#( his self hatred was allowed to fester to such an extent he was willing to strip himself of his own ego entirely )

[erabundus]

@frozenambiguity &&. said... Rant time! Now that Ren has the opportunity to trace a new path for himself, does he still have the wish to encounter Ei in order to get closure? Or does he prefer to view his past as a finalized chapter in his story and live his life on his own terms?

it's  honestly  a  really  tricky  subject  for  him  —  because  on  some  level,  there's  a  part  of  ren  that  desperately  wants  to  be  acknowledged  by  ei.  that  has  always,  always  been  an  ongoing  theme  with  him,  regardless  of  which  flavor  of  scrunkly  we're  talking  about.  it's  really  important  to  note  he  has  NEVER  hated  her,  even  after  she  abandoned  him  —  he's  always  directed  that  frustration  he  feels  inward.  she  didn't  want  to  keep  him  because  he  was  too  fragile  —  because  as  a  god,  (  he  assumes  )  strength  was  the  only  thing  that  mattered  to  her.  this  inadvertently  warps  scara's  entire  perception  of  how  gods  are  meant  to  conduct  themselves.  a  lot  of  his  posturing  during  the  sumeru  arc  can  be  attributed  to  him  just  trying  to  follow  this  example  ei  has  unintentionally  set  through  her  actions.  he's  effectively  roleplaying  his  warped  idea  of  a  deity,  and  to  some  extent  it's  kind  of  funny  but  also  very,  very  sad.  (  see:  calling  himself  small  and  ugly.  )

scaramouche  wants  to  become  stronger,  wants  to  fulfill  the  purpose  he  believes  he  was  born  for  so  he  can  show  ei  that  she  was  wrong  to  discard  him.  he  will  resort  to  any  means  necessary  to  FORCE  HER  to  acknowledge  him  —  up  to  and  including  ascending  to  divinity  to  stand  on  equal  footing ... and it still didn't work.

suffice  to  say,  this  places  ren  in  a  very  strange  position.  he  understands  now  that  his  self-destructive  ambitions  were  foolish,  but  there's  still  a  part  of  him  that  continues  to  yearn  desperately  for  CLOSURE.  at  the  same  time,  he's  enough  of  a  realist  to  understand  it  really  isn't  possible.  even  if  they  had  the  opportunity  to  speak  face  to  face,  what  kind  of  words  could  they  possibly  exchange  to  ease  centuries  of  suffering?  he's  carried  this  pain  for  so  long  —  the  wounds  have  been  allowed  to  fester.  there  has  never  been  a  point  in  his  existence  when  he  hasn't  known  the  hurt  of  this  perceived  betrayal.  from  the  moment  he  gained  consciousness,  the  first  thing  ren  heard  was  that  he  wasn't  good  enough  to  perform  the  task  his  creator  expected  of  him.  he  has  grown  and  developed  around  this  knowledge,  this  idea  that  he's  too  fragile  and  inferior  like  an  ivy  vine  entangling  itself  in  a  fence.  at this point, even  if  ei  was  granted  full  knowledge  of  everything  he  had  endured  —  what  would  that  change?  she  could  VALIDATE  his  suffering and his strength,  but  that  would  ultimately do  little  to  ease  his  pain.

he  would  like  to  say  he  wants  nothing  to  do  with  his  mother  because  he's  done  clinging  to  the  past,  but  the  truth  is,  he  knows  it's  pointless.  he  will  never  have  closure.  he  will  ALWAYS  have  to  live  on  with  this  trauma  —  and  perhaps  there  might  come  a  day  where  he'll  be  able  to  make  it  hurt  less,  but  ei  won't  have  anything  to  do  with  it.

all  in  all,  it's  a  really  tragic  situation.  he  still  doesn't  hate  her,  but  he's  also  recognized  there's  no  chance  they'll  ever  be  able  to  establish  any  real  sort  of  bond  —  that  ship  has  sailed,  if  it  even  EXISTED  to  begin  with.

[sweetobseesion]

ABOUT YEONHWA

•This is a very long post that can be considered a rant ,but I use valid points that sound valid to me .And yes, I hate her for reasons I’ll discuss below.

We all love a independent , strong female lead don’t we?  Especially, a woman who is strong, intelligent female charector in Historical Saeguks, who doesn’t rely on men for support and ruthlessly cry over them.

I have to admit, when I first came across Yeonhwa I was,thrilled. She was completely enchanting on screen, with her looks , posture and aura. Her hatred for Hae Soo didnt put me off so much. But slowly and surely, she started ticking me off as the drama progressed. While we saw many charecters like Soo and So evolve, but we saw her evolve backwards, as in she became far less likable as the episodes progress.

