#a somewhat unserious serious analysis

[kafkaoftherubbles]

话匣子：《致不灭的你》 日语名与英译名的小小想法

Due to what I do for a living (which my extra ass adamantly refers to as "language alchemy"), I easily fixate on certain features of languages and word choices. My favorite subtitles are dual-combo of Chinese and English because I get to compare notes between the two while watching stuff (reading Chinese subs while watching in English is a lot more effortful, and it risks distracting me from the show itself already). I even humor myself by giving characters "more authentic" (your mileage may vary) Chinese names that aren't transliterated (I was supposed to place a record of the names here, in this blog, but I balked in the end).

The point is: I have some thoughts about the Japanese title, 不滅のあなたへ, and its (official?) English translated title. There are two separate thoughts!

(1) Thoughts on the English-translated name first:

The most literal translation for 不滅のあなたへ would have been "to (へ) an immortal (不滅の) you (あなた)". As my non-TYE-watching best friend once pointed out, "Why the hell is the English name translated to what it is, though?"

The original rationale would have to come from the translator(s) who coined it, but I have a pretty strange interpretation of my own.

In English, there are forms of address to people in certain roles. The most famous example would be "Your Majesty," from Latin maiestas (greatness). Others one can easily think of will be "Your (Royal/Imperial) Highness", "Your Excellency", "Your Holiness", et al.—ya know, fancy schmancy human-created hierarchies. You catch my drift.

The "Your" in "Your Majesty" meant it as a second-person address, while the second word is whatever quality one associates with that role. "Majesty." "Holy". "Excellence."

And that is exactly how I interpret the English translation. Fushi is eternal, innit? So, "Eternity." And they are the immortal caretaker of their world's inhabitants. As much as I personally like to zero in on Fushi's humanity, I'd be remiss to forget their canonical divinity (or alien-ness! Meheheh!). They are necessarily seen as "an important figure occupying an important role" the way monarchs and popes are seen.

So to me, the English translation is a deferential address to Fushi.

I don't think the translator(s) who coined the translated name would ever see my post, but on that off-chance—however slim—they are reading it now? I wanna say, as a translator to another: brutha I love what you translated, man

(2) Thoughts on the Japanese title

The title is simple enough. "To an Immortal You." But it can also be read in a very... romantic or intimate way. The sort of "romantic" I'd expect from a poet or something!

It's kinda simple. あなた can also be used, by women (not sure about men/masculine genders), to mean "dear." An address for thy lovers.

So when interpreting it in that sense, doesn't this title become "To My Undying Beloved?"

Now, I don't pretend to know who, in this entire story, would be that person who calls Fushi "my eternal beloved". I honestly think that person is Ooima herself, ha! Maybe it's us, the readers. Or maybe it's the inhabitants under Fushi's care, or it really is one specific character (throw your bets!) in the story. Either way, it's fucking poetic, romantic, and/or poetically romantic.

---

Combining these two interpretations yields a pretty amazing picture, doesn't it? Imagine that! Someone in a wooden cabin sometime in winter, hunching over the table from their chair by a flickering candle. Writing a long, long letter to an undying beloved. A moving letter, written in experiential emotions and emotive experiences.

Perhaps it was narrated by the lives and life of this world, meant for its immortal caretaker. Perhaps it was written by an immortal being, meant for his successor.

Or perhaps it was written by the immortal themself, addressing all the lives and people they had, have, and will acquire. Because by being a part of them, these lives have been immortalized.

And as any letter penned by someone who fancies themself a wee bit of poetic flourish, it starts,

To, Your Eternity ...

----

Thank you for reading my ramble.

[crepes-suzette-373]

There is a panel that I didn't bring up in my "Ichiji's thuggish language" analysis because I had doubts about it. But with Kizaru's dramatic speech in the newest chapter (1124), I'm feeling a bit more confident about my analysis so I'm just gonna mention this now.

(still a bit nervous about jumping the gun, but hey, my theories are just for fun)

Sanji's bros don't really talk often enough, but the impression I'm getting is that for the most part Ichiji is the only one who does not use slang/informal language.

