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linisiane · 2 years ago

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What do Rick Sanchez, Don Quixote, and Harry Du Bois Have in Common?

In all three of these stories, these characters are ‘self-aware’ in that they intentionally play into the tropes of the stories they’re satirizing (Rick Sanchez satirizing sitcoms, Don Quixote satirizing chivalric romances, and Harry Dubois satirizing roleplaying games). However, the trick to their ‘self-awareness’ is that they’re lying to themselves.

This post is LONG, so feel free to skip to the end if you're just interested in "The Self-Aware Player of Harry Du Bois" (in bolded green) if you don't feel like reading the rest of the analysis. I go into the meaning of the political vision quests, the meaning of the 4th wall breaking RPG elements like copotypes and Jamrock Shuffling, and the effect this has on the player's relationship to Harry Du Bois!

(Common) Rick Sanchez (L)

Although Rick acts like he can see the audience and uses marketable catchphrases like “Wubbalubbadubdub” to appeal to sitcom sensibilities (“Bazinga;” “Did I do that?” “Legen- Wait For It -Dary;” etc.), the truth of the matter is that WITHIN HIS REALITY, he is not a sitcom character.

He truly does not know he’s in a sitcom.

He’s just an asshole.

ID A screenshot from the show Rick and Morty, with subtitled dialogue that says: Wubbalubbadubdub! That's my new thing! I'm kind of like, what's his name, Arsenio! Wubbalubbadubdub! See you next week. Beside the screenshot is a picture of the mentioned Arsenio, who is the titular character to a sitcom called The Arsenio Hall Show End ID

Rick has ATROCIOUS main character syndrome. Truly obnoxious. We happen to be enjoying (debate-able) it from our TV screens, but he doesn’t know that! Hoe’s just calling his family ‘side characters’ and taking them on traumatizing ‘B plot’ adventures to humor-cope with his multiverse induced nihilism. (it is NOT WORKING)

Dan Harmon, as a big fan of the storytelling theory behind sitcoms, has a thing for these type of self-aware-but-not-really characters in his shows. Abed (from his other well-known sitcom named ‘Community') is basically a film student obsessed with film tropes—

Which means he’s eternally making meta self-aware quips on the show without actually being self-aware. He’s not Deadpool, he's just a movie nerd.

It's a wink and a nod to show the audience, Hey, we’re aware that nowadays people are savvy enough to comment on when they’re in a wacky sitcom plot.

This is ‘some looney tunes type shit,’ amirite guys?

(This trick is called lampshading, it got popular recently with Marvel movies and the influence of Joss Whedon's writing (@dingdongyouarewrong), but it's also going through a bit of cliche fatigue right now. "That happened" jokes are an example that I know so many people are sick of, partly because it feels like writers include self-awareness/lampshading as a shield from criticism by pretending you can't critique a problem they're self-aware about!

Let me highlight it to you in the rest of this essay as a tool in satire/pastiche.)

'Donkey Hotel' (according to my speech to text)

To explain Donkey Hotel's deal, I must remark: This guy is on some ancient mental illness type beat.

Now, in the ancient era of Hippocrates, there used to be the hot idea that there are four major human temperaments, and these temperaments are influenced by the balances of liquids in our body called humors. And that an imbalance of the four would lead to an over representing of a temperament.

Don Quixote had a 'Choleric' temperament, which is an overrepresentation of yellow bile and characterized with qualities such as 'hot and dry' and emotional irregularities such as increased anger or behaving irrationally. That's our knight!

Now obviously we know that the idea of 4 Humors in our body controlling our temperament is a BS simplification of mental health, BUT, there’s usually a kernel of truth in ancient theories. The universe really was made up of elements like Aristotle theorized, just not the fire, earth, water, air that he thought they were.

Similarly, our author our man, Cervantes, was using the 4 Humors more to develop a physical/biological explanation to Don's mental illness.

All this to say, Don Quixote is currently deluding himself into believing he is a gallant knight, off to defend the honor of his lady love, the total paragon of a chivalric romance novel because, and I quote, “he became so absorbed in his books that he spent his nights from sunset to sunrise, and his days from dawn to dark, poring over them; and what with little sleep and much reading his brains got so dry that he lost his wits.”

Let's pause.

An escapist stupor that completely wiped the mind of its host?

(FANART BY @so-engery! Check them out!)

ID Two images. One is is Gustave Dore's "Don Quixote Dreaming" drawing. The other is Disco Elysium fanart by Marie Enger @so-engery. Both showcase the main character of their respective works, slumped and surrounded by mad figments of their imagination, highlighting the parallels between the two. Harry with his Skill voices and Don with knights and fairytale creatures. End ID.

That’s our boy, Harrier Du Bois right there!

And while obviously Harry's condition at the start of Disco Elysium is more based on modern understanding of psychology (aka alcohol did it to him, not intense insomnia and a chivalric romance bookathon), it’s real neat we get this this little parallel before we even dig into Harry!

Now, with that neat explanation of why he’s self-aware out of the way, Don Quixote’s deal: Again, he’s not actually self-aware, he’s quite possibly the opposite of self-aware, and EVERYBODY (even the audience!) knows it. He’s only self aware in the sense that he’s acting like a character in a fictional story, which he is, but he’s got the wrong genre.

He thinks he’s in an action/romance, but he’s actually in real life—A satire of the action/romance genre!

Well, caveat.

Is Don Donning the 'Don' Inspirationally or is he Donning the 'Don' to Act as a Don About the Downs of Chivalry?

I read it as Don Quixote donning the 'don' title to act as a don at the college of 'please touch grass and stop romanticizing romantic chivalry.'

A super popular adaptational take, however, is to read him like he's an inspirational dreamer held back by a harsh reality.

Big Nate's Book Reviews on YouTube did a sweet review that highlights this perspective, along with his lil doobie,

that Don Quixote's perspective brings fresh child-like imagination and fantasy to the mundanity of the lives of the people around him. Nate says that Don Quixote and Sancho are "Truly the homies;" they're the first times he's ever felt that he could "find friends in characters in a book."

So there's definitely a joy and a message to the dreamer reading! BUT I tend to be a bit cynical about this, like it can feel a bit too similar to USAmerican Exceptionalism to me.

To clarify what I mean, let's do a Rick parallel.

Don Quixote, as a character, is more similar to the FANS of Rick and Morty than he is to Rick. (Which is its own commentary about how little we have progressed as a society since this book was published like 400 years ago, but also the way media is influenced by prior media.)

To explain THAT, lemme first say that there’s a sort of meta irony (which is how I describe this phenomena according to J-Reg’s theory of satire, but I don’t know the actual name of this) in the ‘he’s just like me fr’ guys. ‘Literally me’ guys. Guys who pseudo imitate Patrick Bateman, literally any Ryan gosling character, etc.

ID A youtube screenshot of 3 different videos titled "literally me" "Literally Me" or "Literally me (I'm mentally insane)" with different Ryan Reynolds characters as the thumbnail. In the "I'm mentally insane" video description, one of the tags is the word "sigma." End ID

Often these characters are meant to be made fun of as parodies of another trope, like Don Quixote is to a chivalric romance protagonist, but there’s a certain subset of the audience that is either too dumb to get it or just doesn’t have the context or background to get it.

Like the dudes who watch fight club, and just end up making fight clubs of their own. Or the way people misinterpreted Bruce Springsteen’s ‘Born in the USA’ as celebrating the US, instead of its true message of lambasting the US for its hypocritical treatment of its veterans. Or the glorification of Rorschach from Watchmen despite him basically being a MAGA. Or the way USAmericans didn’t get Starship Troopers because it was a parody of US military fascism.

There are tons of examples of these because of satire usually says more about the reader/viewer than it does about the author, like a Rorschach test (he really is aptly named). (And it’s why it’s more often fascists/conservatives wildly misinterpreting leftist media. People are more likely to come with a conservative perspective than vice versa bc conservatism is, by its definition, the norm. Though this does still happen on more progressive sides e.g. TJLC.) They didn't see or chose not to see the irony.

ID Two screenshots. One of the infamous "To Be Fair, You Have To Have a Very High IQ to Understand Rick and Morty" copypasta. One of a Disco Elysium Reddit post titled "Disco Elysium is Not Politically In Favor Of Any Ideology." End ID

Speaking of Rick and Morty fans, this is what I mean by the idea that Don Quixote is more like Rick's fans than he is like Rick. Much like the way Don un-self-aware-ly misinterprets his satirical reality for the chivalric romance of his favorite novels, so too do Rick and Morty fans un-self-aware-ly misinterpret Rick's nihilist satire on the sitcom for what is cool and good to do in real life. Plus, I can totally see these type of dudes unironically saying "Milady" to keep chivalry alive. But, there's one level further to this, beyond even seeing the irony, which I call the 'he's just like me fr' guys.

Now, in the case of the 'he's just like me fr' guys, it's not that they're mistaking the satire for sincerity—they totally understand that Patrick Bateman is a satirical take on Yuppie 'grind till you make it alpha' culture.

They're doing a secret third thing—meta irony—where they understand that Patrick Bateman is meant to be bad but act like they're un-self-aware and missed the irony anyway.

It's supposed to be a joke, buuuuut it's a joke the same way people will say "SLAY!" as a joke until it's unironically a part of their vocabulary. The ambiguity is key.

I'd argue that the dreamer Quixote approach is an application of 'he's just like me fr' view to Don Quixote, where he's 'a Chad rejecting reality in favor of the perseverance of man's whimsy' to some people, even as they joke that he's delusional ("Literally me (I'm mentally insane)").

Don Quixote certainly isn't doing it on purpose—again, he's un-self-aware, and he even got bullied out of it in part 2 (which admittedly I haven't read). Yet, there's a genuine sadness there of a man with such a penchant for adventure getting bullied that makes you wanna start humoring him.

It's ironic but not: Meta irony.

ID A screenshot of Jreg's "Post-Irony, Meta-Irony, and Post-Truth Satire (Video)" thumbnail. End ID

But yeah, meta irony is all fine and dandy when it's about slaying, but when it's about emulating the patriarchal psychopath, Patrick Bateman, or using edge-y humor to spread alt-right talking points, you start to wonder if there can be something insidious to the 'he's just like me fr' approach.

To put it best, the wild popularity of the Dreamer Don Quixote interpretation feels like the result of USAmerican 'grind till you make it' 'individual exceptionalism' 'it would suck for you, but i'm built different' values distorting the absurdity of being a reality denying dreamer, the same way we struggle to understand the Starship Troopers because it just feels normal/celebratory to us.

Don Quixote

So I think Don Quixote resonates strongest, for me, in the way it boldly states that reality is beautiful and worth living in without needing the opium of escapist fantasy.

For one, Cervantes is a rare ye olden feminist king who takes the time to point out that one man's escapist chivalric masculine fantasy is another woman's misogynistic reality.

To demonstrate, he has many examples of female characters telling off men for projecting romantic fantasies on them, but a more relevant way is how he writes Don Quixote as literally renaming some random woman he's never met 'Dulcinea' because he's decided she is his Lady he's given his eternal servitude to.

He renames her Dulcinea because it's "a name, to his mind, musical, uncommon, and significant, like all those he had already bestowed upon himself and the things belonging to him."

Which is PEAK satire of the misogynistic objectification of chivalry. If only the Rick and Morty "Milady" stans had the self-awareness this book had 400 years ago.

(Sidebar, but does anybody else think Don Quixote would make an absolutely killer Drag King persona? Don Queerote... Plus the ballet about him would help with the pre-existing choreo/music. Just a thought!)

But on another level, Don Quixote is full of interesting characters or stories outside of the chivalric knight conceit!

ID Pen illustrations (aka engravings by Gustave Dore) of two events happening simultaneously at the same inn in Don Quixote. The one above is of Don's assault on the wineskins in his sleep. The one below is of the reunion of Dorotea, Luscinda, Cardenio, and Fernando in the inn. End ID

People often clown on the novel for having so much time dedicated to the soap opera antics of side characters totally unrelated to the knight plot, but their antics being outside of Quixote's chivalric view emphasizes how life is interesting even when you're not following a delusional knight lifestyle!

Romance and reunions and betrayals that Don never really understands because he's too busy fighting windmills and wineskins! Yes, the delusion allowed him to go out and explore the world, but there's something so silly and sad about missing whimsy of real life in favor of living in escapist Knight Fanfiction. Reading about Cervantes's soap-opera-worthy life only reinforces this whimsy for reality and touching grass.

