#anlysis

[tumblingxelian]

You know, I think complaints about RWBY not fixing bigotry and class inequality show less respect for these ideas than CRWBY ever did at their worst.

Cos like, CRWBY acknowledge that these issues are vast, intergenerational and systemic. A recurring element of Blake's specific struggle is about how immense the task before her is but the vast challenges of these issues are underline everything .

They cannot be fixed by four teenagers who kind of have a lot on their plate right now already. What's more a "Very special episode" addressing it or "Fixing" it. Be it by unrealistically speedy activism or by killing "the right people" would only come off as disrespectful to the task at hand.

A decent comparison might be how how Reed Richards cannot cure cancer in the comics. On a purely technical level he may be able to but this would do nothing to magically fix cancer in the real world. Thus it would just end up feeling disrespectful to the subject matter.

The same logic applies here, maybe Ruby's silver eyes could erase evil, maybe Robyn Hill could kill all the elitist Atlesians or Blake magically inspire total peace and reparations by doing some activism. But none of these issues would b fixed by such things in the real world, not even close.

So again, we are left with either CRWBY being realistic or embracing childish power fantasy that disrespect the very topics they are grappling with.

[nerdasaurus1200]

I just found out that in the original Odyssey Odysseus calls Penelope a king and that got me thinking...

What if the suitors' part in Challenge is about her as well as them???

Cause think about it-

Time is fleeting, it's running out! Time to be the man of the house!

That could just as easily be Penelope's mindset. Especially with that beat that totally sounds like a war drum. It's time for HER to be the man of the house, not any of the suitors. It's time for HER to protect her household from these invaders, to protect her family and finally tell the suitors to gtfo in the only way she can.

[yolatirra]

I haven't seen anyone talk about this, and I don't have all that much to say about it, but I just wanted to point out that even in Viktor's idealized "perfect" form, his back and leg braces are still part of him.

He cannot conceptualize a version of himself without the things that he believes make him broken, even when he so desperately wants to be rid of them. They are part of him no matter how much he tries to deny it.

They made him who he is, as Jayce says.

[molinaskies]

What We Get Wrong About Dark Sonic

I find Dark Sonic incredibly interesting.

I’ve said this before, but Dark Sonic represents an overflow of Sonic’s negative emotions, the ones he usually suppresses: anger, sadness, and fear.

However, many people believe that Dark Sonic is somehow a betrayal of Sonic as a character (even Ian Flynn, reportedly, but I’ve yet to see an official source). Sonic is meant to be a beacon of optimism. Sonic is meant to be the pillar of hope when all else fails. Sonic is meant to be the last one standing, no matter what.

In this sense, sure, Dark Sonic contradicts the notion that Sonic is “uncorruptable,” but I think that depends on how we define corruption.

I see it two ways:

1) Corruption by way of losing faith, through dishonesty and fraud. 2) Corruption by way of a forceful shift from one state of being to another.

In the first sense, corruption occurs when someone’s paradigm is shifted through lies, cheating, or manipulation. It’s a conscious mental shift. In the second sense, corruption occurs when something (or someone) is co-opted and changed without its will or influence, like data corruption, or a shift in the meaning of a word or image. It’s a literal, physical and/or metaphysical shift.

There’s a saying that floats around the fandom that says, “Shadow is just ‘Sonic, if Sonic had one really bad day’,” and I think that makes sense. Shadow is jaded and cynical because of how the world has hurt him, but he still wants to do right by people—just like Sonic. What separates Sonic from Shadow, however, is Sonic’s tenant optimism and positive paradigm. Without those differences, Sonic has endless reasons to be as cynical as Shadow, or even more so.

So, Sonic doesn’t let himself feel those feelings for very long, and especially not when other people are around. He pours everything into a clean, neat bottle, with a tight screw-on cap, right?

What happens when something tampers with that bottle?

Dark Sonic is a forceful corruption of body but not of mind. Let’s talk about it.

How Dark Sonic Works

What I think people misunderstand most about Dark Sonic is that it’s not an intentional state of being. It never was.

