#so i end up exaggerating the character traits | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

lisafication · 6 months

Text

This post is uh, extremely normal I swear

So hello yes I am absolutely On My Bullshit regarding my new favourite game.

That’s right, it’s the cannibal incest game, The Coffin of Andy and Leyley. And I’m here to shove five thousand words of pretentious analysis down your throat because, and I do not exaggerate, I think it is one of, if not the best written game I have ever played. And I have played a lot of games, including Baldur’s Gate 3, Final Fantasy XIV and Undertale, to name a few narrative luminaries to come to mind.

That wordcount is not an exaggeration. My brainworms are extremely powerful and now you can share them with me as I walk you through my insane skyscraper of inference-driven analysis.

Or you can click away. I really wouldn’t blame you, it’s quite a lot.

Content Warnings: …Yes?

(To drop the bit for a moment, The Coffin of Andy and Leyley covers extremely disturbing material and challenges you to examine aspects of living in this world that many have taken for granted all their life, it is not a comfortable game, this will cover similar topics and will often echo the game’s unremitting scepticism on basic principles of society and humanity and you should look after yourself first. My Content Warning is framed as a joke, but it’s also quite real in that the game is designed to make you uncomfortable and there’s no shame in that not being for you.)

This was originally posted on and formatted for Sufficient Velocity, and you can probably more easily read and discuss it with me here.

With that said, let’s dig in. I have had to split this into multiple posts because tumblr will only allow so many images. There will be spoilers for all endings.

She’s excited, are you?

It’s All About Ashley

It really is, isn’t it? I mean, for approximately eighty percent of the total game as currently released and the entirety of Episode 1, you’re in control of Ashley, just as she’s in control of her and Andrew’s relationship for 80% of the game, up until the various ending sequences where it begins to slip. The only other characters who really matter at all in and of themselves are Andrew and her mother — and the former is under her thumb, and she eats the latter. It’s all about Ashley. Even her obsession with Andrew is, ultimately, about Ashley.

But who is Ashley? What is Ashley? Why is Ashley, even? Let’s take a look.

Ashley as presented to us in Episode 1 is very straightforward, so let’s list off the traits we’re given — she is malicious, she is fearless, she lacks empathy, she doesn’t have anything resembling a conscience, she demands Andrew belong to her and her alone, she has him at her beck and call.

In Episode 2, we’re ostensibly shown how she has him at her beck and call— she leverages the threat of reporting Nina’s death over him and had him swear to be with her forever. We’re shown that even as a child she was “just, like that” — but as a child, she hadn’t learnt to live with it yet, to laugh at the farce of it all.

Yeah, exactly like that!

And she does this throughout Episode 1 — The Coffin of Andy and Leyley is a remarkably silly game much of the time, finding moments of absurdity and levity against a backdrop blacker than pitch — and most of the time, your internal narration is coming from Ashley and the jokes will not-infrequently come at her own expense.

She will later get negged by her human sacrifice for her poor ritual circle drawing

Her reaction to being told that her soul is as dark and viscous as tar is “You guess you already knew that” — it’s confirmation to her, not new information. Ashley knows who she is. But who taught her this? There’s layers to this, nothing in this game is as simple and straightforward as it appears at first sight, which is why I’ve been obsessing over it for days.

While it’s common in fiction, the truth of the matter is, most ‘bad people’ really do think they’re good people. But Ashley has never once thought of herself as a good person — or perhaps better put as a person worthy of love — as we learn across Episodes 1 & 2, with our flashbacks to Andy and Leyley and the VERY VERY QUIET!!!

I really wish I had space in this essay to talk about this, but I’d like to touch on these being traits usually more easily forgiven in young boys than young girls at some point.

If she removes all other options, only then can she expect him to like her.

This is something that is echoed in the modern day — her seeming self-assurance is easily shaken and she reaches out to the world — usually Andrew — to affirm and validate her, soothing her insecurities, using any tool she deems necessary. Even when her life is on the line when Andrew has her by the throat at the climax of Episode 1, the only ‘compelling reason’ she can give Andrew to not kill her is her ability to soothe his nightmares. When he tells her there are sleeping pills for that…

Most people would have a bit more to argue for their existence.

While she, unlike Andrew, acknowledges having had friends before the quarantine… you know she’s got a point that they didn’t even bother to answer her calls, that was clearly not something the state was interfering with given Andrew’s calls with his mother and his girlfriend, and given her general demeanour it’s not hard to imagine that… they weren’t ever very close. When we see her and Nina talk in the infamous ‘box scene’, it’s clear that Nina doesn’t like her very much, despite Andrew’s assessment of Nina as being one of Ashley’s friends.

We see further support for her general lack of companionship in her dream sequence in the Burial route — Leyley and Leyley Alone. No matter what you do, you can’t place the pink plushy at the family table, the flowers won’t bloom if you give the Julia and Nina plushies her own as a companion instead of Andrew’s — and if you’re bold enough to go for the ‘incest route’, in the ‘Love’ room you see that no one ever looks happy to be with her in the childlike depictions of her history, nor is she happy in turn, save for when she’s with Andrew. In a bit of heavy-handed metaphor, the player then overwrites all of these tense, upset, hard moments with Andrew, having him fill in for everyone else in life — and happy with her.

Once Upon A Lousy Life…

THE END

And that’s why she needs him to affirm her, because no one else ever has and no one else ever will. It’s even included in their comic beats — when the siblings are getting along well, they’ll often play a game where Andrew dramatically overpraises Ashley while she demands more; it’s a comedic bit but I mean — it really does matter to her!

For the record, she opened a door. She gets a little heart in a speech bubble after this exchange.

We have a great example of this dynamic, that of insecurity and affirmation, in Episode 1, after Andrew has killed for her, butchered for her, his girlfriend broke up with her, he’s seemingly thrown his entire life away for her… she’s still insecure over her relationship with him, she’s uncertain of her control and she needs him to reaffirm it for her.

This is her victory, surely?

Andrew affirms her once, with his usual dead-eyed look.

But she's still not so sure.

He actively reaches out to affirm her again with cheer.

Look how happy she is!

While it’s most obvious and clear cut here, it’s hardly the only case. Let’s look back to the aftermath of Andy and Leyley and the VERY VERY QUIET!!! (I’m not using the other name). Leyley is, after similarly extreme acts — he murdered a girl and hid her body for her — convinced Andy doesn’t like her and she needs this leverage to keep him around, to meet her basic needs for survival. Because that’s what this is — she receives no care of affection elsewhere, so she forces it out of the only source she sees available through the means she sees as necessary.

I really hope we see some of their earlier childhood in Episode 3

What exactly made her like this? Was it just neglect, or something more specific…

She needs this to be the case because otherwise she doesn’t believe he’d stay.

This pattern repeats throughout — Ashley’s insecurities are hit on and she reaches out to Andy to affirm that she is not alone, and she will use any and every tool to exploit her ostensible control over him and force him to be what she needs him to be — and as long as she has that, as long as she is everything to him and it’s not possible for him to leave, she’s happy. As long as she thinks he loves her in her very particular, very peculiar view of love, she’s content, come what may. As long as Andy and Leyley are together, they can take on the world.

Let’s talk about that view of love, because there’s always more layers to unpack here I’m only scratching the surface with this essay — Ashley consistently refers to anyone else Andrew may have befriended or spent time with as a whore, a slut, a bitch — highly gendered insults that bring to mind the idea that he’s cheating in some way. But it’s not even about sex — when Andrew mentions that their parents had friends, she accuses them of cheating on each other in the same way!

There’s a lot to unpack about Ashley’s view of femininity and the role the patriarchy plays in their relationship.

Any kind of emotional engagement, any kind of commitment, any kind of life outside of your significant other is, to Ashley, cheating. Because that’s what she needs from Andrew, a seeming complete and total commitment, secure in her place as the only thing in his life, because she cannot understand anyone picking her if they have a choice.

This insecurity she has in her relationship is what drives her to empower the trinket — he can’t leave her as long as she can protect him with prophetic dreams, after all. She needs every kind of leverage she can get because until she succeeds in being everything to him, in devouring him so completely she has him in her thrall mind, body and soul she can’t be sure of herself — hell, her dream sequence in Burial has you placing Andrew’s signature green plushy, ‘the best thing in the world’ in a cage far away from anything else.

Ultimately, it really is all about Ashley — even her seeming obsession with Andrew ultimately comes back to her own insecurities. If she is everything to ‘the best thing in the world’, some of that ‘best’ must surely reflect on her!

But that’s enough about the more normal, straightforward and understandable sibling.

That was not a joke.

Andrew’s Rank 100 Deception

The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world that he did not exist.

Let me explain.

You might have noticed that in the previous section I often use language such as ‘ostensibly’ or ‘seemingly’ to describe Andy and Leyley’s relationship, and there’s a good reason for that. From the beginning of the game through to its end, Andrew is lying to you, the player, without ever falsely representing or misinforming you about events that occurred.

The common, or obvious ‘initial take’ on Andrew as presented in Episode 1 is fairly straightforward. The game primes you to think this way, it frames things and strings reveals just right so as to make it very easy to overlook the incongruities it introduces in Episode 2. He’s a victim. Plain and simple, Ashley is his abuser and he is her victim and would be fine, a normal albeit kinda depressed guy without her.

It really is not a difficult conclusion to draw

You can go all the way through the game, have him try to accept his mother’s olive branch and enter the Decay route as a method for him to finally actualise his desire to get out from Ashley’s thumb and it makes sense, it’s a reasonable way for the story to go, given his character.

You see him this way because the game primes you in Episode 1 to view their relationship like Andrew does — he’s lying. He’s lying to himself, he’s lying to Ashley and he’s so good at it — Deception Rank 100 — he even lies to you. Without misrepresenting a single event or otherwise misleading you directly, the game gets you to buy into his preferred self-perception. Nina? Ashley. Julia? Ashley. The murders they commit in the course of the game? Ashley, Ashley, Ashley, it’s not his fault he’s not to blame he’s just a doormat at the beck and call of his demonic sister.

But he wants to be there. From the very outset, the very first puzzle, that’s made clear. Does anyone else remember this exchange, from right at the beginning of the game?

Ashley wants to investigate the music!

Andrew disapproves…

…Or does he?!

Like. Listen. Okay. You do not frown when saying ‘Nope’ and then smile when saying that you’ll instead tag along if they do it if your heart is at all in the no. That’s not an objection, that’s using Ashley as his excuse. Especially if you immediately throw her the balcony key that she could not possibly have gotten from you by force (more on Andrew’s ability to use force later).