At first when we are introduced to her in her robes with a string of sevants at her beck, we are not denied of her sneaky , smug personality. In fact, the first thing Soo notices was how she likes to put people down in a roundabout way, and her crooked smile and expresion. Which is a very accurate depiction of her personality.

At the very first episode, we see her immaculate manipulation skills as she basicallly manipulates Soo into mixing the glue on her own accord.

I was still rooting for her though, and I was willing to give her the benefit of doubt, as she seemed to genuinely care about her family and So. I very much believed her stance of pushing her brother to get into a stronger political marraige to protect her family and that she had genuine affection for her brothers and their lives, when they tried to get Soo out of a political marraige.

It’s obvious from the first episodes that she and Soo don’t get along. Especially in episode four she clearly gets a rise out of whipping Soo. The actress mentioned there was a reason why she hated her long that wasn’t shown but I think her deep resentment comes from Hae Soo refusing to show respect and easily obey her in the first episodes.That’s why she is so pissed at her.

For Yeonhwa, status and reputation are the most important.Especially after her exile , she works very hard at presenting this sweet, poslished image of herself to the world.She is happy when Soo is about to be married off,but she is pissed when she learns it’s her father. Why? Because that would mean Soo would surpass her in social status and to Yeonhwa nothing more is nightmarish than treating Soo as her equal.

All that pretence came crashing down in episode seven, where her true manipulative nature and motive is revealed. I have to give it to her because boy did she really own this episode. We first see her encouraging her brother to be King while playing the sweet, caring sister. Smiling sweetly and stating to him that she will not mind if she is even sold off, stating she will only marry someone who will help him become King.

Earlier , we see her play the perfect daughter to the King, smiling sweetly, saying pretty much what she said to Wook, that she does not mind being married off, but in a different fashion that shows she trusts and loves her father. We see her try hard to fix her face from showing her true ambition, and saying the right things that only bring him joy.

This sets her on her mission for pretty much the entire drama. Whether it’s marrying one of the princes or being a sister, she only wants to align herself and remain family with whoever eventually sists on the throne.  She wants to be Royalty, for life.

There is no need for love for her, in her mind there is only ambition and power.

In episode seven, we see her play the sweet sister all over again,but this time to gain the sympathy of her brothers, as she arranges a brithday party for Eun, where she announces the King’s decision to marry her off to incite sympathy and action from them.

This is where her hypocrisy is defined at it’s finest. Because she judged for Soo for getting help from the princes so hard and now she is pretty much expecting the same. And it’s all fine on her part because they are Royalty.

She does get the attention she wanted as Yo offers his hand in marraige,but she sets her eyes on So, in whom she sees great potential but admits needs more power and polishing. As she admittedly stated that she wanted to tame him in an earlier episode.

I think she sees in So a potential to be King,but she also sees in him a potential to be controlled, and that is why she chases him. I think she is very aware of his capacity and true, kind nature and that is why she concludes this.

I guess she wants all the recognition for turning a wild prince into a powerful , capable King.

But the thing is, she is a very skilled liar and her loyalties lie all over the place. She pushes her brother to be king, but she also keeps Yo on his toes without rejecting him completely while she chases So, offering him the power that she is pushing her brother to chase. She very much enjoys people fighting over her as it makes her feel powerful, as clearly shown in her expressions in episode five.

She accuses Soo of playing with people’s emotions and betraying her brother, but she does the exact same thing. Intentionally. As early as episode seven.

I think she hates Soo because she easily won the affection and loyalties of the princes without making an effort ,is easily favoured by them, and is protected by all of them. And she does so without having the ettiquette, understanding of the palace nor does she have the position, but she is easily given all the privilleges, even being allowed to be a part of a royal birthday celebration.She’s a contradiction to every thing she ever learnt and she captures the hearts of two of the men she cares for.

So when Soo manages to get the interest of So, she immediately loses the hold she has over him and silently watches in scathing jealousy as both So and the Princes become completely enthralled by Soo’s performance. She doesn’t understand her and she only sees her as the threat.

We see her continue to put Soo in her place and her hatred and her vengence to have her removed festers in episode nine, when her brother is so willing to give up everything and move to their hometown to settle down with Soo.

Yeonhwa has this clear pretense she uses, playing the victim and having justifiable resons. She cities the reason of protecting their clan and constantly brings up what Queen Yoo did to them. But she contradicts her own grudge, by teaming up with the same person who is responsible for their exile to get what she wants.

I think this makes it clear what her loyalties and priorities lay, she will team with her mother’s enemy and even her own, if that enemy can provide her with the assistance that her family refuses to provide.