There's two times where he says words that sounds rough/informal/not polite. One is when they all got caught in candy (see the linked analysis above), and the other one is this:

The way he says "I've got to go (to my brother's wedding)" is 行かなきゃ. This is very casual/informal. The more polite form should be 行かないと or 行かなければ (the latter is the more formal one).

Originally I had wondered if maybe I was wrong, and this means that his rough talk is not a big deal after all. But the latest chapter reminded me of the trope of "someone who has been putting on an act gets provoked into anger so strongly that it breaks the mask and their real self comes out".

I'll go back to Kizaru in a bit, but following that line of thought, then this might mean that Ichiji is genuinely so angry that his fake polite attitude dropped, just like what happened in the candy scene. In that case, he's not just intimidating the guy. He really meant it when he said that he needs to go to the wedding and this fight holding him up is upsetting him.

Following that, if being held up makes him that angry, it possibly implies that when he says this ⤵️ he wasn't being sarcastic, but he might have actually meant it too:

Why, though? That remains to be seen, but there's strong suggestion that really weird stuff is happening here. (More exhibit of weird stuff in my list, scroll down to the Germa specific stuff)

Hiding this just in case of spoilers/you're not caught up yet.

So in chapter 1124, Akainu calls up the Marines at Egghead and Kizaru picks up because everyone else are still downed by haki. Akainu accused Kizaru of slacking, and Kizaru exploded. Having to obey the higher ups' orders to get rid of Vegapunk had really hurt him.

Kizaru was using his typical casual/somewhat playful manner of talking at first. Dragging out the end of the words (imagine something like "you knooooowww") and using omae-san お前さん (informal) to say "you". But then the way he talks changes. He drops the dragging words, and switched to using temee てめェ (super rude) as "you" as he went ballistic on Akainu.

Also, the translation seems to go for a more polite term, but Kizaru calls Akainu kusogaki クソガキ. It's probably more precisely "shitty brat". He really got mad.

Anyway, Kizaru has already dropped the dragging tone a few other times when he gets serious. This gives me the impression that Kizaru's "cheery" act was fake. This laid back unserious goof act is the typical trope of someone who is actually dissatisfied with life, but adopts this personality because they see no possibility of changing, so they might as well just go with the flow. I see this pretty often in manga or games.

He was already like this when he first met Vegapunk (as shown in the flashbacks), so it's very likely that he's already given up for a long time.

I have no proof of that though, so for now at the very least we know that his friendship with Vegapunk is genuine and he was faking a lot of his behaviour during Egghead.

So, is Ichiji hiding something else? Without any additional info, all that's "provable" with the above panels is that Ichiji is actually more aggressive than he lets on, but has to pretend to be polite because of his status. There's other little gestures that do give off the impression that he's hiding something else, but there's nothing clear yet.

With other superficial similarities with Kizaru (constantly wearing sunglasses + light/laser beam attacks) added on top, the parallel is kind of intriguing to ponder.

[cursedvibes]

Idk if I’m the only one who feels a bit sentimental about ch240-243. It’s just got me thinking about how there’s actually someone for everyone. Like you know how people might think they’re weird or they’re being perceived as strange and off-putting by those around them but, in fact, there will ALWAYS be someone who matches your vibe and celebrates your individuality. What a beautiful thing connection is.

I’m not even sure if it’s intended by Gege but the last 7? chapters have been greatly influenced by themes of loneliness and connection and (in my opinion) Takaba and Kenjaku are no exception. Both somewhat lonely in what they do, in what they’re passionate about, both are misunderstood and perceived as “weirdos” by those around them, finding each other and being able to connect through comedy, giving each other what they longed for (Kenny’s “it’s been centuries since my heart danced like this” and Takaba’s “my dream stage… I don’t want this to end”). It’s just… wow?

Also I saw a little analysis about how there are two roles in Japanese comedy-duos, basically one person is telling the jokes and acting weird and the other is acting more serious by fending off the partner’s jokes, so in ch.243 it was Kenny and Takaba, respectively. Takaba’s talent as a comedian shone through as he’s generally more serious and his previous attempts to act as the one who cracks the jokes all the time led him to failure (ch241). But now, thanks to Kenny taking up the “unserious” role he was finally able to finesse his performance. This is such a unique battle out of everything we previously had… “I don’t want this to end” me too Takaba… me too…

P.S. im kinda manifesting that one day you’ll write a fic about these two 🥲 I absolutely adore your works

There's always someone out there who matches you perfectly and it might be the person you least expect, like Japan's worst terrorist or a depressed comedian. Sometimes it also might take you a millennia to find that person, but that makes it all the more worth it when you do.

