#meta: my brother's keeper

[nanomooselet]

My Brother's Keeper (I)

So, uh, I have seen the complaints that Stampede is "poorly-written". Often enough, really, to get... somewhat overly bent out of shape about it. Stampede was my entry into the story and I may have mentioned once or twice that I like it. You know. Just a little. This is not to say it's without its flaws, but it's technically very skilful, at least to my eyes. It's just… skilful in roughly twenty-two minute chunks, so it crams a whole lot into those chunks.

Vash tells Wolfwood he can "see [kindness] in his eyes" half an hour tops after hitting him with a truck. It's assumed that they're relying on previous characterisation of the two to carry this beat.

They're not.

See, animated shows or films (and definitely in the case of Stampede) aren't only written. They're story-boarded, rendered, scored etc. and all the parts interlock with the other parts. It has to be taken as a whole: spoken, written, visual, musical, situational, compositional. These are twelve instalments of a single story where everything in it develops, comments on, or reflects what lies at the work's thematic heart, but you have to figure out how. It's not going to explain it to you. If the relationship between two characters appears strange, that's because there's more to it. And whenever you see something in it that visually echoes something else in it, get out your pasteboard and stick in two thumbtacks connected with string because the show's letting you know it's important.

Now, because I viewed Stampede first, my reaction to this part was very much like Wolfwood's ("???") but the more of the show I watched, the more sense it started to make, and the more I appreciated what it did for Vash's characterisation. Having since read the manga, in my opinion the boys aren't at all interacting like they're accessing past-life memories. Vash is too busy silently reeling over Jeneora Rock and dreading his confrontation with Knives to keep up the whacky act that the older WW pierced. Wolfwood is too young and trapped by his own hurt to empathise by seeing through Vash's false smiles.

There's something else going on with these two, and if you think carefully, it's clear what it is. There were two loved ones that Vash lost tragically early in life, and we can assume it's not Rem he's thinking of.* The heart of this series is "the song of the brothers."

Whose side are you on?

I have to choose.

Lo and behold, through that lens the character interaction made a whole lot more sense. And I want to talk about how.

So, according to the show's language, right from his very first appearance Wolfwood has a connection with Knives.

In the ensuing scenes/episodes, it was then clear to me that Wolfwood isn't just connected to Vash's brother. He's a representative, serving as a sort of understudy while Vash journeys to confront the real thing. Anything and everything Wolfwood does or says is with that role in mind, because he's either playing along or fighting against it. It dictates his development as the show unfolds. He's got a job and he'll do it, but which of the twins' agendas is he ultimately serving as he does? Even he can't yet be sure.

This is a significant change. It has a huge effect on Wolfwood's characterisation; it's why he comes across as less confident, more surly - he's rebellious, but conflicted and immature. In the manga, the first time we meet Nick he's (mostly) his own man and he (mostly) makes his own decisions. While he isn't honest about his agenda, he is trying to temper Vash's idealism for honest and well-meaning reasons, albeit in a bitchy way. When he reveals himself, throwing down the coin halves, you feel the man is protesting too much so it'll make what's coming easier on Vash. Despite how deeply the two came to love each other they couldn't communicate their forgiveness, but Wolfwood is at his core a good man first who lost his way, then finds it again in Vash. **

Again by contrast in Stampede, Nick's identity isn't his own to shape (yet). He standing in for Knives, and he doesn't much like it. He does know more about the actual shape of things than the reporters - for instance, he doesn't bat an eyelash when Brad mentioned how long they've known Vash. So he can readily talk with Vash and test his convictions. They basically both know each other's biggest secrets already, so they don't have to make a whole production of getting to know each other.

But standing in for Knives is also why the introductory aw-look-he's-nice-really scene is so quickly revealed to be staged. Knives is the primary antagonist, not a neutral agent - he's the most dangerous and personal opponent the protagonists face. He's also cruel, controlling and manipulative. His "help" is anything but. Any gift he seems to freely give, like a protector, will either extract an awful cost down the line or have some hidden purpose (if he isn't "solving" a problem he himself created). Approach with caution.

(You know how Nick did something no one asked him to do then hit Vash, Meryl and Roberto with a massive bill for it like a dick? You know how he then violently rescued them from a situation he himself engineered so they'd have gratitude? Those are Knives's most basic manipulation tactics, when he isn't just hurling verbal abuse: I help you/I love you so I'm entitled to take this from/do this to you. Wolfwood is causing problems on purpose by acting out because it's funny, and knows he won't get whatever he's demanding. Knives thinks he's helping, and rarely hears when he's told "no".

Also, both the English and the Japanese have Roberto calling Wolfwood someone who kills with a smile on his face. He doesn't, really, but we have met someone else who does.)

That means like every other character, Wolfwood isn't quite himself. Not yet.

And that's actually awesome. Because it speaks to who the other characters are - specifically, about Vash.

(Part II)

(Part III)

(Part IV)

(Part V)

(Part VI)

(Part VII)

* OR COULD IT BE, as inevitably assumed on tumblr when two men are in proximity, unspoken romantic desire????

I'm not saying it can't be a factor, but it doesn't explain why they start having discussions over their principles like they've known each other for years. Or at least, to me it doesn't. As I've said I don't ship them. If you disagree, it's totally fine! Hear me out and decide for yourself. There's no reason to believe both can't be true.

** By what's coming, I mean the same development that eventually comes to every iteration of Wolfwood. You know the one. And by "they loved each other" I don't mean necessarily mean romantically. My personal belief is that there were mutual feelings along those lines, but they're both too emotionally reticent to acknowledge them and might not have regardless. But that's just me!

#trigun stampede #trigun meta #vash the stampede #nicholas d. wolfwood #millions knives #not sure when to add the next part #there are at least three more. maybe four. help it's so long #day? two days? #tristampparty #meta: my brother's keeper

[clonehub]

And when I write my little meta about how both medics and command clones are the keepers of the culture and guardians of their brothers' bonds, what then

#ch posts #captain rex #star wars #fives #the clone wars #all the bros #commander cody

[imakemywings]

Analysis of Athrabeth Finrod ah Andreth

The Athrabeth is one of those things which spawns endless fandom discussion, but a lot of it seems to misunderstand what's going on in Andreth and Finrod's discussion, which is understandable. There's a lot going on and the language can be difficult. Athrabeth serves two purposes: 1) on a meta level, it is Tolkien exploring the differing fates and beliefs of the peoples of Middle-earth; and 2) on a textual level, Finrod is both having a cultural exchange with and seeking to comfort Andreth about the loss of Aegnor, his brother whom she loved. The two discussions are necessarily tied together, because Andreth's bitterness and anger over the mortal fate of Men (which she believes to be unnatural, imposed on them by Melkor) is tied into her feelings about losing Aegnor.

I want to focus on the relationship we're shown between Andreth and Finrod.

The Cultural Exchange

Finrod first engages Andreth, a wise woman among her people, in a conversation about the beliefs and mythologies of the Beorians. I have often seen Finrod criticized for being condescending here, and while I suppose you could read that attitude into it, I don't. When Andreth accuses the Elves of condescension, of considering Men beneath them, Finrod agrees with her:

"Alas, you speak near the truth," said Finrod. "At least of many of my people; but not of all, and certainly not of me."

He freely admits many Elves wouldn't bother with Men because they do consider them "creatures of less worth." But Finrod is among Men, asking questions about their culture and their belief system, because it interests him. From the very beginning, the story tells us Finrod's interest in Men and their culture is genuine, whether or not Andreth believes that.

Finrod (son of Finarfin, son of Finwë) was the wisest of the exiled Noldor, being more concerned than all others with matters of thought...and he was eager moreover to discover all that he could concerning Mankind.

And he seems to respect Andreth as a keeper of her people's knowledge, even if he doesn't always agree with it. The story very much sets them up both as respected individuals among their peoples, with even the Elves acknowledging Andreth's intelligence and knowledge:

[Andreth] was wise in thought, and learned in the lore of Men and their histories; for which reason the Eldar called her Saelind, 'Wise-heart'.

This exchange between them has always come off as one of deep respect on both sides, to me. It is precipitated by Finrod's grief for the death of Boron, a lord of the Beorians, and his struggle with the seemingly short lives of Men. He and Andreth compare the views of the world of their respective species and share beliefs that each side has in the nature of the world.

A number of things Andreth says Finrod knows are false, because he grew up in Aman, he's met the Valar. But even where he challenges her assertions--such as her belief that Men were not always mortal, but were made so by Morgoth--it isn't done with some effort to triumphantly prove her wrong, but rather advising caution or offering a different perspective.

"Beware of the chaff with your corn, Andreth! For it may be deadly: lies of the Enemy that out of envy will breed hate. Not all the voices that come out of the darkness speak truth to those minds that listen for strange news."

And there is a deep bitterness and resentment that arises around the notion that Morgoth robbed Men of their rightful immortality. It absolutely comes through in Andreth's tone throughout Athrabeth. It must be very easy for mortals to perseverate on this rather than taking mortality as the natural state of being and processing it through that lens. Andreth resents that she is mortal, and she sees her mortality (imposed on her by Melkor) as the reason she could not have Aegnor.

Andreth and Finrod like and respect each other enough to have a discussion/debate like this and still consider each other a friend at the end. Further along, Finrod even suggests Andreth may not be entirely wrong, but is deeply troubled by the notion that Morgoth could be powerful enough to do such a thing. In short, he is listening to Andreth, and while her assertions may not immediately make sense to him, he considers them and how they might impact a person's view of the world.

Andreth too, allows for some flexibility in belief:

"You speak strange words, Finrod," said Andreth, "which I have not heard before. Yet my heart is stirred as if by some truth that it recognizes even if it does not understand it."