The Self-Aware Player of Harry Du Bois

Preface: My main experience is JRPGs, not so much other Western RPGs and tabletop games. So although I’m saying it’s a satire of these tropes, and I noticed a lot of these things as ‘satire’ and 'parody,' I’m not totally enmeshed in the subculture the creators were going for, so I might need some corrections.

Finally, this transitions into the deal with Harry! It's fascinating to me to think about how satire is used as the 'touch grass' or 'be fucking for real' genre. Oftentimes it's making fun of tropes/conventions by humorously contrasting them with reality—so how does this play out with the RPG!?

Weeellll, it goes hand in hand with the idea of RPGs as escapist power fantasy. RPGs are often thought of as the ultimate self-insert fantasy by its detractors or worst players, ahem looking at all those DND horror stories about entitled mangsty murderhobos.

One of the most infamous criticisms of Disco Elysium is its lackluster combat.

ID A screenshot of a random forum discussion post by dungeon master Zed Duke of Banville. It reads: "Disco Elysium has neither combat nor exploration, and therefore is missing two of the three fundamental components (or sets of components) that define the RPG genre." End ID

The game has essentially bordered off your ability to make Harry into a power fantasy murderhobo because you just are physically unable to equip an longsword or cuisse to murder your average citizen on the street of Martinaise.

But even on a less mangsty level, it subverts a lot of the basic expectations of RPGs.

Like the encounter with the racist lorry driver! You never get the ability or quest to change his mind, you only choose how you react to him.

Where other RPGs might let you act as the white savior or the white knight of chivalric romance, no questions asked, you're changing the minds of everybody who's wrong so we can all get along, Disco Elysium really makes you confront your ability to whiteknight, makes you confront if whiteknighting is even helpful, and why you wanted to whiteknight in the first place.

It’s part of the fun/humor experience of Disco Elysium that you at first expect to solve the world’s problems with a couple quests and lines of ‘good’ dialogue and then get socked in the faced with the fact that yeah, you can’t do much, you’re one person, what did you expect, asshole? Cuno doesn't fucking care!

ID a screenshot of Disco Elysium dialogue YOU - "Don't call it a dump, you've made it nice and cosy here." NOVELTY DICEMAKER - "Yeah." She stares out of the window, not really hearing your words. "Or maybe it's the entire world that's cursed? It's such a precarious place. Nothing ever works out the way you wanted." "That's why people like role-playing games. You can be whoever you want to be. You can try again. Still, there's something inherently violent even about dice rolls." "It's like every time you cast a die, something disappears. Some alternative ending, or an entirely different world...." She picks up a pair of dice from the table and examines them under the light. End ID

Like, Neha is highlighting this little meta element of how you can stack your Harry in any RPG to pursue a certain ending or situation, but the actual outcome is still influenced by a dice roll out of your control.

A lot of the satirical humor in Disco Elysium comes from the absurdity that you can do everything right or everything wrong, and the dice can still fuck it up or save it for you—not just for things like high-fantasy attacks, but mundane things like remembering your name.

The dice are, at their core, about how RPGs aren't just for the control fantasy, of winning high-fantasy battles, but also can represent life as it is, mundane and uncontrollable.

Similarly, Harry is clearly written—complete with all the 'lore' that this would entail—to couch his RPG protagonist nature in the real.

If RPG characters are blank slates? Let's give ours amnesia! Need fast travel?! Kim teases the 41st Precinct for constantly running everywhere by calling it the Jamrock Shuffle. He needs to have deep and intimate conversations with everyone, even when they're strangers? Yeah, that's so weird we gave him the name 'Human Can-Opener,' and everybody remarks on his uncanny manipulation skills.

It's commenting on difference between controlling an RPG avatar and navigating in a human body.

As Kurvits said: “In reality we do not have control, or complete control, of our minds. Just like our body, it is something that we give-not even commands wishes to, and we hope it's gonna do it. We hope it's not gonna break down, we hope it's not gonna rebel against us.”

In one type of RPG fantasy, we don't even question our total control and even assume the joy is from the control. But in Disco Elysium, we lack control and find joy in it anyway. That is the fun of the game making us, the players, 'self-aware' about its RPG elements, and it especially resonates with anybody not able-bodied, anybody neurodivergent.

Harry Du Bois and Self-Awareness: Copotypes? More like Cope-otypes.

So that's on Disco Elysium and being aware of RPG elements in general, but let's deep dive into Harry and his Copotypes and political alignments like the OP!

I kind of want to round this last one out with what this all means. WHY am I, and others, linking self-awareness and satire? What's the link here?

Irony is one of the major tools of satirical writing, and there's always a little irony in being self-aware and doing it anyway, I think. It's specifically that Meta-Ironic element/Lampshading that is so rich for Touch-Grass satire because it parallels the futility/irony of self-awareness in real life.

The copotypes work this way.

ID A screenshot of a youtube comment. @jbeast3385 "Harry fundamentally takes on extreme interpretations of every ideology in the game as a coping mechanism for the tragedy that is his life, and it's amazing to see the amount of care given to extending an understanding of why each ideology appeals to his fractured mind. Each quest makes him something of a Don Quixote, searching for a purer purpose through political thought, failing spectacularly with it, but still fundamentally developing him and inspiring others beside him." End ID

The copotypes and the political alignments are a parody of classes and moral alignments. Rather than being a knight or a wizard, you're a superstarcop or a sorrycop! They don't do much, like there are no fireballs for an art cop, but they do poke fun at the ways the player is choosing to play Harry! Instead of chaotic good or neutral evil, you can be a communard or an ultralib! Which both involve spouting hilariously inappropriate talking points to the other citizens of Revachol.

What's fascinating, as @fagcrisis of this post says, is that these alignments are statements of how your Harry copes with the real world and the past/how he justifies what he does.

From the Solution to the Boring Cop Thought:

When someone says something political, the first three thoughts in your head are a ludicrous hodgepodge of communism, fascism and stock tips. When they ask you why you did something, it's superstardom, apocalypse, or the *mea culpas* of a flagellant cop monk

You start off making some choices based on the limited dialogue options of Harry's bizarre personality. If you play it like any other RPG power fantasy, BAM, the game hits you with the "Regular Law Official" thought, and you're labeled "Boring Cop." Or if you're apologizing to get the 'good' route, BAM, the game hits you with the "Rigorous Self-Critique" thought, and you're labelled "Sorry Cop!"

The game makes you 'aware' of your playing style, a little poke to say 'Stop being so scared of failures! You're boring! Sorry is not enough! Stop trying to be 'lawful good' (ACAB) and be a human!'

From the same Solution:

It's not easy, reaching for the fourth option -- the normal one. But you have. And now you're not *just* crazy, you're also *boring*.

Some people get this taste of self-awareness and fully embrace diving into the deep end of the game—Disco baby! Others lean into the sorry/boring/moralist cop in an ironic 'self-aware' sort of way—like the technique of Lampshading, since we're our own writers as RPG players.

But on a Harry level, it's also about HIM becoming self-aware of his habits, of internalizing these thoughts about his actions, his past, his coping mechanisms.

Seeking either “sweet oblivion” or to become “a different kind of animal,” many of the possible roleplaying choices are rooted in his desire to forget, evade or reframe the past. Whether self-destruction through drug abuse, fantasies of superstardom or visions of impending doom; it’s all in the service of not wanting to face the past, and the disastrous effects Harry’s continuous failure to do so has had on his life. - Vice

As the @fagcrisis of this post noted, Dora pretty much ALWAYS mentions the way Harry escapes reality by thinking of himself as an archetype, like other people are NPCs in an RPG. "like hes a self aware character but in the shitty way where him knowing he is a character and him acting like it only makes it worse because there isnt a story to escape from, he just cant cope with the real world" He's pulling a meta-ironic ''he's just like me fr" with Guillaume Le Million (who hangs himself) and superstardom the way "he's just like me fr" guys do it for Ryan Gosling.

And each copotype and political alignment are an opportunity to satirically critique the flaws and failures of each coping mechanism.

Cope-otype: Fascism

"Fascism, being marked, according to Paxton, by a need to compensate for humiliation, promises easy solutions to someone like Harry. It’s a crutch to prop up threatened masculinity, a rhetoric to shift blame for personal failings to ominous outside forces." - Vice

This game's satirical take on fascism is sort of perfect, literally making it about the lower intestines, 'gut instinct,' and bullshit (@spilledkaleidoscope). To be frank, fascists are 'full of shit,' and the vision quest highlights the way fascism isn't about a coherent ideology like 'returning to the past,' but rather it's a hodgepodge of SHIT thrown together to prop up hurt ego, threatened masculinity, of giving an easy scape-goated answer to the question of how Harry's supposed to face his past and his future.

The answer? He shoots it.

It's accurate in a way that doesn't reinforce the 'cool' aesthetics and pageantry fascism is obsessed with, what with literally calling fascists full of shit and all. Kim notices your change in expression, your stoic 'noble suffering' fascist face, and immediately calls it constipated. Bless.

Yet, even as Kim calls you out, even as you're aware of fascism's failures, how it destroys you ala Harry Du Bois -> Detective Raphaël Ambrosius Costeau, Fascist!Harry still believes because he can't face a wounded ego.

Cope-otype: Ultralib

Ultralibs on the other hand? I think it's telling that Idiot Doom Spiral is basically ultralib Harry's foil and a major questline NPC—the one who gives you Tequila Sunset.

Even the names are foils. Idiot Doom Spiral names himself that way to romanticize it, to make it into a marketable story, "but it keeps him in this state too, like a vicious cycle. The name ‘George’ is a name that still connects him to humanity," while Idiot Doom Spiral is a way to 'accept his place' even though it's miserable and keeps him from doing something about it, nor connect with other people, as @kindaeccentric put it in this post.

Similarly, the megarich light bending guy in the UltraLib quest LITERALLY is much more unlikely to connect with poorer people because the Rougon-Macquart coefficient literally dictates that we cannot see the richest people because their networth bends the light around them. It's an inversion of the way rich people are ignorant to poverty in real life, and here's a really good fic that covers this coefficient!

Finally, this mirrors Tequila Sunset as a name as well, the way it's a cope for hating himself. Instead of being miserable, he glorifies his misery by calling himself a funky, disco drink name, even as it symbolizes being washed up or even symbolizes the pale swallowing all, depending on how you play him (@palin-tropos).

So much of the ultralib plotline is about adding value — whether by sprucing yourself up with a new name like Tequila or Idiot or by 're-conceptualization' — through stuff like grind/hustle culture. An obsession with increasing networth but also 'giving back' to the community, as philanthropists put it.

But the satire of the ultralib vision quest is highlighting how hollow 'adding value' is, how much of it's just competition for wealth for the sake of wealth with no real meaningful answer or value.

ID Two screenshots of the game Disco Elysium. The first is of the horseback monument as it is. A matrix of cables and ropes isolate the fragmented bits in thin air. The second is described as this through in-game dialogue: HORSEBACK MONUMENT - The scaffolding around the old monument has been taken down, In its place are the spoils of your investment. Numerous rods and ropes still hold the original reassemblage in place. YOU- Reflect on the re-conceptualization. HORSEBACK MONUMENT - An apricot sceptre shines party-bright across the monument. Glitter balls dangle like severed heads below the eternal king of disco. It is unmistakably a vision of you in your prime -- a killer on the performance floor, icon for all. End ID

It's 'reconceptualizing' the Horseback Monument — the symbol of both the bombing of the revolution and the enduring of spirit the communards anyways, the way they've built a monument to freeze in time the moment of the profligate king being blown up — by building it in your own image. The fact that to do so you need to exploit the labor of an artist so you can make a profit, and it doesn't truly 'give back' to the community in any way. In fact, it's almost the opposite, like you've ruined the community monument by painting yourself AS THE KING.

It's why even Harry admits that "You're just insane, insane and gone. Even six billion won't fix you if she’s not there." Each copotype and political ideology contends with their own version of this as Harry learns to grow and face his past head on.

The Marriage of Fictional Conventions and Real Human Psychology

In the end, you can't just lean into an ideology or an archetype and hope that it'll answer all you problems.

But more than that — being self-aware about your issues doesn't solve anything either, no more than lampshading "fixes" any problems with your TV show.

It is this parallel between what Harry learns as he progresses and what the player learns as they progress that makes us empathize/resonate with Harry.

From acting erratically, then realizing it's part of an ideology, self-awarely adopting an ideology, to seeing how it fails and learning not to hide behind it. From "He's a blank slate so I can project my power fantasy onto him," then "I don't actually have a lot of power or control here," to "He's not just my RPG character, he's a person."

He's becoming a person, twice over.

It's ludonarrative resonance or consistency. A marriage of literary convention and real human psychology, on two scales.

