#all of these traits where there in s1 too

[pynkhues]

People getting mad about character interpretations that differ from their own is funny because none of what we say on here is going to change how the characters are written. We already know for a fact that Lestat’s POV will be different in some capacity. And they’ve told us explicitly that we haven’t seen the real him outside of the reunion. Reading from IWTV to TVL gives him a lot more nuance, though obviously what the show changes we don’t know yet. I can’t help but feel that some of the fandom backlash is because people are worried that their headcanons will be rendered obsolete, which TVC might be the very worst property to get attached to in that way, and especially at this point in the story. Anyway, your analyses are always great to read, please keep on posting them!

Yeah, I was actually percolating on this last night as I cooked dinner, but I do wonder if some of this doubling down on Louis as being submissive / a 'housewife' / feminine / bottoming has been partially motivated by Louis explicitly becoming a dom in his relationship with Armand in s2?

I could be way off base here as while I watched s1 as it was airing, I actually wasn't involved in the fandom at all really prior to s2 starting, but I do wonder if with s2 leaning into certain traits (and not even just with Armand, but with the boys in San Francisco, his violence to Lestat prior to the drop [again, not defending Lestat for the drop at all, or diminishing it as a singular act of abuse] and his coldness to Claudia at the end) has created a bigger divide between the canon Louis and the fanon Louis, and if it's that that perhaps creates a certain degree of protectiveness/defensiveness over that fanon version who clearly means a lot to a subset of fandom?

I don't know, like I said I could be way off base, haha, but it's interesting to consider.

[mistresscitrusslice]

The Season 2 Opening. We Must Discuss.

First of all, small beans. Instead of static, lifeless statues, this time we get moving humans. Mel features significantly more than I expected, so she'll probably be a much more major character than I expected for a non-champion character and I'm so happy for her. I believe the use of moving people instead of statues signifies that immense change will be happening. What we thought was literally set in stone in Season 1 will be turned on its head in Season 2.

Okay, on to the really concerning matters.

Yuhuh. Jinx moves too fast for me to get a good screenshot, but she gestures like this around her face a lot. I think we all already know about the Caitlyn-Jinx parallels, but my sister suggests it could be a red herring for the actual resemblances she has to Silco.

Sis gets credit for the following observation, but Caitlyn's daydream sequences about shooting Jinx are controlled and clearly separated from reality unlike Jinx's.

However, sis has not seen ep 2 yet, where Caitlyn does have that moment in the arcade where she shoots her vision of Jinx among the wooden dummies. Not only does this more closely resemble Jinx's hallucinations, it also parallels Jinx shooting the harmless crow in s1 e5. By the time the strike squad are about to leave, she can clearly tell that what she thought might be Jinx was really just a harmless wooden standee. Startling, but harmless. She shoots it anyway.

Caitlyn is totally gonna spiral more, and maybe she'll start losing her grip on reality too, but for now, she has more in common with Silco than she does with Jinx. Did anyone else get reminded of Silco's coat when Ambessa put the supervillain cape on Caitlyn? The collars don't look similar but they still eerily resemble each other, you get me?

Ok back to intro stuff

Vi wipes off her name from her face. That's two tattoos that are rendered impermanent in this opening theme. In the Fenty x Arcane video, they mention that Mel's golden freckles are tattoos. Later in the intro song, we also see her golden freckles gone. Change, impermanence. That seems to be a theme here.

Vi is literally erasing her name from her face. In any normal circumstance, I'd say that means she wants a change of identity, a desire to start over. However, I know that Vi's League lore involves amnesia. Does she really drink herself into that bad of a stupor? Jkjk. I assumed that her amnesia was replaced by the Stillwater imprisonment to explain how she got topside and with the enforcers, but perhaps I was wrong. Maybe they do still intend to go the amnesia or partial amnesia route with her.

The teasers implied that Vi shares the genetic trait that has Jinx predisposed to hallucinations. It's possible that this eventually contributes to her loss of memory, but I wouldn't call it quite yet. However, if this happens during her emo era when I'm assuming she has no support system, she'll be very vulnerable, unlike if it were to happen while she was still partnered with Caitlyn, in which case they could easily fill in most blanks in her memory.

I have no idea what to make of this. It's clear as day what they're paralleling, but why? Why the flashlight scene? My best guess is that they're trying to draw on déjà vu, implying a repetition of history, but why this particular moment? They could've easily chosen anything else in Jayce's s1 arc. He has many more memorable moments than this. Let's see, I'm literally making this up as I go.

This meeting was a pivotal moment for Jayce. Both his meeting with Viktor and his meeting with Mel changed his fate. The Viktor one is pretty self-explanatory, but without meeting Mel, they would've both just gotten exiled or locked up again. With Mel, they had someone in power who could vouch for them.

That begs the question, is Jayce meeting someone new? Or is this a reintroduction to someone he's already known before, a new meeting after a long time apart or after a significant change, maybe a change in them both. I believe it must be someone who was involved in the original hallway scene.

Jayce is either looking at Mel again or at Viktor. Given the amount of Viktor/Mel parallels in Season 1, I believe Jayce is looking at Viktor after he's undergone his likely final evolution. That'll obviously be another pivotal moment for him... but will it be a good one like it was with Mel? Viktor has power now. He's performing miracles. He's, like, two steps away from parting the Pilt River like it's the Red Sea. He seems to hold a grudge against Jayce, though, for *checks notes* saving his life? Jk I know he feels like he's losing autonomy and like Jayce didn't respect his wishes with the Hexcore and Jayce obviously couldn't let Viktor die when he'd fought so hard to stay alive before.

Anyway, I feel like this could easily be both a good omen and a bad omen for Jayce. More than anything, I feel like it'll be an epiphany. He is quite literally seeing the light. The light at the end of the dark tunnel? The light of the heavens at the end of his life? The light of a revelation sent by a god he once knew as a man?

Seeing Mel screaming bloody murder during the opening, this was the first place my mind went to. The pose doesn't match up exactly, and Jinx/Powder's screams are definitely wilder, but I feel like there's definitely something here. Is there anyone else who screams like this, thrusting their head forward and keeping their arms back?

We also see the shadow hands from this earlier shot:

I'm thinking of the Black Rose (is that their name?) kidnapping her in thin air, incorporeal hands reaching at her and snatching my joy the love of my life Mel away. It could also represent people grasping at the power Mel wields, both as the wealthiest Council member and as a Noxian princess, one of the closest people to Ambessa, the one wielding the most power right now.

Mel is really out of her depth right now. Her power and influence is up for grabs if she dares to blink and let her guard down. I'm also surprised that we don't see her fight back at all when there's danger around. I thought she might have more battle experience as she was raised by Ambessa. For those people wondering about her magical powers, I think she would've used them by now if she had them. Council attack aside, which could've been Viktor's magic, she wasn't able to do anything about the memorial attack or her own kidnapping. I think they're trying to show us that Mel is not as untouchable as she presents herself. Under the right circumstances, she's just as vulnerable as any civilian.

The sliver of light? My sister pointed out that it looks just like the crack of light between two double doors. Almost closed... or barely open? It appears in pretty much everyone's shot in the opening, but it's right down the center of Mel's face here. Is she torn between two sides? Is this about an impossible choice she has to make?

The spotlight is also on her. That's two sources of light. It looks like a red sun. All eyes on her as the surviving voice of the Council?

And her expression... shock, fear, horror. The heavy breathing, the look on her face... I feel eerily like I've seen it on someone else before. I can't place who, but I'm getting déjà vu from this. Does anyone else recognize this expression and these mannerisms?

