#Character analyses

[sneakyboythingz]

An discord analyses about how much of a loser Jax acctually is and not the "asshole with no consequences" as most of the internet said when ep 2 aired

(sorry theres a lot of cringy simping, we cant help it )

[flutishly]

Was thinking about the new back-to-back Lower Decks episodes and about Star Trek's definition in relation to insightful television (another post for another time) and I sidetracked to thinking about Mariner's character arc, her interaction with Ransom in "I Have No Bones Yet I Must Flee", the way she's processing her own self-destructive tendencies, and how for all that she probably wouldn't make a very good Captain, she's definitely a good leader.

She'd make such a good second in command.

Mariner's biggest flaw is her insubordination and tendency to push back against authority. But at the same time, these are often highly calculated acts of insubordination, brought on very intentionally and wielded like a sword. Mariner knows how to manage people and inspire them. She has a great capacity for creative thinking. And she also constantly challenges whoever's in charge. She has no interest in dealing with the bureaucracy of Starfleet and the minutiae of managing and the difficulties of playing politics with the admirals.

On the other hand, Mariner would be excellent at delegating ensigns, finding wacky solutions to strange problems. And most importantly, she'd positively crush it at giving her captain a reality check. Starfleet First Officers often need to push up against their commanding officers and have in many cases been the essential voice in making sure that the captain sees reason.

[puella-1n-somn10]

Sophocles; the Miracle Child of Melemele

Total word count: 2,096

This was supposed to be a brief analysis post regarding his parents alone, but, admittedly, I got carried away whilst writing all this down. Sincere apologies for those waiting on the Meguca!Penny megapost and analysis of the families present within the Sun and Moon anime; I will do my absolute best to bring both of them on the table as soon as I am able to. This has been, let's say, a fun little writing exercise that got way out of hand- but I am happy to confess that I did have my fun writing it all down, and do hope that you guys also enjoy what I have brought in- consider it a sort of a snack made to prepare you all for the next meal!

So, starting from the very top, I have noticed that a couple of the parents' designs within the SM season of PokeAni do correlate with some NPC models present in-game for quite some time now; specifically with Abe/Mallow's father and Sophocles' parents. In the former's case, he's clearly based on the chef class; just slightly tweaked and redesigned to make him resemble his two kids, which was surprisingly effective enough to give us a simple yet unique design that helps him stand out. Meanwhile, with the latter, they're based on the madame and gentleman classes respectively- down to the minute detail of both the father and said gentleman class possessing a grey watch on both of their left arms.

It really isn't a surprise seeing how these inspirations work in their favors not just design-wise, but also within the narrative; Abe is already present in the games donning the exact same NPC model, and it has been all but outright confirmed to us that Sophocles' family is of high societal status - with both Molayne operating Hokulani Observatory and the father being the VP of the tourism board -. These designs and their inspirations help them fit in to their roles seamlessly and perfectly; giving the impressions of who they are to the viewer and their respective without the need to state their purposes to us outright.

What caught my eye for quite some time, though, is that it does appear to us that Soffy's folks are quite, let's say, quite old when compared to the other parents present within the show; not just in appearance, but it's also clear to us through their mannerisms - with the both of them having this polite, old-timey, and jolly vibe they tend to carry wherever they went -. A rather innocuous detail to fuss over, but it is one that would throw a wrench at whatever timeline one might be working on once you take Sophocles himself into account; how he appears to be so young, especially with the rest of his classmates already being in their early teens and himself being at least 11 years of age in comparison.

While I could see that the writers didn't really think too hard on it, I personally believe that this little detail right here might provide more insight into Sophocles' upbringing and why his old folks are doing their damned best to provide for and help nurture him in the best way they could. As a matter of fact, I have half a mind to say that, alongside Kiawe's and Lana's families, Sophocles' might be one the healthiest family dynamics we have seen throughout the Sun and Moon seasons of the anime, and, by golly, I am really excited to explore their interactions and the core reason behind it all in as much detail as I could.

After pondering on the topic for a while, I've managed to muster up two little theories that might help bring everything together and provide more insight into Sophocles and his folks as their own characters. Bear in mind that, aside from the analysis of certain context queues and symbolic references, neither of the following proposals are anywhere near canon; they're merely nothing but my own 11 AM ramblings on a Sunday, but it is fun to speculate and place those three goobers under a microscope! These are simply my interpretations of the events that have lead up to the present day and the characters we are currently discussing, and if you guys have other proposals behind this you want to share, I highly encourage you to do so! We are here to inspect these characters through various lenses and perspectives, so the more interpretations, the better!

The first, and most possible, reason behind all this is that the two met during later stages of their lives; the both of them already having more than enough experience to not just create a healthy relationship between one another, but also grant their eventual future child a prosperous and loving home life where he could grow up into a promising young man- with his own skills and experiences evolving with him in-tow. This scenario would not only paint the both of them in a wiser light than what we've seen throughout their appearances within the episodes they're present in, but it also boosts speculation on who they are before they both met and eventually had their kid; what sort of achievements they have personally accomplished, what they've gone through to become the people they currently are, the circumstances of their own upbringings to begin with- all of these and more are essential building blocks to a person's overall character and how they view the world. After all, though they have their similarities, the differences between the two are almost night and day- and I hope I could bring said key differences to light soon! They, alongside the other parents of the main cast, deserve an analysis post of their own, and I hope I could share my speculations and findings with you all soon enough!

The second possibility, though, teeters more on the speculative and even symbolic angle, but still manages to fit like a well-placed jigsaw piece on a puzzle board. I should give you all the heads-up, though- it's best that you take a good look at the trigger warnings present within the tags before proceeding here; if what we're about to discuss is triggering to you in any way, shape, or form, click away now for the sake of your own health. I apologize for the inconvenience, but, once more, one must place the health of the reader in a higher regards over their creative projects. Please be safe, darlings.

What I am about to suggest next is that...in gentler terms, Sophocles was the child they have managed to conceive after such a stretch of time- after countless trials and tribulations. The toll of trying and failing to conceive throughout the years may have managed to take its toll on the both of them, but now look- the duo have finally managed to bring forth their little miracle into existence. They have given their all so that they could have their sweet little child in their arms, and now he's here; happy, healthy, and breathing.

This is a...rather grim scenario, but it's also one that makes a shocking amount of sense; after all, Sophocles is usually associated with either of the two symbols within the overarching story- lightning (which is to be expected, as he is an electric type specialist) and stars; the latter of which being a common symbol of wishes, especially when in the form of meteors. Heck, when you look at him back when he was a toddler as shown in the episode "Showering the World with Love", you can even tell that his hair at the time looked like a star!

Speaking of, within that same episode, we were also presented with the life cycle of the meteor pokemon, Minior; a species that is destined to one day make an impact on the earth's surface, live out the rest of their brief lives amongst its inhabitants, and float back to the skies as they dissipate into fine particles- marking the end and new beginning of their species' life cycle. It is in that episode where Sophocles had his first encounter with loss, and, according to some, might be where he tackles the root cause of his scotophobia; witnessing a friend he's managed to make at such a young age at the time fade in to the dark with no promise of return- dissipating into the vast nothingness of space peacefully and without a care in the world, for they have long come to terms with their destinies. There was nothing he could have done to change or prevent this, as this was one of the many set rules of nature, if not existence itself.

