brisbane for us to know that Rad's had a change of heart about moving. The way they look at each other during this scene speaks volumes.

Likewise, there's... the moment.

Moving day.

I feel it in the morning I feel how low it lies And then I hear you calling And then I start to rise I feel it in the morning I feel how low it lies And then I hear you call my name And then I start to rise

The Heeler house is all packed up in boxes, and the family is getting into the car to leave their driveway for the final time.

But just as Bandit's about to get in the driver's seat, he stops to answer a call from Bucky, letting him know that the Sheepdogs decided at the last minute not to buy the Heeler house.

After the call ends, Bandit walks over to peel the "SOLD" sticker off the "For Sale" sign.

He then gazes back at his family waiting in the car. No words are exchanged. He just takes a moment to look into their eyes. He's reflecting on what this move will mean for them. He remembers all the sorrow Bluey and Bingo endured over the revelation.

And suddenly his eyes are opened to what really matters...

And when I hear you calling Like you were always there I rise until I'm hanging In the middle of the air

He grabs hold of the sign, pulling it with the strength of two Bandits.

And when I hear you calling I split like I'm a snake With golden light like fingers And then I start to break Into a billion pieces

And...

...YEET.

Oh, I shatter into constellations Like I've never been more here Like I completely disappear

The ego shatters. Bandit foregoes the self and realizes his oneness with his family. That they all matter. That what they have in Brisbane is beautiful.

Sure, he could assure himself a cushy high-paying job and ensure a "comfy" life for his family.

But his family was already comfortable. More than comfortable, even.

His preconceived notions of what a "good life" could be disappear, because he knows they already have a good life.

I'm nothingness, but shining And everywhere at once I'm everything and everyone who is or ever was

Now this line is particularly interesting to me.

In eastern spirituality, especially Buddhism, there's a concept of "emptiness." Basically nothing and no one exists purely in and of itself. "Everything and everyone who is or ever was" exists because of interconnections through other factors. There's no inherent "thing" or "self." We're all one.

The words "emptiness" and "nothingness" in our western mindset seems to denote a feeling of despair and sadness. I think this is why Meg chose to word it as "nothingness, but shining." In the eastern mindset, "nothingness" is something that is shining and beautiful. It's not a sense of loneliness, rather a sense that you are not alone.

Bluey isn't a stranger to incorporating eastern spiritual thought into its episodes. Probably the most famous example is the episode "Bumpy and the Wise Old Wolfhound," which is loosely based off the Buddhist story of Kisa Gotami. The episode "Hide and Seek" alludes to the practice of mindfulness meditation, which is a practice rooted in eastern traditions. You could even argue that the episode "Slide" has themes of Ahimsa, the eastern principle of nonviolence and not causing harm to other living things.

Even "The Sign" incorporates the Taoist parable of the Farmer, which teaches about accepting the unexpected of life, and not labelling anything as "fortunate" or "unfortunate."

I also personally see themes of the aforementioned principle of interconnectedness. The whole episode is basically a literal "butterfly effect." Every little thing, from Frisky leaving the wedding and the Heelers going to look for her, to Flappy (who originally appeared in "Slide." Oh wow, this goes deep!) flying into the Heelers' car, to Bluey finding a lucky coin, only for it to get stuck in the binoculars that the Sheepdogs later use to spot their new dream house... it all leads up to the ending.

The ending in and of itself can't really be labelled as a perfect happy ending, either. Bandit can no longer accept his new job, and will probably need to find new work in Brisbane. How will it go?

"We'll see."

And You're nothingness, but shining And everywhere at once You're everything, we're everyone who is or ever was, forever

The final lines are just a pronoun switch of the ones before them. This could be interpreted in multiple ways. The singer could be addressing the subject of the song, but she could also be addressing the listener.

The song ends on a reminder that we're all connected. We're affected by the circumstances we face, including the love we're shown by others. Likewise, the love we show others affects them and those around them.

Isn't that kind of one of the overarching messages of Bluey as a whole? How we treat others - our friends, our families, our children - goes a long, long way.

...

WHOO. That ended up being more of a ramble than I thought.

Anyway, I'm just calling this as I personally see it from my silly overthinking layperson perspective. You shouldn't by any means take what I say as gospel, but I do hope I've at least given you something to think about.

And, of course, feel free to share your own interpretations!

If you've made it to the end of this massive skyscraper of text, thank you so, so much. I love you. 💖

#bluey #the sign #bluey the sign #meg washington #lazarus drug #long post #shut up chelle

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