#it might as well just be a title analysis lol

[hermitloveletters]

i have so much to say about the developing nature of ryan’s love throughout the series. it just means so much to me.

like in over the tracks, he feels so alone and so unloved by everything and everyone. he’s a true cynic. so when he unknowingly loves brendon, it’s incredibly careless and innocent (and ends up being self centered which is their downfall but anyway). he’s able to be careless because he doesn’t see himself as lovable so he doesn’t know the consequences of love. naturally when you don’t think, that’s when you really fall. so, ryan falls in love with the only person who has ever figured him out. he’d never admit it because of his growing fears of failure and status but his carelessness is ultimately what allows him to fall. and by the end of the first volume, when he’s stripped of his carelessness and shoved violently into reality, he must take responsibility for all he has done, and thus when reality hits him, he knows he has fallen in love.

in wolves versus hearts, ryan’s love is demanding and intense and - true to the first volume - selfish. in this book ryan is learning how to love, and he’s definitely got the bruises to prove it. it’s almost like he’s a child, which in the game of love he is. versus brendon who is more experienced, he has truly loved for two years and has truly loved his family in the past. he’s not willing to give up his love for something as childish and ever changing as ryan. i understand why brendon couldn’t be with ryan in this book (however much it may make me want to scream). my point is tho, ryan’s love has grown. it has matured but it has not reached true maturity yet. at least he was willing to call it what it is at this point. but in bypassing carelessness, he found himself at caring too much and being overly demanding with his love. he doesn't understand that he still doesn't fully get love and that you can’t force someone to love you. but he learns that.

but then, we get to a kingdom by the sea. and it’s like all of the pieces fall into place. ryan has had time to reflect and know what is and is not necessary with love. as he says, he’ll love even if he loves alone. he knows that love cannot be careless and it can’t be selfish and it can’t be forced upon. still he loves. this is ryan's maturity in love. you can especially see this when ryan gives his love away to dallon. ryan is an incredible romantic in the third book, and it seems that all you need to be incredible romantic is to be hopeless (which he has never been before, self-centered asshole has always thought he deserved love one way or another). in stepping out of the light of fame and relationships and constantly being loved, ryan was finally able to find what is truly important in life and he could finally appreciate that he can love even if it can not be his. so, in his loss, he finds the meaning of what it truly is to love selflessly.

tldr anyway ryan’s character development means a lot to me

[penguwastaken]

Nobody Understands Mukuro Ikusaba (aka Mukuro Character Analysis)

...except for the people that do (lol).

But first I want to clarify what I mean by this title and why I even wrote this thread in the first place. Mukuro is my second favorite Danganronpa character, only beaten out by Kyoko. There's a lot of reasons why I really like Mukuro, but one of them is her writing.

I think she's one of the best written characters in the series. But unfortunately, she also happens to be one of the most misunderstood characters as well. Not even by the people who don't like her, but also by her own fans.

"Mukuro has incestuous feelings for Junko" "Danganronpa 3 retconned her character" "Mukuro was just a plot device" These are all claims that baffle me because simply just consuming the media will say otherwise.

To many, Mukuro is either a one note incest freak or a pure innocent cinnamon roll who did nothing wrong and both of those interpretations are wildly incorrect. I've been meaning to write this post for a while, but we're finally here.

Nobody understands Mukuro Ikusaba (a ""🧵"") (Spoiler warning for the entire series)

Story Overview

We don't actually know too much about Mukuro's backstory aside from the fact that at a young age, she was separated from her younger twin sister Junko. Before being taken away, she claims that she was homeless and after she was taken she was forced to become a member of the military group Fenrir.

So clearly Mukuro never really had the chance to have a normal life, and more importantly: never had a chance to feel the care of another person.

Her sister, who Mukuro had not seen in years, suddenly got in contact with her and called Mukuro over to participate in her plan to overthrow Hope's Peak Academy (and the world). Mukuro, who already felt bad for losing her sister and was desperate for any kind of affection, accepted and began working for Junko.

Junko took advantage of Mukuro's desperation and had her basically work as a servant to her plans. She started by having Mukuro wipe out the entirety of a middle school in order to prove Mukuro's skills and how far Mukuro would go for her.

With that out of her way, Junko made Mukuro obey like her servant in order to overthrow Hope's Peak and cause the tragedy. Mukuro did so without batting an eye and disregarding any second thoughts she might have had, all while facing Junko's abuse.

During her time attending Hope's Peak, Mukuro met Makoto Naegi. Unlike most of her classmates, Makoto was friendly to her and showed her compassion. This confused her as we already established that Mukuro wasn't used to affection. Because of this and her tendency to latch onto anyone who shows her even an ounce of care, she began to develop feelings for Makoto (that even Junko acknowledged).

"In the past two years, Ikusaba had gained an interest in the world beyond her sister. And in that world, Makoto Naegi--the first person who smiled at her and bridged the gap between her and the world--had become like a sapling of sincerity taking root in her heart." -Danganronpa IF confirming Mukuro's feelings for Makoto

"Upupupu… I wonder what kind of fun you were having in the infirmary? Did you take care of your rival in love, or did you wish them a happy marriage? Either way, don't you think our nice guy Naegi standing side-by-side with Kirigiri makes for a wonderful picture? If this were a thriller, they'd be the last surviving couple!" "Upupupupu… Or how about just killing all of the others? If everyone but you and Naegi die, then the two of you can spend the rest of your student lives together! After all, we can't even hold a trial if there's only two people left. Maybe it'll be best if you just hole up here, safe in the building forever!" "And what're you going to do once he goes back to his old self? It's not as if you were dating Naegi, right? You were just watching him from afar all this time! Now this is a shock. You can shoot right through people's heads and hearts without even blinking, but you can't even steal away some skinny little boy's heart! You want me to tell you who Naegi had a crush on before his memories were erased? Upupupupu…" -Junko teasing Mukuro about her feelings as she aids Makoto in Danganronpa IF

Once the tragedy occured, Mukuro was locked inside of Hope's Peak with Junko and the rest of their classmates and she helped orchestrate the killing game. She disguised herself as Junko, under the impression that Junko would fake her death and they could spend the rest of the game together.

This is when the seeds of doubt began to sprout inside of Mukuro. I wouldn't say that she necessarily began to go against her sister, but she definitely was starting to get a little more hesitant.

"It was only recently that she began to question her mindset. Hearing about this plan from Junko and watching the world burn at the hands of people in Monobear masks did nothing to sway her, but when she heard that Junko was intending to plunge Naegi and the others into a game of murder, something within her began to move. The seed of doubt soon took root, sprouting into a thorny vine that twisted around her feet. And the moment she met her friends for the first time under the identity of Junko Enoshima and realized their memories were truly gone, the vines quickly tightened around her ankles." -Danganronpa IF describing Mukuro's feelings when the killing game began

To Makoto and the player who are under the impression that this is Junko, they assume that she's referring to not wanting to be a model anymore. But given her backstory of never being able to live a normal life and always having to fend for herself or follow the orders of others, we can infer what she actually means. She expresses disappointment in the fact that she never really had a chance to do what she wanted.

This all culminates in the moment where Junko was supposed to fake the death of Mukuro, but that isn't what happened. Instead, Junko killed Mukuro and betrayed her. To say that Junko felt no remorse from this action would be a lie, however. Junko only did this because she knew it would hurt both of them.

...but what if that wasn't what happened? What if Mukuro wasn't killed? What would happen then? That brings us to:

Danganronpa IF

Danganronpa IF answers the hypothetical question of what if Mukuro survived Junko's attack. Of course this means it isn't canon, but due to Kodaka being involved with its creation and its existence as an event that hypothetically could have happened, it is canon compliant. This means that while the events didn't happen in canon, they could have and things like characterization are all accurate. Think of it like an extended free time event. While the events themselves aren't canon, the things they say and imply are. I'll also be referencing Danganronpa IF a lot because since it's told from Mukuro's perspective, it gives a lot of insight on her thought process.

After regaining his memories, Makoto recognizes and rescues Mukuro seconds before her would-be death and he gets impaled by one of the spears. Mukuro rushes to save him, abandoning her disguise and goal.

During this time, Mukuro does a lot of thinking. Why did Junko try to kill her? For all the time they've been working together, Mukuro always assumed that her job was to prop Junko up and help her achieve despair.

It turns out that Junko didn't want Mukuro to obey Junko's every order, Junko wanted Mukuro to retaliate. She didn't want Mukuro to submit to her, but instead to fight back.

With this Mukuro changes her mind, choosing to fight Junko instead of assisting her. Not because she's on the side of hope, she never cared about hope or despair, but because she only wants what's best for the only person in her life who cared for her.

"'That's why… I'll take responsibility. I'll make you happy, Junko . I'll make youdespair. I'll save Naegi-kun… I'll make sure none of our friends die. I'll get them all out of here. And I'll kill every last one of the ones on the outside. You planned this for years and killed so many people to make this work… so I'll destroy every last trace of it.' She was not driven by resentment at the sister who abandoned her. Ikusaba would do all this for her sister's sake." -Mukuro changing her approach to making Junko happy in Danganronpa IF

Who is Mukuro Ikusaba?

Now this is the part where I finally exit the synopsis phase and finally get into the character analysis, explaining why Mukuro acts the way she does in all entries.

Now, I want to begin with a common critique of Mukuro's character, specifically one that's attributed to Danganronpa 3. The one that says that Mukuro's behavior is not only out of character, but also claims that she has romantic feelings for her sister.

First point out of the way, Mukuro's blushy and flustered attitude is nothing new when it comes to her character. It's been an aspect of her since the very beginning of her characterization.

"'I don’t know if… she attracts despair, or despair attracts her, but… she’s lived her whole life with despair by her side. She lived while immersed in despair. That’s why she began looking for despair in others; she began to enjoy pushing people into despair. But you know… that’s normal. It’s no different than someone cursed by misfortune falling into hatred for those who are better off than them. But what’s special about her was that… she learned to enjoy inflicting despair upon herself. That’s how the link to despair began: as she chased down despair, she pushed it onto others along the way. Doing so caused her to crave falling into despair even more… and because of that chain to despair, the Ultimate Despair was born.' While she spoke, it was like she fell into a fever; the expressions on her face slowly turned into ecstasy. It was so completely absurd that it would have been difficult for anybody to think of it as anything but a joke, but I could tell that this was real. It might have been the hazy memories of Junko Enoshima inside me that led to that conclusion. 'You don’t get it right? That’s fair, I don’t think anybody could… But you know, only I can understand it…' Consumed by ecstasy, even Ikusaba’s breathing had begun to turn ragged." -Mukuro describing Junko in Danganronpa Zero

The second (and more important) point to address is the one that Mukuro holds some kind of romantic feelings for her sister. Now, in all honestly, I can't hold this against anyone for thinking this even if I think it's a wild misinterpretation of her behavior. Danganronpa has a track record of using incest for comedic effect (to always poor results). However, Mukuro's relationship with Junko is not used to comedic effect and it's portrayed in a negative light. Not only that, we know that Mukuro does not enjoy behaving that way.

"'She hoped that, perhaps her sister on the screen would say something like 'Not! You seriously thought I'd say something that sappy? Jeez, you're annoying! Can't you just disappear forever or something?'. She hoped that Junko might criticizeher and call her useless. Ikusaba was no masochist, but she would have preferred to hear scornful laughter and be shot at rather than continue to endure this pain." -Danganronpa IF explaining Mukuro's "masochism"

Mukuro doesn't behave the way she does because she has feelings for Junko, she does so because she believes that's how Junko wants her to behave. Danganronpa Zero and IF makes it clear that Mukuro was wrong about how Junko wanted her to behave.

“'You don’t get it right? That’s fair, I don’t think anybody could… But you know, only I can understand it…' Consumed by ecstasy, even Ikusaba’s breathing had begun to turn ragged. 'Only I’m able to understand her… That’s why she needs me. She still hasn’t realized it, but… maybe she’s only pretending not to. Ufu… It’s because she’s so shy. Ufufufu…'” -Mukuro explaining that Junko needs her in Danganronpa Zero

"Ikusaba knew that not even she herself was her own ally. After all, despite the fact that Junko had betrayed her and very nearly killed her, Ikusaba still believed that she was the only one who could understand her little sister. And that was why she felt that she had to protect her. That's right… you were just being you, Junko. You just wanted despair, right? It's because you love me. You wanted to kill me and fall into despair. That must have been it" -Mukuro in denial in Danganronpa IF

"Ikusaba believed that she alone could understand the despair known as Junko Enoshima. It was a ludicrous notion. The moment Junko said, 'I love you', Ikusaba realized--to her agony--that she never truly understood her sister. Only now had she come to realize Junko's feelings." -Mukuro realizing that she didn't understand Junko in Danganronpa IF

Because of Mukuro's incorrect interpretation of understanding Junko, Mukuro believes that Junko expects her to respond to her abuse with acceptance and masochism. Even if she was uncomfortable to, as long as it made Junko happy, that's what mattered. Of course, we learn that Junko wanted Mukuro to respond her abuse with retaliation, and as soon as Mukuro realizes that her behavior immediately shifts. Mukuro holds a great deal of admiration for Junko, so much so that she only wants to do what would please Junko the most.

She does not have romantic feelings for her sister and to say so misses the point entirely. She isn't behaving that way because she's a masochist, she behaves that way because she believes it's how she's expected to, even if she's visibly uncomfortable. Once she learns this isn't what's expected, she immediately changes course.

Danganronpa 3 also has official relationship charts that depict the relationship between characters. In this chart, crushes or explicitly shown romantic feelings are labeled with a heart (as seen with Kazuichi's attraction to Sonia or Toko's attraction to Byakuya). Mukuro's relationship does NOT feature this heart. You would think that if Mukuro's very obvious admiration towards Junko was romantic it would have a heart, but it doesn't because it isn't. If what I said before didn't convince you, I think this itself is proof enough.

Mukuro's admiration doesn't extend to just Junko though. Due to her unfortunate upbringing, Mukuro has a tendency to get attached to anyone who shows her the affection she's desperate for. So much so that her behavior changes completely around the people she cares about.

"The mass of monochrome spun round and round, making it look as though they were projecting a hypnotic image from three directions, but Ikusaba remained expressionless. In fact, the bizarre sight unfolding before her compelled the Super High School Level Soldier to regain her focus. She was an entirely different person from the girl who had panicked at Naegi's injury in the gymnasium." -Mukuro while fighting in Danganronpa IF, behaving completely differently from when she panicked over Makoto's injury

"Not only that, if anyone who knew her as the Super High School Level Soldier and mercenary were to see her now, the difference in her attitude might even make her look like another person altogether. And Monobear continued to drive the girl into a corner." -Mukuro panicking over Makoto's injury in Danganronpa IF

"The mask of ice she wore around others was entirely unlike the face she showed her sister, making it almost seem as though she had multiple personalities." -Danganronpa IF explaining that Mukuro's behavior around Junko is different from her typical icey expression

This is why around most people, Mukuro has a pretty blank expression. However when she's around Makoto or Junko, the two people who she cares about, she displays a much more soft and emotional side.

That being said, an often overlooked aspect of Mukuro is that she actually has a slight ego and is proud of her skill. This is especially obvious in her fight with Peko in Danganronpa 3. Of course, if I spent years in the military without getting a single scratch, I'd probably have an ego too.

Mukuro is also capable of turning off her feelings and going into a "killing machine mode" whenever the situation demands it, mostly when she's carrying out some mission. It's not because she doesn't feel bad for what she's doing or isn't having any second thoughts, it's that she pushes any doubts to the side to focus on getting the job done.

"In battlefields, where she made her home, her main mission was to kill and survive. And in that setting Ikusaba was invincible. She could put her own emotions on a leash in order to become a killing machine." -Danganronpa IF explaining how Mukuro is capable of ignoring her own feelings

"With a single whisper that was drowned out by the sound of gunfire, Ikusaba went completely silent. Thanks to her status as a member of Super High School Level Despair, her heart was filling with joy. And as if to offset the sudden surge of emotions, the sparkle in her eyes disappeared." -Mukuro turning her emotions off while fighting in Danganronpa IF

So Basically...

Due to her upbringing Mukuro is someone who gets attached to people easily, particularly those who give her attention. Junko took advantage of this to make Mukuro essentially act as her servant. Believing that Junko expected her to return the abuse she faced with enjoyment, she forced herself to do just that. Even if it made her uncomfortable, making her sister happy at her own expense is better than being alone. She's capable of turning off and ignoring her emotions to following orders when necessary and is generally a proud and skilled soldier, though she has a softer side that she only shows to people who she cares for.

That is who Mukuro Ikusaba is.

Conclusion

There's a lot of reasons I really like Mukuro. I think she's silly and cute and I like her singing voice. But I also think her characterization is really good in all of her appearances. I think a lot of the critiques made towards her (especially towards her appearance in Danganronpa 3) are misguided or just a result of her being misunderstood.

She's not a plot device or a character exclusively there to act as an extension of Junko. She's filled to the brim with character depth and interesting writing and has plenty of characterization on her own. I'll admit that her presence in Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc is a bit limited, however she doesn't just become an important character in four other entries without getting some kind of development.

Many think her characterization is inconsistent or different across entries, but I honestly think it couldn't be any MORE consistent. The only times where I'd say she acts out of character is in the comic anthologies, but those are non-canon media that's kinda known for flanderizing characters for the sake of comedy.

Basically, I like Mukuro. I hope I managed to change some minds or shed a new light on her to anyone who didn't before. And if you already liked her, I hope maybe I could make you appreciate her a bit more or just help you explain her in some way.

anyways follow me on twitter cough cough

Also special thanks to Twitter user @LKSixtyfour for their tweets about Mukuro's characterization, many helped me organize my thoughts to form the thread that you just read.

Edit: didn't make any changes to the post, just fixed some typos

[prettyinpwn]

Bill and Ford and Adult Grooming - Why Gravity Falls is a Metaphor Champion for Abusive Relationships (GF Writing Analysis Pt. 4)

GF Writing Analysis Series:

Pt. 1 - Ford Pines: A Masterclass in Writing a Good Flawed Character Pt. 2 - How Gravity Falls Could Have Been Better + Poor Ford and Wendy Pt. 3 - Mabel Pines: How Well Was She Written... Really?

Hello and welcome to the fourth post in my GF Writing Analysis series! Though the title is self-explanatory, I still want to warn folks that this post will contain dark content relating to adult grooming AKA abuse. If that is content you'd rather avoid (and for some reason your filters did not catch my trigger warning tags), this is your heads up that this post will contain that type of discussion.