This is the very first time you control both characters together with Andrew following Ashley instead of off on his own, the first adventure, the first puzzle!

But put a pin in that for now, let’s talk about his initial framing in Episode 2 first. Episode 1 has set us up to, generally speaking, believe the superficial framing of the siblings as portrayed in its promotional art:

The question that we then ask, right at the heart of it is… why is he a doormat? We explore this in his dream sequence in Episode 2, which does make it clear that the boy’s not okay but— it’s real easy, given the priming from Episode 1 to make you think that he’s the one with the originally functional moral compass, to think that that him being fucked up is damage done to him by Nina’s death and being bound to Ashley for his entire life. She corrupted him.

But, well, is that the case?

You're primed to ignore this as manipulation (which it is) but the best manipulation has some truth to it.

Precisely two things spur Andrew to action in the entire game, consistently — they are the fear of consequences and Ashley. And the first incident of that fear, the very first time we’re shown his seeming moral compass as a kid — the first time it’s really hammered home that it’s a fear of consequences rather than any true moral qualms is after Nina’s death. And why does he fear consequences here?

……

The ‘natural’ read that many take away from this sequence, particularly those who have only played Decay, is that Ashley browbeat him into doing this against his will, using emotional blackmail to overwhelm his objections, and then used the event itself to bind him to her forever as her personal doormat.

In a strict sense, this is true. But this doesn’t match up with the details, something the game uses shock to encourage you to overlook. That outburst is before any kind of threat has been made, and absolutely nothing either of them say anything about it being morally bad until Ashley weaponises ‘you’re a bad person’ against Andrew — morality didn’t seem to enter his mind or the equation at all until Ashley brought it up. More than that, his greatest fear and driving motivation even prior to that is, as shown above, being taken away from Ashley.

She, of course, recognises this and uses it against him. But she never needed to, it didn’t change anything about Andrew’s attachment to her, it was there to address her own insecurities.

Just like to touch on how a lot of his affirmations are preceded by him confirming her insecurities.

I adore this phrasing

There’s a second prong to this as well, to the question of ‘who really calls the shots here’ because — Andrew can, at any stage, apply an ‘ultimate veto’ of physical violence. The game is very clear to the player that that is on the table — even when they were children, when Andy swears their blood oath, he briefly considers killing her — and take note of how he ultimately got a ‘winning’ condition out of her by not specifying there wouldn’t be others and she is forced to accept that, there. Even outside of their most serious confrontations, Ashley is portrayed as having to convince, manipulate or otherwise coerce Andrew into going along with her schemes — she really can’t make him do anything, she doesn’t have the supremacy in violence and, to a lesser extent, capability that would allow her to.

Andrew, you are like ten years old.

The truth of the matter is, Ashley can only make Andrew do anything because he lets her. I don’t mean in the sense that I’m saying abuse victims let their abusers emotionally abuse them, I mean in the sense that he is clearly considering his options on the table and choosing to discard those that could stop her, or bring an end to any of this. He needs her.

But it’s true that he hates her, too. He has to hate her, because if he doesn’t hate her, if he isn’t forced to have done this, that means… he’s responsible. And nothing, at the start of the story, is as important to Andrew as avoiding the consequences of his own actions, not even Ashley. By the midpoint, he loves her, he hates her, he can’t live without her, he wants to kill her — by the end… well, that depends if you’re on Decay or Burial, but more on that in a bit.

A great scene to study for this dynamic is the climax of Episode 1, when Andrew grabs Ashley by the throat and considers strangling her to death. She’s pushed him too far with hurtful words and assault, and he’s seemingly had enough.

It’s still framed as a question of risk, of consequences happening to him.

Like, this is not the usual behaviour of someone who’s been pushed past their breaking point.

He tells Ashley that he wants to kill her, because she’s just going to throw another fit and that’s a risk to him. She is… not framed as being able to fight back (she does have a gun here, and more on that in a later essay, maybe). He’s so calculated in how he approaches his use of violence here, which isn’t at all what you’d expect of someone about to commit a crime of passion… but it’s very easy to overlook because of the abuser/victim narrative that the player fits his behaviour into the narrative that the game primes them to accept, brushing incongruities under the carpet.

At the start of Episode 2, we get to control Andrew for the first time, and the first obvious holes in his cover start to show. Some of this is optional — you only learn that he’s been faking having nightmares in order to share a bed with Ashley if you choose to go back into the motel room and check the bed, for example — but not all of it.

----(See reblogs for the second half)

#the coffin of andy and leyley #tcoaal #andrew graves #ashley graves #spoilers #multipost

1K notes · View notes

animehideout · 3 months

Note

So you did the JJK guys turn ons. What about their turn offs?

JJK Men Turn-Offs

a/n: Thank you anon for this request, I hope you like it ❤️

Ps: If you don't see your request posted yet it's because I'm still working on them, thank you for your understanding my loves 🫶🏻✨

Characters: Gojo Satoru / Ryomen Sukuna/ Toji Fushiguro/ Nanami Kento/ Geto Suguru/ Choso Kamo / Ino Takuma.

Check out JJK Men Turn-ons here

Gojo Satoru: Poor Hygiene.

I see Gojo as someone who gives attention to details, to himself, his partner and in general.

He's someone that values aesthetics.

He's into self-care and likes to spend money on expensive body lotions, perfumes, nice and elegant clothes.

So poor hygiene is an immediate red flag for him, as it contradicts his preferences for cleanliness and order.

Satoru takes pride in his appearance and expects the same from people around him especially his partner.

So a partner lacking efforts in matching his level of cleanliness and appearance is a turn off for him especially with the importance he places on the way he presents himself.

Satoru believes that taking care of oneself is a form of respect for others, so for him, lack of hygiene is considered as lack consideration.

Poor hygiene disappoints him a lot and would definitely distance himself.

Ryomen Sukuna: Inability to satisfy his sexual desires.

Driven by his desires and lust, once his partner screws up, it's over.

He has a dominant and assertive nature, wanting everything to go as he wishes.

He has high expectations and puts big emphasis on his sex life.

So his partner's / love interest's inability to satisfy his desires or refuse to do some wild crazy shit that he wants, would frustrate him and make him angry.

Sukuna won't disappoint his partner, he's literally the best at sexually pleasing them, so it's crucial that he's equally pleased and satisfied.

If his partner fails to fulfill his needs then it might trigger his impatience, making him less tolerant.

He places big importance on mutual enjoyment, if he senses any imbalance, then he's end the relationship without hesitation.

Toji Fushiguro: Being A Drama Queen.

Toji is a straightforward and rational man.

He values smartness and efficiency, so making excessive drama or overreactions is a major turn-off for him.

He prefers logical thinking and conflicts solving over unnecessary emotional displays .

Toji is a prudent man and sees easily through dramatic actions or words any attempted manipulation from his partner.

He prefers a partner who can handle their emotions maturely and independently without causing a fuss.

Constant drama might make him feel bored or like he's dealing with a child and not a grown up adult.

For him exaggerated reactions, nagging are a waste of time, a headache stimulator and get on his nerves.

He prefers a chill, simple and laid back partner.

Would definitely distance himself without further engaging in the the relationship/ situationship.

Would feel second hand embarrassed if his partner makes a scene.

Nanami Kento: Arrogance.

There's a difference between being self-confident and being arrogant.

The first one is a turn-on for Nanami, the second one is an immediate turn-off.

That line that separates them "attitude" makes a huge shift in the way he perceive his partner.

He finds arrogance off-putting.

He prefers a partner who is grounded and modest; traits that align with his own reserved nature.

Being an introverted man, Nanami tends to communicate in a calm and polite manner, with an arrogant partner the balance of his communication style would be disrupted.

An arrogant partner would talk down to him, which is very demeaning.

Politeness and mutual respect are necessary for Nanami, and arrogance can come across as dismissive, he finds that unappealing.

Nanami wants a genuine connection with his partner, where both of them are sincere, caring and responsible.

And arrogance brings with it selfishness and this doesn't align with how he pictures a stable, romantic relationship with a calm and harmonious environment.

Geto Suguru: Lack Of Ambitions And Negativity.

For a man with very big dreams, lack of ambitions is pathetic.

He wants a partner to push him forward and not bring him down with their negativity.

Geto believes in constant striving for improvement and excellence, so having a partner with no dreams would definitely get into his way and waste his time.

He pities people who are too basic and too simple and sees them as weak and burden in earth.

For him only people who are willing to make an impact on society are worth living but the purposeless ones are just a waste of oxygen.

The lack of purpose means lack of personality for him, it would make him instantly disconnected and disgusted no matter how much he would be physically attracted to that person.

Geto envisions a romantic relationship as a collaboration towards achieving mutual common goals.

So lack of ambitions and negativity would hinder the formation of thus goal-oriented relationship.

If a person isn't willing to change, push boundaries and challenge themselves, then Suguru wouldn't even bother to spend another second with them.

Choso Kamo: Talking To Other Guys.

Choso is a loyal man with a protective nature.

He prefers quality over quantity, having a loyal partner would mean the whole world to him.

A partner who engages in unnecessary or flirty conversations with other man ( even at the beginning of the relationship) would definitely make him really sad and turn him off at the spot.

Choso appreciates a reserved partner who only has eyes on him, so a gf/bf who likes to be the center of attention of other guys and constantly talk with them would make him break up with them to protect his heart and peace.

Choso wants undivided attention, he is willing to give the world to his partner, cut off all unnecessary connections if his partner feels jealous or uncomfortable and he wants the same.

Trust is crucial for Choso, and once his partner breaks that trust then it's over.

Ino Takuma: Dry Replies.

Ino is a man who thrives on his partner's affection and attention.

So dry replies would definitely make him sad and question hus partner's feelings towards him.

Ino likes to engage in lively conversations that flow effortlessly, from sharing how was his day to his plans for tomorrow.

So being constantly faced with replies that lack enthusiasm or effort are huge turn-off for him.

He puts too much effort in the relationship so he expects the same from his partner.

Ino appreciates a partner who expresses themselves openly, and also good listener who is willing to comfort him and tell him thay everything is gonna be alright.

And receiving cold replies would disappoint him and push him away, making him think that his partner is careless about him.

Also when sharing memes. Humor is important to Ino, so dry and dull answers would make him feel embarrassed and awkward.

He cares too much, he deserves someone who would give him the attention and care he needs.

So distancing himself from a dry partner would save him his energy and save him from overthinking.