Once more, I have to repeat myself and state that the possibility of Sophocles being a couple's only success at making their own bundle of joy is shockingly dark- and I wouldn't even blame you for believing that this is way too much for Pokemon to ever portray. However, one most also remember that the topic of grief, as we've already discussed just now, is no stranger to the Pokemon anime, especially within the Sun and Moon seasons. As a matter of fact, one of the many overarching themes present with this set of seasons is, in fact, grief- it is this state of mind and deep sense of sorrow that drives a majority of our characters, whether that's been made obvious to us or not, and it is within these seasons that we learn of the many ways one might handle or even tackle the impact of sudden loss.

Besides, in complete contrast to our first proposal, it is also implied that both his mother and father have been a thing for quite the stretch of time now; from their choice of words and language in the EN dub, to them addressing one another via affectionate nicknames such as "love" and "dear". All that, and that's on top of the father being completely smitten with his wife; taking every opportunity to give her praises all while blushing like mad whenever she compliments him. To me, that's a couple that went through thick and thin via healthy communication, and are cooperating with one another to ensure that they manage to live their lives harmoniously.

"Hang on, didn't he also have an implied celebrity crush on Kahili?" Yeah, well Burnet also had one towards the Masked Royal before she knew he was Kukui- it's ok to find some people attractive or generally good-looking, just don't go out and form romantic relations without the awareness of your partner and cheat on them. :/

All in all- though these scenarios were born from mere speculation, they still stand as a testament to how well these three are written, and how the way they interact with one another grants leeway for fan interpretations and conjectures. While I am bummed by how we didn't get any more of their dynamic in the canon of the anime, I don't think it's time to close the book on them just yet; after all, if Kiawe's grandfather was canonized by the games - specifically in Pokemon Masters EX - years after he made his debut in the anime, then there might be hope for other anime-only characters later down the line.

Personally, I am hoping that they grant us more content in regards to Sophocles' old folks, and the reason behind this is mostly due to the similarities our child of the starts has with none other than Team Galactic's leader, Cyrus. They may share similar strengths, skills, and struggles- heck, it isn't hard to see that, once upon a time, Cyrus may have been in a similar spot as Sophocles back when he was a child, but, in the end, it is their respective upbringings that have molded them into who they currently are; a child who wishes to explore the stars with his partner pokemon, and a man who sought to destroy the entirety of existence by reweaving the fabrics of space-time so that he could rebuild it all in his own image.

To a select few, Sophocles was their little blessing; a bright and peculiar little child, indeed. To those few, he deserved to live his life in harmony and peace- with the opportunity to continue growing and honing his skills in a healthy environment. To those few...I can only hope that they are now glad with all their hearts; he has, indeed, become a talented young man with oh-so much just ahead of him.

Stand proud, Sophocles.

Stand proud...our dearest bundle of happiness, pride, and joy...

[paimonial-rage]

alhaitham analysis

When you first meet Alhaitham, he comes across as someone that has a negative EQ. He's curt, rude, and critical. And yet the truth is surprising? Like looking at his character quest and how he basically emotionally manipulated the whole hive into revolting, this man is very emotionally intelligent. You can honestly see it in a lot of his lines too. When he speaks about people, yes, he may sound like he's simplifying or trivializing things too much, but he's not wrong. He understands people. He knows how they work. It's just that he views emotional labor as too much of a hassle majority of the time.

Spoilers below the cut

You can gather a lot about Alhaitham through Kaveh's character stories. Like while it may not seem like it, Alhaitham is genuinely trying to help Kaveh. He points out to Kaveh that the source of his problems isn't luck, but his sense of impractical idealism and inescapable guilt. Some may say Alhaitham lacked tact when saying this, but it was kindness on Alhaitham's part. Once someone can acknowledge the truth, no matter how hurtful, they can then make the needed changes for the better. When they met up again years later, Alhaitham asked him, "How has realizing your ideals gone for you?" This wasn't done out of a sense of pettiness, but to solidify the truth once more. It was to help.

I think if you don't know someone that operates in this way, Alhaitham's love language may be difficult to decipher. His words may seem cruel. It may seem like he's trivializing your problems. But to speak truth is to show that you're not a lost cause. He has proven he won't abandon you along the way. After all, to speak truth, no matter how hurtful, is to show love.

[the-virgoperspective]

grey’s anatomy

peaky blinders

gossip girl

euphoria

the office

derry girls

skins: uk

bridgerton

anne rice’s interview with a vampire

[atla-recluse]

Headcanon On How Bill Cipher Successfully Manipulated People

I have a headcanon—theory, if you will—that Bill likes to trick his intended target/victim-seeking-him-out, into trusting him, by offering what the person thinks they desire most and especially by (incorrectly) copying the traits of what or who the unsuspecting person is most hung-up over the loss of (even though they may not admit to it). Kind of like how real life scammers and big business advertisers do. (I wonder if it gave his charisma bar a boost to be a literal demon.)

One example of this, which I find to be one of the greatest/most blatant, is Bill’s relationship with Stan and Ford. 

I personally think Ford is the one that Bill enjoyed manipulating/harming the most out of all his victims and that Stan is the one Bill enjoyed mimicking/copying the most. I’m convinced he began doing this so that he could get close to Ford in the first place! (Ford missed Stan and kept unhealthily coping by trying to forget and replace him!) Then, eventually, he ended up keeping the personality he crafted for his years-long con because he grew used to it/ended up liking it/decided it was his true, actualized self.

I think this can help to explain why Bill shares so many suspicious similarities with Stan throughout the series, despite being a separate character. It’s not just because they’re both con artists. Bill may have been trying to be Stan. Or rather, his warped/decontextualized idea of who Stan is. Since clearly Bill didn’t have in his heart, even close to the amount of love and devotion that Stan actually does (usually) have in his, for those he considers family.

Once you notice these things, it becomes that much more unbelievable how Stan only really comes into contact with Bill, face-to-face, once (which ends in Bill’s defeat). It’s almost like Bill only wanted to watch Stan from a distance to ‘get the gist’ of who he is, but didn’t want to get too close... Maybe this was his biggest mistake with Stan? Writing him off as a non-factor.

I’m also aware of the Billdin, Same Coin and Lifelong-Stalker (this is commonly considered a thing, right?) theories and while I don’t exactly subscribe to the second one, I like to think that what I’ve pointed out here comes from the same place that all three theories did and that it was intentionally done by use of the same delicate and detailed writing/scene choices.

[cubikzoa]

The fact that Hannibal is so completely and firmly in control of his emotions and everything he does, everything he says, for the majority of the time…. And then there’s the polar opposite of that, when he’s just so lost and scrambling. And it’s pretty much always regarding Will. The thing is, he’s used to things like fear, worry, hate, eagerness or boredom, anger or approval, and likely feels them differently than most other people do, whether by virtue of his unique mental conditions or his unique worldview and practiced control.

What he’s not used to is emotional reactions that place other people at the forefront, like what he experiences with Will: hope, trust, betrayal, competition, love. It places his mind and faculties outside the realm of his complete control, he is no longer the focus of this, the directing force: someone else is. He’s absurdly dedicated. He’s obsessively personal. He’s so chaotically emotional that it would be equivalent to a dumped high schooler who happened to have a fortune in money and a linoleum knife. He’s almost despondently contemplative, and everything is overexposed and over-exaggerated.

All of it is, speaking purely in logic, a huge dent in his metaphorical armor. Anyone who was only capable of feeling what they wanted to, or unable to process emotions in relationships with others, would have gutted Will on that kitchen floor without being “almost surgical”. It makes him feel vulnerable, which, to our knowledge, is something he’s only felt before when his sister died. And that coupled with the weight of his emotions and the fact that though they may be startling and difficult, Hannibal feels they’re worth so much that he’s willing to relinquish every kind of control in prison for the uncertainty that Will would come for him. Despite his sincere claims of Will’s eternal unpredictability.