For those of you who are not sure what adult grooming is, no, it's not the sexual grooming between an adult and a minor like we typically think of when the term "grooming" comes up, nor does it have to be romantic at all, although sexual acts can be a part of this form of grooming. It is defined as:

"-the predatory act of manoeuvring another individual into a position that makes them more isolated, dependent, likely to trust, and more vulnerable to abusive behaviour. The goal is to prepare the other person for abuse (for example, sexual or financial) later. Therefore, the groomer’s first step is to establish friendship and trust." (Source).

It is my belief that the relationship between Bill and Ford in Gravity Falls - which The Book of Bill helped illustrate even more - is one of adult grooming. This post will explore how the concept of adult grooming applies to the relationship between Bill and Ford, how it changes our perception of them as characters, and the value of showing metaphors for abuse in media for all ages - like Gravity Falls is - to help bring to light this very real and underdiscussed issue and help victims recognize it themselves.

Defining Adult Grooming Further + Who Bill Really Is

We already visited the definition of adult grooming above, but we haven't explored the psychology behind it yet. Namely, I want to explore who partakes in adult grooming on both ends. There is the abuser, and the victim.

The abuser is described as often being:

"Narcissists, Antisocial predators, con artists and sexual aggressors practice grooming to target and manipulate vulnerable people for exploitation." (Source).

Well, very obviously, we know that Bill is the abuser. But... why? He could be a narcissist, an antisocial predator, and a con artist, just like the above description. But which? Why is he an abuser?

Well, our first inclination might be to turn to The Book of Bill and think about his backstory; how he could see in the third dimension in a two dimensional world, tried to "liberate" his dimension to see what he could see, and... then slaughtered them all. He implies it was an accident. He just "wanted the best" for his people. But... drumroll please... get ready for a U-turn into some literary talk...

The Great Gatsby references surrounding The Book of Bill were more than just a "lol random" joke. Infamously, the narrator of The Great Gatsby, Nick Carraway, is what's called an 'unreliable narrator'. This is a writing technique defined as:

"-any narrator who misleads readers, either deliberately or unwittingly. Many are unreliable through circumstances, character flaws or psychological difficulties. In some cases, a narrator withholds key information from readers, or they may deliberately lie or misdirect." (Source).

To me, after understanding just how much more Hirsch has tied The Great Gatsby to The Book of Bill's release (e.g "TJ Eckleburg" being the password to get into the associated ARG website, offering a free PDF of The Great Gatsby on said website)... I think what Hirsch is trying to say, is... Bill is an unreliable narrator, as well. Not that that wasn't already well established throughout the series.

Let's ask ourselves this question: is there anyone Bill hasn't lied to? Tried to gain sympathies from? I'll wait. Because the answer is no. Bill lies every time he opens his mouth. Even the god of the Gravity Falls setting - the Axolotl - calls him a liar in the Dipper and Mabel and the Curse of the Time Pirates' Treasure!: Select Your Own Choose-Venture book.

So as a small aside to the main point of this post: I don't think there's anything in The Book of Bill that we can guarantee is proof or canon. If I'm honest, I think The Book of Bill is the mad rambling of a monster trying to justify to us as well as himself that he's better than he really is. He's an unreliable narrator to himself because he needs to save himself from mentally shattering upon the admission that, yeah, he's really that horrible of a person.

If I were to define what The Book of Bill is, is it's a sad attempt to elicit sympathy for a monster, by a monster. It's a masterclass in how he - as an abuser - grooms someone. If you read The Book of Bill and walk away feeling bad for Bill, then congratulations! You would have fallen prey to him just like Ford did. And just like everyone who ever fell prey to him before that.

The metaphor Gravity Falls and its extra content illustrates through Bill is how charming, funny, and enticing and sexy according to Tumblr for some godforsaken reason abusers can be in real life. Because the worst of monsters are the ones who do everything to convince you they're not.

So what does this say about Bill as a character? Don't be fooled. He really is that monstrous. He doesn't have any redeeming qualities. Everything Bill does is with a goal in mind, a person to be used or manipulated to get there, and with a complete lack of conscience to stop himself from doing it. And that's what makes Bill such a strong and terrifying villain: He really is that evil. He really is that soulless. He's not a villain of great strength or power that can be easily defeated with might. He's a villain that underlines something very real beyond a screen or book page, something that we all likely have experienced in real life: an abuser.

Bill and Ford: Abuser and Abused + How Bill Does It

Getting back to the definition of adult grooming, let's explore how it works. There are typical steps abusers like Bill use. We'll list them, then list examples alongside each step that show how Bill used these tactics on Ford for the sake of both exploring their characters more, and illustrating how well Gravity Falls depicts actual abuse.

Please note that I'm using this source as my guideline on the steps of adult grooming.

Step One: Targeting the Victim

The abuser first looks for someone they can target. They learn all they can about the victim. Typically, they look for victims who are:

Unpopular or have family problems. Gee... who does this sound like?

People who have low self-esteem. GEE... sounds familiar again.

People who have mental/physical disabilities. Although Ford does not have either, at least not proven in canon, it is possible that his genius could be considered a disability in how high IQ individuals typically are more socially isolated, depressed, anxious, insomnia-ridden from overthinking, and can have troubles with making friends due to likeliness to correct others (*cough* "Grammar, Stanley." *cough), different senses of humor, and being misunderstood. (Source). Plus, we know his polydactyly caused people to outcast him.

People who have already been through abuse. I - and many others - have made the point that it's common fan interpretation that Ford's father was abusive to a point. At the very least, I have argued in previous posts that Filbrick taught Ford that "value = what money you make from smarts". He was, after all, supposed to be "their ticket outta this (New Jersey poor neighborhood) dump", right? Assuming this is true, well... Ford was already taught from a young age that his value was in how others could use him. Filbrick may have primed him to be abused by Bill, unintentionally.

Okay, so we've established step one of adult grooming, and how Ford fits 99% of these criteria at least for the type of victim an abuser targets. What about step two?

Step Two: Gaining Trust

Honestly, I don't need to elaborate much on this part. I'll just quote the article I sourced before, because any Gravity Falls fan will instantly know how this applies to Bill and Ford:

"Groomers can be hard to notice as they will do their best to appear safe and genuine. This makes it hard to identify them. Over time, they will gradually manipulate the victim to be dependent on them."

"While gaining trust, the groomer may use flattery like offering gifts, admiration, and sharing “secrets” with the person to make them feel special. The groomer may do favours for someone. The groomer may gradually begin asking for favours in return, generally starting small. This may be the start of a romantic relationship or a simple friendship."

"Groomers may share secrets with their target in order to make them feel special and trusted by the groomer. This also may make the target feel they need to share secrets of their own, which the groomer may later use to increase their power over the target."

I mean... *gestures at all of Ford's journals and interactions with Bill in The Book of Bill*. Bill couldn't get any more textbook abuser/adult groomer than this. He praised Ford, shared secrets with him, made him feel so special, etc.

Step Three and Four: Filling a Need and Isolation

These steps are quite self-explanatory. The abuser (Bill) convinces the victim that they need them. "You need me to complete your portal project, Ford.". "No one else understands you, Ford.". And then comes the isolation, and where we'll touch on Stan and McGucket.

"Groomers will likely try to isolate the victim from their loved ones. This may be evident in the way they refuse to meet family and loved ones. Or perhaps they bad mouth them, or try to point out to the victim that the groomer is the only one who really and truly cares for them. Being isolated from friends and family makes it harder for the victim to notice warning signs."

Bill convinced Ford he didn't need anyone but him. He convinced him to isolate more and more; to push his brother away, to push McGucket away, until Ford had literally no support network, making him prime prey for Bill to take advantage of.

Step Five+: The Real Abuse

This step can manifest in many different ways. After reading the article sourced above, there are so many similarities to what Bill did to Ford. I'll list them here:

Continuing isolation.

Destroying self-esteem.

Physical abuse (leaving Ford with bloody knuckles, making his body hurt, leaving him on top of the Shack in the freezing cold, etc).

Seek to take control over victims (in Bill's case, the fantasy/supernatural metaphor of possession is just that: a metaphor for control).

Normalizing behaviors that aren't normal ("Here, I'll just possess you more and more, I swear giving me complete control is normal!").

Making the victim feel helpless.

And many, many more. Folks, I'm not going to lie: I would not be surprised if Hirsch and other writers involved in Bill's creation read a manual on how abusers work (or maybe experienced it in their own lives, but hopefully not, as I wouldn't wish that on anyone) to write Bill. Because Bill does these steps on cue to Ford. He is a textbook abuser.

So... What Does This Say About Bill and Ford?

The dark humor in Bill's writing is that he portrays his shadowy side as lighthearted, but there's a very, very dark underbelly of abuse in everything he does. Even the way we interact with Bill as viewers/readers in real life is a microcosm of his abuse. Look at how he's written:

"Oh, I look like an innocent, funny little triangle guy. Don't mind me. *Does something horrifying and awful.* Oh, I'm just funny, trust me, look how sad I am for losing Ford, and how I drink about it, and I'm all sad here in interdimensional therapy, and I kept a speck of dust from my dimension in my hat! I swear I'm really regretful!"

Text in point: "I'm just a rascal! A funny little guy! But everyone seems to think I'm "evil" or "a sociopath".

He wants to be a hero, or a star, as he calls it. He shows himself on a magazine cover, as someone talked to in a live show, as the leader of the Henchmaniacs (which I'd argue are also either are abusers or victims themselves based on how Bill describes them in the book), etc.

But he's a liar. He's a conman. He's a dream demon; a demon that has power over dreams, but dreams are just that: lies and illusions. Like I said, even the Axolotl thinks so:

"Saw his own dimension burn. Misses home and can't return. Says he's happy, he's a liar. Blame the arson for the fire."

What that line and this screenshot means, is that Bill is 100% to blame for the destruction he wreaks. He didn't "show people the truth". He burned them alive because they didn't worship him as the hero he wanted so badly to be, and he blamed it on, "Well, they just didn't GET what I was trying to tell them.". And the worst part about Bill, is he knows deep down he's to blame; that he has the blood of millions on his hands. But he literally tries to describe it as "liberating" his kind. Ford knows this, too, and tells us directly in The Book of Bill that the book itself is a sham:

Key quotes being: "It will become whatever it must to deceive you, to pull you in." and "DO NOT BELIEVE A WORD".

Honestly, there's only one line Bill ever said that was truth:

Yet, even though Bill knows he's a monster, he never stops. He's had millions of years to change, yet he hasn't. And I doubt he ever will. That's why the Theraprism is effective: it's a jail of his own making. He could get out if he wanted to get better and worked at it. He's always had the key to unlock his cage. But he won't. Because he can't admit fault.

So instead of fixing himself, he keeps wanting to drag others into his cage with him. Like a man drowning who'll grasp onto anyone else struggling, pretending he's helping them float together, only to push them down to keep himself above the water. But in the Theraprism, he has no one to pretend to. He's a "theatre kid without a stage", like Ford said. A little emotional leech without someone to latch onto. He's just alone, like he was after he destroyed his entire dimension.

As for Ford, he champions the story of a victim who regained his power and heals through the love of his family. If you read his and Bill's story from the perspective of abuser vs. victim, it's the story of a man who was isolated, taken advantage of, nearly destroyed... but then wrests his power back and chases after his abuser for thirty years for revenge. However, it's telling that it's not through his thirst for vengeance that Bill is defeated, but through his brother's love for him and the rest of their family.

I mean, look at the main villains of Gravity Falls: someone who sacrificed his family (Bill), someone who was selfish and didn't give a crap about his family (Gideon), etc. And the heroes: people who self-sacrificed for their family. All the Pines wrestle with this theme, from things as small as Dipper giving up a let's be honest very minimal chance at Wendy to make Mabel happy and win Waddles at the fair, Mabel destroying her puppet show to save Dipper from Bill, Ford self-sacrificing and getting tortured for I don't even know how many days locked up with Bill during Weirdmageddon to protect others, and Stan performing the ultimate sacrifice in the finale for his family and world.

Bill is the antithesis to the Pines: a selfish abuser who killed his family. And the Pines are heroes because they learn the moral lesson of the story: to give up pride and selfishness to forgive, self-sacrifice, and love your family and do anything for them, despite your trauma or prior disagreements. They could have just as easily ended up like Bill: awful because of a refusal to admit fault or self-sacrifice. But they don't, because they learned what Bill never did.

That's also why this show focuses so much on the theme of past vs. future and letting go; the Pines learned to let go and accept change, Bill never did. He's stuck. Funny how time stops whenever Bill shows up in the real world, huh? /symbolism wink

And that's why Gravity Falls - and Ford and Bill's story especially - is a champion metaphor for abusive relationships and healing from them.

[mysteryanimator]

Breaking down Castlevania Nocturne Season 01 - Episode 04 "Bedroom scene" (almost) shot by shot!

Breaking down episode 06 / Breaking down episode 08

(Word count 6.3k I am so sorry HAHAHA)

I was heavily considering not going through episode 04 mostly due to being in the public eye but I like talking about shows I enjoy, regardless if my writing is shitty or not. By the way, the title says almost go through this shot by shot only because there's a 30-image limit. This scene is LONG so I can't catch everything but I can catch most.

By the way, before we start, a massive huge thank you to the Nocturne people, i don't think they'd read this, but if they do, all the scenes are really well crafted and interweave soooo nicely to their next point of interaction. I would love to know everyone who worked on this section, but if not I do hope they hear my utmost thanks and applause from all the way from Australia.

(Actually, just everyone who worked on Nocturne take a standing ovation from me lol, the show actually changed my life lmao, but I digress)

To introduce people who may be reading my analyses for the first time:

I implore you to rewatch Nocturne after reading this and make your own thoughts because while this is an analysis, it also comes through my own lens. These are just my thoughts and by no means end-all-be-all!

These are just observations based on my special interest and study in the field of in media production and analysis (i haven't been in that field for a while but I'm trying to get back into the swing of things HAHAHA)! Despite all of that, this is for fun, which is why I will be writing a lot more casually, so please don't take this too seriously! This not only helps me out as a student to become aware of how stories are put together and, in turn, how to apply them and make my own, but it also allows me to impart that excitement to you! Shot choices matter, especially when you have only 8 episodes, a deadline, a budget, asset restrictions, and so on. It all has to count. Everything matters.

Passionate creatives care and there is more than "the curtain is blue just because." The times when things slip under the radar and are put there just because are mostly due to executive meddling, budget restrictions, and deadlines.

With that said, this is actually a lot more thicker than previous breakdowns, WHOOPS. So please feel free to read this in chunks, and I will warn you that my grammar is not the best so you might have to bear with me here! As a warning, I will be using the words like sex, genitalia, etc. I only mention the actual acts of sex when presented as a joke.

--

Why am I putting in this last close shot of Tera? It is important because the whole scene beforehand has us mentally prepared for a fight or something a lot more action-like. The walls behind Tera and Olrox's room are REALLY similar, therefore once we see this inn room, we make a split-second assumption we're jumping forward in time with the protagonist. A picture says a thousand words.

Right up until the Olrox and Mizrak scene, our protagonist and antagonists both have very distinct places of associations and visuals, which often give the audience clues about their roles. They're established immediately from episode 01 and don't divert that line, that is until inn room. You can argue the line waivers in the courtyard, but the distinction is made REALLY clear in this episode.

The main cast, aka our protagonists, their places of association are usually amongst nature and people. If they're inside buildings, it is small cramped space, very much lived in and not completely upkept BUT it is what makes them very human. Our antagonists are associated with grand buildings and detailed windows that almost touch the ceiling. Gold trimmings. Vibrant rich colours that could only be afforded by the rich. If not the massive chateau, we have larger-than-life catholic churches, with stone walls higher than the eye can see. Our antagonists are congregations and establishments. Our protagonists are individuals.

I'd love to put some examples but I've used up my image slots, which means I'm making you rewatch (jokingly you don't have to) Nocturne from ep1-ep4 making you really conscious of the backgrounds

We as an audience have already slotted Olrox with with high-class, even though we as an audience know there's more to him. Olrox is designed with visual cues of the antagonists. His clothes literally could be wallpaper for the chateau. Not only that, the way he stands and holds himself very much leans into some of the stereotypes and tropes of the upper class that are often shoved into the media we consume. Then Mizrak, we do not see Mizrak anywhere besides the church, just strictly following the commands of the Abbott. We as an audience already have preconceived notions about religion, especially catholicism in the real world. Also, we have an established view of how Castlevania goes about religious characters from the previous series. Mizrak appears to have no other purpose but to be one of the main antagonist's guards.

This is a subversion.

Subtly this is going to tell us there is so much more with Mizrak and Olrox, and how their values align more with the protagonists rather than the villains and antagonists of the show. However, since they already began as oppositions to Richter and co, they need to earn the trust of the audience first so then they become more likable whenever they do have to earn the trust of Richter and co. This is our first building block. A step towards trust towards us and a step towards trust between Mizrak and Olrox.

(The location of their private conversations is REALLY important because they also tell us a lot about the characters, but I'll save it for the ep 3 breakdown when I get to it)

The sequencing and length of these shots are really important for the first half of the bedroom scene because we have exposition to get through. The scene has to be set out very strong from the start BUT, it also has to ease us in because this is a drastic shift, not only visually with naked characters but also a shift on the audience's expectation of already established characters. This is why we need this window first. We need to ease into this bedroom scene, or else we're going to be way too distracted by what is about to be shown.

Going forward SOME of these will be gifs to help illustrate my point. After all this is an animation! This is really important to show you in motion.

This pan down, oh my god this pan down. Camera pans help to reveal new information off-camera or to showcase a shift in tone/perspective. Suffice it to say THAT IS A LOT OF INFORMATION and a new shift in tone. This long shot is here to help establish our setting more clearly, what characters we're following, and what is happening. What are we establishing here? Mizrak and Olrox had sex in an inn room, that's all this shot is. It doesn't have to be anything fancy, other than the fact Olrox is censoring his own and Mizrak's crotch but that's it. As simple as it is, it is extremely effective. Yet it's so pulled back and obscured by the flower we can't be completely certain which is why we need the midshot of them that follows after, which helps to continually ease us into the scene. It tells us so much with so little. Show, don't tell is not only a powerful tool in visual arts. It leaves the audience to their imagination and I'm pretty sure a lot of us can fill in the gaps (I see you writers, I've seen everything on AO3).

This a midshot of Mizrak blankly staring up at the ceiling. Then they both turn to each other before Mizrak leaves and Olrox watches. In silence.

It's simple.

It's straightforward.