694 notes · View notes

rabarbarzcukrem · 10 months

Text

The eternal opposing relationship between the two sides of a mirror

or: In defense of Shiori

I feel like Shiori is one of the most controversial characters in Utena. Some love her, others despise her. And I don't have a problem with people having strong opinions on her character. What bothers me is the tendency to exaggerate her most negative traits, focus on her most harmful actions, completely ignore any redeeming qualities she might have and then paint her as a one dimensional villainous caricature, a mean straight girl who plays with the lesbian's feelings for the sake of it, without anything deeper going on.

I'm aware of the fact that some people refer to her like that in endearment or in a satirical fashion, and I'm not saying that you can't consider her your favorite problematic evil girl representation. I'm only trying to make people realize that it's her complexity that actually makes her such a compelling character.

I've seen people call Shiori all sorts of names, some of which were baffling enough to make me wonder if they even remembered what happens in the show, and weren't just judging a version of the character that they made up in their head.

So, let's look at the things Shiori actually does, throughout the course of the story.

Disclaimer: I'm only going to take the series into the account here, because I think we can all agree that everyone's characterization and personality differs at least slightly in the movie. Background characters also get a lot less screen time to explain their motivations in order to fully focus on Anthy's journey and struggles, which is understandable.

1. She "steals" the boy from Juri.

This is her biggest crime, which seems to define her from the very beginning. Even though Juri didn't actually have any romantic feelings for him, this action is detrimental to their relationship - it breaks the trio apart, isolates Juri from the pair, is an act of betrayal against her and proves it was done with full awareness that it would hurt Juri emotionally.

Shiori is a deeply insecure person, who constantly feels inadequate and beneath other people. The only reason why Juri seemed to actually like her that Shiori could think of was pity, and even when she found out she was the object of her romantic affection all along, she still struggled to comprehend it. Her self loathing and constant perceived inferiority make her desperate to gain any sort of control over her life and relationships, but they're also the exact reason she feels that the only way she could ever do that is by hurting others. She's always one step below and incapable of crossing that distance, therefore the only way to become equal to people is to bring them down to her level, by humiliation.

When she "steals" the boy from Juri, she achieves that. For a moment, she feels good about herself and leaves Ohtori thinking that she has found the answer, the solution. But she's wrong. From that moment on, it becomes more and more apparent to her that what she did was never out of love for the boy, even though she doesn't let herself acknowledge it fully. Because the truth is, Shiori actually regrets hurting Juri, which she admits herself during her elevator confession.

When the guilt starts getting to her, her confidence high wears off, and she ends up feeling ever worse.

That's why she breaks up with him and comes back. She's not ready to leave yet, not ready to progress. There's still something binding her to Ohtori - Juri, and Shiori's unresolved feelings for her.

2. She tries to set things right with Juri and to fix their relationship.

Even though at this point Shiori still thinks that Juri only ever associated herself with her out of pity, she still makes several attempts to get closer to Juri, who understandably (albeit coldly) turns her down ever time. This is a very clear sign of conflicting feelings Shiori has for Juri - jealousy and admiration, resentment and longing, hate and love. After all, Shiori admits that the two practically grew up together. Their friendship may have always felt fake to Shiori, but she clearly cherished it deeply.

3. The Black Rose Arc.

First of all, we should establish what is the purpose of this arc and how it functions. It explores the motivations of background characters and shows their worst side to the audience. The characters that end up in the elevator are the most unstable, vulnerable ones, with the least power in the system, in unequal and/or exploitive relationships with the duelists and their agency under threat. Mikage offers them a way to gain that power by making them follow their most toxic, negative emotions. And despite all other characters doing exactly that, from what I've seen Shiori is the one that gets the most hate for it. I don't think she should be judged any harsher for what she did under the influence of the black rose than, let's say, Wakaba or Kozue. Especially because the reason all of them ended up in that elevator is because they recognized that these urges were harmful and were seeking help and counseling.

What this arc does do is reveal how Shiori's inferiority complex drives her to act against her own desires. Even though she longs for things to be different, even though she is not happy at all with how her relationship with Juri looks like, she is unable to fix it, because that would require her to consider her own affection for Juri. And she can't do that, because it would mean admitting that she's not stronger than Juri, that she hasn't beaten her, that she's doesn't have control and an advantage over her. Although she tries to keep up this smug, self-assured facade, the reality shines through.

They key to understanding Shiori is noticing that she specifically doesn't want to acknowledge that Juri's feelings are reciprocated, and the obsession is mutual. If you paint their relationship as one sided, you're actually falling for her act.

4. She enters a relationship with Ruka.

Ruka is a handsome (arguable), respected boy who appears out of nowhere and starts showing interest in Shiori. It's obvious that for an insecure girl, who in addition struggles with confusing repressed feelings, this would be something unthinkably wonderful. The affection and praise she gets from him is exactly what her low self-esteem craves. You might be wondering why she didn't perceive Juri's feelings for her in the same way. And a part of the answer might be that, post nameless-boy-incident, Juri was nothing but cold to her. She might have been pining after Shiori from afar, but in the end she's distant and untouchable, and they're divided by their messy past. Meanwhile Ruka is a clean slate, seems openly affectionate, engaged in their relationship and he pays attention to her. But I think the main thing that makes Ruka so different from Juri is the fact that...he's a boy. Because, as Revolutionary Girl Utena establishes, gender plays a crucial role in interpersonal dynamics. Attention from a boy is fundamentally coded as romantic, desirable, necessary and most importantly: increases the girl's worth in society's eyes. It makes one a princess. Meanwhile Juri's advances could only be seen as an invitation to friendship, at best. But Juri's status and beauty make her special, while Shiori is not. Therefore, it can only be pity and mockery.

Of course, Ruka only uses Shiori to influence Juri and dumps her as soon as he achieves his goals. It's true that Shiori could have listened to Juri's warnings, but then again... why should she? From her perspective, Juri's her ex-friend that doesn't want anything to do with her, who only suddenly comes to Shiori when she's finally happy and fulfilled, and encourages her to end it. She doesn't know the wider context of the situation, nor does she remember the Black Rose arc. Juri's warnings don't sound sincere to her.

And so, Ruka gets rid of her in the coldest, most indifferent way, not explaining anything or showing even the slightest sign of compassion. Before that though, he makes an interesting remark, about Shiori putting on an act and polishing somebody else's sword.

Honestly, I don't really know how to interpret it in any other way than Shiori actually having feelings for someone else, despite trying her hardest to conceal it. Are my shipping lenses not allowing me to see any different possibilities? Am I going crazy? I don't know.

Nevertheless, Shiori begs him to stay, devastated. Her life got turned around so suddenly, she found appreciation, status, comfort and stability, and now all that's been taken away from her as abruptly as it was given. It's a public humiliation.

I once heard someone say that this would be the perfect moment for Juri to step in and defend her. And to be honest, although it may be true, I'm not completely sure. It may have been the one display of open care that Shiori needed from her, but it might as well have been interpreted by Shiori as Juri affirming her superiority over her and feeling sorry for her again. We will never know. In my opinion, so much of their relationship is going on in their own heads that the only thing that could ever cause positive progress is communication (which neither of them seem to be a fan of).

Instead, Juri only tries to console her after the fact, when Shiori's at her absolute lowest. In the context of all the assumptions Shiori holds and Juri's previous indifference, it quite understandably comes off as a sneering attempt to gloat.

That's about it. You may have noticed that I've summarized all Shiori's appearances into 4 points, and only one of them includes an instance of Shiori hurting Juri voluntarily, out of her own free will, not influenced by anyone. I'm not saying that she was forced to taunt Juri during the Black Rose Arc, I'm not trying to diminish the suffering she's caused or trying to paint her as a perfectly good person. I am trying to make it clear that she is not some cunning plotter, dedicating every minute of her life to finding ways to make Juri suffer that some people seem to take her for. I am trying to humanize people's perception of her a little bit. Especially considering the fact that last scenes of her include those when she waits for Juri and follows her so that they can go home together, and then joins the fencing club. If this doesn't show that she's capable of change, I don't know what does.

She's not an innocent princess, that's true, but she's not just an egoistical, manipulative liar either. She's a bit of both. After all, if Revolutionary Girl Utena is supposed to teach you anything, then I think it's that we're all just people, and the complexities of human experience make it impossible to fit anyone into a box, assigning them definite labels like "princess" or "witch".

And if you look at a teenage girl who, like all people in Ohtori, struggle under the system of patriarchy and heterosexuality, and all you see is a wicked, sinister witch, then you may have just fallen into the trap that the narrative had set for you.

#Shiori: I may be pathetic but you're the one who fell for me lol #no fr you don't need to make up reasons to hate shiori there's plenty enough right there in the text #rgu #revolutionary girl utena #shiori takatsuki #juriori #I guess #she's so fucked up I love her #like girl feeling delighted after finding out your bestie has a crush on you is not very straight no matter how you justify it #moje

439 notes · View notes

literary-illuminati · 4 months

Text

Book Review 70 – American Psycho by Brett Easton Ellis

I’m honestly not sure I ever would have gotten around to reading this on my own, but ended up buying it through the ‘blind date with a book’ thing a bookstore in New York was doing when I was visiting (incredible gimmick, for the record). The fact that it then took me a solid three months to actually finish probably tells you something about how genuinely difficult a read I found it. Not in the sense of being bad, but just legitimately difficult to stomach at points. Overall I’d call it a real triumph of literature.

Not that anyone doesn’t already know, but; the book is spent inside the head of Patrick Bateman, high-flying wall street trader and Harvard blueblood at the close of the Reagan era. Also a serial killer. The story is told as a series of more or less disconnected vignettes, jumping from dinner conversations at one exclusive bar or club or another to the brutal torture and murder of a sex worker to several pages of incredibly vapid pontification on Nina Simone’s discography. The story vaguely tracks Bateman growing ever-more alienated and out of control as the year goes on, but there’s very much not any real single narrative or cathartic climax here. - most stuff just happens (stuff that’s either incredibly tedious or utterly nauseating by turns but still just, stuff).

So yeah this is an intensely literary work (obviously), a word I’m here using to mean one that is as much about the form and style of the writing as about the actual events portrayed. Bateman is a monster, but more than that he’s just an utterly boring and tedious husk of a man, traits which are exaggerated to the point of being fascinating– if you told this story in conventional third person narration without all the weird asides, it would be a) like half as long and b) totally worthless. The tonal whiplash of going from an incredibly visceral depiction of Bateman cutting out the eyes of a homeless man to six (utterly insipid) pages on the merits of The Doors is the selling point here (well actually I think Ellis goes back to that specific well probably one time too many, but in general I mean).

