#the moment it was apparent that he was comedic relief it was so over for me

[strawbbz]

His charming looks and silly attitude have captivated me

[byemambo]

4Minutes EP. 2 - My Takeaways

After losing my mind over This Love Doesn't Have Long Beans, I proceeded to lose my mind over 4 Minutes. My takeaways are definitely not as in depth as my previous post for episode 1, but more of overarching themes/thoughts.

Establishing Character Shots

Kudos for such amazing shots establishing the dynamic and characterization of each key player within the current story. From the lighting/gaffing, to the framing, even down to applying video effects such as double exposure to emphasize each character's significance. Tonkla and Fasai's compositions dominate over the person they're peering down upon, Tonkla peering down at his victim through violent means, whereas Fasai peers down at Korn and asserting her dominance over him in their dynamic. Win walking into the crime scene and immediately met with utmost respect is visually established by a lower camera tilt and composition from the clear sky. Dome viewing the situation from behind a barricade was interesting to me, highlighting that although he has moral high ground in comparison to Title, he is still trapped and unable to compete against his classmate knowing he will be met with retaliation and intimidation.

Great and Tyme First (Proper) Interaction

This scene is one of my favorites from this episode, which I felt that many of Great and Tyme's shared scenes had a very "quiet mouse" atmosphere to them. In their separate lives, both seem to navigate themselves absentmindedly. We see this when Great occupies the back of the classroom in his own bubble, daydreaming in the comfort of his own home trying to make sense of his visions, or even going with Title despite not being given what he should expect on this outing and becoming a bystander in the situation with Dome's abduction. Tyme seems to keep to himself as he works in the hospital, and keeps himself and his patients at an arm's length, refraining from building any bonds or attachments with others. Even when doctors like Den or the nurses display moments of silly and wholesome fun despite being in a stressful environment, Tyme usually doesn't plays along with their antics. However, once he acknowledged Great's presence, he quickly seizes the opportunity and shows us a less familiar side to him that we only got to really see when he was with his grandmother in episode 1. When he laid eyes on Great, it seemed as though time stopped on its own as if they were the only ones in existence in that moment.

Devices: What's the Content?

When we first meet Dome witnessing the argument between Title and View outside the dorms, we are shown his phone recording the entire altercation, which is apparent that this is not the first time he's possibly recorded Title's crimes. It's also mentioned by Title during their confrontation at the university that Dome's been "testing his patience for awhile now," which I want to believe that their current dynamic is rooted in complete disdain for each other. Towards the end of the episode when we're shown the silhouette of a figure (I think it looks like Tyme) being handed a flash drive, I'm also alert and claiming both of these devices as valuable items for the story, especially because both are likely filled with damning evidence to all the crimes being committed so far through Title's acts of confinement, abduction and intentional homicide and the family company organized crime through online gambling. I can only predict that there will be numerous attempts to seize either of these items to prevent exposure, especially if the brother that's deceased could possibly be Dome himself as Title is clearly alive and well.

Honorable Mentions: Comedic Relief

There were so many funny moments throughout this episode that genuinely made me laugh out loud: this one stealing the cake for me. Before episode 2, we had only seem a glimmer of Tyme's silly personality from his interactions with Den, fully getting a better idea of this lighthearted side from his moment with his grandmother. Since both of these individuals are significant to him, it's only natural for someone of his temperament to create walls between himself and others. However, once Great's presence grabs Tyme's attention and begins his pining towards him, we are slowly starting to see his innate silly and lighthearted personality expose itself outside of his safe people. I just love the way him and the nurse have a push and pull moment, she clearly found it entertaining to see the serious and detached surgeon be so pushy and demanding. I hope as the series goes on, we'll continue to have such moments because I enjoy how the director keeps such moments dependent on micro expressions and short exchange of words, accompanying these moments through appropriate comedic music.

[delicatebarness]

The Avengers Bunch | Avengers Assemble (Ikea's Version) #002

Summary: You buy new furniture for your bedroom, apparently building a bookcase isn't in your agent skillset.

Warning: DIY. Fluff.

Word Count: 834

Series Masterlist | Tips

A/N: Requests are open for this series. Anything domestic and homey you want to see happen in the compound? Let me know. - B

Tags: Let me know if you want to be tagged in future parts.

Optimism drove your determination as you admired the neatly arranged boxes that arrived today from Ikea. Assembling a bookcase seemed like a simple task when you finally decided to make the purchase. Little did you know, the so-called straightforward process was about to turn into confusion and frustration in a matter of minutes. 

You emptied the contents of the boxes onto your bedroom floor. Step one is to organize the pieces. Done. Step two, follow the instructions. Simple enough, you thought to yourself. You were wrong.

Hours had passed, and a task that should have taken half an hour at the most has now turned into three and a half… you found yourself surrounded by a jumble of wood and tiny screws. You swore you could hear each piece mocking and laughing at your attempts at assembly. Cursing under your breath, you noticed sweat forming on your forehead. 

Just then, your bedroom door creaked open, and in walked Bucky. Your colleague, bedroom neighbor, and the most attractive man you had laid eyes on. His smile illuminated the now dimly lit room, you couldn’t help but release a sigh of relief at the sight of him.

“Hey there, trouble,” he teased, his eyes wandering around your room, they twinkled with amusement as he took in the chaos before him. “Need a hand?” 

You chuckled nervously having realized just how comedic the scene must look. “I might have bitten off more than I can chew,” you admitted, gesturing to the pile of unassembled wood.

Bucky made his way over, his confidence contrasted with your frazzled state. He knelt beside you, you watched the features of his face contour as he examined the pieces and instructions. 

“Lucky for you, I happen to be somewhat of a DIY guru,” he quipped, a smirk tugged at his lips as he looked back at you. 

Together, you made a start on the assembly, your laughter mingling with the sound of clinking screws and the odd muttered curse… mainly coming from you. Bucky’s hand occasionally brushed against yours as you passed each other screws, hammers, and Allen wrenches. 

As the last screw tightened and the final shelf slid into position, a sense of victory washed over the two of you. Stepping back, you admired your handiwork. Okay, you admired Bucky’s handiwork. You looked back at each other, your eyes lingered on each other just a little longer. 

“I couldn’t have done it without you,” you murmured, your voice soft and filled with gratitude.

Bucky grinned, and his hand reached up to push a stray hair behind your ear. “Anytime you need a hand, remember mine's Vibranium,” he replied, his tone laced with a slight hint of flirtation that sent shivers down your spine. 

Great, you thought to yourself, now you’re thinking about his hand. 

Bucky began to get ready to leave, “Well, I guess my work here is done, I’ll let you enjoy your new piece of art in peace,” he said, his smile evident as he turned towards the door. 

But before he left, a thought struck you. “Wait,” you rushed, causing him to pause mid-step and turn back to face you.

“What is it?” He asked, his eyes darting around the room, his instinct to look for danger.

You hesitated for a moment, gathering your thoughts before speaking. “I just realized I have all these books,” you gestured towards the boxes of books piled on your bed. “And now, I have to figure out how to arrange them and some of the shelves,” your tone started to sound more sheepish as you dropped his gaze. “Some of the shelves are quite high.”

Bucky shook his head at you, his eyes once again filled with amusement. Before you could finish forming words to ask for his help, he had already sprung into action. He effortlessly gathered books and started arranging them into alphabetic order. 

Before you knew it, the books were neatly arranged. You admired Bucky as he stood back with a satisfied smile. “There you go,” he said, gesturing to the small plant he added to one of the shelves. “All done.” 

You couldn’t help but smile back, feeling a warmth spread through you at his kindness. It still amazes you that people saw this man as a monster. 

“Thank you,” you said softly, you took a moment to build the courage to stay what you wanted to. “Would you like to stay for a bit longer? Maybe we could order some pizza and I could show you another 90s movie?” 

To your relief, Bucky’s smile widened, “I’d love to,” he replied, his tone sincere. 

And as you settled on your bed, you enjoyed your pizza and movie together. The glow of your laptop casts soft shadows against your walls and the air is filled with the scent of cheese and tomato sauce. You both laughed at the same parts, you may have cried at one part, but, throughout the whole film, his arm was wrapped securely around you.

---

Series Masterlist

[storywriter007]

hii could u pls do a leo valdez x daughter of nyx!reader ? :)) ty and take your time!!

also your other leo valdez fic doesnt show when u look through the tags 🤔

I'm Always With You - Leo Valdez x Fem!Reader

author's note: (i re-added the tags, so fingers crossed, it'll work now.) anyways thank you for the cool request!

warnings: kissing, feelings of inferiority, leaving

genre: angst but it's kind of fluff

word count: 679

-> heroes of olympus masterlist

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send me requests here!

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leo stood on the deck of the argo ll. cool wind flew through his hair as he leaned on the railing. he silently admired the stars that covered the sky.

everybody was with somebody right now. jason was with piper, percy was with annabeth, and frank was with hazel. this was him; the loner, the odd-one-out, the seventh wheel. he'd accepted it.

reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a device he hadn't used in years. the brass of the small item felt cool against his warm skin. he turned his head, searching for the north star, hoping this would work. he held the small pocket telescope up to the north star, for a few seconds. if the north star didn't work, there might as well be no other star.

"please nyx." he whispered to himself. "let me see her."

"who're you looking for valdez?" a familiar voice came from next to him.

"you came." he smiled, looking at the north star.

"you called."

"it actually worked." he beamed, examining the telescope.

"no way." she smiled. "i'm surprised you still remember how this works."

"how could i forget? the one and only daughter of the night and i met her when i was nine and running away from home."

y/n could still recall the three months they spent running and hiding and fighting off monsters. they were so young, so innocent.

"i'm glad to see you leo." she said, sincerity apparent in her voice. "why'd you call me down here?"

"you're always on my mind, y'know it." he chuckled.

"how's the whole saving-the-world-thing going?" she grinned.

"could be better." he said.

"how so?"

"i wish you were here." he sighed. "i love these people, but i'm just their comedic relief. i-i'm nothing to them. i'm nothing to this cause."

"that's not true. you built this entire ship. there's no quest without you." she reassured. "and y'know i can't be in on this. i'm a daughter of nyx, not the olympians. and her offspring are considered dark entities."

"i know." leo said.

he looked over at her and wondered how people could believe a child of nyx was a negative entity. y/n, she was so beautiful. she had the beauty of the moon, she was just as breathtaking as a sky full of the brightest stars, and she was just as ethereal as the cosmos.

"how did you know i built the ship?" he asked. "i never told you that."

"i'm always watching over you." she smiled.

"what?" he questioned.

"i know you and frank used to not get along, but you're a lot better now. i know jason and piper are your best friends. i know you built this ship in six months, which is insane. and i know you sleep by the engine because you find it comforting." she continued.

"i just feel so alone sometimes. scratch that, all the time."

"i have faith in you leo." she said, putting her hand on his. "and whenever you feel alone, you point that telescope to any star in the sky, and i'll be there."

"how do you know where i'll be?"

"i'll find you. i always do."

they looked into each other's eyes for a moment before leo leaned in and pressed a kiss to her lips. his calloused hands found her waist, and her arms were wrapped around his neck. they kissed with passion and longing. when they finally pulled away, they rested their foreheads against one-another's, as her thumb grazed his cheeks.

"i wish you could stay." he said, feeling an overwhelming sadnesss.

she knew she had to leave. a daughter of nyx was more of a mystery than a son of poseidon or zeus. she knew it. but it killed her even more.

"i'm in the stars, repair boy." she said, sincerely. "i'm always with you."

leo felt the body by his disappear. she was gone. he held the telescope in his hands and put it in his pocket. he looked up at the north star once more, before returning to the engine room.

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hope you guys liked it :)

[rymcfly]

Now that some time has passed (1 day) I want to share more thoughts about TFS:

Assuming the play has a direct linear connection to the TV series - it was super interesting seeing the adults/parents as teenagers. Interesting but also absolutely devastating knowing ->

Joyce was doomed to end up with Lonnie and is not going to get out of Hawkins.