[junibgoode]

Bowie and Noah are both gay stereotypes, just of different times

Ok hear me out. I very much agree that Noah was written as "the gay kid" archetype bc that was the gimmick for gen 1. this is ESPECIALLY apperant in s1. like 90% of his line delivery had some amount of sass to it, as apposed to a straight up a deadpan(obviously that's present but rewatch it and tell me there's not an amount of flare to the delivery). some rapid fire queercoding. 1. the way he runs and his high pitched scream 2. his aversion to physical activity to a degree that distinguishes him from the rest of the cast 3. the ear kiss/cuddle. obviously a gay joke. that only scrapes the surface too(not even getting into s2/3 where the queercoding was him just having chemistry with various male characters). so obvious stereotype that was covered up by fresh TV with emma(JUSTICE FOR EMMA TOO I LOVE HER). personally I think he's gay but I can see him as bi too. just compare him to other 2000s gay characters. very clear similarity.

bowie IS canonically gay. and while I don't think he's the "this is my only personality trait" level of gay stereotype, I think it's clear there's aspects of his writing that are that. I'd complain more but Raj kind of displays existing as a gay character without stereotypes and most TD info we talk about is fanon anyway bc ultimately this is us giving way to much depth to a fake reality TV show(/pos). anyway he is but in a very different way. the way he dresses is the modern stereotype just like how noahs(button ups and sweater vests) is for his time. his attitude has a lighter air. more fun. he's built less skinny and more lean with sports abilities.

they're both very clearly gay characters but it's so interesting how they're very clear examples of the era. which ngl all of TD is. it's like watching the passage of time at certain points.

[will80sbyers]

I think the thing people forget is that Mike and El didn't know each other for long before they got their little crush for each other

they met, got a crush because the other one was a good person to be around and they were curious about each other and kissed and all in one week

then El has to stay away for one year and can only spy on him for that time so she gets to see him and his thoughts a lot and get to know him better and her crush grows to obsession

but listening to someone like they're on a podcast is not the same thing as interaction with them face to face, they don't really know each other by the end of season 2

and especially Mike doesn't know El, he just idealized her

also El herself hadn't even had time to know herself well during s1 because of how she grew up, she didn't know what she liked/disliked, what friends were, what some type of food was...

she was already a good, kind and brave kid but she had to "form" her character traits in a more personal way

when they get back together at the end of season 2 they like each other like you can like someone that you find pretty and also that you think are a cool person because they've been good to you / helped you

then in season 3 they start actually dating and we find out the majority of the time they just love to make out with each other so much to the point that Hopper gets upset about it because he sees that that's not looking like a healthy relationship for their age, kids in actual working long lasting relationships would be more outside having fun than closed in the house kissing, only the ones that have more physical chemistry than anything else want to only do that the majority of the time

then the writers also showed us little moments where we can see that:

They don't like the same songs, don't have explicit common interests except wanting to kiss and... Make fun of Hopper? 😂

Mike doesn't feel safe telling her about Hopper/still feels awkward with her about his own feelings

El was relying on Mike so much that she didn't even took the chance to really be friends with the only other girl in the group until he flaked on her

El and Max had much more fun than Mike and El and also the writers focused on making it clear that El needed to detach from Mike's influence and Hopper's too and get her own ideas about stuff and all and El's character started to shine more

Then season 3 ends with her regressing because she loses Hopper, she needed to be around someone "familiar" after that and getting back with Mike was what provided that for her

Then she starts being part of the Byers family so she got more support around her but she's also being bullied and I suspect she knows Mike idealized her so she started to feel too insecure about herself to actually open up to Mike about it and risk that him seeing her be weak is what made him not love her

In her mind Mike's presence in her life as a boyfriend but even as just a friend (which is what she really wants imo) becomes conditional to him thinking she's cool and not a monster and she starts lying

Meanwhile Mike is going more or less through the same thing because he thinks he's a freak nerd and a nobody compared to El and she will dump him soon so he starts closing off (he never really opened up to her because of his insecurities and also because they are not truly in love)

Then Lenora happens and all of this comes to the surface... In Lenora the writers do the same thing they started to do in season 3 showing us that:

El and Mike don't like the same food (milkshake, pineapple on pizza, burrito for breakfast)

El and Mike dress up to look cooler than they are and present a facade to the other instead of trusting that they will be accepted as they are

El doesn't seek comfort in Mike often, Mike is not good in providing comfort

Mike doesn't inherently feel the need to reassure her about his feelings for her because his fear/insecurity is stronger than his love for her

El and Mike are okay with lying to each other as long as this helps them keep the other in their lives or makes the other think they are cooler than they are

El is okay with leaving Mike behind and not involving him as her partner

Like it's pretty clear this relationship is not gonna last... I think they do love each other SO SO SO MUCH but not in a way that you can call "true love" in the romantic sense

They want the other in their lives forever and I'm sure of that, they do have love for the other, they think the other is a great person with a good heart and they did have a crush/like each other physically in my opinion (and that's why they stayed together this long) but they just are not in love, the writers have not showed me they are in love they have just made the characters say it (I think they do even think they're saying the truth when they aren't) without backing it up by the narrative they presented around them

[waddei]

I would love to hear your thoughts on C!Tommy characterization! Like how do you depict him or aspects you like as I like hearing thoughts on him, along with how his trauma and experience ended up with mellowing a boy who enjoy being brash, loud and childish only to be tormented because of these traits, go to war because of his attachments and ended up in codependency and desperate to not let such attachment fade.

this is a bit of a loaded ask so bear with me for a minute.

i disagree with the bit that implies ctommy mellowed out particularly, but till address it below.

i believe ctommys core traits to be his rebelliousness, his need for guidance, a desire to be understood and his longing for happiness above all.

1) his rebelliousness Is to me the most apparent trait of his. the main one that sticks out. his "annoying at first" motto to me stems from his rebelliousness.

a sorta "get used to me cus Im not changing" attitude.

and of course his role during most of lmanburgs history (aka s1-2) is that of the rebel. either against dream (fighting for independence), jschaltt (fighting to take back lmanburg) or dream again (on exile, where he was sent for 'breaking the rules'.

2)ctommy as a follower/ needing guidance.

during the lmanburg independence war it's clear that Tommy's closely following Wilbur, that's not really debatable.

but this aspect of his character to me gets more interesting as his relationship with Wilbur evolves. a specific showcase of this that always gets me Is during one of the final crimeboys streams where cWill pretends to burn the discs to "free tommy from dream" he does this with good intentions, but tommy feels like his trust has been betrayed nonetheless. still he follows Wilbur through the nether even while complaining, and right after implying he wants him out of his sight and Wilbur wanders off he asks "where did you go" immediately and follows Wilbur anyways.

(see this post by Alex bugflies00)

however this isn't limited to his relationship with Wilbur. personally I believe this extends to dream on the exile arc to some extent.

tommy was practically isolated, with the only person he could rely on being dream. he convinced himself that somehow if he did what dream told him to everything would eventually be fine, because dream was his friend. of course he gets rid of this thoughts on the tower ("he wasnt my friend, he was only here to watch me") as his view of dream reverts back to "oppressive authority to fight".

3) ctommys desire to be understood to me is presented the best with his relationship with both Technoblade and quackity, both standing on opposite ends of the spectrum.

ctommy fought about ideals with Technoblade on and off during the entire bedrock bros arc. though he mostly let it go each time (afraid to piss off the guy that was actively protecting him) he still never stopped trying to make techno understand his position regarding lmanburg, the discs, and tubbo. this conflict was never resolved. on ctechnos final letter he wishes that tommy "finds what he's looking for" letting us know that even after everything that happened he never fully understood his ideals.

on the contrary quackity Is someone who can very easily switch to Tommy's wavelength. ctommy trusts him to understand him too, shown specially on the stream where tommy (using an invis pos and wearing only pants) introduced himself as trousers and opened up to quackity on the pretense of being "friends with a guy who has this issues and seeking advice". and quackity gives it to him! he never questions trousers because he understands that this is how tommy feels more comfortable talking about himself, and that's ultimately what matters to him.

4) his longing for happiness or the past

I believe the disc war is by design the perfect representation of this trait.

to quote myself on this [

the disc war remained relevant throughout the entire plot of the dsmp because the discs themselves served to represent both Tommy's relationship with tubbo and an idealized past he wished he could go back to. it was the catalyst for the initial conflict between tommy and dream that escalated as time went on and it effectively stablished the emotional core of the story from s1 to the disc finale being clingy duo (fight me on this one) with dream as the main antagonist.