No but seriously, I totally understand you. It's amazing how Gege managed to build up such a deep connection between Kenjaku and Takaba and thereby not only gave us some much needed further characterization for one of our main villains, but also fleshed out someone who used to be only a comedic side character. Although the fact that Takaba would have more depth was already foreshadowed in his introduction. If anything, him becoming a comedic sidekick was more surprising.

The focus on loneliness, love and being able to connect with other people in the last chapters was very intentional I think and I honestly like how much the approach to these themes differs between Kenjaku and Sukuna. Besides my problems with the Gojo vs Sukuna fight, those topics were brushed on there, but not really explored in depth. Until we got Takaba vs Kenjaku. The main difference here and what allowed us to get a deeper understanding of the themes and how they relates to these two characters is that contrary to Sukuna's fights, Takaba and Kenjaku's fight was more a dialogue where they both discussed their feelings on building connections and became a better person through it. Both of them learned something new (also about themselves) and came out of it as changed people. It's not just one person barraging the other with their issues or slapping their egos around.

Yorozu vs Sukuna is very self-serving. Yorozu is lonely and she thinks having Sukuna by her side will help her, but she is ultimately not interested in really connecting to him, she just projects her own issues onto him. She says herself that having his corpse would be enough. She wants to own him, her attraction to him is because she sees herself in him and her love is a love of herself, there isn't really anything romantic or sexual to it. Similarly, Sukuna has no interest in her either. The fight is only there so he can try out the new CT he just got. Both are essentially in their own world and while it is nice that Yorozu makes a weapon for him, they don't actually connect. Yorozu wants to teach Sukuna her understanding of love, but he already has his own and neither of them budge on their positions or make concessions.

Gojo vs Sukuna is a bit difficult to summarize because it's kinda all over the place and we don't get much from either of them in terms of character development or thoughts in general until the last chapter. Still, it's again someone trying to build a one-sided connection to Sukuna, wanting to teach him love and failing. I would say Gojo is a little more successful than Yorozu because at least Sukuna acknowledges him and says he will remember him. Gojo says he didn't manage to reach Sukuna and teach him "love", but he left an emotional impact. Sukuna changed Gojo to a degree, but only so much as in he killed him and thereby shoved him off the pedestal he put himself on and what kept him from having equal relationships with people. Bit late for that and it won't actually have any long-lasting consequences for Gojo because well he's dead, but it's something. Ultimately, there is no change in Sukuna's character however. There is a physical impact on him from the fight, but not much in terms of emotions. He isn't forced to reconsider any of his positions, he isn't challenged in his character. If anything it only got reinforced because he's confirmed to be "the strongest".

Kashimo vs Sukuna is another instance of someone coming with their issues to Sukuna and pressuring him to fix them. Kashimo wants to build a connection to Sukuna and I think they are actually more genuine with their intentions than Yorozu, but there is still a one-sided connection. Their relationship isn't balanced. Sukuna is supposed to give out wisdom, but Kashimo has nothing to offer him and while it is nice that we got a deeper look into his philosophy, there is nothing he really gained from his interaction with Kashimo. We are learning new things about Sukuna, but he doesn't. I think this will only happen when we get to Yuuji vs Sukuna because Yuuji affects Sukuna on a deeper level than any of the other three. He's the only one that can meaningfully challenge Sukuna because they would finally leave the premise of Sukuna's whole worldview (strength) behind. But we'll see.

Takaba vs Kenjaku is very different. If we were to compare it to the formula of the previous fights, Takaba comes up saying "Let me teach you about love (comedy/fun)" and Kenjaku's response is "Oh I've actually been dying to hear about this. Give me your best shot." Since the start of the Yuki fight Gege has put more emphasis on showing us that Kenjaku is essentially just bored and lonely. They want to connect to people, that is the easiest way to entertain them as well and they don't actually enjoy entertainment without having anyone to share it with, but they and their longstanding goals are what's hindering them. Their plan distanced them from their closest friend and left them quite desperately searching for new companions. Their plan also motivates them to kill Culling Game players, despite them seeing it actually as a waste of potential. That's how they entered the fight. They want to be entertained and they want a new friend. Takaba offers that to them.