While each of them already has their own ideas about the world and their species' relationship with each other and with death and hope, they listen to one another. They aren't simply arguing to prove themselves right--they are having a genuine discussion (which necessitates being willing to oppose each other on some things). Amid the discussion on mortality and the nature of death for Elves and Men, she says this:

"Hope, that is another matter, of which even the Wise seldom speak." Then her voice grew more gentle. "Yet, Lord Finrod of the House of [Finarfin], of the high and puissant Elves, perhaps we may speak of it anon, you and I."

There is some culture clash between them, as some of their views and beliefs are mutually exclusive, but although their discussion gets emotional at some points, it never, to me, feels mean or disrespectful. Here was a clear spot for Andreth to cut off the conversation if she felt talked down to, or upset, but instead she encourages it to continue. They may occasionally get intense with their discussions (Andreth does shed tears at a few points)--and Athrabeth implies in my view that this is not the first of these cultural discussions they've had--but they still like each other.

And that is part of the key to the Athrabeth for me--they are friends.

In the days of the peace before Melkor broke the Siege of Angband, Finrod would often visit Andreth, whom he loved in great friendship...

He comes to her in friendship, and goes out of his way to speak with her about the end of her relationship (whatever it was--the text isn't clear on that) with Aegnor. He opens this talk by asking her about things Andreth is known to be knowledgeable about--paying respect to her wisdom, and regarding her intellect highly enough to even have such a debate. He wants to understand her perspective on the world, and it does shape her reaction to her relationship with Aegnor.

Finally, Andreth, for her part, seems like she would be more than willing to tell Finrod to fuck off if she didn't like him or didn't want to talk or felt like he was being an ass. This is not a soft-spoken person; she is very upfront with Finrod when she wants to be. The fact that she continues to engage him both in the discussion about Mannish beliefs and about Aegnor suggests to me that she also considers him a friend, or at least that she feels generally amiable towards him

Explaining Aegnor's Choice

The other big criticism of Finrod that seems to come out of Athrabeth stems from this effort, which often seems to be a misunderstanding that Finrod is making an argument that Aegnor made the right choice, which is not at all how I read this discussion.

However, before that, I do want to say: Aegnor was not wrong to leave Andreth. There is, to me, an uncomfortable fandom attitude that Aegnor was obliged to stay with Andreth because she loved him, or that he somehow wronged her by choosing not to be in a relationship with her. No one is obliged to be in a romantic relationship they don't want, no matter what the reasons are. That Aegnor loved Andreth does not mean he was forced to be with her. There were other considerations in his life and I don't think it was invalid of him to place those first. Neither is it invalid of Andreth to be bitter about it--especially considering where she starts this discussion.

Andreth, early on, still believes that the reason Aegnor left her is because she isn't an Elf--that she isn't immortal. She talks about how she wouldn't have made herself a burden to him in her old age, how she would have only given him her youth, etc. She is 48 at the time of Athrabeth.

"I was young and I looked on his flame, and now I am old and lost. He was young and his flame leaped towards me, but he turned away, and he is young still. Do candles pity moths?"

You can see here her anguish over her own mortality, which ties irrevocably into her anguish over losing the love of her life. What Finrod tries to tell her is that it was nothing about Andreth that ended it. Aegnor's decisions were not based on his feelings about Andreth or her mortality, but on various cultural factors among the Elves (such as their disinclination to marry during wartime) and his obligations, in his mind, towards the war against Morgoth. Finrod tells her that "if his heart ruled" Aegnor would have run off with Andreth, but that he chose to put his duty above his desire for her.

"Adaneth, I tell thee, Aikanar the Sharp-flame loved thee. For thy sake he will never take the hand of any bride of his own kindred, but will live alone to the end, remembering the morning in the hills of Dorthonion."

He isn't trying to say "Aegnor made the right choice" or "Elves shouldn't marry mortals" but he is trying to give her context for a decision that's already been made. Aegnor is already gone; Finrod is trying to relieve Andreth of feeling that it was somehow her fault, or that she didn't live up to Aegnor's expectations.

"Then why did he turn away? Why leave me while I had still a few good years to spend?"

"Alas!" said Finrod. "I fear the truth will not satisfy thee..."

Here, he gives the explanation about customs of the Eldar and marriage, and about Elves and memory (specifically about how Aegnor, as an Elf, may prefer to dwell in the happiness of their memories rather than proceed to a grim future). Andreth does not seem especially comforted by this. It's understandable. Andreth is very bitter, and not unfairly: She's bitter that her people are mortal while Finrod's are not; she's bitter that this mortality (in her mind) cost her the man she loved; she's bitter that Aegnor left her. Andreth's life has been hard: it's very understandable that she's angry about it. So it makes sense that Finrod's words don't really reach her where she is now. She isn't ready for that; she's still dealing with all of these other feelings. But I do believe that someday, this conversation will mean something to her. Someday, when Andreth is older and has more distance, I think it will mean something to her that Aegnor loved her, and that it was duty, not contempt, that kept him from her.

Finrod does express belief that marriage between Men and Elves is destined to be sorrowful, but this isn't an illogical position from the half of the equation doomed to live on without their partner, or from one of a species who may literally die from grief. Naturally Andreth thinks of how she could have spent her youth with him at least, while Finrod thinks of how much pain Aegnor would have been in as Andreth grew old and neared death.

"I would not have troubled him, when my short youth was spent. I would not have hobbled as a hag after his bright feet, when I could no longer run beside him!"

"Maybe not," said Finrod. "So you feel now. But do you think of him? He would not have run before thee. He would have stayed at thy side to uphold thee. Then pity thou wouldst have had in every hour, pity inescapable. He would not have had thee so shamed."

It is also relevant that they both speak, on this matter, in ignorance. Neither of them has experienced or even seen a marriage of mortals and Elves (none occurs before Finrod's death in Tol-in-Gaurhoth). They are both speaking only from the heart, from what they feel would be true about it. It's also relevant to remember the decision has been made. Finrod is perhaps trying to explain how hard the marriage would have been in part to make Andreth feel better about its nonexistence, because he knows Aegnor will not go back on his choice.

And on some level, Finrod sees that he isn't going to radically change her view on this one visit, and that's when he backs off.

"And what shall I remember?" said she. "And when I go to what halls shall I come? To a darkness in which even the memory of the sharp flame has been quenched? Even the memory of rejection. That at least."

Finrod sighed and stood up. "The Eldar have no healing words for such thoughts, adaneth," he said... He took her hand in the light of the fire. "Wither will you go?" she said.

Athrabeth ends on such a tender note, it has always in my mind contributed to seeing the conversation as an overall positive: that Finrod looks forward to seeing Andreth after death, that he places himself--almost tentatively (and what is the meaning of that em-dash, Tolkien?)!--alongside Aegnor in her future. He knows her time on Arda is short, compared to his own, but he doesn't want this to be the only time their souls have together. It ends with his holding her hand in her grief and giving her this blessing:

"Wither you go may you find light. Await us there: my brother--and me."

This is why I've always seen Athrabeth as such an intimate conversation which speaks to a deep level of friendship and respect between Andreth and Finrod. It deals with a lot of emotionally volatile things, which I think makes people inclined to see either of them (Andreth especially) as upset by the conversation, rather than the issues that they are discussing in it. But to me, again, that they were willing to have such a raw, open discussion with each other speaks volumes about how positively they see each other. They are so clearly trying to reach out to one another from two very different places in the world.

"Yes, Wise-woman, maybe it was ordained that we Quendi, and ye Atani, ere the world grows old, should meet and bring news to one another...indeed, that you and I, Andreth, should sit here and speak together, across the gulf that divides our kindreds..."

"Across the gulf that divides our kindreds!" said Andreth. "Is there no bridge but mere words?" And then again she wept.

They don't always make it, and sometimes they wound, but they are trying. And that counts for something.

#Finrod #Andreth #The Silmarillion #meta #mine #okay I did it #this is really only concerned with the relationship between Andreth and Finrod #not an analysis of their actual beliefs #tolkien tag

[jacksmusesdrv3]

Your twin theory stuff has been going on for quite some time, have you considered making a run down on it because it’s a bit hard to find all your points and information on it because of how long you’ve spent on it and I’m very curious but struggling to put it all together

(Alright, take two since I got stuck for a loooong while)

This is a basic explanation of the Ouma-Monokuma twin theory! I will do my best to condense the concepts down in a way that flows simply and is easily understandable, but it will be hard to cover everything while keeping to the most relevant information. So if this doesn't do the job, I might finish the much longer meta on ao3 at a later date, in which I will cover… everything I possibly can, no holds barred and without the blog links. Which will take considerably longer and need very careful execution. (Yeah, this is the short version…)

General disclaimer: this is a view informed by at least six years of trial and error, ruminating in canon for patterns and their meaning. Through all this, I recognise that it is still a theory, and it doesn't make others’ ideas less meaningful. All the same, I need you to understand that this theory and its analysis is fundamental to my view of Danganronpa as a whole, not just my feelings about Ouma. And in my opinion, the presence of bad writing in DRV3 does not negate that view, either. So if you believe that it does, I hope we can agree to differ on our reader responses instead, after all is said and done. Thank you.

Alright, with that out of the way, dropping this under a cut as it's lengthy. Though rather than a lot of detail on what this means for Ouma's character right now, I'm going to dig through the surface with the basis of reframing, roles, academy history, psychology, narrative style for the mastermind, and the broader consequences, with feelings from my perspective to wrap up. I hope that will help give a perspective of the theory world, so that any evidence I give should fit easier in the future.

⚠️ Reader discretion is advised- this content details abuse further on and will be marked like this! ⚠️ 

[‘Then this story's not over.’]

The way I see this situation is basically like a 3D sculpture with two different pictures- ‘the fiction’ and ‘the conspiracy’. That is to say- in the ‘fiction’, there are things that are effectively motifs or throwaway remarks (such as, Ouma's comment about having a brother in his FTE), but in the ‘conspiracy’, they become clues to a hidden interconnected situation. A puzzle in the meta, essentially.

To begin, I’ll outline components of this framing, as these are necessary to understand how this turnabout works.