So she teams up with Yoo to poison the Crown Prince , while secretly arranging to eliminate Soo at once. I think this is her another tactic,to place a card on the table while hiding one under her sleeve.

When her plan goes awry, she is shocked that the man she has her eyes on will drink the poison for the woman she hates. So she pretends to drink the poison, pretty much imitates So and falls and gets the Queen to expose it, as she weakly states to get help for So. Brilliant execution,on her part.

Most say this expresses her love for him, while I say this exposes her brilliant, conniving mind, and the ability to play the perfect, self-sacrificing women in society’s eyes.She does it mainly because it will be a waste of all her efforts,whether its the scheming or pushing both her brother and So to be King at once.

But Soo escapes execution, but this does get her brother to finally act on her wishes and break up with Soo, and she is delighted. 

She also uses and throws away people, and she tactfully does this with Queen Yoo. And she also places the blame on Queen Yoo for Court lady Oh’s death, which logically the blood really is on her hands, as it was the result of her efforts to have Soo framed. Again, playing with guilt and emotions. Showing no remorse or responsibility.

Her brother, pretty much grows cold and distant,as he now hates her for what she did to his relationship and is willing to offer her up as collateral in order for his bid for the throne. I don’t support him, but he is pretty much stating what she promised him episode seven. She still rejects Yo, as she doesn’t want to be just one of his wives, and approaches So, offering him marraige.

And she finally states and reveals her true colors to him. Finally stating that she was lacking something, despite all the love and privilleges, and finally realised that power was what she needed, when in exile.

She still plays her card as a innocent women perfectly, stating she has loved him for long and is destined to be with him and hence, marraige.

We all know she is doing this to escape being collateral, and will immediately push him to be king if he agreed.

But he doesn’t so she sticks to her brother, encourages him to fake a decree and use the oppertunity to become King.

Feels no sadness when her father dies, silently vows she will reach the very ambition that he didn’t want her to have.

But still she isn’t compeletly loyal to her brother, as she literally offers So her power and the oppertunity to be King while blocking the roads for her brother.I was pretty sure she would’ve been moved if So said he wanted to be King to claim her heart instead of Soo’s. But he doesn’t, so she blocks his path.

In episode fifteen, we see the full extent of her personality, namely her very flaws. We see how hypocrytical, shallow, vain and foolish she really is , while reminding us that she is still very much the person who has mastered the art of the double game. 

We see her get shocked at Wook’s confession, while he’s literally out here carrying the same act that she planned years ago : Poisoning Mu.

We still see her foolishly still have hopes of being Yo’s queen, as she silently hints at the ring he gave her years ago. This was her most foolish moment, as it showed how little she understood or had humanity. I don’t know what caused her to conclude that Yo would still harbor affection for her and take her as his Queen , after she rejected him, humiliated him and betrayed him. In her mind, she foolishly thinks people will accept, love and praise her if she offers them power, but what she doesn’t realise is people act around her that way because they have to, there’s nothing true or genuine about thier motives, and they usually want something from her.Like she wants something from them.

Yo puts her in her place and informs her that she will be sent to Khitan, and we finally get to see her break. She’s very alone in this and this is very much the result of her reckless, misplaced loyalties and scheming.

She goes to Soo to manipulate her into taking her place and to make her give up on So, but Soo refuses and she states the most punchable line of hers yet.

“Now I know why I always hated you. For you, feelings and marriage are just silly games. They aren’t life and death like they are for me.” 

It’s very much a punchable line because it shows how shallow and irresponsible she really is. She ended up where she is because of her own devious, reckless actions but she blames this woman who’s been minding her own buisness and places the blame on her while seeing herself as the victim. 

She is a Princess with a family and it’s not only her who marries to elevate. It’s every woman’s duty to marry well and protect their family in Goryeo.Even Hae Soo ends up marrying for survival,just like she escaped it .She has more pressure becuase well, she is a Princess and it’s her duty. Every Royal family member married someone they did not like because,well responsibility.But she can’t accept it because it’s literally her one disadvantage and she uses it to play victim. Again.Soo’s perception only differs because its quite modern.

She promises she will make Soo regret it, and she plays the double game perfectly. She offers the whereabouts of a wanted Prince to the King in exchange for stopping her marraige, and since the whereabouts happened to b Soo’s quarters, she reveals it So as well, hoping to break off their relationship as she smiles smugly.

She knows very well, that the infomation is going get the prince killed. And the Prince is a brother she grew up with, who is being framed but she is happy that the information is breaking off a relationship she hated.