I think initially Takaba's offer wasn't entirely sincere, just a ploy to distract them. He might've been already interested in Kenjaku's motivations for causing all this suffering, but he didn't actually expect them to connect so well and so quickly over their shared interest in comedy. First, Takaba gets challenged however. We learn he wants a partner just as much as Kenjaku. He can't enjoy comedy anymore because he needs a partner to succeed in his performance and deep down he is actually just searching for someone who understands him. Due to getting so fixated on performing successfully and pushing himself to lean into types of performances he doesn't actually like that much (playing the funny man), just for the approval of others, he also ended up pushing the people he did perform with away. He couldn't take any criticism and only continued further down the wrong path, leaving him depressed. A less extreme version of how Kenjaku tended to isolate themselves and subconsciously worked against their own interests.

Kenjaku makes him realize what he actually wants, that he has to change himself, his approach to comedy and that he needs to actually try to connect to people and not shy away from it in fear of criticism. This is already different from the previous fights. They both have an investment in the other and want more than simply beating the other person into following their worldview.

Then we get Takaba forcing Kenjaku to reflect on themselves and what they actually want. Despite how persuasive his CT is, Kenjaku's realization that they are having fun in playing around with these silly scenarios and that they for once are actually enjoying the Culling Game for what it is (a chance to meet interesting players, not just a stepping stone for something greater) doesn't seem to be fake. The nature of his CT also makes them realize that if they want to survive they have no choice, but to open themselves up a little bit and cooperate with each other. That's when both of them finally reach their true goal.

They have to work together because that's the only way Takaba can fulfil his wish to perform comedy with a partner, someone he actually connects with and who understands him. It also provides Kenjaku with the friend they have been looking for. Someone equal (as a comedy partner would be, Takaba is able to keep up with their imagination, just how they countered his made-up scenarios earlier), who won't bore them. As Kenjaku said afterwards, they actually had fun, despite the quite mundane scenario. There was cursed energy involved, but what made them actually enjoy the show was the trading of jokes and improvisations they both had to keep up with. It doesn't need some world-shattering CT to entertain Kenjaku, they just previously lacked that connection that would make them appreciate the entertainment they are getting more.

As you said, the positions they take during the show is important here too. They started out with Kenjaku as the straight man and critic and Takaba doing goofy antics as the funny man. Both roles that don't really suit either of them, which is also part of why Takaba never managed to be funny in the past. During the show Takaba is finally able to make his true personality shine and have people understand and like him, despite how he can come off as quite serious. Kenjaku on the other hand was able to be as silly as they want to be. They kept that part of their personality down previously because it would only distract them from their goal and fulfilling their carefully curated plan. We see the evidence at the end of the chapter. As soon as Kenjaku gives into that part of their personality and gets lost in their performance with Takaba, they get taken out and their merger plan is compromised. By indulging in what they actually want, they lost control over their proclaimed long-standing goals (probably, we will see how things develop).

I've seen Kenjaku's "you were super funny" compared to Sukuna's "stand proud", but that doesn't quite work, I think. Sukuna is comparing Jogo to himself and complementing him for how much he managed to measure up, while Kenjaku is commenting on how they enjoyed their fight together or more specifically the comedy show. They reassured Takaba that he is funny, but they don't view it as him having measured up to some standard they set. That is primarily because they could only achieve that goal together. Their comedy relied on a partner and they both only had fun because they had each other. Alone it would be meaningless. The entire point of their stand-up show was that the "fight" wasn't a competition anymore.

Takaba and Kenjaku were able to become partners and form a connection because they were actually able to open up to each other and take the other's personality and character into consideration. That's what differentiates them from the previous three fights and is also why they were successful where Yorozu, Gojo and Kashimo failed.

Kenjaku is open to change and new experiences and after some convincing embraces the connection they are being offered, while Sukuna stays almost completely closed off to others (with the exception of Uraume it seems).