That decision is very clearly half almost dreamy hopes shaped by his feelings, and half reason, knowing how Will feels about him in a multitude of ways and how he’s likely to act. Overall, it’s so interesting, and it’s simultaneously hilariously pathetic and tragically understandable. Pouting like he’s been left on read…

Hannibal + moping without Will

[calmlb]

It’s been clear that the Tanizakis aren’t siblings from the very beginning

here’s some evidence now that it’s been confirmed canon…

everyone who’s read irl Tanizaki’s book knew that Junichiro & Naomi weren’t siblings as soon as they introduced themselves

BUT just because the Tanizakis aren’t siblings doesn’t mean you can’t feel uncomfortable about them. if you feel uncomfortable, GOOD. that’s exactly what they want

the Tanizakis, Mori— they all use these disturbing ruses to disarm or distract people in order to protect themselves, or to accomplish their goals. this is a writing device that asagiri commonly employs as a way to parallel the irl literature (it’s actually ingenious)

there are 4 main indicators that have always made it clear to me that Junichiro & Naomi are not siblings:

1. most obviously— their character designs. Harukawa is extremely intentional with character designs, & she very intentionally made Naomi & Junichiro look nothing alike

their eye shapes are purposely different

their color palettes are contrasting

even their differing styles of clothing have meaning

this was all done so that the audience could PLAINLY see that they’re not related— so that WE know that they’re lying when they say they ARE related

2. how the people around them respond to their act.

the general reaction is “don’t question it”— which is exactly what they want. “be distracted by how uncomfortable you feel so that you look away from what we’re hiding” (this is likely a protective measure)

3. most importantly, this is meant to parallel irl Tanizaki’s book “Naomi,” where the main character Joji picks up Naomi to raise her into his ideal woman, but since she's so young (& a minor) they call each other cousins (Joji makes no sexual advances on young Naomi btw)

however, his plan backfires because when Naomi gets older & they get married, she flips the script on him & manipulates HIM so that he's under her thumb (which is why bsd Tanizaki is at a domineering Naomi's mercy). Joji let her have her way because of his masochistic tendencies

4. lastly is the emphasis that Asagiri and the Tanizakis themselves put on calling each other siblings.

over & over, it’s “my brother this” & “my sister that”

like they’re desperately trying to convince us that it’s true (“don’t let your lying eyes deceive you”)

here are just a few of many examples from the light novels…

again, if you’ve read “Naomi” you knew that Junichiro & Naomi weren’t siblings as soon as they introduced themselves

just like if you’ve read irl Mori’s works, it’s clear that bsd Mori isn’t a pedophile

just like if you’ve read No Longer Human you know that Dazai’s an unreliable narrator. he makes you think he’s a bad person bc he believes he’s a bad person, but those around him see him differently (btw this doesn’t mean he’s never done anything “bad,” though bsd isn’t about morality— but that’s another discussion)

anyway, i’m so excited for the Tanizakis backstory to be revealed so that we can better understand why they use this defense!!

also let this be a reminder to READ THE LITERATURE if you’re able to!! even reading synopses & analyses of the coordinating books makes bsd make much more sense 🥹

reminder that this how you’re supposed to react while reading bsd:

also, if you’re interested in a post explaining how Mori isn’t a pedo, i wrote this analysis on twt. OR you can read this document that one of my moots sent me (remember: analyzing a character does NOT mean you condone any actions they may or may not commit!)

[goreybaby]

so tired of engaging with fandoms recently, it's just not fun anymore. rlly sick of hearing shit like "if u like them, you must condone their actions!!1!1" and people adopting a mob mentality and attacking you for showing a fictional character an ounce of admiration or perhaps even neutrality. what happened to people minding their own business, or if they really need to discuss it, to do so respectively and without hurling death threats at the other party?? has it ever been that serious?

[ambrial-blog]

Ezra Valentino: The Conquest for the perfect son.

Meet our Hero: Ezra Valentino. A lone wolf raised upon the upper crest.  His parents want a perfect son. but are they willing to sacrifice the vey core of their son?.  

Full Name:   Ezra Valentino.  Nicknames: Cupid Boy,  Quote/Motto:  If I give up now, then I'll become a failure. To my friends, my family, and myself. So I'm never giving up! Never!”  Born:  June, 7th 1998  Age: Fourteen years old.  Location:,  (Minnesota, Urban District ) Designation: Lost Boy, human experiment.  Hair color: Fiery Orange Eye Color: Citrine yellow Main Series: The Detective Archives.  Book: Enter the Black Mumba. Height: 5.1 1/2 inches Fears: Dying Alone, Spiders.  Strengths: :biochemistry, cooking, and reading hieroglyphs. Weaknesses: unable to see in the dark very well, and close hand to hand combat. * Likes: chocolate chip waffles with bacon. Hanging out with blitzo and Drake. strawberry lemonade.  Favorite music: Rock/Country. Favorite Bands, Blues Saraceno,  The White Buffalo . Greg Holden  Dislikes: Striker, someone trying to hurt blitzo, someone trying to hurt drake, and spiders. Personalty:  Witty, curious, noble, and kind. Signifgant other:  none Favorite food: Steak Least favorite food.  Chicken Favorite color:  Light Blue  Favorite animal: Orange/white tabby Cat:  named Klinger. * Status: Active  Family: Apollo Valentino: (Biological father: A handsome  devil with a fiery passionate soul, Icy blue eyes.  He completely disowns his son after his wife's sudden Sucide , one autumn night. He is  married to Morgana-Le-Fey, Sister to  Corbin De-Le-Fey and his beautiful wife. Morgana De Le Fey-Valentino: Sister to Corbin De-Le-Fey, Aunt to Jake De-Le-Fey:  She has short dark hair, auburn eyes. slender build with an angelic face. Mother to Ezra Valentino. Drake Tabious Darling.  (adoptive father/Mentor figure.  Rescues him from Maddox labs. Julius Malphas Darling  (adoptive Uncle,  Drake's older brother, oldest Darling brother) Blitzo Vanitas Kolchak ( adoptive father/ mentor figure.  (who is currently suffering form amnesia thanks to Bastian Tybalt. Derringer Darling: (adoptive uncle, Drake's brother)                                      

Best Friend: Andrew Everheart. Worst Enemy: D.H.O.R.K.S,  Director Bastian Tybalt. Allegiance:  *The Nasty Darlings.  Affirmations  > The Nasty Darlings > Misfits of Misfortune (Founder/leader)  > Articles of the Outcasts  >  D.H.O.R.K.S. Organization > The Rift:  (Unknown) > I.M.P./Homicidal Husbands   (Undercover mission)  > Devlin Chuck/ the Occultist:  

Job Title:  The Founder of  the Misfits of Misfortune :Goals:  to obtain/create  the perfect family/ he is Obessed with finding the perfect family. Skill set :knowledge on biochemistry, Excellent sharp-shooter, Cooking Ezra’s Story: The Conquest for the perfect Son. Part One: Chapter One:  The Conquest for the perfect son. Morgana De-Le Fey and, her gallant knight in shining armor: Apollo Valentino.  Both fell into the occult.  They both  are avid followers of Bastian Tybalt's insidious work.  Apollo and Morgana began track him down through various tabloids. Morgana and Apollo stumble across Blitzo's conglobed past. His hidden affirmations with the secretive organization  known as D.H.O.R.K.S.  And the mystery surrounding the abrupt death of the director's nephew Ephraim Kyles.    They had skimmed across the documents.  The Goat man appearing in one of the many issues of  Articles of the Outcasts.  A few tales of the cryptids, and the haunting tales of  wondering spirits, ghoulish ghosts. impish creatures. and a sudden spike in deaths.  it was unnerving but that didn't stop them from pursuing the director of D.H.O.R.K.S who had promised a swift course of action.