Jim taking the same job as his dad (who was an absolute asshole)

And of course Bob :((( literally one of my favourite characters in the play - he really really cared about Patty and helping Hop n Joyce. All of those moments where he was trying to impress Joyce were super cute :(

Ted Wheeler was indeed some version of a 1950s Steve Harrington and definitely used as a sort of comedic relief character but well nobody is born as an emotionally absent father/husband & bland office guy. Because that pipeline is unfortunately indeed common.

Karen was very delightfully surprising with her very energetic personality (like her auditioning for Joyce's play with Bob including a hint at their friendship and changing up her outfit before the final performance)

Claudia was probably pretty much the closest to her older version personality wise even if Walter Henderson was an absolute racist loser (wonder what happened to him tho)

Sue was an absolute icon & boss and I hope she will get more involved in s5 (aswell as Lucas' father; Charles)

And of course now Patty:

I really really liked her character. Her passion for wonder woman, superheroes and comics & how she bonded with Henry over that (her also doing the sort of "jump" later and all :( ) Her complicated relationship with her adoptive father & and her desperately wanting to find her mother. And like mentioned already her friendship with Henry.

-> Friendship because like other bloggers/fans, I could not see how their interactions were romantic. Their first kiss literally was part of the school play and Henry was clearly freaked out which was not in any cute way as some claim. Patty attempted to kiss him later at Melvalds which was interrupted and it was never declared that they were dating except Patty suggesting that Henry trying to find her mother could technically be a date. Henry helped her auditioning and attempted finding her mother and Patty provided him comfort and friendship at times so yes they indeed needed each other but not in a romantic way. Like mentioned Henry seeked comfort by asking Patty to hold his hand after putting the blindfold on because he obviously did not get that from his family - which is also what eventually lead him to hug Brenner later.

So yes all the Patty-Henry scenes were not romantic in my eyes which doesn't mean Patty isn't a great & interesting character.

-> I have even more questions regarding her now! She who apparently did not possess any powers managed to contact Henry by putting on a blindfold, which made me wonder if not she was responsible in some way for the light flickering after the reunion with her mother.

More thoughts later, gotta re-read all the existing theories regarding the play now!

[classy-thief]

What is your favorite thing about the Rise of TMNT movie, and why? What hit you the most?

🌺 YAYYY A CHANCE TO INFODUMP THANK YOU!!

All thoughts under the cut cuz i'm going to write a lot lol (also apologies if my ramble makes no sense i am not a very well-spoken person teehee)

but tl;dr the balance of angst/comfort, the subltety in facial expressions and how it adds so much to the story, the animation in the action scenes

OKAY SO-

My favorite thing about the rottmnt movie? Oh man i dont think i can pick one thing. I'll just list the main ones 🤭

The fact that it was able to stray away from the goofy and lighthearted nature of the show but is still able to feel like rottmnt. The rottmnt movie is much darker and angstier than the show, but it still captures the essence of the characters and their personalities very well -- and it also explores their characters in a situation that calls for a more serious tone and it is beautifully done. The suble facial expressions and body language in each character speaks volumes on their personalities.

Speaking of which, i absolutely love the story they were able to tell solely on the facial expressions of the characters -- namely leo. In the movie, leo goes uncharacteristically quiet in some scenes, so it's much easier for the viewer to analyze his face to try and read what hes thinking.

Here, leo is face to face with krang for the first time in the movie, and it is apparent in his face. The look of sheer horror as he's trying to process what exactly he's fighting. The intense strength and overwhelming size of this... monster is absolutely daunting. He doesn't know what to do.

This is just one of many examples of the story leo creates with just his face. Down here we see another, clearer example.

Contemplation. Realization. Determination.

Leo understands the weight of the situation. Casey warned them it will only get worse if they do not get that key. But everyone is compromised. They have retreated. Everyone except him. He understands what he must do next, but is incredibly afraid. Going up there alone is a definite death wish. But someone has to pay for his mess, might as well be him. He readies himself to release the escape pod.

Like OHH MY GODDD. This part has to be one of my favorite scenes from the movie. It gave me goosebumps the first time i watched it. It clearly expresses his emotions to the viewer without him having to say anything. Just 10/10, beautifully done scene.

I could honestly write a 10 page essay on just the facial expressions in the movie, but moving on before this gets too long. The action scenes. They were so beautifully animated.

Especially this one right here!!! The camera moves at a pace to where its not disorienting/dizzy. And the colors of the turtles' ninpo makes it easier to understand what's going on. This entire scene was incredibly well choreographed. The showcasing of each of the brothers' fighting style (donnie's and leo's are more apparent in the deleted storyboard version but still) was soooo cool. And they're ultimate combo move was absolutely amazing as well (even though they got their asses beat right after 💀).

And this might be a basic answer but what hit me the most was the leo crying scene. Seeing the comical, pun-loving, unserious character break down thinking those were his last moments alive absolutely destroyed me. I honestly love the "comedic relief dies a hero" trope so this whole movie catered to my tastes very well lol. Anyway, rant over. I'd be surprised if you read this far but thanks for letting me infodump i've been waiting for someone to ask me about this movie since i watched it 👍

[messermouser]

My Incredibly Long List of Tropes/Characters/Themes I Like

When I obsess over something in the media I consume I write it here, and I forget how much inspiration I get from reading it so here you go. Any good recommendations with most of these or additions to the list are always appreciated. Also I have so many more of these that I've never written down I can do more IF YOU MAKE ME. IF I HAVE TO. IF YOU FORCE ME TO DO IT I GUESS I'LL DO IT. If not then sick.

Childhood friends

Rivals. Academic? Siblings? One has an advantage? They help each other? take your pick any rivalry works.

Going to each other for comfort because nobody else understands

Two leads are groups leaders- one very apparently in charge the other their supporter

Lead who falls off the tracks “What happened to you?” “I gave up, and if you knew what’s best for you… you’d give up too”

Head and the Heart

FOREHEAD KISS

One adorable but cold, the other stern but soft

Good and Evil in love because who is which depends on who you ask

Comedic relief kills someone and then apologizes 

NOW OR NEVER KISS

Mmm almost kiss

“Fuck you bitch” “Uh nobody has ever talked to me like that because they’re too afraid to, I’m really into it?”

“You show me colors you know I can’t see with anyone else”

“You rely on wit and people die on it”

“You’re as beautiful as the day I lost you”

A Fast “yes?” after someone answers yes to a question the character was afraid to ask

REUNION AHHHH wit a hug :(((

“Oh god. Fuck. Oh god he’s dead. No.”

Anything compared thematically to dogs

Religious trauma as daddy issues

Dead birds/Butterflies/deer/animals compared to specific characters foreshadowing their death or danger

Anything Icarus coded

Cain and Able type siblings

FAMILY and devotion

Family as a cult

Tragedy just when the characters think they won

Manipulation changing a characters internal monologue

Including deaths that change everything

Including deaths that change nothing

Obsessive Love from a trauma-bond that makes characters worse

Obsessive Love from a trauma-bond that keeps characters alive

Eyes as a horror element

Love/Life/Death compared to any of the cosmos

The intimacy of having a moment only two people know about

Love as servitude and worship

Doomed from the start characters who realize it and die by choice

Fatal Flaws actually being Fatal (So Icarus tea)

Characters literally being killed by the one thing they wanted

Royalty/Power as a curse

Flowers as life and innocence

Off Topic but Characters that acknowledge that what’s happening to them isn’t fair but fight anyways

Emotional pain as physical sickness

Characters without a choice being blamed for the things they do to survive

Characters seeing the thing they’re fighting against in themselves or their allies and how they deal w/ it

Multiple traumas in quick succession and how each character copes

Human characters in stressful situations reverting to animal instincts, almost savage, and learn what they’re capable of

Pressure to uphold an image as their reflection in the mirror the character doesn’t trust to be real. Flaws magnified

Hyper-sexuality as a form of control

Physical items with emotional significance that they’d die to protect

Love as just another power the character can’t control

Ok fine cannibalism as love

The past a character can never escape from

Humanizing everything as a symptom of being human (empathy)

Characters going against their ethics/beliefs for love

Characters who are alone realizing they’ve found a family

Sexuality as a curse

Sexuality as a blessing

Doubt as an infection

Characters treating animals like people vs treating people like animals

Character’s definition of what it is to be worthy is proven insignificant

The loss of purpose that is either never found again or found in spite/honor of the things they lost

Sleep as the trust characters have in the environment they’re in

Love as addiction

Pain as addiction

Anything addiction coded (IF the author has experience with addiction or loving an addict. Otherwise it doesn’t hit)

The only thing a character ever controlling being their death

Young characters having realistic and incredibly varied reactions to trauma

When they act out of character sporadically until it suddenly becomes who they are now

Character torn between being controlled but with nothing at risk vs Being free and constantly losing what they value most

Characters with healthy coping mechanisms or hobbies they’re embarrassed to find comfort in. Their loved ones immediately accepting them without question

Marriage without romance vs marriage that’s filled with love. Guess which one loses their partner? I’ll give you a hint it’s the one who has already sworn to die for their lover

Rule-following characters that serve as a narrative antagonist finally being pragmatic as character growth

Fate as something characters can never escape from

The ocean as life/death

Worshipping the earth when it provides then taking its resources selfishly without hesitation (“Giving Tree” Style kinda)

Characters who finally understand the danger only after the one who was warning them dies

Secret injury or illness ;)

How characters interact w/ plants/animals being their ability to nurture

Generational Trauma is always at fault at the end of the day fr

Characters returning home and realizing that coming home shouldn't ache like it does

Characters forced to play a role vs Characters who see right through them

The way time flows changing based on the weight of the moment (ie. One full chapter is a single hour - One paragraph is three months)

Sense memory (Touch, taste, smell, sound, sight) vividly taking the character back to something they had forgotten

Hurt/Comfort >>>>

[lovecolibri]

SaL anon here friend, thinking about how not only (as pointed out) that this season of OG is mediocre but LS has also been pretty Meh and remarkably for similar reasons. So because I have too much time on my hands today and too little willpower to be productive, here I give you my vaguely thought out character parallels between the two shows this season, and how they've made the season frustrating.

Eddie and Nancy: Both of these characters have had no plot or arc all season. Basically they're moral support and comedic relief.

Maddie and TK: Both have had a sort of half plot to themselves but ultimately are there to be supportive, be sad when their loved ones are in danger, and generally remind us Madney and Tarlos exist.

Bobby and Mateo: Both had exactly one plotline to themselves, both those plots came out of nowhere, and both were centered around another character that was mentioned maybe once before.

Athena and Paul: Both had a single plot centered on their past that was actually interesting and believably important for the character (though in LS at least it didn't require its own episode away from the group). The problem was that there was little to no follow up or any sense of closure, we're just kinds left to assume some sort of conversation happened.

Chim and Tommy: Both have been fairly visible this season (definitely Tommy more so than Chim except for the last few OG episodes) and had some pretty good best friend moments. But both had had incredibly frustrating plots that just didn't make sense or serve a purpose (Chim forgiving his parents and Tommy - a Mom - trying to one up an actual child).

Hen+Karen and Judd+Grace: Both were strong points for the their shows season (I'm firmly of the belief Tomorrow was the best episode of either show this season). Only a relatively minor complaint for both, namely the WTF did this come from of the Denny plot and that Grace's recent storyline has the 5th crime investigation on what's supposed to be a weewoo show.

The 911 Guest Cast and Owen: Basically these always seem to drag the show out of the firehouse and into some bullshit no one asked for. The exception is Ravi, who is the equivalent of Owen when the focus is on him being a captain to his team.

Buck and Carlos: Frankly both their plotlines have been a mess (though Buck has twice as many as Carlos), didn't go anywhere, and are full of missed opportunities for character development, especially in the realm of having an honest conversation with their parents.