It really was a great fight and it's very unfortunate that it is over and ended the way it did. We'll see how things develop. I would be really interested in seeing if and how Kenjaku's connection to Takaba might influence them in the future and how they will approach their merger plan. Currently it seems like Yuuta kind of ruined all the progress in terms of character development they made thanks to Takaba, but who knows...

If you're interested, I did write a fanfic about the two, where I also vented my feelings about their relationship a bit :)

[bestworstcase]

What do you think is the point where headcanon and critical analysis kinda just blurs together?

Because it sometimes feels like they're meant to be different, but there's points where it feels like they have a tendency to overlap.

i don’t think they blur together at all except insofar as fandom meta is more often than not an exercise in dressing up elaborate headcanon as serious textual analysis; i’ve made this point before but fandom largely does not do textual analysis, and is frequently somewhat hostile to textual analysis if the reading doesn’t fit neatly into the popular fanon. fandom at its core is about transformative rather than analytical engagement with the text, whence the terms ‘headcanon’ and ‘fanon.’

if textual analysis cannot be thoroughly sourced and argued from the text, it’s poor analysis. headcanon definitionally cannot be sourced or argued from the text because it’s things that are held to be true without respect to the text; headcanon can of course derive from textual analysis through extrapolation or sandboxing but in these cases it is about doodling in the margins—it’s transformative, not analytical.

e.g. i argue that grimm are shown to be intelligent and emotional creatures with complex social organization, and the huntsmen model of ‘mindless soulless evil abominations who exist to kill humans’ is baldly wrong; that’s analysis. i also have a very lengthy document describing the social structure and function of a grimm horde in granular detail; that’s headcanon. the latter is not textually supported, it’s merely not textually refuted.

that’s why headcanon and fanon are both so often blatantly countertextual. they’re not supposed to be grounded in the text and fandom analysis is 1. generally unserious to begin with, and 2. often motivated by a desire to validate or ‘prove’ headcanon, which is a bit pointless because the point of headcanon is atextuality but also it’s the reason 95% of fandom meta is batfuck ridiculous.

i think the reason it can feel like there’s an overlap or blurriness is that serious textual analysis doesn’t have a ‘right answer’ necessarily (although it does have wrong ones: countertextual analysis is bad by definition), so you can get into situations where two serious analytical readings are wildly different or even opposed, which does somewhat resemble clashes over headcanon (or breaking from fanon). but only superficially, because analysis exists within fairly rigid bounds relative to the text and different interpretations either stay within those bounds (ie thoroughly sourced and argued from the text) or they’re garbage. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

whereas with headcanon it’s this free-for-all and whether flatly countertextual headcanon is socially acceptable depends entirely on what circles you run in. generally the tolerance for this is altogether too high for my taste.

[icedcoffeeandsunshine]

Could you do a sting eucliffe character analysis?

hello and yes ofc i can! i’m so sorry this took so long to respond to, i’ve had board exams so it’s a little bit all over the place 😅 but i hope you like!

Sting Eucliffe Character Analysis - Requested

CANON ANALYSIS

one word to describe this man ; COCKY.

but sliightly lesser so after the events of the grand magic games.

sting is definitely sometimes overconfident and arrogant however he does have an insecure side to him, as seen specifically during the alvarez arc. from believing in fighting to win, after the gmg arc, sting has been influenced to fight for his comrades and not just for the sake of that sense of victory. he also has seemingly gotten rid of his sadistic side (displayed when minerva beat lucy). throughout the anime, it’s made clear that he’s developed a caring, empathetic, protective and cheerful nature towards others and also feels a sense of responsibility as the master of his guild.

MY HEADCANONS FOR THEM

in my version of events, rogue becomes guild master instead of sting, i really feel like sting wasn’t fully mentally prepared for the responsibilities and the challenges that come with holding that title.

or maybe both become co-masters, to balance it out?

sting doesn’t like wearing full shirts (like fully covered) simply because he feels hot (temperature wise) in them, so he wears crop tops

a modern au! one is people come up to him randomly on the street and ask if he’s a kpop idol because dude literally looks like one