And this resonance demonstrates why this genre of self-aware pastiche character is so popular: At it's best, you're forced to contend with the characters as fully realized people, paradoxically because they highlight the difference between fictional conventions and reality.

By acknowledging and poking fun of the fictional conventions, Harry Du Bois, Don Quixote, and Rick Sanchez feel more real to us.

And their stories come packaged with rich themes about dangers of disconnecting yourself from reality and the short distance 'self-awareness' alone can take you, which will resonate with almost every one of us here on the Internet. At least, I know it resonated with me.

BONUS:

Shen Yuan from Scum Villain Self-Saving System (@whetstonefires) also fits this list!!!!!!

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linisiane · 2 years ago

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What do Rick Sanchez, Don Quixote, and Harry Du Bois Have in Common?

This post is LONG, so feel free to skip to the end if you're just interested "The Self-Aware Player of Harry Du Bois" (in bolded green) if you don't feel like reading the rest of the analysis. I go into the meaning of the political vision quests, the meaning of the 4th wall breaking RPG elements like copotypes and Jamrock Shuffling, and the effect this has on the player's relationship to Harry Du Bois!

(Common) Rick Sanchez (L)

He truly does not know he’s in a sitcom.

He’s just an asshole.

He has ATROCIOUS main character syndrome. Truly obnoxious. We happen to be enjoying (debateable) it from our TV screens, but he doesn’t know that! Hoe’s just calling his family ‘side characters’ and taking them on traumatizing ‘B plot’ adventures to humor-cope with his multiverse induced nihilism. (it is NOT WORKING)

Which means he’s eternally making meta self-aware quips on the show without actually being self-aware. He’s just a movie nerd.

It's a wink and a nod to show, Hey, we’re aware that nowadays people are savvy enough to comment on when they’re in a wacky sitcom plot.

This is ‘some looney tunes type shit,’ amirite guys?

(This trick is called lampshading, it got popular recently with Marvel movies and Joss Whedon, and it's going through a bit of cliche fatigue right now. "That happened" jokes are an example that I know so many people are sick of, partly because it feels like writers include self-awareness/lampshading as a shield from criticism by pretending you can't critique a problem they're self-aware about! Let me highlight it to you as a tool in satire/pastiche.)

'Donkey Hotel' (according to my speech to text)

To explain his deal, I must remark: This guy is on some ancient mental illness type beat.

Similarly, our author our man, Cervantes, was using the 4 Humors more to develop a physical/biological explanation to Don's mental illness.

Let's pause.

An escapist stupor that completely wiped the mind of its host?

That’s our boy, Harrier Du Bois right there! And while obviously Harry's condition at the start of Disco Elysium is more based on modern understanding of psychology (aka alcohol did it to him, not intense insomnia and a chivalric romance bookathon), it’s real neat we get this this little parallel before we even dig into Harry!

He thinks he’s in an action/romance, but he’s actually in real life—A satire of the action/romance genre!

Well, caveat.

Is Don Donning the 'Don' Inspirationally or is he Donning the 'Don' to Act as a Don About the Downs of Chivalry?

I read it as Don Quixote donning the 'don' title to act as a don at the college of 'please touch grass and stop romanticizing romantic chivalry.'

A super popular adaptational take, however, is to read him like he's an inspirational dreamer held back by a harsh reality.

Big Nate's Book Reviews on YouTube did a sweet review that highlights this perspective, along with his lil doobie,

So there's definitely a joy and a message to the dreamer reading! BUT I tend to be a bit cynical about this, like it can feel a bit too similar to USAmerican Exceptionalism to me.

To clarify what I mean, let's do a Rick parallel.

Cue the Reddit dudebros misinterpreting Disco Elysium as pro centrist or “all ideologies are equally bad" and the INSANE 'you have to have a high IQ...' 'rick is good and objectively correct' Rick and Morty fans. (People are more likely to come with a conservative perspective than vice versa bc conservatism is, by its definition, the norm. Though this does still happen on more progressive sides e.g. TJLC)

They're doing a secret third thing—meta irony—where they understand that Patrick Bateman is meant to be bad but act like they're un-self-aware and missed the irony anyway.

It's supposed to be a joke, buuuuut it's a joke the same way people will say "SLAY!" as a joke until it's unironically a part of their vocabulary.

Don Quixote certainly isn't doing it on purpose—again, he's un-self-aware, and he even got bullied out of it in part 2 (which admittedly I haven't read). Yet, there's a sadness there of a man with such a penchant for adventure getting bullied that makes you wanna start humoring him.

It's ironic but not: Meta irony.

Don Quixote

So I think Don Quixote resonates strongest, for me, in the way it boldly states that reality is beautiful and worth living in without needing the opium of escapist fantasy.

For one, Cervantes is a rare ye olden feminist king who takes the time to point out that one man's escapist chivalric masculine fantasy is another woman's misogynistic reality.

He renames her Dulcinea because it's "a name, to his mind, musical, uncommon, and significant, like all those he had already bestowed upon himself and the things belonging to him."

Which is PEAK satire of the misogynistic objectification of chivalry. If only the Rick and Morty "Milady" stans had the self-awareness this book had 400 years ago.

But on another level, Don Quixote is full of interesting characters or stories outside of the chivalric knight conceit!

The Self-Aware Player of Harry Du Bois

One of the most infamous criticisms of Disco Elysium is its lackluster combat.

A screenshot of a random forum discussion post by dungeon master Zed Duke of Banville. It reads: "Disco Elysium has neither combat nor exploration, and therefore is missing two of the three fundamental components (or sets of components) that define the RPG genre."

But even on a less mangsty level, it subverts a lot of the basic expectations of RPGs.

Like the encounter with the racist lorry driver! You never get the ability or quest to change his mind, you only choose how you react to him.

YOU - "Don't call it a dump, you've made it nice and cosy here." NOVELTY DICEMAKER - "Yeah." She stares out of the window, not really hearing your words. "Or maybe it's the entire world that's cursed? It's such a precarious place. Nothing ever works out the way you wanted." "That's why people like role-playing games. You can be whoever you want to be. You can try again. Still, there's something inherently violent even about dice rolls." "It's like every time you cast a die, something disappears. Some alternative ending, or an entirely different world...." She picks up a pair of dice from the table and examines them under the light.

The dice are, at their core, about how RPGs aren't just for control fantasy, of winning high-fantasy battles, but also can represent life as it is, mundane and uncontrollable.

Similarly, Harry is clearly written—complete with all the 'lore' that this would entail—to couch his RPG protagonist nature in the real.

It's commenting on difference between controlling an RPG avatar and navigating in a human body.

In one, we don't even question our control and assume the joy is from the control. But in Disco Elysium, we lack control and find joy in it anyway. That is the fun of the game making us, the players, 'self-aware' about its RPG elements, and it especially resonates with anybody not able-bodied, anybody neurodivergent.

Harry Du Bois and Self-Awareness: Copotypes? More like Cope-otypes.

So that's on Disco Elysium and being aware of RPG elements in general, but let's deep dive into Harry and his Copotypes and political alignments like the OP!

I kind of want to round this last one out with what this all means. WHY am I, and others, linking self-awareness and satire? What's the link here?

The copotypes work this way.

A screenshot of a youtube comment. @jbeast3385 "Harry fundamentally takes on extreme interpretations of every ideology in the game as a coping mechanism for the tragedy that is his life, and it's amazing to see the amount of care given to extending an understanding of why each ideology appeals to his fractured mind. Each quest makes him something of a Don Quixote, searching for a purer purpose through political thought, failing spectacularly with it, but still fundamentally developing him and inspiring others beside him."

What's fascinating, as the OP says, is that these alignments are statements of how your Harry copes with real world and the past/how he justifies what he does.

From the Solution to the Boring Cop Thought:

The game makes you 'aware' of your playing style, a little poke to say 'Stop being so scared of failures! You're boring! Sorry is not enough! Stop trying to be 'lawful good' (ACAB) and be a human!'

From the same Solution:

It's not easy, reaching for the fourth option -- the normal one. But you have. And now you're not *just* crazy, you're also *boring*.

But on a Harry level, it's also about HIM becoming self-aware of his habits, of internalizing these thoughts about his actions, his past, his coping mechanisms.

As the OP noted, Dora ALWAYS notes the way Harry escapes reality by thinking of himself as an archetype, like other people are NPCs in an RPG. "like hes a self aware character but in the shitty way where him knowing he is a character and him acting like it only makes it worse because there isnt a story to escape from, he just cant cope with the real world" He's pulling a meta-ironic ''he's just like me fr" with Guillaume Le Milliion (who hangs himself) and superstardom the way "he's just like me fr" guys do it for Ryan Gosling.

And each copotype and political alignment are an opportunity to satirically critique the flaws and failures of each coping mechanism.

Cope-otype: Fascism

The answer? He shoots it.

Yet, even as Kim calls you out, even as you're aware of fascism's failures, how it destroys you ala Harry Du Bois -> Detective Raphaël Ambrosius (@renmorris) Costeau, Fascist!Harry still believes because he can't face a wounded ego.

Cope-otype: Ultralib

Ultralibs on the other hand? I think it's telling that Idiot Doom Spiral is basically ultralib Harry's foil and a major questline NPC—the one who gives you Tequila Sunset.

But the satire of the ultralib vision quest is highlighting how hollow 'adding value' is, how much of it's just competition for wealth for the sake of wealth with no real meaningful answer or value.

It's 'reconceptualizing' the Horseback Monument — the symbol of both the bombing of the revolution and the enduring of spirit the communards anyways, the way they've built a monument to freeze in time the moment of the profligate king being blown up — by building it in your own image. The fact that you to do you need to exploit the labor of an artist so you can make a profit, and it doesn't truly 'give back' to the community in any way.

In fact, it's almost the opposite, like you've ruined the community monument by painting yourself AS THE KING.

It's why even Harry admits that "You're just insane, insane and gone. Even six billion won't fix you if she’s not there."

The Marriage of Fictional Conventions and Real Human Psychology

In the end, you can't just lean into an ideology or an archetype and hope that it'll answer all you problems.

But more than that — being self-aware about your issues doesn't solve anything either, no more than lampshading "fixes" any problems with your TV show.

It is this parallel between what Harry learns as he progresses and what the player learns as they progress that makes us empathize/resonate with Harry.

He's becoming a person, twice over.

It's ludonarrative resonance or consistency. A marriage of literary convention and real human psychology.

By acknowledging and poking fun of the fictional conventions, Harry Du Bois, Don Quixote, and Rick Sanchez feel more real to us.

And their stories come packaged with rich themes about dangers of disconnecting yourself from reality and the short distance 'self-awareness' alone can take you, which will resonate with almost every one of us, here on the Internet, now that reality has become indistinguishable from satire. At least, I know it resonated with me.

BONUS:

I petition that Shen Yuan from Scum Villain Self-Saving System ( @whetstonefires ) should be added to this list!!

my deepest apologies to robyn for copying this from our dms. also just HUGE SPOILERS FOR DISCO ELYSIUM MASSIVE SPOILERS LOUISE & DRAGON & KOSTEK DONT READ

so like to paraphrase esteemed scholar cj the x rick sanchez from rick & morty is a huge shithead bc he believes himself to be the main character of a show and while all the other characters learn and grow they leave him behind because he hides behind the excuse of "none of this is real" so he doesnt have to get better; he isnt static because hes a character but because he chooses not to change. yes he is a character but from his internal perspective he isnt and he cant continue treating his family like side characters.

don quixote (its been so long since i read that book ngl) pretends to be/believes himself to be a knight who has to save a princess because he cant get pussy. and he also cant be anyone in the real world bc hes a loser ok im being needlessly mean but anyway u get what traits these characters share

n then u get HARRY

who has, by his own brain projections admission been a cop so long that he cant communicate like a normal person and imstead has dialouge trees

depending on your build the things dora says change in the dream but she always says that harry believing himself to be a superstar/hustler/savior of the working class/mind reader ruined their relationship

even before they separated harry was living in a half imagined world placing himself into the role of superstar cop/whatever else and acted like everyone else was an npc basically

like hes a self aware character but in the shitty way where him knowing he is a character and him acting like it only makes it worse because there isnt a story to escape from, he just cant cope with the real world

*gestures* you get what i mean

#my thoughts #metas #don quixote #harry du bois #rick sanchez #disco elysium #rick and morty #satire #shen yuan #svsss #scum villain self saving system

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shut-up-rabert · 2 years ago

Text

You fucking piece of propagandist shit…..

youtube

So I has this muslim propaganda channel in my recommendation (I literally watch videos from Sham Sharma Show youtube the fuck is wrong with you?) called Smile 2 Jannah and he had a video about molestation relating to holi 🤡 So original, amirite?