Ever since Ezra was little he was raised upon fables and folklore. Fairytales of impish little creatures. of goat men, Skinwalkers. wendigos, faceless specters,  shadow people. Of gallant knights in shinning armor beautiful princess locked in spindly towers that jutted up out towards the skies and far away kingdoms.  As his parents grew more invested into Bastian's Tybalt's unorthodox  methods.   Ezra became the center of their conversations. he felt removed from his family. his parents started looking at him different: Like he had sprouted another head.  Everything changed when he was nine years old.  His parents began to chastise him. comparing him other children.  It was as if the nine year old hand stumbled into the twilight zone.

The Sudden turn was a frightful one. Alarming the boy even more was how strict his mother had become.  The boy missed his loving parents, and wanted to wake from this living nightmare.  But knew there was no waking from this harsh reality.  Ezra did everything he could think of to appease his parents. He served them breakfast in bed, studied hard. But nothing seemed to be working. anything he did, someone would do better and then he was back to square one.

In their eyes  he never amounted to anything. Their perfect son was a myth.  They would pick him apart.  and the weight that rested upon his shoulder, and the uneasiness that settled into his chest. tormented his mind and became unbearable.  At night he'd cry himself to sleep missing the warmth and comfort of his mother. How she'd once sooth him at night was only now a cold and distant memory.

The final straw that broke the camels back was when they  compared him to Bastian himself.  The successful director of D.H.O.R.K.S. who had a few skeleton's in his closet. He tried, for years to get Ephraim to hand over the  he tried and failed to figure out  a solid reason why he was never good enough for his parents. There were three life altering changes that stuck out like a sore thumb.  Haunting Ezra and molding him into the man he was now.  The first was the day he gave up, losing all hope of pleasing his parents.  it was the day his parents morphed and became parodies of themselves. Becoming mindless followers of the cause and corruption. He refused to call them by their parental titles. instead, he began  addressing them with their God-given names.  his mother acted as if he stabbed her with pointy pike, to the heart and his father would reprimand him with a curt- cutting tone. He couldn't win, he never did. why he continued to try was beyond him. he just knew he had to hang in there a little longer. that one day he'd be rewarded. His punishments were wide ranged, from being locked in the basement, starved. belittled.  but behind closed doors, it worsened. no one saw the bruises on his skin, the dark circles around his eyes. in school, his teachers and coaches barely acknowledged his existence.  he withdrew into himself.  Then came the day,  Morgan and Apollo  invited Bastian  into their quaint little  home in the suburbs.   For a meeting disguised  as a late supper and a discussion about their son.  It was supposed to be adults only. They had fed Ezra earlier on in the day and sent him off to his room. Ezra crept down the winding staircase. Crouching low so that he wasn't seen as he listened into their conversation.  His ear tingled and burned with the low murmur of boisterous voices.   The low baritone of the director's voice reverberated through the room. "My nephew took in a stray off the streets one cold winter night close to Christmas. it was neither a cat, nor dog or any animal I've ever seen before. It was small: a bit malnourished and barely clinging to life. His skin was tinted blue: but held a red crimson hue to it. his eyes were burning brightly with a fever.  it held an impish quality and ordinary isn't the term I'd use for him either he said while sipping his coffee.  He set his mug down and continued his story. "It was but a small imp, in ratty clothing. A child who had lost his parents, It was only because it was season greetings I was able to meet this biblical wonder" "Imagine Ephraim keeping something like this a secret"   "It was a biblical find, and Ephraim wanted nothing to do with me as I proclaimed my intentions. I wanted to disect him at first, see what all the fuss was about. but my nephew wouldn't let me get near him without a solemn vow that I wouldn't hurt the poor boy."  

Naturally, he called me and I came as fast as I could. Ephraim named the poor thing too, and took him wherever he went. he loved that child: to the marrow of his bones. And, upon his untimely death I inherited the child.  "I've spent three years getting to know the scamp, pinning the murderous on nameless agents.  I continued to instill life lessons into him. Strong, hard instrumental lessons. Then I uncovered a secret, to longevity of life. the answers laid within him. everything I needed all wrapped up in a tight little package.  I had poisioned his mind, kept him under thumb for years.  I had other experiments to contend with.  he was treated like he was one of us, had the free range to do anything he wanted.- except to  leave the compound. He was strictly prohibited from leaving Maddox labs.

Then one day, we made the mistake of having the specimen, and the experiment on the same grounds.  Experiment ninety nine. "Miss Kino Sung-Li: a reject sentenced to death. had somehow gotten into his head that their were others like him. "God, If I could've dispatched her then I would've...   "Little by little she'd undue everything I worked so hard for- he started asking questions, started back talking. "Why, Why, Why.  it was when the specimen was seventeen things started to get out of hand.  He was testing us.  he protected that abomination. We nearly had them too.   When Kino took to the skies.  I lost many men that day.  I had no other choice to hunt them down.  it was a man hunt spanning over several years.  in those years  I opened  up a corrections institute in my nephew's name.

I transformed A church cathedral into a mockery of its former self. and its still here in Minnesota" I believe" The director informed. "Did you ever find him? Morgana asks.   Do you think it could help Ezra?" Apollo adds. " It could" the director answers.   "Your son has a bright future,  he has that raw hunger we're looking for. Untapped potential dying to be cultivated and molded into  the perfect son.  if you allow me, I could cultivate that untapped potential into something akin to a super solider. The specimen was found. we had to wrangle him down. he spent months in Maddox labs. subjugated to intense procedures.  he recovered in  Belphegor manor. money is no option and I can be very convincing spoke the director.

"I'll even  extend a private invitation to Maddox labs. Where the experiments reside. And if your lucky you might be able to see the living  specimen. Your son will  be taught precision, manners among others thing. He will be molded and shaped into  your ideal of the perfect son.   "All at little expense to you, in return he will be deployed and used to recapture. A lost experiment. one that I failed to put down many years ago." "But I thought you said you put them both down!"  Ezra's voice barreled  down the stairwell. "Quiet boy! his mother shushed him. a silent rage building in her eyes "I thought we sent you to your room for the night?. she quarried. "Listen to your mother son"" his father's voice spoke up.  his icy blue eyes and firry hair stood as a stark contrast.  to the volatile monster that laid inside. ”Go on, Apollo urged the doctor.  “as you can see we have our hands full with this one, whatever he does, he does wrongly, he is a huge disappointment  but, if you say, that St. Michaels   is where we need to take him, to correct his behavior I’m all in, and who knows we might get the son we’ve always wanted.

But Ezra is right, I’m afraid. Ephraim called him Blitz: I put him  through the exact same trials, I plan on putting your son.  I put something down that night,  something I saw only in my nightmares, it stood over six feet tall, it had hooves and claws.

It was oddly dressed too, like it was part of a circus.  I’ll never forget those burning molten amber eyes: Bastian says with a cool shudder.   He wanted something that night, no- it was more like someone. "I was unwilling to hand him over,  Blitz was the last remnant I had of my nephew" The anguished howl that filled the night still haunts me and I can't be certain he isn't still out their prowling the woodland areas  relentlessly searching for a way inside" " And our boy, will learn how to track these sort of creatures, and nail them!” asks Apollo.  ”It is the first listen we teach, at Saint Michael's  Tybalt reassures.  And, with the right training  he well become, everything you’ve dreamt of him becoming. “Good grades, polite manners and one hell of a marksmen and as soon as I reclaim, my little experiment I will send home to you” It was like they weren't paying attention him anymore, they were hanging off the director's every word.  Ezra grimaced and slunk back up the stairs.