OH a cute one is that sting has an earring collection for his piercing but the crystalline one was a gift from weisslogia so that’s why he wears that specific one most of the time (fav one tbh)

i think sting either has some sort of adhd or is just hyperactive in general honestly

in my version of events yet again, sting is not natsu 2.0 because he’s taller one natsu is enough

i don’t think i have much for him? more so for rogue honestly, i find him to be much more interesting (don’t @ me i have a thing for broody dark haired emo-ish men)

STING IN LOVE + FRIENDSHIP

since sting is kind of insecure, i think he’s gonna have some form of communication or commitment issues simply because of his negative thoughts (“everyone’s gonna leave me one day etc”)

his love language is definitely words of affirmation

i think he’d be super protective of his loved ones

again, the insecurity plays in with when someone he loves gets hurt, he’d blame himself for not protecting them or not being strong enough to protect themselves

otherwise, this man is quite confident and low-key horny most of the time

ithink he’s like a best-friend type of lover, in the sense that the relationship would be easygoing fun and serious but at the same time unserious if that makes sense

he is, and i know i’ve said this word 25757 times but COCKY however will be the softest, sweetest, most caring boy if he truly loves you.

WHO DO I SHIP THEM WITH?

though i definitely think minerva is attracted to women, stinerva as a ship kinda makes sense to me, it works wayy better than rogue and minerva. stingyu isn’t my cup of tea really.

stings heart yearns for natsu so honorary mention to stingsu here.

as for stingue, i can see the appeal but at the same time they just give me very brotherly vibes and as someone on tumblr mentioned (can’t remember the user) i ship stingue PLATONICALLY in a context that doesn’t stem from homophobia.

sting x gray is a funny crackship honestly.

but overall i don’t think i ship sting (atleast concretely) with anyone really. i forgot to mention in my headcanons but he really just strikes me as either aroace or demisexual/ demiromnatic or JUST simply not actively looking for a relationship or a partner.

PERSONAL OPINION ABOUT THE CHARACTER

it’s not that i dislike sting but i used to find him somewhat annoying and a rip off natsu and in some aspects, i still think the same but his character development was one of the better written ones in the series. personality aside, he’s one of the hottest characters in fairy tail. he’s not my favourite character but he’s not bad either? i just want him to not be natsu 2.0-esque honestly, that’s one thing i cannot get out of my mind.



[hanzfox]

2D Aesthetic analysis of: Loom (1990)

Loom is a Lucasfilm adventure game released in 1990 that follows the story of a young Bobbit, a member of the weavers guild. This game adopts a dark aesthetic from the get-go, opting to use a complementary colour palette of dark blues and orange, with the former being the most dominant. The artistic approach taken leans towards the realistic as strongly as one can when working with the limitations of the 1990s hardware: The lineart, when used, is subtle and only accentuates the shadows or form of the object or creature represented, creating a lot of artificial detail. Furthermore, shadows and light seem to be favoured over solid colouring.

The game itself has a typical fantasy setting with guilds and magic; however, its writing is rather casual and somewhat comedic for most of it (with the exception of certain characters who are more serious in nature, like the elders). In this way, the game's direction rather contradicts its initially dark aesthetic. However, I would say that the art direction works pretty well as, in conjunction with the lighthearted writing, it juxtaposes an unserious character with a pretty serious world, which creates an element of charm for the game as a whole, which makes it more memorable and unique. It reminds me of Undertale if Undertale had a dark, serious aesthetic.

Some recurrent motifs in this game include the melodies that are used as spells (which are revealed through context and can then be used whenever the opportunity arises) and strings (which represent the guild of the main character).

[theoriginalsapphic]

Why I Believe That Byler Is Endgame (based only on what we have seen on the show). part 2

And by that, I mean: no color-coding analysis, no set props analysis, no actor interviews interpretation, no script analysis, no movies parallels analysis; nada. Only what we’ve seen on the show and nothing else.

This will use a lot of comparisons with m/leven because, despite the fact that some of you refuse to admit it, this is a love triangle.

season 3: puberty and changes

In season 1, El was found by Mike, Lucas and Dustin in the woods while searching for Will. Although the main goal of the party is to find and save Will, they also keep El safe and hidden from the laboratory and Dr. Brenner.