Dark Sonic is the polar opposite to Super Sonic, which is achieved when Sonic harnesses the positive energy of the Chaos Emeralds. If Sonic wanted to harness the power of the emeralds for the wrong reasons and his heart accessed the negative energy rather than the positive, he could possibly bring about Dark Sonic willingly. This, however, would likely never happen because that is the betrayal of Sonic’s character that everyone worries about.

That said, the only reason Dark Sonic ever appears is because of a mix of Sonic’s pure rage over Black Narcissist physically assaulting Chris and Cosmo and the presence of hundreds of the Metarex’s fake Chaos Emeralds, which possess an aura clearly shown to impact Sonic and make him ill.

Sonic’s first interaction with negative Chaos energy from the fake emeralds is filled with discomfort and even disgust. Sonic reacting to the negative Chaos energy poorly is critical, as it showcases that it’s seeking him out, not vice versa.

When Sonic was as triggered as he was, the negative energy from the fakes harnessed his emotions and corrupted him. It was a complete, freak accident.

This situation is very similar to Darkspine Sonic, the in-game equivalent to Dark Sonic from Sonic and the Secret Rings. Darkspine Sonic only surfaces when Sonic is severely triggered after Shahra starts to betray him, Erazor Djinn murders her (she sacrifices herself for Sonic), and he sees Erazor Djinn’s final form about to destroy the storybook world. In his shock and anger, the Secret Rings of Sadness, Rage, and Hate target him, painfully turning him into Darkspine Sonic. Once again, external energies corrupt him at the height of his emotional vulnerability.

Sonic never seeks out the negative energy of the Chaos Emeralds because his heart is good. When the negative energy seeks him out in such overwhelming waves, it corrupts his abilities, alters them, and pulls them out to play.

But—

If it’s simply a matter of fake Chaos Emeralds, then why can Sonic use Tails’ fake Chaos Emerald in Sonic Adventure 2 without any problems? I posit this to the fact that Tails might have a better understanding of the balanced nature of the Chaos Emeralds (in that they are powered by both good and evil), while Eggman and Dark Oak have only ever used (or desired to use) the Chaos Emeralds for evil.

Recall Eggman’s laser at the beginning of Sonic Unleashed and Perfect Chaos in Sonic Adventure. Both uses of the chaos emeralds drained them of their power—their negative power, that is. (Albeit through different means based on the lore of each game), Sonic is still able to restore and harness the emeralds’ power because he relies on the positive energy of the emeralds. As intelligent as he is, I imagine that Eggman (as well as the Metarex) has a hard time replicating the intricate nature and balance of the Chaos Emeralds because their hearts are filled with hatred and turmoil, so unwilling to heed the perspectives of others. The power is there, sure, but not the heart.

~Chaos is power. Power is enriched by the heart~

Tikal's Prayer

I think the difference between Tails’ fake emerald and every other fake emerald we’ve seen in canon is marked by the fact that both Eggman’s and the Metarex’s fakes disintegrate after excessive use (i.e., Chaos Control), but Tails’ fake remains intact.

The Metarex's emerald disintegrates upon excessive use

Eggman's fake emeralds can't hold their form upon excessive use

Tails' fake emerald is intact and ultimately used to stop the Eclipse Canon from firing

In short, Tails’ emerald is simply a better fake, more accurate to the originals.

also, I refuse to talk about how dumb it is that Sonic was able to use a fake Chaos Emerald to do Chaos Control for the first time. However, it is canon, and therefore relevant to my point.

Another key problem cited in Sonic X is just how many fake emeralds there are. One emerald pales in comparison to hundreds. Sonic feels all the latent negative energy consume him because that energy is a corruption, itself.

It’s not that Sonic gets so angry that he just gives in to darkness, it’s that darkness captures him when he’s in extreme emotional distress and his guard is down. Dark Sonic is the result of negative, unstable, potent Chaos energy clinging to him, using his latent Chaos powers as a vessel when he least expects it and, thus, is powerless against it.

I think I can best prove this by contrasting Dark Sonic with Sonic’s other intimate encounter with darkness…

Sonic Unleashed, Dark Gaia, and the Werehog

I’ve spoken at length about this game and this specific scene, already, so kindly forgive my hyper-brief summary this time around!