]

the discs, ctommys main attachment, where ultimately not that materially important. however they where the physical presentation for both his relationship with tubbo and the past. two things that bring him happiness and that he wishes he could turn back time on.

to address what I pointed out now. I do not believe ctommy mellowed out. he matured, and his outlook on things changed, but he said it himself in the crimeboys finale with the "I didn't use to be this angry" quote. ctommy didn't mellow out, he got angrier, more prone to lash out, more paranoid.

his codependency as well was not something he "ended up with" its a trait of his that he carried since the very beginning, though you could argue it started to go wrong for him towards the end.

[ballerinarina]

𐙚Okay, brellies, theory time!

I decided to rewatch TUA S1 and I noticed a detail that chilled me, and that somehow I missed the four times before.

In EP2, when Five gets lost, his first instinct is to call VIKTOR and BEN. Their NAMES.

Which means at this time the kids already had been named! I always thought Five was called Five because they were named after he went missing!!

That rented a triplex in my head and I could only think: So he has a name too? What is his name? Why doesn't he use his name?

And then I tried to search about it, because I was sure I was the only person that never noticed that, and you guys can't imagine my surprise when I discovered ANOTHER detail I missed.

MAX'S DELICATESSEN

MAX!

No way! I mean, it's a Five's cafe, created by five where all the Fives visit! Who else would be Max? Only him!

But that doesn't answer my questions:

Why doesn't he use his name? And why did he use it this time to name the cafe?

I really need answers, theories, opinions, anything, guys.

[EDIT] UPDATES:

The dear @bookbutterfly1999 showed me two old articles about it, one where Gerard Way talks and another with Aidan's interpretation about the matter! (Tysm!)

According to WAY Five not being numbered is integral to his character development. [...] “Maybe they [Luther and Diego] will learn the numbers don’t matter, as Five did, which is why I feel he embraced his number as a name instead of a rank, and rejected an actual name (which I hope we see one day!).”

&

GALLAGHER: “In Season 1, they referenced each other by name there, and Five was in that, but he’s never gotten a name. I suppose Grace was choosing names for the children, and there may have been one for Five, but it’s my understanding that he rejected it. That’s how I think about his relation to a name. A number always superseded him. It was almost a resentful, spiteful action, in the face of Hargreeves. I don’t really think he cares about such things as a number. Five has always been this brilliant, very cunning, and weird little mind, so a number suited him, in a way, and he grew accustomed to it. [...] He probably rejected the name because he thought it was petty, or something like that. [...]”

It's just so interesting to have the answer to why he rejected his name! Five is such a complex character.

Since Gerard insinuated that we could may see his given name someday, I think that the theory that it's Max is still super valid!

Which makes the question remain: what guided him to give this name to the delicassen? I would love to have this answer someday! Theories?

[LINKS TO THE ARTICLES]

[milevenstancyendgame]

On Eleven, Complex Trauma, And Romantic Relationship (s4)

This probably has been pointed out way back in 2022, but I just re-watched a bit of s4 and it struck me that El lying about being bullied in school is completely due to her surpressed trauma.

When you first watch it, the whole "I'm friends with Angela"-pretense seems pretty out of character for El - the only other time I can remember where she lied so overtly and consciously about something big to her friends was in s1, about the gate. As we know she did this because she was scared.

At the beginning of s4, we can't understand why she lies, and neither does Mike, and probably neither does El herself.

But then comes the Nina project and she unearths all of these trauma memories, which have been hinted at the whole time.

We see that she has been bullied as a child by her peers in the rainbow room and importantly that they threatened to kill her if she told anyone about it.

This explains her deeply entrenched fear of telling anyone (remember that she also didn't tell Joyce about it, nor the teacher at school when she asked her directly) about the bullying in school - although she couldn't remember the previous trauma, her body remembered it and reacted in the same way to keep her safe. This is a very typical trait of trauma.

And since El has complex trauma (there was continuous trauma in her childhood), this peer bullying got connected to other trauma, which happened soon after - the massacre at the lab.

We see that she has recurring flashbacks in s4 of this massacre, and she starts to believe that she killed the other children.

Add to that the whole trauma of being abused by Brenner and the other lab staff, this explains of course why she feels like a monster and believes that everyone else sees her as that too. If you've been treated like trash as a child, then that's what you believe yourself to be.

So the peer bullying trauma is connected in her psyche/nervous system to fatal danger if she tells anyone about it, and to her doing something terrible.

So when she finally snaps and attacks Angela with the roller skate, and everyone is horrified, of course this re-enacts the trauma of the past and confirms to her the belief that she is a monster/everyone sees her as a monster.

This then sets the stage for the argument with Mike, which - as others have rightly pointed out - didn't even have a lot to do with Mike. It was about El and her trauma.

Yes, the whole "Mike can't say he loves me"-thing was of course a problem for her. It was a cruel coincidence that all these negative things happened at the same time for her: Losing Hopper, moving away from Mike and her friends, a new environment, the school bullying, and the flashbacks. That's why she became fixated on this detail and it got entangled in all those trauma layers and became just another proof for El that she was unloved, because she is a monster.

It was literally just the wrong thing at the wrong time though, or the cherry on top. If she had stayed in Hawkins and there wouldn't have been Angela and co, and a new environment, and school, and horrid flashbacks; and if she had had all of her old friends around her, and Hopper! -

Well, she probably still would have been confused and hurt by Mike never saying the word love, but we wouldn't have had that kind of charged and escalating argument.

But as it was, the argument was about so many things at once, and the love-thing just came up out of nowhere, because everything was crashing down for El, and Mike was clearly overwhelmed and couldn't follow her or understand what was going on for her.

And again, like others have thankfully said before, saying that if Mike actually loved her, he would have hugged or comforted her in that moment - that would have been disastrous!

First of all, as I said above and as was more than obvious, Mike was overwhelmed himself. He was in no position to comfort anyone. He needed time to process.

Second, El was clearly pushing him away, she was in a very destructive state of mind, because all of that above-mentioned trauma got activated and was in full swing.

Anyone with an ounce of emotional intelligence could tell that she was not able to receive any reassurance in that moment. We saw that Mike tried to reassure her the whole time and it didn't work!

Trying anything further would have been forcing something on her, which obviously Mike would never do.

So, in summary - the bulk of El and Mike's relationship issues in s4 was about El and her trauma. There was at no point any hint that they don't love each other any more. On the contrary, both were scared to lose the other.

And to those who say that they shouldn't be in a relationship, because El/both have so much trauma:

First of all, it's bullshit. You clearly know nothing about trauma healing. I have complex trauma and the one thing I learned in my recovery journey about healing is that actually the only thing that truly heals you is love. Self-love is important, yes, but that can't happen in isolation. You need safe relationships to learn about safe relationships. The original trauma was caused by unsafe relationships, so it only makes sense that the healing needs to happen through safe relationships.

That's what is called a corrective experience. And we can see that El has had many corrective experiences with Mike, as well as her other friends.

And why would a romantic relationship be bad for El's healing, but not other relationships?

What's messy and shitty is that El nor any of the other characters are getting any trauma therapy, and yeah, in reality there would be a whole lot more issues, for all of them. But El doesn't have any more relationship issues with Mike than with Hopper (!!!!!) and strangely I don't see anyone suggesting that the last thing she needs is a new father figure.🙄

And secondly, Will has a fuck-ton of trauma too, lol. So saying El needs to not be in a romantic relationship to heal, but wanting Will and Mike to be in one, is hypocrisy.

El experiences Mike to consistently be there for her when she needs him, he's constantly showing her that he loves her, and he's saying it in words too.

And after the argument in s4, he showed to El that he still loves her, that he doesn't think she's a monster. Both his actions proved this and then also his words in the monologue, and he gave her what she needed, he said "I love you" many times, and he explained why he couldn't say it before, that this had nothing to do with her, it was his own insecurities and fear.

And this made El stronger than ever. And this is the set-up for s5.

Thank you for coming to my TED-talk.

[ao3cassandraic]

As far as they can

At the end of the Job minisode, Crowley inaugurates Their Side by proclaiming Aziraphale "an angel who goes along with Heaven... as far as he can," parallel to his own stated relationship with Hell.