So leaves the palace for a while and she supports her brother, but she and her mother are quick to switch her loyalty to So when he satges a coup and becomes King.

She then pressures her brother who she used to push to be King, to get his help to now push her to be Queen. And,she succeeds.And still foolishly assumes she has won, as she sits triumphantly on the throne.It’s the night of the consummation,and she is still so naive and foolish,thinking this marriage and power is going to help her win the heart of the man she wanted. While him,the King was being forced into it and to break the heart of the woman he loves. She looks at him expectantly and he just walks away. So she continues her political diplomacy and tells him to get rid of Hae Soo,as she is a “risk”and he basically puts her in her place,telling her to be satisfied with being Queen.

This where we finally get to see her cry,and we don’t feel for her at all. She is sad but not deveasted and it shows how naive she really is . Because all I see is a girl crying,not a broken hearted woman. I guess that’s all she was deep down, a little girl with thirst for power, whose ambitions were nurtured due to her spoiled upbringing, who by her admission, had a brother that never said no to her since she was young.

She doesn’t give up easily ,and she sets off to get the King’s trust and break his relationship with Soo. But the King ignores her and she waits until their relationship is Rocky to seduce him,and she tries to trick him by pretending to be Soo.

This is where in my opinion, I truly understood how her mind works.She is a woman of her times ,yes but she is not exactly a original thinker or a broad minded person. She listens,watches and learns from the scheming woman around her and lusts after power and things that are far from her reach. She is smart but not wise, as trying to trick the King into sleeping with her only exposes her devious ways,makes her look untrustworthy. The thing is for all the times people praise her for her intelligence, they forget that she has born and raised to be that way. Her schemes and plans are meticulous because besides seeing them, she also has nothing but time to carefully think and plan her plots, since she doesn’t have to work nor does she have responsibilitiy like her brothers. I think the drama, did a very good job in aligning her with Yo in earlier episodes.Like Yo,she has the appearances and qualities of the Perfect Royalty,but what they both truly lack is tact,understanding of their true responsibility and original and innovative thinking. They are both not adept at handling pressure and easily break when things don’t go their way. The only difference is Yeonhwa knows how to hide it better.She is corrupt, narrow minded and the definition of wasted beauty and brains,because there is no point in having it all if your priorities and perceptions are fucked up. She doesn’t even want to be a human, she wants to be “ a God above the King”.

The King is furious but this time he sees right through her, and gets her right where it hurts: power. He makes a deal to consummate their marriage and make their child a Crown Prince but in exchange she has to throw away their family and she does , in a heartbeat.

So the King frames her brother and plans to execute him,she doesn’t bat an eye. Her mother approaches her and she basically puts her in her place stating that she is the Queen now and that she has far more things to be concerned about than her brother’s crimes. And her mother is shocked and there is no end to her arrogance.

That is power to Yeonhwa: the need to feel important,powerful,superior and control others and watch as people bow down to her. Everything comes down to her and she has no consideration for anything beyond her. That is why she deserves to be put in her place, as it’s dangerous putting absolute power in her hands, as it’s similar to putting a favourite a toy in a child’s hands. One can only watch as she plays with it until it breaks.

Her brother gets exiled and she still isn’t satisfied and she can’t digest the fact that she has to make sacrifices and get judged while Soo gets all the love. She walks in and as per usual ,places the blame on Soo while saying the most despicable line yet.

“You ruined everything,yet you shamelessly still live?” 

An apt sentence applicable to herself, I’ve always chuckled at how much the things she says to Soo to degrade her are more applicable to her than anyone else.

As she wishes,Soo leaves and dies.But the King doesn’t trust her and doesn’t give her the chance to get involved in politics and she spends her days begging him to visit her and her children. But he’s colder than ever.

The thing about Yeonhwa is ,she has agency and is smart,but she is far from empowering.She props the very system that subjugates her as she only seeks to reap the maximum benefits from it. Her political sense is very narrow ,as it limited to scheming, controlling the clans and elevating herself. The big ambition that she always speaks about cannot be visionary if it doesn’t extend beyond elevating herself. As she would realise later, having the throne won’t make you safe, happy or noteworthy. Because, politics and power is gigantic responsibility more than anything else. This is why Soo unironically ends up having more influence, than her because she sees how the throne affects everyone.We rarely see Yeonhwa understand and express opinions or interests beyond the scheming for power. Authority is making the right desicions , improving the economy, caring for the people ,balancing political and social structure , foreign relations and war tactics.It’s not all power and glory and “ honour and recognition”.This is why sadly, she ends up being a Queen who’s forgotten, despite being the Kings only wife.