It makes you throw your arms up and go "what the fuck is happening???" It works. We're easing into this scene which is what we need. We're distracted by our own shock. So we've gone from our establishing the bed to establishing in our faces that, yes, it is indeed Olrox and Mizrak and they are both naked. That yes, they had sex and that Mizrak decided to stay for the night. Reasons? No clue and it's not important plot-wise, we just need to wrap our heads around that it is THESE TWO. It needs to be simple.

The lack of dialogue gives us room to breathe and to think. This is why this shot feels and holds on for what feels like a long time, in silence.

It might've changed but last I recall on average, shots will hold for 2-3 seconds. This is due to preventing the audience loose interest because the unchanging visual stimuli (and let's be frank attention spans are shortening, therefore media will change to reflect that). HOWEVER, a shot length heavily depends on the context of the scene and what you're trying to specifically say with a single shot, therefore making it super short OR super long. This one shot is six seconds. It allows for the dramatics to be amped up and it allows us to get through our shock for a bit longer since we're only TWO SHOTS into this scene, and right after this we're jumping straight into exposition and their deeply intricate dynamic. This is out six seconds to scream our heads off in shock and laugh in disbelief before we get hit with Mizrak's existential crisis.

The silence and the simplicity of it all also strengthen their mysterious characterization that has been established in episodes 01-03. We never see how they got here OR the act itself. However, what is really telling of these characters is their lack of body language and facial expressions. From episodes 01-03, Mizrak and Olrox have been seen to be very reserved characters until their fight in the courtyard. Their last scene together was fighting, in a courtyard. Now we're seeing them, post-sex, with neutral expressions and body language? The lack of any answers, the lack of anything dynamic happening from this shot and the last shot makes the audience absolutely learn for an answer. We're now invested in this side plot. What got these two men to be in this vulnerable state? How do we get the answer? We sit, we wait, we watch that vulnerability get earned. Mutual vulnerability that is.

This gets into personal opinion here so feel free to skip, but I really really enjoy how we get absolutely no answer or visuals, which might be a strange take for someone who does of fan-anims and fanart of them coughcough. We as an audience can get through literally two images and understand they had sex. We don't need to be spoon-fed. Media is in my personal opinion is more fun to engage in where we get just enough to know what going on, but we can fill in the blanks ourselves. We can read between the lines. This is adult animation. This is not to say I'm opposed to an explicit scene with them later down the line, I just think this is a very good way to establish the dynamic they are going to have. It has me way more emotionally invested in these characters which I believe is far more important because it tells me we're in it for the long haul and we're going to see a relationship actually develop in real time, both their high points and pitfalls. Also, I personally feel this whole scene is building towards something we have yet to see. I do not believe this is the last time we will see them put in a situation like this due to the whole emotional weight of them being naked, but that's theory territory LOL. I'm so happy to be proven wrong though.

This long shot is slightly tilted up to help to censor genitalia but it is again a REALLY SHOCKING SHOT. I personally don't know any recent Western animated media that has done this, especially of a male couple. Even if there are some animated examples, this is not a very common thing, especially to this extreme.

Now we're actually getting into the meat of their actual discussions, knowledge, if you will.

By the way, the question Olrox is presenting, is already information everyone knows. Actually, a better word is presumed. We saw the abbot in episode 02. Olrox explicitly states it in episode 03, asking "Why is your abbot forging Night Creatures for the Vampire Messiah?" There's technically no reason to say this BUT for this scene, it works because we're still distracted visually. We still need to ease into this, much like how Olrox needs to ease himself into this conversation before getting what he wants truly. Mizrak's opinion.

This midshot of Mizrak's back is so much important then you think.

I can be wrong, but I feel like you're supposed to be half-distracted or get whiplash by Mizrak's back. Frankly, we're supposed to get major whiplash from these two characters naked for a moment. These characters are usually completely covered from the neck down. This also makes the conversation they're having to be put under a way different lens. If they were clothed for this entire scene, the emotional weight would almost be non-existent.

Nakedness/lack of clothes is vulnerability, especially for a knight. Especially for a guarded vampire. I will be talking A LOT about vulnerability, so I hope I don't wear out the word too much.

You can perceive this shot in two ways and I think both work in this scenario. It can showcase even when naked and vulnerable, his unwillingness to open up, unable to fully face his own truths, the truths Olrox lays out for him. Yet, you're also having your back to a vampire, a perceived threat, which is a very vulnerable position to be in. You can't see your opponent.

It shows Mizrak trusts Olrox physically, but not emotionally. Not yet. We're going to watch Olrox earn it and for Mizrak to reciprocate it back throughout the series. Also just in general, sex requires vulnerability, choice AND trust, therefore even the implication of sex, those meanings get slapped down onto these characters. It means that they have the means to trust, be vulnerable, and have a choice with each other physically, but emotionally, they're building up to that.

This medium shot will be the ONLY SHOT we get of Mizrak in his boxers. This is plainly in part of the fact he's hurriedly getting dressed BUT we need to see his hesitation, him slightly lowering his clothes, him actually listening to Olrox.

Olrox is right.

Though Olrox isn't here to converse about other people to Mizrak. He wants his opinion.

Close-up shot of Olrox!

Close-ups are used to make the facial expression of a character the main focus. It gives us clarity on the character's thoughts and feelings on a particular subject, even when lying it can already tell us a lot about a character in the moment. The character themselves are the sole focus of the shot, nothing else. The same goes for objects. This also means when you do the opposite and obscure the face...

(drum roll to the next shot)

This is a great close-up shot to cut to because this has Mizrak fully turn AWAY from Olrox, put on his armor, and paired with the line "I don't know what you're talking about." We're getting visual and audio confirmation that Mizrak does not want to acknowledge his own thoughts, in turn, he will not face Olrox and the audience.

He is actively putting his guard back up as soon as Olrox prods for his opinions. From episodes 01-04, all we have seen him do is be at the church and stand alongside Emmanuel, that's it. He is not a leader, a pillar of the community like the Abbot, he is a follower. A guard dog ( like Drolta Tzentes, though she has way more personal agency than Mizrak). He never voices his own opinion, his own thoughts. To do that would need you have the strength to be

VULNERABLE!

By this point in time, he's not fleshed to the same degree as most of the other characters. Richter gets the episode 01 prologue with Olrox being his main point of trauma. Tera gets her speaker backstory fleshed out along with establishing Drolta and Ezerbet's longstanding history. Annette and Edouard get a really well-established (btw beautifully done too oh my god) flashback as Annette recounts the past. While Maria has no flashbacks, her character gets to have her individual values and attitudes fleshed out due to her screen time and her connections to Richter and Tera.

Mizrak though?

Not much is known about him besides the church. We put this label on him simply due to what the show has given us, but through Olrox we're getting information out of him because clearly Olrox has seen there's more than meets the eye. Especially when Mizrak drops the line "when the world abandons you." Olrox's investment is also now our investment in discovering who Mizrak is.

Mizrak however, does not want to get personal feelings in the way of duty, a common trope in media for knights, soldiers, and religious people. So he shuts him out.

Multiple.

Times.

This shot pans up, moving Olrox from lying down, which is more casual to more structured sitting pose. Specific movement is IMPORTANT to capture, so instead of just cutting to another shot, you move the camera with it. There's a tone shift. We need to see him go from lounging to making a very direct statement. Mizrak is ignoring his question so Olrox has to be more blunt with his statement because he needs him to listen- so the camera and the his body language have to clearly state "I'm not joking or fucking around anymore, just listen."

What he says is absolute truth though, this is exactly what happens in episode 08. "They're revolutionaries, Father. We're here to crush them."

The stark difference here is crazy in this medium shot.

Mizrak. His head is purposely cut off, he's practically clothed, with his chain mail on. He's standing up and his posing is quite stiff with his hands almost balled into fists. You also might be thinking, why is his chest and boxers the only things we see???? It makes him appear so much more clothed up and, therefore a lot more guarded. Cutting off the face means we don't get to see his emotions, he's trying to ignore personal feelings on whether it's right or not.

Olrox on the other hand, is full body, we see his face, naked, and despite his very direct statement in the last shot, he still somewhat casually sitting. Olrox is STILL trying to get Mizrak to be vulnerable and trying to get HIS opinion.

Funnily enough, I've talked about this close up shot before in BOTH episode 06 and episode 08's breakdowns. However, I've never actually discussed this initial way Olrox approaches him.

Olrox again, prods at Mizrak and this time Mizrak does have to sit with that thought. "Do you think he's right?" "Are you sure this path is right?" He's asking if what Mizrak is doing is good. If the horrors committed are justifiable. Both the way their expressions tell us that Mizrak does not think it is, and Olrox KNOWS. This close-up is INTIMATE. We're getting deep into personal matters (well try)

Side profiles not only give an air of drama to a scene, but it usually means there's more to the bigger picture since we're not seeing a person's full face. We're deliberately only seeing one side of the picture.

This is a split-second shot and I've discussed it briefly in another breakdown, but now I can get to discuss it more in-depth now as it's own shot!

This is a top-down shot, putting these characters in a place of vulnerability and weakness. Olrox is put even lower than Mizrak in this shot, he's far smaller and takes up less space in this shot, therefore giving him less presence and less power. Episode 03 had established Olrox was the man (or should I say vampire) in control of the situation, hell, the shot just before this one had Olrox wrapping around Mizrak, again trying to get under his skin. Yet now he's suddenly placed the lowest in the power dynamic.

Not only this, the camera is packed in so tightly and close, it's practically suffocating. We have no visual room to breathe, almost like we're suffocated with the evil that prevails in the world and suffocated with the weight of the question "Are you sure this path is right?". Olrox's eyes are the only aspect we see of his face and Mizrak's eyes are the main focus of this shot.

And they both look horrifically sad. An emotion we have not seen either of these characters make.

This shot does not last long but it shifts the rest of the section completely, even when the moment of concern is gone. It lingers with us when dismissed because it does not match any other scene we've had thus far or what we have known of the characters.

This one specific close-up is very important because it comes back to us in episode 08 and episode 06.

It's the holding from behind and the very concerned look from behind. Mizrak only ends up mirroring ONE of the behaviors. It's the concerned look from behind in episode 06 (timestamp is 19:25). They're put at the same heights, both talking about the evils of the world. Tin foil hat here, Mizrak may end up doing the other behavior, holding from behind, in another season.

The weight of this shot is so heavy that it is treated so differently amongst all of the other shots in this entire interaction. It also holds on for much longer. It holds for 5 seconds. This is important. There are little character moments from Olrox, like how Olrox looks up at him and he holds onto Mizrak as long as he can before has has to let go and watch him walk away. Duty, before desire.

A moment that Olrox has to go through once again for episode 08.

In response to a line. "So we use our heads." Olrox jokingly goes "Or lose them."

This long shot is not only tilted up but it's on the slightest of angles as if to showcase how we're shifting the mood and tone of the scene. We are losing the gentleness and sincerity of the moment, back to the very conveniently placed knee to censor Olrox. We have Mizrak pulling up his pants. Whatever vulnerability they had, it's gone.

I don't think either of them wants to sit in the thought of their existential crisis because not only Mizrak is clearly going through one but Olrox is too. While I'm sure they were sitting with their own thoughts for a long while before meeting each other, it's only forced to be on the forefront and confronted after meeting each other.

So the "lose our heads" line ends up coming back around to where someone actually ends up losing their head in the same episode.

While first, it is very comical because I've seen so many people make the joke of "Olrox gave Mizrak head" (which doesn't help because Olrox smirks at him after passing him the head), it also solidifies Olrox's truths to Mizrak. People will lose their heads under Ezerbet, and there is evidence not even hours after their discussion. Despite the humor, Olrox is deeply concerned.

Olrox is always right. Whenever he makes a statement, he has always been right and has always been proven right. The only thing he hasn't been right about is episode 08 when he says "If you go back, she'll kill you." However, in terms of technicality, Mizrak hasn't gone back to Ezerbet/Sekmet. This will be addressed in season 02 most likely and even then I think Olrox will be proven wrong. Maybe? We shall see LOL.

Which while we're at it:

He eyes Mizrak the ENTIRE time during this very small interaction, and while he eyes him, we get a close-up of the book somewhat revealed before hiding it under his coat- silently communicating to him. This will eventually lead to episode 06. All interactions lead to effecting the next time they meet. I just really like this detail, though that might be a corn plate moment I'm not sure HAHAHA

Ok lets jump back to the bed scene!

So this follows up the "So we use our heads." "Or lose them."

This is said insincerely, so Mizrak jabs back at him with the same insincereity and less seriousness of this scene. Coupled with the fact we have a panning shot of Mizrak pulling his pants up, aka, pulling up his guard. Important note again- his back is STILL FACING HIM. Even with the chainmail fully covering him.

Also, I just really enjoy the animation here, like the way his arm goes from in front of him and straight, and then goes to being pulled back and bent, but that's a side tangent.

Low-angle tilted down shot. It ends up placing Olrox in a lower position of power than Mizrak in this current interaction, coupled with the fact that Mizrak towers over Olrox when he's standing up.

Despite us not seeing much of Mizrak besides his chest- he's fully clothed with his tunic FACING Olrox. While Olrox is STILL naked. Mizrak is shielding himself behind the cross. His faith. Olrox still is trying to delve into Mizrak's vulnerabilities and Mizrak won't give in.

Props to everyone who worked on this shot he just looked really pretty here.

This shot is tilted up and a close-up, an opposite shot to the previous one. It feels daunting, coupled with that line especially. Unlike a tilted-down shots, which make a character appear more vulnerable and weak, a tilted-up shot can make a character feel more in control of the scene. It makes him appear unwavering and solid in his stance Also, this is so specific but we haven't had any solely focused Mizrak shots for a hot moment now. The last time we had it was when he had his back turned to Olrox- now he has all his clothes on and is fully turned towards Olrox. Say it with me !! Mizrak's guard is up !! He's shielding his vulnerability !!

He feels way more emotionally safer to face him guarded up and a lot of his language has very very subtly shifted from when he had clothes on versus off.

Also thank you to everyone who worked on this shot, Olrox is very pretty here too.

Instead of having a tilted-down shot to do a verse version of Mizrak, it's pretty much straight forward close-up shot, which means the equal power dynamic in this conversation has returned. Simply because Olrox begins to prod at Mizrak again with the line "Who pays for it? Will you?"

Oop naked Olrox. However, despite Olrox's ass being very clearly on display, he's not the main focus since his face isn't shown. He's only here to showcase the visual contrast of him being naked to a fully clothed Mizrak. Even his dagger is strapped to his thigh, which only means there's even more layers to his protective bubble he surrounds himself in.

This close-up is important because it's a declaration of how much Mizrak doesn't care in the slightest. His facial performance, aka what we're focused on, doesn't look like he's lying or secretly worried either, he's genuinely disinterested. He just wants to get dressed and leave because Olrox keeps prodding at HIM for his opinions. As disinterested as he is for whatever Olrox has to say, he's disinterested in shedding his opinion.

This midshot is so casual. He is very non-nonchalantly leaning back with a smile and jokes about demons. The camera moves with Olrox. Camera pans normally mean revealing new information visually, as if something is off camera, similar to the bed reveal at the beginning of this whole scene. What Olrox is doing is revealing new information. Also, he is on the very right of the screen then slowly gets pushed a little more towards the center, but still on the right. Having a character placed on the very cusp of a stage makes the visual balance feel really off, therefore as an audience, we feel really off-balance. So couple that with Olrox's humourous attitude with an information dump...

This so interesting because it sprinkles in that Olrox knows a lot about the forge master ability, hell itself, and a lot more we don't get privy to. He knows way more then he lets on.

This ONE LINE gets three different shots. The very casual, humorous sentiment gets interrupted visually with extreme close-ups of Mizrak who is clearly peeved and tense about this. The quick succession of jumping to different images makes us tense up. This is due to the timing suddenly speeding up AND where the camera is placed is so drastically different.

He's reacting to the conversation unlike how he has before.

Now Mizrak's hands are fully covered, the last part of his skin, the last part that Olrox used in an attempt for vulnerability. Mizrak's guard is now unwavering, covered head to toe. He's gone from reserved and quiet to angrily guarding again.

Lol you thought I was done talking about divides and boxes, you are WRONG.

Mizrak is boxing himself into all his preconceived notions of religion. This is the only time he's been aligned inside of the door frame. Mizrak is done with this conversation and he doesn't want to hear anything else.

Also, funnily enough- Olrox takes up the amount of space in this shot as to Mizrak and the door. Compositional it does make it feel more filled up rather than empty, showcasing Olrox is listening, peeved, but he is listening. It also might hark onto the Olrox God connections that are being subtly slid to us, though this feels like a slight stretch. There's a stronger Olrox God parallel I talk about later, so pocket that thought!

I have to skip some of the shots because of the image limitation, but thought this one needed to be addressed!

Not only does this wide shot make us feel really pulled away and disconnected from whatever private conversation they were having. It also makes us feel like after this interaction, whatever same understanding they had, is gone (well not completely gone, it has to be rebuilt again). Mizrak's unrelenting faith in one God is causing a rift, a divide if you will between the both of them. They feel so separated, so distant from each other because Mizrak is still really stubborn.

Then after all is said and done. After Mizrak has the final say. He leaves and Olrox watches. Like episode 08. Again.

Olrox is pushed into a box, which funnyily enough, Olrox tends to be seen in a lot of boxed-up framing to the right of the screen. You can see a visual collection of it here. Whenever he's from the left of the screen boxed up, it's usually turned towards himself like an inner reflection.

Ok, I have to skip some more shots to get to here.

"One God. And you think he can protect you?"

This is major foreshadowing but the one God, that Olrox scoffs about is himself. This close-up solely focuses on how he looks down and watches Mizrak from above. Much like how God is described in scripture.

Psalm 53:2 NIV: God looks down from heaven on all mankind to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God.

Psalm 102:19 NIV: The Lord looked down from his sanctuary on high, from heaven he viewed the earth,

Olrox looking at Mizrak from above as a protector happens numerous times in episode 08.

There are also a ton of bible verses about living under the shadow of God, it's considered a positive thing because God's shadow covers the entire body, therefore a person is fully protected.

Psalms 91:1-2 NIV: Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. 2 I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”

Psalm 36:7 ESV: How precious is your steadfast love, O God! The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of your wings.

(i do realize now all my examples are psalms i hope that's ok to prove a point LOLOL)

Olrox is the sole protector of Mizrak to the point where he even drags him away for his own safety. The shot choice when he says it is a close-up shot of his face and his eye is slightly glowing, making him appear way more supernatural, almost god-like in a way.

