#and here in my answer to the second question you can see a character analysis AND an expectation based on spoilers

[pyrrhiccomedy]

I feel like we need a refresher on Watsonian vs Doylist perspectives in media analysis. When you have a question about a piece of media - about a potential plot hole or error, about a dubious costuming decision, about a character suddenly acting out of character -

A Watsonian answer is one that positions itself within the fictional world.

A Doylist answer is one that positions itself within the real world.

Meaning: if Watson says something that isn't true, one explanation is that Watson made a mistake. Another explanation is that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle made a mistake.

Watsonian explanations are implicitly charitable. You are implicitly buying into the notion that there is a good in-world reason for what you're seeing on screen or on the page. ("The bunny girls in Final Fantasy wear lingerie all the time because they're from a desert culture!")

Doylist explanations are pragmatic. You are acknowledging that the fiction is shaped by real-world forces, like the creators' personal taste, their biases, the pressures they might be under from managers or editors, or the limits of their expertise. ("The bunny girls in Final Fantasy wear lingerie because somebody thought they'd sell more units that way.")

Watsonian explanations tend to be imaginative but naive. Seeking a Watsonian explanation for a problem within a narrative is inherently pleasure-seeking: you don't want your suspension of disbelief to be broken, and you're willing to put in the leg work to prevent it. Looking for a Watsonian answer can make for a fun game! But it can quickly stray into making excuses for lazy or biased storytelling, or cynical and greedy executives.

Doylist explanations are very often accurate, but they're not much fun. They should supersede efforts to provide a Watsonian explanation where actual harm is being done: "This character is being depicted in a racist way because the creators have a racist bias.'" Or: "The lore changed because management fired all of the writers from last season because they didn't want to pay then residuals."

Doylism also runs the risk of becoming trite, when applied to lower stakes discrepancies. Yes, it's possible that this character acted strangely in this episode because this episode had a different writer, but that isn't interesting, and it terminates conversation.

I think a lot of conversations about media would go a lot more smoothly, and everyone would have a lot more fun, if people were just clearer about whether they are looking to engage in Watsonian or Doylist analysis. How many arguments could be prevented by just saying, "No, Doylist you're probably right, but it's more fun to imagine there's a Watsonian reason for this, so that's what I'm doing." Or, "From a Watsonian POV that explanation makes sense, but I'm going with the Doylist view here because the creator's intentions leave a bad taste in my mouth that I can't ignore."

Idk, just keep those terms in your pocket? And if you start to get mad at somebody for their analysis, take a second to see if what they're saying makes more sense from the other side of the Watsonian/Doylist divide.

[prlssprfctn]

I'd love to see an AU where Jason is tossed into the pit and while his wounds heal, he is forever stuck in the body of his 15 year old self.

For Bruce, I think it would be more devastating being confronted by the 15 year old boy he lost. There isn't the physical disconnect of Red Hood Jason and Robin Jason. He was so small when he died, so full of life but now he's come back with so much anger and hatred. And how could he say no to his pleas. That was the body he had to carry, the one he had to bury, and the one immortalized in the Batcave. It's the same face he sees in his nightmares. That was his baby that he failed and he miraculously has been given a second chance.

For Jason, I think this only reinforces his belief that nothing has changed. His life and his death had no impact on anyone or anything. The work he put in as Robin to serve justice is meaningless when Gotham is still a hellhole. Batman and Robin fight the same rogues who are in and out of Arkham. The clown still walking. A death is meant to be the finale, an ending so permanent which is why they can't kill. But here he is again. No wonder he disregards the lives of scum, his had no weight.

And if Jason realizes that isn't the case he will only spiral move. Because everyone has moved on. He got replaced in months. Bruce is no longer smiling at him like the dad he remembered. Dick is actually here for his brother. They got to grieve, mourn, and move on but he is still stuck as his deathbed. He can't have a normal public life anymore and his vigilante life was taken away from him. What exactly does he have left?

Also an odd question you don't have to answer, but are you caught up on asks? I worry that I might have deleted an ask of a relationship/character analysis without sending it and would want to actually send it. But I also don't want to flood your inbox.

oh. my. god.

this is, like, one of the angstiest concepts of Jason about his return. i vote for adding *a little* body-horror, where not only his body didn't change, but some of his wounds are still phatomly there. not visible because the Pit does a good job of that, but not *only* felt by Jason. like sometimes his bones just slightly snap. or his shoulder is dislocated. random blood starts streaming out of his nose, ears, or mouth. he coughs with it. it doesn't *change* anything you see — he still functionates normally; he can and will simply snap his shoulder back, and return to work.

but the fact that even this doesn't change anything for him.

not his death, not his life, not his wounds, not any of his sacrifices — there is nothing that would change what he went through. isn't it just maddening?

answer to not-so-strange question: i didn't have any specific analysis/long posts in asks except for this :(

[justtheclippy]

Tips and FAQ for Asks

Hello beautiful humans, I want to do my best to get to everyone's asks so here are a few things you can do to help make that happen! (if you're looking for the cast stream master list, skip to the bottom)

Please don't spam the same question repeatedly. I will get to you eventually, I promise! But when you submit the exact same thing multiple times, it just slows me down. I've got one single brain cell, please have mercy.

No spoiler requests. I cannot tell you anything about future episodes, when they will come out, what will happen to certain characters, how the story ends etc. We're limited on what we can say in general until more episodes release. The entire cast has signed NDAs (non disclosure agreement) preventing us from revealing anything, but more than that, we wouldn't want to ruin your experience of watching and engaging with the show organically! Trust me, just enjoy the ride, it's better that way.

Don't take anything too seriously. Please keep in mind most of these answers will just be for fun. My thoughts and opinions on the character, both for silly things like favorite dessert and more serious things like character analysis, are not hard and fast canon. Same goes for any of the actors. We can speculate about our characters, we know and understand them well, but when in doubt, assume its allllllllllllll non-canonical haha

Read through previous asks. This will help prevent asking things I've already answered. I'm going to be tagging (i swear I'll do it fr) my answers with #amanda asks and #tadc asks so you can find them more easily. If you do ask a question I've already answered IT'S OK DON'T PANIC I won't be upset haha

Even though I'll be tagging my answers so you can easily find them, here are a few frequently asked questions just to get them out of the way. If you decide to ask me something I've already answered, or something that goes against the guidelines above, I'll probably skip it, you silly geese.

Q: I've seen people use several different pronouns for you, what are your preferred pronouns? A: They/them and I prefer masc leaning terms generally! I'm queer, NB and very open about my identity. But people will sometimes use she/her because they don't know. I will never get upset with someone for not knowing- it's ok. But now that you've read this, you know! So you can go forth educated. You're welcome to correct anyone who doesn't know, but please be kind to each other. We've all been the person who didn't know before.

Q: What do you think of X ship? A: I love and support all the ships! Ships are part of a healthy fandom, keep creating content that makes you feel seen and that YOU want to see, that's the foundation of creativity. And if anyone disagrees with you, remind them that a lot of classics are just fanfiction about the gods at the time. It's always been here.

Q: What is your favorite ship? A: Bunnydoll and Buttonblossom, because the dynamics are so much fun.

Q: Do you like X AU? A: Yes. It doesn't matter what it is, yes. I love the AUs and if it's a new one, you better include a link so I can find it. I want all of them, thank you so muuuuuuuuch~

Q: Have you seen or played X game/show/movie/meme etc.? A: Always happy to chat about other media! But if you wanna ask about something specific, please include a link or explanation because lets be just so very honest, half the time my brain is off in adhd land so there's a good chance I'll have no idea what you're talking about at first.

Q: Have you watched Raggedy Ann & Andy: A Musical Adventure? A: Not yet! But due to VERY POPULAR REQUEST I will be putting together a watch stream to watch it live with yall. Once that's happened, I'll put the link here.

Q: Have you seen Queen's second game and will you be playing it? A: Yes, we've all seen the trailer and we're very excited! We will be playing it as a full cast, just like last time, as soon as the game is finished. For now, please go enjoy the demo and support the team! Once it's out and we're ready to stream it, I'll post the link here.

Q: Can you come to X convention? A: I will come to any convention that yall want to see me at!

BUT

In order for that to happen, you have to request me directly with the convention. Most will have either a request form on their site or a specific email for requests. Just write in that you would like to see me at their event, and then they will get in touch with my agent to book me!

Q: Can I request a song for you to sing? A: Of course! I promise yall I'll do my best to put out more songs this year. If there's a cover you want me to consider doing, or an artist/composer you'd like to hear me work with, let me know!

Outside of that, if you just want a little clip, you can drop requests in the asks and if I know the song I might record a bit. This is COMPLETELY dependent on time, especially if I'm busy. Please understand ❤️

You can also make requests during stream signings, which is easier to accommodate in the moment. Just put the request in the order notes, and I'll sing a little bit for you while I sign IF I know the song. So choose wisely.

Q: I want to be a voice actor! How do I get started? A: The best advice I can give on this subject is to

Join the Voice Acting Club Discord

It is one of the best resources available for anyone interested in getting started. Tons of articles and information on equipment, treating your space, what demos are and how to know when you're ready for one, tips on auditioning, workshops and classes, Q&As with industry professionals, plus casting calls.

Q: Can I write an ask just to show you cool stuff or tell you you're awesome? A: Of course you can! You can also tag me in stuff, that's ok too. I appreciate all the love and support yall have shown for me, Ragatha and the show in general. Yall are truly incredible. ❤️

Q: Do you have a PO Box so we can send you stuff? A: I'm setting it up THIS WEEK. I will post it here when it's ready.

Q: Where can I find X stream that the cast did? A: Moving forward, I will keep a master list of our group streams in order of date aired, to the best of my ability. If I miss one, let me know and I'll get it on here!

Saberspark TADC Cast Interview

Streamily Signing #1 (Amanda, Michael, Alex, Marissa)

Streamily Signing #2 (Amanda and Michael)

Streamily Signing #3 (Amanda and Sean)

Streamily Signing #4 (Amanda, Sean, Alex, Michael, Marissa, Vera, Hamish)

TADC Fan Game Stream: Game 1

Streamily Signing #5 (Amanda, Alex, Ashley, Sean, Michael, Marissa, Vera, Hamish, Wiz)

Fast Food Simulator Charity Stream (Amanda, Lizzie, Marissa, Michael, Ashley)

Marissa's Streamily Signing CRASHED by Amanda, Alex, Michael, Max (RU Caine/Jax), Julian (DE Jax), Adam (NL Jax), and Philip (NL Chad/Max)

[soodoonimin]

Logan Howlett and animal instincts (or in other words my long winded analysis of a comic book character)

So before I start, just know that I have read a lot of comics but I don't know everything. I can take notes all day long but I have a bad memory and comics are confusing so please be nice and enjoy, this took a lot of effort to put together, it’s mostly my thoughts on the character as I read the the comic books. The movie character is a lot different and I will also probably do something like this for movie Logan as well (though it will be significantly shorter).

Also there are some pictures that have blood and body horror so beware.

What does it mean to be human? Well that's a question we as humans have been trying to answer since we could think to ask it and ever since then we've never been able to give a fully conclusive answer. Why? you may ask, well because think about it like this, the traits we most often associate with humanity (higher thinking, creativity, empathy, and love) may not and some times do not always exists solely within us when applied to fiction, we write whole stories about how robots can be human too, how aliens can be human etc etc as long as they have these traits (more or less) AND LOOK I'm not going to get into a whole philosophical discussion about the nature of humanity on Tumblr.com but I do want to take a second to talk about how those traits are applied to Logan and how he has to fight to prove his humanity.

So mutants are an oppressed people but being a mutant isn't always the same for everyone. You can be a mutant like Rouge who can kill people with a single touch or mutant like Storm who can bend the weather to your will (the most obvious example). You can be a mutant like Jean with no obvious physical signs of your mutation or you can be a mutant like Kurt, where 9/10 people think you’re a demon of some kind.

But what happens when you're a mutant like Logan Howlett? I mean you look human enough, sure you're a little more hairy than most people, you have fangs, you smell, and oh yeah the claws but those are retractable so overall....you're just a normal person right? Nothing you can’t hide, right? Yeah, for the most part, yeah. But there are a couple of other things about you that someone might not know from looking at you, you have an extraordinary healing factor, you have almost animal like senses and when you are pushed to your absolute brink you go into a monstrous like a rage and kill everything in sight.

For every gift Logan was born with theres a very real curse attached to each one.

Healing Factor: Logan still feels pain, the healing factor isn’t just limited to his body but it also messes with his memories, and more importantly he’s lived a very long life. In The End comic and Old Man Logan comic etc, when he’s out lived most of the world, he’s miserable.

Keen senses: Seems great, until they’re exploited, imagine what being able to smell and see and hear that well all the time without relief must be like. Imagine not being able to tell when someone is going to die? Or when they’re lying or when they haven’t showered etc. sure you might get used to it like you might get used to pain but that doesn’t make it pleasant.

Claws: Need to really touch on this one? Aside from the obvious please remember that Logan’s claws aren’t in his knuckles but in his fucking forearms so when using them he needs to make an effort to direct them or….

Berserker rage: great to get you out of a pinch but you can’t control it. (We’ll talk more about this later)

Most people don’t see these very real downsides of Logan’s mutation, they just see a small, angry guy, who’s good at fighting and can take a hit better than almost anyone.

Here’s what worse, a lot of people (X-men included) don't see, they don't all the ways Logan hates himself (and those who do don’t see the depths of that hate he has for himself). They don't see the scared little boy whose father was killed in front of him. They don't see that little boy who killed his father's murderer and was abandoned by all but one person for one person (Rose). They don't see the young man who accidentally killed his first love while trying to protect her from his brother. They don't see the man who lived a relatively miserable life being plucked up by a group of people who only saw him as something to be experimented on. They don’t see the man who believes that if he loves someone he's destine to hurt them in one way or another because he has multiple times over (even if it wasn’t always his fault). They don’t see that for all the times that they call Logan an animal, he already believes them and he’s called himself worse many times over.

(Deep down he truly believes he deserves be to alone, especially in death. That would be his “deserved” hell. Eternal loneliness.)

Which is funny because I think Logan goes back and forth in deciding on whether or not he has any humanity in him in the first place. See in the Black, White and Blood comic, the FIRST story told in this series, is an account of Logan’s time at Weapon X and we get this…interaction:

Pourquoi tu me fais ça?///Why are you doing this to me? This "monster" asks him this on the cusp of death....