I would’ve rooted for her and even accepted her if she showed true,broader understanding of politics and had a true passion for it. But all she has is fascination and obsession.

Powerful Queens throughout history,though hated and slandered at their times, are remembered because they proved to be capable and wise and tended to their responsibility well.No one can deny their ability or legacy,and they mostly sought to uplift their sex during their reign.

Yeonhwa doesn’t care for the responsibility and is very demeaning to her own sex.She usually sees other other women as rivals.Shown through her attitude to Soo or when she asks Yo to divorce his wife.In her mind she is the only capable ,perfect women and other women are below her and she doesn’t bat an eye if they suffer.

Most conclude that Yeonhwa lacks empathy because she was raised in those times. But that’s not true,though you can’t afford love if you’re royalty ,that doesn’t mean you don’t experience it. King Taejo had a love. So,Baek Ah,Eun all experience and show love. Is it just because she is a princess in exile ? No,she very clearly states she lacked something when she had everything as a child. If the exile didn’t happen,she would’ve realised her power hungry nature anyway, as there is no end to her greed and Jealousy, till the end. Even in the last scene we see her hate So’s reforms because she interprets them as gifts to Soo out of Jealousy without realising how powerful it makes her.

The thing is,Just because she is a princess doesn’t mean she is meant to lack empathy. Most conclude this because she is the only princess we see. But the thing is, there is another Princess with the beauty ,wit and scheming skills who can love and be a decent ,kind human being. Her name is Woo Hee,and she sacrificed herself for her people. She was a spy yes,but for a greater cause. She had a horrible childhood , tried to kill and killed a man but that was the true definition of trying to survive. She matured and puts aside her grudges and never inflicts pain on others. Unlike Yeonhwa,she truly understands the responsibility she represents.

If you’re still adamant,let’s take the example of Jung,who was born a Prince and was spoiled in a similar way like Yeonhwa. He can be bull-headed and polarising ,but he understands his responsibility as a prince and fights wars. He loves Soo dearly and selflessly raises her child ,though he never gets the love he craves from her.

All of this leads me to conclude, Yeonhwa is and was the same person she is now. She is vain,shallow ,arrogant and greedy. She wants to be a Kingmaker but she is very shallow and extreme in her execution, as countless scheming displays ambition that never goes unnoticed. Being a Kingmaker requires wit,knowledge, trust and silence. You only help your Prince if he needs it, you don’t push him to it and you try to hide your ambition and knowledge and show your support continuesly . And Soo does this , while Queen Yoo and Yeonhwa make a fool of themselves by putting pressure and scheming. The whole royal family knew of their scheming nature and left them alone in the end.

Her loneliness is well deserved and part of her own making. She threw everyone away and everyone ignored her in the end. She is very much an improved version of Queen Yoo, everyone , especially her family and clan can see it. She stated that she wants power to protect her clan but she proves that she cares little about it,as even in her reign as Queen ,her family was in exile and their clan probably lost their standing. Just like Queen Yoo’s reign.Her mother is now competing with her for the throne.Like she did with Queen Yoo.

But atleast Queen Yoo has other Queens and Court ladies to bully. Yeonhwa has no one but herself and she just has to just settle for it.

In conclusion ,she is the least sympathetic,redeemable villain I’ve come across. What led me to not sympathise with her is how she easily plays victim while she is the most privileged,protected person in the story. Everyone thinks she protected herself,but the truth is she would be nowhere without her position and family. She would be done for if Wook confessed her crimes. I hate it when people who have everything continue to complain about their lives and insist they have it worse more than anyone else,while clearly being ignorant to the suffering of other around them. Every Villain in MLSHR had a redeeming quality,motive ,circumstance or atleast a redeeming relationship with another character. They atleast showed tiniest bits of remorse for their actions and acknowledge villainy. We don’t see her do either ,and she Probably sees her current situation as unfair,still refusing to admit her villainy. She is meant to be hated and interpreted as evil, and I have to give props to Kang Hanna, as she played the role to perfection.

If I had to say one thing about her though, I think marriage for her is survival in a sense that she’s surviving by protecting the only thing she’s known: power. Unlike Hae Soo, while she has her intelligence, she doesn’t have any special skill,knowledge or understanding of life outside the royal family. She doesn’t want to be the wife of a noble or go to Khitain, because it doesn’t provide her with security or position. I think she’s so accustomed to the privileges and riches that she can’t live a life beyond that. She considers it to be lowly and impossible. Her position is the only thing that protects her.While Soo had the favour of four kings,Yeonhwa only had her family and position to keep her safe.