If you've been keeping score I have left out of the list Marjan. This is because between the shows I feel like Marjan's character has been handled the best, even almost perfectly. We got backstory, character building, and even a cute dating plot.

Anyway hope you enjoy my afternoon musings!! This is also in part me trying to pretend this season is over (for OG at least) and I can draw these parallels instead of facing the fact we have 2 more episodes to slog through.

Bestie, were is the lie????

This is so spot on though and I laughed so hard when I read this! I've been...not necessarily avoiding but certainly not reading any LS spec because I'm just to tired to do that and OG but whooo boy am I side eying some of the stuff I've seen floating around. LS pulling the old RNM line of Tarlos having to "earn" their wedding like 🙄🙄🙄 Plus there was something about "tragedy" striking and WHY would they need more new drama when they had a whole unexpected WIFE that got sort of brushed off and the resolution for that happened off screen, and Carlos DIED and then it was just like, never mentioned again, and TK is going into his wedding without his mom. There's already so much there, why on earth would they need to invent something else?!

And don't get me started on OG doing the same thing but also packing the guest cast with a thousand people to wrap up Buck's 700 arcs he's got started that they just did nothing with until the last couple episodes apparently. I am...so tired.

Agreed though that the Marjan stuff has been good this season when she had stuff going on! I honestly don't know WHO was in charge of OG seasons 1-3 and the arc planning and pacing because Timmy is over on LS and it's having the same messy issues as OG in that regard when OG had like, the PERFECT formula those first few seasons. What was going on over there?! And more importantly, how do we get it BACK?!

[secret-bug-pain-blog]

Febuwhump Day 13 - "You weren't supposed to get hurt"

Part two of the We Forgot To Post Some Prompts Special. This one's family drama edition!

"...Kina?"

What.

Astotheles briefly abandoned his guard to glance to the side. Kina was frozen in the middle of moving into position, staring at the Royal Blade like she'd seen a ghost.

"...Maki?" Kina asked.

...did they know each other???

The Royal Blade- Maki, apparently, if that was his name. It was an odd trick of perspective to try and think of the mantis as the person who would have an informal name, considering that he had been half-certain the bug didn't have any sort of life outside of being Elizant's personal lap dog before now, but considering that Kina seemed to know him-

"I- Kina, what are you doing here? You- the mission- we thought you were dead!" 

Kina reared up- breaking formation entirely, Astotheles noted somewhere in the back of his head, but considering whatever bundle of something she was bringing to light with the Royal Blade, he couldn't really bring himself to resent it. He could easily question it, though. What in Bugaria could have possibly given her the chance to build any sort of relationship with Elizant's top minion?

Kina took a step back as the Blade- Maki, advanced on her. The blade fell limp in his claw as he abandoned his guard almost entirely. "I-"

"You- you were missing for months! Were you here this whole time?" His scent muddled as he advanced further, a mix of emotions that Astotheles struggled to decipher- and that he really shouldn't be spending the time to decipher, in the middle of a battle. Kina continued to back up, driven by the Blade - a sight that would've been almost comedic, if it weren't for the situation at hand. He was barely half her size against a bug that towered over most of the battlefield - and she was still retreating, though she smelled more of shame than of fear.

"Didn't you think that I might still care?" the Blade asked, somewhere between accusatory and hurt, and Kina reacted, flinching back as if she'd been struck.

"I didn't want you to get hurt!" she cried, distress leaking into her scent- an Ant stumbled out of her path as she flared her wings, a cricket darting around her ankles. Astotheles was getting increasingly certain that this was not the time or the place, and yet...!

The battle still raged around them. With the Royal Blade distracted, the tide was changing, if slowly. Astotheles caught a handful of bugs slowing, shooting glances at the unfolding drama in their midst before dealing with the actual fight. Distracted. Off their game.

He didn't have time for this.

"Kina-"

Astotheles had heard enough.

The mantis saw him coming, but he didn't react quickly enough. A sharp blow to the back of the claw, and he was disarmed- another few blows to the head knocked him out before he could bring his guard back up. The Royal Blade crumpled to the sand like a puppet with its strings cut, taken down by a needle-hilt to the head, and Kina jolted to attention, raising her blades in preparation to...

To attack the bug who had downed her squadmate. A conditioned response. And one that Astotheles knew very, very well.

She stared at the bug on the ground like her whole world had abruptly been turned upside down, and all that Astotheles could think was that we don't have time for this.

"We will need to talk about this later," he told Kina. Her expression wavered, stress, worry, relief, and resignment mixing so closely that he struggled to tell where one scent ended and the next began. It was a concerningly long moment before she nodded.

There was history, there. But he didn't have time for whatever new surprise that Kina had been hiding in her back pocket, and right now, he had a battle to win.

[ncutii-gatwa]

hi, i sent the ted lasso ships and hooo boyyy i am so happy that you put my thoughts and feelings into words so perfectly! i was genuinely a bit weirded out in the last season because it felt like the show deliberately opened doors that it firmly closed in the earlier seasons? i assume they pulled that just so the audience feels encouraged to take whatever route they prefer because suddenly all these ships are apparently "plausible" in canon again.

there were quite a few weird samrebecca moments in s3 that felt like they are suddenly back at having feelings for each other? like why have them run into each other or share a meaningful look over watching some romantic movie? it gave off this vibe like "oh la la, it isn't fully over yet" wtf. i hated that they sold that ship so positively with the whole power imbalance thing. i agree, it wouldn't have come off the same way if the boss was a man and the football player was a woman.

and i actually loved jamie's entire development and how it was very much not about ever getting back together with keeley! the show doing a 180 in the last episode just to undo this central aspect of his development that actually felt organic just for some cheap comedic relief simply felt like bad writing to me. i pretend it didn't happen because i hate it >:(. jamie is over her, keeley is over him.

while i'm already here lmao. what about roykeeley? XD

you took the words right out of my mouth! the fact the writers were hinting at sam and rebecca for no reason, then decided to hint tedbecca only for it to be a fake out, THEN hint at roy and keeley getting back together in one episode but nothing happening the next. it really felt like the finale was detached from the rest of the season. like they'd run out of time to explore everything so just slapped a finish on no matter what it meant for characters and relationships.

idk what they were thinking making roy and jamie literally fight over keeley like wtf. as you said jamie's arc in s3 was always about himself, and even though he admitted to keeley he loved her in s2, s3 seemed to move on from that and the relationship all together. and despite s1 i really do feel jamie isn't a violent person. why would he wanna be with a father like his? and two men literally fighting over a women and pressuring her to make a choice between them was stupid af idk why they did it (and dont even talk to me about jamie using the keeley video that was leaked as like a one up on roy. old jamie might have done that but not our jamie). you could tell men wrote those scenes.

as for roykeeley i really loved them. i really loved their relationship and wanted them to get back together by the end of s3. im so annoyed and sad and a little angry they didn't. idk why the writers were constantly hinting at them getting back together and even had them sleep together again just for it to go nowhere. like what was the point of roy's letter and the almost talk in jamie's old bedroom if nothing was going to happen? i honestly feel cheated and baited by the writers. like they saw that roykeeley was a popular ship because of how genuine it was and they decided to rip it apart for drama

sorry for the rant i just have a lot of feelings about season 3 that ive not had to chance to get out really :)

[thezanyarthropleura]

The Not-March Ones (4 of 5)

We have no choice, we must review Gamera vs. Zigra at once!

Gamera vs. Zigra was released on July 17, 1971, and will celebrate 52 years this summer. It is the seventh and final film of what I am defining as the ‘mainline Showa era’ produced by the original iteration of Daiei, and the second-to-last Showa film overall, followed by the eighth film Gamera: Super Monster nine years later.

So, let’s talk about Sugawara Chikako, also known as the Zigra woman, also known as X1 or Woman X, or Lora Lee Vara(?) in the English dub. While, yes, she’s probably most well known for being the film’s eye candy (appreciated), particularly in one infamous sequence where she’s apparently lost access to any memories of what constitutes appropriate human clothing for a civilian disguise (doubly appreciated), later on in the film, Zigra’s control over her is broken and it’s revealed that she’s not actually an alien, but the human geologist who was aboard the lunar rover Zigra appears to destroy/absorb in the opening moments of the movie.

Yes, let me rephrase that: in the span of one year since the last movie, the apparent acceptable roles for women have gone from mother/homemaker to astronaut.

And her character isn’t left there. There’s a whole half hour remaining in the film, over the course of which Chikako starts regaining memories, saddled with the guilt of all the destruction she’s caused and using her returning knowledge to assist the human forces gathered against Zigra. She experiences the highs and lows of the rest of the cast, the sadness when it seems the missing children are dead and the relief when Gamera saves them – after her own knowledge of Zigra’s stasis beam proves instrumental in revealing they can be saved at all.

There are quite a few other women in the film as well, particularly Ishikawa Kiyoko, who connects the two main kids’ families this time around by being Kenichi(kid 1)’s aunt, who’s been hired as a babysitter to take care of Helen(kid 2) and her sister Margie(sidelined kid 3) while their mother is in the hospital with another child on the way(nonexistent kid 4). There’s also Ishikawa Hiroko, who seems to be Kenichi’s mother, Yosuke’s wife, and thus Kiyoko’s sister-in-law (both the dub and the subtitles make it confusing exactly how this family structure works, so this is all pretty much just my best guess). There’s also the Sea World announcer, who gets an extended scene near the beginning of the film and is later one of several women a mind-controlled Chikako confronts rather seductively and steals clothes from, but I can’t find an actual credit to confirm if she has a canonical name (it’s also possible she’s a cameo appearance by an actual staff member at Kamogawa Sea World at the time).

The monster fights in this film are excellent and entertaining, particularly the extended underwater sequences where Gamera fights Zigra in the form where he’s proportioned like a regular shark. This seems especially difficult to choreograph in theory, but the film makes it look easy, and the only real complaint I have is that both fights in this movie play out very similarly, location-wise - an underwater battle that then moves onto the same beach right next to Sea World, both times. MST3K-only viewers will be missing out an amazing, comedic scene where Gamera tries to sneakily steal the bathyscaphe out from under a sleeping Zigra’s nose in something that strongly resembles a Looney Tunes sketch. I also have a particular fondness for the scenes where Zigra leaps off of land and flaps at the air with his large wings/fins, and his stasis beam is a unique ability for a kaiju and creates interesting plot elements in the way it’s used. And then, of course, there’s the famous scene where Gamera plays Zigra’s back like a xylophone and does a touchdown dance. It’s the little things, you know?

Maybe I’m just biased toward films set in beach and ocean-themed environments, but this film is a joy to watch, with beautiful on-location shots at Kamogawa Sea World (including a chase sequence through the aquarium halls) and the surrounding shoreline. There are open-ocean and island sequences too, and of course, the special effects seafloor scenes where the monsters do battle. Not to mention the strong environmental themes, a longtime favorite staple of mine in classic kaiju cinema, of which this movie may be an early, if not the first major example (by one week). Add to all that Chikako’s full character arc, which may arguably make her the earliest Gamera example of a female lead character despite being a villain for the majority of the movie, and this film is easily my favorite of the mainline seven Showa films.

And my shipping heart is pleased that, even if it’s only happening in the background, Chikako and Kiyoko seem to have gotten quite friendly with each other toward the end – especially in the final wide shot of the human cast on the beach, right before the Gamera theme song kicks in, where Kiyoko visibly preens herself for Chikako and then they stand closer together than anyone else in the shot and even take a moment to look longingly into each other’s eyes.

Make an event of this film with jelly sharks, goldfish, Swedish fish, and Sharkleberry Fin Kool-aid. And/or try my Shark Week special: multi-sized pasta shell macaroni and cheese, mixed with fish of choice and topped with old bay seasoning.