(I’d suggest watching the stupid video before going into the rant for being able to understand what in the bullshit is written below here)

First of all brother in Christ no one is asking you to play, are they? It is good to raise issues, yes, but if you are a propaganda channel earning from polarising a group of induviduals via one sided narrative, it does put your intentions under skepticism. Hmmmmmm.

Intro (dhakan)

Now, for his first point:

India’s ruling party blah blah blah, RSS blah blah blah, Hindutva blah blah blah main gadhe ka bacha hun blah blah blah

How. Does. Molestation. On. Holi. Relate. To. Fucking. Central. Government.?.

IT HAS BEEN A THING UNDER VARIOUS PM’S TENURES OHMYGOD-

Do you honestly think that once voting was completed on that fateful afternoon of May 2014 these perverts rose from the earth or something😭 bhaiya thode restarted ho kya?

Sounds ridiculous, right? My thoughts exactly while hearing you utter those goddamn words.

Next, he shows a clip of said molestation. Those of you who know me already understand my stance on this, but lets get into this when he does. Now, onto this idiot’s next segment:

Story of holi (haan bhai tu bata hume tujhe zyaada pata hai)

Hiranyakashyap yada yada yada holika yada yada yada Holika Dahan blu bleh flu fleh

First of all, my dear friend. We don’t celebrate holi faag due to those reasons— that would be holi dahan, it precedes Holi faag aka the day you are covering in this video by one whole day. Great research 👍🏼

Holi Fāg is celebrated because Lord Krishna and his friends used to pluck flowers of early spring, extract colour from them via pestling and smear it on each other as a childish game. Completely harmless, no? Unless you have issues about teenage boys and girls playing around or something XD

And lets not end it here, my man has some

✨interesting✨

opinions about Holika Dahan aswell

Holika was manipulated into burning her own nephew alive, poor woman🥺

Same level of intellect as “Ravan was just a good brother who wanted to exploit a married woman totally against her wishes for his sis’s perverseness UwU”

Holika has nowhere been mentioned to be manipulated. If anything, the texts say that she was willing for it to happen. Imagine trying to defend a literal demon who was trying to burn her own nephew alive, for fuck’s sake my man…

now, onto the story of powder (sorta disclaimer: I’m writing the points while watching the video myself, so if there’s inconsistencies and incidents of me jumping the gun, I’m surry ;-;) This is a believed story aswell, true, but the reason he chose this one over the flowers one is veryyy clear; its easy to propagate :D

Krishna liked Radha, skin colour diffrences, maiyya Yashoda, Oh my Him he’s doing rAcIsM—

First of all, his original form isn’t even black; he’s actually blue. Blue of the Sky, he is described as. He incarnates in various shades from dusky to midnight dark to sky blue to green to milky white. Why? Because all the shades are same to him. We literally have gods who are called Bhadra Kāli (beautiful black woman), Krishnā (her with a dusky tone), Shyam Sundar (Black skinned in handsome) , Sundar Sanvaro ( Handsome and Dusky) but of COURSE our gods are doing racism. No propaganda here guys, none whatsoever

(there was no need for this pic here but y’all LOOK AT VASUKI T-T)

One thing he IS surprisingly right about is how colonisation had an effect on our perception of beauty, because ancient Indian texts are all praises about Krishna’s own beauty, going to the lengths of showing that he was so beautiful that he stole the maternal affection from his playmates mothers aswell. So no, he wasn’t sending any wrong messages by acting as an oblivious child because colourism wasn’t an issue back then.

Second of all, The story is incorrect. He did not “long” for Radha. They were literal little children in this one, unlike the other one where they are teens. This is just childish curiousity at play, about tall and short, about fair and dark, about this and that. We literally have a renowned lullaby about this, where Krishna is curiously asking his Mother why him and Radha are two different shades and she lovingly gives creative answers about the same.

What he was doing was, he wanted to play with Radha, but was afraid she would not play with him because they look “different” (NOT because he thought his skin was inferior to hers, he literally chose that skin) so Maiyya Yashoda told him to play with coulours so they are all the same shade (neither dark nor fair, just plain colourful). This man is so shameless he’s glossing over everything just to degrade us. Imagine being so fucking insecure that you need to actively bring other religions down to feel devotes. You don’t need youtube my man, you need Jesus.

…..He literally degraded christianity RIGHT after I said Jesus. How is he so fucking vindictive? Jesus wasn’t black OR white, he was *drumroll please* Brown! My man Yeshua was from Nazareth, he wasn’t technically black. Do you want him to have Vitiligo to prove that he doesn’t chose one colour over the other?

Christian Jesus isn’t white: Western Jesus is. African Christians have portrait of him as a black man, Chinese scriptures show him of Asian features. And while you may like to think its problematic, I think its beautiful and Jesus wouldn’t even mind people of that time interpreting him such to be close to him. Humans are spiteful PoS, Gods are not! Imagine personifying your own Prophet because you are just that hateful.

Like I already pointed out, that’s not it my man. Refer to the points above the Jesus rant. Trying to twist things won’t work here, maybe you think you can put words in God’s mouth but all we see is an audacious piece of crap trying his best to change a narrative we are well versed in and attached to for his own interests.

The reason he knew she “liked” (as much as you can “like” someone in a childish way) him back was because their minds were connected. They knew each other’s thoughts and feelings. Why? Because she is his soulmate. She is Krishna’s other half, she is Goddess Laxmi in a human form, The wife and eternal Love of Lord Vishnu, who is the one incarnated as Krishna.

And was this a grown man touching a grown woman? No, it wasn’t. It was a kid playing with another kid, think a little boy throwing water balloons on a little girl. He never touched her inappropriately even in their teens, when they were actually in love with each other. Them not having had a sexual relationship is one of there core factors that strengthens their bond as lovers.

See how he doesn’t even mention the second story aka the one I mentioned in the Fāg segment? Yeah, me too.

And while we are at it, can we please talk about how (not so) subtely he is trying to degrade our Gods here? Accusing someone people worship as Supreme of racism by hiding facts, questioning what kind of message he is sending to a population that does not even practice the said religion, saying stuff like ‘quote unquote God’, accusing someone’s God of sexual harrasment (this is a new low guys) . Yeah, we see your motives here asshole.

Your genuine curiosity on stuff you think is not cut out for you or is questionable is welcome, your passive agressive comments on someone people worship are not. You do not follow the said God, Your subscribers don’t follow him, we who do are not running a cult here either. What is your position to discuss someone else’s God in a humanising way where you put him in a position akin to humans? Having a one sided dictate based on half assed reasearch , furthered with nitpicking of negatives and adding your own “thoughts” on it to make it sound bad, and putting your personally motivated views to a biased audience is very much crossing the line of civil. Fuck off already.

Now, back to what my man has to say:

Where Holi went wrong

according to Smarty Pants McAllknowing here, the Japanese girl incident is reflective of what Shree Krishna was upto. Is it? We know its not, but is the audience that he is trying to not so softly influence aware? Nope.

Molestation and Roadside Romeos causing chaos on holi are common occurences. People get gropped, harrassed, and has even resulted in crimes like rape and death. There’s a fine line between being playful in a way that is enjoyable and being a nuisance, and people with malicious intents are likely to cross it on purpose. Most of us were playing with our family and friends and having fun instead of going out of our way to bother strangers, that’s basic decency on any given day and Holi doesn’t change that for most of us ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ So majority of us celebrate it like any other festival, given with a lot more excitement and carefreeness, but that too is constricted to our peers.

Also, lets make one thing clear shall we: people with bad intentions don’t just ‘pop-up’ on occassions, they are actively looking for a loop to be perverts without consequences.

It is not that Holi was created to give perverts ammo, it is that holi is being used as a shield by people who are generally deviants aswell. It is an issue amongst the Hindu community and trying to make us the perpetrators as a whole in our own personal matter which we are trying to solve is not only intrusive, its disrespectful aswell.

You think people are fine and good all 364 days and decide to become hornie motherfuckers just when holi is around the corner?? Its the fucking perverts, not Holi and other Hindus playing. No, and trying to defame holi which again 95% of us play normally without all that gropping is nothing short of an attempt to defame the festival.

There are women who have reported being raped while on Pilgrimages (including Hajj, highlighting for my self righteous friend here), does that make the pilgrimage spot evil? Huh?

Now, going on to what happened to those women. Its bad, and those people deserve to be punished by the law because of outraging a woman’s modesty. But tell me with a straight face that the rest if is who were just having fun with our family are responsible, or all of us collectively playing holi are responsible?

Reminds me of this honestly:

Same with the muslim woman being attacked, its shameful that these perverts would go to such lengths, and again deserve to be locked up, but your accusations at the government controlling news is so ridiculous its laughable.

The government would have done a better job hiding its cracks at Farmer’s protests and Hijab issues now, would they have not? They would have censored The Hindu, whose head is a member of communist party, TOI and IE. And what is the point in leaving NDTV up there who would give you more fuel for your accusations if you only look? The government has many active critics, and a lot of anti hindu media exists, but sure, we are controlling XD

Lynchings are harmful and are should be condemned, so I feel reluctant questioning you here, even though your intentions of bringing lynching in a video not even related to it is peculiar, to say the least. Why did you suddenly go off the tangent to tackle crimes against muslims in a video regarding Hindu festivals? Everything we do and have is connected to Islam on such mind bending rationales it doesn’t even surprise me anymore.

……..The beef being talked about is BUFFALO BEEF?! LMFAOOOO this guy isn’t even trying to hide his agenda anymore😭😭😭 jaa bhai, galti meri hi hai

Connecting it with Islam AGAIN? Man, this guy’s victim complexion is strong, yikes.

They are not allowed to grope or touch us non consensually. Infact, Shree Krishna whom you so conviniently insulted killed a man because he said illicit words about his best friend who was a woman. The said Woman also resulted in a kingdom’s fall because she was manhandled by the princes. Furthermore, in his previous incarnation Krishna killed a demon who had tried to molest his wife. If you think that anyone can grope us and not get slapped into the stars, then you have no clue what our scriptures teach us to be like.

Look, I respect your religions ways of treating women as sacred or pure or what it is that you guys believe in (and totally disrespect your ways of trying to glorify your religion in a video that is already degrading another one), but that’s where we vary. If an educated Hindu man saw me extending my hand for a greeting, he would take it. Why? Because I am an equal. I’m just another human if I’m not a woman he is platonically or romantically related to. In the ancient days we all folded our hands and greeted from afar, now we shake hands when meeting professionally. I like it this way, you like it yours, how about not try to patronise us?

Me trying to find where this sudden hype of Islam is coming from in a video not even related to it:

Okay, that accusation about hindu men fondling people left right and centre? Aren’t you inflating things a bit a lot? Is it too much to ask you to stop speaking over us??

Everything was (still kinda) well and good up until you decided to drag hinduism again. Why did God allow Holi? To celebrate with your family like Diwali and Navratri? We don’t go out bothering strangers on other two and Holi was specifically being played between Krishna and his friends? No one outside was being bothered.

Also, if you really need to toot your religion’s horn by a (biased) comparison with someone else’s, then believe me when I say that your faith in God isn’t half as strong as you like to think, since you need a catalyst that requires you too be a shit person. We never asked what your religion is like, we don’t even care, that’s your personal matter. Why try to grab our attention by falsely accusing what we believe in and force us to form a negative opinion on you? Who do you think you are, to drag my gods into this?

Also, is it just me or does it seem like this guys is talking about women but not to them? Its like he hasn’t addressed women in this video even once and thinks men are the primary ones concerned with issues like groping and how women are to be touched or not. He is literally using women as a bait without really bringing our psychology regarding all this into play. Am I the only one who finds it concerning?

Islam is practical— DID I FUCKING ASK?? NO, BECAUSE I DON’T FUCKING CARE! IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH HOLI OMG—

This guy has his head so far up his ass, he can’t stop talking about things he thinks make him superior. I swear to God, don’t feel surprised if he makes a video about why guys with (whatever was his first tricycle) fucking stomp over others who grew up with “girl bikes”.

I know its not my place to say it, but I just wanna bust this guy’s bubble so I’m sorry to any muslim reading it: Its the fastest growing religion because it has the highest birth rate, and conversion for sake of marriage. And about his point regarding women converting, Not saying that there aren’t those who genuinely do and good for them, but whose gonna tell him about the dark stuff happening here💀 A part of me thinks he already knows but thinks its wonderful.