(Moments during the Weapon X program, be they real memories or not, when Logan’s humanity shone through)

And THIS almost immediately snaps him out of mind control he's under going. I don't know if he understood the words per say but I think even if he didn't, he still understood the plea on a human level. Because it wasn’t Weapon X who responded, it wasn’t the berserker, or Wolverine. It was Logan Howlett. It was a moment of humanity that broke the conditioning he’d been put through that answered that plea and stopped him. Because if you think about it, if these two memories actually are real, that means that Logan recognized this plea as the same one gave to the scientists. Now determining what did or didn't happen during the Weapon X program is difficult to parse out because they implanted false memories. BUT regardless of that there was always a part of him that held onto his humanity. But I think that just adds to the horror of it all. Imagine not being able to know what memories are yours and which ones are not? So let me ask, even if those memories are “false” does that make them any less real? Does that mean that Logan suffered any less under their stewardship? He was still kidnapped, he was still experimented on, still tortured. He still had the adimantium grafted onto his bones, he was still made into a living puppet and was still seen as nothing more than a weapon, an animal, a monster by the very people who were doing all of this to him and in some respects they are the reason he is seen as a monster by others.

At the end of that comic (where he was momentarily snapped out of his conditioning) he states that no his humanity wasn’t stolen from him but he still lives with that guilt of everything he can’t remember and the things he can remember are unreliable.

I know a lot of people haven’t read the comics so I’m not trying to do annoying about it BUT if you get the opportunity to PLEASE go read The Weapon X comic (by Berry Windsor-Smith) & Wolverine’s first limited series run (by Chris Claremont).

I specifically say that second one because I think the story that’s told is probably one of the more interesting told for Logan because of the relationship he has with Yukio and Mariko. I’m not going to get too deep into it because I really think you should read it for yourself but the basic outline of it is that where Mariko loves the man, Yukio loves the “monster”. And when he’s initially trying to court Mariko it’s his attempts to in a sense to court humanity but he fails and when he turns to Yukio. And for her part it’s not just as simple as her loving the “monster” but more than she goads it out of him, for thematic reasons and plot reasons. But needless to say, they both love Logan but they both love an incomplete version of him. (It’s a really good story and it’s literally what sold me on the idea of reading through any of the older comics.)

Anyway, (in the comics and movies especially) some people solely see him as a man with an uncontrollable side that they’d run from at the first sign of aggression and others only want that animalistic side and don’t love the man that Logan is. The thing is, he is both of those things. Think about it like this. As humans we like to think ourselves above the food chain, we like to think of ourselves as *more* than animals. And sure we’re definitely one of the most successful species of animals on Earth and we definitely don’t act on instincts in the same way most animals do, we’ve created society and rules and we do things a lot different than other animals but we are still animals.

So Logan isn’t both a man and an animal anymore than you or me. But he is a man that is more in touch with those animal instincts than the rest of us (bc of his mutation). Which I think is why when he does act on those instincts, people see him as less, because we (yes even comic book characters for this argument) only seem associate those traits with animals, with something lesser than ourselves.

The thing is, being “an animal” doesn’t need to be an insult or a condemnation of any kind. Humans are still animals but humans are still kind, and caring, humans have still created beautiful art and music and food and architecture and have got to the stars will probably go beyond the stars all while still being an “animal”.

So I think where most people get hung up on word “animal” is because it has such a negative connotation when applied to humans. And thus that negative connotation basically perpetuates itself so the only time we call other humans animals is when we mean to attack their humanity.

So back to Logan. Imo, there is no better example of this than the way people, Logan included, treat his (and subsequently him) berserker rage. Logan describes it as a monster that shares his soul, something else inside him, the real thing that makes him a monster, something that he doesn’t like, something he’s scared of, something he can’t always control but that he does everything in his power to keep away from the people he loves. Because Logan doesn’t like to kill, he doesn’t like hurting people. He might be good at it, he might be known for it but that doesn’t mean he likes it. Even when he thinks death is a deserved punishment, he isn't ever happy about having to kill. And he even says as much at one point in the comics.

And as a real quick aside, but this is almost exactly what sets him apart from Victor Creed. They're both men whose mutation gives them heightened animal like traits. The only difference is that Logan is ashamed of those parts of himself especially when they pertain to violence where Victor likes it, enjoys it; he goes out of his way for violence.

(If there is more to Victor Creed than meets the eye please tell me bc I gotta say I don’t actually know too much about him except that any time I see him in any Wolverine media I immediately laugh bc I know the two around to brawl. And I’m almost never wrong lmao)

And mind you there are times when Logan is also a hammer in the sense that he tends to punch his way through most of his problems. But he doesn't go out of his way for it in the same way Victor does despite having every reason to.

Logan has killed people but unlike Victor he isn't a killer. Even if that's what he's "the best at".

So when he goes into this specific rage that labels him a monster (an animal) it’s almost always in front of someone he loves and it’s almost always in a moment when he’s trying to prove his humanity (when it’s being used thematically and not for plot convenience). Like if you go read the comics 9 times out 10 when Logan is being called a monster or animal by some scientist or an enemy looking to humiliate him. But it’s almost always in the mitts of a life or death situation. A situation that anyone would fight light hell to get out of even with an amazing healing factor like Logan’s.

Because he still feels pain.

He still wants to survive.

He still feels.

And at the end of it all, he feels ashamed and horrified with himself and he'll always have to live with that guilt and shame. There's a point in one of the comics when he describes his heart as being slower to heal than the rest of his body and I think its interesting because although that story he's talking more from a "heart broken" sense. I also think that can apply just as equally to idea that it also harder for him to heal from not just heart break but also from shame and guilt. In certain situations, it takes longer for him to forgive himself emotionally because he suffers physically in the short term. He’ll never have a physical scar of his wrong doing and so he carries the emotional weight of it with him.

But also because he isn't just dealing with himself. In those moments when he comes out of that rage, the people he loves are in shock and are scared because they saw the “monster” and some people do reject it and in so they reject him and although rejection is something Logan thinks he deserves, it doesn’t make that pain hurt any less. it doesn't make it any easier to heal just because you agree with them, and in a way I think that's what slows down that healing process. Logan's inability to forgive himself.

Because that's the thing, Logan, would rather be scared of himself than forgive himself, be it because of his past trauma or because of the Weapon X program (which in the Weapon X comic it’s implied if not outright stated that the scientist at Weapon X are the reason he feels the fear he does about himself). Logan is scared of no one on Earth more than the man he sees in the mirror. And that’s because in his lowest moments when he looks in the mirror he doesn't see a man, instead he sees an animal, a monster. He doesn’t need the rest of the world to tell him what he already thinks of himself, it just doesn’t help that he has a choir of voices that are sometimes louder than his own telling him his worst fear is real. He is the monster that hides under his own bed but the problem is, while the monster is 'real' is a physical sense, it does not share a soul with him anymore than the boogeyman does. He wrestles with himself. Somedays he believes he's a man like anyone else and other days he can't drown out the voices telling him he's nothing more than a monster.

And as my last touch on the beserker rage, I want to posit my own theory about it. Personally believe to some extent that it isn’t part of his natural mutation and that instead it’s something that was “given” to him by the Weapon X program. The reason I say this is because I think it would make a lot of sense that like the adimantium claws and false memories it would make sense to give you “weapon” this uncontrollable rage (that mostly comes out in times of great duress). Not just because it would be one more thing Weapon X has taken from him (control over his own emotions/body) but also because wouldn’t that just make sense on the side of the people who ran the project? That your living puppet have a fail safe of sorts in case it ran into something bigger than itself? During the Weapon X comic, the scientist are constantly surprised by how resilient he is and even though some of this surprise happens in a false memory, they really do believe they can kill him at one points so if they thought they could kill him, why not something else? Why not give their investment insurance? And what better insurance for an animal than monstrous rage. 

But of course none of this is even to talk about the kind of person Logan really is. The thing that I think most people (in the comics) tend to ignore about Logan, in favor of focusing on his rough exterior (and some of his more questionable characteristics) is that he really does have a heart of gold. Now do not get me wrong, he can do some pretty fucked up shit (I will not talk about the Jean and Scott love triangle bc it gives me a migraine) but he does regularly do things that show how much empathy he has. That show that despite what he (or the rest of the world) might think, he isn’t a monster. The best examples of this are his relationships and more specifically the relationships where he’s a father/mentor. Like his relationship with Kitty Pryde and Jubilee, two kids that he basically adopts/takes under his wing and constantly goes out of his way for. Some of you might remember this post and the reason Logan does eventually fuck Wade’s shit up is because Wade literally punches the ever living shit out of Kitty in front of Logan. In another comic issue (after this), Logan beats the shit out of Wade again for punching Kitty, it’s funny but it also just goes to show that he does take protection of his family seriously. And mind you he doesn’t hunt Deadpool down, he find him by sheer plot coincidence when he’s getting a book signed for Kitty and the author just so happened to be Deadpool’s mark.

And mind you, Logan does have love for his own kids (Laura and Daken) despite the troubled nature of both this relationships but again those are a little more complicated. That’s partially for plot reasons but also because they play into just how much Logan hates himself that he struggles active show the same love for his adopted family to his “blood” family (again with Daken it’s a lot more complicated) but I also think that not only are his relationships with them fraught because of how much he hates himself but because both Laura and Daken were experimented on just and manipulated like he was (and in Daken’s case by a major player of Weapon X) so while he does love them past his own self hatred, they are also a reminder of his deepest traumas. It’s not their fault and it’s not necessarily Logan’s fault either, it’s just the cards their characters were dealt. (I haven’t read any comics with them yet so once I do I will most likely write my thoughts on his relationship with them each individually)

Regardless, Logan, depsite what he’d like you to think, is a deeply loving, empathetic and loyal person and this doesn’t just extend to people who considers family:

(Logan says this a man who not only a few issues ago was trying to kill him and his partner/friends. He saved Roughouse (the character he went berserk on a few pictures ago) because he was being experimented on in a way not too dissimilar to the way he had been by Weapon X. And if I remember correctly this is before he even knows how he got the adimantium in his bones)

He is James 'Logan' Howlett. He is a man whose life was stolen from him so many times over. He is a man who believes that the worse parts of him are all that matter and fails (or refuses) to see the good he has done in the lives of the people he cares about and believes that only death will truly bring him peace. He is someone who despite his flaws can’t help but to be kind. He is someone who fights like hell for what he believes is right. And even if he believes he’s a monster, even if the world believes he’s a monster, he will try to do the right thing because although he knows his soul is damned that doesn’t mean that exempts him from doing what good he can. He is someone who gives and good as he gets and then some. He’s the best at what he does but for him, that isn’t alway what he thinks it is.

And I think that’s the beauty of Logan as a character. Someone whose life is so wrought with tragedy and yet he is someone who can’t help but to be kind, someone who can’t help but love and care and find the humanity in the world despite the world seeming to be hellbent on taking his humanity away. Even though he (and many people in universe) might disagree with me, he is not only a one of the best humanity has to offer but he is also a shining example of the tenacity of the human spirit.

[darth-jess]

My Unpopular Opinion: Was Mace Windu About to Defeat Sidious?

Alright, somebody asked me this question a while back, and personally, I thought the answer was pretty obvious: no, Mace Windu was not about to defeat Sidious in the battle in the Chancellor's Office.

And then I conducted this poll:

Since then, I have come to realize, the answer is (apparently) NOT obvious.

So in this post, I will attempt to prove that Mace Windu, as incredibly powerful as he was, was NOT winning against Palpatine in the battle in the Chancellor's office in Revenge of the Sith even when it looked like he was.

Furthermore, I will argue that Palpatine's deception does not change the importance and power of Anakin's choice.

Let me preface this with: I love Mace Windu! He is literally one of my favorite Jedi, I love his character and I also love Samuel L. Jackson, so you have to understand this is not coming from a place of "Mace Windu hate."

Anyway, this is about to be a long post, so bear with me or tap out now. I'm an English major, so I go about this argument in a very "literary analysis" kind of way.

THE EVIDENCE:

Okay so as you can see, even in the movie, Palpatine quickly kills the other Jedi Council Masters. And these are not weak Jedi. They are Kit Fisto, Saesee Tiin, and Agen Kolar, all highly respected for their wisdom, their use of the Force, and their skill as warriors.

No one else in the entire galaxy could take out these three Masters as quickly as Sidious did, which goes to show how incredibly powerful Darth Sidious is as a warrior.

Mace Windu is clearly the greatest warrior of all the Masters who came with him. He is one of the most powerful Jedi of the Order, second only to Master Yoda (and possibly Anakin, depending on how you interpret Anakin's potential in the Force vs actual ability, but we won't get into that here).

Even if we're just looking at what strictly happens in the movie, Sidious is holding his own just fine against Mace Windu– sure, it's an intense battle, but neither of them seem to be winning or losing.

Suddenly, and only after Anakin is on his way to the Chancellor's office, Sidious begins to falter. Does that NOT seem a bit like a coincidence? Mace Windu kicks Sidious in the face, Sidious loses his lightsaber, and immediately turns into a sniveling little grub begging for his life.

Here's the thing.

Are we really meant to believe all of this was just a coincidence that occurred right as Anakin was walking in?

PERSONALLY, I don't buy it.

You have to remember:

Sidious is the master of manipulation. That is his greatest strength.

Alright, let's look at the book.

In the Revenge of the Sith novelization by Matthew Stover, it starts when Sidious reveals to Anakin that he is the Sith Lord, but that he is also Anakin's friend. Anakin says he will turn Sidious over to the Jedi Council, because Anakin has no idea what to do… he can't kill this man who was his friend, who says he can help him save Padmé.

Sidious makes it very clear to Anakin that the Jedi are going to come to execute him, and Anakin insists that they wouldn't, because (as Anakin says in the movie) "It's not the Jedi way." It shows that Anakin still has faith in the Jedi, in the ways of the Jedi, and it is Sidious's job to tear that away.

All of this is a way for Sidious to prove his point to Anakin– that the Jedi are not as noble as Anakin has been lead to believe. And what's the best way for him to show that to Anakin? What's the best way for him to PROVE that point? If Sidious can show Anakin that the Jedi (the BEST of the Jedi) will kill an unarmed man… will murder someone who has SURRENDERED… Anakin will see the truth: that the Jedi only follow their own rules until it is inconvenient. That the Jedi are not noble, they are hypocrites.

Leading up to the battle in the Chancellor's office, Sidious waits for the Jedi Masters to arrive.

The shadow, Darth Sidious, is not worried by their approach and honestly this is not overconfidence. This is all part of the plan.

As the Jedi storm into his office, he begins a recording which he will later show to the Senate as PROOF that the Jedi tried to assassinate him– a powerless man who has only tried to do his best for the Republic. This is the recording, transcribed in the ROTS novelization:

Yet during the entire recording, Palpatine is killing the Jedi even when it sounds like he's begging for help. This is a small portion of what really happened, between Palpatine's cries for help:

Palpatine has put on this nice little show for the sake of the recording which he can later show the Senate, as proof that the Jedi were trying to overthrow the Republic. Palpatine even LOCKS THE DOOR WITH THE FORCE, locking himself in there with the other Jedi Masters.