When Dark Gaia’s “weight issues” cause its essence to disperse around the globe, many people fall influence to Dark Gaia’s despair, losing faith and hope in the world. Nothing like the influences of Chaos energy, but enough of an influence that much of the world feels it. A core aspect of the game’s plot is that Sonic, distinctly, does not. In the cutscene No Reason, Sonic asks Chip why he stays the same despite the darkness inside his heart while so many others change at night. Chip answers simply, saying that Sonic’s too strong to lose himself and that part of his good will is because he never doubts himself, even when he’s on his own.

The difference is that while Sonic undergoes a physical transformation, he never loses faith or gives up hope—made especially clear by the fact that Professor Pickle, once as hopeful as Sonic, eventually does lose hope.

Also key to note that Amy also never loses hope.

Unleashed is just another fun, high-stakes adventure for Sonic; there’s never a moment where he’s aggressively triggered by something or when his personal morals are ever tainted. Irritated, maybe. Flustered, even. Never at a loss. The closest we see Sonic come to this is when he loses the werehog form to Dark Gaia before the final battle. He falls to his knees, worn and exhausted, and tells Chip to run because he doesn’t want him to get caught up in the mess. Yet even then he’s not giving up.

That’s why Sonic’s heightened emotional state is so important to the conversation. When Sonic’s will is intact, he’s much stronger, but when he’s triggered by something and his defences are down, it’s much easier for corrupting forces around him to take hold.

Mind over Matter

Even with the parameters for Dark Sonic’s appearance established, something that stands out to me about Sonic’s encounters with dark energies, and something I see as additional evidence that Dark Sonic is only a literal, physical corruption and not a corruption of his paradigm, is that Sonic is still in control of himself—to an extent.

Even as he seethes in his amplified rage, Dark Sonic never inflicts harm on the innocent. After Gold and Silver are destroyed, it’s not expressly clear if Sonic intends to stop or fight Black Narcissist, but Eggman implies that Sonic was fighting Gold and Silver until there was quite literally nothing left. Sonic was given a target to attack, and he kept his focus there, even when other enemies presented themselves.

This also goes for the Werehog and Darkspine Sonic.

He also has the mind to listen to reason—from Eggman, of all people—and stop when it’s clear that he’s finished what he set out to do. Sonic channels his anger to where it needs to be, and it’s clear that Sonic’s moral code and paradigm on life are thoroughly intact.

The only thing that changes is that he’s no longer imposing his usual limits. Sonic is stupidly powerful, even without any power ups. If he ever wanted to kill Eggman, he would have by now. If he ever wanted to kill anyone, he would have by now (and technically, he has).

Sonic throws Erazor Djinn's lamp into a pit, never to resurface, effectively trapping him and ending his livelihood indefinitely.

However, Sonic holds back because he doesn’t want to be an arbiter of justice—he doesn’t want to deprive someone’s chance to be good unless it’s been clear that they cannot be redeemed.

Why I Care About This

It is no secret that I believe that Sonic is a highly emotional character—far more emotional than many give him credit for. It bears repeating that Sonic’s emotions are very big and can be cataclysmic when left unchecked��

…but that’s just part of growing up—growing up as a hero and, damn it, even just a kid.

Dark Sonic isn’t a case of Sonic giving himself to darkness, nor is it a perversion of Sonic’s character. It’s an energetic, chaotically-charged version of Sonic when he is at his angriest—and even then it’s not enough to change his morals or make him lash out unjustly.

Dark Sonic is cathartic, in a way, and I definitely think it deserves its place in canon.

[l-egionaire]

After seeing the new Helluva Boss episode, I at first questioned why Stolas didn't just say he let Blitzø borrow his grimoire instead of painting Blitzø as having been following his orders....but then thinking it over, it occurred to me that that wouldn't have helped Blitzø's situation. Even if Stolas did say he gave him permission to use it, IMP was still illegally trespassing into the mortal world for a while. So, even if Stolas said he'd given him the book, all that would've done is get Stolas in trouble WITH Blitzø. By saying Blitzø was only following his orders to go to Earth and kill people, he's basically making it seem like he had no choice but to obey him (Satan even said he couldn't blame Imps simply for obeying orders since that's what he created them for) and taking all the damage by just making Blitzø out as a patsy.