Catbox world: the question hanging in the air, 'is HPA fiction, or is it real'? What would the consequences of the latter be for the game and outside world of DRV3? In order to begin answering this, I think this way:

Domino effect: 'when you learn a new fact, you learn something else along with it'. Ex: if HPA is real, a very large and clandestine organisation may also be real, since one was connected to HPA's library. With that possibility opened, there are… a lot more potential threads coming from it.

Unreliable narrator: is there something Shuichi is missing? In Ouma's lab, along with the complete history file there are monitors and a hatch, and in his dorm room there’s a whiteboard with pictures and notes scrawled on, the latter two Shuichi doesn't even notice. There are things he cannot verify too - such as Rantaro's odd memory of the forgotten Prologue - which is left up to us, the players.

Contextual reframe: with the new information, we can infer for example that record keepers of the past are made obsolete, and since the HPA history was in Ouma's lab, this could make him a viable record keeper. If TDR's agenda is with historical record, its identity may be the secret society involved in conspiracies. This can greatly affect some of Ouma's comments in hindsight- one relevant to this is his FTE remark about ‘tricking the entire world’.

With doubt already on the most basic aspect of the 'fiction' narrative (that is, ‘HPA is fiction’) we can apply this principle to the Flashback Lights and by extension, the idea that the cast must also be fiction, too. 

Ex: Shuichi and Kiibo were made to see the Flashback Light panel in a way that was rigged up to be seen- it should not have been visible to multiple persons, so it's likely to have been tampered. We know Shuichi to be helpless with computers, so he would not be able to verify if anything else is amiss (ex. Kubs Pad and other options being withheld). What's more, with ‘fiction things’ - such as the Shukuchi method for Ryoma - being relevant in both the ‘weird backstory’ and in the main narrative, there's a possibility that some of the Lights are real memories or at least closely based on their real experiences.

[‘A liar like me knows their own kind.’]

When you reframe the context in an excessive manner like this, it can also affect known roles, even events and relationships. I reason it beginning like this:

Tsumugi becomes a patsy for Monokuma. Just like the fake Makoto in DR2 led the narrative to trap Hajime, Tsumugi misled others similarly, with incomplete knowledge of her own cospox. That is, her cospox being real in the sense of the effects on her person, doesn't necessarily mean that HPA is fiction, because it's about her perception

Kiibo becomes a patsy for Monokuma, someone whose true (military) nature was obfuscated to himself on a metaphysical level, via code-hijacking. This means that high-powered functions he has are strange to him, and he’s easily manipulated into believing lies about his function (such as ‘strength of a senior citizen’, and the ‘audience surveys’ that he cannot verify) 

Ouma becomes Monokuma’s double, like Mukuro taking the identity of Junko, as the monitors and hatch are a direct parallel to Junko. This means that Ouma has a deeper relationship and notably intrinsic connection to Monokuma as well as less freedom from him, likely has extensive knowledge of everyone, and has his own memories. And from that, an incentive to guide people he considers his friends, to minimise himself and his own struggles while working against Monokuma subtly, even to manufacture his disappearance in ch5 to take the fight to Monokuma alone

Shuichi becomes the ‘shadow mastermind’, like Izuru- the ‘traitor protagonist’ who sealed and sabotaged the group’s will to live, while losing his memory of that. This is reflected by Chapter 1's case, wherein he had created the perfect setup for Kaede to enact her own plan to kill, and had conflict over his actions that he had tried to shut away. It also provides context for Ouma being especially wary of Shuichi, noting on the whiteboard to ‘be cautious’ of him, especially if he has a relationship with Monokuma as well.

These are the big four as far as the mastermind agenda is concerned, but another interesting role-reframe is the Monokubs. Remember that Shirokuma and Kurokuma were fragments of the mastermind, and Shirokuma’s role in UDG is to deceive the player? What if the Monokubs had such a situation, split up into comedic personality fragments? Were the melodramas telling some sort of story as well- the story of Monokuma?

If so, there may be some clues from them. But first…

[‘Designed like a school’]

As to the academy’s lost mystery, it’s possible it was originally an experiment. Rantaro’s hunch was that there was ‘someone behind Monokuma’, and in Salmon mode he points out that Monokuma could have ‘taken over the facility’. A bunch of files in Shuichi’s lab suggest that the culprits of the scenarios were noted for their ‘tricks’, likely pertaining to their Ultimate talent. 

A concerning matter is that the details of the Gopher Project’s plans were crossed out, with us unable to see why youngsters of Ultimate status were required. Doubly concerning is that Ouma himself appears to have amazing, even supernatural ability, demonstrated in ch5 with his scripting- a talent such as that is in line with Junko’s abilities. 

Speaking of that, it must be said that Junko's true ability was left a mystery by the game's end. It was also a subject of much curiosity by HPA, so if Ouma is a supernaturally talented person, that could speak volumes as to his own position. His status as an 'invisible Ultimate’ alone raises questions as to why it has to be hidden, or rather, why he has to obscure it. It could be that he is oppressed by the talent system itself, and if that's the case, perhaps he is its guinea pig along with V3's Monokuma. But it's not just about Ouma's ability- if Monokuma too had a similarly strong supernatural talent and/or circumstance, that could explain not only his posing as a ‘god’, but Angie’s mysteriously intimate knowledge of others' personal ideals through such a ‘god’. That is, if she was possessed by someone with knowledge of the cast's ideals, and who was exploiting them in the Love Hotel. 

Moreover, if Ouma and Monokuma were supernaturally gifted, there's a good possibility that if the vault clues were a layered clue symbolic of them- the ‘light’ and ‘dark’ Monokumas depicted on the ‘twins’ clue for the vault - then they were not only siblings, but twins- identical twins. This allows for another ‘report card misidentification’ a la Junko-Mukuro, while the Flashback Light panel refers to the ‘Gamemaster’ rather than ‘ringleader’ (meaning an identical double could interact with it), and from a lore perspective, twins were known in Danganronpa Kirigiri to be the subject of (highly unethical) research, and identical twins would be the most sought after for genetics reasons.

Such research could eventually wind up creating Ouma and his brother - seemingly the highest of any known talents - through a form of eugenics, not unlike Byakuya’s backstory. From there, there's no telling what could have happened…

[‘Eh…?’]

Now I can get to the psychology behind the bear. If a person behind Monokuma had such a past with this academy, traits can be speculated:

⚠️ Content: incest, child abuse, sexual abuse, psych torture/institutionalisation. ⚠️ 

Vengeful: in ch2, Monokuma suggests he may hate the cast for something, and tells them to ‘work for the answer’. Interestingly, Monotaro (leader persona) makes note of ‘red lies’ in the Salmon mode, and red lies are for revenge. 

Extremely traumatised and mentally ill: if it is Ouma’s brother, and he’s wearing a straitjacket, this could imply institutional abuse. Monokuma’s behaviours in ch3 (a mental shutdown) and ch4 (depression) could denote severe mental damage, and having the academy cleared of bugs gives credence to him having an affliction with bugs like Ouma ( foaming at the mouth and passing out).

Depraved: in ch4, Ouma noted he would ‘strangle the one he loves’ to ‘keep his eyes on him’, and appears to play a similar threatening, possessive role in the Love Hotel. Implied in the Monokubs’ melodrama, Monokuma may have coerced his own sibling into having relations- though he may have forgotten his sibling entirely due to trauma.

People pleaser: Ouma says that he ‘lies to entertain people’ in his Salmon mode ending, which could reflect his persona (Monokuma)’s desires. It may be that his desire to ‘not be boring’ feeds into this persona, too, as it's something so serious to him that it was shown as basically a dying wish.

In this sense, the mastermind can be similar to Monaca- as she took control over the city (while Monokuma stated to have taken over the country), became mentally ill as a result of the abuse inflicted on her, lied (about an injury) in order to make her abusers nicer to her, and became depraved in a way childish and sadistic (in how she toys with Kotoko and Nagisa, for instance). There's also the narrative effect of obscuring her trauma with unreliable narrator, and even Monaca’s own warped sense of humour that obscures it in tandem.

[Twin with supernatural talent (Junko Enoshima), a result of experimentation (Izuru Kamukura), childishness complex (Monaca Towa) and all combined (Kokichi Ouma)]

For narrative styles, DRV3's Monokuma is a culmination of approaches to make the game’s mystery truly warped to its core. Taking the masterminds’ actions from the past games:

Junko selectively picked photographs to sow discord about the group’s reality

AI Junko (a plant by Izuru) tried to lead Hajime into making a choice without proper context

Monaca led Komaru through a growth journey to use her for impact at the end

These can be attributed to: 

the Flashback Lights- some real, others ‘rotten apples’, but overall context is dubious 

the ‘It is fiction’ declaration- may be a leading question, again with dubious context

Shuichi’s ‘confidence growth’- that makes him more credible to those watching outside

(As for ‘context being dubious’, it should be noted that the Twilight mystery has a similar vibe in terms of how it is chopped up and misrepresented on the first viewing. This is particularly interesting when you factor in the mixed Kubs Pads giving other characters information.)

Speaking of ‘using’, Monokuma talks about how someone could be used by expressions of gratitude. In parallel to this, Shuichi is talking about how he was happy to be ‘useful to others as a detective’, and regards their gratitude personally. But it’s concerning that Shuichi and his history is a topic for ‘Monokuma Theatre’, when you factor in what Monaca did in UDG.

The basic concept is: with Monokuma’s agenda towards the end being to throw out foreshadowing and mystery - to deny its purpose - he wants you to make the decision of ignoring the heart, discarding the mystery and the path to the answer. In this sort of vague and unnerving way, a ‘hidden mastermind’ is like a progression of Monaca’s style. Symbolically, Shuichi’s journey seems to be one where he is on the fringe of going astray the entire time, and in this reading, he ultimately does with the loss of the game's mystery. 

What follows is the player's re-examination of the canon context and in this case, a ‘salvage effort’ of what was lost. And ultimately, in the quagmire of broken context, Ouma's mixed relationship with Shuichi is fuel for thought, because his cryptic behaviour - like the game he plays in his FTE - keeps you guessing on what he's been trying to say.