It hasn't been confirmed (or denied for that matter) if Olrox's creature form is the Quetzalcoatl (an Aztec deity), but the god parallels are very apparent from the get-go, and a lot of the fandom (aka the audience) who are invested in Castlevania have placed this label onto him not only for the reasons mentioned above BUT also due to his association to Mizrak, who is a man who fights for God. However, this aspect doesn't get fleshed out like their vulnerability because Olrox only goes into this protector role at the very end of the season. After all, that is when he has a change of heart, much like Mizrak. This means this will not be the last time we will see Olrox in this role even after the break-up.

To wrap this up, vulnerability as showcased in episode 04 does appear in episodes 03, 06, and 08! I personally believe though that episode 04 however really hammers you on the head with it because you're able to play around with someone's literal nakedness as a visual metaphor. This episode is supposed to make you really conscious of them and the decisions they decide to make going forward. It is the bridging point between episode 03 and episode 06. It's a stab in the heart when you watch episode 08.

Vulnerability and the ability to open up is a massive thing between these characters and it's only going to get more raw and more human as the series goes on. We see it happen when Olrox is the one to open up first. One thing I noticed from both Castlevania and Castlevania: Nocturne is that love can be the most damning thing or it can save you. The choice, however, is up to you. However, to love is choosing to be vulnerable. By the way, love isn't just romantic it can be very much platonic and familial as seen with practically all the characters, both current and past... Olrox and Mizrak though are just really complicated and messy. Aren't all characters though? Isn't that what makes them human, even if they've lost it centuries ago? HAHAHASBDHADSB

(ok so the paragraphs below is my personal opinion but i think they're a good ending note/side tangent)

If we ever actually get an explicit scene it's going to make a specific commentary on how these characters have developed from season 1 to whatever season they have sex in, especially how they go about sequencing, pacing, and shot choices, especially with Netflix censoring and rating requirements. Limited things you can show, and limited things you're allowed to even imply, so everything has to make sense to what they want to portray AND say. Even simplicity requires a lot of thought. They can do some really cool stuff with it in which vulnerability, both physical and emotional, gets explored between Olrox and Mizrak. Sex is actually a very interesting way to explore a dynamic, I feel it's really underutilized, though it's mostly in part to a societal downpour view on it. With Mizrak and Olrox, two very withdrawn characters, you could say something really interesting about them as individuals and as a pair that you might not be able to do when clothed. The commentary may be as simple or as profound as the creatives behind this want it to be.

A counterpoint though is that you can very easily make a non-explicit scene feel really explicit and sensual without sex or kissing. While yes, we want confirmation through that means, don't get me wrong I love when queer love is straight-up told to us, there's something about telling a story of intimacy between characters that will often engage us first into a story. Phrases like "This is gayer than gay sex" are coined due to the emotional connection a character has, leaving a far more profound impact on an audience. Things like non-explicitly romantic touches like hands, the way the character looks at a person, communication, etc etc, are ways countless media have explored intimacy. Which Mizrak and Olrox already have. Why not build upon a solid foundation?

Whatever the pathway is, it will fit inside the themes of Nocturne and its aspects of revolution, freedom, and choice which is crazy to think "Olrox and Mizrak intimate scene??? meaning-" YES, it can (like sexual freedom, though I don't think it would be explored, it's just cool to think about). All of their scenes serve to strengthen those show's themes since they're a side plot. But I digress! I'm excited to see how they further Mizrak and Olrox's dynamic in a visual manner!

Okay, with that all said, I'm done with episode 04! One more episode to go! This was all for fun and to be silly about a show I really enjoy, but I hope this gets you to rewatch Nocturne! Apply this to other scenes! Enjoy the craft of animation!!

[accio-victuuri]

Somebody Else’s Arms : Timeline + Analysis ✍🏻 and a tiny bit of clowning…

as what the title of this post says, let’s talk about this song and everything that goes with it. i didn’t expect him to actually do something like this but i’m not mad about it. there were already some rumors about it before the release, which personally didn’t come by my weibo feed so as soon as the poster teaser was out, everyone had their own thoughts:

1. It might be related to intercross, because of the water imagery and angsty title.

2. It’s a song he bought and at the time people were pointing to an existing track by cool heads prevail. and others were saying it may just be the same name.

3. some cpfs getting nervous cause it seems to be a breakup song, as if you all didn’t know he and xz love bittersweet songs!

4. connected to #2 cause a cpf station sister commented on this song before we knew anything like she had an idea that this will be performed all along.

AND NOW THAT THE WE HAVE LISTENED TO IT, it is a completely different one from the track people were referring to. oh well. rumors are rumors.

yibo-official first released the teaser for it at 16:00 which to me relates to the “fact” that 16 is bobo’s favorite number. also the play on words and how they associate with each other is so interesting SEA = somebody else’s arms then using that as an overall theme like deep in the sea. not to be that person — but it’s so xiao zhan.

then the hair reminded people of his style @ tencent starlight in 2019 with xz. but i have to say, when the douyin video was released, it made more sense because of the 80s vibe he ( along with other yh family stars ) was going for. the clothes and the hair definitely complete the look. i mean come on, he already had the vincent vega hair.

the similarity in the caption, once again! xzs 🤝 ybo

Now let’s move on the song itself ⬇️⬇️⬇️

i can only find information on this songwriter, so i guess it’s true that he bought it. the lyrics is actually giving ghost by justin bieber which is a personal fave. it’s like acknowledging you love someone but they are gone now. also it’s interesting that he chose an english song! i’m gonna be a totally delusional fan here and think that this is because he is becoming more and more popular with the international stage so he chose this to connect more.

the choreography is also by his fave Franklin Yu who also did the dance for Rules of My World and Burn It All Down. backed up by Made in V which is a usual group that collaborates with him and XZ. 💚❤️

i think we are all surprised cause it’s in ENGLISH. like i understand if the chorus is, but as a whole. wow.

You're still in my heart

But you're in somebody else arms

You are still in my mind

But you are in somebody else's life

A part of you got left inside my chest

I try and I try to forget

You are still in my heart

But you are in somebody else arms

Memories that we said we made

Memories I can't never let go

How do they torture me the same

Memories that we won't even know

Let me out

Na na na oh My love my love

Na na na oh Let me out

Na na na oh My love my love

A part of you got left inside my chest

I try and I try to forget

You are still in my heart

But you are in somebody else arms somebody else arms

the lyrics are so heartbreaking 💔 and as i said, something we know will appeal to yibo. and as an artist, or any kind of creative i feel like this kind of emotion connects well to the audience. it’s the perfect choice! but that doesn’t mean it don’t hurt!

i know there might be some part of the fandom who will look at this and be like — oh they broke up! “see how sad his face was performing?!” and well.. dude, he is performing this song and singing those lyrics.. what should he do? smile? lol. his dance is an interpretation of it, did you see that bit where he was alone and everyone had partners? In the meantime he was all alone and cradling no one 😭😭😭

it’s a performance. no matter how much we think everything has a personal connection.

anyway, it’s beautiful. his voice is amazing. i’m just imagining xz totally lovin this song and putting this on repeat! 🎧

and oh, the style of his clothes look like there are XX on it. hahahaha! a CPN fave!

DISCLAIMER: this is all the information available at the time of writing. I will post separate ones if ever new information comes out related to this song. 🎶

[wallflower-10]

HELP FINDING A MHA DAD FOR ONE FANFIC!!!

(UPDATE: the fic has been found it’s called “Words as Weapons” and it’s finished now!! LINK AT THE BOTTOM)

I’m just gonna list as much as I can remember about it

It was a work in progress with more than 30 chapters I think. (finished with 40 chapters)

The title I THINK either started with a “M” or had one in the word. (NOT EVEN IT WAS A “W” SMH)

Switching POVs; 3rd person i think

It was a My Hero Academia fanfic on AO3 where All for One is Midoriya Hisashi and raises Izuku.

AFO has made Izuku write analysis essays since he was young to challenge his perception of hero society; this also has the added bonus of making him like a wiz in school

At one point he writes a bunch of reports for Nedzu about what happened at the USJ and he and the police both agree that report is so well done it’s professional level good.

AFO gives him quirks and swaps them out periodically

Izuku has an emotion quirk, I believe, that let’s him see emotions as colorful smoky clouds I can’t really remember the others but there might’ve been a minor telekinetic quirk as well.

Izuku still gets OFA. After that, everytime AFO gives him a quirk, OFA “eats it”. I specifically remember a line where AFO’s internal dialogue says “OFA ate them/it”—referring to AFO’s gifted quirks—meaning that AFO couldn’t take quirks from Izuku anymore (since OFA can’t be taken).

Izuku has sort of negative habits he picked up from the way he was raised. He tends to be kinda manipulative and lies about a lot of things (kinda small things) and All Might catches his doing this and kindly asserts that he doesn’t have to be dishonest to achieve certain things.

There’s a chapter where All Might comes over for dinner. He isn’t aware Izuku’s dad is AFO

AFO is like mentally/emotionally abusive or something and gaslights him a lot (i can’t remember for sure but I think that might’ve been a tag as well) and Izuku grows up kind of scared of him but still believes his father loves him.

At the Sports Festival with Todoroki Izuku throws the fight so Todoroki won’t get into trouble at home with his father even though Izuku will end up in trouble for failing as well. This begins their friendship cuz Todoroki realizes Izuku has a bad home life like him.

Izuku, Shinsou Hitoshi, and Todoroki sit together at lunch at a table by themselves I believe.

Shinsou and Todoroki start to talk to each other without Izuku because they both have concerns about his home life.

At one point Shinsou is over for dinner I think and he gets like all kinds of bad vibes from AFO.

The last part I remember reading was right before the training camp where Izuku’s dad locks him in the basement and he ends up using his quirk to dig his way out. He makes it to the school bus and Aizawa is super concerned cuz he’s covered in dirt. He asks Izuku and then Shinsou if something was wrong but they don’t tell him anything.

And that’s basically all I remember. Thx in advance anything helps but mostly the name lol

https://archiveofourown.org/works/17456519/chapters/41105558

[nottoonedin]

An ALNST Theory/Hypothesis/Over-analysis/Interpretation of events

AKA: Me slowly descending into madness over an animated web series-

(Btw this is mostly just for fun, don't take it too seriously lol)

(TW: Death, Blood)

Long post warning:

I assume we've all seen the newest posts that Vivinos has put out on their YT community tab (or wherever you get your ALNST updates), and the one that everyone is obviously talking about is the post titled <CURE>

And.. yeah, of course, just goes to show that Round 6 is just around the corner (I am screaming internally) and the attention is going to be focused on Ivan and Till, and how their story will progress (or end, depending on if someone's gonna die, which seems likely, unfortunately).

But the post that really caught my attention.. was this fucking post:

When I first saw it, in my mind I thought ''Haha, how cute and goofy! This is exactly how I saw their dynamic!'' and went on with my day.

But after thinking about it for a while, my brain decided to think up this wonderfully awful thought:

''What if Hyuna (unintentionally) had a hand in what happened to Hyun-woo?''

Now, at first, this sounds fucking crazy. The general consensus (from what I've seen) is that Luka killed Hyun-woo. But I do see some parallels between this post and the incident in Round 5 which might help explain what actually happened, but first:

Why I don't think Luka would have been able to kill Hyun-woo:

Luka is DEFINETELY not known for his muscles or strength, I mean look at him:

He's like a sickly Victorian child, not to mention his asthma, chronic migraines and heart disease. I don't believe Hyun-woo has any health problems (not that I know of anyways), so I feel Luka would have a hard time trying to push Hyun-woo over so he'd fall onto a rock. To put it simply, Hyun-woo could most likely beat Luka in a fight, unless someone interfered in some way...👀

Luka's ''fighting'' tactic:

With the parallels between The Trio doodle and Round 5, I've noticed there's a pattern with how Luka gets rids of his ''opponents'', be it on stage or outside of it (*cough* Hyun-woo *cough cough*).

He initiates the attack, it being mentally or physically depending on his opponent. He's subtle about it however, the only one being aware of his antagonism being the one he's antagonising, preserving his perfect, can-do-no-wrong persona.

2. Obviously, the opponent retaliates. But, of course, Luka expects this, it's what he wants, after all. He knows he'll be seen as the victim by onlookers. How could anyone hurt such a precious, weak, defenseless little guy??🥺🥺He doesn't even bother to fight back at all (may be too weak to).

3. A stronger force, seeing Luka in ''distress'', steps in and takes care of the attacker (the opponent), avenging Luka, who they see as the victim. He isn't the type to do it himself, letting others do his dirty work.

Now, let's apply this to the flashback in the All-In MV..

What may have happened to Hyun-woo:

Luka may have said something to Hyun-woo that deeply distressed/angered him, or perhaps Hyun-woo knew about what Luka did to Hyuna.

2. Angry, Hyun-woo attacks Luka.

(I'd also like to note that in this frame, Luka looks more like he's just had someone pulled off him, rather than he's just attacked and pushed someone over onto a rock.)

3. Hyuna finds Hyun-woo attacking Luka and, naturally seeing Luka as the victim, tries to break them apart (which would have been hard if Hyun-woo was super pissed). There's a struggle, and.. well...

Hyuna accidentally kills Hyun-woo, which doesn't bother Luka. Just means his opponent has been eliminated. As far as he's concerned, Luka wins.

Final Thoughts:

Does this theory leave a lot of questions? 100%. For example, if this theory was true, why would Hyuna be so angry at Luka? Does she later find out about his manipulative nature? How? On the stage perhaps? I find this unlikely, however, since I don't believe Hyuna ever went on stage and escaped beforehand, due to a post Vivinos made a while back:

Can this theory be easily debunked? Oh, ABSOLUTELY (I hope it is debunked in canon, to be honest lol). But it does give ideas for some angsty fanfics, I believe hehehe-

For real though, Alien Stage is all up to interpretation. Some questions may never be answered. It leaves room for different ideas, which is one thing I love about the series. <3

Thank you for reading my batshit little ramble/theory!! Hope ya'll have an awesome day/night!

[atlitudes]

I'm Cataloging Every Occurrence of the Piano in Malevolent in a Spreadsheet for Leitmotif Analysis. No, I'm Not Kidding.

As the title of this post reads, I've spent the last few weeks listening to every episode of Malevolent and logging every time the piano is heard (both within the story and as background score), to analyze the data for leitmotif/music based theory-crafting. I originally was planning on getting through the entire series before posting anything, but I am very quickly realizing that this is going to take me a while, and I start a new semester in two weeks, so there is a high likelihood I will not finish before I get too busy to chug through as many episodes a day as I am now. I'm on episode 16/44 and I've already logged 137 instances of piano music. I'm not even halfway done. And this is all I've been doing for the past multiple days. For this reason, I've decided to post the link to the spreadsheet before finishing.

If you're familiar with Malevolent, and just how much music is in it, you might be asking, "OP, are you utterly fucking insane?" And well, dear reader, the answer to that is probably yes, but while you might call it madness, I call it love. So, before getting into the meat of things, I wanted to explain why I even decided to do this. Spoilers ahead for Malevolent (obvious, but yeah). If you don't give a single shit about why I did this and want to get straight to the sheet, scroll to the bottom for the link.

So. About 2 weeks ago I finished my first listen-through of Malevolent. One thing about the most recent episodes struck me as very very significant: John and Arthur's "collective force" being titled as the Dies Irae.

Now, a full-bodied explanation of why I find this so important and the possible implications will come at a later date, but long story short, the Dies Irae is a very significant piece of musical literature-- it is, perhaps, the most commonly quoted leitmotif of the past 800 years, and it symbolizes death. So, understandably, the Themes of this kinda sent me down a spiral.

But the Dies Irae being mentioned in such a way also got me thinking: music is a pretty integral part of Malevolent. So, is the Dies Irae quoted anywhere in its soundtrack? I suddenly got very very excited at this prospect, particularly if it might be in Faroe's Song, because well... god that would hurt lol. I scoured the available songs on the bandcamp aaaaand... no luck (as far as I can tell). Regardless, even if the Dies Irae wasn't a part of the soundtrack, I became curious about what kind of leitmotifs were in the podcast, and what they might mean. And so, the spreadsheet was born.

I explain this in the User Guide part of the sheet (please read it before going through the rest btw), but I only track the piano parts of the podcast. The reason for this is two-fold:

First, score wise, piano is very easy for me to pick apart, and I don't see a lot of significance in the suspenseful string music for horror moments (though I don't deny there might be something to it, I simply won't be able to find it.) To me, the piano is also significantly more important than the strings because it's a notable part of the story-- Arthur and his relation to the instrument is a key part of the plot, and multiple of the piano compositions are made by him. For this reason, I found tracking the piano in the podcast worthwhile.

Second, I also don't touch any of the non-original radio tracks in the podcast (i.e. You Call It Madness (I Call It Love)) because this video by The Final Fantasmagorie already does an excellent job of covering them (please check it out!!), and I felt it would be redundant, especially considering the astronomical amount of ground I already have to cover. If these tracks start being featured as leitmotifs in the piano music then... well, I might change my mind, but so far, no dice.

If I noticed a non-piano piece of music (such as the wraith humming in Ep3) that I haven't found any analysis of whatsoever, I also noted it just so there was some record. Other than that, just piano tracks.

Explanations and disclaimers out of the way, here is the link to the spreadsheet. I might open it up to comments and/or editors at some point, but for now, it's just available to viewers. Once again, please read the disclaimer and user guide before the rest of the sheets.

Thanks for reading, I know this was a very long post, and I appreciate it if you've beared with me! Enjoy!

[wavytam]

SaNami in Thriller Bark and Whole Cake: How one arc was used to foreshadow the other

In this post I will talk about how Sanji's and Nami's storylines in Thriller Bark were used to foreshadow a lof of elements that played out in Whole Cake Island...

... and might as well foreshadow their dynamic in future arcs.

I decided to write this post after I rewatched Thriller Bark. 

As the episodes went by, having in mind that I had already caught up on Wano in the anime, I noticed some odd… similarities left in Thriller Bark that made me realize how much it foreshadowed future arcs (like Marine Ford and Fishman Island), but especially Whole Cake Island (and Egghead, but this is an analysis for the next post) especially the moments relating to Sanji and Nami.

I also remembered something that was speculation at the time and if anyone has a source for this information, please share, since it's been a while I've read about it and I don't remember where I got it from: apparently, during the time Marine Ford was being animated (and the manga was in Fishman Island) one of Oda's employees lost some type of sketchbook containing concepts and plans about Whole Cake Arc.