Bateman is a tedious, unstable monster, but as far as the book has an obvious thesis it’s that he differs from the rest of his social milieu only in degree. A symptom of a fundamentally rotten society, not a heroic devil among sheep. The book’s climax, such as it is, involved Bateman getting into a drug-fueled gunfight with the NYPD, shooting multiple people in the middle of the street, and then stumbling home and leaving a rambling confession to every crime on his lawyer’s answering machine – but despite very clearly wanting and trying to get caught and face some sort of consequence or justice, people just refuse to believe that someone like him is capable of anything like that. (It’s not, it must be said, an especially subtle book).

There is, as far as I can recall, not a single character who gets enough screentime to give an idea of their personality who I’d call likeable. Sympathetic, sure, but that’s mostly because it’s pretty much impossible not to sympathize with someone getting horrifically tortured and torn apart (at one point a starving rat is involved). The upper crust of New York yuppie-dom is portrayed as shallow and vapid, casually bigoted towards quite literally everyone who isn’t identical to them, status-obsessed to the point of only being able to understand the world as a collection of markers of class and coolness, and totally incapable of real human connection. Bateman is a monster not because of any freak abnormality, but just because he takes all of that a few steps further than his coworkers.

The book is totally serious and straight-faced in its presentation, and absolutely never acknowledges any of the running gags that are kept up through it. Which shows impressive restraint, and also means that none of them exactly have a payoff or a punchline – it’s just a feature of the world that all the expensive meals at trendy restaurants everyone competes for tables at sound disgusting when you think about them for a moment, or that the whole class of wall street trader guy are so entirely interchangeable that ostensible close friends and coworkers constantly mistake each other for other traders and no one particularly cares. Or – and I’m taking this on faith because fuck knows I’ve got no idea what any of the brands people are wearing are – that the ruinously expensive outfits everyone spends so very much time and money on for every engagement all clash comically if you actually looked up what the different pieces looked like. The book’s in no way really a comedy, so the jokes sit a bit oddly, but they’re still overall pretty funny, at least to me.

I like to think I have something of a strong stomach for unpleasant material in books, but this was the first work of fiction that I had genuine trouble reading for content reasons in I can’t even remember. I’m not sure it’s exactly right to call the violence pornographic in a general sense, but as far as American Psycho goes the register and tone Bateman uses to describe fucking a woman and torturing her to death are basically identical (and told in similarly explicit detail), and all of Bateman’s sexual fantasies are more or less explicitly just porn scenes he wants to recreate, so. Regardless, the result’s pretty alienating in both cases – his internal monologue never really feels anything but detached and almost bored as he relays what he does, sound exactly as vapid and alienated as when he is carefully listing the exact brands and designers every person he ever interacts with is wearing at all times, or arguing over dinner reservations for hours on end with his friends and lovers (though both those terms probably deserve heavy airquotes around them). He legitimately sounds considerably more engaged when talking about arguing over sartorial etiquette. It all adds up to a really strong alienating effect.

Anyways, speaking of sex and violence – perhaps because my main exposure to the story before this was tumblr making memes out of scenes from the movie, but I was pretty shocked by just how explicitly awful Patrick is ‘on screen’. The horrible murder, sure, but also just the casual and frequent use of racist and homophobic slurs, the pathological misogyny, the total breakdown he has at the idea of a gay man being attracted to him and thinking he might reciprocate – all of these are entirely in character for an asshole Wall Street ‘80s Guy even if he wasn’t a serial killer, but it’s still oddly shocking at first to see it so thoroughly represented on the page. It makes how comparatively soft-pedaled the bigotry and just, awfulness, of villains in a lot of more modern books stand out a lot more, I suppose? I have read a lot of books that are in some sense About queerness and/or racism in the last year, and no one in any of them holds a candle to good old Patrick Bateman.

Part of that is just the book being so intensely of its time, I suppose. The New York of this book is very much one of the late ‘80s, incredible wealth living side by side with social rot and decay, crippling poverty everywhere and a society that has to a great degree just stopped caring. Absolutely none of which Bateman or any of his peers care one bit about, of course – they’re too busy showing off the latest walkmans and record players, going to the newest clubs, and just generally enjoying all the fruits of Reagan’s America. Recent history has made the fact that Bateman’s personal idol is Donald Trump almost too on the nose to be interesting, but in 1991 I’m sure it was a bit more subtle in how telling it was.

Anyway, yeah, horrifying and exhausting read, triumph of literature, my god did Easton Ellis hate America (this is a compliment). Now time to go watch the movie!

#book review #literature #american psycho #brett easton ellis

124 notes · View notes

super-paper · 8 months

Text

Symbol of Peace/Symbol of Fear

I've read a lot of callous takes on All Might from fans who are otherwise sympathetic to Tomura (and vice versa)-- which is sad, because I feel these characters are meant to be viewed as two sides of the same coin. It's not much of an exaggeration to say that a good bulk of the story/conflict is built on top of their crumbling bodies. It's also not much of an exaggeration to say that the resolution to this story hinges on them both being allowed to heal.

Toshinori and Tenko are both victims who were repeatedly failed by the adults around them, and are now both adults who are stuck in roles that perpetuate the same cycle that wounded their childhood selves. Their particular traumas regarding identity/loss and how they've been taught to cope with pain (that is to say, not at all) doesn't allow either of them to truly be "complete" people-- instead, they shut away core aspects of themselves and attempt to lose themselves in their respective roles in a futile attempt to run away from their wounded selves. Toshi throws himself into the role of All Might, Tenko throws himself into the role of Shigaraki Tomura-- But Toshi and Tenko still haunt every aspect of this story, and their inability to completely vanish into their alter egos remains a source of pain before it ever becomes a source of strength for them.

One of MHA's biggest messages is about the importance of society's most vulnerable people having access to good social support-- so it's no surprise that Toshi and Tomura's feelings of isolation end up fueling their blind pursuits of peace/destruction. They both gorge themselves on a fantasy they think will fill them, but are never full-- at least, not until they start allowing other people in their lives who can see beyond their respective hero/villain masks and understand that what's behind those masks is someone who desperately needs help.

Brief(ish) Thoughts on the Gravity of Their Designs

"Starvation" is very much the theme of the hour for both characters-- both characters are introduced to the series in severely emaciated, malnourished states. Toshi's true form is literally skin and bones, with his stomach having been ripped from his body by AFO. Tomura is depicted as frequently vomiting from sheer stress and suffers from nearly constant nausea-- during his debut, he's so malnourished that you can literally see the outline of his spinal column. They're both unkempt and unhealthy looking (with Tomura's clothes being visibly tattered/frayed around the collar and shirt/pant cuffs in a particularly infuriating bit of visual story telling-- AFO UR FUCKING LOADED WHY IS HE WEARING RAGS I'LL KILL YOU🗡️🗡️🗡️)

MEANWHILE, AFO himself is depicted as a cannibalistic, gluttonous, greedy monster who gorges himself on the misfortune of others and spares no expense whatsoever when it comes to maintaining his own health-- all while remaining well dressed and well groomed. Hori's art direction is simple but highly effective in how it indicates who the real enemy is, while also indicating that Tomura and Toshinori secretly share a mortal foe with one another.

Less seriously, Toshi & Tomura's muscle forms are both shams lmao.

Nana's Boys-------------------------------

God, Tomura is SUCH a fucking grandma's boy and he doesn't even know it. 😭 😭 😭You too, Toshinori. Hate u both! ❤

For all her flaws and mistakes, Nana still remains a major influence in Tomura and Toshinori's lives-- She is a source of pain for them both, but also serves as a source of strength for Toshinori and a source of deeply repressed hope for Tenko. She is the unbreakable binding thread that connects Toshinori and Tenko together as "family". Nana is also completely inextricable from the origin of both boys:

There's also the ever creeping implication that all the traits Tomura latched onto with AFO actually originated from Nana and Toshinori-- the concept of an inviolable "origin" that defines you, donning an invincible smile that hides your pain/fear, pushing past your limits by remembering why it is you swing your fists. AFO intended for both his "teacher persona" and his lessons to be a dark, twisted mockery of Nana-- but Tomura still "found" Nana in those lessons and then used them to take the first step towards breaking free.

Y e a h.

Nevertheless, Tomura can't bring himself to take the next step towards being saved until someone starts to challenge him a bit more on what his origin actually *IS* . Izuku, that's ur cue.

The Kamino Incident---------------------

mmm cinnamontography......

Kamino and its immediate aftermath is definitely the meat and potatoes of Tomura and Toshi's connection, and the story is STILL reeling from the aftershocks of this arc. AFO gleefully picks up his pen and proceeds to write Tomura and Toshi into a corner they can't escape from on their own, setting the stage for the rest of the series.

It's all but confirmed through AFO's actions and internal dialog that Kamino was a set-up meant to retraumatize Tomura and Toshinori by recreating the worst moments of their lives, while also permanently putting them at odds with each other-- AFO takes himself off the playing board willingly in a way that's deliberately meant to resemble Nana's sacrifice while also ripping Tomura's trauma about not being saved wide open. My guy played the longest con specifically so he could create a hell specifically tailored to these two, then gave them both time to "pick themselves up and dust themselves off" just so he could knock them both down AGAIN in an even MORE spectacularly traumatizing way a few months later. (I am once again encouraging people to reread MHA while actually paying attention to AFO this time and while acknowledging that Tomura and Toshinori are his victims, because the dude's a fucking FANTASTIC villain)

All Might and Tomura both get their "masks" forcibly removed in a way that's meant to humiliate them and expose their pain/humanity, which causes them to both bury themselves even deeper in their hero/villain roles and further away from each other. AFO depends on Toshi's hero mask and role as a "symbol" being the very thing that won't allow Toshi to save Shimura Tenko. Kamino is to Toshi what MVA is to Tomura-- an awful tragedy that shackles both men to their masks, masquerading as a good ol' high-energy shonen beatdown.

AFO: Hey can I copy ur homework lol

Name a bigger "Ohhhhhhh This Bitch (ʘ‿ʘ)" moment

AFO gets a sick pleasure out of masquerading as a savior and turning others into the "villain"-- he has always delighted in dragging others to his level, in bringing the absolute worst outta them, in watching them make all the same decisions *he* would make without him having to force his hand, in stealing the light from their eyes so they look just as dull and unhappy as his, in making others "another him".