[Members… of what?]

So, factoring in earlier recontextualisation - of the large organisation likely spanning the world - is the idea brought up during Ouma's FTE, that I question like this: could Shuichi have joined a nefarious organisation after all, and following in Salmon mode: is there any indicator Ouma has concerns about Shuichi’s intentions in general (that is, regardless of whether or not his past self would have been capable of less-than-moral decisions)? 

What about others in the cast- a Prime Minister who had run away from her post, a military robot, a super inventor, an assassin? An artist with odd brainwashing powers, a musician with the ability to connect to others’ hearts through music? Because given that the DR2 group had affected the world with their talents after being manipulated, it's possible that the V3 group’s talents had a similar part to play, too. For instance, Kaito’s FTE detailed the possibility of communicating with aliens, and trading technology with them- and as it happens, there is notably a very weird technology in the academy, capable of ridiculous feats. This kind of unknown in the narrative speaks of a whole world that we barely know, even now. 

If this kind of world is what Ouma is burdened by, something beyond the protagonist's understanding, that too is a story waiting to be told. And his strange interactions with Shuichi could be at the heart of this story…

[‘Just hit the reset button on your feelings’]

As for the relationship with Shuichi, that is particularly difficult to give in evidence- partly given the culprit in his backstory, and how if Monokuma was that culprit - someone with a strong agenda against Shuichi - that might link to both twins. But due to the death of one of the siblings in that backstory, it warrants a supernatural idea such as resurrection, that has yet to be proven viable in-universe. If we remember Angie having a weird supernatural air about her though, and that she was implied to be in a cult, you could still infer that cults were involved in the supernatural. It’s entirely possible that a high-profile cult had come to the point of using resurrections, although that’s very much deeplore, as is the supernatural in general.

So while I can’t say too much about technical lore, like with the organisation, I can talk about the vibes I have with the theory, to focus on a sense of grounding in character instead: 

“Ouma and Monokuma are both sidelined by the narrative. A not-insignificant part of that was caused by Shuichi in his past, even if he was led into the cause unwittingly, and the actions of Shuichi’s present self in missing memories. As a result, Ouma is in a nerfed position during the game despite his supernatural talent. Unable to say anything without surveillance, he is under a great deal of stress and pent up, ambivalent feelings - not least towards Shuichi and Monokuma -  that he tries mostly to deflect. After all, it would not do to give too much away, and ruin his own plans.”

I have a detailed ‘song lyric analysis’ of sorts to tie to this, as a way of exploring feelings. Part of the reason I’d go this far, is Ouma as the designated ‘narrative scapegoat’ has always just fit well for me, given that the cast is shown to struggle with their treatment of him. Even leaving analysis aside, I feel it would be very satisfying (cathartic, even!) to explore an angle where he was suppressed, and that his position was legitimately the consequence of others actions right from the start, making the whole ‘pretending to be a villain’ situation even more painfully ironic. 

Plus it would be a welcome change from the notion of ‘misguided morally-grey antagonist who needs to change’, in my opinion, as Ouma’s unchanging self is something I hold particularly strongly. So instead of the arc of drastic change, the thing to explore would be how he functions and struggles with others (in mundane as well as grand ways), and also gets them to change, to understand him. It would also be interesting to expand on the theme of talent abuse, to have a Monokuma who was a product of the corrupt talent system- rather like Izuru was, but this time fully present in the narrative, and in tandem with someone else connected to him.

Overall, I feel that a situation where the protagonist thinks he’s won, while a mysterious someone has been struggling in the sidelines to affect change, is a real goldmine for a mystery situation. Especially from replaying the game, and picking up odd signs that something may not have been what it seemed. There may not be much to go from there (as things stand right now, at least) but the palpable frustration means that through this perspective, I can - at times very viscerally - imagine Ouma’s frustration and powerlessness. That alone colours the game and the interactions in a whole new light for me.

I hope this helped clarify at least some of what the heck is going on- and why I would even see Ouma this way at all, if it’s so convoluted. I have struggled to put it into words all this time, but with the pieces flying in my face from every direction, it’s hard to not try putting them together. I usually don’t game on Hard Mode like this, but something about Ouma compels me- whatever Kodaka’s intentions, I believe him when he says Danganronpa V3 is without end.

Thank you for reading!

#drv3 #kokichi ouma #monokuma V3 #V3's Theory of Vengeance #king horse twins #long long long!! #SERIOUSLY FUCKING LONG #LONGER THAN THE 'HORSE TWINS' ONE #I'm really trying to run down on everything necessary #but I'm losing track myself honestly #so uh. I hope this helps!?! #dr psychology #other dr #talent oppression

[samepisodebracket]

justice for sam

If the spnepisodebracket craze has shown us anything, it's that the supernatural fanbase is extremely divided, with the lowly sam stan seemingly at the bottom of the pile. sam is always last in polls, so this is a bracket for the 10% or so who always votes for him. because yeah, there's 327 episodes of Supernatural, but how many are popular because of a dean or destiel moment? how many good episodes are drowned out because they focus on sam?

i've chosen, with some crowdsourced peer review (special thanks to @spneveryseason, @suncaptor, and @ambersock!) 125 episodes that are Sam Relevant. Some are extremely sam-centric, some just have a shot where sam looks like he's being crucified that gives me brain worms -- i tried to be generous about it to keep a relatively even seasons distribution! matchups will be random and polls will last 24 hours each. in the tradition of @spnepisodebracket (who this is obviously inspired by and would not be possible without!) i'll try to rb a gifset for every episode in the poll!

a final note: no this is not that serious but the criteria for voting here should be how good the episode is as a SAM episode, not as anything else, so please vote accordingly! i am making this for people who actually enjoy sam and if that is not you, then this is not the poll for you!

with that out of the way, here is the compiled list of episodes! voting starts this sammy sunday, 3/26!

Season 1 Pilot (1x01) Bloody Mary (1x05) Home (1x09) Asylum (1x10) Scarecrow (1x11) Nightmare (1x14) Shadow (1x16) Provenance (1x19) Salvation (1x21) Devil's Trap (1x22) Season 2 Simon Said (2x05) Croatoan (2x09) Hunted (2x10) Playthings (2x11) Houses of the Holy (2x13) Born Under a Bad Sign (2x14) Heart (2x17) All Hell Breaks Loose Part 1 (2x21) All Hell Breaks Loose Part 2 (2x22) Season 3 Bad Day at Black Rock (3x03) A Very Supernatural Christmas (3x08) Mystery Spot (3x11) Jus In Bello (3x12) Time is On My Side (3x15) Season 4 Metamorphosis (4x04) It's the Great Pumpkin, Sam Winchester (4x07) I Know What You Did Last Summer (4x09) After School Special (4x13) On the Head of a Pin (4x16) It's a Terrible Life (4x17) Jump the Shark (4x19) When the Levee Breaks (4x21) Lucifer Rising (4x22) Season 5 Good God, Y'all! (5x02) Free to be You and Me (5x03) Changing Channels (5x08) Sam, Interrupted (5x11) Swap Meat (5x12) The Song Remains the Same (5x13) My Bloody Valentine (5x14) Dark Side of the Moon (5x16) 99 Problems (5x17) Two Minutes to Midnight (5x21) Swan Song (5x22) Season 6 Exile on Main St. (6x01) You Can't Handle the Truth (6x06) Family Matters (6x07) Clap Your Hands if You Believe (6x09) Caged Heat (6x10) Appointment in Samarra (6x11) Like a Virgin (6x12) Unforgiven (6x13) The French Mistake (6x15) The Man Who Knew Too Much (6x22) Season 7 Meet the New Boss (7x01) Hello, Cruel World (7x02) The Girl Next Door (7x03) Season 7, Time for a Wedding! (7x08) Plucky Pennywhistle's Magic Menagerie (7x14) Repo Man (7x15) Out with the Old (7x16) The Born-Again Identity (7x17) Season 8 We Need to Talk About Kevin (8x01) Hunteri Heroici (8x08) Trial and Error (8x14) Taxi Driver (8x19) Pac-Man Fever (8x20) The Great Escapist (8x21) Clip Show (8x21) Sacrifice (8x23) Season 9 Holy Terror (9x09) Road Trip (9x10) First Born (9x11) The Purge (9x13) Meta Fiction (9x18) Season 10 Black (10x01) Soul Survivor (10x03) Fan Fiction (10x05) Inside Man (10x17) Book of the Damned (10x18) The Werther Project (10x19) The Prisoner (10x22) Brother's Keeper (10x23) Season 11 Form and Void (11x02) Baby (11x04) Just My Imagination (11x08) Oh Brother Where Art Thou (11x09) The Devil in the Details (11x10) Into the Mystic (11x11) Ouroborus (11x14) Red Meat (11x17) Don't Call Me Shurley (11x20) Season 12 Keep Calm and Carry On (12x01) Mamma Mia (12x02) American Nightmare (12x04) Rock Never Dies (12x07) The Raid (12x14) Who We Are (12x22) Season 13 Lost and Found (13x01) Patience (13x03) The Big Empty (13x04) Various & Sundry Villains (13x12) A Most Holy Man (13x15) Funeralia (13x19) Beat the Devil (13x21) Exodus (13x22) Let the Good Times Roll (13x23) Season 14 Stranger in a Strange Land (14x01) Mint Condition (14x04) Nightmare Logic (14x05) Byzantium (14x08) Prophet and Loss (14x12) Lebanon (14x13) Peace of Mind (14x15) Game Night (14x17) Moriah (14x20) Season 15 Back and to the Future (15x01) Atomic Monsters (15x04) The Rupture (15x03) Golden Time (15x06) The Gamblers (15x11) Unity (15x17) Inherit the Earth (15x19) Finale: Carry On (15x20)

Edits: Bugs (1x08) will be added, polls will not be completely random bc im not doing this for science im doing this to see a good episode win and my randomizer pit when the levee breaks against swan song in round 1

#samepisodebracket #sam winchester #polls #spn #spn polls

[crackers4jenn]

Jeremy Carver didn't get the respect he deserves in that pollsnatural writers poll. I need to remind y'all who was doing a lot of the heavy lifting when it came to early destiel. Jeremy Carver wrote (or, was credited as the writer) for the following:

3x11 "Mystery Spot" - not a destiel ep, just a banger 👍

4x03 "In the Beginning" - aka the first hint of Cas being sympathetic to Dean. 3 episodes into Cas's existence Jeremy Carver was asking the big questions, like what would it look like if Dean and Cas stared all soulfully into one another's eyes??? I MEAN,

4x20 "The Rapture" - the Jimmy Novak episode. Gave us Dean's tranquil fishing dream, Cas's note-passing interruption. Gave us all the conflict of Dean witnessing Jimmy Novak in place of Cas. Gave us that mic drop "I learned my lesson while I was away, Dean. I serve Heaven, I don't serve man. And I certainly don't serve you" hell of a walk-off line.