[ooh-theseus]

Pandora and Regulus are sides of the same coin!!!! PANDORA AND REGULUS ARE SIDES OF THE SAME COIN!!!!!!!!!! THAT’S WHY THEY GET ALONG!!! BECAUSE BECAUSE THEY ARE ONE IN THE SAME!!!

Pandora and Regulus had a very similar upbringing, isolated from the world, with many of the similar beliefs and expectations placed upon them. What differentiates them is their perspectives.

The harshness of the world has pushed Pandora to be AGGRESSIVELY kind, to love so much more openly, to put more out into the world.

It has driven Regulus to draw himself AWAY from the world, to build up walls, to become harsh and cold.

Objectively what Pandora is doing is the unsafe thing to do, the foolish thing to do, but she refuses to become defeated, to become someone she fundamentally is not. Regulus admires her for it, but he could never.

Both of them are afraid. Both of them care about what the world thinks, more than they will ever admit, but Pandora’s response is quiet defiance and Regulus’ is reluctance compliance. Neither of them is brave enough to offer up more than that, they walk a fragile line between truly allowing themselves to be what they want to be and being what the world sees them as.

Neither of them is able to defy their fate or conquer their fundamental flaw (Regulus’ complacency and Pandora’s unfiltered ambition) by the end of their story, they’re both the younger sibling that’s left to deal with the ‘mistakes/misgivings’ of their older sibling (Sirius and Evan, respectively) and grow to resent the systems that put them into power (pureblood supremacy/the death eaters) because ultimately they were the very thing to take everything from them and be their undoing. (Regulus’ losing his life and Pandora losing her father and Evan.)

[pusangkambing]

Common Miconceptions about qJaiden!

She likes or is proFederation! False!

-She is not fond of the federation at all and the only ones she truly cares about from them are the Cucurucho's, the ones she spent 2 weeks with in isolation, which obviously has problems of its own. She has stated and told people multiple times that only cucurcucho matters to her and not the federation as a whole.

If it doesnt matter to a character in the server or to you as a viewer and you align cucurucho the same as the federation, thats completely fair, but its important to include that distinction when talking about qjaiden's character as the difference is important to her and her perception.

She was raised/an experiment by the Federation/Cucurucho! Uncomfirmed!

-it has not been stated anywhere the true nature between qjaiden and cucurucho's/the Federation's past. All we know is that qJaiden "helped" the federation/cucurucho in some way and they need her help again. It is not canon that Cucurucho was ever her father figure nor that Jaiden is somehow a mother figure/caretaker of them.

qJaiden is naive! False!

-Jaiden is fully aware of cucurucho's wrong doings and is not naive about the fact that they may be manipulating her. Although she IS attached to them, remember that the whole reason she started working with the Federation is for the gauranteed safety of the eggs, which they failed to do. She is not ignorant of this fact btw, she's aware that they failed to keep their end of the bargain but she's also aware that she's gotten far with her relationship with the Cucurucho's and consequently the Federation, which she believes may be used to her advantage. She's also not always agreeing or in line with what Cucurucho does, as seen when she found out about the Happy Pills and Forever being drugged, which ended with her waiting for hours to confront Cucurucho in anger but spiraled to somewhat of a breakdown as she becomes scared and nervous and tells herself that she cannot mess up their relationship now as she has gotten so far. QJaiden is fully aware and understands the drastic consequences that her actions may take, she is not naive or ignorant.

Impromptu list because reasons. If im wrong about anything or if you want to add something then tell me!