So yeah, that was all from this asshole. I hope this white bearded man baby grows up and learns to reach God with his chosen path, without requiring to bring others down. All in all, my last words to this guys are:

#I’mmso fucking done #This took me 2 hours guys #2 FUCKING HOURS #desiblr #hindublr #hinduphobia #hinduism #bhoi being bitchy #holi

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moons-and-stars-and-shit · 4 years ago

Text

Requested by: @sora-san-senpai

○Basic info::

●she/her pronouns

●Bisexual

●personality is INTP-T type

●A Taurus

●an oikawa and yamaguchi kinnie (How contradicting)

○appearance::

●5'6 ft

●Asian (more on the Indian side)

●dark chocolate brown hair (till my waist)

●got a medium bank but nice tiddies and thicc thighs😩

●brown eyes

●dark circles😔

●glasses

●chubby cheeks

●I have bangs too

●thin lips

●I stay at home most of the time so-sweatpants, a loose tee and occasional outings- that skater skirt and hoodie shit.

●an invisible mole on my upper lip

○personality::

●introverted

●likes procastinating

●severe adhd

●lazy

●foodie

●no sports except maybe swimming, tennis and volleyball

●stay at home

●sucker for late night drives

●night owl

●rain. I love rain ..

●bipolar

●sometimes superiority complex

●but sometimes inferiority complex

●playful

●friendly

●kind

●supportive

●insecure

●adaptable

●I can adapt to a person's liking somehow

●not really emotional

●rarely cries

●A weird pervy personality

●(bipolar amirite 😩😩)

●I constantly focus on the negative instead of the positive

○hobbies::

●writing

●reading

●art

●music

●baking/cooking

●learnt around 7 languages

○likes

●Rain

●anime

●kpop

●reading

●angst(idk-)

●food

●A bug sucker for that ancient far East dynasty thing- (like china/japan/korea)

●Cats ... baby cats

●sour and spicy things

○dislikes::

●try hards

●no exercise pls

●mis judging me

●not accepting me for me

●bullies

○Ideal relationship::

●supportive s/o

●loving

●dorky

●if they are hurting I want to help them

●someone close to my personality

●honest

●loves me for me and very much

●playful, never a dull moment

●low-key wants a clingy (not really clingy ) s/o

●and id love to baby you

●spoil u

● sugar mommy-NO

this is long sorry for the wait(^^)

@sora-san-senpai

Romantic Matchup

Kenma Kozume

How Y’all Met

Okkkk

So you we’re originally friends with Kuroo

Mans sure has a type when it comes to friends

But anyways

He noticed how you and Kenma STRUGGLED with making new friends

So he did what any good friend would do and introduced you two

He was expecting you two to be all shy with each other

Honestly he was expecting y’all just to not talk to each other

What he DIDNT expect was for you two to hit it off so we’ll 😀

Like shit after he introduced you two

Y’all were talking like crazy

Y’all just had a lot in common

Soon enough you two started hanging out

Without Kuroo 🥲

They would be very simple hangouts

Like playing games at his house

Baking at yours

Or even just sitting on the couch enjoying each other’s company

So you two became extremely close

And one day

Some creep at school was harassing you

So you know what our boy kenma did

Defended you of course!

He walked up to you two and pretended to be your boyfriend

And he told the dude to buzz off

Of course you thanked him

And it was that moment he realized that he ACTUALLY wanted to be your boyfriend

He wanted to be that person you could ALWAYS count on to protect you

So he asked how you would feel about actually dating

And that’s when you confessed your feelings for him

And bippidy boppidy boo y’all started dating

What They Love About You

Oh he ADORES the fact that your a fellow introvert

Because he never has to put himself in awkward situations to please you

Omg he LOVES that your a night owl

Poor boy never has anyone to talk to at 3 am 😔

But now he has you!

Honestly he loves that your lazy

He’s not the most active person himself

And he already has Kuroo on his back for that

So he’s glad your not on his back about it too

He likes that your not really a emotional person

Only because he doesn’t know how to deal with human emotions 🥲

But if you’re ever upset PLEASE go to him

He will help you I promise

OMG

he loves how much you spoil him

Like shit he’s a little baby sometimes

Oh your height is PERFECT to him

Because he’s still taller

But only by an inch

He just likes how you two are practically the same height

Favorite Things To Do Together

UGH

Honestly just staying at home with you

ESPECIALLY on rainy days 😩

Y’all will usually just bake all day then have a total sugar crash and just nap on the couch together

All while it’s pouring rain outside

I’m talking thunder, lightning

The good shit

It’s always a vibe

Random Hc

Kenmas a little baker!

Granted he can only make simple things like cookie

But he can make that shit from scratch

It’s decorating that he’s not great at...

His cakes always end up looking like this

But they always taste great soooo

Most of your text messages happen between 1 am and 4 am

Kuroo takes full credit for your relationship 💀

Astrology

These two Signs are thought of as being karmically linked.

They’re both looking for security in a relationship and they share a love of art, poetry and culture.

This relationship may start slowly as, on the surface, they might have few common interests.

However, once they understand one another they may learn they have much more in common than was first apparent.

Taurus and Libra both have a love for the arts. They appreciate fine dining and theater, collecting art and music.

Pleasure — physical, aesthetic — is a premium for these two Signs.

They both love to woo and be wooed; courtship is a necessary part of any romantic relationship for them, and since they both have this need, they fit well together.

Taurus appreciates Libra’s charm; if stubborn Taurus doesn’t get their way, diplomatic Libra is able to smooth things over and keep the peace.

Libra appreciates the luxuries that sensual Taurus provides them.

They also have much to teach one another:

Libra can help Taurus see the different sides of a situation, and Taurus can help Libra overcome their notorious indecision.

Overall Aesthetic

After Hours 🌙

Chanel - Frank Ocean

My Future - Billie Eillish

Yeah Right - Joji

Can I Call You Tonight? - Dayglow

#haikyuu!!#haikyuu fandom #haikyuu x y/n #haikyuu hcs #haikyuu fluff #haikyuu x reader #haikyuu headcanons #haikyuu matchups #kenma #kenma kozume #kenma x reader #kenma x y/n

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dragonofdarknesschaos · 6 years ago

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Chase Young Can’t Read

Okay, but do we ever actually SEE Chase reading? He’s never shown writing.

I know he’s sown looking at Evil Housekeeping in “Judging Omi,” but there is no proof that he was actually reading the magazine. Magazines have pictures too, and who’s to say that Chase doesn’t just subscribe for the pretty pictures? Have you SEEN the man’s lair?!

Further proof of Chase’s illiteracy is in how Chase’s underlings convey messages to him. One of Chase’s fallen warriors is a Gaelic werewolf that can transform into a crow and play back or show what it has seen and heard from its’ eyes. In “Hannibal’s Revenge,” “Omitown,” “Oil in the Family,” and others the crow is shown whispering to Chase or sharing a look. Another scene shows the crow flying back to Chase’s lair, transforming to a warrior, and presumably telling Chase the information it gathered in person off screen, before walking out of the throne room on screen.

It’s one thing to be a spy and not leave a paper trail, but it’s another thing entirely to be a spy and leave your post to convey information Most spys only leave their posts if their cover is blown, the information they have gathered is too sensitive to document on paper, their assignment has been completed, or a mix of all three. The fact that the crow repeatedly goes back to Chase to report directly for all messages, no matter how trivial is a bit suspect. About 99% of the time the Monks do not even notice that the crow is watching them. Why fly off to report to Chase that they’re on the move? “Phoning in” and reporting remotely would make more sense to continue the mission of watching the Monks. The fact that time and again the crow is shown watching the Monks means that this is a recurring, if not ongoing, mission of some importance.

What the Food Tells Us

“But what about the recipe for Lao Mang Long soup?” You ask. Yes, the recipe is written down in a book about Chase, but that doesn’t mean Chase ever wrote or read the book (though he is vain enough he at least knows it exists). Canon doesn’t go into it deeply enough to form a concrete decision, but Hannibal made the Soup, Chase turned evil and imprisoned Hannibal. Now Chase makes the soup for himself. Chase is never shown reading a recipe--why would he? He’s been making this elixir for the last 1500 years (or more), by now the recipe is routine; Chase has no need to refer back to any written document of the elixir. Or maybe, he could never read a recipe in the first place?

It is unclear if the Lao Mang Long soup ever spoils as evidenced by “Time After Time, part 2″ wherein Omi hides the soup, and then digs it up over 1500 years later, still steaming. But most who work with any kind of food, or food prep, or both, know that dating food and packages is mandatory to know how fresh the products are. Chase is often shown using CANNED soup. If he’s caning the soup himself, why are there no dates? Surely one as methodical as he would want to use the oldest batches first. Without written dates he must have an elaborate system of organization (otherwise it’s like having no soup at all--and Chase says he’s very attached to the soup, as it’s what keeps him forever youthful and pretty [”Master Monk Guan”]).

Chase is making the soup for himself too, so there’s not even a need to list the ingredients on the package. However, there is no written label--there is only a picture of a dragon on the can. While this was done to cinematically highlight the fact that each can contains at least one whole dragon (don’t forget this is a TV show for 6-12 year olds), it then questions why Chase would label his elixir in such a way. Why label your food with a picture of one ingredient instead of writing what the can contains? It would be like labeling lasagna with a picture of just noodles, or a chocolate cake with just a doodle of chocolate chips. Why label food in this way, unless you don’t know how to read or write?

The League of Overcompensating Villains... with Giant Citadels!

Furthermore, much of Chase’s lair has boobie traps and combinations to turn off or activate security systems. There are no number pads, or combination locks, or physical keys of any sort. There are only “super old school” “classic” secret levers, buttons, walls, and compartments for Chase to utilize, like in the regular Showdown of “Master Monk Guan,” how Jack opens the front door to Chase’s lair by pushing a hidden button in “Evil Within,” and the various boobie traps the Monks encounter in “Finding Omi” as well as a hidden Wu safe room. Since Chase is unable to read, an alphanumeric combination or security key is meaningless to him.�� Physical key holes are too easy to pick and bypass. What better way to cover up your lack of literacy than to use really cool, distracting tricks and illusions? One would have to be really smart to remember all the tricks and hidden items and how to avoid them, right? Or at least that’s the stereotype. This elaborate, over the top method of covering up an apparent “lack” is Chase’s modus operandi and he does it constantly throughout the series.

What does it all mean?

Chase not knowing how to read or write would cast him as a poor person in ancient China, as around 500 AD only the sons of Nobles were educated and learned to read and write. This goes in stark contrast to many who headcanon Chase as the [bastard] son of a nobleman. Coming from a poor, likely farming, family would make the life of a Monk seem like a step up. It could also be indicative that Chase is an orphan. Why strive so hard to achieve and prove your greatness unless you came from nothing?

While the desire to “prove oneself” is universal, it’s usually explored by characters who either have great power and prestige and want to prove themselves worthy of wielding their own power (Marvel’s Thor) or characters who have nothing and want everything because they believe they deserve it in some way (Marvel’s Loki). The only thing Chase knows for certain about his destiny on either the Xiaolin side or the Heylin side is that he will become a great warrior. Joining the Xiaolin Order would have been the first step towards receiving military or battle training through the art of Kung Fu. What he does with that training is up to him.

Can XC Chase Read?

XC Chase is potentially in the same boat as XS Chase. The biggest difference is that in XC, Chase is shown looking at and reacting to a text only status post on Facelook from Jack (”Who Shrunk Master Fung?”). While text-to-speech is a thing, it’s unlikely that Chase fully understands how to operate the tech. Chase dislikes Jack enough that, despite Jack installing the Wifi Chase used to access Facelook, as well as the giant monitor Chase was viewing the status update on, and never adding Jack as a friend, I doubt Chase would have tried to figure out the text-to-speech on his own. Even if Shadow helped him, she is out of the lair at the time of him reading the status, and also temporarily transformed into a bird with Chase’s magic.

There is another scene in “Princess Kaila and the Thousand Layer Mountain” where Chase says that great tales will be written and told about his coming victory against the Xiaolin Order, and perhaps he or the cats can read it. But can the fallen warrior cats even read? Questions for future victorious Chase to answer. Chase is also shown crumpling up a resume Jack hands him in “The Laws of Nature.” If Chase is illiterate it’s just crumpling up a bit of useless trash. However, it also asserts how little Chase cares about Jack’s credentials and achievements.

To summarize, Chase likely cannot read in the XS canon. He goes out of his way to cover up this flaw by having intellectual puzzles as security precautions, has all his underlings report verbally, visually, or both, usually in person, and does not label any of his canned foods with words or numbers, instead only using pictures. His illiteracy is indicative of a life lead by a poor farm boy or orphan who joined the Xiaolin Order as a stepping stone to achieve his destiny of becoming a great warrior. XC Chase is possibly illiterate too, but there isn’t enough evidence either way to confirm or deny this possibility.