Tomura is an obvious example, but Toshi himself is also a victim of AFO's particular brand of perversion (for lack of a better word)-- Kamino has AFO turning Toshi into "another him." All MIght is turned into "the villain" who takes Tomura's beloved master away from him, just as AFO took Nana away from Toshinori. All Might inflicts the same trauma he went through onto Tomura, while AFO takes a bow and proceeds to laugh himself all the way to the bank Tartarus.

(Seriously, tho-- reading "All Might: Rising" and the Kamino arc back-to-back and realizing that AFO's dramatic sacrifice was *literally plagiarized* is probably one of the biggest doses of fridge horror in the entire series-- it immediately throws EVERYTHING about Kamino and AFO's relationship with Tomura into question.)

*enraged chimpanzee shriek* THE WAY HE PRETTY MUCH SAYS EXACTLY WHAT HIS PLAN IS BUT THE PLAN WAS SO FRIGGIN INCONCEIVABLE THAT NO ONE PICKED UP ON IT. FUKX>.

From AFO's perspective, Toshi's rise to power as "The Symbol of Peace" was shaped by his rage and the loss of his beloved master. This blind hatred eventually allowed All Might to corner and "kill" AFO. AFO takes his notes and ultimately sets Kamino up to mirror Nana's sacrifice, turning Toshinori into the figure who fuels Tomura's blind hate-- which kick-starts Tomura's development into "The Symbol of Fear" in earnest. He then spends 90% of his meeting with Toshi in Tartarus talking in bullshit riddles that are ultimately meant to mock Toshi-- He's basically saying "look a little closer buddy, that's you! :)" and then ominously chuckling to himself when Toshinori completely fails to pick up on what he's actually saying.

"wait so all that talk about Tomura growing and developing into a symbol and learning how to use his rage was just AFO being a perverted freak about Toshinori/All Might?" ALWAYS HAS BEEN!

AFO "writes" an "evil" version of All Might he has complete control over, then self-inserts himself into that version of All Might. Oh, and it's also a version of his brother who "willingly" submitted to him and was totally stoked walk the path of evil with him. Oh, and it's also a vessel that has the blood of Shimura Nana running through him, who happens to be the object of AFO's strangely charged derision.

Fellas, Freud would have a fuckin' field day.

>This Action Will Have Consequences.

Toshi's kneejerk reaction in the aftermath of Kamino is to chase after Tomura, to approach him as "Shimura Tenko". His first reaction is to act on his feelings as Toshinori, not as All might. Gran Torino shuts this down immediately, shoving both Toshinori and Tenko back into the hero and villain boxes and refusing to let them remove their "masks." Toshi's fear of Gran Torino is funny, until it isn't-- he buckles immediately and defers to Torino's will like a scolded child.

Gran Torino claiming “It doesn’t matter who he’s related to” in a series where familial relationships are frequently used to humanize its characters is a particularly backhanded way of dehumanizing Tomura (especially since the death of their families was the catalyst that caused both Toshi AND Tomura to start dehumanizing themselves).

Gran Torino immediately brings Toshi's "role" as All Might back up as a means of silencing him. Reading between the lines of this scene, Toshinori is essentially being told that he isn't allowed to take off the hero mask, that he isn't allowed to act on his feelings as Toshinori. Toshi is told that he can no longer act as the symbol of peace, but in the same breath, he's told that he can't ever STOP being the symbol of peace-- it's subtle, but this dissonance is what causes him to start slowly spiraling throughout Acts 2 & 3.

In Kamino's aftermath, Tomura and Toshi are both left feeling hollow and directionless. AFO mostly succeeds in hollowing out Tomura, who spends the beginning of Act 2 as a sullen and depressed mess until he finally snaps during the events of MVA. Toshinori, however, is lucky to have people in his life who begin to fill him up again with little acts of love for who he is outside the "Symbol of Peace" mask.

Toshinori, Rising.

MHA has been about Izuku's growth into someone capable of saving Tomura, but it's also been about Toshinori's growth into someone who can live outside his alter ego and finally become the sort of hero his childhood self wanted to be-- someone who breaks the cycle of grief turning into hatred. Yagi Toshinori WANTED to be the type of hero who could save Shimura Tenko, more anything. And if Hori sticks the landing with Toshinori and Tomura's arcs, then we're going to see some massive pay off in the coming chapters.

The series supports the underlying implication that Toshi's initial impulse to go after Tomura and treat him as Shimura Tenko was the correct one, and that not going after him was ultimately a massive mistake-- and Toshi has gradually been developing into someone who can now act on that impulse without being shouted down or shoved back into a box.

Side note: I feel that people who are insisting that Toshi is gonna die are severely underestimating how important Toshi and Tomura actually are to each other's respective arcs-- Killing Toshi before he gets to meet Tomura again leaves a big part of his arc unfulfilled. It also compromises Tomura's arc and MHA's message about the importance of good social support and family in saving society's most vulnerable people-- Yagi Toshinori becomes a hero that surpasses All Might through helping Tomura, and fulfills his dream about breaking the cycle of grief and hatred. Tomura gains the closure and social support he needs to finally start healing alongside what is basically his only remaining family (on a spiritual level!).

On that note.....

"You're Just Like All Might, Ten-chan."

*gazes pointedly at the SMAAAASH* Oh, Tenko.....

When Tomura/Tenko gets pushed to his mental breaking point during the UA Fortress Battle, he manifests the biggest targets of his grief and anger to "protect" him. Tomura twists his form into a childish interpretation of All Might-- one that exists solely to protect him-- then unleashes several "SMASH"es on the heroes. Tomura betrays himself and his true desires through this form more than any other.

The unstated implication scattered throughout the entirety of MHA is that Tenko has always been waiting for All Might to "finally show up and save him," but All Might never came. It's the core of the tragedy between these two. Tomura's ""hatred"" of All Might is fueled by extreme unprocessed grief, as always-- the same cycle that Toshinori dreamed of breaking when he was a child.

Midoriya Izuku's "Role"

NOTICE: THIS IS A SET. DO NOT SEPARATE. (side note: Tomura touching All Might's screen while delicately raising his pinky to avoid destroying it.... I can see u bitch.)

Izuku is Tomura's hero for the same reason that Izuku is Toshinori's hero. Through Toshinori's relationship with Izuku, he learns that his life always had meaning, that he always had a role outside of being "All Might." He learns that it's okay for him to keep living as Yagi Toshinori, and that his "origin" didn't disappear when he lost One For All-- it's easy to see how Izuku's role in helping Toshi reconcile his identity and heroic origins ultimately bleeds into his arc with Tomura.

Izuku and Tomura learn how to define heroism and villainy through each other. Both boys start off with a vague, poorly-defined goal of wanting to save everyone/destroy everything-- and both goals are equally shallow/unattainable, at first. Thinking about those "goals" too deeply means confronting an aspect of themselves that's still wailing in pain-- they only begin to confront those feelings and the origin that fuels them through their repeat contact with each other.

All Might is the one who gave Tenko and Izuku's idea of heroism its "shape"-- but Tomura is ultimately the one who helps Izuku define his idea of heroism by forcing Izuku to repeatedly examine that definition each time they encounter each other. And Izuku the one Tomura's mind instinctively drifts towards when he thinks about about "some hero"-- he's the one who consistently motivates Tomura to struggle and claw himself back to the surface from the depths of the Demon King role. If "hatred" is what allows AFO to maintain his control over Tomura, then why was Tomura able to wrench back control after Izuku asked for him? Why was he able to resist when AFO attempted to unleash decay at the very beginning of the final war arc? Because there's something other than hatred fueling him right now. Tomura's truth, as always, lies firmly between the lines and under about seven different layers of misdirection (and yes, this is just a purple-prosey way of calling him a fucking tsundere /derog).

what do u guys think they were feeding toshi at the orphanage

Toshinori gets his mask removed, but learns that it's okay for him to live without it and that lesson brings him closer to his origin than he's ever been before. He is finally "reborn" as a fully formed human, not as a symbol. And with that being said, *points at Shigaraki Tomura*

#long post #my hero academia #yagi toshinori #shimura tenko #shigaraki tomura #mha.txt

208 notes · View notes

capturecharlesau · 10 days

Text

Since tomorrow is my birthday I decided to let you guys in on a little secret on my comic… 👀 you know WHY I’m super attached to my comic and my THSC characters ESPECIALLY Danny?? It’s because I pour in MY FEELINGS MY SOUL into this comic and it genuinely helped me mentally like expressing (granted sometimes exaggerated I’ll admit) into my THSC characters it honestly helps me feel more connected with them!

Each THSC a main character represents an ACTUAL good or bad thing about myself and it helps me cope and is like a way to tell myself “wow I’m truely as lovable as this stick character” OR like “wow if I don’t correct myself I’ll end up like THIS stick character-!”

Heads up obviously Terrence won’t count because he’s an ABSOLUTE BITCH AND A DISGRACE TO THE STICK RACE AND SHOULD BURN IN LAVA AND ANY NORMAL PERSON WOULDNT BE AS A PEICE OF SHIT LIKE TERRY-….. *cough* Went off track lol

Here’s have every (MY VERSION) of the THSC characters have my traits!

Now you know why my THSC sticks are so personal to me <3

#thsc #the henry stickmin collection #henry stickmin collection #captured!charles au #henry stickmin #reginald copperbottom #thsc rhm #thsc right hand man #right hand man reborn #sven svensson #burt curtis #charles calvin #ellie rose #dave panpa #rupert price #danny felizima

58 notes · View notes

dialga64bitz · 1 year

Text

the stubborn optimist. 👓

Character analysis on Streber!

Introduction/disclaimer

So the new Spooky month short has been graced upon us and with that we got the offical characterization of Streber, despite the short only being about a minute long we can still get an idea of his personality and even his interests.

Now because he has only showed up for this short and for only a very small bit in the actual Spooky Month series some of this may lean more towards headcanon and some assumptions based on how Sr Pelo writes his existing characters, which I hope doesn't bother y'all too much.

Also I tend to be bad at spelling and with grammar so please correct me if I mess up-

Now, let's get started...

Section one: Passions of an artist

What's the first thing we notice about Streber in both his initial appearance and from the short? Well his enthusiasm and the obvious joy he takes in his role as a "real vampire". Streber clearly is having fun in his role, smiling and laughing with his actor friends, playing this character for kids and the immersion was number one on his priority in the short, even in Tender Treats he's seen laughing with Skid and Pump and going all in on the exaggerated movements, he takes joy in his job, even going above and beyond with his work. Even when Ethan jokes that this isn't a big deal Streber immediately retorts, light heartedly obviously, but he still takes this very seriously. Why does he do all this? Well, he's an artist, an innovator, someone who takes that extra step. Streber's talent in inventing and acting is an artist job, acting is an obviously one but inventing from a far doesn't seem like an artist job, due to it difficult and sciencey nature, but the desire to create something is art, and that's what Streber wants to make, the artist will create for the happiness of himself and others.