[mickeys-malarkey]

BATDR Analysis/Post-Playthrough Theory Revision Pt. 2/4!

Fair Warning: Lots of spoilers and some pretty gruesome topics ahead (this game definitely lived up to the “scarier than BATIM” promise, wow)!

The unexpected key to understanding how the stories of BATDR, TLO, TIOL, and even DCTL intertwine: “The Mug and the Maiden: Vol. 1 by Sir Wilton Moore”

(This is my absolute favorite part, it made Wilson one of my favorite characters in the entire series~! 💕)

Let's just get this outta the way, “Wilton” is literally only one letter away from “Wilson,” this thing was definitely written by some version of him. Now, I'm sure most people skipped over this thing like my brother did, it's very long and seems borderline nonsensical at first. But I think it's much more important than it seems on the surface; not just comedic relief to break up your horror adventure or meaningless flavor text to fill out the world, but in fact a “twisted riddle that reveals more than meets the eye,” as Wilson's character bio says. Here's some screenshots, if you wanna read the story in full (described in alt text like everything else, if you can't make it out):

When I first read this, it struck me (when I wasn't busting a gut laughing) that several descriptions sounded very similar to characters in the Bendy games and books (and that there's a lot of returning repeated themes, like people going by two different names). The mouse who went to find cheese in the governor's basement, got crushed by the false wall, and eventually only briefly had the fact his wife worried when he didn't come home mentioned (also who apparently decayed much faster than he should've, his body practically reduced to nothing by sundown) sounded like Brant from TLO following Bill and Constance into the factory's secret moonshine basement hoping to get a scoop, getting crushed by the secret door, and eventually only briefly having Bill wonder if he had anyone who would miss and go looking for him (also who freaking turned into an ink bubble and popped moments after passing out from the pain so that the only remnants of his body were ink splatters). The cheese store man with big eyes and ears and belts of cheese around him sounded like Norman (I mean, besides how the man has a hobby of eavesdropping on and watching everyone from the shadows, just look at his ink form: The Projectionist). The ugly lizard man in the blue cloak with the distracting eyebrow hair sounded like Joey Drew in his blue bathrobe who many complained in BATIM was designed/animated too uncannily so that they found his face distracting. Riktor the Cracked sounded like Wilson with his scar (speaking of which, I'm not at all convinced that he's who Boswell Lotsabucks really represented. I'll explain more as we go)…

In fact, it occurred to me that Riktor's entire story sounded similar to the story Wilson tells about himself, both directly and through context clues (no, I'm not gonna bother with writing out sound effects/tones for this guy; that would add so much extra text that this would be incomprehensible. Just assume that the whole time he's talking he's wheezing like it's physically laborious for him to breathe and he has a Resting Villain Tone™).

“It seems that Arch Gate Studios, in all its misplaced admiration, was so eager to absorb the life's work of that crooked charlatan, Joey Drew, they didn't fully realize what they had acquired. Call it fate that I just happened to be there on the loading dock that morning. When the delivery boys dropped one of the crates, it smashed open, and inside there was something truly special. A mass of yellow steel and beautiful rivets. Some kind of machine. No one knew what it was. So the fools put it on display for all to see. But I could tell that this crude device held secrets. Secrets that could be mine.” ~ Wilson Arch, Bendy and the Dark Revival, “The Machine” audio log (emphasis added)

(I'll come back to the red part later.)

“When I first entered this world, it was an untamed wilderness. A wretched, crawling slum, ruled by that grinning demon. From chaos, I brought order. From order, I brought peace. Once you cut the head from the snake, the snake bleeds out quietly onto the ground. Now the only question that remains is: ‘What if the head grows back?’” ~ Wilson Arch, Bendy and the Dark Revival, “The Snake” audio log

“The machine speaks to me revealing its many possibilities. What I can accomplish using its power is beyond any measure. Life and death can become a thing of the past. Poverty and hunger, a distant memory. I can remake the world anew. But does the world deserve such a gift? For now, I have bigger matters at hand. A man in a black coat came asking at the front desk about the machine. Said he was from the Gent Corporation. Fortunately, the receptionist knew nothing and he left quietly. Later, I found his name on the sign-in form. Mister Allen Gray.” ~ Wilson Arch, Bendy and the Dark Revival, “A Gift To Mankind” audio log (emphasis added)

(I'll come back to the green part later, too.)

“It's been years and my face is still a mystery to my co-workers. They don't know me. They avoid me as if I carried some infectious disease. At first, I felt this was an insult. But now… it is a gift. With the right costume, I can play the part of anyone. I can go completely unnoticed, hidden amongst the shadowed walls. As a clerk, an artist, a producer. Or even… a lowly janitor.” ~ Wilson Arch, Bendy and the Dark Revival, “In Plain Sight” audio log

Wilson: You must be very tired. A quick rest will do you good. Betty will show you to your room. She's my housekeeper, among other things. . . . Audrey: And… do you trust Wilson? Betty: This is the realm of the Ink Demon. His shadow hangs over us all. I don't trust anyone. But Wilson takes care of me. Keeps me safe. He once said I remind him of something he called his… “mother?” Tell me, is that a good thing… where you two are from? Audrey: I'm not sure. I don't think I ever had one. Betty: Well, no matter. Now, I was told to make sure you get some sleep once you got here. So get nice and comfy and relax. I left something for you on the table that might just help you nod off. It's my own recipe. Works very fast. Just follow the instructions. Carefully.

Riktor was a “distant descendant” of one of the Three Grand Flagon Kings whose ancient exploits were legendary, though which one he comes from he isn't sure. I think this 100% confirms that while Nathan Sr. was never officially involved in JDS, he was always pulling strings behind the curtain, cause that brings the count to Three Kings of JDS. We, the audience don't know which of the studio's three original “rulers” (as Audrey calls herself at the end of the game) Wilson is the apparently-estranged son of – Henry Stein, Joey Drew, or Nathan Arch Sr. – until right before he dies (I know when Audrey was confirmed Joey's daughter, he first said he wanted to save his father's life, and I hadn't yet questioned if “Fake Henry” was actually fake or not, I wondered if maybe he was Henry's son), but there's definitely a reason he told Audrey, “shh, don't fret. We're going home,” when he sacrificed both her and himself to the Ink Machine: they were going home, to the place their fathers ruled over so very long ago!

(Anyone notice that they literally call the Ink Dimension a “kingdom” right there in the game's description??)

Riktor is called “the Cracked” even though everyone can see that he isn't cracked at the time the narrator is telling us this, and the narrator basically calls us stupid for wondering why the heck that is; we find out he gets the crack from being used to shatter a lizard man's face (which must've gotten better seeing as he was seen again the next week) at the end of this story that begins with the deaths of two major characters. Sure sounds like Wilson being called “the Man Who Killed the Ink Demon” even though half the Lost Ones we run into say “he says he killed the Ink Demon, but I saw him” and we frequently get chased by him ourselves, and how he basically calls anyone who questions this filthy slanderers; we find out that he's been trying his darndest (describing his previous attempts at doing so as cutting off a serpent's head that winds up growing back) and the reason he sacrificed himself and Audrey to the Ink Machine at the beginning of the game was because he needed her for his big plan to finally kill Bendy for real.

Riktor was the second son of his parents; the first was apparently more well-known because the narrator says there's probably no need to tell us his name, and apparently nobody liked him. Sure sounds like how everyone just already knows that Nathan Arch Sr. must have a son named “Nathan Arch Jr.” since he's called “Senior,” and Exhibit A for Boswell Lotsabucks not being Wilson: we just got confirmation he's Nathan Jr.'s younger brother! Also, I can smell the intense sibling jealousy, roflol. Either that, or… did Nathan Sr. also dislike his Favorite Son™, but like him enough to make Wilson jealous?? I mean, he does only ever mention having one son throughout the whole series and, as @dreamfisher-nux pointed out, says that son is as important to him as Bendy was to Joey, but he actually rarely ever speaks of even him and, unless that “Nathan Arch” portrait in Archgate's animation department is actually a replacement one of Junior (or perhaps even Nathan III, either of which would support my “Nathan Sr./Nathan I is actually dead from old age, at this point, the reason the JDS museum is bankrupt is because his [grand]son is nowhere near as ruthless a businessman as his [grand]dad, and Nathan Sr./Nathan I's soul is the ‘new evil’ in the Ink Dimension” theory), then we don't even see his face where we see Nathan Sr. and Joey's; he claims Junior's the one who gave him the idea for a studio/etc., it doesn't make sense not to memorialize him in any way, shape, or form.

(Sidenote: we also get a year of birth for Wilson, here. Twenty years before Mr. Darble Mouse/Brant “died;” he was born in 1926, so he's only 47 in BATDR… The stress of being Nathan Sr.'s son really did a number on ya, huh, bud?)

Riktor was “accidentally” put under a sleeping curse by a seemingly kind witch who at first offers him cake, then when he's still convinced she's evil instead offers a scone, which he does accept. She seems confused when Riktor falls asleep after eating it, then just finishes her cake and walks away to get a civil service job like she doesn't care; when he fulfills fate's purpose by getting cracked and wakes up, she just nods from her faraway office like she knew what was gonna happen all along. This witch sure sounds similar to Betty, the seemingly kind doll-like housekeeper who “accidentally” winds up sending us on a convoluted and pointless scavenger hunt for the final sleeping draught ingredient that honestly felt like some sort of test to see what we'd be willing to do if we thought we were supposed to with the way she just happened to catch us right before we went through with killing the fish we already sent into shock with the suspiciously convenient piano… and when we finally do take the sleeping tonic we're captured by Twisted Alice— Wilson, buddy, pal, friend, did your dad have your mom put you through some sort of obedience test, at the end of which she drugged you with some kind of sedative, and that was the reason you happened to be on the loading dock when the crate broke (Betty, honey, I… don't think it was a compliment)…??? Also, wait— why did you make an ink creature who reminds you of your mother the housekeeper? And... oh gross, was my initial assumption as to the meaning of “among other things” correct—?? Wilson, are you not the son of Tessa Arch but Nathan Sr.'s illegitimate son from an affair he had with the housekeeper (a bit Soap Opera™, but… it happens)?!?! Is that why he hated you (also, clearly Nathan Sr. did not learn his lesson, seeing as he was looking for girls to dance with at the Sparkle Unicorn a year after Wilson was born… Tessa, honey, you need a better husband. Blink twice if you need help escaping your current one)?! Nathan, dude, it's your own dang fault if you can't keep it in your pants!! Don't take it out on your kid, ya @$$hole!!!

Riktor sits unsold on the cheese shop man's shelf for years. Sure sounds like how Wilson goes unnoticed by all his coworkers in his dad's studio (or wherever the heck he was working when he recorded that audio log) for years.

Riktor became a “hero” not through his own actions, but by “accident,” just happening to be in the widow's sack when she swung it at the ugly lizard man. Sure sounds like how Wilson just happened to be there when the crate containing the Ink Machine was “accidentally” dropped and broken, setting him on his seemingly noble mission.

Riktor goes off to fight another great Evil that awakened at the stench of death, his adventures not over yet. Sounds like Wilson setting his sights on Gent CEO Alan/Allen Gray/Grey (he spells it all the ways in different audio logs/memos), who's apparently been trying to get the Ink Machine since JDS was still around (I dunno if I believe that, except by a very specific technicality, which I'll explain later) and isn't happy Archgate has it now that Joey's dead, hm…?