The second incident  was on he didn't like to dwell on.  Ezra recalled the day his mother finally succumbed to her depression. It raining, cold and wet. he had just returned home from school.  the house was ominously quiet. his mother worked from home so he expected her to be in her office. Finishing her novel. she was an established writer and an entrepreneur.   Long ago, she was once his pillar of light: a beckon of home, snuffed out.  She had lost the struggle with her demons.  She wasn't perfect but before Bastian got his talons into her she used to wipe the tears from his eyes.   Ezra peers out, through the window: the rain was coming down in silver sheets. pelting the ground. He closes his eyes and he is once again taken back to the night he lost her.  He might've not been the best son, or even a good one.  but it was those little thing she did to make him smile.  The moment Bastian crept into their lives everything  came to a standstill. The mother he had loved was shrouded in a vail of bitterness. she became self depreciating and  his father blamed Ezra because he was never good enough. Nothing made Morgana happy. She often spoke about slitting her wrists. her heart ached and throbbed. She became Obessed with meeting this biblical wonder.  She told Ezra, that this Blitz would be worth living for if she ever got to meet him. but it was obvious to Ezra that Bastian had no intentions of letting such thing to happen.  Ezra suspected that Blitzo was no longer in his custody and that was one of the reasons why the director was helping out the Valentinos.  

That was the nail in the coffin.  the evening he came home: the house didn't feel the same. it was strange eerily quiet: as if it was a funeral parlor.  He knew something was wrong. he could feel the sudden urgency to run up the winding staircase grip him filling him with awful dread.  and as he was  running up the staircase calling to his mother.. his voice cracking in pain.  deafening silence filled his ears  as he stood  stoically  in the open doorway. his hand flew to his mouth as he tried to stifle a cry.  His legs felt like wet noodles as he fell to his knees gripping his chest, tears spilling from his eyes. She was hanging from the rafters by a noose, her wrists slit and bleeding onto the wooden flooring.   Unpaid bills lay scattered across the floor. Ezra could feel a numbness stir within him as he stared up into her cold dead eyes. "Why, why weren't you good enough!, look what you did" they screamed at him. her glossy eyes staring straight through him. A good son would know what to do, he wouldn't be frozen in fear.  A good son would cut her down and try to breath life back into her body. But he couldn't seem to move.  Instead all he could think was that this was somehow his fault. Ezra stood there for what seemed like hours.

[imsonormalipromise]

Everyone needs to read this right now, especially their character analyses

Still thinking about how understanding what happened in the S3-S4 relational narratives requires you suspend the belief that the last two (soon to be 3) seasons of Stranger Things are designed to stand alone.

With S1 and S2, the seasons existed as standalone entities—S2 was a sequel yes, but it wasn't a direct narrative extension of the action that occurred in the season before. You could watch Season 2 with only a bit of context from the first season (one boy got kidnapped and taken by the monster into another dimension, the girl from the lab with the superpowers showed up and they worked together to save said boy, but then she disappeared and was presumed dead) and watch the second season with little issue.

Its not the same with Seasons 3-5. If anything...it helps when analyzing to imagine Seasons 3-5 as one "season" in the same way S1 and S2 exist as single entities; the Duffers have already confirmed its true for Seasons 4-5, but it gets a lot easier to follow arcs and action, particularly for the youngest characters, if you stop trying to find coherence in single-season stories and look at each season as three parts of a whole.

This is true across the board, but it's particularly true in the case of understanding Byler, both as individuals and a pairing (though the full buildup of their romantic arc will take us across all 5 seasons). Understanding why S3 feels like you just got dropped into nonsense with them specifically (after two seasons of Michael "I'm the only one who cares about Will" Wheeler and Will "I am central to the story even when I'm off screen" Byers) is because The Duffers took the risk of introducing a brand new set of conflicts to the youngest characters: namely, ongoing romantic relationships, personal identity crises and sexuality...only without resolving the conflict and action in the 8-9 episodes they usually do, which is why you feel frustrated by it.

Basically: Season Three was the season where we set up the relational problems that need to be fixed—we just have three entire seasons to work through them, which means its gonna look bad at the start and good as we work through the problem (over the course of a few seasons) to get to the solution.

forewarning: ferociously long post ahead (with headers for clarity)

Will’s Arc: A (Queer) Coming of Age

With Will, the problem re-introduced in S3 is that he feels different from his peers, and not just because he's gay; its because 1) he is in love with Mike in a way that is more genuine than we are being presented in the third season (that "sandbox" "puppy love" "break up and makeup" summer fling energy that S3 has) and 2) he is unwilling to step into the lie of "maturity" as its being presented in the story, aka giving up things like hanging out with his friends over focusing on relationships or giving up games (DnD in particular).

(sidebar: I wrote another analysis touching on the above here).

A lot of people I've met who watch the show casually say things like "it just seems like he's not able to grow up like his friends" and even "he's falling behind," but I think that's on the right track while missing the point: the reason Will is written as "refusing to grow up" is because he is the character that represents the rebellion of The Duffer's heart and interests, and both of the things that seem like they would be a bad because they make his character different in the narrative are actually surprisingly positive for his "three season" arc...if you understand what the ongoing themes of Stranger Things are.

With Will, the “problem” in the story exists because he is the one who represents being weird/the outcast/queer and not giving into the social pressure to “let go” of that—he loves another boy, is more emotional than his peers and loves nerdy things like his tabletop board game and refuses to deny that to himself, no matter how brutalizing that is for him and his feelings. In that way, he is the character who “represents” the sentiment of The Duffers themselves—he is a nerd, a child at heart, and he has no problem taking DnD and anything else into “adulthood,” (looking at you “yeah, yeah I really did” during the rain fight) the same way The Duffers have.

That said: as we move into season 4, Will is presented with an evolution of this conflict—he wants to continue to be honest with and about himself, his feelings, and his interests…but it comes in direct conflict with his understanding of his peers & Mike, whom he loves.

We see this conflict show up repeatedly in Will’s actions in S4, especially in regards to the painting, which is the physical representation of both his love of Mike and his embracing of his nerdiness. Will shows up to the airport with his painting in spite of not speaking to Mike because his heart is to be honest and true-to-self regardless of anyone else—you even see this as he takes the painting on the road when they plan on going back to Hawkins, after he makes up with Mike. The problem is though (and this plays into the whole “we want you to feel like you lost” sentiment The Duffers spoke about, as S4 is the “down” before the “up”resolution of the whole narrative) that Will he realizes that his desire to be honest is getting in the way of (his perception of) the happiness of the people he loves, so he decides to betray his character and break the first cardinal rule of The Party…to tell his first lie.

There are plenty of phenomenal analyses on other aspects of Will’s connection to Vecna/the UD and the love triangle dynamic at play across this app so I’ll leave that alone here (I do have many thoughts on why the above makes Henry Creel the perfect villain foil to Will specifically), but: for the sake of understanding Will’s relational narrative arc, it’s critical to understand that our “low” for him is the betrayal of his ongoing S3 character—and that him undermining his self-honesty, nerdiness and love for Mike are the things that The Duffers have set themselves up to resolve in S5.

The resolution for Will is to re-embrace his differences —to realize that lying to yourself and other people about who you are and what you love (both in terms of “nerdy” interests and his queerness) is not who he wants to be, no matter how hard it is to stand up for in the wake of adversity—along with embracing the power of real love, which is also an ongoing theme the Duffers have set up in their relationships beginning in Season 3.