Then, we switch to Mace Windu's perspective who is quoted to be "fighting for his life."

So here, Mace Windu feels Palpatine's fear… or at least, he thinks the fear is from Palpatine. And then, Mace Windu cuts Palpatine's lightsaber in half, the blade falling away so that Palpatine had no weapon.

Palpatine falls to the ground and backs away from Mace, just like in the movie, until he's trapped against the window sill.

And Mace Windu doesn't have time to actually consider Palpatine's words, but we (the readers/audience) know the implication: that the fear Mace Windu is feeling belongs to Anakin not Palpatine.

Then, Palpatine begins his Force-lightning attack, and Mace Windu– facing an UNARMED Palpatine– calls out for Anakin's help. Let's remember, Palpatine has no lightsaber, he is lying on his back, on the window sill.

Let me say that again: Mace Windu, NEEDS ANAKIN'S HELP, FACING AN UNARMED MAN, WHO IS LAYING ON HIS BACK.

Palpatine is still in COMPLETE CONTROL of the entire situation.

Even as Mace Windu catches the Force lighting and redirects it back at Palpatine, Palpatine does not stop until he's super deformed and looking totally awful– this isn't out of self defense, this is (once again) for the sole purpose of putting on a show.

Palpatine says, "He's killing me, Anakin" and yet Palpatine CONTINUES to use Force lightning. It's not Mace Windu who is killing Palpatine, Mace Windu is DEFENDING HIMSELF against the powerful Force lightning attack, that PALPATINE continues, even as it deforms him.

Mace Windu is not lying when he says, "Anakin, he's too strong for me–" because Palpatine, even unarmed, is so much more powerful than Mace Windu.

Palpatine is lying when he says, "I…can't. I give up. I…I am too weak, in the end. […] I surrender."

And he says it because he knows what those words– "I surrender"– will do. He knows that it is against the belief of the Jedi to kill an unarmed man, to kill someone who HAS ACTUALLY SURRENDERED. Even Count Dooku had not surrendered to Anakin. He was unarmed, but he did not surrender.

Anakin knows this. This is why Anakin was so upset about the way he killed Count Dooku, because it was not the Jedi way, because it was wrong. And now, here's Mace Windu, one of the best of the Jedi, about to kill a man who has actually surrendered.

When Mace Windu says, "He controls the Senate" he is accidentally playing into Palpatine's hand. Palpatine has told Anakin that the Jedi will try to take over the Republic (which until now, Anakin thought was ridiculous) and if the Jedi take over the Senate, will they kill all the Senators, too? Padmé?

Obviously the Jedi would not have done this, but Anakin's lack of sleep, mixed with his fear and Palpatine's manipulations suddenly make it all too real for him.

There is only one split second where Mace Windu actually could have killed Palpatine, and that's right before Anakin steps in as Mace raises his lightsaber for the killing blow. But the only reason Mace has this opportunity at all is because Sidious allows it. And Sidious allows it because he needs Anakin to see how far the Jedi have fallen. Mace steps into the trap, raising his lightsaber, and seals his fate.

CONCLUSION

Mace Windu was an incredible warrior. He was one of the most powerful Jedi who ever lived, and he is one of my personal favorite Jedi. However, the outcome of this battle was decided before it began.

I have seen some people say: if Mace was not winning, it takes away the power and meaningfulness of Anakin’s choice.

And I understand the argument– because how is Anakin's choice important at all if Mace had already lost? If Mace Windu was never going to win, then Anakin's choice truly had no effect on whether or not the Republic fell, whether or not the Jedi were destroyed.

But the Jedi had destroyed themselves already by fighting in the Clone Wars. The Republic was rotten from the inside out, and it was not just because of Palpatine. So by the time Anakin is forced to make his choice, the fall of the Republic and the Jedi is already inevitable– it's just a matter of when.

Even Padmé recognizes this much earlier in the movie:

"What if the democracy we thought we were serving no longer exists, and the Republic has become the very evil we have been fighting to destroy?"

By this point, the Republic has already been gutted. The Sith have already won.

Had Anakin chosen to help Mace Windu kill Palpatine– and Palpatine already knew Anakin never would have, otherwise Palpatine never would have let Anakin leave his office and tell the Jedi Council he was a Sith– the Sith may have been destroyed. But it would not have stopped the slow degradation of the Republic, and it would not have ended the hypocrisy of the Jedi as peacekeeper-warriors.

And yet, in so many ways, Star Wars is about inevitability and the choices people make in the face of destiny.

Anakin's choice still matters, but his choice was never between light or dark, it was never between Jedi or Sith, it wasn’t even between killing Mace Windu or killing Palpatine.

His choice, in that split second before he makes it, is: stop Mace Windu and save Padmé or watch her die.

Anakin's choice matters because of what it means for Padmé's future, and his own. It matters, because he chooses to be an active participant in the destruction of everything he has ever fought for in an attempt to save her, and it fails, and it ruins him.

All of this is Palpatine forcing Anakin into a corner, and forcing him to make an impossible choice.

But he’s immediately filled with horror after he’s made his choice, because he didn't want Mace Windu to die. He doesn’t regret it, because he has already decided he will do whatever it takes to save Padmé, but he hates that his choice has come down to this.

Alright, did my argument convince you? If not, why? Do you think Mace Windu was truly more powerful than Sidious and was about to defeat him on his own, and if so, why?

I will not respond to rude, or mean remarks. I'm genuinely interested in a discussion if I've not convinced you, and I am open to changing my mind if you have evidence to the contrary!

[avalypuff]

Answers to the common questions of “Why didn’t Zelda retain dragon features?” and “Why did Link’s arm revert to normal?”

I’ve been dying to do some analysis posts since TotK came out, and after seeing a lot of people complain about the above, I decided my first should be related to the endgame.

So, I’ve seen a lot of posts where people seem to misunderstand what was going on when Zelda changed back into a Hylian, and why Link’s arm returned to normal. Many write this off as simply plot convenience, and while it’s true that Nintendo wouldn’t want to leave the main characters of one of their most popular titles with permanent changes, I’m here to try my best to explain the actual reason these things happened the way they did, because whether you noticed it or not, there is plot relevance to this reversion.

Draconification is permanent.

This is an indisputable fact.

And while I have seen people criticizing the way Zelda changed back, the fact is she swallowed the stone knowing that she never would.

“I’ll be forever changed…”

Her cry for Link to find her was not for her sake. She wasn’t depending on him to find the key to changing her back. Nay, the only reason she desperately prayed for him to find her was so that he could get the Master Sword, which—ignoring game mechanics that would allow you to beat Ganondorf with literally any weapon with the right damage/durability ratio—canonically is the only thing that can hurt him.

When Zelda changed back, it was almost entirely thanks to Sonia. That’s right!

…Let’s take a second to recall this scene in which Rauru decimated the horde of Molduga.

We see Sonia extend her hand and then gesture for Zelda to do the same.

Here they’re extending their own power to amplify Rauru’s counterattack, even beyond the already-massive boost the Secret Stone provides.

In the final scene when Link finds himself hovering over the sleeping Light Dragon amongst a dream-like atmosphere, it’s really quite telling that Sonia is the first to rest her hand over Link’s, then followed by Rauru.

This time Rauru is fulfilling the role of amplifying Sonia’s power over time. Not just that, but adding it on top of the time manipulation that Zelda gave to Link at the beginning of the game.

That’s what’s happening here. This is immensely powerful, triple amplified time magic!

The change from dragon to Hylian wasn’t a transformation in the same sense that it was when Zelda changed from Hylian to dragon. I know that’s a confusing sentence, but consider the basis of Sonia’s time magic is recalling things as they once were.

Zelda didn’t retain dragon features because, through the power of time reversal, she was never a dragon to begin with.

This is the also the reason the Secret Stone reappeared on her necklace.

This is ALSO the reason Link’s arm reverted to its natural state before he was affected by the gloom.

And before y’all come at me with “well, why didn’t Rauru do that in the first place instead of giving his arm to Link?” Simple; Sonia wasn’t there. Even spirits aren’t omnipotent… in Hyrule. (Probably.)

The point is, this was essentially a lucky break for Zelda and Link, because if Sonia (and therefore Zelda, by inheritance) didn’t have time magic, there would have been no way to undo the Draconification. It would have been every bit as permanent as Hyrule legends and history says it is, and Zelda would be gone forever.

In fact, it’s likely it was a shot in the dark even on Sonia and Rauru’s part, considering there was no prior knowledge of reversing time on a dragon, let alone a person. It was a glorious blend of the convenience of Sonia’s time magic, and luck that it worked out the way they (“they” being all characters involved) wanted.

Anyways, to wrap this up, Draconification is indeed permanent, unless you have the number one badass-master-of-time-manipulation Queen Sonia on your side. Then you can probably undo anything. :)

[ngage2003]

Hi I love your mh character analysis posts they are so GOOD, would you be able to do more about Tim pretty please :]

First of all, Thank you :-)! Second of all, yeah I have some things I can say about Tim, though a bit funnily, they are a bit discoordinated compared to some of my other analyses.

After all, out of all the characters in Marble Hornets, Tim Wright is the one we know most about, as his life is laid out for us pretty definitely over the course of the series. Because of this, my focus tends to be on his metaphorical other half, Masky, but I do have some things to say about the two of them and their upbringing, and a few unanswered questions which I will try to satisfactorily put my pen to.

⟦content warning: discussions of child abuse/dangerous households, suicide, hospitals, and wildly off the rails theorycrafting⟧

Alright, so why is Tim a system? This is a question some of you may raise your eyebrow at if you're unfamiliar with DID but stick with me here. We know that Tim only started being taken by the Operator and having seizures in 1995, when he was a child, but over seven years old. (I'll get into how we know this later.) We as a society honestly don't know a lot about Dissociative Identity Disorder and its sisters but one thing we do know is it is caused by extensive stress/trauma inducing dissociation in a extremely young childhood, usually under the age of seven if not even younger, where the mind dissociating from trauma to protect itself causes it to fail to coalesce/develop properly into one identity. That is the main theory behind how DID forms, and given that Tim is only seeming to be extensively exposed to the Operator at seven, but would that be enough for Tim to develop DID? Alex didn't develop it, despite also being hinted at having been exposed to it at the same age.

Note: In enttry #37, we see a home video of Alex at 6 years old in 1991, with heavy Operator distortion implying that it has somehow corrupted this tape and/or was here. This combined with the fact Alex repeatedly goes to a playground to confront/find the Operator in my opinion more or less guarantees that he saw it as a young child. This makes sense especially considering the original "Something Awful" forum pictures in my opinion. Alex's backstory with the Operator basically directly references them, which would make sense since they literally inspired the series.

Granted, you could just hand wave this or go "ok but who cares, they probably weren't even trying to make a character with DID," and yeah, you're right, but I want to actually look at Tim's character and explore his childhood a bit to try to understand it, especially in relation to this fact.

Our main fount of information in relation to Tim's childhood is Entry 66 and Entry 60.5. I am going to start with the latter, for a few very specific reasons.

See, in Entry 60.5, we actually get to see 5 of Tim's medical documents, not just one. This is a fact that is seemingly forgotten a lot by the fandom, and I wanted to get into it for my speculation.

The first document we see though is a Pediatric Admissions Profile from December 12th 1995, followed up by a Pediatric Admissions Assessment of the same year at 11:45 A.M. I do not believe these records are from his institutionalization, but rather a hospital visit that directly proceeded it, one that was probably caused by Tim having a seizure at home and needing to go to the hospital, but lets take this one step at a time.

These Admissions forms explain that Tim's conditions and symptoms at his time of admittance, ones we know well as products of Operator exposure. They also give us a precious piece of information that never comes up again though.

Tim's mom's name.

Janet Wright answers all the questions on the Pediatric Admissions Profile, and it is through her answers that we learn several facts, like that Tim has completed 2nd grade at the time of these papers, (meaning he is probably in 3rd,) and that he is on an anti-convulsant, along with the fact he has a history of falls, apparently needs/has glasses, has emotional barriers to learning, that someone has smoked in the house in the past year, and that Tim lives at home alone with her.

This is something reaffirmed on the PA Assessment, which was probably something that either a nurse or his Psychiatrist filled out by asking Tim himself questions.

Under Category 5., Assistance required for Care, there is a part where it says that for emotional support, "Child relys on: Mother (✓) Father ( ) Sibling ( )". Additionally, it also says asks, "who else besides parents might be staying with child?" Which is answered with a Not Applicable, along with the question, "has your family had any recent changes in your life? (moved, divorce, birth, death, new job, etc.)" Which is also answered with a no.

It continues, and we learn from it that Tim has poor orientation to time along with his chronic headaches, as well as signs and symptoms of depression, as well as that he struggles to engage with peers his age and doesn't have/begin hobbies.

Most importantly though, it is mentioned that his condition isn't affected by his household, which could refer to simply his seizures, but I think is important to mention given his depressive symptoms. At least in this moment, it doesn't seem like to the person doing the assessment that Tim is depressed due to his mom.

(Though that can be hard to pick up on but regardless.)

We also learn that he experiences high risk on a Fall Assessment Scale, as he is checked off as "confused, disoriented, hallucinating, combative," and having a history of "syncope, seizures,"—which is underlined—"postural hypotension".

I believe he only really started to have seizures this year though, as it is mentioned under "Plan of Care" that he ran away from home two "somethings" ago before being found at Rosswood, which I believe to be weeks or months. (If it was two years, why still mention it here?) I don't think that Tim ran away though, but rather, was taken and teleported by the Operator and Operatortured, an event that left him having chronic seizures. After all, despite Jay being exposed to the Operator for years, we only see him begin to have those only after the Operator snatches him in Entry 72. I think this snatching/possible Operatorture is key in it inducing/beginning to induce seizures.

Moving on though, two of the next three documents are from the same day, with both being from 7/8/02.

The first (Delayed Therapy Communication Form) that we are shown being filled out at 15:10 or 3:10 PM, and the second being an assessment (Suicide/Self-Harm Assessment Tool) that was filled out at 8:45 in the morning, probably by hospital staff in preparation for therapy later in the day. On the latter, Tim was left with a rather high suicide risk score, and a comment of supposedly untrustworthy answers.

There is a document that Jay reads sandwiched between these two though, from 1/10/Year Redacted. It is a Brief Operative Progress Note, about a procedure seemingly in relation to an unmedical wound with a ton of redacted information, and based on placement and the fact "Hoody" purposefully arranged the papers like this, I believe he was trying to imply to Jay that this was a suicide attempt by Tim at the start of 1996, which led to his hospitalization.

-

Wow. Ok. That was a lot. Let's summarize and break down the facts though.