My most important epiphany about this story, though, came while I was complaining to my bestie how creepy and nonsensical it was that the “who's the real villain?” attention seemed to be being pulled in even more directions than before, now, and even less attention was being paid to Nathan Sr., his audio logs making him out to be a genuinely friendly and grief-stricken man who didn't know what was going on with the ink machine and was creeped out by its apparent influence… Why the absolute heck was so little attention being paid to the man within whose animation studio/museum two of our main characters – one of them his own son – perished at the beginning of this game and so many of whose previous statements absolutely do not line up with what he's saying now?? Then, I noticed the weirdly specific discrepancies in The Mug and the Maiden, and I realized…

“I just received the call. Joey Drew is dead. What a quiet end to an extraordinary life. Last I heard he was staying in some cramped apartment downtown. You could practically hear the rats through the telephone when he called me last April. In spite of that, old Joey sounded quite happy when last we spoke. More like the excited, hopeful young man I knew once upon a time. Ah, well, farewell my friend. What will become of your creations now?” ~ Nathan Arch Sr., Bendy and the Dark Revival, “End of an Era” audio log

“I'm ready for something different in my career. I've built steel companies from the ground up, dabbled in petroleum, even tried political office once. ‘That Nathan Arch,’ they used to say, ‘He's got the magic touch!’ But I'm hungry for a bit of fun, I think. Something both the masses and I can enjoy. My son suggested movies. Open a studio! Now I love a good film as much as anyone, but the magic of animation, now there's something special! My old friend Joey knew the thrills of bringing characters to life, rest his soul. Maybe with a bit of elbow grease and a small cash investment, I can resurrect the past.” ~ Nathan Arch Sr., Bendy and the Dark Revival, “Inspiration” audio log

“The papers are signed! The animation staff is hired! Arch Gate Pictures is open for business! As of nine o'clock this morning, Bendy and all his little cartoon friends now belong to me. I'll admit, it's strange owning a dear friend's legacy. But I think Joey would be content knowing it's safely in my hands. ‘You just gotta believe,’ he used to say. He was such a showman. Well, I believe Joey. I wholeheartedly believe!” ~ Nathan Arch Sr., Bendy and the Dark Revival, “Grand Opening” audio log

“I haven't had much sleep the past few nights. I usually can separate myself from the office when I get home. But lately, I've been feeling something pulling at my mind. My thoughts fall to the Joey Drew exhibit we opened last week. Outside one or two of the artists, I don't think I've ever seen a single soul go inside. It's a shame how so many of us refuse to learn from the past. The past can give us our greatest lessons. But still, ever since we moved in Joey's old things, there's been a strange feeling around Arch Gate. Like the ghosts of long ago are wandering about. Calling out to me.” ~ Nathan Arch Sr., Bendy and the Dark Revival, “The Exhibit” audio log

…the widow symbolizes Nathan Arch Sr., and there are actually two characters that symbolize Joey— the ugly lizard man, yes, but also the widow's dead husband. We already examined, in small part, how similar her interactions with Riktor's story were to Archgate's interactions with Wilson's; let's get more in-depth examining her story, now.

The widow was already planning on adding her cheddar cider idea onto her preexisting business before her husband died, she was just using distraction from her grief over him as an excuse to kick her plans into gear. Sure sounds like how Nathan Sr. admitted to working on his museum for years before when we find out Joey apparently died, back in TIOL, but then he turns around and tries to gaslight us into thinking that this is a new idea he just had shortly after Joey's death to try and spice up his life while also preserving his beloved friend's memory in BATDR (and, by extension, that TIOL is no longer canon), doesn't it? Also, wow, the repeated theme of alcohol returns, once again. 👀

The widow just goes from grief-stricken, to making herself skip mourning her husband to move on with her life, to suddenly crying about her situation in front of the cheese store man with the big eyes and ears so he'll give her what she wants (including things that don't match what she originally said—? Swiss? You were supposed to be getting cheddar?? And how are you picking up things like some random cat, a personalized pen, and the cheese store man's cash box “on accident???”). Sounds an awful lot like how Nathan Sr. just goes from “oh no! Joey's dead!” to “oh well, wonder what'll become of the Bendy IP” and then kicks his aforementioned plans into gear (and how he, for some reason, grabs that random painting of Joey's I was confused about and keeps this machine which also makes no sense for him to keep if he doesn't know what it does— it could be completely unrelated to Joey as the engine out of some truck or boat that a previous tenant left behind, for all he knows), hm? I realized the cheese store man doesn't symbolize Norman, he uses Norman's image to symbolize all observers of Nathan Sr., Joey, and the situations surrounding them. 👀 Both Nathan Sr. and the widow are putting on a performance of grief to manipulate observers (this also feels like more gaslighting us into thinking TIOL is no longer canon)!

The widow is the best-looking creature in the kingdom, who all the men desire now that she's single, but that seems implied to only be because nobody knows about the beautiful deer woman who lives over the hill. I wonder if it's not an accident that nobody knows about the deer woman, cause that sure sounds like how Nathan Sr. makes himself out to be the most innocent, kind, and intelligent character in the whole series, especially after not only erasing the evidence of multiple people's existences but also writing a whole smear note against Henry in TIOL that seemed to successfully gaslight a lot of fans into believing that Henry might be the real villain. 👀

The widow gets angry when the ugly lizard man tells her he's reformed, saying right after previously saying that she has to go because she has no time and he eats people that it's boring if he's not gonna be the danger in the story which means she came all the way there for nothing (wait, I thought you supposedly came to the forest by accident because nobody in this place can read) and now that's why she should just leave, causing him to panic and beg her to stay while claiming that actually he's not reformed he was just putting on an act to manipulate her. Sure sounds an awful lot like all of Nathan Sr.'s manipulative self-contradiction (e.g. saying he wants to dispel the negative rumors about Joey and then turning around and saying things about him that he really shouldn't be saying if that were his goal) and how I pointed out in my original analysis/theory that he seems to get off on not just turning people into Murder Puppets but also seeing how absolutely brutal he can make them while still having them believe they're in the right and was not happy when one of his favorites' (Joey) conscience grew loud towards the end of his life, doesn't it? Is… this saying Nathan Sr. did something to make Joey play the villain again, after he was reformed…? Might this even be saying that it was under Nathan Sr.'s manipulation that Joey claimed responsibility for a lot of things that he didn't actually do…? 👀

*Stares at the ending of DCTL when Joey claimed that A: Sammy was nabbing random people who stayed at JDS too late at night under his orders when it was clearly implied to be because of his own hallucinations, and B: Buddy had been hired specifically for the purpose of sacrificing “a real person,” meaning someone who hadn't had their soul leeched out by the ink; which doesn't make sense because, for one thing, that should mean they'd already be in the Inkwell without having to die like in TLO, and for another, it's implied Buddy was hired before Bendy (the first ink creature, apparently soulless because Joey's soul failed to merge with him for some reason, seeing as it's heavily implied that Mr. Unger can tell that Joey's hand perfectly matches Bendy's handprint) was even created – heck, before the Ink Machine was even working, seeing as Buddy witnessed Tom bringing Joey blueprints – with Twisted Alice (the second ink creature, who definitely has a soul) being implied to have also been created by the time he dies, so he can't have been hired for that specific purpose*

The widow acts surprised that something in her sack of cheese smashed the ugly lizard man's face, despite swinging it at him like she fully expected doing so to save her. Sure sounds like how Nathan Sr. acts confused and creeped out by the strange energy contained within the museum exhibits in BATDR despite keeping this junker-looking machine as if he knew full well it was related to JDS and having made very ominous comments in TIOL about how he now understands all of Joey's unhinged musings which should also mean he definitely knows what it does, successfully gaslighting most players into thinking that he didn't take the Ink Machine for nefarious purposes (and, by extension, that TIOL is no longer canon), doesn't it? Not to mention his company's “accidentally” setting Wilson on his seemingly noble mission… 👀

Riktor winds up having a lovely friendship with the widow once he “saves her life.” Wilson wanted his dad's attention and approval (what child wouldn't want that from their parent? Poor baby /gen 🥺), but seems to know at this point that the best he's gonna get is showing him he succeeded at life despite what he thought of and how he treated him (or possibly… that he can be a useful puppet too); he tries to trick Audrey into giving him her soul with the lie that they'd be saving his dad's life with his big plans and doesn't even get the extremely messed up “good enough” ending because he gets freaking shredded in his own soul extraction machine (I was not expecting— there were pieces of him on the floor, my gosh 😰).

Now… I want to get into the widow's dead husband symbolizing Joey in addition to the ugly lizard man a little more. I still think I was right about Freaky Teeth Bendy's link to grayscale being a hint that he's Joey, but now I think there's more context around that. In my original analysis/theory, I mused about how it seemed like Nathan Sr. was trying to create a very specific image of Joey in the public consciousness with his notes in TIOL (a simultaneous A: genius and saint whose inventions should be accepted with open arms, and B: perfect scapegoat to take all blame in case we don't… *Stares long and hard at the fandom's reactions to the Memory of Joey*). I also mused on how several characters seemed to have become personifications of different parts of Joey's psyche once inked, but right now I want to make special note of the fact that Susie Campbell/Twisted Alice's story seems to parallel Joseph Dempsey/Joey Drew's in many ways.

I think that the dead husband symbolizes the Memory of Joey, who in turn is the image of Joey that Nathan Sr. has ingrained not only into official real-world history, but also into the memories of everyone trapped in the Ink Dimension. Did anyone notice that… the Memory of Joey literally introduces himself with the intro of the BATIM audio log I think directly addresses that Joey hated being who Nathan forced him to be (“I believe there’s something special in all of us…” Nathan Sr.'s just outright flaunting that this is his version of Joey straight out of the gate)? What about how the nasty mouth-spider monsters we fall into a nest of right before meeting the Memory of Joey for the first time… those were called “Widows…” and the boss one was called “King Widow…??” Or how the followers of Amok, who decorated everything including themselves with Widow motifs, had a whole thing about “passing on the name” when the previous holder dies…??? 👀👀

“Within our isolated walls, Lord Amok reigns. The drips and drops of the leaking world above cannot stop his rule. Those who oppose Amok's hand, have their bodies crushed and fed into the narrow pipes that lead below into forgotten sewers under our feet. Those tunnels are even deeper, even darker, than this one. There is only suffering down there. But, should anyone defeat Lord Amok, cast him down, our small kingdom will belong to the conqueror. This is the secret of Amok's immortality. Pass on the throne, pass on the name.” ~ Unknown, Bendy and the Dark Revival, “Next in Line” memo (emphasis added)

(Holy monkeys does the first red part reek of Nathan Sr.'s disappearing people mafia-style, as well… 👀)

The husband “didn't do much. Until he died…” Does that sound like Figurehead Joey having his image hijacked by his “good friend” Nathan Sr. postmortem to A: create a much more successful business in the real world than he did in his lifetime as a human, and B: meddle much more personally in Ink Dimension affairs, to anybody else…? 👀👀👀

The ugly lizard man, on the other hand, symbolizes Bendy and his Dapper and Freaky Teeth sides, who in turn are the Joseph Dempsey and Joey Drew sides of the real Joey. At the point in his life that Audrey knew him: the healing heart of the reformed old man who tried his best to be a good friend and uncle/father vs. the habitual remnants of the “become a manipulative abuser” survival mechanism brought on by Nathan Sr.'s manipulation and abuse. I'm especially convinced of this after listening to the experiment logs detailing how inhumanely the Keepers treated both Freaky Teeth and Dapper Bendy in their attempts to help Wilson vanquish the Ink Demon…

“Experiment thirteen: The Ink Demon is successfully sedated for transport. Laboratory 9 is prepared for arrival at the receiving bay. Be advised that sedation will not last long. Termination must commence immediately upon reception. Wilson will expect a detailed report of the creature's demise.” ~ A Keeper, Bendy and the Dark Revival, “Experiment 13” audio log (emphasis added)

“Experiment twenty six: Frequent delays due to the Ink Demon's refusal to terminate. Keepers have administered quarter hourly sessions of physical tortures and surgical invasions to wear down his powers. All of these efforts have been ultimately unsuccessful. A new method of control must be devised. Termination impossible.” ~ A Keeper, Bendy and the Dark Revival, “Experiment 26” audio log (emphasis added)