If this is true, it means that Oda had a lot of things figured out way ahead of the current storyline of One Piece - which is not exactly a surprise. But after rewatching Thriller Bark, I dare to speculate that Oda already had a lot of things planned for Whole Cake even before Fishman Island and even Marineford, and he actually used Thriller Bark itself to foreshadow it.

Obviously, every arc of One Piece usually leaves hints to future arcs (especially when it comes to Wano and Elbaf - Oda foreshadows both in almost every arc), but I'd like to take a moment to talk about the ones (on top of my head) that Thriller Bark left hints of.

Wano: Zoro's encounter with Ryuma's Zombie and Moria mentions Kaido.

Marineford: By the very end of the Thriller Bark arc, Boa Hancock's name is mentioned, and we also have a scene of Lola warning Luffy about Ace's vivre card.

These are just some of the elements I remember and won't get into much detail, otherwise this post would need two parts lol.

Anyway, with what I said in mind, there's one arc that Thriller Bark strangely foreshadows more than any other and, not only that, but also introduces elements that will later be essential in said arc: which is Whole Cake Island. There are so many moments thrown here and there, especially during Sanji and Nami's moments, that it got me curious to know for how long Oda:

Had planned to write Whole Cake

Had the entirety of Sanji's storyline figured out

Had planned some specific interactions between certain characters

As you can already guess by the title of this analysis, my assumption is that Sanji and Nami's roles and interactions in Whole Cake Island were something that Oda had planned ever since Thriller Bark… and maybe even before.

In this next part, I will show you the reasons why and also why I think that some of their moments in Thriller Bark still weren't mirrored in Whole Cake but might be in Egghead or maybe Elbaf.

Nami and Sanji’s roles in Thriller Bark

First, let's remember what happens to Nami and Sanji separately and how both their storylines intersect throughout Thriller Bark.

Nami starts off by getting lost from the Straw Hats along with Usopp and Chopper (the infamous Weak Trio) inside Thriller Bark. Through their perspective we see how weird and macabre the setting is and how there is something wrong with its inhabitants - specifically Doctor Hogback.

Meanwhile, Luffy, Sanji and the rest of the Straw Hats follow the trio's tracks and have an entirely different perception of the place. Through their perspective, everything that scared Usopp, Nami and Chopper is… kinda pathetic and weak? Lol, I loved how Oda planned this.

Once the Weak Trio arrives at Dr. Hogback's Manor, Nami is assaulted (ugh) by an invisible Absalom (mind you, a guy who has lion parts - a symbol that usually is connected to her throughout One Piece) and he decides to take her as his wife. Meanwhile, as the trio tries to escape, and the rest of the Straw Hats are looking for them, Sanji's and Zoro's shadows are taken by Gecko Moria and put inside Zombies. Something interesting happens: because Sanji is not well known like Zoro, Moria underestimates him and puts his shadow inside the body of a weaker Zombie (keep that in mind for later).

Sanji's zombie finds Usopp, Chopper and Nami, and rebels against his "programming" to protect Nami specifically.

That's when Moria's minions realize that Sanji is much stronger than they anticipated.

Later, Chopper and Usopp escape, but Nami is taken by Absalom. She also meets a Zombie named Lola whom she ends up befriending. Through Usopp, (original) Sanji finds out Nami was harassed by Absalom and was planning to force her into a marriage.

He gets so mad, he lights himself on fire and we have these interesting exchanges.

(Posting two translations of the same panel because both translations are so interesting: one of them Zoro says that he might “transform” into something, but the other says he might “mutate” - and considering the things we know now of Sanji’s past once again shows how Oda gives a lot of thought to Sanji’s characterization.

Anyway, if anyone knows which phrase is the closest to the original japanese and what else it could be talking about, feel free to comment or DM! I have zero knowledge of Japanese and I just know how many hints we might be missing because of it). 

Meanwhile, Nami is (probably) drugged by Absalom and is carried to the altar to get married.

Obviously (and under Luffy's orders) Sanji goes to look for Nami and we know how things go after this. He

crashes Nami's "wedding",

fights Absalom as he protects her body against any minor harm,

and ends up talking about his dream to become invisible and how he studied devil fruits when he was a kid (that moment for me is enough to prove that Oda had already planned Sanji's entire storyline with Germa, his siblings and his metal mask - I will talk about it in more detail later)

All of that effort seemed to go nowhere since Sanji was unable to free Nami. Absalom escapes with her and tries to marry her again, only for her to (finally) wake up and defeat him.

That's when we realise that it was thanks to Sanji, who weakened Absalom in their previous fight, that Nami was able to (in a sense) oneshot Absalom so easily.

So, unbeknown to himself and Nami, Sanji did end up saving Nami - this is an interesting motif in their relationship, and something I plan to talk about more in future posts.

Later, after everything is resolved, Nami befriends the real Lola. Lola not only talks about her mother Linlin (the Big Mom, one of the Four powerful Yonkos) but also gives Nami Linlin's vivre card. Only later in Whole Cake we find out Lola ran away from home and Chiffon mentions how she rejected the advances of a prince (Loki - Elbaf foreshadow) whom Nami takes interest upon for being… well, a prince.

Obviously a bunch of other things happen, but I only talked about the points I wanted to explore in this analysis. I'm sure you noticed there's a lot of them to talk about already.

Also, if you watched/read WCI I'm sure that, as I listed what happened in Thriller Bark, you already noticed how there are some interesting elements in it that later become crucial for While Cake to play out the way it did.

As I mentioned, one of the most important things that I think Oda had been planning to write ever since Thriller Bark (or before) was for Nami specifically to participate in Whole Cake.

This part I will leave for last, since the next topics will serve as a way to explain it.

TB Absalom's Invisibility and Sanji's Dream mirror WCI Stealth Black and the Rejected Germa Prince Storyline

Well, this topic is kinda controversial because of the sexual undertones it has and because of how Oda portrays Sanji's perviness. I won't talk about this part here since it's not the focus of this analysis, but I will link you to an amazing post that explores exactly that part of Sanji's character.

Here I will focus on the other part that Oda left implicit: which is the fact that Sanji had the dream to be invisible ever since he was a kid (when he still didn't have his hyperfixation on women) and how, at the same time, it was the exact power he was "supposed" to have as a Germa soldier and prince.

To me Oda not only used Absalom's powers as a way to leave open the possibility of Sanji having invisibility related powers in the future (which he kinda did in Wano), but also to tie it to his past with Germa. 

Only now do we know that the power Sanji was originally supposed to have was invisibility and the fact that Oda put Absalom with that exact power might show how ahead he was on the story (or how good he is with improvising hehe).

Now, this raises the question: if Sanji's mutation was supposed to be invisibility, where exactly did those fire powers come from? (This is something for a future post ;))

TB Nami and Lola mirrors WCI Nami and Chiffon

Through the bond Oda developed between Lola and Nami, the Straw Hats (and we, readers) gathered a lot of important information that would later be used by Nami herself to survive their adventure through Whole Cake.

First, Lola had a twin sister, Chiffon, who, because of the bond already established between Lola and Nami, ended up taking a liking to Nami in Whole Cake (and vice versa).

Big Mom's Family and Political Marriages

Second, as we get to know Lola in Thriller Bark we see that the idea of finding the man she loves and marrying him is an important concept for her. This is later on explained in Whole Cake, where we realize that Big Mom uses political marriages to gain more power and wanted to force Lola to marry prince Loki. That’s the sole reason for Lola to leave Big Mom and, once again, it seems like something Oda had already planned in Thriller Bark.

Big Mom's Vivre Card

Third, the Vivre Card Lola gave Nami was crucial for Nami, Luffy and the rest of the crew to navigate through Whole Cake and control Big Mom's henchmen. A lot of the problems that they were going through in Whole Cake were resolved because of that simple vivre card given around six arcs earlier, Thriller Bark.

Sanji and Nami Wedding Crashing Each Other's Weddings and Bridal Carries

Well, this is the part the SaNami Fandom has already talked about the most and for obvious reasons. It's not everyday a ship has so many wedding motifs, and the fact that Oda chose to parallel a lot of things that happened during the wedding in Thriller Bark at Whole Cake with Sanji and Nami, obviously adds more fuel to the fire.

This topic, along with Lola, is actually the reason for me to write this analysis, since, in my opinion, there are a lot of details that seem too coincidental to be considered unplanned.

First detail: we have the fact that Nami was the main reason for Luffy to ever decide to invade Big Mom's territory and go after Sanji, whilst in Thriller Bark it was Sanji himself who was determined to stop Nami's wedding at all costs and Luffy… well, he just gave Sanji permission to do his thing lmao.

Second: during both wedding ceremonies, Sanji carried Nami bridal style; something that the groom was supposed to do with the bride.

Third detail: both Nami and Sanji were being forced to get married and it was always the other side that would try to save the forced groom/bride. The best part about this is the fact that neither Sanji nor Nami knew about the amount of difficulties the other went to save one another. Which brings me to the next topic:

Nami's Obliviousness to Sanji's efforts mirrors Sanji's obliviousness to Nami's efforts

Okay, this is more of a fact for the entirety of One Piece, but I think it's more evident in both Thriller Bark and Whole Cake. Again, although this is a topic that I want to talk about in more detail in another post, I do think it's worth mentioning a bit in here.

In Thriller Bark, Nami does not realize how important she is for Sanji and the extent of the things he is willing to do for her safety. Not only that, but Nami is also not aware of the things Sanji already did for her ever since Arlong Park.

In Whole Cake, it's more subtle, but the fact that only Luffy truly saw Sanji's breakdown and how much he was sacrificing himself for his crew, shows that Nami still does not know the true extent of Sanji's care and selflessness. 

And it raises the question: why? Why is it that Oda does not let Nami (until this day) know how much Sanji did to his crew and especially to her? To me, it's because, if Nami knew, she would treat Sanji differently. If she knew that Sanji does have a preference for her, that he defended her in Arlong Park, that he tried everything he could to protect her in Thriller Bark, and that he did a lot of things he wouldn't do for any other woman, maybe her view on him would change.

Consequently some type of tension between the two could eventually build up and what Oda has been trying to avoid for years (which was a romance between the crew) would eventually happen, and the entire dynamic of the crew would shift (but this is speculation ofc, it might be nothing and even if Nami knew, nothing could change).

And let's also consider that, although Sanji looks for Nami's validation when she witnesses him fighting, he never tries to brag or tell her about the times he defended her when she wasn't looking.

Obviously, in Whole Cake, Sanji is thinking about the entire crew when he sacrificed his happiness, not only her, but as I said, it's more about the fact that Nami does not know how much Sanji truly works under wraps to make sure the people he loves are safe - and how selfless he truly is for her when she only sees his perverted side.

Now, the same can be said about Sanji, to some extent. It's clear in the manga that Sanji does have strong feelings for Nami, if it's reciprocated, it's up to debate. But no one can deny that Nami does care about Sanji and sometimes, she cares more than anyone else in her crew.

We all noticed how Nami was the most eager to rescue Sanji, always trying to bring the seriousness of the situation to the rest of the crew and dragging Chopper, Luffy and Brook to the right path whenever they got distracted by something else. 

However, when it came to truly knock some sense into Sanji to accept help, Nami was conveniently taken out of the picture in favor of Luffy. 

Keep in mind that I am in no way complaining, the moments Sanji had with Luffy were beautiful, and he obviously would have the focus: Luffy is the main character and Sanji's captain.

But the fact that Oda kept Nami away in one of Sanji's moments of fragility, when he exposed his true nature and showed how caring he really is, can come off as suspicious. As if Oda does not really want Nami to see those moments… yet.

You can say that Oda also kept Chopper and Brook out of the picture, but even when Nami is with them, Oda kind of separates Nami's behavior from theirs. He emphasizes Nami's reactions and gives her serious expressions while the rest are put in more comical situations.

Also, during the Luffy vs. Sanji fight, one of the most emotional moments of WCI, Nami didn't need to be there if Oda only wanted to emphasize the importance of Luffy to Sanji.

In my opinion, he put Nami there, because Sanji cares about her and her opinion more than any other woman’s, even more than Robin’s. Which makes the following moment even more hurtful, especially because that was the only time Nami didn't use the "kun" honorific - showing how she lost respect for him.

Conclusion: the importance of Sanji and Nami in each other’s stories

By looking at these topics, I think it's very interesting how Oda made sure to use parts of Nami's plot in Thriller Bark to gather information that would help her, Luffy, Brook and Chopper to save Sanji in Whole Cake.

To me, the fact that so many of these things seemed to point out something: the interactions that both Nami and Sanji have is something that Oda thinks about carefully. Not only that, but everytime they are having a major moment/development, most of the times one is there to support the other.

Examples:

In Arlong Park Sanji defended Nami's actions

In Ennies Lobby Nami had a major fight against Khalifa because she knew Sanji wouldn't fight a woman

Until Nami decided to forgive Jimbei, Sanji was there to defend her

Again, the only exception is during Sanji's and Nami’s arcs in Wano -  but in my opinion it's because Oda’s intentional hiding of Sanji’s story from the other Strawhats will pay off in the future and will be a major factor in the One Piece story.

Well, this is it.

Okay, with all of those topics in mind, there are two main events in Thriller Bark that happened in relation to Nami and Sanji that still don't seem to have been mirrored:

Sanji's Zombie fought his own programming to protect Nami in Thriller Bark mirrors (?)

The underestimation of Sanji's True Power, what it truly is and how will it be activated

I plan to write that part for my analysis of SaNami in Egghead. If anyone is interested, stay tuned!

For everyone who stayed until the end, thanks for reading!! See you in the next post.

[bronx-bomber87]

Happy Tuesday Evening all :) Already at ep 3 of this season. Gonna blink and be done with this one ha This is a shorter season cause it was the year Covid really kicked in. Lots of goodies in this one though. Some good Tim analysis to be had and the next as well. Also a Lucy standing up for what’s right and not letting Tim sway her. All good things. Let’s get going.

3x03 La-Fiera

We start the ep with one of my fav non romantic pairings. Tim and Harper. Tim saying how he hates training with the public. Nyla not one to pass up giving him a hard time says ‘Sounds like performance anxiety.’ That there are pills for that now haha. I adore their ribbing each other so much. Comes from a place of genuine respect and liking one another. They’ve come so far I love it sfm.

They’re talking about who’s gonna take the crown at the range. It’s firearm re-qualification day. Now that Angela is a detective she no longer qualifies with patrol. Tim is convinced he will be next in line for the crown. Harper says that’s cute because she’s there LOL Also I am not hating him in that shirt...

Stanton makes a wager with Tim and Nyla. 20 bucks if their boot makes it out on top. Tim doesn't blink before agreeing. He knows Lucy’s top notch abilities. Would put his faith and life honestly in her hands any day. He does this on a daily basis anyways. Might as well make some money off it ha. Harper also agrees to the challenge. (Nyla literally set her twenty on fire betting on Nolan though LOL) Naturally Lucy comes out on top. Grey announces her as Mid-Wilshire's new champ.

Tim is so damn proud he’s beaming. He doesn’t even care that he didn’t win. (for the most part) Only that Lucy did. Also he looks so damn sure of himself when he hears the news. Look at him above. Not even a little surprised she took the top spot. Collects his winnings from Stanton and Nyla. Lucy is adorable with her reaction to winning the top spot. Feeling pretty good right now. The icing on the cake is Tim and Nyla tie for second place behind her. I love this so much.

Tamara comes to see Lucy at work asking for signature on the title of the car. Lucy disregards it at first in total mom mode. Asking why she hasn’t confirmed their appointment with the social worker yet? Tamara says she will be there she promises. Lucy gives in and signs the title. Tim comes up behind her all smiles as Tamara leaves. Asking how the puppy is? Lucy proudly says she’s doing really great. Then outright starts up a work flirt. By teasing him about the gun range.

He rolls his eyes even though we all know he loves it. He can act annoyed all he likes. We know he’s so very proud she won. Instead of saying that he tells her 'Get changed'. Her flirtatious ‘Yes sir.’ as she heads back with a smile. It’s like they don’t even care they’re unreservedly flirting at the front desk. For all to see. Not even trying to hide it anymore. Makes my heart happy.

We rejoin them in the shop. Lucy is gloating over her new title. Tim can’t let her know how proud he is so instead he deflects. Their competitiveness is one of my favorite things. It’s truly one of their love languages without them even realizing it is. His replies are him being such a sore loser it’s hilarious. He’s half proud but half irritated. Can't let her just think she's amazing. Has to make sure he's "grounding" her with some salty sass.

Their banter is the bedrock of their relationship and moments like this only prove that. Lucy talking to him like no one else ever has or ever will. Tim only lets her talk to him this way. Calling him out for being salty and giving him crap for losing. Then asking for half the money he won off her haha Seems only fair to me. I love them so much. I always enjoy fun playful scenes like this from them. The way she says ‘Wow’ at the end I’m dying. Of course Tim is going to take this moment to puff up his training of her instead of praising her haha Can’t just say he is proud of her nope has to be a salty sore loser instead. God forbid she know he's proud. What a tragedy that would be Timothy.

Before their banter can go any further Tim spots her old car. Looks like someone trying to steal it. They pull over and question the guy immediately. He says he just bought it. Lucy is incensed and stomps over to him. Saying what do you mean just bought it? He tells her he bought it for 4K. Making Lucy even angrier. Not only was her car sold but under its value. (according to her) Tim is enjoying himself a little too much about this. Look at his face during that interaction. He is legit giddy at how upset she is Tamara sold the car.

They apologize and hand him back the title. He continues to struggle with the door. Lucy tells him how he’s supposed to open it and it pops open. He says 'Thanks.' Tim gives the most sarcastic thumbs up ever. I’m laughing so hard. He is enjoying her puppy rebelling already and so quickly after she signed over the title. It’s written all over his body language the entire scene. Such a turd. A hot one but one none the less. Getting a damn kick out of this whole thing. Idk how he can make being a jerk so hot but he does. Well done Eric. Don't ever stop.

We catch them next outside their shop waiting to meet up with Tamara. First off why is Tim so sinfully delicious when he’s leaning against vehicles? What is that? Then he comes to full height like the tall drink of water he is. Phew. Love to climb that man like a tree…*ahem* but I digress.. Tim continues the sass by starting off the scene by saying ‘Bad puppy.’ Why is this also so sexy? He is enjoying himself far too much and not hiding it. Giddy really.