Him being so smart probably helps his creativity in being an artist, which leads into...

Section 2: Streber and his...Streber-ness

Streber's name means "nerd" in German which was most definitely intentional, Sr Pelo has a pattern of giving characters sorta obvious names in relation to their personalities and or physical trait they have. Now does Streber live up to his name? Oh absolutely, he was the inventor of the green screen mirror as seen in Tender Treats, all created as to keep the children immersed in his "real vampire" persona. On the wall we see ideas and blueprints, along with him having the typical "nerdy" attitude that's elevated by high confidence. Inventing is an obvious interest of his which helps Streber be able to create works to make others and himself happy, while it's a slow process he gets joy from it, he may be neurodivergent? He seems very fixated on his work, which is a good thing but it makes a mixed trait of his show alot...

Section 3: Stubborn as- a vampire?

Stubbornness is a very 50/50 trait to have, it either works in your favor or it doesn't, we cannot with confidence which exact role Streber falls into but I believe it works more in his favor than doesn't mostly due to his positive attitude, but that's just an assumption, what's not an assumption is that yes, Streber is very goal minded and won't stop until it's achieved, considering he spent all day working on his invention and wasn't stopping until done, even when told it wasn't a big deal, he still carried on, passion and stubborn is a powerful combo, which will likely effect how Streber will act after losing an arm, he doesn't seem like he's not going to give up so easily.

Final section: The optimists struggle

Despite his cold demeanor near the end, it's not due to him being genuinely upset, he's just an optimist, having confidence in his abilities and a positive look on the future. He refuses to be let down about his invention, in his mind it's going to work out, and he wasn't wrong, the invention did work. Streber is not brought down by negative emotions, he's stressed but clearly still enthusiastic about his green screen mirror, his stubbornness and optimism are pulling him through and likely this is how he's going to pull himself in most situations, is it reckless? Yes. Absolutely, even if he's not running straight into danger he's still a reckless, which is powered by his optimism and furthered by stubbornness.

Hence why he's the "Stubborn optimist"

Ending notes.

I hope you enjoyed this! Sorry if this was a little bit too headcanon-y or seemed like a stretch but Streber just makes me very happy!

As for Streber's role in the story? He could be a huge help in taking down the cult due to his big brain and the fact that he was effected by them due to Bob.

Also tldr; Streber is an reckless artist fueled by his own optimism and inability to back down.

#spooky month #spooky month streber #sm streber #Streber's rehearsal #character analysis #candybats #sr pelo

397 notes · View notes

orionsangel86 · 1 year

Note

I'm sorry but why do you ship them so hard? They just have 1 episode together.. I watched the sandman expecting destiel and it was literally almost nothing there. 1 episode. Idk how you guys got so much ship content out of that.

Ah nonny, I'm sorry but if you go into anything expecting Destiel you are gonna be dissappointed. Destiel is a behemouth of 12 years worth of gradually escalating gay subtext, queer coding, and romantic tropes. Destiel is the ship that people go into expecting that Tumblr exaggerated only to be blown away by how ridiculously gay it is even when it tries so hard not to be.

But remember, once upon a time people shipped Destiel after only a few moments of interaction. The first Destiel fic was written 30 minutes after Lazarus Rising aired...everything has its time.

When I joked that Dreamling was the "Destiel of Sandman fandom" I meant in terms of popularity compared to everything else about the show. The ships share some similar traits when compared on a grand scale - think ancient cosmic entity that has very strict rules slowly changes and starts to become more "human" thanks to their friendship with one dude who just so happens to be a hedonistic stubborn ass who refuses to die - but are otherwise very different.

But if you are wondering why people ship Dream and Hob so hard, well, this post goes some ways to explaining it.

But basically, look this may only be a half hour of television, but it doesn't equate in universe to half an hour of interaction. This half hour of television spans the course of 6 centuries for these two characters. There is a totally untapped potential hidden in the gaps between centuries to explore, and on top of that, the final meeting is left completely up to the imagination of the audience. Its a sandbox ship. Its a dozen fanfiction gaps laid on top of each other. It's at least 20 different prompts for fans to sink their teeth into. Its the potential. It's the what if.

Then on top of that, if you follow the comics, you know that the future Dream x Hob meetings also have a hell of a lot of potential to turn romantic. Dream going out of his way to hunt down a specific bottle of wine that doesn't exist on Earth anymore to gift it to Hob in his dreams, the very fact that he visits Hob in his dreams (hello common Destiel trope right there). They don't meet too many more times in the comics, but each time the tension is palpable. The meeting in the Kindly Ones is heartbreaking, because you can tell desperately how much they need each other at that moment, but they are both too distracted or consumed by grief and depression to truly reach out to one another. The comics never reveal why Dream sought Hob out at that point, but given everything happening to him at the time, its not hard to assume that Dream was seeking comfort from his friend - the only person he could really turn to for comfort at that point.

Then we have Hob's dream. One of the final stories in The Sandman original comic run. After everything else has happened, after the climax and all that takes place, after the smoke has cleared and you think everyone else has moved on and you are certain the ending is set in stone, you get to Hob's dream, and your mind is once again blown, and suddenly you have a thousand more questions. So many fans hopes and dreams rely on Hob's dream right now I can't even begin to express how important that particular comic issue is to me.

It's all about the potential. There is so much potential.

Plus the 30 minute scene we got was loaded full of subtext, romantic tropes, and queer coding. I dunno if you picked up on it, but I have an extremely long meta essay still in the works that goes through everything that 30 minute sequence gives us in terms of shipping fodder (I really need to finish that). Its not just the romantic tropes, the break up and make up, its the acting choices, the eye fucking, the freaking song choices in 1989 holy fuck could they be more on the nose.

Also, consider this thought experiment: Crowley and Aziraphale in Good Omens are a hugely popular ship, where their creator Neil Gaiman has confirmed that theirs is a love story. Whatever else you may believe about Crowley and Aziraphale, their story is a love story. Creator confirmed love story.

Now, Crowley and Aziraphale are the leads of Good Omens and interact throughout the entire 6 episode show. But consider the first half of episode 3. Imagine a version of Good Omens where Crowley and Aziraphale don't really interact outside of that 30 minute opening sequence. That the story was much more focused on the Them, the Horsemen, and the other characters. Imagine then seeing that 30 minute sequence which shows Crowley and Aziraphale slowly warming to each other and becoming friends over the centuries, shows them getting to know each other, do each other favours, come to each others defence, get into fights and break up with each other, only to make up later...

Would you still ship them? Even if that 30 minute sequence was all you got? I guarantee if I asked any Ineffable Husbands fan that question they would say yes. Because THAT 30 minute sequence is what solidifies the importance of their relationship and its what MAKES IT a love story.

Guess where Neil Gaiman got the idea for that 30 minute sequence in Good Omens from? Ah Neil, plagiarising his own work all these years later!

If Neil Gaiman thought that Men of Good Fortune would work well for a canonical love story in Good Omens, I wonder what he was thinking when he then adapted Men of Good Fortune for television?

THE POTENTIAL.

I ship Dreamling that hard because it has more potential than any other ship I have come across. It has 6 centuries and all the future of the Sandman show for me to explore, to tweak, to play with. Besides they just suit each other ya know? Like Dream is notoriously bad at relationships, but Hob is literally perfect for him. The more my mind dwells on how perfect Hob is for Dream the more I want to scream about it. Give the sad wet cat man a boyfriend who is literally his opposite in every way. Dream is a character looking for a reason to keep living, and Hob is a character who refuses to die. Dream is a pessimist, Hob is an optimist. Dream is afraid of change, Hob literally changes constantly with the times. Dream is desperate for love and someone to stay by his side, Hob just wants to love someone he doesn't have to eventually leave.

Let them meet in the middle.

#dreamling #destiel #the sandman #there is a destiel quote in there somewhere #they met in the middle #lol #sandman comic spoilers #dream of the endless #hob gadling #sandman meta #dreamling meta #asks

261 notes · View notes

piracytheorist · 3 months

Note

something i love about spy family is that its a very funny manga, but it isn't afraid to be serious and talk about serious things (and its also really good at transitioning between the two)

Tatsuya Endo has an amazing grasp of balance. There are a lot of posts going around about how Spy x Family goes from something as heavy as "war makes monsters of us all" to something as silly as "Anya finds Loid's tourist fashion choices lame" and it somehow works.

It's one of the things that made me fall in love with the story from the second if not the very first episode of the anime. It dares to be realistic about how war impacts humans and how it takes them into a path they wouldn't normally take, but at its core it's a story filled with humor and love and connection, because this is how humans are supposed to live like. I mean, not to break it down to a "live laugh love" moral, but at the end of the day it does prioritize people living happily together and in peace. Even the "enemy" is shown in a sympathetic light from time to time.

And the humor and silliness attributes to that. It makes the story light-hearted despite the heavy issues it tackles. It would be hard to find hope in a story that focuses only on those heavy issues, if its vibe was constant grittiness and violence and dark themes. Not that there's anything wrong with stories with such themes; but you wouldn't usually watch such a story and expect to feel full of hope afterwards, nor expect it to have the humor that SxF has.

What is amazing is how Endo manages the balance of it all. How he works in the silliness amidst an environment of a cold war, of hardened spies and assassins, because it would be very easy to veer right into tone-deaf cheesy territory that gives you (unintentional) emotional whiplash. I think it's due to how the characters are only slightly exaggerated versions of something you'd see in real life. Anya behaves as any five-year-old would, where her focus is to work in protection of peace, make sure the family won't break apart, and above all, have fun. Yor's view of the world has been impacted by how long she's worked as an assassin, but her "naivete" is mostly her tendency to see good in everyone, even the "bastards" she's sent to kill. Twilight keeps telling himself everything he does is "for the mission" but he's only human and can't help bonding with his family even if he doesn't realize it.