I will admit that she did have her feminist moments, and I appreciate how she was willing to not settle for less. I loved it when she asked if the only way to control women is through marriage and tries to use marriage to elevate herself. But the thing is marriage is control and it all comes down to the value your husband is willing to put on you,especially in patriarchal times like Goryeo. This is discussed in episode five and is very telling of its time. If you’re husband doesn’t trust you and treats you like property,there’s nothing you can do as your worth is attached to the value he sees in you. Do I feel bad for her? No, she very much wanted to reap the benefits of patriarchy than put an end to it . Truth is ,she wanted to control him instead and if she did suceed then only God can help Goryeo.

EDIT: I wondered for long ,why is her character so despicable and greedy,after some contemplation,I’ve reached it.Its for the purpose of historical accuracy, as when you see international version,you see that her mother is plotting to push her grandson on the throne,due to Yeonhwa’s betrayal and thus her nephew becomes King.Historically,Gwangjong mistrusted his five year old son , making her devious and scheming gives depth to that. Her Son ,ruled for five years and had very little interest in politics,which again can be attributed to her ambition and pushy ways. In history her daughters were married off to powerful nobles to establish a strong power base ,which in MLSHR universe proves her to be a hypocrite because we all what she did to escape being married into a noble family.

But it’s exactly what gets her in the end, because at the end of the show her mother pushes her nephew to be King , who ends up marrying her Daughter probably due to her efforts, and her daughter betrays her like she betrayed her mother and becomes his Queen if MLSHR universe is to be assumed. Classic Karmic retribution If I might say.

Gifs: @just-bring-the-coffee and blog a new kind of hobby.

[extraneousdominomask]

*collapses* I shoulda typed this BEFORE sending the ask. Ah well, live and learn.

Alrighty, here we go.

As we all know, once upon a time, Doctor M served as a planner and technical expert in one of the many incarnations of the Cooper Gang, with Conner Cooper serving as the leader and field agent while Jim McSweeny served as the muscle. Under mysterious circumstances, Doctor M would start to feel slighted by his friend, implying several times that Conner wasn’t as loyal a friend to the doctor as Sly was to his own friends, having a few choice words to describe the Cooper line on the whole while making this clear. Interestingly though, he was quite willing to concede that Sly might indeed have been a better man than his father was, a level of self-awareness and insight that implies that his assessment might just be more than bitterness and jealousy talking.

Notably, he singles out Bentley, a fellow intellectual who serves the same role that Doctor M himself did on the original team, and for a moment is even able to plant a seed of doubt within Bentley before Murray is able to bring him back to his senses. The Doctor’s gambit failed and he was subsequently… well, not really ‘defeated’ per-say, given that he chose to go down with the Cooper Vault, but either way, he met his end shortly after.

Doctor M’s entire interaction with Bentley raises a myriad number of questions, and while it’s definitely possible he’s more than capable of psychological manipulation, one must note that he had no prior research on the Gang before this moment. He spotted Bentley, understood what purpose he served, and then proceeded to accurately poke at the personal doubts Bentley had regarding his friendship with Sly. That’s a VERY intimate level of understanding for someone with no prior contact to have based purely on short-term observation.

So, what am I getting at here? What I’m getting at is that the parallels between Bentley and Doctor M are closer than anyone could have guessed, and it directly led to the destruction of the original Cooper Gang and the death of Sly’s family at the hands of Clockwerk.

Before we proceed onward, we must also do a rundown of a personal interpretation of the character of Sly’s father, Conner.

In-Universe evidence of regarding what Conner was like a person is quite scant. We have only Sly’s childhood memories, the word of Jim McSweeney, and a single flashback in Sly 4 to paint a picture. Sly naturally idolized his father but was willing to confront that maybe he wasn’t perfect. Jim McSweeny spoke rather glowingly of the man, but then that might have been the result of the two being closer than Doctor M was to him. Finally we have the Flashback, which showcases him outwitting Le Paradox’s father and leading to his imprisonment, which is only natural.

And then we have Doctor M’s words, which given the fact that he is objectively a homicidal lunatic need to be taken with a grain of salt.

All of this hinges though on a single premise- what if Doctor M, bitter and warped as he was, was in fact almost entirely correct about Conner?

My theory is that Conner, while not really a BAD guy, could be a much more selfish and jerky person than Sly was, at least during his younger years. The core of this difference is that while McSweeney and Doctor M were his comrades and friends, it was never to the same extent as Sly, Bentley and Murray- those three grew up together and are as close as brothers. Conner met McSweeney and the Doc when he was older, having already had a prolific career as a solo thief. In all likelyhood he encountered them during his adventures and took them along for the ride… but the simple fact was, he was never quite as close to Doctor M as he was to Bentley, and at some level, he took the man and his skills for granted and was ultimately far closer to McSweeney.