Now…on to Michael.

Mike’s Arc: Finding Yourself & Embracing What Makes You Different

—anyone with a single toe in this fandom knows that Mike Wheeler is one of the most divisive characters in this story when it comes to deciding 1) what his motivations are and 2) what his desires will be, but (and bare with me on this)…I think that’s kind of the point of his story. Mike’s “three season” arc is about him moving through a confusion of identity into someone who can embrace himself while addressing the things he is most insecure about—namely; being seen, being useful, and (very, very likely) the fact that the person who makes him feel most secure, seen, useful and loved is another boy.

There are several context clues that give credence to the fact that the reason Mike feels so wishy-washy / lacking in depth is because his struggle is not knowing how to find his place in the world, though you have to go further back than S3 to find them. Let me explain.

From the literal pitch of the show, there has always been an undercurrent of self-doubt and insecurity in Mike; his desire to escape the weight of feeling insecure has been a driving factor in his actions since before he was even on the screen, and it is impossible to understand what motivates him without first understanding that.

With Mike, his actions across all seasons have been weighed down by his desire to escape his insecurities through action—and as he’s gotten older, what he’s used to escape those insecurities (to be someone like the paladin he plays in DnD) has evolved and shifted, ranging through everything from turning the world (no pun intended) upside down to find Will; being willing to sacrifice his life to save Dustin from bullies; using any weapon he could find to fight a baby demogorgon; and wanting to be a heroic knight who protects the perceived vulnerable girl once he starts dating Eleven.

The point is: Mike’s deepest core need is to assuage his insecurities by doing whatever he can to be a good person—and when he feels like can’t do anything or protect the people he loves…he spirals. That’s been true since the start of his character…and everyone from The Duffers to Finn Wolfhard himself has mentioned it.

Now. With that baseline established, let’s talk Season 3.

Ironically enough, a lot of people feel like Mike’s character has “fallen off” because he, by the sake of all appearances, has achieved all the things he is supposed to want—namely a girlfriend, which (at least in his mind) is the physical embodiment of successfully “addressing” his core fears.

Because Mike has all the external markings of a well-adjusted kid—he comes from a wealthy family, has a solid group of friends (who are also mostly now striving for social normalcy) and even a girlfriend—he seems to have addressed what many people even in real life believe is the end of most arcs & the fulfillment of the fantasy. For Mike, the appearance of his S3 life seems to have assuaged the fears at the root of several of his insecurities, including the desire to be needed, the desire to protect, the desire to be useful, and the desire for acceptance…all because now he’s saved El and has her at his side, and having a girlfriend means he has everything a good, well-adjusted guy is supposed to want.

Or…does it?

With how The Duffers set up the story (with S3 as the introduction of a new conflict for every major character), the answer they’re giving you based on how Mike interacts with other characters is no—having a girlfriend and acting “mature” doesn’t solve anything, especially if the core problem of you having an insecure identity while being dishonest with yourself isn’t addressed…and it’s the arc of Mike learning that “lesson” that we find ourselves dropped into moving into Season 3.

Beginning in S3, the war on Mike’s insecure self-concept comes at him on two fronts: on the one side, El, who started her journey needing Mike because of her background but now has no real need for any of the things he so desperately wants to provide as a means to validate himself, and on the other Will, whose deep familiarity and history with Mike combined with his confidence in his own identity presents Mike with a challenge of self-reflection that he doesn’t exactly feel ready for yet.

(sidebar: my post on how Mike's arc is intrinsically tied to a subversion of the "Born Sexy Yesterday" trope is a helpful expansion on things I talk about here).

We see this in how Mike gets frustrated with Max for giving El the space and language to not need him (undermining his role in her life as someone who she needs to protect/guide her); we see it in how he says cruel things when Will behaves in a way that challenges the actions Mike has taken to be “mature” (how he insults Will for not also wanting a girlfriend / still wanting to play the games that set them apart as nerds/different); and we see it in how Mike still goes out of his way to fix those relationships in the best way he can—because he knows on some level that what he’s doing in several moments isn’t in alignment with who he wants to be, even though they are both presenting him with radical internal challenges.

Ironically enough, Dustin does a great job of summarizing the two sides of Mike's internal conundrum in what he says to Steve about Robin—Mike, somewhat like Steve, is struggling between what is socially acceptable in a partner (or "cool") and what he actually wants and enjoys in one—and as El and Will evolve, so does Mike's internal conflict about how he perceives their places in his world.

Between El’s supernatural abilities and rapidly growing autonomy making him obsolete to her in all the areas that matter to Mike (see: the ability to protect, be useful, and be seen) and Will’s reminding him that at his core he is just as much of a nerd as Will is, Mike finds himself feeling more confused and insecure than ever…and that is the internal conflict we see him end S3 battling.

The evolution of Mike’s narrative arc past the introduction of this internal conflict doesn’t happen until is the Byers/Hopper move to Lenora though…when he is literally left alone to process what that intense summer brought to light for him—which is the note we're left on as we move into the next phase of Mike's evolution in S4.

In S4, the development of Mike figuring out what he wants and needs from his relationships + the kind of person he wants to be becomes a lot more external—we see him going through a series of code switches as he tries to manage the ever changing landscape of his self-perception, where has started journey toward self-acceptance but is still insecure about following through with it.

We see this in the way he has now joined The Hellfire Club and shows sincere signs of accepting his interests and "outcast" status, but still looks forlorn when Lucas says “I’m tired of being bullied / I thought you wanted things to be different too” (Lucas’ struggles with some aspects of performing normalcy the way Mike does S4).

We see it in the way he shows up to Lenora dressed in what he thinks he’s should be wearing rather than as himself / the way he continues performing his relationship with El throughout that first day (and how he says it was Will who "sabotaged" things by being that same kind of radical honest about his feelings we talked about before)...only for the events of the day to spur him into meaningful honesty with both El and Will (to varying degrees of success) mere hours later.

We even see it in the way Mike seemed to have been “turning over a new leaf” once he and El fought, to the point he was okay with them ending the “normalcy” performance of their romance…right up until Argyle’s paranoia while burying Unknown Hero Agent Man struck the fear of god back into him (aka making him worry he was letting El down by not protecting her—aka tapping into one of his core fears).

Basically: Mike is leaning into accepting the things that make him different in little ways, but is still struggling to step into that identity fully—aka he is still using perceived social acceptability as a shield, even though he no longer holds as tightly to being perceived as normal. (Even Finn himself often jokes about Mike “just trying to be normal,” which I think is a good, simple explanation of what’s happening—that said, if we take that reading and combine it with those “narrative goals” I mentioned The Duffers have earlier…Mike trying to be normal is an issue to be resolved, not an identity to be embraced. But…let’s move on).

By the time we get to the infamous van scene, we’ve watched Mike struggle through the two sides of his inner conflict for the entire season now, and felt him very gently succeed at switching into a more honest version of himself (who doesn’t need a girlfriend as a shield / can embrace his “otherness” in the same way Will does) right up until his inherent desires to be needed and useful come rearing up the second El is in danger.

It’s why we see him look pleased (but also marred with conflict) when Will looks confident, happy and radiant talking about “playing dnd and Nintendo for the rest of their lives…” and why him being honest in that scene is actually a huge moment for him, because rather than being vague about what has been plaguing him for two seasons now (trying to be “normal” just because he feels insecure) Mike is finally verbalizing the internal conundrum of his now two seasons of looking critically at his insecurities.