TL;DR:

XS Chase can’t read.

XS Chase goes out of his way to cover up this little fact by having intricate boobie traps throughout his lair.

All of Chase’s underlings report to him in person.

Chase doesn’t label any of his canned food with letters or numbers; only pictures.

Only noblemen were able to read and write in 500 AD China, so Chase was likely a farm boy or orphan.

He then joined the Xiaolin Temple as a stepping stone to achieve his destiny of becoming a great warrior.

XC Chase is likely illiterate too, but there are too many inconsistencies to confirm.

Random Headcanons under the cut:

I’m not saying Chase was kicked out of the Xiaolin Order because he couldn’t read, but what if that was literally the only reason?

Please consider dyslexic Chase.

Remember all those various scenes where Jack asks for Chase’s autograph and Chase just glares at Jack, as if the boy genius knows that he, Chase Young, is illiterate and is taunting him for it.

Chase never responding to emails because he literally cannot.

For that matter, why and how does Chase have an email?! Who was Jack messaging?????????

Someone writing a really witty and heartfelt love note to Chase, but he can’t read it.

Chase turning Wuya solidly just to read his mail because she can read for some reason??? IDK?????????

Wuya is shown reading a magazine called “Woman”--likely a parody of Womens Day--but finds it too drab and changes it to “Wuya” (“The Citadel of Doom”).

Even if Wuya is in the same boat as Chase and just “reads” magazines for the pictures, she still formed an opinion about the magazine being “drab” and changed the entire thing. Most people would just get a different magazine.

I guess Wuya took that mag from “drab” to “FAB?” Amirite? XDDD

Okay, but please imagine Jack teaching Chase how to read and write.

Also, Omi trying to teach Chase how to read and write, but he’s really bad at it, and Raimundo steps in to help because he’s got the highest reading comprehension.

The Monks are all shown reading and writing at various points throughout the series, but all are shown writing out their ideas for quests in “Hannibal’s Revenge.”

I believe Dojo said this in XS, but “penmanship wasn’t always a strong suit of the old masters.” Big oof. However, this means that the Temple will teach literacy, so then why didn’t Chase pick it up? (more fuel for dyslexic Chase)

#that other guy I don't tag anymore #analysis #headcanon #Xiaolin Showdown #Xiaolin Chronicles #illiteracy #theory

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sugarmer · 6 years ago

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Text bc I can't write lol

Mikleo: You can call me Mr. Rulay, I graduated from Ladylake University with a Masters in Ancient Cultures and History. I'll post my office hours on the board as well as my email address.

Luke: Tell us more about yourself!

Mikleo: As your teacher, I won't. P.S. no curving.

Luke: rage

Sorey: Anyways that was the 'funnest' Mr. Rulay and I have ever had inside ruins ❤

Sophie: Wow!

Luke: Mr. Shepard (Sorey insists they call him Mr. Sorey or Sorey btw) that's got NOTHING to do with history!

So what's the context of this??? I saw a post about professor Brickwall and professor Overshare where one doesn't talk shit about themselves and the other shares too much + someone added that they had profs like these and were actually married and immediately thought... These nerds. Because obviously Sorey would gush about the multiple times they spent hours in ruins deciphering the text to write each other silly love notes amirite? (Which is what he told the class guysss nothing over PG lol)

Why the 2 history teachers? Funny you ask bc there was actually a shortage of English teachers and the school was taking anyone really xD (lame justification on how 2 history grads are teaching to the same group ik but let meee live)

#sormik #sorey #mikleo #tales of zestiria #sophie lhant #luke fon fabre #bc i love sophies interaction with meebo and luke is a funny precious son

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zimniysoldat-fiction · 7 years ago

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Across the Universes; The Nightmare’s Fairytale

Summary: S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent, and close friend of the Sorcerer Supreme, Tazia Cozier, is inadvertently sent to a different universe where nothing is the same. To get his friend back, Dr. Strange sends the Winter Soldier across universes to find her and bring her home.

Warnings and Ratings: a spattering of stronger language choices

Author’s Note: Not much to say about this one. It’s the reason for all the rewrites, to be sure, but hey. The life of an author, amirite?

Also, images found via Google Image Search. Credit where it is due, text added by me.

Series Masterlist

“Thank you, Bruce.” the red hood was off while Jason Todd stood in the Batcave next to his mentor.

“You know she should be dead, right?” Bruce mused.

“She came out of nowhere. Literally.” Jason explained, “it was a dead end alley and she just…fell from the sky, I guess.”

“Her organs look like someone took them apart and then used duct tape to put them back together.”

“Is she going to be okay?”

“We’re working on it, Jason.” Bruce clasped his shoulder, giving it a consoling squeeze. “Give it time.”

Jason nodded, folding his arms across his chest as he studied his mystery woman. She was incredibly beautiful. Her hair was as black as a raven’s feather, darker than even his obsidian locks. She was tall, curvy and sturdy. Her thighs looked like they could snap Bane’s neck without much effort, her arms, while slender, had the definition of a Renaissance Adonis statue. Her neck was long, and for a moment, Jason got lost in the fantasy of kissing it, of tasting her soft, honeyed skin. He wondered what it would feel like to hold her, to have his fingers dig into her hips while he pulled her against him.

“Forget it, Jason, you don’t stand a chance.” Damian chirped.

“What are you talking about?” he played dumb with his brother, Bruce Wayne’s only biological son.

“Go look in a mirror.” Damian instructed, “then look at her. She’s out of your league dude.”

“Damian, now’s not the time.” Bruce scolded the boy. “What did you get from GCPD?”

“Nada,” Damian shrugged. “as far as they’re concerned, she doesn’t exist.”

“What about the tattoo?” Jason mused, pointing at Tazia’s right forearm, which was covered in black and red ink, forming an intricate line design unlike anything he had ever seen. “Seems pretty unique, maybe we can trace it?”

“Hn,” Bruce nodded, “I’ll look into it. You stay here in case she wakes up. Damian,” he turned to his youngest son. “You have school.”

“Aw, c’mon!”

Jason tuned the rest of the conversation out. He was transfixed by her tattoo; it didn’t seem to conform to any one style. He saw whispers of ancient Japanese line work, hints of a viking style, and shades of a tribal influence, though he couldn’t put his finger on which tribe it resembled. The ink looked old, but the lines were pristine without any bleeding, blurring or accidental deviations. If they couldn’t identify her through fingerprints or DNA, then that tattoo would have to do the job.

“See something you like?”

Jason’s skeleton nearly sprang out of his body with those words. He hadn’t heard her speak for over a week, and he wasn’t expecting to hear her speak again any time soon.

“You’re alive!” he shook his head, “I mean awake.”

“Y-yeah…?” Tazia was confused by his reaction. “You’re the guy from the alley.”

Jason’s face fell—she never saw him without the Red Hood on, he was certain of it. There was no way that she could know that he was the Red Hood. It had to be a lucky guess, surely?

It took Tazia a moment to realize that this man had no idea who she was, a moment to realize he didn’t know what she was. She wasn’t about to tell him, either. He didn’t need to know how she knew his identity. That he smelled identical to the man in the alley, that he had the same butterscotch and peppercorn scent swirling in his sweat, the same strong musk of charred oak softened by sweet notes of bourbon vanilla. Not until she could figure out if he’d align as ally or enemy.

“You have the same physique as him—the same body language.” she smiled innocently.

“Heh,” he chuckled, “lucky guess.”

Tazia struggled to sit up, grunting and groaning with the effort. She felt a lot better composed than she did in the alley, but bits were still out of place, still struggling to find the right order of things. It was still painful. She grimaced as she pushed herself up, the pain pushing against her until she had to give up, collapsing on her elbow.

“Don’t try to move!” Jason was quick to her side, helping her lay back down comfortably. He was getting lost in her cool sea glass eyes, that strange emerald starburst in her left pupil. Something he hadn’t noticed before. “Whatever happened to you…it was ugly. You’ve been in a coma for like…ten days, now.”

“Seriously? Shit.”

Ten days. She should have healed by now. There shouldn’t be any bits still out of place, any lingering pain. Whatever Mordo did to her, she couldn’t help but wonder if he had intended to kill her. And if he had, did he know she was still alive? Would he be coming to finish what he started? She suddenly felt very exposed—vulnerable.

“Where’s Vinnie?” she asked softly.

“Who?”

“Doctor Strange, where is he?”

“I don’t know who that is.” Jason confessed, rubbing his neck.

“What? How could you n-” it hit her suddenly—why this place smelled different, why it sounded so curious—she wasn’t in Kansas anymore. “Sorry, what’s your name?”

“Jason Todd,” he didn’t know why he was trusting her with his name.

“What about when you wear your mask?”

“Red Hood.” he laughed bitterly, “why am I telling you this?”

“Jason, my name is Tazia Cozier, and I think I’m from a different reality.”

Jason’s eyes widened with astonishment, but before he could say anything, Bruce was at his side, standing between him and Tazia. Tazia studied Bruce—his strong, square jaw, his bright blue eyes, his broad shoulders—if not for the black hair, she could’ve nearly mistaken him for Steve Rogers.

“Not a different reality, a different universe.” Bruce corrected her.

“How do you—” Tazia couldn’t find the words she needed.

“Because the same thing happened to your father,” he informed her, “twenty years ago.”

TAGS: @oneshot-shit; @thevanishedillusion; @lanceismyspaceson2k17

#across the universes #the nightmare's fairytale #fan fiction #fanfic #marvel #dc #avengers #dr strange #winter soldier #batman #red hood #robin #stephen strange #bucky barnes #bruce wayne #jason todd #damian wayne #am writing #serial

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shirtlesssammy · 7 years ago

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13x12: Various & Sundry Villains

Then:

Rowena’s as dead as my faith in Andrew Dabb! All hail the witch queen!

Now:

At a convenience store in Wichita, Kansas, Dale, a connoisseur of the local beverages in stock, notices two women whispering and giggling with each other. Even without a little liquid courage, Dale surmises he’s got a chance and approaches them. They’re witches though and put him under a love spell --cheesy jazz music plays and Dale grins like a lovesick puppy.

The witches, Jennie and Jamie, instruct him to rob the joint of good vodka and money. Taking out the store clerk in the process, Dale accomplishes his goals and meets up with the witches outside. They proceed to take the items, and beat Dale to death with a sledgehammer. RIP Dale.

At the bunker, Sam and Dean are deep into the lore looking for a way to access the AU. And the show highlights again how the brothers’ roles have swapped. Sam has no hope but Dean is there to cheer him/them on. He encourages Sam to do his “Sam thing” and read, study, learn something that they can use for finding Jack and their mother. Dean’s going on a beer run. (They also mention how Cas calls everyday with no information and a lot of questions. Slightly clumsy exposition but a nice set up for the reality of the situation.)

The Angel Is Back On Our Screen!

He’s still in a jail cell in Massachusetts but he’s fairly serene about the whole situation, and thoroughly enjoying Lucifer’s lack of calm.

In town, Dean picks up a six pack of beer (At first I wanted to call bs on Dean only picking up a six pack, but I think the meta on this is how very healthy Dean is with Cas alive again. He isn’t drowning himself in booze -- and on top of what others have commented on in regards to Dean helping Sam --he’s sticking to the script, even if he doesn’t really need the alcohol.)

It’s his good fortune that Jennie and Jamie are there to curse him with a love spell. Jennie suggests to Dean that a kiss will wake up his true love. And lo! It does. Jamie wakes to Dean’s kiss. She asks how he’s feeling. Dean’s feeling good.

He’s in LOVE y’all!

At the bunker, he gushes to Sam about how in love he really is. Sam is on HIGH ALERT, guys. There’s nothing weird about this. Also, Dean wants to give the Grimoire as a gift to Jamie, his soulmate. Sam bolts out of his seat. He reminds Dean of Becky and her love spell. Dean doesn’t remember, and Jamie’s waiting so he’s gotta go. Sam tries to stop him, but Dean sucker punches him and takes off.

Dean walks into town and hands the Grimoire over to the sisters. In return he gets a kiss ---with a sledgehammer! Sam shows up in the Impala to save the day. Dean’s having none of it though and fisticuffs ensue between the brothers. The witch sisters take off. The fighting Winchesters get zapped by a purple flash, the hex bag burns, and wonderful pair of spiky heels enters stage left.

ROWENA!