At the end of 1995, Tim Wright is being raised by his single mother, Janet Wright, with it being unclear if his dad was ever in the picture. Tim was probably in 3rd grade at the end of 1995, which puts him at around eight to nine years old. At this point, he seemingly had a history of seizures, but around this time he also started showing symptoms of depression, hallucinations and even supposedly "ran away" from home at one point.

It seems like Hoody, based on how he organized these papers, seems to want us to think that at the start of 1996, Tim had either a suicide attempt, or a violent episode that could've been misconstrued as a suicide attempt.

Note: Personally, I think it was misconstrued. I say this because well, we know how the Operator can warp reality, and in Entry 66 Tim says, "My mom [sent me inpatient] when I was really young, but she never told me exactly why," and that the doctors seemingly gossiped about the fact he had violent episodes and hallucinations which led to him being institutionalized, which he doesn't remember. Of course, maybe Tim was just lying to Jay and leaving stuff out, but based on the rest of this scene and everything else he says, I find that unlikely. I think it is possible that Masky tried to defend himself and Tim from the Operator and got hurt in the process, and due to his lack of verbality and strange/differing behavior from Tim's, it was interpreted as a violent and/or suicidal episode cause by a hallucination. Either way, none of this does align with the fact the wound is "clean," but that could be more about it not being infected and/or recent than a clean cut.

Either way, after this, in conjunction with advice from doctors and the stress of caring for a mentally ill child and hospital visits/bills, Janet Wright admitted Tim into inpatient care.

It is after this point, (based on dialogue from Entry 66,) that we know Tim sort of fell out with his mother, as she "wasn't really around" for him to ask things. I can't say why she distanced herself from him, and honestly that is where my sympathy runs dry for her, but we know based on what Tim doesn't say that he more or less didn't have any family. His mother was probably raising him on her own, and her decision to put him inpatient probably had to do with the fact she just couldn't care for him and genuinely thought it would be better/safer.

Ok. Cool. Unfortunately, still none of this answers the question as to why Tim is a system. Based on all this supplementary evidence though, I do have two kind of routes/ideas I could see as possible/likely which I want to share, so pick your poison.

A】 Janet Wright was neglectful, either by accident or on purpose.

Neglect can cause DID, especially severe emotional neglect causing a disruption in child development, and if Tim's dad was never in the picture, along with the stresses of being a single mom, it could be hard for Ms Wright to meet Tim's needs. Maybe she didn't even want to be a parent, but found out she was pregnant to late, and so decided to "give it a shot."

The real mold in the juice box for this theory though is the fact that Tim's medical records (Pediatric Admission Assessment, Page 2, 6. Abuse/Neglect/Exploitation Screen) answers no to "evidence of neglect by caretakers." Granted however, this is when Tim is in 3rd grade, and it can be hard to always pick up on emotional neglect. Perhaps it could be misconstrued as depressive symptoms for example, and Tim's issues with starting hobbies and connecting with peers could be due to him not being properly socially met/developed growing up, but honestly I am unsure how I fully feel about this theory.

What it comes down to is just that, besides knowing she smokes regularly, we don't know much about Janet Wright, and while she fell out of touch with Tim, that could be for literally any number of reasons. Demonizing her or deifying her both kind of make me grimace. Maybe she blames herself for his condition and her guilt drives her away, and after a while she felt it would be wrong of her to go back after abandoning Tim in the first place. Maybe she just never wanted a kid and took the option to ditch him. The point I am getting at is we just don't know.

Which is what brings me to theory two.

B】 Tim's dad was in some way abusive, causing Janet to leave him to protect Tim but leaving him with trauma.

It would explain why Tim's dad isn't in the picture in a way that feels concrete, and why Tim never tried to reach out to his dad's side along with why he has DID. Maybe too, if Janet was in an abusive relationship, that somehow got in the way of her reaching out to her side of the family, which is why Tim never did either and why she didn't have any help for raising him and dealing with his conditions.

I don't really have much to say on this one either, but it would explain why there isn't direct evidence of neglect along with why his mom isn't blamed for his depressive symptoms by the doctor and why Tim said in his Assessment that he relies on his mom for emotional support. That is because he does, but they were just unfortunately in a situation for a while where he couldn't properly get it.

Sure, she probably isn't perfect, but in this reading she does care for him, and did try to get him a better life.

I think this would especially make sense when you consider the fact that Masky, Tim's protector alter, has a feminine presentation.

Often alters formed in especially early youth will take heavy direct inspiration from their environment, especially parents. Maybe since Tim's mom did protect him some of the time and eventually got him away from his dad, this idea of her and by extension femininity as a whole being this unstoppable, almost deified force of nature stuck with him on a subconscious level. She was fierce and seemed impenetrable, especially to a little kid who idolizes their caregiver in the face of abuse, and I think that influenced why Tim's brain made a protector like Masky that is simultaneously feminine aligned out of the blue and so aligned with defending people/defensive violence.

Because yes, Masky is violent, and often they do threaten/attack Alex with "Hoody," but that could easily be because they remember the fact Alex attacked them in Entry 56/57 along with stuff like the fact "Hoody" most likely told them about how Alex killed him and needs to be taken care of. They know Alex is dangerous, and so a lot of their actions are protective or in an attempt to save other people.

Like, in Entry 35, their motives can be hard to read, yes, but if they just wanted to fight someone they could have easily gone for Jay instead of running past him to get Alex. I actually think they could've easily been waiting here because they knew Alex was following Jay and this was the last place Jay was, and they wanted to stop Alex from getting to him because he could (and literally does) try to kill Jay. Along with this incident, they stop Alex from shooting Jay and Jessica in Entry 52, and seemingly distract him while those two escape and drive away to safety. They also act to protect/save Jessica from the Operator and Alex with Hoody in Entry 76. They also seemingly only stop directly working with Hoody after he hurts Tim, i.e. causing him to have a seizure to trigger them out, which Masky seeming to sever their partnership over.

Listen, there's no answer as to why Masky is feminine, and maybe there doesn't need to be, but based on how DID works and Masky's general behavior, to me it is obvious that they took subconscious inspiration from something, and I think it could be how their mom protected them and Tim.

Note: This is not to say Masky and Tim have a maternal/parental relationship, even if Masky is partially based on their mom in an abstract sense. In my opinion, they have a relationship almost similar to like, how siblings will go through trauma together and be bonded by that fact because they wholly understand what the other person is going through, or how a slightly older child might try to take care of a younger one and be parent-ified but still while not holding the authority and control of a parent, though obviously different because they're a system. I guess my main point though is that they're equals, and Masky loves Tim very much. Masky does have some power over Tim because they cause amnesia when they front during traumatic episodes and accidentally puts him in danger sometimes, but ultimately they have a more push-pull relationship to me, even if Tim isn't aware of it. Because, even if Masky does front sometimes, Tim is usually the one in control almost all of the time. But really that's another post I could make lmao.

Either way, whatever way you think Tim got DID, one thing is clear. His life fucking sucks.

-

If you want my personal belief on what his childhood is like, taken with a bit of salt, I don't think Janet Wright is purely innocent, (she could've very easily been incidentally neglectful given the vagueness of the circumstances,) but I do think that Tim's dad could have been a shithead if only because of how it parallels my Alex headcanons and I like that, along with Masky being based on their mom aesthetically to some extent.

(As a system, I loveee system weirdness.)

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed.

[yellowjacketsfashion]

Idk if custome analysis and style analysis are the same thing but if they are not could u do a custome analysis for any of the yjs?

Preferently Jackie or Lottie? Lol

Sure, this is a costume analysis for Lottie’s doomcoming outfit! (Includes MAJOR Spoilers for Season 3)

The outfit is not only one of the most iconic clothing pieces in the entire show but also serves a very important role in understanding Lottie as a character and how she moves through the group as well as signifying her relationship with It.

The term “Antler Queen” was coined by fans but originally the masked figure was called the Shaman/Oracle. Shamans and Oracles are spiritual figures who can commune with higher beings and foresee the future, if anyone on the show fits that description it’s Lottie. She apparently has the ability to foresee events/predict the future and actively speaks for the wilderness during the seance in bloodhive when she says “It wants blood.” She is also the one who is most in tune with the wilderness and this connection is explicitly connected to her doomcoming outfit.

Costume designer Marie Schely has mentioned a in a couple different interviews that Lottie’s Doomcoming outfit is intentionally a callback to the antler queen costume. The white dress is supposed to resemble the cloak and of course the headress is a more direct reference with the antlers.

According the Schely the Doomcoming headdress was actually made not of antler but of fiberglass to make it lighter to wear. Additionally, the headdress was supposed to look more like an alter piece rather than a hat because in the story it was originally intended to be decoration only for Lottie to more “intuitively��� put it on.

Whether or not she put the headdress on under direction of the Wilderness, Lottie literally crowns herself and signifies herself as the new leader.

After the events of Doomcoming come to a close the dress continues on and is often worn in key moments for Lottie’s character such as the scene where she kills the bear (an act cementing her as a leader in the eyes of many teammates), and throughout season 2 as she navigates being the spiritual leader of the group.

The Dress stays with Lottie even after she is no longer the “queen.” Interestingly, as of season 3 Lottie has been the one to “crown” every queen. In season 2 she passes on leadership unto Natalie and in season 3 she chooses that Shauna will lead them moving forward.

While she is no longer the “leader” in a traditional sense, she is still the spiritual leader of the group who many in the team still listens to. She has power and sway over the team, even when the team falls out with her she still ends up with the final say as to what the group does.

While she ultimately wasn’t revealed to be behind the Antler Queen mask she is still intrinsically tied to the queen. Before Shauna dawns the outfit Lottie has a vision of the queen emerging from the cave. As Lottie outstretched her hands the queen does the same, mirroring her and acting as one. “My will is your will” is what the figure says and that seems to connect with what Adult Lottie says to Callie about becoming one with “it” when your will is the same.

Does this suggest that Lottie is in tune with the wilderness on a deeper level? Or maybe suggesting that while Shauna wears the mask Lottie is the one behind the Queen? It will be interesting to see how this dynamic will play out as they enter the second winter and the Antler Queen comes more into fruition in Season 4.

Hopefully this was the kind of thing you were wanting! I also have some style analysis posts linked here for a variety of characters if that’s more of what you were wanting. If you have any other questions or if I didn’t really provide the answer you were looking for just let me know!

[pesky--dust]

What's your take on Will's fear as a consequence of his heightened empathy? Do the murders he commits dampen that fear or amplify it?

Sorry it took so long, but life got the better of me very hard and I felt I don't have time to write the answer in a way that would be satisfactory enough for me.

First of all, I consider it as a very muddy topic and let me clarify: Will's heightened empathy comes from the book and there it is Doctor Bloom who points out that Will deals with heightened empathy and it is the reason for his fear.

In the show, the last part is left to Alana, but it's Hannibal who "diagnoses" Will with heightened empathy and considering that this is Hannibal who is curious about a lot of things — I'm unsure if we can trust him with that diagnosis completly or not. I have to also admit, even to myself, that at this stage, Hannibal would have had no reason to mess around in this matter, since he had just met Will and he had no way of knowing yet how their lives would intertwine. Messy from the very beginning!

However, what Will does borders on magical realism anyway, so it's possible that this is really the only diagnosis he can get.

And I also believe Chilton is right about most things in the series (because he is Cassandra of the show), so his diagnosis of Will in court?

Let's break this down a little bit. We do know that Will actually hid all his life, fearing that he understood criminals so well because he had such tendencies himself (by the way, this is also taken from the book).

For the purposes of this analysis, I believe these words from Chilton are most important: "Saving lives is just as arousing as ending them. He likes to play God".

But for now, let's focus on Bedelia's words for a second:

And yes, in the series we see Will only killing actually bad people (criminals): G.J. Hobbs, Randall Tier, Francis Dolarhyde, he also constantly fantasizes about killing Hannibal. It is righteous violence, isn't it? Because he is compassionate.

And having covered all this, I feel we can now move on to answering your question.

Will is afraid, but only for a while, as even Alana points out:

I think his empathy actually frightened him because he was afraid of what his fate might be if he let himself get carried away by it. He spent his entire life trying to convince himself that he was a good person… only to end up in the Baltimore State Hospital for the Criminally Insane anyway! For things he didn't even do!!!

When he realized that empathy had become his only weapon, he began to use it skillfully: a scene where he cries in front of Alana and Hannibal that he is scared, lost and needs their help? Allowing Chilton to be the only one to test him? Exclusive rights to his story for Freddie Lounds? He knew that these people wanted it, so he gave it to them.

So in my opinion? Will's fear was never a direct result of his empathy, but rather the fact that he was afraid of the consequences of using it — hence being a cop, a special agent. He was trying to prove to himself that he was good and normal. Moral. Moral person cannot be killer, right? Right??? He wanted to believe so.

And now about dampen that fear or amplify it. The opinions of Chilton and Bedelia, which I inserted earlier, will be useful here.

Will was vulnerable in the first season when he was sick, but Will himself is a huge manipulator; he plays not only with other characters, but also with the audience.

Will tried to live as a good and moral man.

After killing Hobbs, he said that he did not consider him his victim, but dead. He had hallucinations of Hobbs, but this could have been the result of encephalitis combined with work-related stress.

After killing Randall Tier? While at the crime scene, Tier told Will that it was the becoming for him too. Killing Dolarhyde? "It's beautiful".

BUT! Do you remember the body that was set on fire as the body of Freddie Lounds?

Will had a nightmare about this, where the burning body had his face on it. He woke up sweating like at the beginning of the show. There was still a moral dilemma.

He came back to this job after three long years because of the Red Dragon's case. And so, Hannibal was right as they stood in their memory palace over the broken mirror, "Like you, Will, he [Dolarhyde] needs a family to escape what's inside him" — soon after that Will wakes up drenched in sweat from a nightmare. And when he looks in the mirror then, his reflection is falling apart, which I think parallels nicely with what he said in season one ("I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror. I looked through me, past me. Like I was a stranger"). Is it his person suit falling down right now?

And now... In my opinion Chilton and Bedelia are right. Killing can be enjoyable to Will if he feels it is morally justified. The killings he committed were like that.

He had a nightmare after "killing" Freddie because he was playing a very dangerous game with Hannibal, but he also knew that compared to the other perpetrators, Freddie's crimes were minor.

He is like God. He is the one who administers justice. The murders — or transgressions, like what eventually happened to Chilton because of him — that Will commits don't make him more and more afraid, but rather… he becomes more and more confident.

[bluginkgo]

Ep 8 Thoughts and Details Part 1

Some thoughts and details I had while watching ep8, and some parallels I found. And yes, I had to split this into 2 parts because Tumblr said "fack you, you can only upload 30 images :P"

Spoilers, duh

Already starting strong, the song that plays through the radio is "Cyn's theme" if you will, that is heard all the way back in ep5 (time stamp about 2:34)

Ep8 showcasing the first teaser image that was released on Liam's channel. Quite bittersweet, in a good way.