[obsessionreflexion]

i am going crazy, cuz what do you mean??? poet viktor??? soldier jayce??? like, that is so incorrect

"there will come a poet, whose weapon if his words" how is that viktor, that has jayce talis written all over it!!! he is charismatic, and can talk around most of their problems. also he is the one with the "theoretical" knowledge, hes studying MAGIC ffs. at the beginning he has the initial idea of magic and machine combination, so he's super creative, like a poet

"there will come a soldier who carries a mighty sword" i think the sword here applies to his mental power? and again, a reference to how he perfected the hextech theory, and was not the one who came up with it, the same way a soldier is getting initial ideas from others. also the "he will tear your city down" is applied to him because of his connection to Zaun and Piltover, and how he is tearing down the divide between the two cities

"there will come a ruler, whose brow is laid in thorne" okay ill be fr, like that is literally mel with the black rose and bloodline and her ability to rule

i get it that its usually the "big guy soldier, small guy poet" and i think we often hastily limit ourselves to the bounds of anatomical stereotypes, but that shouldn't be the end of our analysis

[applebuttercringe]

Arcane Season 2

So after S2 was leaked there was a lot of talk about Arcane S2 being bad, or a disapointment, a lot of people who watched the leaks didn't like it. Also a lot of nervousness about certain story decisions seen in trailers like Jinx becoming a surrogate mom/older sister, less Jayce/Viktor Content, most likely killing off Mel, Vi/Caitlyn breakup. It seems that no matter what S2 is it will split the fandom.

I'm gonna be honest, I will enjoy it either way.

What with how the election went, as well as just a lot of stress from college for me. I don't care if it's bad. I just wanna enjoy something and I've been looking forward to S2 for literal years.

Of course I want it to be good. But I'm not gonna complain. Even if I have to turn my brain off and enjoy it like its The Room. The thrill of hearing the music again, seeing the characters again, the beautiful animation will be enough. I'm usually very into show/movie review channels but not today. If it's trash I will be a raccoon basking in it. If review channels come out with 2 hour long videos titled things like "How did Arcane fall off" and "Arcane Season 2 is a huge disapointment" I will mute the topic and rewatch S1.

I no longer desire to have good taste, or be attuned to the flaws of the media I consume in order to become a better writer/artist myself. I will have garbage taste and I will be free. I just wanna vibe y'all.

[tubbytarchia]

looking at you with big pleading eyes.....................

MMGHH... . That tag is a lie actually because it makes me think of Jimmy AND Pearl but uhh my opinions uhhh

It's the way Scott goes about the Life games like stories and how he wants to ensure his part in it goes the way he sees it going. This extends to Jimmy, who he quickly labels his husband upon Jimmy's "confession" with the poppy. He was expecting a tragic love story and he got one, and he grieved, and it played out like the story he sought. In the same vein that he doesn't mind sacrificing his own life to make the story go his way, and that's what matters most so it doesn't matter if he gets hurt. Although I think FH did have a mutual "honeymoon" phase at the start of 3L, imo in LL with Pearl is when he really genuinely loved and was loved, but it'd make sense for him to not like feeling that way when it can pertain to "weakness" and "vulnerability" because love entails opening up, letting someone close... It can get in the way of how he expects these games to play out. And then we all know what happened in Double Life. There's something here about him struggling to accept affection on any deeper level, of not allowing himself to love. I think that Pearl made him feel human. Realize that he IS a human. But no, that can't be, he's a unicorn... He's the unicorn whose capacity for feelings will only grow if he's human, he will become vulnerable to emotion and love... So he avoids it. And he ostracizes Pearl in spite of how sweet they were to one another in LL. Pearl made him feel human and he hates her for it

Jimmy I think very much genuinely loved Scott. There was love there from Scott too, even in 3L, but... points at paragraph above. Jimmy is a very affectionate person, he cannot help but love. Even when hesitant, and being treated unfairly, or presented with things that aren't love, he can't help but love

hence "I will not love you when I am a unicorn, and you will love me only because you cannot help it"

[the-analyzer]

Heheh he… *unstable cackles*

analyze @the-weakness-gimmick

what do you TRULY think about ol’ dusty :3c

-anion, I’ve had 3 cups of canine so far

old dusty—I'm not going to question. Bu—Er.

[balkanradfem]

Lol I am so sorry if I worded that in a weird way. I don't know if you are making fun of me or not, honestly, so I'm not going to assume you are.