Thank god for spoilers because I was really upset over her death last season. They did her dirty, but SHE’S ALIVE.

Back in “Hell”, Lucifer finally gets a little rise out of Cas by taunting him with Mary’s torture at the hands of Michael. Quick aside: I saw grumbles on Twitter (surprise!), that using “Cassandra” as an insult was a degrading joke at the expense of women. I side-eye that because Lucifer doesn’t think much of women or Cas. Furthermore, when I first heard that my brain didn’t associate Cas and Cassandra. My brain tumbles off in so many tangents that I instantly started thinking of how Cas is going to be like the famous Cassandra. He needs a win though, so not sure how this would be relevant.

Cas then taunts Lucifer with “truths” about Jack. “Jack would rather kill you than hug you.” Lucifer gets pissy enough that in his anger he’s able to move a stick in his cell.

At the bunker, Rowena is looking On Point.

Between Cas and Rowena both being back, there’s too much pretty on my screen. I don’t really know how to function to be honest here.

Rowena is cagey about her resurrection, but never wants to die again. She needs the Black Grimoire because it contains a page that will help remove a binding spell the Grand Coven placed on her many years ago. Rowena wants to work together to get the book back. The Winchesters give her a hard no. She’s changed! “Honestly, having your skull crushed and being burned alive can do that to a girl.” Oh, ROWENA. You’re so deviously evil but we love you!

She points out the tracking spell on the Grimoire is her spell, so they will need her to find the book. She then asks about Crowley. Awkward!

Jennie and Jamie are at a hardware store gathering supplies (they even find one soul to sacrifice in aisle six). Nothing weird about walking around your local Ace Hardware reading an ancient text of witchcraft. Also, they have the NERVE to insult Brenda.

Rowena shows real remorse over her dead son after the brothers fill her in on Crowley’s death. She also can’t believe that the witch sisters outfoxed Sam and Dean for the book. And then she asks Dean if they got “to fifth base.” Me and a lot of other people didn’t know that term (I imagine the Google tech on watch that night was like, wtf?). Fanfiction, you failed us! How in Chuck’s holy name did canon Supernatural do this first? In any event, Dean “Chinese basket trick” Winchester totally denied knowing that “fifth base” exists. Yeah, he’s a poor sheltered boy. But Rowena moves on. What’s bi by is bi by, amirite? Dean Bean’s little guilty face. (hearts) So, yeah, Rowena tries to kinda out Dean to get her way, but he will not budge.

Jennie and Jamie survey the book over their mother’s corpse. Jennie worries about failing at the resurrection spell they want to try and they bolster each other. “I, like, really believe in us,” Jamie says earnestly. Off in the corner, the store clerk holds a bouquet of flowers. He, like, really believes in them too! He sits still with a soppy smile on his face as he’s stabbed to death, his soul contributing to their resurrection attempt.

The Impala rolls into Stillwater, Oklahoma. Rowena has tracked the book to the general vicinity but can’t pinpoint it further. It’s time for a little old fashioned hunting. Dean asks “Red” where the book is (and I’m gleeful over the nickname which I’m convinced betrays some underlying fondness). She scornfully informs him that magic doesn't function like GPS. They’re going to have to do some old-fashioned detective work - unless they want to magically interrogate everyone to save time. Yeah. No. Rowena has to stay in the car and Sam will look after her!

Sasstiel, meanwhile, is roundly abusing Lucifer, telling him that he’s useless and weak and will die alone. Their demon guard approaches and heads to his favorite taunting target: Lucifer. Lucifer channels all the rage he’s been storing up from Castiel’s insults and mojos the demon against the bars. He reaches through the wardings and stabs his little twig into the demon’s neck. Cas casually steps out of his cell and blasts the demon into oblivion.

*Fans self*

It turns out that Lucifer got so worked up, thanks to Sasstiel’s taunting and his general predicament, that he broke through his wardings and busted them out. Team Angel then worked together to kill the demon and nab his angel blade. Their advantage doesn’t last for long. Several other demons show up and the rest of their battle for freedom begins.

Out in Oklahoma, Rowena is bored times one billion. She chats up Sam and the two have a fascinating discussion of Rowena’s vulnerability and the trauma they both suffered from Lucifer. We learn that Lucifer showed both Rowena and Sam his true face - and it’s apparently nightmare-inducing.

While Sam and Rowena are baring their souls, Dean heads in to the hardware store. He chats up the cashier, who’s well acquainted with the witches. She’s no fan of them and Dean sweetens his information request by telling her, “If it helps, I don’t plan on being nice about it when I do find them.”

“You gonna be really mean?” she asks, giving him their information. “‘Cause it’s about damn time someone was.” She then ogles Dean’s ass as he leaves which...yeah. SAME BRENDA. Same.

Back in the car, Sam’s still having a heart to heart with Rowena. He tells her nothing she does will matter - she’ll never feel safe. Sam...what a ray of frickin’ sunshine. Jokes aside, this remains an excellent glimpse into Sam’s poor, repressed little head. Rowena steps out of the car for a little air when Dean walks up with the address. Rowena is all ready to head out and get the book when the Winchesters tell her she’s got to stay at the car.

“Eff that noise,” Rowena essentially says, dropping a hex bag that freezes the boys to the pavement. They’re both tall men so it’s fun to watch them flail for the hex bag. Like, use your heads, my dudes? Sam! Take off your jacket and sweep the hex bag towards you! (Me: remembers Sam not taking off his jacket to smother a fire and decides it’s a trend.)

Rowena lets herself into the witches’ house. “You were supposed to get the book and wait for me,” she hisses. Yessss Rowena for the double crossing win! The sisters sputter excuses and then tell Rowena it’s too late to stop them from using the book. They already mostly succeeded at casting a spell from it. Enter: mommy dearest as a delightfully hungry...zombie. “Not my first zombie, love,” Rowena says casually and tries to kill it. But the zombie is magic-proof and chases her through the house.

Sam finally reaches the hex bag, they burn it, and the Winchesters head out to stop all the witchly shenanigans.

Outside of Hell headquarters, Cas and Lucifer regroup, waiting for more demons to descend. Lucifer nags Cas to let him consume some of his grace again and….blech. Lucifer, you SUCK.

“Fool me once,” Cas tells Lucifer. There’s no way he’s going to give him his grace as a temporary fix. Lucifer takes a swipe at Cas who in turn stabs Lucifer. “This is me learning from my mistakes,” Cas growls. CAAAAAAAAAS! (Boris: This is such a beautiful line.)

Back at the witches’ house, Rowena counsels herself for strength. “It’s just a magical zombie! You’ve dealt with magical zombies before, Rowena.” She searches for weaponry in the little kitchen and low key bargains for her life with the witch sisters. Fortunately, the Winchesters bust in to serve up a great distraction.

The Winchesters point their guns at Jamie and Jennie and announce that the guns are full of witch killing bullets. Dudes. Just. Shoot first and be smug later, okay? Jamie and Jennie get the upper hand. “Sammy,” Dean grunts. “They’re really weirdly strong.” Apparently the witches have been trying out strength spells as well. Smart!

The zombie breaks into the kitchen and starts trying to eat Rowena. She shouts for suggestions from the Winchesters. “Shoot her in the head,” Dean suggests. Thank you, Deano. She shoots the zombie then bespells the sisters, setting them on each other. Jennie and Jamie stab each other to death.

Afterward, Rowena cradles the book, crowing about her successful TRIPLE cross. Clearly, she planned everything to be this way. Uh huh. Sam takes the book and Rowena gives him a pleading look. She begs him to not let her be helpless again and Sam takes the book from her anyway. He stares after her, clearly affected by her plight.

Later in the bunker, Dean grumbles about his injuries and how the case went down. “You know Rowena is not our friend, right?” he asks, opening the book to reveal a ripped out page. (God does nobody understand PHOTOCOPIES? SCANS? A neat transcription? For fuck’s sake.) Sam protests that Rowena didn’t get into his head - he didn’t get played. Sam promises that he’ll kill Rowena if she goes bad. But if she sees Lucifer again, Sam wants her to make him suffer.

Sam finally confesses his feelings of helplessness to Dean. His plan of helping Jack and saving their mom went awry. His wheels are spun out. Dean assures him that they’ll figure it out...together.

In a quiet room, Rowena does a candlelit spell using the ripped out page. She slices the binding spell from her and the bonds appear as mystical purple shackles that snap one by one. Rowena gasps in ecstasy and then her eyes glow purple with power. Rowena is BACK, baby, and like we’ve never seen her before.

Natasha: I really enjoyed this episode and all of Rowena's morally suspect and devious ways!

The Quoting Grimoire:

What’s with the hammer?

That’s a nice, horrifying plan

We should get out of here in case the one with the hair actually wins

Turns out rage is a good motivator

You always say a lot.

Well, lover?

Did they get to fifth base?

What’s by is by.

Want to read more? Check out our Recap Archive!

#spn recap #spn picspam #spn 13x12 #various and sundry villains #dean winchester #sam winchester #castiel #cas #rowena macleod #lucifer #supernatural season 13

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wumblr · 8 years ago

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i'm pretty sure i met my roommate years ago, before he ever moved to oregon, on public transit. he sat across the aisle from me on the max and dictated a text into his phone like "i'm totally freaking out this midwestern couple by reading a book about greek sexuality on the train" but like joke's on him because it was me and my cousin jena, notorious midwestern deviants... greek sexuality? more like weak sexuality amirite ladies

anyway how do i ask him about this, do i just like one day go up to him like "i had the weirdest dream, you were on the max with a book about ancient gays and you dictated a text to your phone... but you looked very slightly younger... what does it mean vincent??"

#he's 40

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awed-frog · 8 years ago

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Regarding Dean/A Tale of Icebergs

[Disclaimer: I wasn’t a fan of the other Meredith Glynn episode, and I’m not sure how much i liked this one either, so if you’re striving for zero negativity, feel free to skip this entire meta.]

The most obvious thing about this episode is, for me, the complete and utter disconnect between what the show’s saying on the surface and what’s going on in the subtext. Which, I don’t know - some of it is normal, because if you’re passionated about something you will notice different things and know more about it and that’s okay, and some of it I even like - the classic I can decipher this secret message, I must be a genius thing shared by anyone who’s ever learned a language and also anyone who was into treasure hunts as a kid, and as for that last bit - yeah - that’s where the problem is. So, well - let’s play.

Nice on the surface: Rowena’s backstory

Which is actually not so nice because as much as I want to know more about her, what the general audience will see as closing and minding the gap (why did Rowena even come to the US, and so on) I see as a) yet another villain being queer-coded and b) a tantalizing glimpse of a world I’ll never get to know being thrown into my face. Let’s get to the queer-coding first, because this is the main issue and man, I can’t believe they did it again, and it doesn’t even matter Rowena was offering herself up as a sex slave to all three Loughlins siblings out of necessity, does it, because everybody loves some woman on woman action, including all women, har har, so coercion doesn’t count. No, Rowena was willing to roll around in the hay with Catriona, which makes her bisexual, which brings the total of queer villains in Supernatural to - is that all of them? All the revelant ones, surely. And as we all know, the message this sends is disturbing, to say the least. And secondly - I could happily have watched a whole season about the BMoL, because they are new and didn’t we all wonder what was going on with hunting in other countries and man, look at those spells and that knowledge and those complicated moral questions and now it turns out they’ve got a beef with Rowena and what - and instead, we still don’t know anything about them. They pop up and then disappear. Sam and Dean are mostly ignoring them, unless there’s a deep and meandering conversation going on in the background we know nothing about. And by the end of this season, Mick and the band will probably be gone, and that will be it - like Jesse the Antichrist, like the hunting community, like a hundred other plot ramifications which could hold on a series on their own and instead are just an undeveloped afterthought.

Nice on the surface: Dean being all goofy

Which is actually not so nice because we know about Dean’s history, and his childhood, and how much free will means to him. So seeing him like that - I think this is where you notice how weird this show is, and how it’s read so differently depending on who’s watching. And this actually hurt, so, ugh.

Nice on the surface: Dean x Larry (Darry? Lean? Deanry?)

Which is actually not so nice because here was a classic example of in your face dogwhistling - once again, Dean is being coded as bisexual, and once again, his attraction to women is good and wholesome and shown on screen without any ambiguity whatsoever (the one thing we don’t know is whether she blew him in the bathroom or if they actually did it), while his attraction to men is played off as a joke, because this Larry Dean was riding last night - not a guy, duuuur, but actually a mechanic bull. Isn’t that clever! A mechanic bull, imagine that! Cue long sequence of Dean bouncing up and down the damn thing, Sam smirking about it, a relcuctantly impressed waitress and Dean being all wide-eyed and heartbreaking, because the one thing he cares about? ‘Was I good?’ Of course, that’s what Dean ‘everybody leaves me’ Winchester would want to know. Women, men, his dad, his mom, his brother, his pet angel - the only thing Dean cares about is earning his keep so he doesn’t get left behind.