“Experiment forty four: We have successfully pressed the Ink Demon into the form designated as Bendy. He is smaller in size and harmless in this more timid state. His powers are also greatly reduced. Using lengths of steel wire to cut into the side of his body, he now registers emotional responses. There were tears of ink documented. Screams of pain. It was delightful to see such progress. The Ink Demon will remain in this small form indefinitely.” ~ A Keeper, Bendy and the Dark Revival, “Experiment 44” audio log (emphasis added)

…and the way Wilson said, “to truly destroy such a monster, he must be dethroned. Humiliated…” How the actual heck do you humiliate a soulless ink blob and why would that help you defeat him? That line just doesn't make sense, unless… Well, I'll just say that all sounds uncomfortably similar to some of the things I talked about suspecting Nathan Sr. did to Joey (loving to belittle him and watch him suffer, especially in front of large groups of people?? Having him kidnapped and tortured for failing/disobeying too many times, his mobility problems being caused by injuries he sustained during that time??? Etc????) in my original analysis/theory, based on things said in the books and BATDR archive images. Which… doesn't make me feel good about the ending of The Mug and the Maiden…

“…But for now, dear reader, we return to our own lives. So let us end this tale with one closing thought, shall we? Be we cracked, or small, or even dead, there's always a purpose to where we all are led. Be brave, and strong, and lest we forget: Fate isn't quite done with any of us just yet. The End” ~ The Mug and the Maiden: Vol 1 by Sir Wilton Moore, Bendy and the Dark Revival, ch. 5 (emphasis added)

“They promise us peace. But they bring us only more pain!” ~ The Ink Demon, Bendy and the Dark Revival, ch. 5

I think “fate” is symbolic of Nathan Sr.'s machinations, I was right to describe Joey as being “a very-long-term abuse victim who can't even escape his abuser postmortem” in my thought summaries… and this actually might still fit my “the perfection vs. imperfection of the ink creatures comes from the intactness vs. brokenness of their hearts, not the purity” theory, if we include healed/healing hearts like I said Dapper Bendy represents. Anyone notice that Dapper only seemed to turn back into Freaky Teeth after betrayal? When Audrey tells him, “it's okay. I won't hurt you. I promise. It's okay. See? I'm your friend. I won't hurt you,” only to accidentally hurt him with her powers? When she talked to the Memory of Joey in what I suspect was actually Dapper Bendy's hideout, not his (Dapper was just down the hall on both sides of it… the Memory of Joey might've literally just been camping the doors to keep Dapper out and catch Audrey)? When she promises him that they'll stay together and she won't let anything happen to him, then disappears for way too long talking to the Memory of Joey yet again before walking right up to the front door of the laboratory that tortured him alone because he's disappeared presumably in heartbroken fright?? Coming to kill Shipahoy Wilson after it freaking ripped her legs off (and had Wilson's soul banished from it, which – alongside the very fact that Shipahoy Wilson was capable of not just physically existing, but also being alive without his soul in it just like Bendy before Joey's human death and unlike, from what I can tell, literally every single other ink creature, which I'll come back to – tells me that his soul may have been powerful enough to defeat him just like Audrey's, but I'll come back to that, as well) and then save her when she's bleeding out on the cold laboratory floor??? Freaky Teeth literally even calls Audrey a traitor when she chooses to play the End Reel partly to resurrect the Memory of Joey in the end.

“It's time, Audrey. Your road is broken. Join the Dark Puddles and give in to your suffering. You have nothing. You are without purpose. Your very existence was a terrible lie. You're a mistake. A monster. Like me. But I will make you strong. I will make you meaningful. It's time… *Offers his hand, which Audrey accepts* We are one. The daughter of Drew. The power of the Demon.” ~ The Ink Demon, Bendy and the Dark Revival, ch. 5

“…The only important question is this: Who are we, Henry? I thought I knew who I was… but… the success starved me. Nothing left but lines on a page. In the end, we followed two different roads of our own making. You, a lovely family… Me… a crooked empire. And my road burned. I let our creations become my life…” ~ Joey Drew, Bendy and the Ink Machine, ch. 5

Sounds to me like what might've felt like freedom to Joey/Bendy (and Nathan Sr. certainly wanted him to think was freedom) – becoming a monster – was not actually freedom (*stares at my notes on Constance and Susie/Alice's personification of parts of Joey's psyche, particularly how they're both conflicted between feeling bad about doing/being forced to do bad things and doing them because it makes them feel so powerful/in control/etc., and then at how Dapper Bendy admitted he doesn't want to hurt Audrey like Freaky Teeth does* …It was odd how Audrey worded her apology, wasn't it? “I didn't mean to hurt you… and I really don't think you want to hurt me either, right?” It's almost like… she already knew that both Bendys were the same being…), like the kinds of circumstances under which I noted that Joey's “cruel prank” survival mechanism kicks in were when Audrey saw her dad's ugly side, and like Freaky Teeth merging with her in that moment was symbolic of her leaning on her dad's maladaptive coping mechanisms generational trauma-style.

“I reached up and pushed [Mister Drew] away, hard. Harder than I'd ever pushed anyone away before, and he fell back against the wooden stage with a crash. I felt strangely powerful. I also wasn't in any pain anymore. I stood up. I marched over to him. It was my turn to stand over him. He cowered. He actually cowered in fright. I felt really good about that. ‘What did you do to me?’ I asked. ‘Now, Buddy,’ he said, holding up a hand, ‘don't be angry. Just remember I saved your life.’ ‘What did you do?’ I took a step closer, placed my hands on my hips. I enjoyed that my shadow loomed over him like this, filling his small world with darkness. ‘You're angry. You're frustrated. You can't express yourself, I understand, but don't you see that I fixed you? And now you're, you're—perfect!’ . . . He was talking to me like I was stupid. Like I was him, the happy wolf who shares my mind. I know he was excited about it then. I could feel him pulling me, wanting me to go to Mister Drew. But at this moment, back then, I was much stronger than he was. Mister Drew didn't know that. That was my advantage. I turned to him. We stood face-to-face. He smiled. ‘Come with me.’ He extended his arm toward me and I grabbed it. I held it hard, and he cried out in pain. I wasn't going to kill him. I can't kill. That's not who I am. I threw him to the floor. And I stood over him. And breathed for a moment. I ran then. I ran away. Into the darkness of the theater, down the trapdoor and through the vents. I just ran. I disappeared into the building. Into its secrets that even Joey Drew himself didn't know. I hid. I hid and he didn't find me. He couldn't find me…” ~ Daniel “Buddy” Lewek, Dreams Come to Life, pg. 288 and 295 (emphasis added)

*Stares at my notes on how it seems like Joey went into hiding to escape Nathan Sr. after JDS shut down* Maybe I'll be right that there's yet another secret ending that will involve unlocking Grayscale Mode to fully reveal the truth (though I'm sure that'll take a while for anyone to uncover if it exists, considering what unlocking BATIM's Grayscale Mode was like)? Maybe something involving merging the Memory of Joey with Bendy the way Bendy merged with Audrey in the default ending, or separating the Bendys and revealing them both to also be Joey, either way symbolizing that we can only know the truth by looking at the full picture? Or revealing the Memory of Joey to straight-up be Nathan Sr. in disguise (which would support my “Wilson's not actually the ‘new evil’ in the Ink Dimension, it's Nathan Sr.'s soul” theory)?

Back to the fate thing, there's actually a freakish number of “accidents/coincidences” and weird amount of attention that gets called to the “accidents/coincidences” before they get brushed aside in this series. Remember all the ones I called out in my original analysis/theory? Remember that rant of Wilson's I mentioned earlier, about how nothing that's going on makes sense?

Audrey: You did this to me. You brought me here. Turned me into this… this thing! This doesn't make sense! I've never done anything to you! Wilson: Open your eyes and look around you! None of this “makes sense.” Drawn walls. Nightmarish creatures. An ancient studio that died out almost thirty years ago. It's all fiction. Utter nonsense! And yet… in here, it exists. It breathes. It flourishes! Reality guided by its master's pen. The foundation for a new reality we can bleed into our own. Just think of it. Anything we create in here, we can release out there. *Pours blob of ink into hand* But first, this world must be controlled. *Makes a mini Bendy out of the ink blob* Made safe. *Plops mini Bendy onto his suitcase and pokes it until it stands up* These… things. These angels and demons. *Mini Bendy waves at Audrey, she waves back* Are they really life? *Picks mini Bendy back up* Or are they just… *crushes mini Bendy* stains? Old mistakes ready to be cleansed away for newer, greater things?

How the flipping heck does this rant make sense as a response to what Audrey said? It doesn't, unless there's a hidden, second meaning to it. Another riddle? Is he telling us that there's a specific reason that this doesn't make sense? That there's a Puppet Master behind the curtain, pulling everyone's strings, altering our perceptions of reality through gaslighting, manipulation, and complex plots executed in secret, and who sees people as playthings to shape into monsters that may not be who they really are and will destroy and/or erase any who become a liability or that he simply grows bored of? That many of his victims turn to Joey's Illusion of Living “philosophy,” deciding that if they're not allowed to know what reality is then they're going to create their own, better realities in order to cope (which Nathan Sr. of course loves and encourages because that makes them easier to control, so it'll only be safe if someone takes control away from him)?

“…And I got to know the world underground. I got to know the theater and the studio. I watched, hidden, as they were merged together. I watched Mister Drew fire people and hire new ones, and I watched as he tried to make the machine work. I learned that pictures came to life. Like I always feared. Like I always knew. And so I decided to write this down. And I think, I think I'm done. I think I have to be done because, Dot, I'm so tired. And he's getting stronger. Now I'm really not Buddy anymore. I am also Boris. Descending deeper into this world of aging, yellowing madness…” ~ Daniel “Buddy” Lewek, Dreams Come to Life, pg. 295-296 (emphasis added)

Something tells me that the entire reason Wilson speaks in riddles is because he figured out that's the only way he can trick his dad into letting him say what he wants to say… and that the version of him who wrote The Mug and the Maiden did so because he could tell that his dad's Murder Puppet process was working on him… and that he indeed connected to the hivemind, as that one Lost One was worried about, but for much less nefarious reasons than they thought… *Stares at my notes on how Joey seems to have had to jump through hoops in order to be permitted to publish TIOL and then create the hivemind in order to get more S.O.S.es out*

“That Wilson! He's everywhere! Yet he's nowhere! I don't know how he does it! It's madness! Madness!! What if he's inside my head? What if he can hear my thoughts?! Can you hear me now, Wilson? Can you?! You won't get me! I've got a plan! If I tear out my brain then you can't hear my mind! Ha! I'll show you! I defy you! All hail the Ink Demon! Hail! He's not dead, I tell you! He will rise again! And his dark revenge will be terrible!” ~ Unknown, Bendy and the Dark Revival, “In My Mind” memo (emphasis added)

Maybe all that's another reason Nathan Sr. hated him, he really was “one smart mug of cheese…” Too smart to be kept alive— was Riktor putting the cowbells on the skunks symbolic of Wilson warning people about what his dad was doing?! And was the great skunk famine that forced Riktor to “seek a new purpose” and get a job as an adventurer symbolic of Nathan Sr. punishing him for doing so, starting him on his journey to Murder Puppet status?!?! @inkdemonapologist pointed out that TLO calls attention to how these teens seem to have been swept up in the mess they were “for no reason,” they just happened to be in the wrong places at the wrong times (I don't recall any specific parts to quote, myself); now this fairytale calls attention to how the mouse (Brant) and the widow's dead husband (Joey) didn't need to die because there was a nearby cheese store, brushing the reader's questions as to why the mouse did this aside as unimportant? Could… this be saying that the “accidental” events of TLO were not, in fact, accidents?