The characters may behave in an exaggerated way from time to time, but they're not caricatures. The humor and ridiculousness (affectionate) in their actions are based on real human traits and behaviours we can see in real life. The want to have fun, the tendency to see the good in people, the desire to love. Endo simply takes those and has three people whose special traits clash with those three mentioned traits. Anya grew up as a science experiment in a lab where she wasn't allowed to have fun, so now that she has people who care for her emotional growth she goes all out with fun activities. Yor was forced into the choice of becoming an assassin, having to be told "This person is BadTM so you play judge jury and executioner", but with Yuri being her motivation (and later on the Forgers too) she managed to keep her kind heart. Occasionally she can't control her monstrous strength and may also consider killing people who inconvenience her and then go like "Yo wtf chill maybe". Twilight became a spy and distanced himself from human connections, but now that his job brought him into the position of staying long term with a kid and a wife and a dog, his desire for such a connection is rearing its persistent head. And so you get a Professional Master SpyTM playing "Rescue Princess Anya from the Evil Clutches of Count Scruffy Head".

It's the contrast that makes the humor of it all, and in such a way that it never takes only one character's side. I think that also adds to the "flexibility" of the story. It's easier to connect to a story when there's multiple sides explained and understood by the audience; and I mean, the only thing the story looks to be trying to "convince" you of is that humans live best when they live in peace and surrounded by people they love, and that's an undeniable fact of human nature. The characters can and do make mistakes but they're shown to be able to grow from them, and even someone radicalized and extremist like Yuri has understandable motives and a very human nature - just one that was taken advantage of by people in power.

Overall yeah, I think it's how focused on the characters' humanity the story is that it makes the balance between humor and heavy issues work. Again, though it can be exaggerated at times, it's not a caricature or slapstick, just for the sake of making the audience laugh. There's a depth and a genuine reaching out for the audience's emotions and understanding.

(Anime only fan here, don't spoil me for the manga 😁)

#ask and ye shall receive #commieorcs #this probably got too deep lmao #but yeah I do love this aspect of the story so much #and Endo deserves the praise for balancing it all out so masterfully #Spy x Family #sxf meta

65 notes · View notes

npdvelvette · 2 months

Text

since the cluster b community has been identifying with hazbin characters i thought i’d share some hcs about vox & velvette ♡

i personally see vox as being narcissistic and histrionic. even his appearance could relate to this with the sense of him always putting on a show, literally. he’s performative and exaggerated and determined to remain at the top of the hierarchy and reinforce his status — shown by him constantly bringing out new inventions & feeling the need to compete with alastor.

even his fixation on alastor is related to npd, with him feeling threatened by al who is very similar to him (and npd coded too), so desperately needing to prove his superiority, or even that they are on equal footing. i know i experience this competitiveness with some other pwnpd that deep down i feel could almost be equal, which means they’re more threatening.

he also clearly hopes to provoke a reaction by streaming a live diss track all over hell, both from alastor and the public. his behaviour is rooted in maintaining status and fuelling his ego which despite the outwardly projected confidence is clearly unstable — his reaction at the end of stayed gone shows this.

he can’t stand not being involved and literally tries to inject himself into the hotel situation with pentious but ends up failing.

with velvette i can see her as being antisocial and narcissistic. i like the theories i’ve seen about her being a social media influencer when she was alive and perhaps even leading to someone’s death via online bullying, without really thinking about the effects of her actions on others. she clearly disrespects authority as shown by her behaviour in the overlord meeting, as well as being impulsive (quick to jump to starting a war with heaven after finding the exorcist head). her idea to fight with heaven also shows she doesn’t comprehend the reality of the damage it could do to both her own life and others in hell.

respectless is a great example of multiple npd traits: she displays feelings of high importance (referring to herself as the backbone of the vees), superiority (“i could eat you lot for breakfast”) and disregard for authority (her statements to zestial & carmilla who are a lot older). could also be taken as reckless behaviour since presumably(?) zestial is a lot more powerful, and she’s straight up insulting him.

this is just brief but i have a Lot more thoughts about both of them as well as alastor, so if anyone’s interested i’ll post more about it. and feel free to ask me questions relating to it<3

narc abuse believers dni this is for the cluster bs

#many thoughts they r so meeee #actually npd #npd #actually narcissistic #cluster b #cluster b pd #actually antisocial #actually hpd #actually histrionic #npd headcanons #npd safe #hazbin

46 notes · View notes

mj-ackerman · 2 years

Text

Tatsuya Endo's Character Commentary from the Official Spy x Family Fanbook English Translation:

Someone might've already translated this somewhere, but I wanted to share my own translation here for those who hasn't read it yet^^. I'll start with the Forgers. Long post ahead. DO NOT REPOST

<<Part 2 Here>>

Loid Forger:

(Endo) He's honest and sincere. His disguise is cartoonishly exaggerated, but it is also important that real-life spies have to be (who they are). "Twilight" also came out simple. I wanted to use cooler horizontal characters, but I already submitted it to the meeting as it is, so... Spy should not stand out, so I thought about putting a modest mole or piercings as a character trait, but in the end, I decided not to add anything. As a last resort effort, I added the WISE badge to his collar, although I know that there is no way a spy will wear a company emblem (?) (Laughs). To make it easier for the readers to recognize him, I had him wear this badge as much as possible even when disguised.

(Hayashi) "Having no features became his features" right?

(Endo) The readers may see him as "actually a very nice guy", but in my mind, he has a more flattering image. Although he is not devoid of emotion, he's someone who prioritizes his mission first.

He is technically managing Franky by holding onto his weaknesses in a constructive way, but I think they understand each other. Like Neil and Mozzie in the drama "White Collar", I would like to see a relationship where they are business partners, but still understand each other.

Anya Forger:

(Endo) She moves on her own, so I don't really have much concept for her. Her visual was created by combining "Ashe" from the one-shot "煉獄のアーシェ / Rengoku no Ashe" and "Misha" from "石に薄紅、鉄に星 / Ishi ni Usubeni, Tetsu ni Hoshi". I came up with several ideas for her design, with the image of something like a decoration attached to her head.

Ashe from Rengoku no Ashe (Left) & Misha from Ishi ni Usubeni, Tetsu ni Hoshi. Both are Tatsuya Endo's manga

Anya is getting more and more deformed as I draw her. Her eyes got bigger and her head and body got smaller. I also like round eyes so much that I ended up drawing them right away. She also has a little bit of Hoshimaru from "Narutaru" (by Mohiro Kitoh) in her. I think of mistakes like saying "Odekeke / ooting" on the spot. I think about how a child might make a mistake, or give priority to a comedic tone.

Narutaru, a manga by Mohiro Kitoh

Yor Forger:

(Endo) She is the character that I thought about the most visually. While referencing various video games and anime, I didn't think even 1 millimeter about an assassin's look.

As for the weapon, I got the idea from the main character from the spy novel "Eyes of the Needle'' (by Ken Follett), who uses a needle-like weapon called "Stiletto". Thinking about it, Izumiya from "月華美刃 / Gekka Bijin'' (one of Endo's previous manga) also used a needle weapon, so I may have an image of "Kill= stab" for myself. That's how I also came up with the name "いばら姫 / Ibara Hime / Thorn Princess."

Gekka Bijin, a manga by Tatsuya Endo

Her name was originally "Yolanda", which sounds like an Eastern European name, and it became "Yoru / Yor" as a nickname. I thought it would be better to keep it short for the speech balloon. Then the readers mistakenly thought "Because Loid is Twilight, that's why she's Yoru''Night ``?''. I actually didn't even think about it (LOL).

My favorite part is the overall design. I wanted to create parts that would move with the action, so I made the costume and the fringe flutter. As an assassin, no matter how you look at it, it's hard to move, but I wanted her to look good. I've always liked fighting heroines , and now that I think about it, Princess Arina from "Dragon Quest'' might be my starting point. I drew my first manga in the "Dragon Quest 4-koma Manga Theater'' with the story of Princess Arina. The needles on Yor's both hands may have been inspired by Killer Pierce?

The way her hair curled under the cover of volume 3...I want you guys to pretend that it didn't happen (Laughs) . I know some cosplayers may have tried to recreate it, but...sorry, that was just a joke I thought of.... I think she just put the back together normally and let the sides hang down.

Bond Forger:

(Endo) At the meeting, we were talking about a large dog, and I remember buying a book about dogs. In the end, I made him white and fluffy like a Great Pyrenees. The black toes are original. It's like inverted socks. I wanted to give it some character traits, and if it didn't have solid colors, it would be too white for the manga, and the balance would be off. The image is more like an "uncle dog" than a "grandpa dog."

By the way, I'm totally a cat person, but cats can't run with Anya, so I rejected the idea. The footsteps sound "te-chi-te-chi"... doesn't it sound like that when the ground is hard? Not only Bond, but onomatopoeia was influenced by Nishimori-sensei. Nishimori-sensei's manga with onomatopoeia is so cute.

I'll do the rest later ^^

#long post #spy x family #spy x family official fanbook: eyes only #loid forger #anya forger #yor forger #bond forger #forger family

963 notes · View notes

rosehipfield · 4 months

Text

I love that no character is one-dimensional:

Sara is not goody two shoes protagonist with unwavering hope (I like Makoto it's not his slander I really promise I love kind guys), she has the highest chance of winning. It can't happen to ultimate cinammon roll. The balance between her caring side that wants to protect everybody and using charisma to her advantage is so tricky and yet it works (though I am a bit baffled at how she changes without Joe in AI simulations).

Joe is not only cheery cheesy best friend that dies just so you can cry about it (even if it's true as well). Joe is distrustful, he is scared and he kind of wants to escape with sacrifice card knowing what it entails. So he came up with a plan where good people being majority would live, and if not he can feel less guilt. Amazing idea! And we all know how he returns in second chapter. A sing of ungrounded guilt that doesn't correspond to reality whatsoever but can't be combated with logic alone. In best case scenario it is defeated with reminder of how real Joe behaved, showing how faulty our perception can get from trauma.

Keiji is not just sexy detective that supports Sara, oh no. This guy gets close to our heroine on purpose and I dare say kind of uses her for own gain. Then, his trauma doesn't equal all of his character nor it magically justifies killing Megumi, it simply explains his current actions. And of course I really want to believe that he is not some creep flirting with people in most suspicious way. He just needs excuse for evading akward questions. This man, deprived of sleep because of his sins, is both cunning and kind, capable of cruelty and striving to be like his idol.

Kanna and Gin are not annoying children that constantly need saving or exist to evoke sympathy. In Kanna's case sympathy is natural, but it is not the only thing going for her. Kanna is about giving a chance, letting go regrets, making thought-out sacrifice and when it fails moving on to make sure it doesn't have to happen. She develops constantly, bringing ideas to the table and trying to get all group stay united. Kanna makes conscious choice to spend time with Shin to get information, so while she can be manipulated it's not always the case and she's not all naїveness. Her arc of overcoming trauma and insecurity may seem familiar to characters from other media, but it is unique and distinctive.