(All this talk about Cas feeling like ‘just a tool’ - guess where he learned that.)

Nice on the surface: Lookie here, a discussion about consent

Which is actually not so nice because, and I can’t believe I’m saying this, what Dean’s conversation with that waitress implied is that guys can’t get raped, and they sure as hell can’t get raped by smokin’ hot 20-year-olds, amirite, because check out the rack on that chick - she can take advantage of me any day of the week, mate. Now, I have complicated feelings about this whole issue and this is neither the time nor the place to discuss them, but the bottom line is, enough with this bullshit. The idea men want to have sex every hour of every day with any hot woman who comes through the door - next. Sexual behaviour is both personal and fluctuating - what turns you on one day can leave you meh the next, and that includes getting blown by waitresses in Old West-themed bars. Also, this may be a novel idea, but men are human beings as well and they have, uh, feelings? So, sure, sometimes they just want to have fun, and don’t we all, but probably not all the time? And Dean - look at him - dad bod or not, he could probably talk his way into anyone’s bed, and yet he hasn’t and doesn’t. He never touched anyone for months and months, and that was a choice, not circumstances, because we know Dean is tired of the adios and wants to try new things and have a meaningful connection for freaking once, which means this - this was him worried and angry and frustrated and unable to talk to anyone about it, yeah, because Mom’s off somewhere and it’s not like she cares, and Cas is on the verge of suicide as it is, and Sam’s apparently done with his caring ways and We got a case to work, so get it together, alright?, so what is Dean supposed to do here? And yet, this moment, which - to me - is actually sad af, first becomes an example of what the right kind of masculinity is like, and second gets played off for laughs, because, man, you can’t take advantage of me, babe, look at you, and I’m just bummed I can’t remember. Ugh.

Nice on the surface: Sam being all concerned

Which is actually not so nice because I should probably stop trying to guess what’s going on with Sam, except what the fuck is wrong with Sam? He used to be - well, he’s a complicated person, but lately he’s just - like, apparently he doesn’t talk to anyone, right? and that’s been canon for some time - that he’s got no connections, no friends, no nothing (and that’s not painful at all) but the fact he texted both Mary and Cas to give them the heads up about Dean’s broken phone throws this into sharp relief, again: Sam doesn’t talk to anyone. Dean is the one playing silly phone games with Mary and calling Cas at random moments to say nothing at all, and I bet (this is offscreen stuff, but still) that he’s got a whatsapp conversation open with Claire and Alex and he bickers with them about music and he may even talk to Jody or Donna or some other hunter from time to time (remember in Baby, when he’d texted that woman we never heard of because she might be around and want a beer?), and Sam - Sam is still so traumatized, perhaps, or feeling unclean after his latest brush-up with Lucifer, that he isolates himself. And not only he doesn’t want to talk about what’s going on with him, but he flat-out refuses to hear what’s going on with Dean, as well. That bitch face he pulled in the car, that snarky ‘we got a case to work, so get it together’ - that was well beyond the line of mean, and if we consider how Kumbaya Sam used to be in earlier seasons, a huge character shift. Also one that’s been building and simmering for so long, we might actually have to consider if it’s a character shift at all, or if this is simply who Sam actually is.

Nice on the surface: The Winchesters save the day, again

Which is actually not so nice because okay, now I’m sort of convinced the Winchesters’ sloppiness is on of the themes of the season? First of all, there was the way the first few minutes were framed - a man running through the woods, frantically calling his loved ones - I totally thought that would be a victim of some kind, and instead, nope. As Rowena points out later in the episode, Dean is a killer, and I’m always slightly uneasy during witching episodes - on the one hand, I get why the show is so hard on witchcraft, and I like that, but on the other - these are humans, right, and what’s the difference between killing someone with a gun and killing someone with a hex bag? And, sure, later we do learn the Loughlin family is Moste Ancient and Evile, but Dean didn’t know that when he started chasing after Gideon, did he? He was slightly drunk, and he simply started shooting at someone who’d used mild magic against him in a parking lot, without waiting to hear if there was a good explanation for it (maybe the guy had dangerous and vengeful accomplices somewhere, maybe he had nothing to do with the murder, maybe the murder was sort of justified, maybe maybe maybe). If Gideon’s siblings and been sensible and had skipped town for a few years (the whole Rowena story implies they’re supernaturally long-lived, right? and this is something fiction never gets quite right about immortal creatures - what’s the difference in switching safe houses for ten or twenty years, and why would you risk staying in one place at all?), Dean would have died, along with countless other people. Next we’ve got Sam calling Rowena (wtf?), Sam not telling anyone Dean’s got hours to live (why bother?), Sam leaving a dangerous witch who hates them both to care for his severely debilitated and mindless brother, Sam storming an ancient Den of Wicked Wisdom on his own...let’s be honest for a second - can’t you sort of sympathize with the BMoL’s concerns? Because I’m starting to think we might have an Indy Paradox on our hands here.

Nice on the surface: The brotherly love

Which is actually not so nice because come on, I understand it’s difficult to get over a childhood like that, and by now we’ve got so many metas about Dean being Sam’s parent even Sam’s probably heard about it (we still don’t know what he does online all day, right? so there), but this episode was a whole other level of weirdness. Because, uhm, so they’re in town to hunt a dangerous witch who’s already killed once, and Sam is in his motel room ‘looking into the lore’ (I don’t even want to know what that is code for) and Dean goes out to get himself a burger and never shows up again and Sam’s, like, fine with it? And, sure, this is what used to happen with John, but it doesn’t make it right. And next, it turns out Dean blacked out and, again, Sam’s fine with it? Uhm, hello? We haven’t seen Dean get wasted in a while now, and even when he did, Sam was generally not happy with it, because, I don’t know, that was an alternative reality where Sam recognized that getting blind drunk was Not Okay? And not for moral reasons, obviously (no - we know why, right? right). And finally - despite the state Dean’s in - he can’t even tell apart his damn keys! - Sam doesn’t even offer to drive, because this is what you do around parents, right? You assume they’re okay and self-reliant and that they know what the hell they’re doing, because anything else in unthinkable. So, sure - maybe it’s time for Dean to stop parenting Sam, but it’s also time for Sam to grow up.

Honourable mentions

The doggie!!

That spell Gideon used sounded like the Irish name Diarmaid, which means ‘without envy’ - kind of fitting for a memory spell.

Dory!

The geography - Eureka Springs and Carroll County!

The torch!!!!

LET DEAN USE THE GRENADE LAUNCHER!

THAT FUCKING SONG AT THE END - GAAAAAAAAAH

#spn 12x11 #regarding dean #spn meta #sam and dean #winchesters childhood #negativity for ts #it's not even that it was terrible #it wasn't #it was borderline enjoyable #but they should decide what story they want to tell #bc uuuuuugh #enough

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notatreeblog · 6 years ago

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*post contains affiliate links which means NAT receives a small commission for each sale made

Therabox is a monthly self care subscription box. This package is mindfully curated by therapists to maximize happiness in Therabox subscribers’ lives. Each package is themed and comes with 6-8 full sized items that inspire wellness like; aromatherapy products, all natural beauty products and other unique lifestyle items valued at over $100. Subscriptions are $34.99 with reduced prices for longer subscription terms. Therabox ships worldwide! Use code MOMSDAY at checkout to receive a discount! NAT received this package at no cost for review purposes.

Subscription Box Unboxing

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Subscription Box Review

Our first glimpse inside the Therabox for February. This box has a “Love Your Self” theme and we can get on board with that!

Everything that we received in our February Therabox. We are absolutely blown away by this assortment! It is an amazing group of products that definitely treat you as a person!

So what is all this stuff?

Our box insert.

The first pages tell you how to get freebies from Therabox by sharing on social media and referring friends.

The following pages take us through the contents of the box and include retail values!

We really like that the final page gives us FAQ’s – ie: damaged goods, renewal dates and etc. Great information for a first month subscriber.

Voesh Unicorn Pedi in a Box

$7.99

The first item in our box is from Voesh and is a “pedi in a box”. The unicorn theme means that each of the products are purple or iridescent which is pretty cool! We’ve tried a Pedi In a Box from Voesh before and LOVED it so we are stoked!

There were a total of 5 packets – a soak, sugar scrub, mud masque, gel masque and massage butter. Perfect inclusion for a “Love Your Self” themed box!

Wooden Incense Holder from The Happy Shoppe

$8.50

Next up we have an item from Therabox’s own line of products. This raw wood incense holder looks super cool and is available for purchase on Therabox’s Online Shop.

We love how it came all wrapped up!

Lavender Frankincense Incense

$8.99

Okay, so you guys know incense aren’t our thing… however these smell so good we can’t say no. The lavender is beautiful and made the entire box smell like absolute MAGIC! There are 10 sticks in this pack that are hand rolled in California. What a great pairing for our new incense holder!

The coolest part is that these incense were a replacement for a different stick… the vendor had an issue and wasn’t able to produce product in time and Therabox worked tirelessly to ensure their subscribers had beautiful smelling incense in their February Box!

Bloom Mascara from Manna Kadda

$29

Then there’s this fabulous Bloom Mascara from Manna Kaddar. We absolutely love MK lip glosses’ so we are really excited to try this out. Plus, the packaging is totally boss! Let the simple application of this mascara boost your self confidence and mood (girl, it’s the little things amirite?)

Ashwaganda Hot Chocolate Mix from Elements Truffles

$12

Something we weren’t banking on in this box is some tasty treats! We’ll happily oblige though! This mix is infused with Ashwaganda Root, an ancient herb that helps with anxiety and insomnia. This blend was sent first to Therabox subscribers to try out (which we find super exciting)!

The back has all our steeping instructions and it’s important to note that this cocoa is raw, vegan, fair trade. It’s also made in small batches and sweetened with sustainable coconut palm sugar!

Modern Skyn Alchemy Rose Facial Mist

$25

From a brand we LOVE! This facial mist is made with Rose which you guys know we absolutely love! Modern Skyn Alchemy follows the European Skincare Standards which means you can trust this product is pure, safe and highly effective! The formulation contains Wild English Roses, Vitamin E and Rosewood and calms, tones and hydrates the skin! This is definitely our box favorite!

Jade Facial Roller from Revive

$14.99

Second to last we received a jade roller (seriously finally)! You want to take care of yourself? Love your skin! This roller is used in upward motions to tone, depuff, reduce inflammation, increase collagen and SO much more. Jade as a stone brings harmony… we will allow this!

The larger end is for your face while the small end is for your nose and eyes. The cooling sensation is fantastic. We are so glad that we received this!

I’m Lovable Inner Truth Journal from Knock Knock Stuff

$18

A journal in a love yourself themed self care subscription box is like ketchup and French fries, a match made in Heaven! This book is awesome, it encourages you to show yourself the same love and compassion you would a good friend. Let it all come out on these pages. Love yourself – write it down and once you feel great… you’ll make others feel great too!

My Mother in Law calls it “Negative Chatter” whatever you call it though, we all have it … a voice at the back of our head telling us our flaws… reminding us how much less deserving we are. This first page addresses that and says… BE GONE NEGATIVE CHATTER!

#gallery-0-4 { margin: auto; } #gallery-0-4 .gallery-item { float: left; margin-top: 10px; text-align: center; width: 50%; } #gallery-0-4 img { border: 2px solid #cfcfcf; } #gallery-0-4 .gallery-caption { margin-left: 0; } /* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes/media.php */

Each page after that is a journal page with a different positive quote. We love this journal!

So in summary

Presentation: Everything arrived to us perfectly in our Therabox Subscription

Quality: We feel like they do a great job of bringing together great, high quality self care items in each package. We are really loving the hot chocolate and love that Manna Kadar Mascara!

Curation: This “Love Your Self” Box came together perfectly. It included items that either made you sit back and take stock in who you are or made you make some small contribution or investment into your person. Which is the greatest act of self love there is!

Box Economy: For the price of this box ($34.99) we received $125+ in value which we think is a phenomenal deal! We were so impressed with this box and think you guys will be too!

Subscribe to Therabox

Therabox Subscription Box Review + Unboxing + Coupon | February 2019 *post contains affiliate links which means NAT receives a small commission for each sale made Therabox…

#self care subscription box #subscription box blog #subscription box review #subscription box unboxing #therabox review

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