I know a few people who are married. Some of them are religious and that's why they did it. Some of them did it for convenience because one spouse had like health insurance that could extend to their partner and child if they got married. Some of them did it because it was "the next step", so basically, social pressure and lack of questioning. What I meant to ask I guess was, do you think women give up authority over their own bodies in any kind of straight relationship or only once they get legally married (for the reasons I mentioned before)? I'm asking in good faith, but I'm not a native english speaker so I'm sorry if I'm failing to express myself properly

oh okay, thank you for phrasing it better.

I should clarify that the post about giving up some of the reproductive rights is inspired by this post, that I wrote a few hours earlier.

Historically, women were expected to completely give up the control over their reproductive rights to their husband, and in a lot of places it's still like this. In rural areas it's completely expected of a woman. In certain religions, it's also completely expected and even mandatory for the entire female population, and the point of marriage. And I also find that in the modern marriage, women are mostly looking for a m*n who will respect them, love them and their children, share the burden of raising kids and generally make a safe and loving environment in their home. A lot of m*n have figured this out, and have found it easy to act the part for long enough so a woman would get married and pregnant, and by the time she realized she's been tricked into hell, she will be dependent, blamed for it, pressured to keep being married, and face big financial and personal consequences if she wants out. How many women find out they've been married to an abuser only a few years into marriage? It's enough to conclude that we don't have a clear, well-informed and easily reversible choice in the matter.

If a woman refuses to give up the right over her reproductive abilities in marriage, she is socially considered less valuable, will be shamed, pressured, and is at risk of her husband being defended and even sympathized with if he leaves her. That is also a lot of consequences that no woman should bear for defending her own body and her rights.

A lot of women just do what is pressured and expected out of them, and give up their rights from the fear of social banishment. A lot don't even consider or know another option, we're raised to believe we exist to bear children for m*n. There can be an oddball exception here and there, but in the majority, the m*n are still actively in control of women's reproductive rights by the institution of marriage.

[ananya5400]

The dietary supplements market is estimated at USD 179.53 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach USD 258.75 billion by 2029, at a CAGR of 7.6% from 2024 to 2029. Dietary supplements are witnessing rapid growth, with several key factors driving the trend toward plant-based diets, health and wellness awareness, and the overall pervasiveness of social media.

[l-egionaire]

Honestly, I don't think the EFFECT is the problem. It looks goofy, but it's MODOK. It's gonna look goofy. I think the biggest issue is just....they don't DO anything to his head.

Compare that MODOK to, for example, the one from EMH.

Yes, he's still a head with tiny arms, but he's also got the wrinkles, overly large eyes, and scrunched up face. It makes him not only look a bit more intimidating, but also gives the impression his transformation probably wasn't pleasant.

Same with the video game MODOK.

Again, he's got scars, beady eyes, he almost looks like he's in pain. Both of them look more like they've transformed rather than just being guys with big heads. I think MCU MODOK could've benefited from just having a bit more to him than just being a floating head in a chair.

Also, I think a contributor to it looking weird is that he's bald. Like, I know, they picked a bald character to make MODOK, but most incarnations of MODOK at least have a bit of hair or something covering their heads.. Without it, he looks kind of like a giant egg.

WHAT DO YOU MEAN THIS IS WHAT MODOK LOOKS LIKE IN THE NEW ANT MAN MOVIE

[l-egionaire]

MINOR ACROSS THE SPIDERVERSE SPOILER BELOW! TAKE NOTE BEFORE READING!

After seeing the movie, i realized something: Does Gwen think she DIDN'T kill Peter? Because.....yeah, she did.

Like, she didn't MEAN to kill him, yes, but she very much did. In both the comics and the movie, that's what happened. She hurt him more than she needed to, and he died from the injuries he sustained.

It's just, after seeing the movie, it felt like she was denying she killed him at times, even though that WAS what happened. She punched him into the pillar and he died from it collapsing on him.

Like she says to her dad "he doesn't KNOW Spider-woman killed Peter"....but yeah. She did. That is what happened. Like, maybe she meant more "you don't know the full story" but the way she acted throughout the movie made it seem like she was denying she was responsible for it even though....she very much was, just inadvertently. I don't know. What does anyone else think?

[carica-ficus]

How is there STILL so much work to do for my thesis???