Well, uh, Uzi is a true god now XD She's got the AS that was originally in Cyn as well, double powerful and double traumatized/damaged OC!

"A How-to guide of overcoming the existential dread evoked by murdering innocent sentient robots capable of emotion and independent thought. Real life JCJ engineer testimonies. Thought provoking analysis of life and the benefit of being the apex predator. Insanely philosophical advice such as, 'Get over it,' 'Shut up and keep working,' 'Do you want a job or not.'"

Bleh >:P The fact that the AS is still playful is something a bit silly to me, in a funny way. Despite it being the god of the universe- almost- it has a silly side to it.

The amount of times there were cuss words either almost said/implicated made me so happy and burst out laughing one too many times XD

I've seen some people mention how the reunion between Uzi and Nori was unsatisfactory. In my opinion? It was perfect. The awkward feeling of meeting someone you should have known your entire life, all the while trying to the world was perfectly translated here. The silliness that Uzi inherited from Nori shines here. But most of all, N's kindness shines through Uzi. I think if Uzi was still her angsty rebellious teen like she was back at the beginning of the series, she would have not had as nice of a reunion with Nori as she did now.

Omg, you have no idea how happy I was in this scene. The animation, VAs, the DETAIL- ALL OF IT was so amazing! N looks so silly and goober-y <:3 Another thing I took notice later on was the timing. It's not really stated how much time it took for Uzi to go from falling down the AS hole to being punted into space. But assuming about minutes, that implies N facking booked it. The moment he got tossed out of the cathedral with the keys, he absolutely booked it to the ship without evening thinking whether Uzi was alive or not. He needed to see the evidence for himself. He didn't give up on and assume that Uzi was gone.

Recently one of the animators posted the scenes they worked on, giving us a clearer view of expressions. The work done by Xoriak was amazing and really pushed the expressions on these characters to the limit. What used to be Uzi's anger, quickly melts into relief an sadness as she realizes that N didn't give up on her in this scene. While she sacrificed herself, N did not accept her possible death as the only answer. No, he chose to look for her, and he would have done the same with V had the elevator not been blocked off.

This made me happy too. N has grown so much from who he was in the pilot. He used to be the push over that made friends with rocks, that accepted any order from the higher ups and didn't dare question any rebuttals. Now? Now he's confident enough to even voice the fact that he was mad about what Uzi did.

Give me like- giv- give me a second- LKJD;OIADKNVKVNAKDJF;OIWAEJFANVKJASDJFAOIWEFNAKJSDBV For the longest time my hyperfixation has been BONKS. Evident enough with what I've drawn (looks back at the 4-5 bonk drawings I've made). The fact that I got to see them bonk in canon made my sad sorry soul ascend into the upper plane of existence XD Oh and "die man bit-"

I grew up watching Studio Ghibli, so to see this moment- of NUzi falling and holding hands, of course my brain said- YOYOYOYO LOOK LOOK THEY'RE SO CUTE-

The moment of respite, the hug, the tail wrap around and the quick release from Uzi's part after having a heart to heart- it was all so perfectly beautiful ;w; NOT TO MENTION THE MUSIC, as usual AJ DiSpirito absolutely delivered. I REQUIRE THAT MUSIC TO BE PLAYING LOUDLY IN MY EARS 24/7 PLEASE AND THANK YOU AJ.

"I owe you 1 spaceship" -N

Couple things:

It's funny how J just either gave the ship up without a fight, or N was so stupidly fast that J couldn't even do anything about him taking it XD

N is an absolute machine at speed drawing XD

"I'm FINE, and calm, and GO AWAY." J is the embodiment of the entire work force TwT Couldn't help but say "same, honey, same ;w;"

Excuse me while I just- ITS VVVVVVVVV SHE CAME BACK OH MY GOSH- passes out On a more serious note, I've seen plenty of people mention that if V came back, her sacrifice would be for nothing. I don't think so. V came such a long way and grew to be more kind and honest thanks to her interactions with N, Uzi, Lizzy, and even her "death." It shows, because she chose to side with Uzi and N, and they all fought together in an amazing dance.

There were many moments in the episode that were a bit "slower" pace as many have put. That these moments took away from the intensity that was supposed to be in the episode. I don't think so. These moments are needed not just for the comedy part of it, but to give our brains to rest. To take a second, process the fighting we just saw, and be ready for more action. This is often used in Studio Ghibli movies, where after heavy action, it is followed by moments of quiet serenity to give you time to let the events sink in.

This, this right here TwT CRIES. These three have been together, hanging out, figuring out the eldritch mysteries- of course they'd pick up habits from each other. From N becoming more confident with himself and allowing himself to be mad at someone. To Uzi picking up on V's crawling on the ceiling habit. To V picking up Uzi's "bite me."

The amount of hand holding that was in this episode gave me enough serotonin for a life time. And the way that N always ended up wrapping his tail around Uzi, be it a hug or a cool pose. All of my NUzi hyperfixations are becoming canon and making me go FERAL.

Something that is interesting and always comes back to us, is the AS's interest and fixation on N. The way I have always seen it was Cyn was the reason for it. The AS tends to take something from the host and amplify it ten fold. For Uzi's case the perfect example was when she felt anxious or upset. Ep4 and ep7 are great examples of that. For Cyn's case it would seem that she got attached to N after she entered the mansion as a Solver host. The AS probably took that thought and amplified it to unhealthy amounts.

Oh.MY.GOD. THESE GOOBERS SEND HELP THEY'RE TRYING TO KILL ME WITH HOW CUTE THEY ARE. N first attempts to protect Uzi, and she says "nuh uh" and covers his hand instead. This. This right here. It's far too beautiful TwT

Great frame, but uh, how the fack are we able to see the AS symbol? XD Cause uh like, her face has a split for the nose section still and all of a sudden it just... went away? XD Don't get me wrong, the animation is TOP NOTCH in these last episodes, but silly little moments like this- where it's super tense and scary, but after a rewatch it just seems silly.

When I first saw this I figured "oh shit, it's ep7 all over again, they're gonna be obliterated." The demonic screams I let out were a bit embarrassing to say the least XD

This little shit. She's just playing with them, and she knows it. This entire fight was nothing more than a little game for her. Like a cat playing with a mouse before killing it.

In this scene you can actually hear the first notes of Eternal Dream, but in a super distorted way, much like it sounded in ep6 (timestamp about 15:30)

Alright, Ginkgo what now, why include this blurry frame of nothing? I really admire Cyn's VA. Fitzy has always done an amazing job at making my favorite character- Cyn- the creepy silly goober that she is. So of course I would have watched and unwillingly memorized laugh takes that Fitzy also shared. One of which was here (time stamp of about 0:47. The laughs are similar, and most likely reused from ep7 takes that never made it into ep7 but carried over to ep8. Just a fun little detail I noticed.

OMFG LMAO AAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHHAHAHAHHA THE WAY I BAWLED THE FIRST TIME I HEARD IT XD

Split second frame but I see it. I SEE IT V. SHE COVERED UP N'S CORE TwT Despite all of the comments she made, despite all of the things she did, she still cared for him. And the entire show, her entire character growth shows that. She didn't run in that moment- she could have much like she did from Cynessa mere seconds ago, but she stayed, and tried to protect N too.

OMG BAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHHAHAHAHA YESSS UZI XD

The entire fighting scene between Uzi, Cynessa and J was so amazing. As usual, AJ DiSpirito did an AMAZING job with the songs, but more so the fact that Uzi is able to hold her own against J and Cynessa, that just amazes me. She has always been strong, but seeing it in battle made me appreciate it all that much more. Another thing about this episode, it seemed like the animators didn't particularly try to hide anything sneaky. All of the glitched sections (ex: Uzi's visor after she at the AS) were code that general population is unable to read/decipher- unless someone with an actual expertise tells me otherwise, I can only assume its code of her CPU functions- once again, remember, I know next to nothing about computers and that language TwT But the moments that were evident were these- they were even changed to BLUE. From the pilot time, everything was sneaky. I mean from the way the Murder Drones logo switched briefly into the AS symbol, to N's waking up having administration "CYN" written on his visor upon reboot. All of that was sneaky details put in for us to hunt down. This time around, it didn't feel much of like a hunt and more like silly easter eggs.

Wanna see the rest of it? Yeah, here's part 2 because Tumblr doesn't like more than 30 images per post TwT

[catboygirljoker]

Free Pass Ask to talk about In Depth Luxu Analysis in case of no one sending in the right question to go off with

ok! here's my ~1600 word post about That One Scene At The End Of Dark Road. grins smilingly.

You know the one. Right after we see Baldr easily kill most of the cast of the game, right after a boss fight against him, right after we witness firsthand how powerful he is, we see a flashback of him confronting Bragi with the intention of killing him. And Bragi just...casually flicks his keyblade out of his hand. Bragi fully knows what Baldr's actual deal is, knows that Baldr has killed people, and is completely unthreatened by him. For good reason, it would seem!

So, Luxu's a badass, obviously. He made the big villain of the game into a jobber. And I think that's certainly one of the purposes of the scene. Luxu is about to be one of the primary antagonists of the franchise, and this sets him up to be very powerful!

...But I don't think it's the purpose of the scene. That is, I don't think that's the entire story. Because there are a couple questions left by this scene.

What happens at the end, there, when Baldr runs up to him and attacks him? And why doesn't Bragi reappear until long after Baldr is already dead?

I think we can piece together at least part of an answer.

In the earlier montage where Baldr says he killed everyone, we see a brief scene of Baldr slamming Bragi down onto an island in the Underworld. I assumed that this was a visual representation of Baldr lying and claiming he had killed Bragi when he didn't. But Bragi is the only character in this montage who we don't see die on screen. I believe we're meant to understand that this scene actually happened, and that this is what immediately follows the Luxu reveal cutscene.

Which seems contradictory with Bragi being such a badass, right? Was Bragi disarming Baldr a fluke? The thing is, when Baldr attacks Bragi at the end of the cutscene, Bragi is completely off guard and unprepared for the attack. We already know that Luxu can misjudge people/situations, to his own downfall.

Consider in Dream Drop when he seems to fully believe Sora will join the Real Organization XIII, or Days when he's unthreatened by Xion right up until she knocks him out and leaves, or Re:Mind when he finds out Luxord decided not to simply obey orders without question this time. So him being defeated by Baldr doesn't necessarily mean Luxu is weak if Bragi was defeated due to hubris.

(As a side note—I do think that this would be part of the reason the cutscene cuts off when it does. Luxu still needs to be a threatening villain in the upcoming games, so the audience has to have a strong impression of how threatening he is. We get the full cutscene of Luxu being cool and powerful, and only little glimpses of the fate he meets directly afterwards.)

I think what happened is Bragi sauntered off all cocky and smug, not believing Baldr would attack him. Then Baldr attacked him, and Bragi, realizing what a threat Baldr actually was, pulled a trick we've already seen Luxu pull before. (Seemingly so well that Hades himself is fooled.)

Baldr believed he killed Bragi and saw no reason to be like, "yeah, and also Bragi said some weird mysterious stuff I didn't understand, but the point is that he's dead, too."

Now for the question of why Bragi didn't reappear until long after everybody else was dead. If he's such a badass, surely he could have helped stop Baldr and saved lives. Why didn't he?

From here, I can really only speculate. In my view, there are a few options:

Luxu didn't care about his classmates and left them to die as soon as he realized what a threat Baldr was.

This is...possible, but not very interesting to me. It's the option that results in the least emotional complexity. I think it's most interesting to read Bragi in Dark Road as the second-to-last step on Luxu's downward spiral, rather than just another point on a straight line—that his personality as we see him in the current-day games is informed by the trauma of him losing all of his friends to an opponent he could have stopped but didn't.

Also, maybe this isn't very convincing as evidence, but in his appearance in the graveyard, Bragi's attitude isn't smug or mischievous, it's somber, possibly remorseful. If we were meant to understand that he didn't care about his dead classmates, we'd get, like, a smug grin or something.

So the other options assume that he did care about his classmates:

Luxu sincerely cared about his classmates, and wanted to help them, but was injured so badly in his fight with Baldr that he was physically unable to come to their rescue.

Like I said, I think this is more probable and more compelling than if he didn't care at all. And there's potential tragedy in him trying his best and still failing, or having the best intentions and being unable to follow through on them, for sure. However, in general, I'm more interested in characters failing because of the mistakes they make and the flaws they have, rather than failing due to chance or unavoidable circumstance.

Also...we already know Luxu is the kind of person to stand by and allow terrible things to happen without doing anything to stop it. We know he has been specifically instructed to do so. I think it's more interesting and more consistent with his character if he could have saved his classmates and stopped Baldr, but didn't.

This last option, then, is my favorite, and in my own writing would be the interpretation I go with:

Luxu sincerely cared about his classmates and had the power and strength to protect them from Baldr but, through his own decisions or inaction, still let them die.

Luxu's classmates were all children or barely adults, younger than him by perhaps centuries. But he hung out with them. Actively participated in conversation with them, asked them questions, joked around with them. He seemed to like them. They were his friends. And he let them die.

There's variety in the potential specifics. Maybe Bragi fled and hid until everything was over just to save himself. Maybe he grit his teeth and made the conscious decision to do so; maybe he was motivated by pure animal fear for his life. In either case, he still had a role to carry out, after all. A role that, as I mentioned, has already required him to stand by and allow people to die. If he could swallow the keyblade war, he could swallow the events of Dark Road.

Maybe he believed he had an excuse to run away. In his confrontation with Baldr, Bragi says Xehanort is onto Baldr, and seems to believe Xehanort would be able to stop him. This is before Baldr attacks and seemingly defeats Bragi, but maybe even after that, Bragi still really believed in Xehanort, and believed he could let Xehanort do the rest—misjudging Xehanort's ability to stop Baldr before any more death could occur.

If you wanna get really angsty with it, maybe Bragi did try to save his friends. Maybe he rushed to the scene of Baldr's next murder and saw children with keyblades fighting for their lives, heard the clash of metal on metal, and was suddenly immobilized by the voice of his Master telling him to watch. And by the time he was able to overcome this trauma response, it was already too late.

Whatever the specifics would be of why he left his friends to die, I'm aware that this is the option that casts him in the worst light. If he didn't help them because he didn't care about them, then he's just a coldhearted villain and we can't expect much better from him. If he cared about his classmates and tried his best to help them but failed, then he's a sweet goodboy and uncomplicatedly sympathetic. If he, for any reason, decided not to try to save his friends from a powerful entity that has killed and will kill again, then he's pathetic, morally repugnant, a weakling or a fool or a coward or a combination of the three.