5x03 "Free to Be You and Me" - do I even need to expand on this one??? "I need your help because you are the ONLY one who will help me," Thelma and Louise quote, Bert and Ernie quote, "you are not gonna die a virgin," the Raphael confrontation, etc etc Dean tells Cas it's the happiest he's been in years!!!

5x08 "Changing Channels" - another classic episode that's great even without the undercurrent of destiel. But undercurrent there is. One of the recurring themes of the episode is Dean being worried about what Gabriel's doing to Cas. Plus, helloooo, "pretty boy angel" Jeremy Carver's horniness for Misha CAME THROUGH.

5x18 "Point of No Return" - do you all not remember "last person who looked at me like that, I got laid" do you all not remember "I gave EVERYTHING for you, and this is what you give to me????" do you all not remember "what the hell happened to him? / "me"???? And a sidenote: do you all not remember Cas carving a banishing sigil into HIS OWN CHEST?????? Again I say, Jeremy Carver's crush on Misha CAME THROUGH.

8x01 "We Need To Talk About Kevin" - I'm pretty sure at this point JC became showrunner, so there was a ~shift in the blatancy of destiel in his writing, but still. This ep is the start of the Purgatory flashbacks, the first peek at Dean's guilt over Cas not making it out with him.

8x23 "Sacrifice" - the 'ET goes home" bar scene, the dozens and dozens of pages worth of meta about cupid and the arrows and the two dudes falling in love in front of Dean and Cas.

9x01 "I Think I'm Gonna Like It Here" - Dean's "please, man, I need you here" prayer to Cas, which miiiight be the first time he prays to Cas seriously. Their v. soft phone call sometime after where Dean is just as worried for Cas as Cas is for him. Plus, hey-o, would it be a Carver episode without objectifying Misha in some way? This is the ep with the infamous laundry scene, of Cas shucking off his clothes in a very poignant loss-of-identity horny way.

9x23 "Do You Believe in Miracles?" - uh, ever heard of "to save Dean Winchester. That was your goal, right? I mean, you draped yourself in the flag of heaven but ultimately it was all about saving one man" which is pretty much a Castiel thesis statement dropped casually as dialogue.

10x01 "Black" - okay, picture this, Cas is depressed and lying wantonly atop a bed, clad only in a robe that's open juuuust wide enough his chest peeks through. To Sam, he wistfully admits "I miss him" as they tiptoe around the subject of Dean. Fanfic, you say? No, Jeremy Carver.

10x23 "Brother's Keeper" - there's a deleted scene of Cas showing up in Dean's dream, bloody and beat up, introduced by the bartender as Dean's "admirer." Not to mention! Winchester Derangement Syndrome. Not to further mention!! Shattered at the altar of Winchester.

11x01 "Out of the Darkness, Into the Fire" - gonna let this gif speak for itself:

#in conclusion: 👑 #destiel #supernatural #castiel #dean winchester #otp: profound bond

[titaniasthings]

Weasley Family Dynamics as a quidditch team

I reread Orchards by @whinlatter and it's really got me thinking about Weasley kid family dynamics. So here's a not well-articulated long meta :)

The analogy? Metaphor? A comparison I can make that sums up the dynamics well is the kids as a quidditch team.

First, you have your Keeper, that's Ron, who does exactly what it sounds like. I think Ron can function as a literal and emotional maintenance of his family. We see him be a buffer between his siblings during conflicts, comfort his mom when she's distraught, and experience genuine depression when he's not around them.

During Harry and Ron's fight in Deathly Hallows, Ron's boiling point is Harry's "impassiveness" for the other Weasley's safety.

"Didn't you hear what they said about my sister? But you didn't give a rat's fart, do you, it's only the Forbidden Forest,... Yea, I get it you don't care! And what about the rest of my family, 'the Weasleys don't need another kid injured ,' did you hear that?"(Deathly Hallows 347).

Being apart from his family, that keeper role, only exacerbated his insecurity about being a failure. Ron is the sibling that takes after his mother the most. He looks after his siblings and their well-beings no matter how unintentional. This includes Harry and Hermione as well. As we see him grow up, we see him accept this role more because he loses the need for external validation.

Next are our Chasers, Bill, Charlie, and Ginny, which you could argue are the main characters of the game. They do the most gameplay and have the important role of scoring the points. Bill, Charlie, Ginny are they only kids to leave the country for work. In the family, we see them develop similarly personality-wise. They all have lives and experiences outside their family, but that doesn't takeaway from their duty to their families.

"You all right ," said Bill, grinning at Harry and shaking his hand. "Charlie wanted to come, but he couldn't get time off. He said you were incredible against the Horntail." (Goblet of Fire 608).

They are the epitome of the Weasley brand. The cool kids of the family. They're funny, popular, and confident. The favorites.

This dynamic between the siblings changes depending. Bill and Charlie get to be role models to their other siblings because their the oldest. Ginny has the role of being the family mascot. After all the Weasley's have left Hogwarts, her presence is vital to the school. In the family, They are a living representation and reminder of the values that the family was brought up with. This informs their relationship with her brothers(i.e. Ron always wanting to protect Ginny).

The next positions are the Beaters, Fred and George. Beaters are some of the lesser essential players, but they make the game interesting. Without them quidditch would not be as dangerous nor as fun. Remember how I said Ginny was the Weasley mascot? Well Fred and George are too in a more literal way. They bring the fun to the family, the jokes, the bants. They are also the center of most family conflicts.

"She's furious at them anyway. They didn't get as many O.W.L.s as she expected," (Goblet of Fire 59)

They fail to meet their parents(Molly's fairly reasonable) expectations repeatedly and often go head to head with their parents(Molly) about it. This affects the dynamics of the family because conflict builds bonds. All the siblings love each other, but they do fight. When Fred and George cause conflicts, it stirs throughout the whole house. It forces the siblings closer together or farther apart.

Prefacing this by saying, I don't blame Fred and George for every conflicts that happens or think they do anything any other brother wouldn't. Their role here is important in deepening the relationships of the siblings.

Although I am Team Fred's death was unnecessary and lazy, I do like to think about how his death made the siblings a millions times closer as adults. The twins create challenge that make "the game" better.

Last but certainly not least, our Seeker, Percy Weasley. Like Percy, The seeker is often alone, spectating for most of the game. Percy is a lone wolf in his family. He's without a pair and at first glance doesn't necessarily fit into the group. He's stern, meticulous, and uptight. To many outlookers, it's a wonder he made it into Gryffindor. He is very much a Gryffindor, just not on the same scale or intensity of his siblings.

Percy has a different perspective of the same Gryffindor/ Weasley values. He, as a Seeker, isn't in the game but sees things other's would miss.

"He said he's been having to struggle against Dad's reputation ever since joined the Ministry and that Dad's got no ambition and that's why we've always been --you know-- not had a lot of money, I mean--" (Order of the Phoenix 93).

Percy does value family, the reputation of his family. We can't expect Percy to not want to succeed and want more for them. He's the 3rd oldest and saw his mother raise his family(basically by herself)on his father's low-income salary. He saw his siblings get bullied, his mother be shamed, and even his siblings get physically hurt. In his eyes, it's selfish for his father and his brothers not to want more.

Percy's role is to be an outsider and look in places the others wouldn't. He finds success and happiness in ways the other's wouldn't have known. Would the twins have pushed for WWW, if not to prove Percy wrong? Like the twins, he pushes his siblings to think more and do more.

He may be wrong sometimes but he means well. He'll also pull through in the end.

All in all, the Weasley children are a well-oiled team. They love each other and need one other. There's a reason Harry chose this family to latch on to. I'll continue obsessing over them in my head.

#harry potter #weasley family #ron weasley #bill weasley #charlie weasley #percy weasley #fred weasley #george weasley #ginny weasley #molly weasley #arthur weasley #quidditch

[tea-and-vodka]

IDEA TIME

Kidnapping Circus AU

Danny had been handed over to the GIW by the Drs. Fenton while Jazz was put of town after he told them the truth.

He was in transport to be taken to a more secure location when the vehicle crashed in a remote location, being noticed by the owner/s of a traveling circus. They used the same restraints, chains, weapons, etc. that were being used by the GIW to add Danny unwillingly to their circus, which was more of a traveling freak show.

Surprise surprise, none of the meta "employees" are voluntarily working there, treated more similarly to how many circuses treat animals. Danny, due to his otherworldly ghost form and singing capabilities (like Ember, but they don't hypnotize people, they project emotions), was shown off in his own little sideshow, enchanting viewers. A green-tinted metal collar with six chains made from the same metal attached to it equally spaced apart was kept on him during shows, and only the chain on the front and the one on the back would be removed at any other time.

The other people "working" there would sneak him food from time to time, due to the people in charge underfeeding him to the point of it almost being glaringly visible. Eventually, the metas being kept there were able to get out a message for help that reached the Batclan, if not the Justice League. A group is sent undercover to the circus to investigate, and surprise again! This is another twin AU.