Lucy sees she has new clothes on and is enraged. Opening the convo with ‘You sold my car to buy new clothes?’ Tim can't help himself and adds in ‘And earrings.’ Tamara says it was her car to sell. Lucy is so upset. Going on to say it was to sleep in not to sell. Tamara makes a solid point about going to school with dirty clothes and greasy hair.

Goes on to say 'So yeah she sold it to buy some nice things.' Telling Lucy she just wanted to feel normal for once. Tim steps in and asks where the rest of the money is? She replies that it’s in her college fund. Lucy is still mad. (Hell I would be too) She asks her why she didn’t just say something this morning? That she clearly had a buyer in mind already.

Tamara bites back she would’ve just said no. I mean she’s not wrong. She starts to walk away and Lucy isn’t done yet. Asking were she is staying? Tamara only replies her cousin and doesn’t answer Lucy’s follow up if it’s safe. Tim could not be more smug if he tried. Look at that man. He is basking in how right he was about the consequences of her taking on a puppy. Lucy is so very stressed and panicking about all this. Polar opposites above. Smug Vs Stress.

What I love about this is he isn’t yelling at her, or telling her she was wrong. Just enjoying the moment doing it for him. Crazy as it sounds that is growth for him. Just tells her it’s time to get back to work when a call comes in. Not much else to be done here. Lucy continues to watch Tamara walk away. Sighs and joins him back in the shop.

Tim and Lucy roll up to a hot mess of a situation. They're both getting a real look at the disaster zone that is Doug Stanton. He has Mis-identified a suspect they’re looking for cause well its Stanton. Poor Jackson could not look more stressed. The whole thing is so uncomfortable to watch go down. Makes my anxiety go through the roof seeing how he terrorizes this family.

To see first hand how blatantly racist he’s being. It’s hard to stomach. I just want to clock him. Tim does his best to contain the situation. Pulling Doug aside to cool him down. Telling him their suspect was already caught. This was a bad call and the absolute wrong guy. Tim calls off backup afterwards telling Jackson to let the poor traumatized kid go. With his apologies and a card. That if they want to complain on Stanton they’re well within their right to. (Should sue his ass as much as possible)

We return to them at a college campus. They are there to protect La-Fiera and her son against a credible threat. Someone is there to kill her and Diego her son on their tour. Stanton makes a terrible comment about taking an early lunch. Letting nature take its course instead. Lucy comments on this later when it’s just her and Tim. She is so angry and incensed at this point. She expects Tim to agree with her or at least have a comment of some sort. He doesn’t....

Tim tries to agree without really agreeing with Lucy in his reply above. She doesn’t let it stand nor should she. Lucy is not one to shy away from speaking her mind with Tim. Especially when it comes to something moral like this. Telling Tim he terrorized that family. (He very much did it was awful.)

Then he comes at it again with a complicit non committal answer below once again. Trying to excuse Stanton's behavior by saying it’s cause he’s rough around the edges. Oh Timothy no….there’s a quote by Ella Wheeler Wilcox. I only know this because it comes from one of my all time fav Castle episodes ‘47 seconds’ ‘To sin by silence when we should protest, makes cowards of men.’

By saying he’s rough around the edges is making Tim complicit in his behavior. Thus sinning by silence. Making excuses for his behavior by saying 'It's just the way he is.' 'Nothing to be changed about him.' 'He is who he is.' Lucy doesn’t waste a second before calling him out on it. Proud of my girl. You know I love Tim but he needed to hear this. He was wrong in how he was approaching this.

No one better to call him on it than her. The way she does it is so good too. Straight up saying he’s a racist and Tim saying we can’t know that…but we do my love. She sticks the landing with finishing off with ‘Let’s just make excuses for him....’ Tim is struck by her words below and has no comeback.

Now this next section below isn’t me agreeing with Tim. It’s me analyzing why he is replying the way he is. He does grow from this story arc which I do love so very much. Not just this one but even more so next ep. So to start we have to remember the generation he was taught by and the father he had growing up. You truly are a product of your environment. Your attitude and and POV on life stem from it. Whether you like that or not. Now it’s you who chooses to break the cycle of it 100%. Also by surrounding yourself with better more positive people. i.e. Lucy Chen for him.

I mentioned last ep Tim is the kind to put his head down and grind. That’s how he survived his childhood with an abusive father. Both emotionally and physically. How he survived his time in the service and his own training as a rookie. To him if he can just hunker down and survive it he can make it past it. I think we all have things (if you don’t you’re a lucky human and were blessed with wonderful parents I envy you truly) our parents did or said that didn’t sit right with us as kids. You weren’t sure why but you knew it wasn’t ok. Things that left their mark. That we end up carrying with us into adulthood unconsciously.

I know my parents had quite the list. Things that as I got older and I would repeat or came out involuntarily, either I realized it or those around me did and would let me know. Even though as an adult I fought against it would slip out even if I didn't mean how it came off. Certain thoughts or actions come out and you realize that’s coming from your childhood. Things still come out of us involuntarily and you catch it. Tim sadly doesn't catch it till Lucy calls him on it. I think Tim was taught by ‘rough around the edges’ types and his father most definitely was that before his time as a cop. Before Lucy Tim was most definitely stuck in his ways.

To Tim it was something you just dealt with and moved on from. You weren’t gonna change them so it was best to just get by. Is that the best attitude to have? No but it’s how he got by. Hence his advice to Jackson in 3x02 because that’s his default gear. From his survival mode from childhood and from his own training experiences. His reply is an outdated one. I don’t even think he knows its coming off the way it is. It’s a reflection of his environment and past experiences on how he was taught to deal with cops like that. Once again not excusing Tim but understanding why he is replying this way.

Now Lucy smacks some sense into him basically saying just because that’s how it was or currently is doesn’t make it right. She’s making Tim face being complicit in excusing Stanton's behavior by saying as such. Won’t let him get away with it. Tim is flat out wrong and no one better to let him know that than Lucy. He's learned from her just because that's the way it is doesn't mean that's the way it should be. i.e. this moment.

The ripple effect of her words reflect in this next scene. Jackson is in Grey’s office telling him about Stanton. He isn't winning Wade over until Tim steps up. Tells Grey that whatever Jackson is telling him he stands with him. Which is huge. I think Lucy made an impact on him. Changes how he was viewing this situation. Now Tim is his own person and doesn’t get swayed easily. But Lucy has massive sway with him. Opened his eyes to this and gave him a different POV on it. Seeing he needed to intervene and not stand on the sidelines anymore. That it was just as egregious to do nothing.

I love the scene when they emerge from Grey’s office. Jackson puts Tim in his place about being complicit about Stanton. Of cops like him in general. That by doing that Tim had given permission to those kinds of cop to continue to operate that way. Once again wishing Titus and Eric had gotten more scenes together. This one is *chef kiss* Tim is very resigned by Jackson’s chewing him out. He knows he was so very wrong in his thinking and agree’s with Jackson on it.

There is no fight in him to defend himself. He knows he wasn't on the right side of this at this point. Tim has been humbled today by all this. He got taken to school by both Lucy and Jackson. He leaves Tim standing there wishing there was more he could do. He got it from both barrels today. Smacking some much needed perspective into his world. Truth hurts but it’s how we learn and grow from it that matters. We see some massive growth next ep for our boy with this.

Tamara comes to see Lucy at the station to apologize. I love love love this scene. Their bond continues to grow in this ending scene. Lucy saying the bit about trust being earned. Tim has rubbed off positively on her as well. She uses that in this situation with Tamara. Asking what she can do to earn that trust?

Tamara shows her the laptop she bought. That her cousin's is safe adjacent but not for her laptop. Lucy is wonderful and says she can keep it here. To check it out every morning so it stays safe. Lucy tells her about the campus she was on today. How Tamara should check it out. She laughs say she can’t go there. Lucy is her sunshine self says there are scholarships. She can help her apply to them.