But I like when characters are flawed and stories are messy! I like that, even before you get to the events of Dark Road, Luxu is a messy, complicated, but still sympathetic character! Many of my other favorite Kingdom Hearts characters are messy and complicated in ways that I feel get frustratingly flattened by the fandom. I'm Team Messy and Complicated forever. I hope the games keep making Luxu even worse and more sympathetic and more tragic.

anyway thats my post i hope you liked it haha whee! i once again had to keep deleting detours and tangents about like. redemption arc flags, riku/terra/luxu parallels, luxu/MoM and luxu/xehanort parallels. but the were just that, tangents, and quite a lot of them were more headcanony/watsonian/speculative than i usually like to go with my Analysis. in any case thankyou for coming with me on this journey

[linkspooky]

Does it ever frustrate you (like it bothers me), that the heroes and civilians (and many of the fans) have no concept of "the big picture"?

I mean being optimistic is one thing, but the hero kids are going back to class, hero society is being rebuilt and the same structures are getting back in place with barely a question of what might change, if anything will...

Like shouldn't they know by now??!!

Hawks looked into the league of villain's pasts.

Deku was told directly by shigaraki what was wrong with their society in the last war.

There was a whole (plausibly canon) movie revolving around the threat of the quirk singularity, and still nobody cares.

Judging by the recent chapter, the civilians are the same as they always were, or have become even worse in their mindset.

And at least so far, the heroes haven't shown anything concrete in how they plan on doing things from now on, if their actions or beliefs made any real impact.

At this point it really feels like either:

A. The Lov (Toga, shigaraki and some others) make a miracle resurrection/recovery.

or

B.it's the cycle of violence until inevitable extinction...

Do you feel differently or the same?

Hello, friend.

I definitely share your frustrations.

I think this post by Tumblr User BNHAObservations might be onto the type of societal reform that Horikoshi might be going for in this epilogue.

So there's two approaches that you can approach to MHA, and specifically it's endings. BNHAObservations is using Literary Analysis. That is they're not talking about the work in terms of "thing good, thing bad", but rather assuming that everything Horikoshi put into his work is intentional analyzing the themes which Horikoshi is putting forward. What is the theme of MHA and how does Horikoshi demonstrate that theme with characters and events in story?

That's the question to ask if you're taking a literary analysis angle.

(By the way if BNHAObservations sees this I'm not criticizing your post in any way sorry if I give that intention I'm just using it as an example, and also reccomending people read it because it's a good post. This post isn't a response to this post I promise I'm just linking it to provide an opposite point of view from my own).

The second is Literary Criticism. While I prefer Literary Analysis, I've been taking a Lit Crit approach as to late because. My question is not "What is the theme of MHA?" but rather "Does MHA use the tools of storytelling to communicate it's theme to it's audience well?" So, let's discuss how Hori chooses to convey the themes of the fictional world he created.

So as I said BNHA observations has an answer to your question from a literary analysis perspective. The gist being "Horikoshi seems to be suggesting that the improvement to society will come from the public being more involved with stuff like community outreach to assist the heroes, and maybe with Spinner's comic the villains voices will be heard on top of that." Which is a valid perspective and why I linked it.

However, from my literary criticism angle I don't think that particular theme is communicated well by the story. This is why while I think acknowledging the cultural context of the story is an important perspective, it's just one perspective because MHA is still A STORY and it has to use the tools of storytelling to get those messages across. MHA can exist as a piece of cultural commentary and still be confusing about what exactly kind of commentary it wants to make, because it doesn't function as a story.

So here's the literary critcism angle of: Why is it so gosh darned frustrating that the public at large doesn't seem to have changed at all by the ending of MHA?

When you are a writer you can write anything you want. But if you want to write a story that people want to read you have to follow the rules of good storytelling.

There are reasons why storytelling rules exist. A story is a bond between author and reader, readers to other readers. It is a communication between humans and humans work in a certain way.

I'd also argue that literary criticism is something that exists across cultures, like for example I watch Japanese Horror movies with my friends. Japanese Horror movies are very different from american ones because what that culture considers scary is different. However, if I'm watching the movie that has bad lighting and uncreative camera work, and I criticize it on that grounds, I think the rules of what makes good and bad camera work and shot composition work across cultures.

To quote this post:

Storytelling rules are rules of communication. Rules for handling expectations and saying what you intend to say without it being misheard. Rules for tugging at emotions and pulling heartstrings in a good way rather than a bad way. Storytelling rules are lessons learned by authors of the past that failed to communicate what they needed to. They are not that subjective.

So to address your ask finally friend, I believe a lot of audience comes from Horikoshi's inability to get his theme across in his own story with the tools of storytelling, just what he wants to say about the the society that he's created in his fictional world.

The first is the very obvious discrepancy between setup and payoff. As an example I read the Sam Vimes discworld novels, which you could say is copaganda about a good cop who does his job. However, the story is not trying to be a deep analysis about the crimminal system, it's a fantasy story taking place in a deeply corrupt medieval city where the main character is a parody of Dirty Harry. In other words it doesn't bring up any of those deeper issues so I can just read it for what it is, knowing it's kind of dated.

MHA sets up these deeper issues in a way that calls to be addressed. It's made clear several times in both Shigaraki's walk, and his speech during the first war arc that there's already enough heroes and yet problems in this society persist.

Theme is basically the story asking a question and then providing an answer. The question is: If there are so many heroes then why are there so many people who don't get saved?

It seemed like the answer we are building towards is that heroes need to change the way they deal with villains, hence why everything post War Arc focuses on the main trio trying to save their villains without just putting them down. You have Twice's death at Hawk's hands, and the question of why heroes only save the good victims. You have the parallels between Shigaraki and Eri. You have Deku say "ONE FOR ALL IS NOT A POWER FOR KILLING."

Hori is an author who makes choices and he chose to deliberately bring up these issues and not address them, and that makes the story feel unsatisfying to read because serialized stories hook the audience by promising future development.

Read this story because you want to see how the Todorokis will find a way to unite their family. Read this story because you want to see how Bakugo and Deku will become the greatest heroes, by saving by winning and winning by saving.

Twice's death, Toga's question about if Uraraka is going to kill her, Shigaraki's walk, OFA is not a power for killing these are all things that mattered in the story and then suddenly didn't. If you promise a story is going to address something and then you renege on that promise the audience will find it unsatisfying. If I'm reading a murder mystery and it ends with everyone eating cake and the murder hasn't been solved (and that's not the point of the story) I will feel like the story has wasted it's time.

So it's not just a case of "MHA was never going to be a story of deep societal reform because it's a shonen jump manga" but these themes are brought up, and then never addressed again.

Which is where we get my second layer of criticism, the massive tonal whiplash. My Hero Academia seems like a story of how kids are going to grow up to be better heroes by saving their villains, until it's not.

My Hero Academia is not a tragedy, until it becomes a tragedy in the last five minutes. Every single person thought Shigaraki was going to be saved somehow, until he wasn't. Everyone thought that Twice's death was going to be the last death in the league of villains, because the kids were going to realzie they have to find another way than killing the villains, until it wasn't. The audience isn't stupid for thinking this was going to happen, that's what Horikoshi was foreshadowing in his story until he threw it out.

The worst part is the tragic tone doesn't work, because it's poorly written as a tragedy. Greek Tragedy revolves around the fall of the heroes (this is a japanese work and japanese theatre is different, but Superheroes are inspired by the greeks). If the villains failed to get saved, then it should be a failure on the heroes part, it should be devastating on the heroes.

Hawks failed to save Twice but he's fine, Deku failed to save Shigaraki (OFA is not a power for killing) but he's fine, the only hero who seems personally affected by their loss is Shoto who is losing his brother. If this is a tragedy then heroes should be the ones to fall because tragedies are about the tragic flaws of the heroes.

However, we get this tonal inconsistency instead where no consequences stick to the heroes and every single bad thing that happens to them gets magically done away with by plot convenience.

So Hori has shown that he can just handwave away whatever kind of grievous injury he wants, and yet he still chooses to go out of his way to unnecessarily punish the villains for their actions, in the manga that's supposed to be about saving them.

And even if we go with the "Well, their hearts were saved" approach, the manga fails to demonstrate how their hearts were saved. Naruto, a manga running in the same magazine, does this so much better with characters like Obito.

Look at Obito's sendoff in the manga. A character who also is responsible for directly harming the main characters and who went to war with the entire world.

Obito has a dream sequence where he realizes he could have always gone home and still tried to become Hokage and he wasn't beyond redemption. He lives long enough to assist Naruto in the fight against the final villain. He gets called awesome by Naruto for trying to become Hokage because they shared the same dream.

His last moments in the manga are Rin the girl he loved comforting him in the afterlife, by saying she was watching his suffering all along. His literal last action is to lend his power to Kakashi his best friend in order to fight together once more against the villain.

Shigaraki on the other hand doesn't even get the majority of screentime in his own death chapter, he gets two pages compared to AFO's five.

It's not just the fact they get unsympathetic deaths, the story also bends over to show that they deserved it. Toga doesn't want to accept prison for her actions so it's okay for her to commit suicide even though she's a young girl. Shigaraki didn't want to give up being the hero to the villains, so it's okay that Deku didn't save him.

People are discussing whether or not Spinner should be held accountable for not saving Shigaraki because of his character flaw of deciding to not think about things and go with the flow, but that ignores the fact that once again Spinner is not the main character. Yes, characters should be held accountable for their flaws, but the protagonists are the one who should be held the most accountable because the story is not about them.

Spinner and Deku both failed to save Shigaraki, but let's look at their punishment. Spinner is in prison for the rest of his life probably, almost became a Nomu, and has survivor's guilt for being unable to save Shigaraki in time due to his own actions.

Deku... has to live with the fact he killed Shigarki and will "never forget it."

If we are going for a tragic ending, and Deku is the center of that tragedy, than Deku should be the one suffering for his failures. Deku should be held just as, if not more accountable than Spinner.

Spinner is held accountable and that makes him a good character - but to what end? I know what it's to slide blame away from Deku, which is also why Spinner randomly says something racist at the end of his scene.

So in all it's not frustrating because MHA isn't some deep, thoughtful criticism of Japanese society. It's frustrating because it violates the rules of setup and payoff, and it also is extremely tonally inconsistent.

A common response to this is I've seen is "You should just like MHA for what it is, and not what you want it to be."

However my underlying problem is that MHA as a story seems to be very confused about what kind of story it is. That confusion shows in Horikoshi constantly throwing out his own foreshadowing, and the wild swings in tone from tragedy to a story about optimistic young kids who are going to be the best heroez eva. Hori can tell whatever story he wants, but that doesn't necessarily mean he's telling it well.

As I said Hori's indecisiveness shows by this point in the story. I've already discussed this with Class1aKids but it really seems like Horikoshi is setting up two things with scissors-kun:

He'll either be A) A new villain that Deku and the kids prevent from becoming the next AFO or B) a resurrected Shigaraki who can save the rest of his league and fulfill his role as hero of the villains.

At this point there's equal foreshadowing for both, and this is my personal theory but it truly seems like Hori is gauging audience reaction to see which path he should take. If the japanese audience is satisfied with the villains "hearts" being saved, or if he should bring Shigaraki back to let the villains end on a more hopeful note.

[midnight1nk]

New year, new arc.

What a way to start 2025, excited SMG4 fans are jumping in their seats. And naturally, theorists are already hard at work looking into the "Hitman" arc. Now, with a couple of episodes and teasers out, let's see if I can take a crack at it.

Though, unfortunately due to new information, a lot of this had to be shortened and rewritten. So, just a fair warning for you all.

Analysis & Predictions for the Hitman Arc

⚠️ DISCLAIMER IN INTRO POST ⚠️

THE TEASERS

Can we talk about the teasers? Let’s talk about the teasers. /ref

There has been some discussion about them, what they mean in the arc, so I do wanna clear some things up before we go on: the teasers and the canon timeline don’t exactly line up with each other, one to one, but the teasers do give clues in what this arc is about.

First off, post scheduling patterns. These can tell us how long the arc will be:

Teasers for full arcs (≥7 episodes) would be posted once every week, near the same day an episode is released right after

Teasers for a mini-arc (like the Meme Factory one) or story changes (building the Castle, 3's Coffee & Bombs) would be posted twice every week, sandwiched between every new episode (therefore more frequent posting)

Second, as I mentioned before, teasers don’t line up with the canon plot, but they're not completely wrong. For example, WOTFI 2024: the teasers told us that the Crew except for Meggy received tickets in the mail to a new carnival in town (later revealed to be Puzzle Park), but in canon, they were personally brought into Puzzle Park by Leggy before being trapped there. Even so, one thing still holds true, that a new carnival is set up and most of the Crew gets invited.

Same thing here for the Hitman Arc! Let’s go through them one by one:

Many fans have picked up on the composition as a one by one reference to the SpongeBob "Kill Everyone" meme (also known as the Magic Conch Shell meme). This was later confirmed by Ben, who has been making the teasers for the Team:

A bit of context behind the meme itself: in the SpongeBob series, there is a purple shell with a sound system attached, referred as the Magic Conch Shell, in which characters plead to the shell for advice/solution to a problem and from pulling the draw string, they believe in whatever the shell answers without question. Here are the some scenes:

Since it’s connected to this one, let’s go over to the next one:

And here is where we connect to the canon timeline that, between “Hobo Mario” and “You Shouldn’t Have Done That”, Mario took the kids as part of the mission given to him. Then, later on it is revealed that the one who gave it was Mr. WPNZ, and Mario did it because he thought the mission would eventually reduce Karen’s stress as a single mother.

This, we learn but don’t you find it strange that in both teasers, Mario is presented as menacing or dazed? Following instructions from a (seemingly random) walkie-talkie in such a state without question, even if it's Mario we're talking about?

You already know the cogs in my theorist brain were working overtime, and indeed, we believed for a while that Mario may have been turned into a sleeper agent. Though it was technically disproven since Mario did it willingly to help Karen, there’s something I can’t put my finger on. It just feels strange. We’ll come back to this. Anyway, up next, the third and fourth teaser posted:

This time, we get Karen’s side, preparing herself to fight and doing whatever it takes to find her kids with help from SMG4.

Now, if the captions taught us anything is that the “speaker” is a character related to the arc (most of the time being 4 reacting to the situation). For the hitman arc, they are 2 voices:

Teaser 1 — the “speaker” is not talking to Mario out of fear but of persuasion, convincing Mario that they’re friendly. Trustworthy. This is the voice of the walkie-talkie since that’s how the mission was given and the device is in the teaser itself, which we now know that is Mr. WPNZ

Teaser 2 — Instead of Mr. WPNZ, the “speaker” switched to another character, based on the name “mario” not capitalized and the confused tone. A contrast to the first teaser’s speaker. This belongs to Karen’s kids. (Difference is they’re confused about Mario standing by the doorway in the teaser while in canon they questioned Mario after they arrived at the warehouse.)