My first version of this was where Danny and Damian are twins, and when Danny disappeared from the League after either failing an assignment, losing a match against Damian, or getting killed, Damian assumes that Ra's had him killed / not revived. Then Dami finds his brother at the circus, etc. etc., but this could also be a Tim-is-Danny's-twin-AU type scenario.

My best idea for that one is Danny was kidnapped for ransom when he and Tim where young, and the Drs. Fenton found Danny first and went, "Welp! Finders keepers :)" and didn't look into it any more than that. Tim went to look for him on his own after his parents stopped looking (pretty quickly, just long enough to make it seem like they cared), which started his interest in Batman, and then the rest is history.

Jazz, Sam, Tucker, Valerie, and Wes (I don't know much about him but he seems like he'd be a good fit for Team Phantom after a redemption arc) are still looking for Danny and trying to bring down the GIW the whole time this is happening. I like to ghink that Danny's rogues are also helping Team Phantom. At this point, Danny and the others are about 15-16 years old.

Dick is absolutely offended by this pathetic excuse for a circus. Any of the metas working there after it gets shut down that don't have anywhere to go and still want to work in a circus get directed to the one that Dick's from.

#dp x dc #caps tw #tw captivity #tw slavery #tw kidnapping #teavod posts

[scarfacemarston]

Reunion with the Marstons

Transcript: Dear John,

It’s been wonderful seeing you again after all these years. What a time we had! What adventures! Finally, after all my years at sea, and all my years with you and everybody roaming the west, I’ve retired to the dull life of a shopkeeper. Me! Sometimes I cannot quite believe it myself, but life is a strange experience and things have a habit of not turning out quite how you would imagine. I thought after everything that happened, I’d go back to sea, or at least the sea shore but the seafaring life is not what it once was. The ships got too big and too smoky, and too many migrants and not enough sailing. It changed so much! So then, I decided I’d try something new. First I went up to Alaska, but that really was not for me. Many years ago I once got stuck on an ice flow off the cape — even that was more fun than gold prospecting in the snow. After that, I tried my hand and railway work down in South America, but that was not for me either. So after that I came back up here and, well, I’ve ended up becoming exactly what I always ran away from — a dullard and a shop keeper. And yet I’m happy, John. I’m happy and married. Me. Simon Pearson. Once they called me the Don Juan of Manilla. And now I’ve got a wife. Now Ethel can seem bad tempered but she’s a lovely lady. Really wonderful, underneath. I’m happy. Besides, after all those years of being screamed at by Susan Grimshaw, I need a woman with some spice. This is America. That’s the way you are supposed to live. Fast and hateful, then slow and, dare I say it, grateful. Anyway, I remain your faithful, long lost brother in arms, Simon Pearson Meta: Given Sadie’s letter that I’m also posting tonight, I think Pearson is lying at least 40% of the time. However, all he has ever wanted is respect, camaraderie and to matter. He truly still cares about the gang and is truly thrilled to see John. I always cry at the credit scene when he shows the ORIGINAL gang. (Minus Bessie and Anabelle RIP) I don’t think Ethel is nice to him, but I am glad to see he’s happy for the most part. He deserved it, too.  This is why it is heart breaking that low honor John can destroy Pearson’s shop in front of him. Just one of the evilest things I think, personally speaking. He just sits there and talks and begs and it’s like nooo.

#john marston #abigail marston #abigail roberts #red dead redemptionn 2 #arthur morgan #susan grimshaw #simon pearson #mr. pearson #journal entries #letters

[nanomooselet]

My Brother's Keeper (VII)

Knives, despite it all, I do indeed pity you. You horrible creature. More than you might imagine anyone would dare.

I said some time ago that Knives has agency and Vash doesn't, and that the Eye of Michael's dogma demands sacrifice.

One lives. One dies.

When Knives tells Vash to leave humanity, it's at that very instant Vash realises the truth: that this isn't about the Plants versus humans. It was never about that, ever, and trying to dissuade Knives from continuing his descent by arguing from that premise isn't ever actually going to work.

It's about how discovering Tesla broke them in two. It broke reality, cracked the singular unit they once believed themselves to be in half, and sent each half down forever-separate paths in both space and time.

Vash, through Rem, decided he could face the future. Even despite this discovery, how apathetically cruel the world is to the innocent, the future is always ours to shape as long as we live to choose. Rem showed him that through acknowledging and accepting responsibility for the pain of the past, even if once ignorant or complicit, one could learn and heal, and therefore work to be free of it. Not perfect. Never perfect. But still better.

Nai only saw potential pain. The fear of facing the world where it could be inflicted, and of those who'd done so, consumed him. He would erase both by returning to the past, the innocence and ignorance of having never learned the frightening truth. He'd thus build a paradise, an Eden, where no sin was committed and no sinner would set foot. He alone, in his own singular perfection, was fit both to assume this task and the power - and thus the right - to fulfil it.

Since when have we been so different?/Who are you? We've become so different I don't think I even know you anymore.

Vash begins to cry because he sees now that Nai… Nai is gone. Maybe he ran for too long, or maybe the Nai he thought he knew never existed. It doesn't matter anymore. There's nothing of his brother left to love in this monster before him, who's done everything that he's done and isn't sorry and wants to keep doing it by seizing control over Vash's own body. (Even though they look more like each other now than they have since they were kids, which still absolutely ruins me.) Vash grieves his brother, his brother's love and their togetherness in the past, but he finally knows for sure that they're gone, and he must define his own identity, and move beyond them.

His declaration that he'll always run isn't about running from humanity, anymore than Knives is truly fighting for the freedom of the Plants.

Seriously, Knives isn't fighting for the freedom of the Plants. He thinks he is, because he thinks that justifies controlling their bodies and consuming their power and benefiting from their suffering, but he's reversed cause and effect. He acts and so they suffer, but he believes their suffering is what motivates his actions and not his fear and his greed for the power to destroy whatever he fears. It's circular, and it's entirely self-centred.

It's the logic not of a liberator but of the entire system of oppression.

Knives's paradise, the home to which he's so desperate to return, no longer exists. It never will again. Not for him or for Vash or for the Plants. Knives himself broke it. Knives himself ripped it out of the heavens and plunged it into the earth, shattering it, so he could reshape the pieces into something that he alone controlled. Knives will always assume control, and he won't stop if you give what he says he wants, because he won't admit or even try to understand that it's not the truth.

He wants to stop being scared and alone. He wants his brother to need him and never leave him. He wants his mother, but she's gone. (He killed her. Over and over and over again he kills her and she's still always gone and he hates her for always being gone. Why is she gone? Why didn't she stay? He asked. He gave her a choice.)

(Yet in Vash's memories and in the people he loves, Rem's spirit lives on, and always will. She still loves him, her perfect boy, even still protects him, just as she promised she would. Did you guys know Vash's coat is bulletproof? Did you guys realise Vash literally still walks around kicking ass in the protective embrace of his mother? I actually had to take a minute, when I figured it out. It made me tear up.)

I was rejected?

Let me back in! Take me back.

Knives wants to go home. To be a child again with Vash by his side. Innocent, together, in paradise. But once you've grown up, you can never really go home again. It's a fundamentally selfish desire to want everything to go back to being the same forever - what it means is that because it was good or kind for you specifically, everyone else has to conform whether it was good and kind to them or not. There's always danger in nostalgia even when it's not misplaced. It encourages destructive nihilism, malicious and ignorant apathy. If the best can only ever be behind us, there is no reason to try to go on.

Vash is not nostalgic. Vash will run, and run, and keep running. For a lifetime if he has to - and a Plant's lifetime is a long one. It's not that he hasn't made a choice, but that he'd already made it long ago: to be free of Knives, to live and to fight for independence from his brother's abusive care, and to find a way to unite humans and Plants, the purpose he's been eager and happy to serve since the day he found it. Rem's dream is one he longs to fulfil, and he finally knows he has the power, intelligence, resilience, strength and above all, the right to take up that task.

He's just acknowledged and accepted that it's not also his purpose to help his stupid brother, not if this is all he gets in response. Dismissed, ignored, insulted, his grief and compassion mocked; abused, put down, smothered, injured, rendered permanently disabled, scarred, violated, traumatised. Forced into the shape that Knives imagines he should be in, pieces cut away until he fits the image in his brother's head.

It's very sad that after all that Knives has done to him, Vash doesn't value his own life and wellbeing enough to care for himself as much as he cares for everyone else in the world. But it still beats Knives trying to do it for him. He's so bad at it.

In the past, on occasions such as this, when Vash demonstrated like... the capacity to sort of almost disagree, Knives would yell at him suddenly and loudly enough that Vash would freeze up in terror, and then Knives would do whatever he wanted regardless. My man isn't good at hearing the word "no". If yelling or insults failed, he'd do something physically violent. I've seen a lot of takes on how funny and/or gay it is that Vash's reaction to Wolfwood grabbing his lapels and threatening to torture him to death is... this.

But understand that when Vash suggests an alternative that doesn't involve mass murder, his brother tends not to agree to it. Or stop at threats. Vash's arguments with Knives always make Vash sound a bit pathetic and dumb because Knives doesn't actually engage Vash - he shuts him down or insults him, telling him he's too weak and stupid to even speak. He has no respect at all for Vash's opinions, abilities, or as a person - honestly, I wouldn't treat an animal this way.

When someone finally respects your beliefs and abilities after they've been coldly or violently dismissed so many times, that's… how it feels.

Knives assumed that Vash had no powers so he was weak, and then when Vash did demonstrate powers, that Vash was weak because he was frightened of them. As usual, the trauma he's inflicted maybe being the problem never entered his mind; it's always Vash's fault. When Vash finally has both power and the will to assert control of it, he finally has the capacity and strength to enforce his refusal. And that leaves Knives finally exhausted of any means to break his will.

Except one. One final choice.