In season 2, Lucas and Dustin are mostly focused on Max, while, on the other hand, we see how during the whole season Mike protects Will and is showed that he has been trying to communicate with El this whole time.

mileven breakup

This is the first season in which Will and El coexist with each other in the same space, and how it affects Mike and his relationships with them. However, I want to make emphasis on the two key moments that take place this season of the two relationships: the breakup and the farewell.

The tone of the scene is unserious and carefree, with bright colors during a sunny day. The scene is not intimate; in fact, everyone reacts to El breaking up with Mike. 'Cold As Ice', a song that describes a lover who is materialistic and selfish (Mike buying a present for El instead of telling her the truth), plays in the background. Mike is left confused while El is rejoicing in the moment with Max.

The tone of the of the scene is serious and somber, with muted colors and downpouring in the background. Despite Lucas being at Mike's house as well, the scene feature only them and no one else. In the two bottom pictures, Will's expression is one of hurt and betrayal, and Mike expresses inmediate regret at the words he just said.

byler 'breakup'

She rejoices in her newfound friendship with Max.

how El reacts to her breakup

He destroys Castle Byers, a place he built with his brother after their dad left and in where he took shelter when he was trapped in the Upside Down. He looked at the place that used to make him feel emotionally and physically safe and destroyed it with a baseball bat and his bare hands.

how Will reacts to his 'breakup'

how Mike reacts to the breakups

the finale

Mike's conversation with Will

Before this episode, I was still on the fence about whether i was reading too much into it or not, but this season finale, in my opinion, confirmed that Mike probably had feelings for Will. Let me show it in images.

We know that three months had passed since the battle at Starcourt, and the Byers are moving. Even though it's not explained what happened during that period of time, it's easy to infer that Mike and Will are in somewhat good terms again.

It starts simple, with Mike askingEel if she packed her walkie and with promises of talking to her often and of whether they are going to meet each other for thanksgiving and christmas. El is about to leave, after the conversation with Mike turns awkward, but decides to turn around instead and makes their conversation serious.

Mike's conversation with El

...they kiss...

... and his face is just pure confusion. love that open closet right behind him tho

The Byers move to California, and with them, so do his girlfriend and his best friend since he was five years old; to put it simply, is a huge change in everyone's lives, but especially in Mike's life. This is one of the few times since season 3 in which we actually get to focus on mike's emotions and perspective but I believe is one of the most important moments for his characters.

Mike

[princesstalons]

A analysis dump of how I wrote pumpkin duo in the hybrid au because it's actually so insanely cool ( except its only the lmanburg arc cause I'm gonna do glatt and quackity another time because this post would just be too long )

Some important things we need to lay down about my au before I dissect this: the hybrid au is mostly about everyone being mixed with a mythical creature, Quackity at the time of being around Quackity is a Griffin, Schlatt is a Barometz, these hybrids as a species do not feel love, instead they have bonds which they use to describe their relationships with one another, here is a chart of bonds and their meanings

Hybrids also have a predator and prey system that works similarly to like, beastars, Quackity is a predator in this case and Schlatt is prey, this is very important considering their opinions on their side of the predator prey spectrum and their perception of reality due to their respective place in it, also not as important but the hybrid au has tiers that basically dictate their place socially, both Schlatt and Quackity are King Tiers which are the highest tiers right before God and Deity. Also Schlatt is known as a Corruption, they're outcasts in their species who have the opposite powers of their origin species, Schlatts a barometz so he should be able to heal and create plants, but rather than do so he withers and harms everything he touches even rotting away the flesh of people when he touches them

AIGHT NOW: from the beginning

Quackity and Schlatt already have incredibly different perceptions of reality:

In my au Quackity starts off on the more childish and playful side, he cares about his friends and he wants to cheer others up and make them happy, hes excited and fun and he doesnt care alot about the social structure of hybrid society despite technically being a King Tier, it genuinely surprises others that someone so light hearted and unserious at first encounter is such a high ranking, L'manburg sparked the start of this powerful and somewhat serious part of him, he was still very jokey and fun but he didnt view L'manburg as having fair rules, he genuinely wanted to bring change and to bring down the walls of L'manburg, make it a space of togetherness since its one of his most core values. He doesnt really percieve his existence as a hybrid, he acknowledges that it makes him big but he often forgets that hes scary and one of the most feared species of them all aside from Manticores, Dragons, Sirens, and a few others, he often forgets that he is so powerful and he doesnt care about hybrid culture, he doesnt acknowledge his role especially since he doesnt hunt others down.