Now—I could spend all day digging into just that bit of narrative alone—the way Mike finally externalizing his insecurities to be processed with Will rather than acting on them and hurting people unintentionally is a giant leap for him, and how when Will says “you’re sacred of losing her” Mike’s nod is an acknowledgement that Will is right…but his face is saying there’s more to that fear than he’s acknowledging—

—but for the sake of this analysis of the narrative arcs, the van scene is most important because it’s when the S4 “it feels like you lost” moment begins for Mike…and that’s because it matches up directly with the “you feel like you lost” moment for Will: him lying about the painting.

When Will lies about the painting—saying that his feelings and the art that (as I said before) represents 1) his love of Mike, 2) his embracing of his nerdiness and 3) that radial self-honestly Mike so admires Will for—it throws a wrench into Mike’s internal revelations because Will is essentially saying that the relationship that Mike was slowly realizing he used to assuage his insecurities (his relationship with Eleven) is actually what lines up best with "who he wants to be," which throws Mike’s slow growth toward Will + honesty about what (and who) he wants to be into a tail spin.

From Will’s lie onward, Mike is thrown into moment after moment of conflicting emotions and dire circumstances as well—and given that Mike's deep terror of losing people comes up strongest when the people he loves are in danger, it’s only downhill for Mike’s growth toward self actualization from here. In that sense, (much Jonathan's S4 omissions of his truths/fears to Nancy leading to Nancy's regression into complacency / social conformity with Steve), its Will's lie that leads us directly into the “you feel like you lost” moment for Mike: him moving back into "conforming" territory and confessing his love to El in the SBP.

The monologue (at least in terms of the narrative arc The Duffers are writing) is Mike’s “losing” moment because it’s when he has enough self-revelation to realize that being with a girl as a shield for his insecurities is no longer what he wants...but the drive he has to be useful, protect and love any way he can (on top of Will’s urging + lie) leave him feeling like his only option is stepping into the person he was at the start of S3.

In this moment, we see Mike say exactly what someone who is "acting normal” about loving his girlfriend and wanting to save her would….even though romantic love with El (and the socially-acceptable romantic relationship he has with her) are not what he really wants, and what we will watch crumble moving into S5.

Essentially: Mike having a moment of dissonance of that magnitude after an entire season of looking toward Will was what set us up to see all those "external markings of normalcy" Mike has held onto and had started grating against for two seasons now fall apart, given what we know about those core messages/themes/child-at-heart values the Duffers hold and keep at the heart of their show.

As of the end of S4, we can already see how this "regression" into his old self is not going to hold—the fact that everything Mike did to save El is rooted 1) in a lie and 2) not in alignment with Mike evolving understanding of his core desires makes sure of that.

We even see the beginnings of this "low" being resolved in Mike's arc in how Mike & El are not speaking (even with the 'resolution' of their surface-level S4 conflict with Mike's love confession) and how Mike is glued to Will's side even before Vecna is mentioned–which is how we've been set up to see the resolution of Mike's arc in S5.

With all this in mind, it becomes a bit clearer that the resolution of Mike's arc is him moving through the confusion of identity we've watched him go through from S3 forward and into someone who can embrace who he is what he truly loves without fear of going against what is expected—aka finding the courage not to conform.

Mike as a character is a lesson in how doing what you think you're supposed to (aka what is "normal") is often at odds with who you are and what makes you the happiest—and the only way to self-actualize is to move past your insecurities and into someone who can be confident embracing what (and who) they really want...even when it means stepping out of line from what you’ve grown up believing would do the self-actualizing for you.

Final Thoughts

Both Mike and Will's relational arcs revolve around an embracing of what makes them different—in terms of their (highly likely) mutual queerness, yes, but also in terms of them making self-actualized peace with being nerdy "children at heart" in much the same way The Duffer Brothers themselves are.

If Will represents a person who struggles because they refuse to deny themselves their identity, Mike represents a person who struggles because they don’t understand their identity, and are walking around just trying to do whatever they can to get along (because they haven’t been presented with the inciting conflict that will move them into self-revelation & growth).

Both of these internal conflicts are narrative arcs that have been built into the coming of age stories of both halves of Byler—and though we are currently sitting at the "low" of both of their arcs as of the end of Season 4, the setup and though-line for them finding themselves (and real, honest love with each other) has been clearly set up for exploration in Season 5.

—if you managed to get through all of this, I commend you. And yes, there are a million other things to be explored between these two, but...I enjoy sorting through the thematic / "moral of the story" through-lines in all my media, so of course I was gonna do it for for Byler!

[flutishly]

When “unliked” doesn’t mean “unlikable”, or, Expanded thoughts on Janine Teagues

I’ve been rewatching Abbott Elementary quite a bit these past few days. It’s not an organized rewatch, but a sporadic, messy mishmash of a few episodes from season 1 and mostly episodes from season 2, in no particular order (and I’ve rewatched some of the same episodes a few times already, even in the same evening). The more I rewatched, the more I found myself recognizing just how much I love Janine - something I’ve already posted about - and recognizing just how much the show leans into the idea that Janine is not well-liked by many (if not most) of her peers. And it got me thinking about the differences between “unliked” characters and “unlikable” characters, particularly in modern television.

At the peak of “peak TV” discourse (ugh), critics and cultural writers loved to talk about antiheros, unlikable (men) characters who were fairly obviously not good people, but compelling protagonists. But Abbott Elementary somewhat flips the script. Janine is a character who is demonstrably unliked by several of her colleagues, with the show’s writing often teasing her directly. And yet she remains the protagonist and the viewer is still clearly supposed to be rooting for her.

Janine’s radical optimism is easily mocked. Her insistence on believing that things can happen by sheer intention is taken down in both plot-direct and -indirect ways. Her tendency to rush to try to fix everything is shown to irritate those around her, though they also depend on it. Her chattiness and outward friendliness exhaust some of her more jaded fellow teachers. Some even go so far as to comment dismissively on how precisely they dislike Janine, whether they’re side characters brought on for one episode or part of the main cast. Ava in particular is often very vocal about her dislike of Janine (even if some of it is obviously performative and there’s a seed of genuine appreciation or admiration at the core of their relationship), but she’s not alone; in season 2, we see numerous occasions of Melissa rather unkindly pillorying Janine or shooting her down. Time and again, we see examples of people simply not liking Janine or not having the patience for her. We see Janine struggling to make friends. We see Janine struggling to connect with fellow teachers. We see Janine struggling to gain recognition for her work. Season 2 in particular is filled with such cases or situations where people are outright mean to Janine, which can often feel especially jarring given the show’s general “feel-good” tone. 

And yet despite all of these obvious textual examples of being “unliked”, Janine is not “unlikable” by any stretch of the imagination. Her intensity is also her greatest asset, which the show demonstrates again and again. Her passion and devotion are looked upon with love by Jacob, Gregory, and even Erica. We see Janine solve problems, do her best to stretch out of her comfort zone, and grow as a person. We see that she’s not trying to change her personality; her growth is about finding space for herself after a lifetime of giving it to others, but this has nothing to do with how she presents herself to the world. (I think this can also be seen in how the show treats her fashion choices, but that’s a bit of a tangent.) 

Janine is a character that the viewer is meant to generally like, whether or not everyone necessarily loves her or sees themselves in her (the way that I rather undeniably do). Janine is still very much the main character of the show and much of the narratives presented surround her relationships with her coworkers, which often do center on their respect for her. The show is not trying to cast her as an antihero or irritating “love to hate her” sort of character. She doesn’t have the cringe factor of a character like Michael Scott of The Office, or even Leslie Knope’s obvious over-the-top humor (though Leslie is probably the closest mapping, at least the Leslie of later, more settled seasons of Parks and Recreation). Earnest characters - and people - are easy to mock in an era of cynicism, but it shouldn’t be the case. 