Only it... doesn't actually work that way. Their exactlies are different exactlies.

Crowley defies and lies to Hell as often as he thinks he can get away with it. He never disabuses Downstairs of their misconceptions about his contributions to human atrocities. He cheerfully lies in his reports Downstairs, something Aziraphale briefly turns on his Baritone of Sarcastic Disapproval about in s1. Crowley even turns evil homeopathic in the latter part of the 20th century, likely in hopes that it will look good to head office while accomplishing essentially nothing. (This, of course, is another way he Crowleys himself, both with the London phone system and the M25.) After Eden, Crowley's default given an assignment from Hell is to see how he can subvert it.

Aziraphale, on the other hand, defies Her and Heaven as little as he possibly can. Sometimes, as with his sword giveaway, his compassion gets the better of his anxiety. Sometimes, as with Job's children in the destruction of the villa, he can try to stay within the letter of the law by leaving the defiance to Crowley.

His default, however, is "'m 'nangel. I can't dis- diso -- not do what 'm told." This comes out most often as respect for the Great/Divine Plan, which to him is sacrosanct. He sounds quite sincere in s1 when he says "Even if I wanted to help I couldn’t. I can’t interfere with the Divine Plan."

Aziraphale quite frequently Good Angels along by parroting Heaven's party line, whether it's "it'll all be rather lovely" or "I am good, you (I'm afraid) are evil" or droning on about evil containing the seeds of its own destruction, or condemning Elspeth's graverobbing as "wicked" (a stance he offers absolutely no reasoned support for, no logic, no "but She said," not a word -- that's very Heaven; most of Heaven's angels have the approximate brainpower of paramecia). Maestro Michael Sheen even has a particular voice cadence -- I think of it as Sententious Voice -- he uses when Aziraphale is thoughtlessly party-lining.

When the angel's conscience wars with his sense of Heaven's orthodoxy but (and this is an important but) he can't feasibly resist whatever's wrong, he offers strengthless party-line justifications he clearly doesn't agree with (as with the "rain bow" in Mesopotamia) or resorts to a Nuremberg defense: "I'm not consulted on policy decisions, Crowley!" Once or twice, he's even vocally aware of Heavenly hypocrisy: "Unless… [guns]'re in the right hands, where they give weight to a moral argument… I think." This isn't Sententious Voice. It's I-can't-disobey-and-I-hate-that voice.

But at base, the angel prefers obedience (not least because it's vastly safer), and he'd rather have someone else do his moral reasoning for him. Honestly? Pretty relatable. I know lots of people like this -- hell's bells, I've been this person, though I grew out of it somewhat -- and I daresay you do too. Moral reasoning is hard and often lonely (since it can be read as self-righteousness or even hypocrisy) and acting as it dictates can hurt. Nobody would need ethics codes if The Right Thing was also invariably The Convenient Thing.

Many GO fans find these Aziraphalean traits frustrating! Especially his repeated returns to parroting Heaven orthodoxy! Sometimes I do too! (Not least because I'm rather protective of my own integrity, and it's cost me quite a few times. I'm well-known in professional circles for picking up a rhetorical spear and tilting at the nearest iniquitous windmill. I often lose, but I sure do keep tilting. Every once in a blue moon I actually win one.)

The key, I think, to giving our angel a little grace on this (beyond honoring the gentle compassion that is pretty basic to his character) is noticing how often he can be induced to abandon an unconsidered Heavenish default stance. As irritating as his default is, and as consistently as he returns to it, it's not really that hard to talk him out of it. Crowley, of course, is tremendously good at knocking Aziraphale away from his default -- he's had to be. But Aziraphale even manages to talk himself away from his default once, in the form of the Ineffable Plan hairsplitting at the airbase!

I think the character-relevant point of the Resurrectionist minisode is making this breaking-the-Heavenish-default dynamic as clear as the contents of the pickled-herring barrel aren't. "That's lunatic!" Crowley exclaims, when Aziraphale Sententious Voicedly parrots Heaven's garbage about poverty providing extra opportunities for goodness. Aziraphale isn't quite ready to let go yet, replying "It's ineffable."

But Dalrymple (who, I think, parallels Heaven, perhaps even the Metatron -- there could be something decent there, but it's buried too deep under scorn and clueless privilege for any graverobber-of-souls to dig it out) manages to break Aziraphale's orthodoxy by explaining the child's tumor.

Once released from his orthodoxy, Aziraphale can't be trusted to handle moral reasoning well; his moral-reasoning ability is not-uncommonly (though not always) portrayed as vitiated. When he gives Elspeth the go-ahead to dig up more bodies, his excuses are just as vacuous as they were when he was convinced of her wickedness. He knows that he's crossed Heaven's line, too, and just as at Eden it's worrying him. That's why he has to talk to Crowley to nerve himself up to help Wee Morag... only he spends too much time talking, and it's too late.

But Crowley can then talk him into bankrolling Elspeth toward a better life. Aziraphale doesn't even put up any fight, both because he's compassionate and because Crowley is temporarily taking the place of Heaven (he's even Heaven-sized and staring down at them!) as the angel's moral compass.

S1 has an even worse example of Aziraphale's moral wavering, actually. Crowley yells "Shoot him, Aziraphale!" and Aziraphale sure does try to murder Adam. Again, he's adopting his morals from the nearest (and loudest) convenient source. Madame Tracy, thankfully, has enough of a moral backbone to save our angel from himself and Crowley.

(With my ersatz-ethicist hat on: this is a fight between utilitarianism and deontology. Crowley is the utilitarian, which is actually a bit of a departure for him, but he's admittedly desperate. Madame Tracy is the deontologist: One Doesn't Kill Children. Aziraphale is caught in the middle.)

I wouldn't be surprised if part of the reason we start s3 with Aziraphale and Crowley separated is so that Aziraphale finally has to do his own moral reasoning, without Crowley's nudges. I don't think it'll be easy for him. It will absolutely be lonely. And it may well hurt.

But I will watch for it, because it's how he will become his own angel, independent of Heaven and even of Crowley. And he must do that.

[ubeb0nes]

Gen. Sevika HCs (& Romantic!)

Brainstorming little thoughts on big mama to help me characterize her for a story i wanna write!

She is actually very slow to anger, it’s just that Jinx is very gifted at pushing her buttons and she’s been dealing with Silco letting it slide for years. It’s part of what makes her such a scary opponent in a fight, she (usually) never loses her composure.

And on that note, i feel so bad that poor bbg had to lose most of her fights for the plot, especially in S1 😭 she definitely helped train Vi a little when she was younger

She's Silco's right hand in all ways. Whether someone needs to be beat down or a hand needs to be shook, Sevika is equipped in body and mind. Her physical presence lends itself well to subtle intimidation when she's cutting Silco's deals. Her default isn't to direct, brutish threatening actually, she avoids fights where she can especially as she gets older.

She's a very thoughtful person, spending a lot of time within her own mind or picking apart other people's. She's not as direct as Silco, who pushes people's buttons to get a sense of how their mind works, she just intently observes them. Honestly, she gives me similar vibes to Arthur Morgan in temperament the more I think about it. Honorable version, of course.

Continuing on her thoughtful trait, she had to learn to be very intuitive about people's emotions to avoid the wrath of her step-father. She appreciated her dad too late, spending more time butting heads with him than realizing how alike they truly were; so goes the theme of eldest daughters, though.

I imagine her as being very timid as a child. Not quite meek, but she wasn't as brash as teen Vi. She toughened up out of necessity, per the usual for kids growing up in Zaun, in order to defend her younger siblings (she has two) from her step dad once her father died.

Her father died in a mining accident. They never found his body, and even now sometimes Sevika hopes that he'll walk through the door and just… forgive her, for everything she has and hasn't done.

She was also pretty slight as a kid until about seventeen, where she proceeded to shoot up to 6'1" and started putting on muscle when Vander took her in under his wing. Her step dad never put his hands on her or her younger siblings again.