Vash is right: the plan has failed and this is over. Knives can never again have the power he desires, and what's more, Vash would rather be shot at for another hundred years than be together with his brother in paradise.

In spite of everything Knives has done to destroy it, the independent identity of Vash the Stampede yet survives. And so.

One lives.

One dies.

Nai is dead.

There's no turning back.

(The stars are falling down.)

And no one ever really goes home.

If you want to tell me Stampede is a poor quality adaptation, it's not funny and it's shallow and Vash is a loser now and there's no Milly and they're just exploiting the property and if it just hadn't been called Trigun maybe... maybe...

Maybe! You're entitled to an opinion. I'm open to the discussion. I do always try to assume good faith.

However, I'm still probably not going to agree.

And I'm done. Now I need to lie down on the floor and cry over my beautiful disaster twins. Thank you very much for reading! I encourage you to be as insane in the tags as you feel moved to be, because I crave validation.

(Extreme Lesbianism for Meryl Stryfe: Coming Soon.)

(Part I)

(Part II)

(Part III)

(Part IV)

(Part V)

(Part VI)

#trigun stampede #tristampparty #millions knives #vash the stampede #trigun meta #hundreds spoons #vash is in fact perfect #hundred spoons is a yellow-bellied baby who needs his mommy #throwing a tantrum trying to blow everything up #maybe if he'd tried the ramen in july he'd be less on fire #TOO LATE NOW #loser #i cherish them both #full disclosure the shot where knives is launched through the rem-plant-thing's face is only there because it makes me giggle #on a scale of millions knives to one how graceful are you in defeat #meta: my brother's keeper

[startanewdream]

What are your thoughts on Peter pettigrew? In swm we saw him fanboying over james to being responsible for his death. Just because he was afraid or he never really loved his friends. Many people say James and Sirius treated him badly thats why he betrayed. Some even say he was just a tag along. Please share your thoughts.

I'm sure there are metas and fics that dive better into Peter's character, but let share my two cents.

I see Peter as the young brother. That one you give the game control without ever connecting it to the videogame (back in my day, controls need cable, kids), so your young sibling thinks he is playing but he isn't really. The one that you mock their fears because you are (still) bigger than them, and you are stupid. The one that you hate when they copy something you do, but if they show any sign they might worship someone else, you feel mad about it. That one that you tease relentlessly until someone else does the same and then you are all defensive, because no one else gets to bully your young sibling (except you, but again, you are stupid). James and Sirius did not act nicely to Peter in SWM, but I do believe in Sirius' words: they would have died for him because they were family.

And I think that at some point that young brother grew up, and without being noticed, became better than James and Sirius at that game. The Order was losing, Voldemort seemed to be winning, and Peter decided to join the winning side; Voldemort twisted Wormtail. I'd think Peter might have justified it by telling himself he might protect his friends then; I think it took a week before Peter told Voldemort about Godric's Hollow because he was hesitating, remembering all those happy times in the dormitory, all those moments were he felt he belonged; I wonder if he asked, in a trembling voice, if Voldemort would really kill all the Potters.

And my one HC about Peter is that he hesitated when Harry said "You owe me, Wormtail!” because it was the last thing that James told him. James made Peter the Secret Keeper of the most important thing in the world, and he thanked Peter by saying "I owe you, Peter"; and Peter brushed it off, looked away, and one week later his older brother was dead.

#Peter Pettigrew #again there are better metas than this #And also Peter deserves better in the fandom #he is pure conflict and tragedy

[simothys]

SO! ive been playing MotW and super enjoying it so far! its a fun system! combat’s a biiit tricky since im used to playing either systems without combat…. or D&D 5e. so theres a steep learning curve in that element! but weve only had one combat so far, so im hopeful!

that said - my Hunter uses drumsticks as his weapon! the tags are: 1 harm, intimate, innocuous.

wednesday, a few hours before session, my brother (the keeper for this game!) told me he had something for me. and handed me his Actual Real drumsticks that he had to get for an intro to percussion course. and informed me that my Hunter’s weapon now had an additional tag: meta.

i am not allowed to know that this means, yet. i have been assured that ill still be allowed to use them in the mystery if i forget them for a session, bc my memory is shit & that wouldnt be fair to me.

THAT SAID. we all went over to our friend’s apartment for session, bc hes got a good setup for hybrid TTRPGs, and one of our players moved out of state recently! and his fiance sat in.

his fiance is currently student teaching under a band director! so before we all got started, she sat me down, grabbed her practice pad, and showed me how to properly hold them & how to hit! she kinda laughed and said that she’s only got enough percussion knowledge to start her percussion players, and nothing more than that… but thats one of the sweetest things anyones done for me.

#dagger chatter #interactions #reminders #wire motw

[breitzbachbea]

1, 3, 9, 11?

OH, thank you very much!!!!

Meta OC Question

What inspired you to create your oc?

Depends on the OC, but there's two reasons at the start of all my OC endeavours in the past, which also intertwine:

I've always been a very creative kid with adhd that makes her daydream all day long, so I've been plagued by visions that needed a creative outlet & writing was the choice.

Since I wrote since elementary school, whenever I liked another piece of media, I'd express it by writing fanfiction, which would usually involve OCs. I'd often spin so hard and so fast out of control that I would make up a whole batch of OCs, often together with friends, who'd interact with the main cast and story, but also spin off into their own storylines.

These days, where I only make OCs and write mostly for my Hetalia Human AU (which is 10% Fanfic, but 90% Orig Fic): The mainer characters come to me because I am plagued by visions and constantly inspired by real life. I have over 250 named characters in this AU, PLEASE stop me from making more. Went to Romania for Erasmus for a week and came back with an OC concept that could have such a dysfunctional and toxic queer romance with one of my underdeveloped Hungarian OCs. I need to be stopped.

However, once mainer characters are established, OCs related to them spring up out of necessity or because I am like 'You know what I didn't do yet and would be fun in relation to these new bitches and also the old bitches?'. OC creation never happens in a vacuum, I am all about how they add to the world I created for the past 10 years and could interact with its inhabitants.

3. What is the origin of the character's name?

Used to go on babynaming sites and look at the most popular options, which is why all my Irish mainer characters have English names (RIP). These days I like to do some research on the cultural background they come from and also take inspiration from public figures from their country/region/city. However, once that is done I usually just visit Behind the Name and spend 15 minutes browsing, talking with friends about options, ignoring their feedback and then choose a name by closing my eyes and throwing a dart at the PC. I do consider nominative determinism to a degree, but I'll tell myself that the parents who named the kid couldn't have known what they will grow up to be and I'll also get used to any name.

I also love to use names I encountered in life, too! Like old classmates or family names of friends!

9. In a group dynamic, what kind of role does the oc usually fill? Are they a worry wart? A troublemaker? The straight man?

I LOVE GROUP DYNAMICS AND I HAVE SOOOO MANY OF THEM. Let's take the Chaos Seven, aka Team Ireland + Soph and Team Sicily as an example.

Team Ireland shares one collective braincell. Paddy, who's twice as old as Harry and Charlie, is its keeper about 40% of the time. Since he helped raise Harry since he was six, is a father figure to Charlie and helped raise Sophie since she was born, he's the Guardian figure of the Group. Hashtag Daddy Paddy. However, he's also a bastard like his own kids, so while he tries to be a good influence, he's not exactly the voice of reason. Just hopelessly devoted to the three and wants to ensure that they don't make choices they will regret without return.

Charlie is the social butterfly, or at least the one who's the most willing to engage in diplomacy and also enjoys working people the most. Do not let that fool you, half of the European underground wants to punch his teeth in for being endlessly annoying, but the other half wants to either fuck him or keep him as a purse dog. He and Harry are brother's from another mother and when Harry is too stubborn and fatalistic to consider anyone outside of himself, Charlie will pick up the slack and care for him and their goals. To Soph, he's the big brother figure with whom she can discuss personal affairs that she feels Harry and Paddy are too close and guardian-like for comfort to discuss with.

Harry's the driving force that inspires the others, since if he is hellbent on something, he'll pull through with it and won't let anyone push him around. He bickers all day long with the rest (especially Charlie, Soph and Harry do nothing but pick on each other), but is also always there to root for the others and take risks on their behalf. Probably the biggest troublemaker, but since Team Ireland as a whole is nothing but troublemakers, it's a bit unfair to single him out. He's got an unmatched love for pranks, though!

Soph is the nestling, the little darling of the family. All the others care for her, and as she grows up, she takes more and more after her brother, for better and for worse. Being Harry's little sister, the two are especially close, but she worries and cares for all three of them, as they do for her. When she's with the other three, she's a troublemaker who's not gonna let anyone push her or her family around, much like Harry.

Michele ... he is the leader and the voice of reason in Team Sicily, the one who raised the twins Marco and Lorenzo together with his mother. Since Marco and Lorenzo look up to him, he's also their guardian figure and tries to be as good an influence as he can - he's also constantly herding cats with these two mischievous guys.

Marco and Lorenzo share their creativity and their analytical thinking, as well as their love for mischief. They're definitely troublemakers, but at the same time problem solvers extraordinaire. And while their devotion to Michele is blind to a degree, they also unite in pulling him back onto the rug at times. It's not often that they need to play the straight man and they aren't good at that role with anyone but Michele, but they can do it.

11. What is your least favorite trait regarding your oc?

I mean it is an Organized Crime AU, so for most it gotta be, among others, the uhhhh ability to justify the horrors to themselves.

But that aside. I don't really think in favourite and not-favourite, since an interplay of traits is what makes OCs so close to actual humans and simply fun as literary constructs.

If I was held at gunpoint, though - That Hugo is so persistent in his quest to be liked/loved/the best that he can't take no for an answer in the long run, to his own detriment and everyone else's. That SK, aka Sri Kadek, is so stubborn in her perceived role as being the fixer of the family that she won't consider someone else's motivation for how they treat her could be genuinely out of caring for her. And most of the OCs are assholes, again because of the circumstances and I am a messy bitch who loves drama, but the Arora twins (Frej and Freja) take the objectification and the prioritization of their entertainment a little bit far even for this crowd. (... but also, that does make them very very sexy <3).