Teaser 3 & 4 — As we learned from “You Shouldn’t Have Done That”, Mr. WPNZ practically bashes on Karen as a mother. It only makes sense that Mr. WPNZ returns as the “speaker”, only this time bashing on her for thinking she can run away from her past as an assassin.

Again, the teasers and the canon timeline aren’t the exact same. But I present this to you now so you can keep this in mind later on. Ok? Coolio 👍

MR. WPNZ & HITMAN INC.

Speaking of, let’s go over what I analyzed about one of the arc’s main antagonist: Mr. WPNZ

The name “WPNZ” sounds more like a code name than an actual one — Sure, none of the names in the universe are considered normal. We got numbers in here for meme’s sake /silly. But it’s more so that the name is strangely written as four letters. At least, SMG turns out to be an abbreviation of “Super Meme Guardian”. If Mr. WPNZ is part of Hitman Inc, then it’ll make sense for him to have a code name. It allows the corporation to dehumanize them so they can be assassins. (Did Karen have a code name too?) ....oh god, why is my gut telling me the Team’s going to pull the Conquest speech meme from Invincible *head in hands*

“I ain’t no liar when it comes to guns, kid.” “I’ll even give ya a target to practice on.” — Obviously skilled with guns and programming but it also confirms that he’s willing to lie and whatever it takes to accomplish his goal.

“Brother’s getting on your nerves? I know that feeling…” — Now, this is up to the viewer whether or not to believe him completely. It could just be another form of manipulation from WPNZ to join in “the game” but it’s also possible that he’s relating to her through shared experiences. So yes, WPNZ could have brothers/siblings.

Well, that’s all set and good. But I’m sure that’s not what you all came for. Ahem. Mr. WPNZ, you are the father

The nickname he calls the kids, “half pints” — Yes, it’s an actual nickname people use but also, a pint of milk = cats stereotypically drink milk. That nickname’s too specific for the Team to use, it’d be weird otherwise.

“Wanna see something cool?” — Somehow (and hopefully I’m not the only one), I got reminded of the “hey! you wanna see something cool?” meme from Puss in Boots 2 movie when I first heard it. Probably the Team didn’t intend to write that BUT if it was, props to them. Because if you knew anything about the movie, it’s about a cat constantly risking his life for his pride and what it means to sacrifice for success: family and love. While Puss in Boots learns a valuable lesson, the same couldn’t be said for Mr. WPNZ, who chose to stay with Hitman Inc. and is willing to lure the kids into the corporation.

“Reckless and chaotic” — this was what Karen describe about the father in “The Fight Of All Time” and I personally think it fits for Mr. WPNZ. He approved of their confrontational attitude after Zack asked “Where’s this bozo who wanted to play minecraft?”, manipulating literal kids to use a gun as a game element or “stress reliever”, or the fact that the target range/game is seen as “a little action”. Uh, red flags here, like hello? It doesn’t matter if this isn’t a real gun or not, it’s still insane to treat it like a toy.

“Who are you calling old? C’mere, ya little idiot!” — It speaks for itself, there’s absolutely no reason why WPNZ would act fatherly toward them other than he really is their father.

Bashing on Karen the whole time — WPNZ has been calling Karen as a boring and strict mom to use as an “uncool” example. Not only that, he’s taking credit for the kids’ skills by saying, “I guess it must be in your blood”.

WPNZ’s yellow and gray subtitles — The subtitles are a very important aspect in the show. Like, for example, the color theory of 3’s subtitles with the shade of blue determining how true he is in what he says. For this part, please to take this with a grain of salt. Usually the subtitle colors are based on the color scheme of each character, but I think it works here, excluding Cory since he only speaks in audio clips. Karen and Zack’s subtitles are shades of green/teal. Katie’s has teal and yellow, naturally because of her appearance. HOWEVER, WPNZ also has yellow in his subtitles. It can be a coincidence, but then again, the existence of a father wasn’t mentioned until recently, giving the Team time to design the father and have the colors picked out intentionally.

But you might be wondering, why now is he looking for his kids and testing their shooting skills? For that, we’re gonna have to talk about the underlying antagonist of this arc: Hitman Inc.

Ever since the corporation’s debut in the “We Must Kill Mario” episode, it’s still a mystery to this day so let’s pick apart every detail we do have!

Known as Karen’s former job, they are a shadow corporation…. literally, the identities of the higher-ups are so secret that they’re seen as shadowy figures. Karen’s boss had to literally use a voice filter on a phone call to Karen, a former employee. Anyway, as businesses like this typically do, they have connections and take special requests from clients. And the biggest mystery of all: their technology.

Somehow, they’re able to control devices remotely → Karen’s phone in “We Must Kill Mario” and the PC computers in “You Shouldn’t Have Done That”

(WPNZ) able to create a portal to teleport the kids somewhere else

This level of tech reminded many fans of Tari & Clench (how they could teleport into video games and have glitch effects) or the portal Mario made in “Mario Teaches Parenting”, but much more sophisticated and advanced.

Then, there’s the walkie-talkie. In the arc's first episode, when Karen tries to create the illusion of the dumpsters as an "exclusive shopping mall, " Mario jumps into one of the bins and finds an ominous walkie-talkie. Mario thinks nothing of it and claims it as his new phone. By the end, as Mario follows along behind Karen and her kids back to their home, the walkie-talkie sparks up with static noise, prompting Mario to pick it up (like an actual phone). We could only hear a muffled voice coming through but we do see Mario's face drastically changing, his face expressionless and his eyes wide open.... before the episode cuts to its usual jolly end credits.

And that right there, my dear fellows, was the start of the sleeper agent theory.

MARIO AND THE SLEEPER AGENT THEORY

Every time I rewind that last scene, something about the static feels familiar. It reminded me a lot of the static/"Please Stand By" noise from Mr Puzzles' TV head in the PV arc, when it lures the Crew in the basement before getting mind controlled ("No TV Make Mario No Okie Dokie") and what caught Mario's attention to the gateway out of said control and back to the real world ("Mr Puzzles' Incredible Game Show Spectacular"). Plus, the same static imagery is seen in the eyes of the Crew as a visual cue that they're under Puzzles' control. The same neutral expression and wide eyes.

Now, am I saying that the person behind the walkie-talkie is Mr Puzzles? No, he isn’t even involved in this arc.

But seeing how this static was used in the mind-controlling process in PV, the walkie-talkie noise could work the same way as a form of hypnotism. I mean, notice what his expression was like in the first two teasers and the start of “You Shouldn’t Have Done That”. He's just expressionless, as if he was being hypnotized.

[*record scratch*]

Except for one thing, right after the walkie-talkie (Mr. WPNZ) invited the kids to play minecraft, this happened:

Did… did that mean Mario did this willingly? Well, it did sound like something Mario would do, always caring for his friends in his own way. Just like Karen in the same episode, he did the wrong things for the right reasons and simply wanted to help relieve her stress as a single mother. I guess this theory’s all for nothing.

… [*another record scratch*]

Hold up, did Mr. WPNZ call Mario... by name? Not only in this episode here but in the first teaser too. When Mario first answered the walkie-talkie, he didn’t introduce himself. He just said "hello there".

Hell, the walkie-talkie found in the dumpster bin by Mario was also strange, it seemed too convenient for him to find it in the first place.

And what about the kids? The kids were there in the warehouse with Mario and were taken away by Mr. WPNZ. How come Mario just noticed they were gone once Karen came in? He was right there, sitting next to them!

This was exactly what was troubling me, this itch I had for the teasers. It was strange, all of it. What was going on?

THE PLAN

In order to fully understand, my dear fellows, it’s time to put the pieces together. But we’re not starting from the first episode of the arc, we have to go back when everything truly started: “We Must Kill Mario”. Here, I created a timeline of events for you to follow along. Be warned that since we don't have all of the information, I had to fill it in with some hypothetical stuff so the narrative will flow:

✧ ahem ✧

Hitman Inc. recruited Karen, possibly late teen to young adult, and both sides got what they wanted:

Karen was a stray at a very young age and had to survive growing up in the streets. Just to live another day (that we all understood from her perspective), she took the offer.

The corporation essentially found a homeless person desperate enough to kill for them. Her name? Not like it mattered. Besides, who’s going to miss her if she dies on the job? She would be put to good use.

Years went by, as Karen trained to become one of the best hitmen the corporation they had, doing whatever it takes to get the mission done. Even if it seemed too extreme. In return, Karen was given food, a bed, and (possibly) a code name. Finally, she had security. Purpose. The corporation may be demanding at times but she couldn’t go against them, they gave her everything after all.

And here is where she got acquainted with Mr WPNZ, a fellow hitman. Perhaps they were simply co-workers or even lovers; whatever they were, they got to know each other quite well. Enough to know for Karen to describe him as “reckless and chaotic”. But then, she turned out to be pregnant.

Was it even planned? How did she react when she found out? No one knows (yet), but this made her question everything. If these kittens were to be born, she would be bringing them to a world of risk and danger. If she kept them, that is. Perhaps in that moment, she opened her eyes for the first time in a while, thawed her cold heart at the idea of becoming a mother. Every task given always had a risk and she was willing to serve for the corporation, but now, she may have found a new purpose to live: for her kids.

She chose to keep her kids. Though the problem still stood, the corporation. Even if the higher-ups let Karen keep her kids at the base, there’s no guarantee she would return to them alive if a job goes wrong. Regardless, they might use them just as they used her. She couldn’t bear with the idea so she quits, revealing to them about her pregnancy. Maybe they warned her that if she leaves, she will be returning to the streets again. Maybe WPNZ didn’t understand her perspective and tried to stopped her. Regardless, she didn’t care and wanted to break all ties from this life. She can figure out on her own.

Indeed she did. Naturally, her children were her life so she gave them the life she never got to have. A home, toys. A childhood. Karen and her family even got some friends that wasn’t affiliated with the corporation. Sure, she had to take multiple jobs to support themselves economically, but it’s worth it. Better than risking her life.

Then, in the episode “We Must Kill Mario”, a phone call came in. Karen didn’t suspect much and answered with “Hello? This is Karen speaking.” Unfortunately for her, she just gave the corporation her name, confirming that it was their former assassin.

“Hello, Karen…”

They were able to connect with Karen after so long via phone call, to propose a mission for her, and in return received information to use against her. Think about it:

Karen reminded them that she quit because of her kids → her boss emphasized how dangerous the target was by bringing in children (like hers) could be killed, into the discussion → Karen finally gave in

Her boss described the target’s appearance bc “apparently [Karen] might know him” and therefore would be close to her → Karen assumed it was Mario, saying his name out loud.

Within that call alone, Hitman Inc. learned several things:

The kids’ existence is confirmed and it wasn’t a ploy for her leaving the corporation

The only thing stopping Karen from doing her job is her kids (and if her kids are involved in her mission, she would have to comply)

Mario was someone close to Karen and her family, trusted, connecting a physical description with a name

Of course, the phone call ended. The episode went on as it did Marty turning out to be the true target and Karen unable to finish the job.

They called her again in episode “The Fight of All Time”, offering her a new job. But once again, she declined, not wanting to be involved in this life. At this point, it was getting annoying, humiliating even. The corporation just lost one of their best hitmen, and Karen’s refusing every time because of her kids. They were the ones who gave her everything, and she is rejecting the conditions she agreed to in the first place? No, they made a deal. She is meant to serve them; she is no position to reject them like this. She has to come back to them in a different way.

So, what do they do? Make her desperate, just as how she was when they first recruited her.

They had connections after all, possibly had a couple of recording devices spying on her as well. They could have her get fired from her many jobs, have businesses reject her job applications. Have her get evicted from the home she worked so hard to get.

But just as how the episode “Hobo Mario” ended, Karen and her family were able to get their home back, thanks to Mr. Monoploy. There was still had a trick up their sleeve. A failsafe in the name of Mario.

After all, from the phone call months ago, they know about Mario’s connection to Karen and are able to know what he looked like based on his physical description. As Mario was known to casually rummage through dumpsters (just as he did in “We Must Kill Mario”), one of their connections planted a walkie-talkie for him to find. Then, when the time came, the corporation sent out the agent closest to Karen, Mr. WPNZ. As to why:

if the corporation took the kids, Karen will no doubt follow after them, right to where they want her to be.

They are pretty secretive when it comes to their identities. There’s a risk to have the boss talk to Mario or the kids without a voice changer. So they send out someone with charm and friendly face.

Mr WPNZ was the father of her kids, so naturally it’ll be easier for the kids to connect with him than the boss. (and ofc WPNZ would know about his kids.)

So, the corporation gave Mr. WPNZ Mario’s name and the mission to give to the red plumber.

“Hey Mario! Buddy..pal.. let’s be friends, huh?”

Now, it’s up to you, the viewer, to make a choice.

Mr. WPNZ was so charming enough that he was able to convince Mario that he could take care of the children for poor Karen. Natural manipulation,

OR, if you want the sleeper agent theory to still live, the static was used as a sound tick to control a part of Mario’s mind. Sure, Mario would be able to think for himself, but this static would make it easier for WPNZ to hypnotize. If you've seen the movie “Now You See Me”, it’s basically the bank robbery scene explained. I’ll leave the clip below:

ah, one of my favorite movies :)

They basically took advantage of Mario’s kind heart and have him take the kids, their Uncle Mario, to the abandoned warehouse where they had already set up the PCs for WPNZ, and the corporation can access remotely. Well, those kids were expecting the minecraft movie, so why not invite them to play the game itself? It is a game kids enjoy anyway.

Mr. WPNZ took care of the rest while Karen’s off trying to find her kids. Besides, even if she isn’t able to be on time, they have earned themselves a few recruits. But first, they have to see their potential. After all, the corporation seeks out specific qualities in its recruits:

if they can do the task “quick and simple” — must be tested for speed, agility, and precision

if they have the guts to accept any task given to them, even if it means they have to go against their own friends and family — to dehumanize them and turn them into cold-blooded killers

That’s exactly why WPNZ convinced them to use firearms and brought out a shooting range as part of their “game”.

the challenge for the most kills in 10 minutes

the target cutouts as enemies — assets used from the game TF2

Minecraft Mario used as an animated target — if they’re willing to “kill” their dear Uncle Mario, something Karen couldn’t do the first time since 4 was there to stop her.

And indeed, both WPNZ and Hitman Inc. learned from this “game”,

Katie — a sharpshooter, though it was harder to convince her to join them

Zack — not afraid to take on a challenge, just as daring as his father and may be the easiest to convince

Cory — the first to go and shoot head-on, without question asked

These kids had potential alright. WPNZ was impressed by their skills, complimenting them as “not bad”, and taking the credit for the kids inheriting these skills from him.

What was Karen thinking? She left the thrill of being an assassin just to become a boring mom? His kids have so much potential to be part of the corporation, to be just like him. All they need is a couple more years of training to become perfect assassins. What was she thinking, that she could just run away from her past and abandoned everything she learned?