She was always closer to Vander than Silco. It truly did hurt her to turn her back on him, but she couldn't live with the slow death of complacency that he'd chosen for Zaun. She never goes through the process of fully grieving him, she simply pushes forward and carries on.

Romantic

Loyal to you like she's loyal to Zaun. Seriously, this woman doesn't know how to cheat. Not that the other women of Arcane are 'more' likely to cheat, but Sevika is the least likely imo. If she doesn't want you anymore she'll just break it off, anything less is cowardly and she is anything but.

She gets very cuddly and needy when she's tired which is often. She never asks for cuddles, just kinda uses her size to her advantage and pins you on the couch while she squeezes you like a stuffed toy.

"Mm… stop whinin', just five minutes…" She'll relent if you actually don't wanna be smothered, but unless you express that, you're hers until she says otherwise.

Calls you 'baby', 'sweetheart' and 'princess' the most. The last one started as a jab for either giving her attitude or being prissy, until she realized the flush on your face wasn't from anger. To others, she refers to you as her girl or says things like "no, me and the lady got plans" or "i promised the lady I'd be home on time Silco, you wanna piss her off too?"

Definitely got more where these all came from, lmk if you'd like me to continue!

[mdhwrites]

May I ask your opinion about Camila as a mother? To me, she is a great mom with good writing. My only gripe is in the first ep when she's okay with Luz discarding her Azura book in the trashcan. It's Manny's gift for Luz.

This one is... Complicated. And I think we're gonna disagree hard on it just by what you consider your one gripe to be.

What is a parent's duty? This is a very, very important question to ask with this. Because, you know, as a friend, Camila is amazing. She's endlessly patient, endlessly kind, I call her a saint because she is just perfect. She has no flaws by the end of the show and scolds herself for the literal ONE TIME she ever tries to reign Luz in.

Reminder: In the first episode, Luz brings wild animals and fireworks to school without permission or without any regard to safety. She inadvertently assaulted MULTIPLE PEOPLE with those snakes because we see more than just the principle being attacked by them. We also know this isn't a first time thing because of the SPIDER SWARM. If I had been in the classroom with Luz for the spider swarm, I would have had a straight up panic attack because I, like many others, have arachnophobia.

A parent's core job, only below keeping their child alive, is to prepare them for the world. To make sure they understand right from wrong, that they understand how society works and how to handle it, how to be themselves while not hurting others, etc. like that. I'm not saying that they must make their children conform but, you know, people still have to be a part of society. To know when their freedoms come against others. Because, sure, you can release spiders into a classroom but when half the parents of the students in that class want you expelled, that is entirely in their right because you did not consider, for a second, anyone other than yourself.

At this, Camila is an abject failure by the end of the show. She actually starts really good though. Now, throwing away Manny's gift is... Yeah, that's real questionable but also Azura being from him feels like a complete retcon, especially since Luz doesn't actually hold that series that close to her. She is a pretty flighty fan and in S2, Amity does WAY more for being excited about Azura than Luz does which, you know, is kind of odd if this memento of her father means that much to her. No, in the context of S1, it's the right move. Luz has crossed the line where she is treating reality like fantasy. She thinks she can just do this stuff and it'll be fine because her perception is at best flawed. So yes, Luz needs to wake up. She needs a chance to get a reality check and Camila doesn't even ask for a huge one. She will be happy if Luz makes friends because in order to make friends, you have to meet them halfway, start showing real compassion, empathy, etc. like that, traits Luz is tragically devoid of early on. It's a good goal for not pressuring Luz too hard.

And then Luz goes to a magical world where she gets to live out the life of an isekai protagonist who by the end of the series is willing to condemn an entire world to death just because she's afraid of making another mistake and having to pay for the consequences of it. To say that's missing the point is a bit of an understatement. And I cannot emphasize this enough. She decides on her own, because she feels bad for having made a decision on her own that went poorly, to avoid all consequences for that decision and just stay home with her loving mom while leaving her friends ostensibly to go die because she admits herself that the Collector is terrifyingly powerful. That is not martyrdom, that's self pity with the veneer of sacrifice. It is still not an empathetic worldview that cares about others, reinforced in For the Future where she goes "I'm going to check and make sure King and Eda are okay and then I'm going home." She talks a much bigger game to Boscha but to her mom who knows the truth? It's to check on the people SHE cares about and then leave. All of them. The whole world doesn't matter to her. That's fucked up.

And THAT is the version of Luz that Camila APOLOGIZES to. And for what? Sending her to camp which was her just trying to get Luz to properly connect with reality ONCE. Because again, otherwise Camila has endless patience. She never brings up the promise after all, she doesn't question taking in these kids or the weird lizard girl who's been impersonating her daughter, Camila defends Luz's creativity at every step, etc. etc. She is Luz's biggest defender in the series... And still apologizes for the one time she criticizes her. The one time she arguably does her job as a mom.

That to me makes her a bad mom. Arguably, even worse than Odalia. Odalia is a WAY worse person, but as a mom? I've made blogs about the fact that the fandom projects a lot onto her, incorrectly so, and that by the standards of her own society, she is mostly just trying to protect Amity and help her succeed. Oh, what terrible goals! Yes, she's too controlling and applies too much pressure BUT AT LEAST SHE'S TRYING. And if it feels like I talk a lot more about Luz in this blog than Camila... Well, it's a parent. Their job is to raise children. So we have to look at the child as a part of the evaluation.

And Luz? Luz needed a parent, not the two friends she got out of Eda and Camila. But apparently a parent is not what anyone wants. See you next tale.

======+++++======

I do want to add that I don't know where to put the fact that Camila is a single mom here because it's very complicated. It's good on her that she has the income to let Luz have expensive hobbies, do what she wants, have a house to live in, be there for all of Luz's events, meetings, etc. like that. She replicates what two parents give pretty much all the other kids in the show so well that it feels more like an oversight than anything else. Also, yes, it's good that Camila keeps Luz happy and healthy but that doesn't really change the fact that she is failing to raise Luz despite having all this time and resources to facilitate keeping Luz happy. However, I've seen the problem with that as a kid's parent would just let them watch tv and play video games with them and left it up to the kid's grandma to treat them how to read and write. Guess what activity made the kid happy versus what activity helped the kid grow as a person. And yes, that parent WAS a single mom and I judged them harshly then too.

I have a public Discord for any and all who want to join!

I also have an Amazon page for all of my original works in various forms of character focused romances from cute, teenage romance to erotica series of my past. I have an Ao3 for my fanfiction projects as well if that catches your fancy instead. If you want to hang out with me, I stream from time to time and love to chat with chat.

A Twitter you can follow too

And a Kofi if you like what I do and want to help out with the fact that disability doesn’t pay much.

[miz-chase]

Ok but younger student Brennan au aka wouldn’t it be great if she was too feral for Booth to handle

In summary, please picture younger, dissertating Brennan, who is just as superior, unimpressed, and self important, but even more impulsive, violent, callous, unprofessional. Totally unaware of and indifferent to the legal process. Like amplifying all her best/worst traits of S1. She knows best, she can solve this case on her own, she goes after Judge Hastings and slugs him of her own volition.

Booth only finds out about this new evidence tech consultant the FBI squints hired when he gets the call to bail her out of jail. He has enough going on right now, what with his new son, his gambling problems, his low status at work, and that simmering anger he can’t quite seem to shake. The last thing he needs is this wildcard kid squint who has appointed herself judge and jury. Also, where the hell did she get a gun?

He does his best to disentangle the FBI from this kid, but she gets under his skin. She calls him right out, correct in the accusation that he’s too cowardly to push the investigation into the judge because he’s too powerful. She insists her evidence is both good and clear. “Be a cop,” she says, before shoving away from him and stomping off. He may have fired her, but somehow she’s the one who ends up on top. Metaphorically. Not that he’s thought about it literally. Much.

Her words get the better of his common sense, he goes after the judge and, yeah, it turns out her evidence is good.

When he tries to hire her back, she’s too proud to accept it.

Her boss, this smug dickhead Dr. Stires, intercedes and tells Booth off for wasting his student’s time. Booth does not like how he talks about Brennan at all, more possessive owner than mentor. The FBI is able to work from Brennan’s notes to rebuild most of the case.