I know Tim likes to give her a hard time about Tamara and being her puppy, but I think he truly knows the positive impact she will have on her. We’ll get to see that as their relationship grows. I love watching their bond develop. Truly enjoy them so much.

~~~~

That’s it’s for this one. S3 may be short but it’s packed with a lot of content and goodies. No side notes for this one all pretty intertwined.

Thank you to everyone who continually supports these reviews it means so much to me. The likes/comments and reblogs make my soul happy haha shall see you all in 3x04 :)

[yuseirra]

A full commentary on what Oshi no Ko intends to show/the direction where it's heading/Major character motives.

This was an analysis I wrote on August 13th, back when chapter 157 was released (and the most recent chapter will be 159; wow the work has been on such a long hiatus:

I read it over again today, and I think I did a pretty good job piecing things together. Some of the things I predicted immediately came to light in the chapter that followed. I'd like to share it, before the new chapter gets released today :)

There is a lot of analysis? Commentary of how I feel about Ai. She's definitely become my fav and I hope everything she wished for will come true in the end, she IS indeed the brightest star in the sky after all!

The following has been translated in bulk with the help of chatgpt.. It's my savior these days.. It's SO convenient wow, I've been putting it to good use!!

The title and subtitle are quite grand, but I feel that if I start writing, a lot will come out, so I wrote down the title and wanted to give it a go. Everything from here on is a very personal impression.

The manga is almost coming to an end, right? Since it’s being called the final chapter. The latest chapter is either 157 or 158, right? It's 157... I’ve checked up to the point where Aqua and Ruby are spending peaceful days together. Isn’t this episode like the calm before the storm? As I watched it, I thought, "Ah, this peace is bound to be broken." Even though nothing happened, the atmosphere is so quiet that it feels more ominous than peaceful.

At this point, I thought it might be good to think about what exactly this manga wants to convey and what the central narrative is. It seemed like a fitting time.

I first learned about this manga last year when the first season of the anime aired. The impression I got was that the creators had planned the ending from the start, as it seemed to have a clear trajectory. This manga might be more suitable for readers who prefer to follow it in volumes rather than chapter by chapter. When viewed individually, some parts might make you wonder, "What is this?" but when you see them in volumes, there seems to be a flow. So, when I was reading the manga in volumes, I thought, "Oh, the structure of this manga is well-organized and solid." That was around the time when about 10 volumes had been released, and I confidently bought all the volumes to keep as a collection.

Then, when I looked at the portions being serialized afterward, I started to get a little confused and thought, "Hmm, what are they planning to do with this?" But after watching the movie arc, I thought, "Oh, this is pretty good," and I realized that I wasn’t wrong in my initial judgment, so I returned to the manga, lol.

This manga’s structure seems quite complex. Each character has their own goals, and while Aqua seems to be the main hero who strongly drives the narrative, the focus isn’t solely on Aqua; it feels somewhat dispersed. In the end, if we consider what this story wants to convey, it feels like a composition that might be somewhat confusing.

In my opinion, the overarching framework is about various stories that unfold within the entertainment industry. It’s about the impact this industry can have on various people, both the light and the darkness (not delving too deeply, just enough to get a taste and see it from an entertainment perspective, plus throwing out questions about very serious topics). But then, is it saying that the entertainment industry is full of darkness and that we should escape from it? Not really.

As I described in the first post I wrote about this manga, it seems like the main theme is the depiction of various character types trying to survive in the entertainment industry.

Being a celebrity is a job that requires one to present oneself to far more people than an average person would, and even if we assume an entirely ideal situation where only goodwill comes your way, you can’t help but constantly be conscious of the image you need to show to those watching you. It seems like a very strong persona is necessary to endure that.

The loneliness that comes from being in the crowd, the internal dilemma of wanting to be understood and truthful as a complete individual, even though you can't fully expose yourself to the public, and yet, because of the appeal of the spotlight and wanting to show something, you step forward, deciding to live there and survive there.

Whether the work perfectly expresses those aspects might differ depending on the person, but at least it seems to have made us think about those points.

So, what are the motives driving each character?

Aqua wants to avenge the person that's hurt Ai, the one precious to him, in some way.

Ruby wants to surpass Ai as an idol, following in her footsteps.

Kana wants to be Aqua’s favorite.

Akane seems to assist Aqua, and in her case, she felt like she provided many shortcuts throughout the entire story. She played a role in significantly shortening the story’s length... Honestly, it might have been better if Aqua had done the things Akane achieved himself, lol. But from the author's perspective, she’s a reliable helper who aids in condensing the narrative. She also served as a good helper to Ruby as well. What I personally feel.a bit disappointed about the character Akane is that while she supports others a lot, that seems to be her entire narrative. She succeeded as an actress, and her personal goal or story seems to have ended around the dating program arc or the tokyo blade Arc, so apart from helping the twins, it's disappointing that her individual direction and desires are less visible. However, as long as she’s not entangled with the main characters, Akane is thriving and living a smooth life. She only becomes endangered when she gets involved with them; so, to give her more story, she may need to get more entangled.

Among the other main characters, Ai is a fresh character in that she wants to properly give love to others (although she also had the desire to be loved, it was more about “giving” than “receiving,” which I found refreshing).

As for Ai's boyfriend, it seems like he has something he wants to do, but it hasn’t been clearly revealed yet, so it’s in the realm of speculation. Setting that aside, what he wants to do now is something for Ai(in his point of view).

Nino has been highlighted a bit more, and while this character seems important, it’s still not clear what their exact goal is. The clear desire that has emerged is that they can't forgive even their daughter if she surpasses Ai.

Aqua, the character who drove the plot the most (with many things revolving around him), had the motive of “avenging Ai's death,” so that was a significant focal point. Much of the story’s development seemed to revolve around that.

However, I didn’t think Aqua would go for revenge in a violent form, because it would be something that would make the character unhappy and wouldn’t fit his personality. I didn’t think this “revenge” would be the typical, satisfying sort of retribution where justice is served.

Moreover, the “revenge” Aqua seeks ultimately requires Ai’s boyfriend (the twins’ biological father) to genuinely love Ai for it to work. If he didn’t love her, it wouldn’t be effective.

When looking at the hints about the relationship between Ai and her boyfriend, I often thought they must have had a good relationship at one point. I kept wondering if this person really bears full responsibility for Ai’s death. The idea of someone they once had a good relationship with turning into a stalker who kills them... even in a manga, it’s something I really don’t want to think about. I really hate it. But if the manga were to handle such a storyline, then it is what it is, regardless of my preferences. What the boyfriend character went through in his past is quite horrible and complicated, and my intuition, based on the bits and pieces I’ve seen, is that at least when they were together, Ai and he were two young people who relied on and supported each other. And that turned out to be correct. I liked how the character was portrayed in the movie arc, and there wasn’t any chance of it being depicted very differently. The idea of pushing this character, a psychopathic serial killer, off a cliff or punishing him harshly just didn’t seem to align with the established setup. Even though you might think he twisted into that kind of person because of some bad experiences, it didn’t seem like that was the direction this manga was taking. I wouldn’t have liked it if the character had been designed to be twisted that way because of bad experiences. It feels more consistent to see the character behave as they did in the past, which makes me believe it’s a well-written character. I had the sense that the story wouldn’t take the approach of having one character be absolutely evil and then punishing that character to neatly resolve everything. That doesn’t seem like a good story to me either. I don’t think the issues tied to the themes this manga deals with can be resolved in that way. The more I think about it, the more I feel like the content related to Kamiki is actually quite solid. I don’t want that character to be a bad guy. And it seems like he’s not?

The psychological depictions of the characters in this manga are very complex and well done. Because of this, I’m still not sure what to make of Nino. I think it’s fine to consider Ryosuke as an absolute evil since there’s nothing redeeming about him. Kamiki is out if he intended to scare Ai. But I feel like it was Nino who tried to scare her... When I consider the circumstances, it’s not impossible for Kamiki to have done it, but it feels too out of sync with his behavior. It’s very confusing.

I’m not sure how they’ll wrap up this “revenge,” but I think they might bring it to a social level regarding the responsibility for what happened to Ai? That’s why Aqua chose the medium of a “movie,” something that is “shown to the public”? Ai gave love to everyone, but it wasn’t properly received, right? So, there’s a desire to convey that correctly. And seeking understanding and respect for Ai as a personal individual? In that sense, I feel like Aqua’s revenge isn’t over yet. It feels incomplete as it stands. I think it’s not finished yet. Ah, regarding Kamiki, I think he’s been properly “avenged,” as he would be truly tormented by watching the video Ai left behind. However, I'm still unsure if this character truly deserves to be on the receiving end of such revenge... I plan to criticize properly once more of his actions are revealed. Every time I think about it, based on the reactions, it seems like he genuinely loved Ai, which is really evident. It makes me wonder if the author wrote it this way for a reason. Examining these details is truly fascinating about this manga.

So, I started thinking about what the core theme that ties this entire story together might be, and what the author really wants to convey through this story. I think we need to start with Ai's story. I believe Ai is extremely important to this narrative.

When I look at how this work portrays Ai, my impression is that she was written as a character with incredibly realistic psychological depth. She wasn't just a sensational character who was simply a very pretty girl who suddenly gets murdered to create shock value. In my view, Ai is one of the top three most well-written characters in this manga. She's a key person in this story, and I believe this character is the central figure that completely penetrates the entire narrative, even though she exits the story quite early, her influence is very strong.

I wish I could express my feelings properly... Ai feels like someone who could really exist... I talk about this a lot, right? To write a character like this, I think the author must have a lot of affection for her. Although I wouldn't dare say that I fully understand other people's feelings or possess a lot of information, I do think that Ai is a character who very well expresses the psychology of a young child with a difficult family background—a runaway teenager. But even with that experience, she didn't get trapped in it, and instead, as an individual, she made various choices and lived earnestly... and that's why I like her. Because that's how real people live. Strong, extraordinary, and yet ordinary—ordinary in a way that makes you realize how truly precious and extraordinary the ordinary can be.

But the story starts with Ai dying in such a horrific way, right? This makes me think about what the story is ultimately trying to say. However, this doesn't mean that Ai's life was a failure. Ai really lived her life to the fullest. In the end, she was probably happy, which makes her story even more heartbreaking... She was such a good person. If we're talking about her nature, Ai was definitely a "good person."

What I took away from this... is that it gave me an opportunity to once again reflect on the fact that even those who are considered shining stars are still just people. Personally, it also made me more interested in the subject of child abuse. I find myself drawn to related news articles... The early Akane episode, for instance, made me reflect once again on the issue of online harassment. No matter how this manga ends, I feel like it has had quite a positive impact on me, so I'm grateful for that. Perhaps what one takes away from this work depends entirely on how they interpret it... There are certainly some valuable psychological insights in this work. I'm definitely envious of the talent of the creators.

If you look at it broadly, I think the core message of this manga is something along these lines. Aqua's revenge and Ruby's dream will somehow be realized in their own ways, and I also think Kana's goal will be achieved in some manner (but then wouldn't that mean Kana can't end up with Aqua?;; It feels like this manga is trying to say that the feelings one has for a favorite person and the love one has for a romantic partner are different things. Judging by Hikaru's words, it seems like the story is saying that love without illusions about the other person is actually the more genuine kind of love... But more than that, I think the point to focus on when watching this work is something along these lines, based on how the story is unfolding. Even celebrities are just people... Ultimately, that's it.

I understand that some people might find this annoying at certain points. You might think, "I've never done anything like that. I've never contributed to those problems, and I've never treated celebrities poorly. Doesn't the saying 'those who wear the crown must bear its weight' apply here? If they wanted to be a celebrity, shouldn't they be prepared to handle some negative reactions?"—these are thoughts that might cross your mind.

I've also never been a fan of any celebrity myself... lol. I don't think I've ever done anything particularly wrong regarding the scandals or various issues that happen to celebrities.

But still, no one deserves to go through something like that... no matter who they are. Celebrities, because of the nature of their profession, often enter the industry at a very young age.

If I had to step in front of the public at that age, would I be able to handle it so well...? Just as everyone in their own life has their own burdens to bear, celebrities too have their own challenges, and it made me realize how difficult it must be to deal with public scrutiny...

In Ai's case, she had children at a young age, and there must be a lot of things people could say about that. When I first discovered this manga, I encountered that scene in a clip, where she says she will give birth without making it public, and it made me think a lot. But even in that scene, I didn't feel like Ai was a thoughtless character. If someone is going through such an experience, they must be the one who thinks the most about it. When I heard her say that the twins would make for a jolly and happy family because she didn't have one, I immediately thought that this character must have gone through something and found it difficult to judge her actions right away. Am I overthinking? lol. It felt like there was a lot going on in her mind beyond what she was saying. It’s easy to say, "I wouldn’t do that," but everyone has different experiences, different lives, and different personalities. Of course, there are things that are undeniably wrong, things that shouldn’t happen.

From what I felt, Ai has a layer of underlying psychology beneath the surface. She always has a smiling face, and I often draw her that way in fan art, but there’s likely a lot hidden beneath. I feel a bit sorry when drawing or creating fan works about her because I can’t touch on that depth—I can't depict it well because there's not much revealed. She might have been smiling and acting beautifully even in front of her own children. This nature might be a good expression of the traits of the entertainment industry. That’s probably why they call her a true idol. But there must be times when she wants to be honest, too, right? She might feel lonely and isolated. These are the kinds of thoughts I have when thinking about her character.

I’m writing all of this without much organization... Another thing, I sometimes feel that the story has metafictional or divine elements that could potentially tie the work together.

For instance, the introduction of the Tsukuyomi character, the starry eyes, the statement at the beginning that this story is fiction, the crow leading Ruby, the starry visuals scattered throughout.

I think using the "star" motif was a smart choice, because stars are literally "stars" in the sense of celebrities, and they might actually be stars or influenced by stars in some way. We also make wishes on stars, right? I can imagine that these elements might have been integrated into the story to bring a fantasy-like aspect to it. The lyrics of the songs strongly convey this atmosphere as well. So, I think these elements might be what ties the whole work together. The lyrics constantly talk about the stage, and the overarching stage for the story might be related to stars or gods. The more I examine it, the more things seem to appear.

But this isn’t something that’s very obvious. The foreshadowing is mostly in the dialogue, and there hasn’t been much that’s directly visible... If this is something important, I wish they would make it a bit more obvious. There’s a comment about how Ruby’s success feels as if she’s being helped by the gods, and there's also talk about Aqua’s soul being fractured and breaking. I think it’s worth paying attention to these elements, but I haven’t seen many people discussing this aspect. Of course, I don’t really read other people’s interpretations! When I get into a work, I dive deep and try not to let anything come between me and the story, so I tend not to read other people’s opinions while I’m fully immersed. And it’s a field that’s really hard to predict. It’s so far-fetched. But if they've been dropping hints like this, I feel like something should come out of it by now. It’s built up too much to just be a MacGuffin.

I like stories that feel like fairy tales, so I wouldn’t mind if the story takes that turn, depending on how it’s done... I don’t know if it will happen, but if it doesn’t, why are the lyrics like that? I’d like to see something that explains this before the story ends.

The starry eyes are important. There’s a kind of will in those "stars." There’s a "god" in this manga too. But will it be explained before the story ends...?

If they want to address it, I’m sure they’ll do it well! And if they don’t... Well, it’s all up to the creators.

Am I understanding this story correctly? Suddenly, I started to wonder, so I wrote down whatever came to mind.

If you can accurately grasp the individual characters' goals and the core theme that the work aims to convey, then following the story shouldn't be too difficult. It's always helpful to have a good understanding of those aspects, no matter what story you're watching. As for the motivations and objectives of the characters mentioned above, I believe they will all be achieved in one way or another (except for Nino's, since Ruby will surpass Ai... Now that I think about it, since their goals are opposites, there will likely be a clash between them).

LOL, but when it comes to plot development... Even though I've managed to predict the characters' psychology, I haven't been very successful in predicting the events themselves.

So, we'll just have to wait and see!

[felinelord-bowbeforemepeasant]

Something that been on my mind

Warning: I'm not an analyst (theorist) or anything and english is not my first language so there might be some grammar mistakes

Is the third eyes in chapter 109 is indicate about something

Cause when dazai get shot in the middle of his head the wound in the middle kind of resemble a third eyes

And then we switch to scene where fukuchi is opening the one order, it also has a third eyes

Do you think it kinda weird that after dazai getting shot in the head we switched to one order form revealed

And it also being hint in volume 22 too

Here a close up if you didn't notice it

See if you look at the eyes in the middle and count dazai and fyodor eyes too It will made a third eyes

It might be hinting about what the one order will be like but I think there will be more than that

The one order I quite understand how it work that it can control somebody to do something (am I describing it ability right I'm just writing this based on what I remember lol)

For dazai well when I thought about it my mind just came up with this image

But why, why my mind just came up with this image, so I search the meaning of third eyes and the meaning of angel (Credit to wiki also I don't know if anything it say it's accurate so if there anything wrong sorry)

Here the meaning of third eyes:

The third eye (also called the mind's eye or inner eye) is a mystical invisible eye, usually depicted as located on the forehead, which provides perception beyond ordinary sight. In Hinduism, the third eye refers to the ajna (or brow) chakra. In both Hinduism and Buddhism, the third eye is said to be located around the middle of the forehead, slightly above the junction of the eyebrows, representing the enlightenment one achieves through meditation

The third eye refers to the gate that leads to the inner realms and spaces of higher consciousness. In spirituality, the third eye often symbolizes a state of enlightenment. The third eye is often associated with religious visions, clairvoyance, the ability to observe chakras and auras, precognition, and out-of-body experiences.

Here is the meaning of angel (actually there are more but it just about what angel mean in different country so I just put in the general one, you can go on wiki to search if you like):

In various theistic religious traditions, an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God.

Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles include protectors and guides for humans, such as guardian angels, and servants of God. Abrahamic religions describe angelic hierarchies, which vary by religion and sect. Some angels have specific names (such as Gabriel or Michael) or titles (such as seraph or archangel). Those expelled from Heaven are called fallen angels, distinct from the heavenly host.

Angels in art are usually shaped like humans of extraordinary beauty, though this is not always the case—sometimes, they can be portrayed in a frightening, inhuman manner. They are often identified in Christian artwork with bird wings, halos, and divine light.

And uh I did found out some similarities

"The third eye refers to the gate that leads to the inner realms and spaces of higher consciousness."

"Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity."

The third eyes are like a gate to inner realms while angel are like an intermediaries between God or heaven in humanity aren't they like kinda work the same

Does that mean that there are a third-party involve or this is a hint for something big is gonna happen

Now who is the angel that dazai mention, I did see someone already did an analysis on this and say it ango

Here the link

But I want to look more deeper into this and I found this post

They are discussing about are atsushi and dazai connected in a psychic way that make me think "interesting"

Also are there any mention of "an angel" before

The answer is yes

(Credit for burahai translation)

(Credit for the dead apple movie cause I can't find the manga part)

The angel that shibusawa and dazai say here is atsushi and with the theory that atsushi and dazai is connected in psychic way, it gonna be quite a surprise when if it true

And dazai is also holding atsushi as a trump card in the volume 22 cover too

But what or who are connecting them, some say it the book some say it someone else that hasn't been revealed yet

So in conclusion there are three option of who is the angel that dazai is talking about :

1. Ango

2.Atsushi

3.some unknown person that hasn't been revealed yet

(There are a post say that the time manipulation ability thief is the angel but it just doesn't make sense to me sorry)

Also I was also focusing on this

"Angels in art are usually shaped like humans of extraordinary beauty, though this is not always the case—sometimes, they can be portrayed in a frightening, inhuman manner"

The part where they say angel can be portrayed in a frightening, inhuman manner make think of the one order cause of it design

But it also can describe this person here

(I noticed this because I was scrolling through some bsd analysis and found this

You can check if you like, it an in-depth analysis for bsd official Twitter layout and they mention this person too)

And i want you to focus on the T/N part

Is this some clue about who he could be, to be honest I don't know cause I'm not an expert about famous author(writer) in real life but I think so

It also say that angel usually shaped like human so how about we combine it with "frightening, inhuman manner" then we get something quite creepy indeed

And this person was shrouded in complete darkness and also using imperfect Japanese which is also kind of creepy if you think about it

I don't know if it gonna be right when there is a revealed though I just remember about this guy when I was going through some bsd analysis (but this is just a bsd theory so there gonna be some right or wrong)

I know that there something else there but I can't explain it, something that tick me off

Or maybe that there is somehow someway that dazai is connected to the one order

Also dazai actually kinda tampered with the one order when fukuchi received it so maybe he did tampered with something else too

(I don't know if the tampering thing is correct, it just the description part about angel just tick me off about something but I can't think of it.)

Well I guess that is all, you can discuss about this if you want, this thing it just in my mind for a while and I just want to get it out

Thank you for reading and hope you have a nice day

[asherlockstudy]

I was watching the newest podcast and it was a little bit like a cold shower in terms of how I (and I suppose fandom in general) tends to romanticize certain aspects of their creative process and how it plays into their relationship. For example, I was taken aback with how much they emphasized the collaborative spirit and their team's contribution to Wonderhole and how being part of that whole team was one of their filming highlights, as well as the fact that the idea for the second episode (and their living together 200 years into the future) was suggested by their team because of an opportune festival. It made me think that I tend to romanticize and exaggerate in my mind the intimacy their creative process has, and although, obviously, shipping is one thing and reality can eb quite another another, I still found it a bit disappointing. Do you ever have moments when something they say or do contradicts ideas you have firmly in your mind about them (your head canon basically)?

Yes and no. This is a great question. There are definitely a lot of moments when I tend to romanticize things and then I have to go back and reevaluate, which is unpleasant if we're being honest. At the same time, I also tend to be a cynic and quite a few times I have believed something bleaker or more emotionally removed than other fans / shippers. As a result, I feel like my conclusions balance out each other. But to others I may look like a rollercoaster lol

I want to explain how I feel and what I think in relation to what you are asking about Wonderhole and any of the scripted videos but in order to do this I think I will have to do some analysis of their latest EB discussion. I hope this is okay with you because at times I might inevitably diverge a bit from your specific question. Also I have reasons to add this answer to my One Story masterlist, if that's okay with you.

On the making of Wonderhole

The main point I will try to make here is that the key so that you can always be one step ahead and not get too disillusioned is to tell apart the things that you have to believe without question from the things that you can question and the ones that are not untrue but are not giving the full picture either. (Rhett and Link usually fall in the third category.) Okay I realise I sound like some self-proclaimed guru but I am just explaining what I try to do, I am not saying I am perfect at doing it.

So, one thing we should never forget is that everything Mythical produces is part of the business, it needs a lot of technical interventions, it needs budget and production, it needs editing, it certainly needs things Rhett and Link can't or won't do on their own.

Perhaps you remember that I expected more "significant" things to happen in it before it aired. You know the moment I realised I was romanticising stuff? When they presented their Wonderhole product line in the Mythical Store. Then I realised it wouldn't be anywhere near as risky or groundbreaking as I deemed possible because I thought they woudn't risk making a product line for that. (Then again, never underestimate Rhett and Link's determination to milk everything but regardless if this was a right reasoning or not, this is when I realised we were getting something mild.)