Why would this be? I theorize at some level there was a difference of class at work- Doctor M’s refined accent and mannerisms make me feel as if he was from an old money family, and ultimately was drawn to the criminal life because he wanted to make his own destiny rather than follow in the pre-planned footsteps of his father and his father before him. However, his background and education meant there was a slight rift between him and the others- Jim McSweeney was very much a blue collar bruiser, and while the Cooper family defies class distinctions, they’re still closer to the ‘little guy’ than they to anyone who might qualify as ‘aristocracy’. As such, there was always a slight bit of tension over the fact that a ‘rich boy’ was mixing it up with the gang- at some level it might have been suspected that Doctor M was only slumming it up and could easily return to the life he had before, meaning he had fewer stakes in everything than Conner or Jim. Naturally this wasn’t really the case, but people will have their assumptions.

By and large though, the group functioned well enough… until one day, something happened.

Sly’s mother.

The Cooper Vault indicates that Conner was a more technologically savvy Cooper given the computers and microscope kept over at his section. My theory however is that while he DID have something of a scientific education (primarily computers, courtesy of his cousin Bruce O’Coop in an effort to keep him ahead of the curb, as Bruce accurately predicted the impending importance of the Internet), he was not exactly an expert at it in the way that Doctor M was.

My theory though is that Sly’s mother WAS much more scientifically inclined and savvy than Conner was, and it was through her help that he devised his signature ‘laser rail’ move…. somehow.

And this is where the problem started, and where the repetition of history would get its start- before Conner set his eyes on her, Doctor M was already in love with Sly’s mother. That’s right- she was the Penelope to his Bentley. They shared much in common, and Doctor M was entranced by her intellect and her ability to keep up with him in a conversation. The fact that she was quite the looker didn’t hurt none either. Slight problem- Conner was handsome, outgoing, daring and charismatic, and Sly’s Mom (one day I need to headcanon a name for her) found herself drawn to him despite having more in common with M.

This is where the fundamental difference between Sly and Conner comes in- Sly is naturally polite and charming towards women, but he was never really interested in Penelope the same way that she was with him, and he never tried to pursue her affections, nor would he ever have knowing that Bentley was into her. He could never hurt his friend that way. Conner by contrast, as befitting the Rogue Hero of Yesteryear, was something of a serial womanizer- she was beautiful, she was interested, and that was all that mattered. The fact that his friend and colleague was already demonstrating an interest didn’t matter- survival of the fittest is the thief’s game after all, and if you don’t have what it takes to get what you want, then you don’t deserve it.

And so, Doctor M and Conner would compete for her affections, and ultimately, Conner was triumphant… though ironically enough, a funny thing happened during all of that- he found himself genuinely falling in love with her, and suddenly rather than becoming the latest in a long line of conquests, she was something new, strange and frightening.. someone he would want to spend the rest of his life with.

Doctor M, as you can imagine was heartbroken, and this series of events helped to allow much of the resentment and anger that had been building up towards Conner to start festering inside his soul. Doctor M built the machines and made the plans, but Conner got the glory. Doctor M risked his life for the sake of the thief, but was left to fend for himself more than a few times. Conner mocked Doctor M for his interests and mannerisms despite needing him to succeed. Conner could have any woman in the world, but STOLE the one woman that Doctor M wanted. It wasn’t fair, it just wasn’t any damn fair.

Still, despite all this, all might have ended well. Doctor M might have chose to be a bigger man and accept that Sly’s mom would be with Conner rather than him. M was always a rationalist after all. Focusing on this sort of thing was beneath him. All might have been well.

If it hadn’t been for that one conversation with Clockwerk.

During a job gone wrong, Doctor M found himself in the most nightmarish predicament imaginable- alone, face-to-face with Clockwerk. He prepared himself for the end, for surely the millenia old serial murderer would have little difficulty eliminating an ally to his most hated enemy. Clockwerk did no such thing though. Instead, Clockwerk did something even worse- he talked. He conversed. Bit by bit he peeled back Doctor M’s insecurities, and then found his way into pushing the right buttons- he revealed how he knew that Doctor M felt more like a lackey than a friend to Conner. He told Doctor M that this was a pattern with Coopers- they use people, you see, they pretend to be friends and then they use them until they can give no more. The Thievius Racconus is filled with the glories of the Cooper Lineage, but no mention to the people they depended on to succeed.