He tries again to catch her, waiting outside her apartment one night with an armful of Chinese food, a bottle of scotch, and his best charmer smile. The way she tells him off would have hurt more if she didn’t look so damn young. Still, she lets him in. They drink too much. They spend the night together.

The next morning it’s impressive how she manages to be that hungover while still being so articulately furious with him. Also, so very loud. She throws him out in the early morning, swearing she’ll never speak to him again.

The throbbing in his head and his dinged dignity makes him yell back at her through the locked door, but it’s no use. He can hardly string a sentence together while she’s composing a full lecture series on why he’s “detestable.”

He swears he’ll never see her again, but even then, he knew he’d do anything to get her back.

He had to stop getting himself into these situations with women.

Apparently her and her professor are leaving on a trip to Guatemala. It wouldn’t be an abuse of power to get his buddy at Homeland Security to put her on the no-fly list, would it?

[moonspirit]

Do you think Levi hates Annie?

Hello anon!

Haha tho, no, Levi doesn't hate Annie. I don't think Levi hates anybody really. (Zeke is another can of worms, let's not go there rn)

First off, what I understand about Levi is that he's a deeply empathetic person. He holds a LOT of compassion and places a lot of value on human life (e.g: he isn't happy to learn that titans were all once humans). At the same time, Levi is someone who recognises that sometimes, it's necessary to make choices that can be violent and ruthless (one e.g: him torturing Sannes; he doesn't enjoy it but it came to that and had to be done). These are two personality traits that can actually coexist.

Coming to Annie. Much of the animosity towards her back when S1 aired was because 1. We didn't know everything about her, and 2. She killed Levi's elite Squad in a particularly violent fashion. She did kill Levi's Squad, and he was enraged, this much is painfully clear, I think. There's no denying he was furious seeing the talented people he worked with all dead in seconds.

But while I believe Levi is an emotional person who takes the deaths of his comrades very seriously, he is faaaaaarr from being vengeful. Remorse, regret, sorrow, and despair, these are things he feels, yes, but irrationally? just for the sake of being angry? No.

When we see the RBA "attacking" Paradis and trying to kidnap Eren multiple times, we (the audience) don't see them as children - we see them as young adults committing unspeakable acts of violence against an innocent population (this is exacerbated by the fact that Reiner is older than the others).

But they are mere KIDS to Levi, who's much older. He isn't stupid. He sees these kids, turning into titans and trying to kill them, and wonders why. Why are these children acting this way?

Also, try to look at it like this and see if it makes sense to you: Once the Scouts reached the basement and discovered the truth of the world, learned of the Eldian race, the Titan powers, Marley's existence, of Liberio within it, of the Warrior programme and how those human war weapons are all just children of 8 and 9 and 10, brainwashed with propaganda and bred to be nothing but tools and monsters - they understood. The Scouts understood before anybody else did, that the world was unfair on both sides of the wall.

Levi too, understood. He watched Annie kill his squad, and he understood at some point in time during the 4 year timeskip, that she was a child when she did what she did, and she had no choice but to do it.

While Levi doesn't express his emotions well, he doesn't dislike someone for the sake of disliking. He's blunt, he's foul mouthed, he's brutally honest and says what's on his mind... But him not openly talking to someone or showing care for them does not mean he hates them.

In fact none of the Warriors wanted to do any of the things they did, they committed those irreversible acts of murder and violence simply because they wanted to go back home. And maybe Paradis was the first place where they experienced some kind of friendship and equality, but it was still the target of their mission, a place they couldn't stay in. They still wanted to go back home to Liberio, back to the people they called family.

Annie, to the family she called her father.

A person as compassionate as Levi doesn't hate Annie, because he knows she did what she had to do when she was just a guilt-ridden teenage kid, even if that came at the cost of losing his friends.

Tell me also: Who in the Alliance hasn't lost their loved ones at the hands of another?

Around that fire with Hange, they've all killed someone dear to the other.

[machineheraldbabe]

my arcane hot takes/predictions

i believe all of these things but! it's all in good fun. there isn't a character i genuinely dislike; every one serves their purpose, their motivations are fully realized, and every dilemma they endure/represent is morally complex and super fascinating!!

i love reading/talking about this show :)

If we had to nominate a single character as the show's villain in s1 (rather than the enforcers as a unit, or silco's shimmer operation, etc.), it would be marcus. if he hadn't taken silco's blood money, none of this would have happened.

jayce is "worse" than viktor in season 1 morally; "worse" comes with a lot of weight, ofc. i think season 1 follows jayce's story especially closely, from starry-eyed genius, to political initiate, to chess-master-in-training. the narrative indulges and displays his darkest traits and contrasts his narrative of moral emptiness with viktor's story of lonesome self-sacrifice. this is why i think it's VERY interesting that jayce allows viktor to break the news about his deal with silco for an independent undercity.

BUT! viktor will completely flip this dynamic next season, and viktor fans like myself will find ourselves in jayce's shoes! i can't wait for this!

relatedly, i am eager for a complete villain arc for viktor. it's mostly agreed upon that his story is incredibly sympathetic, but i'm hoping that the writers push him a few steps too far. i don't want to be comfortable - i want to watch a true degradation of morals to complicate what it means to redeem or condemn someone with such a tragic past. it'll blend very nicely with our initial impressions of vi's s2 story.

jinx is the main character of arcane and i love that for her.

vi's alleged enforcer arc makes Perfect sense, especially when contrasted with her dialogue with vander in act 1: "i grew up thinking that i am less than them." she can't be less than them if she's one of them.

mel hates viktor and was worried that jayce prioritized his relationship with viktor too highly. this comes from the scene where jayce confides in her that viktor is dying and her first remark is: "i didn't know you were so close." not long after, she silently belittles viktor when convincing jayce that the hextech weapons are a necessity by looking down upon him and refusing to consult him. i also want to be So Clear that i adore her character and that this is NOT a criticism; both scenes are phenomenal and are integral into their tripartite dynamic.

caitlyn was way out of pocket for her aggression in ep 9 and it definitely revealed her character's darkest tendencies that i think we'll see more of in s2.

viktor will be the sleeper-agent for s2. i know i'm projecting here but think about it - even visually, he has his own shade of purple amidst shimmer's fuchsia and hextech's blue. much like how powder's stealing was the initial conflict in s1, i think viktor has the same catalyst potential.

the worst things s2 could do are a) killing off a champion too early (save the deaths for ep8/9!) and b) giving viktor a love interest.

[my-mt-heart]

Why Explicit Caryl Canon Matters

Daryl and Carol (Caryl) fans make up a large portion of the spinoff's audience, and this audience wholeheartedly believes that Daryl and Carol are each other's only choice. It's in the writing. It's also reinforced by cast, crew, and EPs. For example, Norman has repeatedly said “If Daryl falls in love, it's forever."

There's a misconception that Carylers are a bunch of hysterical saps – fans who only want their ship "fucking under the stars" and only care about Daryl because of Carol, but that’s not true. In reality, Caryl fans are the deepest, most intuitive thinkers in the TWD community. To them, story matters. While they recognize and adore all of the subtext, they understand that it's supposed to lead to something worth the 13-year wait. They're expecting that major sense of relief and joy from watching explicit, undeniable, canon.

Explicit canon respects Carol's and Daryl's character development – individually and together. They started out way behind everybody else in life, convinced they weren't worthy of love. Daryl thought he was better off alone and Carol thought she was just a burden, but then they showed each other their true potential. Carol told Daryl he was a "man of honor" and Daryl taught Carol to have hope for a better future. They've struggled and suffered and strived to be good enough for each other. So, where's the payoff?

I understand not all fans want the same things, and maybe there's pressure to “keep everyone happy." Maybe it feels like a lose-lose situation. But from a marketing perspective, Caryl fans are a very reliable source of revenue for the show, so keeping them happy secures a reliable audience for future seasons of the show. They'll show up with their wallets out and their enthusiasm turned all the way up for Norman's and Melissa's nuanced performances. They'll create more fanart and other content. They'll make the show trend on Twitter constantly. Fans already adore Norman and Melissa, but explicit canon will amplify it further whereas keeping things ambiguous will cause a significant decline in viewership.