We should also remember that they sustain a huge company of 100 employees. No matter how much they say they pursue creativity and expression, you can hear it in their words that they dedicate an artistically unacceptable amount of consideration to the algorithms and the baiting youtubey titles, to the point that they and their employees committed some surprisingly juvenile and enormous mistakes in the way they promoted their show. I have never worked in the entertainment industry and yet I could tell that the mistakes they did, putting a hole in the office in the trailer, promising a series with a cohesive premise were absolutely crazy coming from people working in this industry for so many years. And even though they did not admit that, this means there was also serious half-bakedness in the way they made the show.

This must feel now to you like a massive impersonal project that kind of lost its focus due to all those people meddling and not a deeply driven vulnerable work made by Rhett and Link in earnest. I get it but I believe this is not correct either. Rhett and Link do want to do exactly that but at the same time the necessity or desire to also make something technically professional and profitable inevitably forces them to compromise hugely. There are ways to tell that there is indeed something deeper beneath the surface that does not get effectively channelled.

A great telling sign for this was something that was discussed last year when they were analyzing the Digging a Hole video. They had already gathered this small team which works for them only for the scripted videos. So one employee offered the idea of Rhett and Link digging a hole. Meanwhile, Rhett claimed he coincidentally had seen a dream about digging holes around that time and it gave him the very same idea for the video. When he heard the employee who was unaware of Rhett's dream suggesting this, he was mystified and approved of it. But here's the interesting bit; Rhett suddenly sounded irritated and defensive when he said that he didn't know what possibly triggered this idea in the employee's mind and "he didn't care / want to know". I am not conveying this very well but it seemed like there was something bothering him about it, even though he did approve of the idea. In other words, I think he had this idea that he knew it was a good allegory for his message but he was concerned that a seemingly unaware outsider came up with the same idea for them. Like "Okay I have my reasons I came up with this but what is it that you think you know about us that makes you also suggest this?". But like he said, he decided he did not want to know.

This was proof that there is a deeper intent that Rhett and Link are not sharing exactly with their team. Also, notice how they have said multiple times that this team is "tiny" and separate from the rest of the crew. Maybe this is partly because they don't want to employ too many people in a financially risky project but I can't help but think it is also for reasons of confidentiality in case the project becomes vulnerable. Whether these employees suspect something or not, nothing is uttered openly. I think Rhett and Link ask them for ideas for premises and settings and then they themselves know how to adjust the idea so they can put inside what they care to add. In short, the very core, the essential meaning is theirs but they ask for more and more new ideas to apply it in. That's what the employees offer but because Rhett and Link do not share their deeper intent for this show and they don't make the employees' job easy, this inescapably leads the final work to seem a little "lost in translation".

The "lost in translation" element was obvious even in the podcast. Link admitted they did not have a premise to share, to the point he had to lie in actual promo interviews about it. All that despite saying for one year that it will be one show with one story coming in episodes that will make everything (including the old videos) fall into place. Another huge mistake. The problem is there is one thing that brings this all together (ahem ONE STORY PLUG -> also insinuated in the final multiverse reel in the last episode) but they haven't even shared it with their trusted team it seems, let alone the audience. That's recipe for disaster. They ask from the audience to "get" something they refuse to disclose openly.

You can usually detect what is made by Rhett and Link and what the additions of their team are by what truly matters and what not. They said it themselves; all of the work is fictional but there were moments and plot points which changed as they went or that had unexpected consequences but they always knew where this was supposed to head. For example, the Rhett and Link gummies did not matter, the destruction of the truck mattered. The red and blue experiment methods did not matter, what Rhett and Link ended up doing because of it mattered. Anything in the futuristic scenario and the treasure hunt did not really matter, Rhett and Link's merging of the consciousness and kept secret in a box forever mattered. Anything in the flight simulation did not matter but the fact that they ended up all alone in an island and what they did there mattered.

Speaking of which, I am curious what was the breaker in the first episode that had Rhett change it drastically, because he was so uneager to share it. He said: "there's no need for you to know everything". Why? How bad could it be to know? For him to not want to share what that apparently huge flaw was, perhaps it was not something minor like a technical issue but rather something contextual, either something that would give away the plot (what plot?) or something vulnerable that would give away the deeper intent. Don't forget that the first episode was already heavy in implications and imagery...... Unless it was a technical issue that could have legal consequences and Rhett realised it, I don't know. That's the truth, we have to consider everything, even the boring cold possibilities.

Rhett nailed something; his evaluation of Link's versus his own acting in the futuristic scenes, especially towards the end, when they fight and then Link dies and Rhett grieves. Rhett says Link did some fantastic acting there while he cringed with his own. He's totally right. These were my exact feelings when I watched this episode. Aside from the fact that Link is overall a better actor, do you know why Link was that good and Rhett was that bad? For the same exact reason: it was deeply personal and it hit too close to home. Link shines in such occasions because he is a person who wants to express himself desperately. The fight they had, they have such fights, especially THIS fight, where they have opposite opinions on "which direction to follow", those were real frustrations Link is actually experiencing. On the other hand, Rhett is so scared of expressing himself. He could not bring himself to be as vulnerable and real as he should be in order to act convincingly like he had just lost Link. This is another piece of evidence that no matter how many other people are involved, you can tell it is a very personal, very real project for them when Link brings out his raw self but Rhett struggles and fails to.

All in all, as you see, just because other people are involved or there is a strict protocol about how they work, it doesn't mean necessarily you are wrong about certain ideas you may be entertaining. Remember, for everything they choose to share, there is just as much or more that they do not. You just have to weigh in everything they say because they are not all equally significant or equally truthful.

*I wanted to talk a bit about the truck segment too but this would diverge too much and I will include it in the post I will eventually make about the last Wonderhole episode.

**Can't believe I made a huge post about this EB episode and I did not find an opportunity to mention the alternative title "Rhett and Link are doing it" (which albeit being funny and baity, it was also very consistent to the ultimate point of Wonderhole.... as if Wonderhole itself is less sexual but anyway..)

One Story Masterlist

[captainnait]

(Decided to reuploded this post because literally no one saw it. . . Oh well. Might as well tag @whocaresifwearecrazy since they could be interested in this idk)

Something that literally no one asked for - a TTwM compilation!!

I enjoyed gathering all the questions for this one. I'm not sure if I found *all* of them, but. . . Yeah. Some clips (4 out of 13) aren't mine, so I left the source in the description.

Also I wrote a little analysis/commentary thingy for all of these, which you can read down below. It's mostly just me rambling about Bob and Milan and how stupid these two are, so don't take it too seriously. I just— I just need to get this off my chest, okay 😭 also sorry for the broken english in some of these. I was half-awake when writing lol

Anyway, would really appreciate if you watch this compilation. I might do some others in the future idk. Enjoy 💖💥

As for commentary, here it is ✨

"Ode to a Garbage Can": I put this one first in the compilation, because (imo) it shows Bob's and Milan's overall dynamic perfectly - Bob tries to be as positive and supportive of Milan as he can (although with a mild success), while Milan. . . Well, he's just being himself - extremely forward and harsh, but, in the end, not minding Bob's attitude, and even engaging in a playful back-and-forth with him. It's simple, it's nice and it's going to be a repeating pattern.

. . . Aaand it's probably the most analytical I'm going to get here. Probably.

Anyway, can't say much else about this one. They're silly

"A Crappy Question": Bob here sounds so genuinely guilty 😭. And the fact that he immediately tries to make up by helping Milan with his classes— it's pretty wholesome. . . Milan slapping the living shit out of him in the end isn't tho lol

"Get Your Finger Out of Your Nose": Milan calling out Bob on literally anything is also the main point of a lot of these. And, tbh, if I worked as a janitor somewhere, where mfs like any of ydkj hosts work, I wouldn't be so happy either bruh

Anyhow, the gross out humor in the end is nothing unusual for this game. But damn, the way Milan said "chucklehead" at the end. . . He loves that idiot I'm sorry 💥💥💥

"Urinal Chips and Dip": Bob being an idiot and getting what he deserves will NEVER not be funny to me

"Wait a minute, is this a trick question? 😠" "For you? Yes 🙄" I can't with them—

Also Milan helping Bob out a bit at the end was surprisingly nice. . . And uncommon too

"Swapping Spit": Milan calling Bob "host boy" at the start caught me off guard completely when I first heard it. And yet, somehow, he gets even more wild with the nicknames later on in the other questions lol

"Moron? Hey! >:[" Bob sounds so hurt here 😭 i like to imagine that before that he wasn't catching any insults from Milan at all up until this point. He's clueless like that

"Ugh, Milan! Why do you say things like that?" "To make you blush" Okay that's just straight up flirting—

Also Bob doesn't sound so opposed to that huh. . . Interesting. I wonder when this is going to come up again—

"Things Nobody Wants To Lick": OKAY FUCK I'M SORRY THIS ONE IS JUST INSANE. MILAN JUST CASUALLY RIPS HIS SHIRT AND SAY TO "LICK UNDERNEATH HIS SWEATY ARMPIT"? AND NOT ONLY BOB IS IMPRESSED WITH MILAN'S BODY (as he says himself), HE ALSO ISN'T OPPOSED TO HIS REQUEST IN THE END (even though it wasn't even addressed to him btw)? AND EVEN ADVICES TO SAY "THANK YOU!" AFTER THE PROCESS?? HELLO?? WHY SO 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝓪𝓴𝔂? WHY NO ONE TALKS ABOUT IT—

Ahem. Anyway, "Bob-friend" is such a great nickname, 10/10, amazing job, Milan.

Bob's "MILAN! WHAT? 😨😳" is literally my favorite thing ever

"Please? Look, begging is not gonna help, my friend" yup, I figured

(I'm not even going to comment on the last few lines lol this is already too much)

"Seven Minutes in the Broom Closet": And just when you think it can't get gayer than the last one. . . This title. What the fuck are they doing in the closet—

Bob mistaking alliteration with liter is just so him

"Haha, you said pee :D" this man literally has a mind/humor of a toddler

And yeah, Milan leaving Bob confused with his words/sayings is. Everything

"I'm Not Your Chew Toy": I'm pretty sure this is the shortest question in this category in terms of dialogue

I love that this one highlights just how patient can Bob be with Milan's rather snappy attitude (which, to be fair, is pretty reasonable for him to have)

"Gift Ideas from the Bathroom": This one. This is my favorite question in the whole game probably. . .

Milan calling Bob "Robert" (which continues running joke of Milan calling Bob different nicknames). Milan sharing his collection with Bob, who seems to be not only interested in it, but also wants to implement it in the question. Bob being a clumsy ass moron and dropping the jar, with Milan following with his (almost) catchphrase "I'm not cleaning that". Milan sharing his culture with Bob and feeding him a homemade soup, with Bob being absolutely joyful and excited to learn new things from his favorite person (while also being taken care of by said person). Milan's little "jerk" at the end, that sounds just a bit too soft to sound like an actual insult, and more like an affectionate pet name. I love this. This is amazing. If this isn't not one of the most wholesome moments in ydkj series, idk what is tbh

"Little Red Outhouse": "Hey Milan, how you doing? Good to see ya 😁" "It's a pleasure for you to see me 😇" "Yeah, i— Uh what? 🤨" This is one of my favorite exchanges between them. Milan has such a way with words sometimes idk. . .

Not much to say about this one, except the fact, that Milan washes Bob's microphone in the toilet bowl, becomes much more disgusting when you know, that in one of the questions Bob smooches his microphone. You're welcome 😇

"It Happens to the Best of Us": Crying Milan is the last thing I expected from this game, but here we are ig. As much as I feel sad for him, I can't deny that his crying voice is incredibly stupid (/pos)

"It was a horribly sad incident which took place today" I like how even when he's distraught he still tries to flex his english skills. What a king

The way Bob instantly goes "yes sir" right after Milan tells him to shut up is just. . . 😭 no comments

"Don't Forget to Wipe": Ah yes, the one where Milan blackmails Bob. Anyway

"Hm, would you like to know" THE WAY HE SOUNDS HERE I— 💥💥

Also the way Milan interrogates Bob here is just so funny to me. He's like an annoyed and slightly disappointed owner that find out his dog made a mess in the living room again. . . Weird comparison, but oh well (I've been writing this commentary for way to long)

"There's a Swosh™ on My Tush": I love this one. Mf just plays basketball in the middle of his work day and that's it. No disgusting twist, just basketball

. . . Well, except the last few seconds, where Bob straight up drools on Milan's shoes. . . Like a dog—

Okay, nah, that's it, that enough of these guys for me today istg

[hall0wedwyrm]

Doki Doki Literature Club: A Monika centric Analysis/Retrospective

Monika is definitely one of my favourite characters... well ever and i just wanted to share my love of her on her birthday!

if you're interested, I made a post a while ago talking about Natsuki! To the people who found it again, it made me happy to see the reblogs people left,,, so thank you!!

This post contains major spoilers for Doki Doki Literature Club! This post is also pretty long lol

I love how Monika is set up to stand out against all of the other girls. You can’t see her bottom half on the title screen, but in the promotional art she has black stockings and pink tipped shoes. She extends out a hand, seemingly welcoming us. Monika is the most smartest, popular girl at school, as e by the Protagonist when they meet her. She started the Literature Club after leaving the Debate club when it became boring.

Quickly though, she is immediately singled out. She doesn’t seem to be an option for us to interact with, often being almost forced to choose Sayori, Natsuki or Yuri. Monika also isn’t a choice when we write poems, which is the main way we can choose which of the club members we want to romance. She also acts as a tutorial of sorts, giving us advice on how we might want to write poems, saying generic things that sound right in-universe for her to say about poems and writing and even notices the characters you write for.

This goes off the rails almost immediately.

During day two of officially being in the club, and after Monika shares her second very cryptic poem, Monika gives her writing tip of the day. It starts relatively innocent, saying we might face a difficult decision, but then she says;

“When that happens, don’t forget to save your game!”

This is dialogue is the first openly fourth-wall breaking thing in this game. Monika directly referencing game mechanics, when no one else has before. It makes it even more jarring when she says;

“Wait… is this tip even about writing? What am I even talking about?”

She laughs it off, but this really stood out as completely bizarre. I’d say this is the start of her openly breaking the fourth wall. On several occasions, she says things that seem out of the blue, and that is clearly something only we are meant to understand as the player. The most obvious is when Natsuki makes a joke about how Monika’s name can be a pun (”It’s right in your name! Mon-ika!”), Monika says that that isn’t how you say her name, adding on, “Also, that joke makes no sense in translation!” which makes Natsuki confused and she brushes it off. Interestingly, after this exchange is when we first get hints of Sayori’s ‘rain clouds’, which shows how early on Monika was messing with her and also when Monika speaks to Sayori for the Protag.

(“I can’t say I’ve noticed anything about her…” Monika when i GET YOU WHEN I GET WHEN I GET Y-) (and then she insinuates that Sayori is interested in us OUUGH WHEN I GET YOUUUU)

Day Three and sharing poems with Monika and she comments on how close the protag and Sayori are becoming… to which she says:

“It would be terrible if something bad happened to her, so keep an eye on her.”

To which I say… oh my GOD. OH MY GOD??? you’re joking. you are JOKING??? ahem. anyway. Another important piece of dialogue she says is when the protag says that all the things the club members write about are sad and Monika says that if everything was okay, they wouldn’t have anything to write about commenting, “Humans aren’t two-dimensional creatures… I think you’d know that better than anyone.” The protagonist corrects her (”Don’t you mean one-dimensional?”) and she once again laughs it off, but this is a flex of her awareness of something more than the world she is in. This is one of her many many comments that aren’t directed at our character, but to us specifically.

Quickly going to point out another one of my absolute favourite details about Monika here... and its just going to be this picture:

yeah. oh yeah...

“Stagnating air is common forshadowing that something terrible is about to happen…” Yuri says.

“I talked to her earlier and everything is fine.” “What did she say?” “Anyway we need to figure out the rest of the festival preperations so-”

Monika also tries to get us to help her for the weekend, despite the fact that she’s going to be getting help from Sayori, and this is pointed out by both Natsuki and Yuri, until she’s basically guilted into letting us choose between the two of them. This reflects (a much more tame version) of the same situation from Act 2.

The day we meet up with Natsuki/Yuri, there is very clever foreshadowing that I don’t think anyone really talks about. When we go to meet up with Sayori to make sure she’s okay after yesterday, the atmosphere is tense. There is no music, and it becomes very ominous, especially with the limited assets used in the game (Sayori’s house doesn’t have assets other than her room, so the black screen is unsettling). Sayori is in her room, and she finally opens up about her depression and expresses how its been very difficult for her.

After meeting our chosen Doki, she catches us, and says that she couldn’t stop thinking about what might have been happening and had to come and see for herself. She blurts out that she wishes she could disappear and stop being so selfish. She makes the very concerning comment, “Monika was right… I should just..” The protagonist is rightfully very confused as to why she mentioned Monika. This links back to when Monika offered to speak with her. Whatever she said… it wasn’t good at all.

This is also where we get to confess to her, with the options of “You will always be my dearest friend.” or “I love you.”

As Susie Deltarune once said, ‘Your choices don’t matter’.

I wanted to also mention I was rewatching some clips and reations to this part and GTLive does a very good playthrough. Mat and Steph are very very uncomfortable the entire time (like through the whole game). After Sayori's death, they're sort of collecting their thoughts and Stephanie points out that Monika knew what had happened to Sayori:

“No.. no no. Do you remember, when we were in the classroom just now… when we were talking to Monika? She knew- She knew what happened. She knew everything that happened with Sayori. She knew.” “Because she said- you left her hanging.” “That’s tacky… that’s gross.”

(Mat is just sat in his own discomfort and is just completely silent in processing what the hell just happened) They both agree that you have the chance to get surprisingly attached to Sayori, and it made her death hurt even more.

When the game resets, Sayori is gone, and Monika is on her bullshit full force. She completely devolves into being very pushy and also incredibly insensitive at times. Natsuki becomes aggressive, and Yuri is incredibly possessive of us and thrives on spending time with us. Her behaviour gets worse and worse as it goes on, also resulting in her death too. It's also worth pointing out how the Protagonist has less and less dialogue in Act 2, in reference to how its becoming less about him and more about us, the player.

Monika becomes incredibly detatched from the girls. Unlike in Act 1 where she tries to reason with them and work things out with words, she now truly sees them as only obstacles and lines of code that she has to bypass to get to us. There are elements of her trying to play along and be nice, but she ultimately gives up on it all together by the end of about day 3. She takes advantage of the times she gets to speak to us alone, all of them becoming very meta and unsettling since she’s talking to us, not our character. Everything she does from now on is to achieve our full attention. She can't completely break the game, that would mean destroying the platform in which she can see and communicate with us, but she needs to find ways to get the other girls gone.

Throughout Act 2, Monika is pushing for us to spend time with her, but is always thwarted by Yuri dragging us away. She takes us outside while Yuri and Natsuki fight, and she interrupts Yuri’s first attempt at a confession by literally blocking Yuri's dialogue box and forcing her to stop talking and giving her confession.

One of my favourite act 2 moments is at the end of day 3, Monika finally gets a chance to talk to us, (saying “sometimes it feels like you and I are the only real people here.”) and as she does so, the screen fades away into the poem creation screen. Even when Monika thinks she is in control, she is fighting against the base programming of the game that she can’t alter, as stated previously

After Yuri’s death, Act 2 ends with the next Monday and the day of the festival. I watched Xander’s Cut do an excellent job of recap of the disturbing nature of DDLC, and they cleverly pointed out how Natsuki had a very normal-person reaction to seeing a dead person (literally throwing up and running away), and Monika literally says; “Ahahaha! Well, that’s a shame.” She proceeds to completely disregard the fourth wall, and says that the script is way too broken. She deletes Natsuki and Yuri, takes the chance to eat one of Natsuki’s cupcakes (oh my god it's so messed up she's SO SICK SOMETIMES-)

With another reset, its us and Monika alone in the clubroom.

Just Monika.

During her opening monologue, Monika basically tells us how to access the files and how easy it was to delete the other girls. She says she’s not very good at changing the game, but it was surprisingly easy to access the game files (unless she detects you using Steam, where she kindly explains how to reach the directory). A poem for each other later, and some more words of being able to spend eternity together later, Monika begins her absolutely massive talk. I’m pretty sure she has over 50 dialogue options that she can choose from (everyone should also watch TechRules cover DDLC its super interesting), and it's truly designed to go on forever... or at least a very long time anyway.

After writing this, I learnt about the option where she talks about Yuri bringing a little bottle of wine into the club and it just makes me sob knowing that even at that point she was remincising about her friends and the times they spent together. I think theres another dialogue box where she questions why she's even talking about them and tries to assure herself that they aren't real and they don't matter anymore. This already shows Monika's regret we learn about later.

Monika talks about a lot of things, some very realistic and wise��� and the others being her explaining Sayori’s death in waaaay too much detail. It still makes me feel disgusting to this day (GTLive also got this dialogue and Mat was like “I am not reading this. I can’t read this.”), but a lot of what she says makes her feel like she’s a real person and sharing all her opinions is very interesting.

Now… FINALLY. Monika's deletion.

Her omnipotence is her downfall. It made her insensitive, and when she is deleted, she’s given a taste of her own medicine. She blames us for everything that happens, she calls us sick and horrible, telling us to go mess with someone else.

But… she comes back. She says she still loves us, and that she’s the one who ruined the world. She confesses that she couldn’t truly bring herself to delete the others. Monika believes that if she can bring back the club without her, then everyone can be happy.

I really like this redemption of sorts. Even in act 2, when she was trying everything to win us over, she still reacted to the others like they were people. This is most apparent when she told Yuri that she makes for a wonderful vice president, and a great friend. When she tries to get more members to join, she really does want the best for the club, but with the changes to Natsuki and Yuri she gives up.

When beginning act 4, everything seems to be back to normal, except now Monika is completely gone. She continues to blame herself when you try and add her back into the game. She cares so much about the others that she just wants them to be happy, even if it means without her. It's very selfless of her to do so, but is also her acknowledging that what she knows is the things she knows are harmful for everyone.

She assumes she's the one with the knowledge, but really its whoever is in charge. The Club President.

Sayori gains Monika's omnipotence and she wants us for herself now. Monika steps in, and decides that its not worth keeping the Literature Club if this power is just going to keep being passed around.

She says goodbye to Sayori, Goodbye to us, and Goodbye to the Literature Club. This ending on its own is already bittersweet, but Monika comes back one last time, and sings the song she had been working on all this time.

Your Reality is about Monika's journey. It sums up everything she questioned and learnt throughout the game. Ending with her final decision:

"And if I don't know how to love you... I'll leave you be."

She lets us go, and gives us her final message:

man.

Monika's character is very special to me. She's an incredibly complex character for someone who is intentionally pushed aside in the coding, but so badly wants to have her own happy ending. If the other girls can have one, why can't she? All that she does it to get to us, but she eventually realises that her friends are more important than any of this, and how she misses them dearly. We get to see more of their relationships in DDLC+, and how they all got along once. Her story was (and still really is) something so unique to me, and it captivated me so strongly that I haven't really stopped thinking about it for all these years. She's truly something wonderful, and here's to one day seeing her again!

And of course,

Happy birthday Monika!!

[britneyshakespeare]

Recently I clicked on a YouTube channel I was unfamiliar with on a video about BookTok (always a risky move considering the amount of obnoxious takes out there) or maybe the online book community in general, I don't really remember. I clicked off around 5 minutes in (I forget the runtime but like I'm guessing it was between 30-50 minutes) because it was bothering me how wrongheaded I found the person to be, like a lotta ppl who make 30-50 minute YouTube videos these days. Lol. But one thing that just keeps sticking with me is that they were shitting on the idea of "women's literature" and studying it, fiction by/about/targeted at women, because it was ultimately reductive and "sexist." They specifically quoted a well-spoken female academic I had never heard of, in some essay I think was from like the 80s, to support their argument. The quote made a parallel to how, like, LANDSCAPE is a common theme throughout literature too, worthy of consideration and analysis, but you don't see courses titled "landscapes in literature"... and it absolutely fuckin bothers me because progressive academics are not fuckin hypocrites here. You might see, from your standpoint, a greater wealth of women's studies, supposedly (get back to me when you actually catalogue how little research a year is done about specifically women in literature... it's not this overfunded or overglamorized field or in any way its own offshoot of the humanities). But like yes there are plenty of people who study the representation of the environment in classic literature. It's kind of a major concern in how to deal with climate change from a humanities perspective?? I literally spent two years writing and editing a progressive literary studies textbook with a former professor that was all about social justice and environmentalist themes applicable to classical literature included and excluded from regular college courses.