“Again I shook my head. Didn’t [Constance] understand that this was not how it worked? She hadn’t lived in my world. Any company that could afford such a machine, that could hide it, that had such dark huge secrets, they had to be protected by something huge as well.” ~ Bill Chambers, Bendy: The Lost Ones, pg. 191 (emphasis added)

Bill's right, not only did Joey definitely already have the investors money, at this point, based on DCTL, but he also must've already had Nathan Sr.'s protection, like I pointed out in my original analysis/theory… So, why, exactly, were Joey and Allison in Atlantic City schmoozing Bill's dad? Were they trying to get the richest, most influential, most dangerous man in Atlantic City on their side in order to get out from under Nathan Sr.'s thumb after whatever event happened in between DCTL and TLO to start waking Allison from his trance? And did Nathan Sr. decide to retaliate by causing the very same man to put a price on Joey's head for causing the “death” of his son so that Joey would have no choice but to come running back with his tail between his legs and beg for his protection from Mr. Chambers??? Was the diving board incident sabotage staged to see if Bill was as good at fixing things as the rumors said, and then were the blackout at the party and projector malfunctioning during the ad screening further sabotage staged to impress Scott so that he'd bring Bill into the Ink Machine situation???? Could everything have been orchestrated in order to ensure Bill would come back until he “died” (none of the kids in TLO actually died, remember. Brant and Bill were absorbed by the ink, and Constance was still alive last we saw her. For all we know, she's only in the Inkwell now because it became too much work to keep taking the very, very temporary “ink cure” every single day), specifically?! Except, perhaps… Well, I have a sneaking suspicion that Brant was the only person involved in this fiasco who was never supposed to be there… I'll come back to that in a bit.

Back to Nathan Sr.'s side of things, could it be that behind all the horrible events in this series that get written off as “accidents/coincidences,” there really is “always a reason, even when you can't understand it,” as the Memory of Joey says? There's another very specific and horrific incident in BATDR, itself, that literally gets described as “fate dropping a solution in your lap.” I wonder if this side story, told through memos and an ink window message…

“Management has come up with a new way to ‘reward’ us employees: Instead of paying out bonuses or overtime, they've started handing out these little tokens that you can spend in company vending machines. Besides that, these tokens ain't got value of any kind. Obviously, a lot of people didn't like the idea. But the best part about the whole thing is that, within a week, someone figured out how to make fake tokens that fools the vending machines. We started calling the fake ones ‘SLUGS.’ Now, I can't remember the last time I've seen a real token around here. Them SLUGS are everywhere! Probably costing the studio a TON of money in snacks alone.” ~ Hudson Doyle, Bendy and the Dark Revival, “The Slug Problem” memo (emphasis added)

“Fate is a strange thing. Just when you think you've run out of options, it puts a solution in your lap. Andre stopped by my office to say goodbye on his way out the door. As far as everyone else knows, he's gone home to Rio. But, he never made it. Never even made it out of the kitchen. Little Andre slumped over dead right in front of me. Barely even made a sound. And here I was worried about running out of meat for today's special. Fate is a strange thing. Just when you think you've run out of options, it puts a solution in your lap.” ~ Chef Buck, Bendy and the Dark Revival, “A Bit Of Fate” memo (emphasis added)

…could be yet another of the many incidences there seem to have been of Nathan Sr. A: disappearing anyone who displeases him mafia boss-style, and B: turning ordinary people into Murder Puppets through suffering that made them believe they were in the right by committing their horrific acts, all without anyone ever being the wiser Nathan Sr. himself was even involved? Did he hire the worker who figured out how to make the counterfeit tokens to do so and/or to share the info on how, in order to make sure the studio – especially the cafeteria and snack machines – would be so flooded with them that if he ever needed somebody to conveniently dispose of a body for him, all he'd have to do would be to ensure the person just happens to die in front of this chef in desperate need of free meat? 🤢🤮 And what if this particular story, centered around food, and the fact that so many characters now kill us by “consuming” us, is also a way of Nathan Sr. getting back at Joey, once again twisting his dreams into something horrific to continue punishing him for his disobedience postmortem…?

“An amusement park. A land. A fully immersive place where illusion and reality danced together to create something else. Something wholly new. It wasn't just about fun rides or tasty treats, though of course we'd have plenty of that, it was about an experience. A whole new way of looking at life.” ~ Joey Drew, The Illusion of Living, pg. 204 (emphasis added)

“(After Richie is sent to get Joey because the teens have no idea where else to turn for help and then Buddy describes in excruciating detail all the sensations of drowning and fatal injuries that the soulless Ink Demon inflicts upon him, leading him to beg Dot multiple times to just give up on him and save herself and Jacob because he was beyond saving and he knew it.) The five senses: Touch: nothing. Taste: nothing Sound: nothing. Smell: nothing. Sight: blackness. And then: Nothing [I was already dead when Mister Drew got there]. . . . I'm dead. That's my dead body. ‘You see, I saved you,’ said Mister Drew. . . . ‘That's your body, Buddy. But it isn't you,’ said Mister Drew, crouching beside me. He said it as if he could read my mind. I looked at him angrily. I knew now I couldn't speak. I didn't even bother trying. I pointed instead, at the body's face, torso, legs… Something is missing. ‘Those are just parts. The real you. The real you is here.’ Mister Drew reached up and touched my chest, placing his palm firmly on my ribs. ‘Your soul.’ . . . ‘I saved your soul, Buddy. And you saved me. You're going to save Bendy.’ . . . ‘This is going to be wonderful. You'll see, you'll see,’ said Mister Drew. ‘Now come with me. I've set up a nice little room for you. A nice place. You'll like it. There's food.’” ~ Daniel “Buddy” Lewek, Dreams Come to Life, pg. 284, 291, 293, 294, and 295 (emphasis added)

“Because ultimately there is no conclusion to this story. Even after my death I am certain the story of my life, of my studio, and of my philosophy will continue. Of course, I intend to live forever, so that will never happen! Ha, a joke indeed, but in a way not a joke, for what is art but a doorway to immortality? The greatest Illusion of Living then, living on after we are no longer alive. What is more of an illusion than that? All this being said, while forward has always been my direction, and backward has always been unnecessary to me, I will concede that there may indeed come a day in the far-flung future where I will revisit all that I have done, walk through the halls of my mind, and spend time with the characters of my past. I hope then we can all sit around a table and have a drink—the fictional characters and the real, Bendy, Boris, Alice, Dr. Squier, Isabel Newsome, Mr. K, and so forth—and toast to the great accomplishment they were all instrumental in helping me create: the Illusion of Living.” ~ Joey Drew, The Illusion of Living, pg. 248-249 (emphasis added)

…When I first read that second-to-last paragraph of TIOL, it sounded like Joey was saying he wanted to immortalize particularly interesting people alongside himself or something. But now, with the broader context, I think it's sounding like he was hoping to make a paradise for people who've suffered in life (the scene where Buddy notes he seems disgusted driving through a crowd of his neighbors in their poor neighborhood easily explained by his shame over his own poor-person origins that Brant became, in part, a personification of) and that he couldn't bear the thought of losing. If Norman and Dave were really already infected by the ink (as anyone who spent too much time around it definitely was, seeing as it could slip off pages to crawl into the mouths of sleeping people), they would've already been “safe” in Joey's mind. The only one in that pile of bodies who wasn't “safe” was this boy who reminded him a lot of Henry; these kids came to him for help and Buddy was already dead with zero chance of resuscitation when he got there. Of course he'd try to bring him back, why wouldn't he?? Of course he'd try to soften the pain of knowing his human body was dead for Buddy even if he had to keep up the ruse of the reason behind events to avoid Nathan Sr.'s wrath, why wouldn't he???

What if the Ink Dimension originally existed for Joey's regret but now exists for Nathan Sr.'s revenge? What if it started out as a poorly-executed attempt to rescue those who fell victim to Nathan Sr.'s machinations, including at Joey's hands under his influence (*stares at my notes on how Joey seems to have genuinely hoped his Illusion of Living coping mechanism would help people, and on how he seems to have used the Illusion of Living to pretend he'd saved Lottie's life rather than having lost her to suicide*), and eventually became a prison for whoever Nathan Sr. wanted, including Joey (similarly to my original theories)? Perhaps the machine was speaking to Wilson of Joey's true, original intentions? “Life and death can become a thing of the past. Poverty and hunger, a distant memory. I can remake the world anew…” Maybe the whole “entertaining the masses” angle was largely or even purely to get Nathan Sr.'s approval of the plan, like how it seems a lot of the horrible and/or nonsensical things he said and did were to keep Nathan Sr.'s approval?

“‘…but after that comes the team. Do you have any idea how hard it is to find a good one?’ . . . …You have to find the right mix, you have to find men who can work without you looking over their shoulder but at the same time don't feel that urge to add their own personal improvements. At least not without your permission. You need loyalty, so you need people who share your vision. But you don't want them taking over either.’” ~ Nathan Arch Sr.'s business advice, The Illusion of Living, pg. 149 and 150 (emphasis added)

Did anyone notice all the Alice in Wonderland imagery in BATDR? The memo heavily implied to be from Dapper Bendy/Real Joey titled “White Rabbit,” Twisted Alice throws that “tea party” for Audrey where we have to play a game of riddles (remind anyone of the Mad Hatter and Wilson?) with the Lost Ones in Wilson's mansion… Alice in Wonderland imagery joined the hivemind when Bill Chambers was infected. This is all another callback to TLO…!! I wonder… was the Alice in Wonderland stuff how Wilson was trying to warn the kids about what his dad was planning to do to them…? It wouldn't surprise me if he chose Alice in Wonderland for his warning riddles because he could tell Bill was familiar with it and he hoped both of the other kids would have it as fresh and clear in their minds (much like he seems to have done in making his fairytale's main character a cracked mug, trying to communicate what happened to him to Audrey. I'll come back to that)… Was this incident how Nathan Sr. found out that Wilson was helping his victims escape, the incident that genuinely started all the trouble in Wilson's story as the mouse dying supposedly started the trouble in Riktor's…?? Was Wilson being punished off-screen while Joey was collecting the “oysters” who almost escaped as he now had no choice but to do…???

“‘“The time has come,” the Walrus said, “to talk of many things…”’ replied Bill, walking toward it. I followed him. ‘The Walrus?’ I asked, feeling a little concerned. . . . ‘From Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Have you ever read the book?’ he asked, still looking at the machine. I didn't want to admit that I was not much of a reader… . . . ‘I know of it,’ I replied. I was standing next to him now, but I didn't want to touch the machine. Something about it made me uncomfortable. ‘Well, it's a poem from the book. The Walrus and the Carpenter take several young oysters for a walk along the beach.’ ‘Odd,’ I replied. Perhaps odder still was why on earth he was telling me any of this. Why was he acting so strange? It occurred to me then how dangerous innocuous strangeness could be. The beginning of our night together had been such fun, but now it had turned, like overripe fruit. I felt my defenses rise. . . . (About what looking into the machine felt like) A hole, like Alice's from her book. I knew that much. She fell for forever and ended up in a completely new world. I felt a shudder rising in me. I didn't want to fall down any holes today. . . . ‘How does the rest of the poem go?’ I asked, trying to make him feel a bit better. I looked up at the machine. It rose up so high when standing this close. There was a pipe here, large and winding like a boa constrictor. ‘Oh, it just goes on and on, more absurdity, very typical,’ replied Bill, standing next to me and looking up as well. ‘Of why the sea is “boiling hot?”’ But of course that's not true. Was that what the absurdity was then? Just a lie? ‘What's the point of it?’ ‘They eat all the oysters,’ said Bill. He was looking closely at the pipe. ‘I don't understand,’ I replied. ‘They invite the little oysters for a walk and then eat them.’ He tapped on the pipe. It made a hollow sound. He moved his hand and tapped again. The same sound. ‘That's the point of the poem?’ Something about that horrified me. ‘I don't know. But that's what happens.’ Another tap. Another hollow sound. ‘Oh,’ I said. ‘It's what happens.’” ~ Constance Gray, Bendy: The Lost Ones, pg. 147-148, 149, and 151 (emphasis added)

(I'd already noticed, when I first read this, that it seemed like something was telling them that bad things were gonna happen to them. At this point, it definitely sounds like Wilson saying that he didn't yet know why, but he did know that Nathan Sr. was using Scott and Tom to take them on this adventure and “kill” them. Yup.)