Gin is autism representation without making him vilain or weird. He has some pecularities, for example, wearing animal-like clothes and repeating animal sounds, and yet nobody bats an eye, so surely he's no outcast or useless (on the contrary, he is quite useful remembering names in the bar, using scent, helping morally etc). Gin's the least morally gray of the cast, but it doesn't mean he is cardboard nice support kid either: he has his dislikes or his own thoughts (he is quite distrustful toward Kanna because he's younger and doesn't use age as justification for her actions).

Reko seems simple enough, a hot-tempered rock star, emo/punk lady many would like to date. Strict to the strong, kind to the weak. She had a lot of changing in the past and it continues here, she is becoming softer. But it's not her only trait: she's a talented singer that was interested purely in music and it's perfection. She ignored to some degree her happiness, her band, her beloved brother for the sake of art. She wasn't indifferent, but appeared as such. And now, finally having a better understanding of what's important and bright future ahead she ends up in a death game with Alice. Their plotline is prominent in second chapter and is devastatingly tragic.

Alice looks like comic relief with his exaggerated reactions and bizzare choice of words (personally I love this type of speaking it's cool). But he is actually not only a scaredy cat: he is a person without a purpose. He searched for it in a path with sister, but no happiness came, only murder of Midori. Alice hides his soft side to not be hurt, he on purpose builds a wall and appears so arrogant because when he was openly kind the close ones were indifferent (not to mention prison, I admire how Alice kept his sanity at all).

Shin is a prime example of morally gray character done right (majority here are morally gray but with him being antagonist it's far more prominent). I have seen various post about fandom interpreting him either as "totally evil manipulator", "Kokichi/Nagito kinnie", "cinnamon roll he did nothing wrong" or "what a loser". But he's not just good or bad, him having antagonist status doesn't make him Ouma copycat or Komaeda's successor, and while I get him being a loser is funny it's not the only thing to define him (though it's more of a joke than serious interpretation). Shin is very insecure and distrustful guy who "sees shadows where there aren't any" (quoting Sara) due to 0% and wants to live, using all methods... until he gets attached. He plots mainly against people he considers his enemies (to tell the truth, with 0% anybody could be classified as enemy), and I think he wouldn't abandon those close to him like Kanna, perhaps partly due to guilt of using her. In general, his actions, while obviously not the best (and he knows it perfectly well), come from fear of death and paranoia rather than pure malice or craziness.

Nao may appear as mentally weak girl you constantly have to help and can't rely on. Yes, Nao has problems with dependance on other, but she has her own aces up her sleeves. She's creative, smart, open-minded. For me her advantage lies in unexpectedness: who knew she saw through AI's lies? For her own sake and for the group Nao is capable of difficult actions like puching fake Reko. This girl is about growing more responsible, learning to trust your own judgement (she has great intuition by the way) and becoming independent.

Kai is quite too unique for stereotypes in my mind, a mysterious but awfully suspicious man. He looks so feminine but don't let that deceive you: he's assasin. Assasin that doesn't kill. Kai is the person escaping from his bloodied, horrible, traumatic past into right, calm, tranquil future with only householding chores and not killing attempts to protect... wrong people (Sara is not bad person, but her father is likely to be tied to Asunaro). So poor househusband is leaping from one abusive enviroment into another, but now being genuinely loyal and unaware of all skeletons kept in closet.

Q-Taro is certainly not only kindhearted big muscular guy (that dies in certain chapter) or stupid. Yes, he looks like parody on American, yes, all his accents make his speech a bit silly and stereotypical. No, he's not dumb. In fact, many plot twists involve him in some way (especially the banquet). Also, he could sacrifice his life for somebody, but he is equally capable of doing the opposite. Q-Taro is quite honest but not above tricks to leave this place, he cares for th group (taking into accout his team-spirited profession) but prioritises himself until later; he knows how sinful people are including him and that allows him to forgive quickly.

Finally, Mishima dies so early you don't hope to see him after 1.1. But if you think he's the shock value first victim that dissapears after, you are not quite right. Mishima, being dead, yet has influence on story as well, either through mystery of his head or AI that appear three times (maybe something is really up with him). Not to mention Ytts where his character shines and not burns. Him being almost perfect doesn't ruin anything, it motivates to become better as well because he wasn't always like this. Plus, he's no ideal, Mishima understands how world works but is passionate to a fault, not to mention his suspicious behavior. He is example of a person that matured, overcame his main faults and inspires the same in others.

Of course, everyone can interpret these characters differently and it's great, those perseptions can be true all at once. They are so interesting and captivating thanks to many layers of depth where everybody can see something unique.

#your turn to die #sara chidouin #joe tazuna #keiji shinogi #kanna kizuchi #gin ibushi #reko yabusame #alice yabusame #shin tsukimi #nao egokoro #kai satou #q taro burgerberg #kazumi mishima #I need to complete my English assignment and I am writing this instead #I don't know if could add something about dummies for now but they are not flat characters either

64 notes · View notes

lynxgriffin · 6 months

Note

"What I think right now is that Ralsei is supposed to look like what Kris wishes they could be as a member of the Dreemurr family. However, their biggest point of comparison for that is their sibling, Asriel, so there's a lot of just. ..subconscious copying going on there.

Overall, I think Ralsei looks like Asriel, if he was Kris's age and stature, and with some features changed (such as the pink horns). Hopefully that makes sense!"

What do you think about the differences in their characters? Ralsei is much softer in comparison to Kris, given Kris' past antics before the player arrived. If Ralsei is the embodiment of Kris's soul, why are there differences in character?

(I agree with your theory) From myself, I can assume that the character of Ralsei is the character of Kris if Kris were satisfied with themselves, that is, with their body and position in the family and town. And it was the circumstances of their lives that changed their character towards behavior aimed at maximizing attention through pranks.

Still, I’m interested to know what you think about this. Also, thank you for everything you share)

I think it's not just a matter of Ralsei embodying Kris's soul, but it's Kris's soul specifically filtered through an object that signifies a distinct desire, like a lens splitting white light into colors. So if the Knight is Gerson's soul defined solely by "I need to keep writing stories," Ralsei is Kris's soul defined solely by "I should be like my older brother."

It's an attempt at imitating how Kris perceives Asriel...the biggest goody two shoes, always knows how to make friends, always trying to be helpful and talk to people. I wouldn't be surprised if it ends up being an exaggeration of Asriel's traits, and that Azzy's likely a lot more nuanced than how everyone in town (including Kris) perceives him to be. There's still a bit of Kris's self-perception seeping in there, though...like how Ralsei seems to go unnoticed by other Darkners, treated as the odd one out.

And in the end, while I think Ralsei's expressing a hidden wish of Kris, it's still not ultimately who Kris is...they are an outcast, quiet, kind of weird, prone to pranking people and getting into trouble. I think that in turn heightens some of the quiet discomfort that Kris might have around Ralsei...that he's both a big reminder of what part of them wants to be, and a constant reminder that they're not that. No one can choose who they are in this world, so they say!

(And thank you for reading!)

#ask lynx stuff

92 notes · View notes

yusiyomogi · 10 months

Text

people who say that jake as a character has only 2 layers don't understand how bad hussie's writing actually was. no, the way jake's character was built is such a confusing mess.

first of all, like all alpha kids, jake was written in the backwards way: someone who we only knew in the form of mysterious 1-dimensional parental figure needed to be fleshed out in the form of a main character. but here's the first very weird choice made by hussie: the big part of grandpa's and nanna's characters was the fact that they are, well, old people. with old-timey outlook on things and speech patterns and stuff like that. and for some bizarre reason hussie desided to write jane and jake as sorta (?) old people who are also teenagers. they are unmistakingly grandpa and grandma, but not because they had their character traits, but largely because they're still old people.

another layer to this is harleybert legacy. it makes sense of course, hussie put a lot of attention to this sort of "genetic predispositions" when it comes to all characters of homestuck. but for some reason jake got the worst case of it. his thing is that he's an exaggeration/flanderization/satire of what john and jade as characters were. john likes shitty movies? jake likes all the movies especially the shittiest ones. john is a bit goofy? jake is the goofiest. jade is excited about the game and somewhat naive at the start of the story? jake is completely oblivious to everything and only cares about adventures. jade has a weird pet? jake has a whole island of weird pets. jade is overpowered? jake has the biggest absurd dumb-looking form of power in the comic. just compare this to the much more subtle writing of dirk and roxy and you'll see that there's something almost mean-spirited in the way jake is written. i have no idea why.

next layer that hussie decided to add to already badly written character of jake is the weird parody on misogynistic tropes. here's the question hussie present to us: what if we have "a useless sexy woman" character but he's a boy instead? and i still have no idea what hussie was thinking here. it's not like this trope was super popular at the time (early 2010s) and someone desperately needed to make fun of it. it was more of a late 90s thing really. it could be some form of ironic self-critique, but i don't think it was the case, because, if anything, hussie did a pretty good job writing women in homestuck. but here's a boy who's a parody of something that had not been relevant for 15 years or so. who's everyone's love interest and no one think about him as a person. this wasn't even a clever commentary really. jake isn't happy with his situation, but it's not an important point in the story and nothing comes out of it.

another layer to jake's character is that around this time hussie decided to put a lot of focus on classpects. especially thanks to calliope and aranea, a lot of act 6 is focused on the weird self-analysis of the story where we are basically forced to look at it through classpect reading. the unfortunate consequence of this is that all new characters are very confined to their classpects, but skilled writer can work with that and even make character writing more interesting than it was before. you'd think that hussie could use this opportunity to explore classpects more, make them deeper by writing complex characters, but. ugh. that's not really what they did?

actually hussie took a bunch of character traits from already existing characters and gave them to the new ones. jake is a page? tavros is also a page. so jake is a bit like tavros, because of course tavros personality was always connected to his classpect. hussie wrote a vast majority of homestuck through "backwards self-justification" method and that's exactly why jake's personality connects to tavros. and funnily enough, since hussie kinda hated tavros's personality (which is so so weird to me), they also ended up hating jake's personality as well. which, i think, was eventually the reason hussie gave up completely on writing jake.

that said, reading homestuck serially, i liked jake. i still like jake! fandom had a very different outlook on his character and i remember we all kinda found him relatable and waited for his "big" moment where he finally says what he thinks and chooses what he wants to do with his life. hussie didn't go the route we hoped for, at all.

#homestuck #sorry for my english #tbf i like the way fandom treats jake #maybe he's badly written but we can work with that #well. at least people who are better writers than hussie #text post

109 notes · View notes