Yes, I wish that Abbott Elementary could be a bit kinder to Janine, truthfully, and to Jacob as well (though he is much cringier...), but I still appreciate that the show is demonstrating how even when a character is disliked by many around her, there are those who still love and cherish her. That maybe the problem with others disliking Janine has more to do with those characters’ issues than Janine’s personality itself. That being “unliked” says nothing about whether the character - the person - is inherently “unlikable” or worthy of love. And I find this helpful when I look at the fandom too, where it often feels like Janine is forgotten as an independent character and is compelling only in the context of her relationships with others. It almost doesn’t matter how others view or appreciate her character. Ultimately, I will continue to love and appreciate her character for all that she is and all that she represents.

[no-psi-nan]

Teruhashi analysis iceberg meme 🧊

[paimonial-rage]

Hi! hope you're doing well. If you still do character analyses, could you do one with Eula? I'd love to hear your take on her, particularly her character flaws and her coping mechanisms (if you're comfortable with it ofc). Just a side note and you don't have to do this if you don't want to, but can you contrast her with Kazuha? I feel like they reflect each other somewhat but I can't quite put a pin on it.

First off, let me apologize for taking so long with this. It took way more reading up than I was expecting. I’m going to be honest and admit that I am not 100% confident in my analysis as I did not read everything, so there still may be things that are lacking or wrong. Take everything with a grain of salt.

Eula is a very interesting person as a whole. For everything she went through in her life, one would expect her to be a misanthrope, someone that has closed off her heart to the world. You would think she would be bitter or hurt by the way she has been treated by others. Eula proves to be the exact opposite, though? While she purposefully puts on an icy exterior, deep down she shows a very pure face to the world. She doesn’t avoid people. She’s always open to helping. She’s kind. She’s forgiving. She worries what others think of her, etc.

As for character flaws, I don’t think she really has any. Though I’m not sure what you would define as a character flaw. As for her coping mechanisms, it seems to me that she puts on an icy exterior with promises of revenge to give her the strength to deal with the prejudice of others. “If I present myself to be a haughty noble, I will not be hurt when people treat me that way.” That being said, I feel that while it may have started off as a coping mechanism, it’s more of a quirk now.

The thing with coping mechanisms is that for it to be one, one has to be coping with something. Eula does not show much evidence of being insecure of her background. While I’m not saying she wears it with pride, she doesn’t hide from it either. She doesn’t show any signs of getting down on herself when treated with prejudice, but lets those things slide off of her easily. In my opinion, she’s a very strong person that doesn’t seem to be bothered by her past anymore.

As for how she contrasts with Kazuha, I admit I’m having a hard time seeing where they relate. If I had to point out one thing, it’s how Eula faces her problems head on while Kazuha tends to avoid his. Where Eula is like a mountain, Kazuha is like the wind. Eula directly interacts with the people of Mondstadt despite their prejudice. Kazuha, though having multiple calls to stay in Inazuma and connect with his past and clan, is always seen traveling.

At least, that’s how I see they connect. If you could describe to me how you feel they relate, could you let me know? I’d love to see them in a different way.

[monzterbatz]

thinking about the relationship between bot and mephone oh my god (analysis post)

so, it's known how it's heavily implied bot is mephone's favorite contestant in iii, right? there's quite a bit of evidence to back this up:

• "listen yinyang, you're great. possibly my second favorite contestant still here!" <- well, what's his first favorite?

• when bot gets eliminated: "any chance you'd... want to co-host?" mephone obviously wants them to stay and is upset when they DO leave:

• "that's what happens when two alliances get SO caught up in their own drama, that they force out the greatest player!" <- he thinks they were the greatest player out of everyone in iii

• + him standing up for them with the springtastic contract ofc ("i don't like how they treated you.")

well yeah, that's all nice and dandy, you may or may not have realised that already, but then you think about... why specifically is bot his favorite out of everyone? well...

what if it's because bot is the only contestant that mephone didn't make?

what if its because they werent restricted by his creativity and basic personality ideas/stereotypes like how the others were made, outside of the narrow mindset he inherited from watching just reality tv in his past? what if it's because bot is also a robot that was made for a specific purpose, just like him? what if he looks up to the fact bot found themself and CHOSE who they were, something that mephone always wanted to do but couldn't because of cobs?

mephone looks up to bot because they're something that he always strived to be; something unique. they might even have felt more alive to him subconsciously, which is ironic cause they're a literal robot, but that also makes them familiar to him in a sense; mephone grew up in solidarity next to a bunch of lifeless or barely sentient technology and no people from the outside world except for steve cobs (which is DEFINITELY not saying much) so to see another robot that's actually full of life must be something new to him, something special

oh yeah also the fact bot had actual good parental figures 😭 definitely something mephone wishes he has

it's honestly quite heartwrenching to see the parallels between the two, and the fact bot might be one of the only ones who survived after ii17 makes it hurt so much more considering both of them lost everyone else they cared about; they're both kinda in the same boat in some ways

but yeah thats abt it, thank you if u read this far lol 🙏 making analysis posts like these r rlly fun these two r silly

[pythoria]

i don't think you can fully understand astarion until you do an origin run tbh, or at least watch a video of his dream and all the responses you can give. it's hinted at in the final dialogue with cazador with his "you've never forgiven anything", but astarion wasn't some indisciplined brat who "deserved" or "kinda asked for it". He would apologise and beg for forgiveness, he would mind cazador's wishes and schedule and be constantly anxious about it, and the only reason that he got the worst of his wrath wasn't because his personality is just abrasive and it angered cazador, it was purely for entertainment, because he begged the prettiest, he screamed the loudest, etc. You can make the argument that he was the most vulnerable of the spawn, the least powerful, the runt of the pack.

Sure, he wasn't a great person while he was alive what with all his magistrate bs, but he was young and a bit of a dick, not evil. When he was alive and kinda abused some of his privilege as a magistrate that was posturing, underneath it there was always weakness and self-doubt. And when he was stripped of that little power he had, he became his "truest" (or rather basest) self, which was a scared boy who wanted to make it big or impress his superiors. On some level I think he admired Cazador for all the power he had, and we know that at the ritual "he wanted to be just like him". I don't think he would ever purposefully anger someone he looked up to, even with all the shit he was forced to do. For 200 years he was an obedient puppet, and it was his shortcomings, not his defiance that earned him all the torture.

So when you meet him after the nautiloid crash, you aren't seeing a single genuine personality trait of his. Not until the love confession in act 2. All you're seeing for the majority of 2 acts is a mask, a character he created, as well as him in full survival mode. Of course he doesn't want you helping innocents, this might be his only chance to escape, he doesn't want that derailed. Honestly, you don't really see the "real" him until after you've killed cazador. For anyone who finished his quest, y'all know how different he acts in the graveyard scene. He's uncharacteristically soft, even nice, and yes he's angry and he can't undo centuries of suffering, but you've helped him come back to himself. By act 3 he already stops rlly dissaproving of helping people, and when talking to the gurs he's defensive because he doesn't want to get their hopes up and dissapoint them, not because he wouldn't give anything to help. Astarion at his core is sassy, sure, but he is undoubtedly *nice*. He's a good person, he feels so much guilt for what he's done and sympathy for his victims, and he *has* to push it all down lest the psychological pain alone kills him. He likes killing, sure, but more as a sport than a past time. And honestly i could go on and on but let's leave it at that for now.