#beareplies #natequarter #can i just say. huge fan. love your history posting. best ghosts takes ever. #storie nostre #charlie #harry #paddy #soph #miche #marco #lorenzo #hugo #sk #frej #freja #those are probably terrible answers and also the chaos seven was a terrible choice since they are all alike #but about every other Team has at least one hetalia canon character in it so that isn't exactly my OC ... #but they do have more clear roles in other Teams. Not all of them but most. Tahir is definitely the worry wart and sceptic in Team England #also he and Robert are such a beautiful example of brain and brawn which we have in a glorious amount of variation. #Hugo and Leo. Massoud and Alois. Dilan and Havva. Lule and Robin. all brain and brawn and yet all so different.

[villainihavedonethymotheronao3]

Not to be a hater but I am obsessed with the YA-ification of House of the Dragon. The Aemond/Reader fics. We’re neck deep in them. And I don’t object, follow your pelvic region wherever it leads, do what you love, embrace your situation. But the details, specifically. AemondxReader babes, I know it’s all about the self insert but you’ve got to lean into the genre a little more. Get grimy with it! Do your background research! Add some layers of unnerving insinuation, goodness knows there’s some Oedipal stuff to work with and a definite familial fixation plus chivalry responsibility issues. It can’t all be “innocent noble maiden/feisty daughter/Targ SI childhood friends or enemies/forced betrothal/torn apart by war” Off the top of my head, you could do:

The wet nurse hired for Helaena’s twins is getting surprisingly close to the princess, they’re both quiet souls with maybe too low social boundaries. In fact, the girl is so meek she hasn’t spoken up about the fact that Prince Aemond keeps following her everywhere.

Member of a mumming troupe hired for good, clean feast day entertainment bonds with an accidentally incognito prince (sneaking back in from dragon riding) over kitschy ballads about knightly valor— sparking baby’s first ever crush. Baby does not cope.

Aegon tries to be cruel by setting his brother up with a blind whore but the idea of someone who can’t judge him by his face gets him so good he keeps coming back (though he can’t give Aegon any satisfaction by actually sleeping with her!)

Alicent’s twice widowed milf cousin just showed up to court! She’s kind of over the marriage thing for now but she’s down to be convinced otherwise.

Vermax forms an odd bond with one of the keepers in the dragon pit (diagnosis: Valyrian bastard? Visenya shaped?) and Aemond gets jealous, then gets mad at himself for being envious of a stinky little pit girl

Teen Aemond sees his brother hurt a girl and decides to be Honorable and look after her himself, he doesn’t need to bother his mother. Unfortunately his ideas about how to do this are wildly unhelpful.

The Baratheon girl Aegon is canonically betrothed to convinces him to sex her up while their chaperone isn’t looking. Hurrying up the wedding is good for everyone, right?

These are for free, gratis. Just please, diversify the space. Uplift the wish fulfillment. You deserve more, and I deserve to not be scrolling through the same five plots to get to good meta.

#house of the dragon #aemond targaryen #aemond x oc #aemond x you

[eclipsecrowned]

You got any good Lucien metas hiding in the back room of the blog waiting to be written? // @versin-surfin​ (ik you’re full to the brim of metas so this is an ask to let ‘em loose :3)

Lucien is Adam. As in, either the eastern religious Adam, or per the story told in Sandman issue 40, the first living male being that was later identified as Adam by humanity. Watch me cite my sources on this one.

It’s shown across The Sandman that all of the first family are employed by Dream in some form or fashion. This tracks, given his general love for humanity. The brothers Cain and Abel were given dominion over the House of Mystery and the House of Secrets, respectively. Eve and her three faces dwell in a cave, and weaves stories for those who reach her. This does, however, leave Adam rather absent from the narrative.

Until you take into account there is one last vintage DC Horror host among the cast. That would be Lucien, Dream’s trusted librarian and second in command. Cain and Abel keep their mysteries and secrets, Eve tells stories, and Lucien... Preserves them. Keeps them safe. Oversees them like a proper caretaker, like a patriarch -- Wait a minute.

There’s also a notable physical resemblance between Cain and Lucien. You can see that Abel has Eve’s coloring -- all dark hair, fair skin, and blue eyes, even if the eye color is typically dependent on the artist. That in mind, it does seem to support my argument that Lucien and Cain both have wild brown hair and long, thin faces, while also dressing similarly and wearing spectacles. Then again, these are both extant character designs that predated Gaiman’s involvement in the series, so I admit this is probably the shakiest evidence I have. I just find it interesting Eve might have been designed with Abel in mind, where both Lucien and Cain exist but their resemblance is never commented upon.

Lucien was the first Raven, though he has forgotten this fact in the long march of time. That raises the question, then, of what else he might have forgotten over the ages. If he’s the first Raven, does it stand to reason he might have been the first of something else? There’s also the fact Eve is a keeper of ravens -- as Cain and Abel were made to compliment as the first brothers, neighbors across the rest of eternity, is it possible that Dream gave Adam and Eve similar complementary arrangements?

That really taps me out for Sandman canonical evidence. The rest of what I have is purely from follow-ups that were declared non-canon -- ie Lucien appearing at a family event at the House of Mystery in The Dreaming (1990s) with little explanation, and later remembering his daughters buried him on the banks of an ancient river shortly before Cain and Abel’s sisters are introduced -- but I think the strongest non-canonical evidence for Lucien as Adam comes straight from a companion book.

See, in the nineteenth century, the Scottish author George MacDonald wrote what many consider to be his best work. This novel, Lilith, is a reflection on life, death, and faith, and features among its cast Mr. Raven, the ghost of a librarian. Our protagonist, Vane, catches glimpses of the former librarian where he appears as his namesake, a dark-plumed bird who haunts the bookstore the protagonist now owns. Mr. Raven takes Vane on a journey to a parallel world where sleepers dream until the end of the world. During one misadventure in this fantasy world, Vane discovers that Raven is Adam. Further struggles ensue against the eponymous Lilith, Vane is triumphant, but then awakens from the dream and all is well with his soul, etc, etc.

It’s easy to see how this novel might have had some influence on the Sandman comic. Namely, we have a librarian who is also a raven, as Lucien was revealed to be later on in the series. In turn, the librarian is a raven is Adam. Hy Bender first came to this conclusion in The Sandman Companion, which is where I first heard and latched onto the idea. To me, the pieces lineup too neatly. After conducting my own research into the theory, I came to the same conclusion that Lucien could absolutely be Adam, or I could at least make the theory my own personal headcanon for blog purposes.

#i have always been the librarian. [ LUCIEN THE LIBRARIAN ; headcanon ] #throws another meta about the sandman at all of you #points at stella as the culprit #anyway i am unsure if this was gaiman's like. intent. with the narrative or the character. #i just think it's an interesting theory from outside sources that i can back up w canon evidence within the text and i like it. #so i decided it's canon to my lucien.

[power-chords]

love your notes! i've been rereading and "What was he looking for? What was he running from?" really struck me. heat2 has such an insane amount of stuff you can dig into - dreams, grief, fire/water symbolism, irreversible things and hanna's attempts to rewind them, the locket (as religious icon, attachment symbol, betrayer of secrets, hanna's hollow heart with neil and his/their/a daughter inside). plus "Invisible Beings and Their Irregular Manifestation"? good shit, good shit.

Every time I post Heat meta I’m like, I hope my mystery comrade, my anonymous brother-in-Mann, will bless my inbox with their insights… visiting upon my blog like a benevolent ghost in a gray suit… and my message notifications did not disappoint!

The more I pick through Heat 2 the more I’m like, you know what, however preposterously decadent this pop novel specimen may be, there is so much in there that is legitimately clever and sophisticated storytelling. Mann’s such a master of characterization, symbolism, and dramatic structure that I will forgive his most egregious pulpy groaners (and at least they always make me laugh with delight). His sincerity is so total and self-assured that I can’t help but succumb to it every time. It’s infectious.

Also UNBELIEVABLY funny that a 79-year-old straight dude managed to write the shipper’s manifesto for Neil McCauley and Vincent Hanna. The fact that he did this with zero conscious awareness or intentionality whatsoever makes it that much funnier. You KNOW my guy did not sit down at his laptop every morning like, “I am going to generously season my testosterone-irradiated criminal opera with fucking eye-popping homoerotic subtext.” And yet Here We Are. With 480 pages of borderline fanfiction. Featuring a grieving, precipitously spiraling Captain Hanna who is only able to abort his self-flagellating, self-destructive nosedive when given cause to avenge McCauley’s dead lover, protect his surviving stepdaughter, and become the keeper of his memory. He winds up with the goddamn locket at the end! LOL. LMAO, even. Excuse me but What The Fuck. Does he wear it, Michael?? Keep it in a drawer at his bedside??? Christ in a Crown Vic.

Things that I’ve picked up on now that I’m going back over the book, that I didn’t catch on my first ravenously devoured pass: the fire/water symbolism, as you mention (descriptions of Hanna’s combustible rage vs McCauley’s repeated associations with water/tidal flows (& fieriness also being used to describe Elisa and her daughter! SHEESH)); how explicitly Hanna is suggested to be a walking corpse after the events of the film, experiencing a double-death akin to McCauley’s double-blank (Justine even calls him on it again in the book); Chris Shiherlis maturing into a fascinating synthesis of all the best parts of Hanna (passionate, driven, instinctive, adaptable) and the best parts of McCauley (cautious, disciplined, devoted, sacrificial). Can’t wait for Heat 3 when Hanna and Shiherlis finally cross paths again and circle each other like a couple of snarling, jealous dogs over who had the more intimate relationship with a dead guy!!!*

*I have already drafted 8k words of this :|

#juggling WIPs like knives over here #heat #heat (1995) #heat 2 #bux watches every michael mann movie #bux reads the only michael mann book