Schlatt is also in this universe an unexpected candidate to run a country, although for completely opposite reasons. He is already rough around the edges, he shares Quackitys vulgarity but in a completely different tone. One important part of my writing of him is in the predator and prey spectrum: he is at the bottom of it, he is considered prey, his species is generally regarded as peaceful and hippy-like which yes does reflect their culture but it cannot reflect him in any way especially since he is a corruption, in his place in society he likely spends most of his life hearing stories of his species being eaten for fun and spending alot of his time scared of those who are considered stronger than him, he has a deep fear of predators and tries to copy them by wearing fake fangs and giving off a tough ' manly ' demeanor, he is trying to reconnect to hybrid society and bend too it

In this au Schlatt is here for power, he wants to feel powerful over predators and he wants the security he doesnt have in normal life, with Quackity he feels a mixture of security when he feels he has control over Quackity but he has immense fear of Quackity turning against him or attacking him. He doesnt love Quackity, for the most part he is using them to reach for presidency and power, he wants to be around Quackity because it makes him feel powerful having such a feared predator under his control, it's part of why his entire cabinet is predator hybrids aside from him ( Tubbo is a Baphomet, Fundy is an Enfield )

Quackity is somewhat using Schlatt aswell, hes a last case bet since George disappeared on him, in the start him and Schlatt have a purely exchange based baron bond, they mutually are only here for power, but Quackity doesnt understand Schlatts perception of his power, Quackity knows that he is here to change L'manburg and he is here to make things better, in the start he doesnt know that Schlatts motives are completely different from his

Quackity in the start is interested and curious, but Schlatt is not responsive, he doesnt want to be close to Quackity because he doesnt want to be close with someone who could kill him at any moment, he knows the stories he heard all of his life and he still runs on the fear Quackity has absolutely zero knowledge of. All he knows is Quackity keeps pushing and pushing at him as if they are friends as if they know eachother in any personal way when they really don't

Throughout time this becomes a cycle, Schlatt is scared, Quackity prods at him, they have an arguement, Quackity doesnt understand what went wrong because they didnt communicate, Schlatt walks off with zero interest in communicating because he doesnt feel like he has too

Throughout Schlatts presidency he becomes more blinded by the power he has first acquired in his life, especially with the festival and his drinking, he becomes aggressive, and Quackity becomes defensive, their arguements just get worse because they will not talk to eachother or reachout with one another, anytime either of them tries too they just get into another arguement

The night that Quackity kills Schlatt changes the both of their dynamic and lives forever

Schlatt wants to destroy something again to gain leverage that he feels hes losing, hes simply falling deeper and deeper into his fear, stress, and aggression and this is a last resort of sorts, but he doesnt realize that for the first time this action does not beat Quackity down and instead drives him to a breaking point

Quackity attacks him, completely justified with the way that Schlatt has just pushed and pushed and pushed him into a corner while taking away every other option he has to respond, Quackity quite literally chases him down through the White House, destroying it by bumping into walls and knocking things over, it is a release of stress and anger and sadness and just mixtures of emotions that he has never had before, and he kills Schlatt

This action brings him no closure, he doesnt feel better, he knows schlatt will just respawn and he'll have to see him tomorrow, its overwhelming, and its traumatizing. No one would be doing well staring at their husbands corpse, he dashes off into the woods, running and running until he has to pause by the river, when he looks at his reflection in the water and the blood that absaloutely covers his face and shirt, he just yells, he cannot look at himself in the same way. This night prompts a big change in Quackity, it lights a spark to this side of him that just feels so weak and wants to feel powerful, just like Schlatt.

When Tommy offers for Quackity to join Pogtopia it's a wave of relief, a wave of just rest, it isnt completely satisfying but he feels more secure than usual, although he spends that whole night recalling the events, I dont think he ever fully processed the trauma of this night until Glatt is around

WOOO aight anyways I'm taking a break wooo first part of my pumpkinduo analysis insane huh theres SO MUCH more but yeah this au is incredibly interesting and I love writing them Edit: no i never made a typo in this noooo, never, never happened