Ambiguity is the reason that the "I love you" scene in the flagship's finale got mixed reactions. For the fans who also struggle with their self-image, it was important to see Daryl and Carol overcome their own insecurities and finally "take whatever happiness they could get." But instead, many saw Carol's lighthearted "I love you too" and Daryl's departure as if they were both forfeiting what they always wanted. Daryl was submitting to his solitary nature again while Carol assumed she still owed a debt to her community and Daryl would be happier without her anyway. Both of them deserved a happy ending, or at least a piece of happiness to launch them into the next part of their journey. As far as many fans were concerned, neither of them got that.

That's why a lot of fans had a hard time watching S1 of the spinoff or opted out of watching all together. There were so many moments that teased the "possibility" of Daryl getting together with a younger, blonder woman nun while hints of Caryl's relationship were buried under more subtext. Keeping Daryl's feelings ambiguous just for the "fun" of shipbaiting cheapens Caryl's one-of-a-kind relationship, falsely indicating that their iconic beats can be recycled with someone else and still evoke the same passionate response from fans.

Ambiguity also perpetuates ageism and gives non-Caryl fans the excuse to say hurtful things to or about Melissa. Whether or not she's online to see it makes no difference because it still degrades her and it damages other women's perceptions of beauty and worth. Explicit canon on the other hand raises both Melissa and Norman up as two powerhouse actors utilizing their unparalleled chemistry to celebrate mature romances. It brings Daryl’s defining character traits to the forefront – the nurturing traits and the epic ones. It positions Daryl and Carol as equals, and it helps drown out the harmful comments against Melissa. 

Hopes for season 2 of the spinoff are high. Confirmation of Carol's and Daryl's romantic relationship in a way that needs no interpretation and no explanation from anyone offscreen is a dealbreaker. I know in terms of explicit canon, post-production can make all the difference, so it's crucial someone in a position of power pushes for canon that fully and unapologetically lives up to the fans' expectations, does right by the characters, and respects what Melissa wants.

[moonblossom-bunny]

Fizzarozzie have a good character dynamic actually (and are decent characters overall)

There comes a time, in whatever fandom you’re in, that you come across some takes made by people which makes you think right away ‘are we watching the same show?’. Takes made on storylines, characters and but most of all ships. Recently I came across, multiple shared takes regarding Fizzarolli and Asmodeus from Helluva Boss. Two secondary cast characters who have interacted in a total of three episodes as of writing this. These takes were presented as a negative and included the following: . Fizz and Ozzie’s personality isn’t the same after their first introduction and that’s a bad thing. . Fizz acts too childish and therefore can be perceived as child-coded as well as it infantilizes gay men. . Fizz and Ozzie have a sugardaddy/sugarbaby dynamic and that’s a bad thing. . Twink boyfriend and strong boyfriend dynamic is fetishsizing gay men. I, personally and thus in my opinion, don’t agree with any of these takes. Hence this character analysis post to debunk all of this points. I’ll try to keep this as objective as possible. I also can’t really make a solid point on the last take and partially on take two, since I’m a bi disaster and not a gay man, so I can’t stand on that soapbox to claim if a fictional character is toxic or bad representation or fuel for the fetishsizing of gay and queer men from their experience and standpoint. (But I did do some Google research and apparently what is meant by the fetishation of gay men, is that the tropes of how a gay man is portrait in media, for example anime, manga, sitcoms, movies, is carried over to irl gay men and as such they are treated like an accessory or less like a person. Slash shippers seem to be most notorious for this. Source: {link} {link} {link} Again. Can’t say how much of the claim adds to an already fictional gay couple in a show filled with LGBTQ+ characters…but still not my soapbox to stand on.) Feel free to add on to this post if one so desires. This ended up being a 5 page doc though so it's a long one.

Fizz and Ozzie’s personality isn’t the same after their first introduction and that’s a bad thing. A point made by some people who dislike the way this ship has progressed because the next time we see them after their introduction in S1E7, they seem to have made a 180 in personality traits. While S1 E7 shows us these two are a team when it comes to performing and supporting each other in the club. From their duet where Fizz adds on to what Ozzie is singing and physically holds him up during one segment of it, to Ozzie not stopping Fizz when he calls out Blitz and even pointing out that Stolas ‘threw away his life for a thrust’. Which is followed by ‘that’s the spirit of lust’ and thus probably not perceived as a bad thing since he is the embodiment of lust and all that. Though it does come across as Stolas being chastised for that from his and Blitz’ pov and their body language reflects that. S1 E7 basically just shows us that Fizz isn’t afraid to call someone out on their bullshit. That he is snarky and spiteful towards Blitz. That he’s not above making fun of someone while on stage what we see him do to Moxxie. Which is also what he does being the jester character and all. A clown makes people laugh by making fun of himself, a jester makes people laugh by making fun of other people. Asmodeus is pretty much the same in that episode. Standing by lust over love and reinforcing that when it comes to the acts for his club. Calling out Moxxie in his song etc. At a first viewing the audience may walk away seeing them both as an antagonist towards our main cast with how they acted towards them. Kicking M&M out of their club over a love song. Calling out Blitz as being a disgrace in a public setting. Stolas being put in the spotlight for being there with an imp. So I do kind of get why some people figured their whole character changed when we see them again in S2 E6 and E7 and they are portrayed as this lovey dovey couple without the snark and the spite. Most importantly, also without an in universe audience. While we see Ozz and Fizz sing together in S1. Their interactions together are less direct. They don’t have a conversation with each other and the most we see is how physically they interact to give us any clue on what their relationship and dynamic actually is. Fizz tends to curl around Ozzie’s arm.

Ozzie is visibly worried and shaken when Fizz gets bonked on the head by Millie.

They share a brief cuddle with each other at the end of Moxie’s song. Even during their song there are hints that they aren’t as antagonistic as they might appear to be.

Aside from the earlier mentioned backhanded praise towards Stolas for embracing his lust, they give Moxxie the chance to change his song from a love song into one about lust for the sake of the audience and seeing that’s how the club just rolls. Only getting the insults when he sticks to his guns and keeps the song sweet and about the love he has for Millie. So there are snippets there to show us they aren’t unreasonable characters and a little softer towards each other than what they show others. The next time we see them is in a private setting and we as the audience, learn they are madly in love and hiding it from the public (badly) because the sin of lust shouldn’t be in love and least of all with an imp. But there are no prying eyes so they can let their walls down and this is the result. We still see bits and pieces of what was set up in S1 E7 though. Fizz isn’t afraid to be a little snarky when trying to convince Ozzie to let him go out without an escort.

He’s spiteful towards Blitz when they meet again and only softens up towards him when he’s learned about the other side of what happened during the circus fire.

We even see less of that in S2 E7. But by then he’s kind of patched things up with Blitz and the reason to be snarky and spiteful and resentful towards him is gone. So we get witty comeback banter instead the few times they interact in that episode. He’s also thrown in a completely different setting compared to the previous episode and we get to see how he acts in a work stress filled environment. A flashback even tells us Fizz has self worth issues and needs reassurance from those he cares about. In his childhood that was Blitz and now that person is Ozzie.

The same flashback shows us that he gets really anxious when backed into a corner or in the case of the scenario being jumped on by a creepy fan. With Ozzie we see how he takes his job as embodiment of lust seriously with the work he does in the factory. (S2E6) With making sure Stolas knows lust isn’t about force. Just as he takes it seriously in his club.

We see the spurt of anger he displayed towards M&M near the end of the Ozzie episode come back tenfold when Crimson lets him know he’s got Fizz captured and when the lawyer is getting on his last nerves.