Doctor M didn’t want to believe the ancient owl, but so much of what he said made sense. He could recall all the times when Doctor M’s brains had won the day, only for Conner to act as if it had been all him. Most of all he recalled Sly’s Mother. How happy she made him feel, how nice it was to have someone who could talk to him and appreciate him, how nice it felt to not be alone… and how Conner took it all away because she was another pretty face he needed to fornicate with.

Clockwerk allowed Doctor M to live. He knew he had planted the seed of hatred within his enemy, and that one day it would bloom into something great and terrible. All he had to do was wait.

Things continued on for the Cooper gang, but Doctor M was starting to become more and more openly resentful of Conner, and things finally came to a head when Conner married Sly’s mother and had Sly. McSweeny mentioned that things in the gang got ‘tense’ after Sly was born and that they split up afterwards, and this was the reason why. Doctor M just couldn’t contain his anger and hatred anymore, and so, the gang was split. Conner, as a result of his marriage and new life as a father, gradually became aware of the fact that he had been less than stellar a friend to Doctor M, and swore he would make it up to him. To him AND Jim. So, when Sly was very young, Conner contacted his former partners, and revealed to them the existence of the Cooper Vault and gave them clues to its location, as well as revealed that he had made them the legal godfathers to his son if anything were to happen to him.

Conner was certain it was the best way to make up to his friends after having taken them for granted, and perhaps he was correct. But by that point, it was FAR too late for Doctor M. Doctor M was now consumed by hatred, warped by it. Conner thought he could fool him? Claimed he had changed? He saw through the transparent lies in an instant. He was still trying to use him and Jim, just like he always had. Well this time it wasn’t going to work. This time Doctor M was going to get EXACTLY what he deserved. EVERYONE was going to get what they deserved- Doctor M for wasting his life on the Coopers and their nonsense. Jim for refusing to see the truth. Conner for reducing him to a lackey. Conner’s wife for choosing Conner over him. Everyone was going to get what they deserved.

Everyone.

The first move was to eliminate McSweeny. Doctor M framed his old friend for a crime he didn’t commit, and had him sent to prison as a result. Then, after locating Sly’s family, he came into contact with Clockwerk and the Fiendish Five. All he asked for in return was the deed to Cain Island. Clockwerk more than obliged, and you know what happens next- Clockwerk and his gang raid the Cooper home, Conner and his wife die, and Sly is made an orphan. With McSweeny jailed, no other living family left, and Doctor M renouncing his custodial rights, Sly is sent to the orphanage where he will meet Bentley and Murray.

Doctor M meanwhile gets to work- first he finds Cain Island, and using his family money (procured after his father’s mysterious and sudden death) and the earnings from his career as a thief, immediately begins converting it into a fortress and research facility where he conducts his biological experiments, even beginning to experiment on himself as the years go by. Finally he is able to locate the door of the vault, but to his horror, he finds he has made a major miscalculation- it can only be opened by the hook-cane of a Cooper. Despite several attempts to fabricate a cane to bypass the lock, nothing works. Worst of all, he cannot locate Sly- by this point Sly and his gang are old enough to have successfully escaped the orphanage and begin their lives of crime.

Doctor M however does not despair, and instead ramps up his efforts to bust in, reasoning that one of two things will happen- either he will eventually manage to bypass the barricade, or sooner or later, that accursed whelp will endeavor to find the Cooper Vault and *bring* the cane right to him. He’s a Cooper. Those greedy, money grubbing little parasites cannot help themselves and their sticky fingers. One thing that is assured though is that the Cooper Vault and all within it will belong to Doctor M.

It’s just a matter of time.

*wipes brow* Whew! Well, there you have it. A personal take on what exactly caused Doctor M to go off the deep end. I hope that I have managed to convey that this is purely an explanation and not an excuse- Doctor M was indeed legitimately wronged in a very personal way, but that does not begin to justify his actions, nor does it excuse the very wanton sadism he indulges in. I just sorta like the idea that Doctor M’s parrallels with Bentley go way deeper than the surface, and the fact that in the end, Sly really ISN’T his father, despite what Doctor M would like to think.

So, yeah, food for thought- full course buffet in this case, but there you go.

[This is some excellent stuff! I really dig Sly’s mom as a scientist - a nice change from the usual assumed careers of “thief” or, somewhat oedipally, “policewoman”. The idea of both parents contributing to the laser walk is a lovely sentiment, and goddammit, I want her to be more involved in general. I also really like that Clockwerk talked to Dr M just as Dr M tried to do with Bentley - that forms a nice chain. Really, with Clockwerk being immortal, there’s so much potential to see him interact with past characters. Finally, I share your headcanon that Dr M totally Wormtail’d the Coopers and was the one who told Clockwerk where they lived. It just makes sense.]