WPNZ couldn’t never understand why, more than willing to give his kids up to the corporation. So using the portal technology he could control remotely, he took the kids through the game. To wherever the next part of the plan the corporation had in mind.

Mario? Well, he can take the fall if Karen happens to find him. And, if we’re still on the sleeper agent theory route, Mario wouldn’t notice the kids next to him are gone. Just so they can clean up their tracks.

No doubt Karen’s gonna do whatever it takes to have her kids back, and it means exactly what it is, whatever it takes. Returning to her old self again, being extreme. She’s becoming desperate, bingo.

✧ ...and scene ✧

To where this arc might end, there is a possibility. Hitman Inc. could offer up a deal, either:

Karen gives herself up and returns as an assassin,

OR WPMZ, and by extension the corporation, will take custody of the kids, and they will be trained to become future assassins

Ofc, there’s no guarantee that the kids will be granted their freedom, or that Karen will be able to see her kids again. Then again, because desperation is clouding her judgment, Karen might make a hasty decision and not notice. Well, they haven’t considered several things:

Other than having Mario as a friend, Karen also has SMG4. Just has he did in “We Must Kill Mario”, he will able to ground Karen to a clearer mind. Settle things out between Karen and Mario. 4 is the balance she needs to get her kids back.

Unfortunately, they might underestimated how much a parent could love their children, especially a mother. If you kidnap her children, there might not be another day to live because of Karen.

If, just in case, the corporation isn’t taken down by the end of the mini-arc, Karen would still be out of a job. Sure, she got her home and kids back, but they do need the money. Whether or not the corporations are pulling the strings to ensure she doesn’t.

That’s where 3 comes in.

I know he had a brief moment in one episode, but there are a couple of things that 3 and Karen could relate to each other. Both of them know what it’s like to raise who they consider their children, and how they changed from being the person they used to be. And sometimes, though it’s hard to admit, they need a bit of help. So, if Karen wants to, she could work for 3.

With no risk for her and her family, no involvement with Hitman Inc. But hey, that’s just a theory…

AN SMG4 THEORY

🎶Thanks for dropping by🎶

[letters-adressed-to-the-fire]

so this is why i think peter is the one looking in people's windows

A few days ago, I saw a swiftie on TikTok talking about how I look in people’s windows could be taken as the other perspective of the same story narrated in Peter, and I just couldn’t stop thinking about it. So, I decided to go in-depth and start a self-assigned quest to look for any clue that could interweave these two stories in a way that made sense.

I know this could sound a little absurd or could be taken as a stretch of some sort, but I believe, and I’m sure most of her fans would agree, that most of the beauty in Taylor’s writing comes from the countless different interpretations people bestow on her lyrics. I’m not asking you to take this analysis as absolute truth because I’m genuinely just having fun with it, and I hope you do too.

I’ll analyze “I look in people's windows” from Peter’s point of view and “peter” from the other character’s pov, whom we’ll call Wendy given the obvious parallelism to Peter Pan.

Well, the main and obvious connection is given by the “window” element. While Wendy is waiting for Peter by the window, Peter is looking for her from outside that window. If you look at this through very literal and rational eyes, I believe you’d think it doesn’t make sense that they were both looking for each other through the same window but never met again. So HERE is where I want to insert my interpretation.

There are two options I can think of that would explain the failed meeting. 

Peter intentionally avoided Wendy while still looking for her every day.

Every time they were looking for each other, it happened at different moments.

The first case presents a lot of questions, like, is the pledge to grow up what is stopping Peter because he knows he can’t do it? Or was he cruel enough to wait for Wendy to move on and then come back? Either way, the conclusion remains the same. In this scenario, Peter was a coward. If it was because he didn’t want to grow up, if it was because he just wanted Wendy to never move on, or if it was because he never gave her a real answer.

On the other hand, the second case talks about something that’s closer to a tragedy. They were always doomed by the narrative. While Wendy was waiting for him, Peter was looking for her, but Wendy never saw him—not when she waited or when Peter was looking for her. We would need to assume some things here tho. Either it all comes back to the first option and Peter had been avoiding her the entire time, or he thought she had already forgotten about him. The first option shows us, once again, that Peter is a coward, but the second one also tells us something important: he may be too scared to grow up, but he’s not selfish enough to stop her from moving on.

“Northbound I got carried away As you boarded your train South, south, south, south, south, south A feather taken by the wind blowing I'm afflicted by the not knowing so”

Based on this verse, we can design a new theory. He watched her leave and he was aching for her to come back to him. So he started looking for her in other people’s windows, wondering if one of them was gonna be her. Even when he had already said goodbye to her.

And here’s where another verse of peter will acquire significance:

“I thought it was just goodbye for now”

With both songs in mind, it sounds like he said goodbye to her, hoping they were gonna see each other again, but he also knew he had to let her go at the time and that he was condemned to miss her. But what Peter didn’t know was that Wendy was gonna go through the same thing, but she wouldn’t have the comfort of knowing what he did (wait for her).

“promises oceans deep, but never to keep”

This is why we get two completely different endings for both songs. While Peter is still addicted to the what-ifs, Wendy has turned off the light; the fantasies have expired for her. Wendy grew up; Peter didn’t. While I look in people's windows gives you the feeling of being running from house to house in a neighborhood you don’t recognize anymore, trying to fit into a routine you were used to in the past; peter reads like the last chapter of a book you’ll never touch again.

[harukasangel]

Okay, time to fight back/hj

Why does everyone act like Haruka is 'not allowed' to date? Like.....besides 0104, ppl try to protest against any Haruka ship or say he would never enter a relationship. Which just seems....in very poor taste to me. As a Haruka yumeshipper (don't throw stones at me) seeing people try to paint Haruka in a bad light as a boyfriend bc he's 'childish', disabled or mentally unwell just baffles me. Even pushing my Haruka bias aside, just seeing this character in canon and comparing him to the 'points' ppl make is bizarre. Hence, why he can't date + would be afraid of commitment. Like.....I'm a mentally disabled traumatized women myself. And I'm literally married (have been for almost 7 years) and have children. And when I was Haruka's age (assuming he's actually 17), I told myself I would never be near + want children (ofc this isn't to erase the fact that Haruka killed at least one kid, but you also can't erase the CANON fact he said he was 'good with Amane' now, and he wasn't afraid of little children anyone in T2 when a little bit of love + attention [which I wouldn't be surprised if it also gave him a sense of normalcy too] went a long way)

Now, ofc there is the headcanon that Haruka is aroace, and sexuality headcanons are totally valid! Ik lots of aroace Haruka kinnies project onto him, and you do you! But I'm seeing other ppl hc him as aroace solely because they don't believe Haruka should date. And to use that only because you believe the childish/disabled character can't enter relationships beyond platonic is really lame, imo. I would like to point out that Haruka, at best, *knows* there is a difference between like and love, but due to his trauma and abuse, he just never felt either platonic or romantic love before

He acknowledges that like and love are two different feelings, he just thinks of them both in a positive light. But, unless he really is aroace, this doesn't mean he *can't* feel romantic attraction. I'll even go as far as saying that he knows different relationships (and no, as much as I love a mom joke here and there, he wouldn't call his SO mom)

Cause yes, while he does call Muu his 'mother', it's in a way where "Muu is nice! Muu really cares about me!". And honestly? As much crap as I do give Muu for personal reasons, it's not very far off as to why he sees Muu as a maternal figure

He states that Muu picks out his clothes and that she takes care of him. And let's not forget her bringing him food + the heavy implication she was teaching him to write better in T2.

But does he call everyone mom? Despite him saying that the other prisoners are good people and nice to him?

From the timelines, Haruka treats everyone normally (or as normal as Haruka Sakurai can be), Shy, but polite. Throughout T2, he constantly improves his communication skills, being the prisoner who literally starts the most birthday timelines. While it's still not perfect, he seems to genuinely enjoy talking with the others (his answer to the hobby question!). While Muu is his 'mom', the other prisoners are his friends, and Haruka seems aware of this even

Throwing in a little snippet of my last analysis

Haruka said Muu-san is his mom, not bc she was truly that to him but bc he needed her to be in that moment + time. Haruka *just* had a meltdown and his emotions are a mess rn. His second VD is him very desperately trying to find a sense of purpose, even if it means warping reality for a bit.

Even saying Muu was his mother was less abt actually believing it, and more or grasping straws for a sense of purpose, something he *needed* atm. Es even acknowledges this in his VD, Haruka desires a mother

"Ummm....Sadie, this is great and all, but what does this have to do with Haruka and dating?"

It means Haruka is aware of different relationships. Moreso than what people give him credit for. And even the relationships he forged, such as seeing Muu as his 'mom', he is aware it's just a means to and end and he still is holding onto his real mom

Haruka desires a mother. Ofc he didn't come into Milgram wanting a romantic relationship. But based on the friendships he made and his answer to the love vs like question in his T1 interro, he *knows* what different relationships are, and possibly even what a SO is. Would he have trouble identifying his own emotions when he first feels romantic love cause he never felt it before? Most likely. But to say he wouldn't see his SO as a SO is just plain wrong imho

"He wouldn't KILL for you. Haruka would get his ass outta there if someone was bothering you"

Canon Haruka:

Look, I'm all for not classifying Haruka as a yandere, but he has threatened to kill Es if they didn't forgive Muu + even before that, he said not to scare Muu anymore

Plus

*taps the sign*

Haruka freaking leaving his SO if someone was bothering them is horribly ooc. Sure, Haruka is known as a weakling, but he canonically has tried his best to make sure his loved one(s) are safe. At best, with proper therapy + help, Haruka wouldn't actually kill someone that was bothering his SO, but would radiate those vibes :P

"Haruka would NEVER get married"

Canon Haruka:

We must protect him from his greatest wish apparently. Also, you're telling me Haruka Sakurai, the dude that thrives off of attention + love and wants a normal life, would never want to come even closer together with the person he loves? Would he be scared to bring it up? Certainly. But with confidence, can definitely stutter out the question, clumsily drop the ring, apologize like a mf, before finally saying it. Plus, Haruka "My biggest fear is betraying people" Sakurai. If anything, he would LOVE commitment

*sighs* I honestly think a lot of mischaracterization about Haruka (lots of it that can easily be disproven by not much 'deep analyzing') stems from ableism, unintentional or not. Still, it sucks that such as well written character is shunned from his greatest wish due to a huge chunk of a people not....really knowing how to characterize him just bc he's disabled. Ofc, sometimes *I* even worry if I'm writing him correctly, but blatant mischaracterization about him just always irked me. So I throw this in your faces <3

[nohara-rin-dot-mp3]

Nohara Rin characterization guide part 2

I care about Nohara Rin! A lot! More than I should, probably! Today I'm here to explain my personal rinterpretation in the hopes that it inspires you to create a three-dimensional version of Rin.

This is the second post of a two-part series; in it, I will be going over how I view Rin's character. In the first one, I explained what we canonically know about her, and areas that were available to expand upon in order to flesh her out.

Oh boy.

Let's get a few things out of the way real quick: although my Rin is based on what little information we have on her in canon, there's not exactly a lot of information to go off of. I have done a lot of extrapolation and invention. That being said, I do think that this is one of the best possible ways to fill her out into a person. I'm completely biased, I know, but this specific version of Rin answers every question I raised in part one of this analysis and also just fucks severely. imo.

To begin with: what fundamental principles did I base my Rin on?

First: Team Minato has a... Thing (tm) about masks. Kakashi's got his classic one, of course, and we can't forget the ANBU one. Obito... well, his Akatsuki identity shenanigans are legendary in their owns rights. If both of them get to play with masks, so should Rin. How is she wearing masks?

...we'll get to that.

Second: There is something wrong with Rin. I think that this is fairly obvious, even within the text. Despite being describe as kind and caring, she makes oddly malicious decisions at weird times. Her eyes always look dead. She jumps to suicide surprisingly quickly. What, exactly, is wrong with her? We can use the other things to find out.

Third: This one is perhaps the biggest reach, but I've always had a craving for dramatic irony in my stories. It's also the principle that sparked my obsession with Rin. One day I sat down and though, "Wouldn't it be kind of funny if Rin was okay with the idea of the Infinite Tsukyomi, but hated the idea of Obito doing it for her?"

We can combine these principles with traits I hand-picked lovingly from canon: she collects shells (source: data book 2), she likes the stars (source: her staring at the sky after Obito dies), and she is polite but cold (source: every appearance ever + data books + even her name)

This creates a Nohara Rin who is full of emptiness, and wears a mask to cover it. She wants to be known, but she doesn't want anyone to know her. She's full of contradictions. She wears a mask of a girl who is polite and kind, but because it's only a mask, it doesn't allow for true closeness.

She chooses to die on Kakashi's hand because this allows her to be known (ideally)(this does not work) without having to live with being known. She believes that if she does something that is cruel and then dies, people will understand her for who she is, and she will not have to be alive for the understanding.

She likes the idea of the Infinite Tsuyomi because she doesn't see anything wrong with an illusion, but she'd object to Obito doing it in her name because he isn't remembering her correctly.

She's scared of being known because she doesn't feel like she has a "self" to know. She's apathetic, compared to her peers. Some of it's innate, and some of it is a coping mechanism (she is a child soldier too!!!!), and she alternates between being proud of how little she cares and being ashamed. She doesn't want anyone to know that she's so apathetic, so she wears masks.

She likes that Obito likes her, so she does things that encourage his crush on her, but she's also kind of angry at how easily he and the rest of Team 7 fall for her facades. She chose Kakashi to crush on because she thinks that all normal girls (who she is trying very hard to be) have a crush, and Kakashi seemed unobtainable enough to be safe. She was upset when they ended up on the same team.

She collects shells. Aren't they just like her? Hollow? Rin isn't hollow- she's full of nothing. She loves the ocean and space, but they don't mean anything to her. She doesn't care for her comrades. She doesn't bluster on about rules like not crying, but she follows them more strictly than even Kakashi does.

Nohara Rin was born dead, and she's been mad about it her entire life. She insists that she doesn't care about anything, but she cares about an awful lot. She's just as terrible of a person as any shinobi. She's a kid in a fucked up world. She's everything to meeeeee and that's not even touching on the matter of moth symbolism, eye framing within manga panels, and all the theoretical timelines-

You know what? I'm just going to link some meta about this rinterpretation below for further reading.

eye framing within manga panels

team minato hypocrisy

canonical basis

kagurin dynamic

obito views on rin

present/past existence

kakarin dynamic

evil acts towards kakashi

taxonomy

apathy

agency/aromantism

faq??? kind of??

moth/chidori/genjutsu

konan/kaguya/rin fucked up evil polycule

my rinfic if you just really need some more rin

Well, that's probably enough for now. If you have any questions, send me an ask! I will have the answer. I have been stuck in this hole for too long, and I don't think I will ever be getting out.