Which also fits because Asmodeous isn’t just the demon of lust but also linked to vengeance and anger as described by The Dictionnaire Infernal, so it makes sense as to why he has a short fuse. {link} This also comes back in S2 E7 when he calls Blitz and gets worked up over Mammon and when he confronts Mammon at the end of the same episode. We also see Ozzie being worried for and even overprotective of Fizz. A small snippet of that we were already shown after Millie knocked Fizz out in S1. So yeah, they aren’t that different compared to their introduction. The setting and who they interact with show different aspects of their personality. It’s just that S2 tends to highlight more aspects of their character because of the Fizz and Blitz miniarc that happened. Fizz acts too childish and therefore can be perceived as child-coded as well as it infantilizes gay men. I can only make educated guesses why some say this. Is it the clown costume? Is it his hyperactive personality? Is it because he lets Ozzie carry him around? Is it the burgers for breakfast thing? Or how Ozzie is overprotective of Fizz which one can argue might be on the border of being a toxic thing in their relationship? All of those things do happen in the show and is shown to the audience. But those things also happen next to the profanity Fizz spews, him drinking alcohol, acting slutty, being serious about his profession as a clown/jester. He also explains, in show, why he’s constantly joking around and acting like he does even in a private setting with Ozzie. “You are with me because of who I am at my best.” To Fizz, at that moment in S2 E7, his best is how he is on stage when he’s performing. How he’s been perceived as Mammon’s brand baby. It wouldn’t be that far fetched to think he might feel a need to uphold that image even when around Ozzie. Hench the jokes first thing in the morning or when Ozzie is repairing his broken arm at the end of Oops. It’s also just a common way of dealing with tension or hide fear or anxiety to crack jokes. Doesn’t make him childish. Makes him a clown coping in his own way. Both Ozzie and Fizz also have an immense height difference between them. While you can see Oz carrying Fizz around as a way of coddling him. Fizz also actively chooses to be carried around by jumping in his arms.

We can let loose all kinds of possibilities on why that is, from the fact that Fizz is disabled and being carried is less daunting on his limbs. Or maybe it’s more from a cinematic standpoint and makes it easier for the animators to not have Ozzie bend over all the time while they’re interacting or need to be kissing for a scene. By being carried, Fizz is also elevated to Ozzie’s level to possibly show that they see each other as equals in their relationship. Or the more simple possible reason, it’s a way to play around with their height difference and nothing more. Since it’s happened more than once, I do think it’s an deliberate choice that was being made to have Fizz in Ozzie’s arms frequently. It might even just be there to show that Ozz is the ‘caretaker’ out of both of them.

He’s the one that cooks and he’s worried for Fizz’ safety and he’s the one who reassures him.

Even if Ozzie is overprotective of Fizz, Fizzarolli doesn’t shy away from voicing his opinion and wants. He directly argues against Ozzie’s over protectiveness when it crosses a line for him.

“Come on Ozz, I can be on my own for one day.” (About going to Greed without an escort)

"Mammon’s been my idol since I was five. I’d be letting him down. The fans down.” (Voicing arguments about attending the clown pageant even though Ozz really makes a case on why he shouldn’t.)

So while, yes one might see Asmodeus’ mother hen moments as babying, we never see Fizz actually being fully dependent on Ozzie and the security he gives him. The whole point of S2E7 was that Fizz couldn’t just quit his job because without it he would feel like he would lose all the good things he has. Including Ozzie.

And to be fair, the cutesy moments between them are on par with what Moxxie and Millie have. That’s all. The nicknames, the cooing, the giggling. They are just madly in love with each other your honor and that is far from infantilization. At most annoying to some people I guess. But not infantilization.

Fizz and Ozzie have a sugardaddy/sugarbaby dynamic and that’s a bad thing.

The only time Fizz has ever been called a ‘sugarbaby’ is by Blitz in S2E7 as he implies Ozzie is his sugardaddy.

Fizz still works for his money at that point. Fizz continues to work for his money after that, as we see him salespitching to Blitz in S2E8.

He’s not only Ozzie’s partner partner, but also business partner.

We’ve never seen Ozzie spoil him directly. It might be speculated that’s the case since Ozzie is a King in Hell and all and with his fancy palace and probably being the leading adult toy manufacturer, but we never see him actively spoil Fizz like a sugardaddy does for a sugarbaby so it’s never confirmed.

It’s not ‘Daddy give me your card so I can buy some milk today.’, it was ‘I’ll get some milk today while I’m out.’

Ya’ll seeing things that aren’t in the show.

Twink boyfriend and strong boyfriend dynamic is fetishsizing gay men.

Oh no, it’s like character dynamics have tropes in fiction. I’m sure you’ve seen those posts floating around with the ‘draw your faves or your characters here’ dynamic templates.

The angry gremlin and the optimistic one, or the nerdy one and the jock, or the emo one and the optimistic one, or the short tempered one and the ray of sunshine….etc.

This…is nothing more than that. A dynamic trope.

The feminine one and the masculine one.

Even with that, it’s also obvious that Ozzie has feminine traits too. Guy wears a mini skirt, wears high heels and that high pitched ‘Fizzieeeee’ he let out in S2E6 is everything. So they don’t fall completely in that dynamic trope. But still. It’s fiction. It’s going to rely on tropes to connect easier with the audience. Writing 101.

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In conclusion, these points are clearly made to nitpick on the show and its creator because hating on a thing is apparently still a whole separate fandom branch these days.

I'm also going to leave this really good video by Georgia Dow, who analyses fictional characters from a psychology standpoint.

[isaaagloom]

nobody wants to hear about this but i wanna talk about it!!!

if i see one more person saying jinx is just a "weird incest" character in reference to her not liking caitlyn, im gonna LOSEEEE IIITTTTTT!!!!!!!!!!!!!! jinx has had only a FEW proper parental (ish) figures throughout the show, and if we're being honest, none of them were AMAZING. but to jinx, anything wouldve worked. because she was a CHILD for a lot of this. in act 1 of s1 it is obvious that jinx looks up to vi so so much, as a traumatized child character would, especially one in jinx's position!! as she grew up she was sooo used to vi being her (pretty much) primary caregiver. to taking care of her, talking to her, and just spending time with her overall. even if vander did a lot of the financially supporting all of the kids, it was clear all of them looked up to vi in some way!!! THATS WHERE act2 comes in, jinx (whos now believed that vi abandoned her... poor girl omg) finds out vi is with an enforcer and whatnot, and fully believes that vi ditched her to go with enforcers, who she's been raised to not like, even BY vi!!!!! jinx is angry about this?? obviously???? take this from HER perspective. your older sibling abandoned you, ditched you, and the entirety of the undercity just to go be with an enforcer, who she's told you allllllll your life to not trust. THATS FUCKED UP ISNT IT!!! this isnt me blaming vi at all, i love her just as much as the next lesbian arcane fan, but from jinxs head, thats really fucked up!!!

the reason jinx doesnt like caitlyn is because she thinks that caitlyn is gonna take her place. and not even in the sibling sense. you can see jinx obviously isnt protective of vi in a romantic sense, but she's used to being the only one that vi was kind with! in act1 of s1 you can tell that vi was only really "softer" towards jinx, because she was so young... because they were siblings... whatever you wanna call it. from jinxs head, vi has only ever been softer with her! and now seeing she's doing it with caitlyn, thats obviously gonna make her upset!! this isnt caitlyns fault, this isnt vis fault, its just my poor girl being rightfully upset about years of misunderstandings and lies told to her!!!!

she believes caitlyn is taking vi from her, or taking her attention or even love. its a common trait a lot of (especially people with bpd, which jinx SO obviously has) people have!! thats why she lashes out at caitlyn or gets upset thinking about the two of them, she doesnt believe vi can still love her and love caitlyn.

bringing back the enforcer bit. jinx was taught from a young age that enforcers were bad, that you should stay away and all these different things, especially after her own parents were killed by one! next thing she knows, vi seemingly is abandoning her and leaving for, who she learns is an enforcer. the people who showed no mercy killing their parents, or just overall being cruel to people in the undercity!!! id be pissed too tbh!!

jinx is so me and if any of you people say anything about jinx being weird again im going to become violent!!!!!!! if i got anything ab this mixed up or wrong i apologize, again im just a teenager whos hyperfixated!!! im not a professional arcane-ologist :3333

this is really long idk if anyones gonna read it all..!! giggled