“My beam landed on a wide toothy grin. Sharp teeth loomed above me. Like the Cheshire cat's smile, just floating there. But I knew the monster had claws. It looked at me, or at least seemed to. I was paralyzed. I couldn't move. I couldn't turn off the flashlight.” ~ Bill Chambers, Bendy: The Lost Ones, pg. 267 (emphasis added)

(Could this be Wilson saying that the smiling face everyone's so afraid of, aka Joey, is not the real danger, the real danger is the unseen claws who won't allow anyone to escape nor to look at anything but the smiling face, having found out what the reasons behind Nathan Sr.'s plot were?)

“Here we go. This was madness. But weren't we all mad here?” ~ Brant Morris, Bendy: The Lost Ones, pg. 273 (emphasis added)

(This is the line that made me realize we were dealing with a hivemind. Brant wasn't there when Bill was talking about The Walrus and the Carpenter, there's no reason for this line to cross his mind other than someone else's thoughts were entering his head.)

“I started running again. I didn't feel tired, even though my muscles ached. I felt grateful for my rage. It spurred me on. It made me want to get out of here, and most importantly it made me confident that I was right in all my decisions. I knew this was probably problematic in the real world, but in this strange underground world, I was like Alice from the book. This wasn't reality. It was Wonderland. I was falling down a rabbit hole except I was running along it and it was sideways. We're all mad here. . . . Something yanked me from behind. My head snapped in a whiplash and I fell hard on my back, dropping everything in my hands . . . I saw a shadow along the wall, a creature. The monster? No. It seemed to have two long ears. Like a rabbit, or possibly some dog. But it was tall and human sized. And fleeting. The shadow vanished down the hall. It left me. It had attacked me and then left me. I didn't understand. I turned to look at the mess around me. I watched as the poker rolled away from me a few inches and then suddenly vanished [over the edge of the cliff I'd just narrowly been saved from running off of].” ~ Constance Gray, Bendy: The Lost Ones, pg. 277-278 (emphasis added)

(First of all, Constance literally told us she hadn't read the book, so this can't not be more hivemind shenanigans. Second of all, could that second part be Wilson saying both that the reason Joey ran to Atlantic city after Buddy died was to try and prevent Nathan Sr. from hurting anyone else through him and that the reason Dapper Bendy runs away and hides so much, even tiptoeing away if he's not sitting down during battle, is to protect us from Freaky Teeth?? I'll come back to the first part in a moment.)

My gosh, that all adds whole new levels of chilling to the story… and sends me to whole new levels of “I hate Nathan Sr. and wanna adopt Wilson—” he was such a good, sweet boy, the poor baby /gen… 😭 Back to that sneaking suspicion… Does the amount of attention the story draws to the idea that Brant might just be a nobody whose disappearance won't even go noticed not seem… excessive, to anyone else?

“Knock knock! Who's there? Brant. Brant who? That was all my mind could tell me, repeating the same phrase over and over. Brant who, indeed. Did he have a family? Were they missing him? Would the police start looking for him? Brant who?” ~ Bill Chambers, Bendy: The Lost Ones, pg. 216-217

It feels like… this moment might not just be about Bill's emotions. Like it's not just him wondering this because he's been effing traumatized. It… feels like Wilson might be trying to tell us that his dad didn't have a reason to lure Brant in. Like, perhaps, he's panicking because he, himself, doesn't know if this boy's disappearance will garner attention. Like… he didn't think this through enough, and now he's regretting it hardcore. I wonder if it was Brant's “death,” specifically, that got Wilson caught because he did a little orchestration of his own trying to get our beloved Mr. Reporter-In-Training to expose his dad to the world just like Brant, himself, had originally planned to do to Bill's dad, but things really, really didn't go according to plan…?! 🤯 Moving forwards, I wonder if that especially important line of Buddy's at the beginning of DCTL was a message from Wilson, as well?

“This has always stayed with me: Of all the memories that are getting mixed up a bit in here, in this brain, in this head, this… this for some reason just sticks out. Right then when he clapped, the lights came back on. It was like they were waiting for him, it was like he was in control of them. He wasn’t. But I made that connection back then. Somehow it made sense that maybe, just maybe, he had the power to do that. He didn’t. And he doesn’t. Don’t let anyone make you think he does.” ~ Daniel “Buddy” Lewek, Dreams Come to Life, pg. 20 (emphasis added)

While we're on the subject of Wilson and the abomination that is Nathan Sr.'s deplorable parenting (this is the worst possible way I could've been right about Wilson being just another Murder Puppet, oof… 💔🤬), I find it strange that Wilson's scarred-blind (heavily implied to be his dad's fault by The Mug and the Maiden) vs. undamaged seeing eyes are switched in the real world vs. the Ink Dimension. In his human body, his right eye is whited out presumably due to the same injury that scarred that side of his face. In his ink body, the right glows just like Audrey's, Porter's, and so many other characters', suggesting he can see through it, whereas his left is dissolved into black ink on the same side of his head as what appears to be an injury from either falling and hitting it or being bludgeoned. And then both of his eyes are blacked out and he's undamaged in his posters— until you get down to his laboratory and discover that he's subtly colored his posters so that you can tell that his eye sockets are empty and bleeding? There's gotta be some sort of symbolism, there.

Where has left vs. right been important before, in this series? Anyone remember in BATIM…?

And what about in TIOL…?

Angel: Spending my time with a devil has been an enlightening experience. Working with you over these years with you sitting on that left shoulder, so far yet so near, all our debates, they were invigorating for the spirit Devil: So that is a yes [you'd miss me if our human has become only good and I have to leave]? Angel: I suppose it is. Devil: I won't miss you [if he's become only bad and you have to leave]! Fighting all the time, trying to trick you into agreeing with me, trying to push you off that right shoulder of yours. The violence and the anger. I won't miss it at all! Angel: Oh, but you will, dear Mr. Devil. (Pause) Devil: Maybe I would a little.

I think Wilson's posters symbolize the fact that if we allow Nathan Sr. to gaslight us into ignoring the evidence of his crimes, then we, the audience, are blind to the truth behind the horrors of the series. And I think that the difference between the two has to do with how Nathan Sr.'s manipulation and abuse completely and utterly fudges up his victims' consciences (“…most importantly it made me confident that I was right in all my decisions. I knew this was probably problematic in the real world, but in this strange underground world, I was like Alice from the book. This wasn’t reality. It was Wonderland. I was falling down a rabbit hole except I was running along it and it was sideways. We’re all mad here,” as Constance said… To people living in the literal and figurative real world, it looks as if Nathan Sr.'s victims just have no consciences and are evil for the sake of being evil; but, in the literal and figurative imaginary world that Nathan Sr. traps his victims in through gaslighting and so on, they're seeing the good intentions/desperation/etc. behind their actions, and therefore see themselves as good and their actions as justified even if they still have a sense that maybe they're not, in reality) and possibly also the different ways we perceive the results of Nathan Sr.'s actions in the real world vs. the Ink Dimension (not a fully formed thought, feel free to disregard that one). By the way, did anyone notice Bendy seemed to have control of the right hand – that's the hand he crushed the Memory of Joey with – while Audrey seemed to have control of the left hand – that's the hand she picked up the End Reel with – when they were first sharing a body? 🤔 This feels a possible hint that the End Reel was created by Nathan Sr., not Joey, as part of turning the Ink Dimension into a prison (“those tunnels are even deeper, even darker, than this one. There is only suffering down there,” after all)… and that the Memory of Joey/Nathan Sr. is not actually a good entity, but Bendy/Real Joey is, at the end of the day…?

As for Boswell's monocle meaning he was actually Wilson… Exhibit B: Boswell first appeared in 1932; Nathan Jr. and his baby bro Wilson were literally little kids at that point. Exhibit C: monocles usually aren't worn all the time in real life like they are in cartoons, they're usually used by farsighted/longsighted individuals and kept in one's pocket until one needs to pull them out for reading. If Nathan Sr. did have a monocle, he probably would not be wearing it to pose for a painting. Exhibit D: Ignoring that one slightly similar design detail, and regardless of whether the “Nathan Arch” portrait is of Senior or Junior, I think Boswell resembles the round, mustachio'd Nathan much more than the angular, bare-faced broomstick that is Wilson…

…In conclusion: honestly, it sounds to me like people being convinced that Wilson and Nathan Jr. are the same person and therefore Boswell must not be Nathan Sr. is literally just another example of Nathan Sr. successfully gaslighting everyone into an altered perception of reality (and you should just assume from this point forward that when any form of the phrase “Nathan Sr. is altering reality/memories” comes up, you can replace it with “Nathan Sr. is gaslighting us,” lol). Speaking of which, now that I think of it, I'm very suspicious of the fact that the comics where Boswell seems like a decent and oblivious person and Bendy seems to be (trying to) take advantage of him are sepiatoned, whereas the comic that I think got the two main comic artists disappeared is in black-and-white… *Stares at my notes on the possible symbolism of the sepiatone color pallet representing a preserved altered perception and the grayscale color pallet representing an easily destroyed purer perception* Also, my gosh, they make him look so goshdanged welcoming and saintly in his portrait. That smile is glowing with Santa Claus Vibes and I don't trust it.

Curious about Henry and Allison's story retcons being blatant lies and my theories on Audrey's origins, Gent CEO Alan/Allen Gray/Grey's true identity, etc? Read Part Three!

To Read the Original Analysis/Theory: Part One • Part Two • Part Three • Unexpected Part Four

[tossawary]

In regards to Shangjiu, why Original Shen Qingqiu could appeal to Shang Qinghua is more immediately obvious. He’s a tall, gorgeous, icy asshole with his own flavor of abandonment and trust issues. That’s kind of Shang Qinghua’s type. (Shen Qingqiu probably has some beef under those fancy robes, being an accomplished cultivator, though I don’t imagine him being anywhere near as incredibly built and heavy as Mobei-Jun. Mobei-Jun has beef beef.) 

So, it’s like, okay, why would Shang Qinghua ever appeal to Original Shen Qingqiu? Shang Qinghua is more average-looking as far as cultivators go and, more importantly, he’s a fucking clown. 

But you could ask that question about Mobei-Jun too. Why would Shang Qinghua ever appeal to Mobei-Jun? And I think the answer is actually pretty similar. Not exactly the same, of course, because Mobei-Jun and Original Shen Qingqiu are pretty different, but still remarkably similar: I think that it’s in part because Shang Qinghua is a fucking clown. 

Shang Qinghua has no issue with looking or acting pathetic. He will wail and sob and beg at a moment’s notice. (Which actually comes back to that “Shang Qinghua and Luo Binghe are... the same...” rant I’m still brewing. Neither of them seem all that bothered by humiliation. They have their own sense of internal worth/superiority and have no issue embarrassing themselves to manipulate other people and get what they want. Time to cry like a bitch? Bro, you’re making me do this; it doesn’t have to be this way! Airplane Bro just doesn’t have the super OP protagonist powers as backup for that.) 

Mobei-Jun and Shen Jiu are, especially by comparison, extremely concerned with appearances and specifically with appearing dignified. I think to some extent they would both actually envy Shang Qinghua’s ability to disregard (ignorance, sometimes? But also he doesn’t really give a shit) for social norms and/or expectations. Shang Qinghua has no room to judge Shen Jiu when he’s behaving like that, which kind of makes him safe. 

You know that hilarious 1999 Toyota Corolla Craigslist post? That’s kind of Airplane Shooting Towards The Sky in this situation. 

This car's got history. It's seen some shit. People have done straight things in this car. People have done gay things in this car. It's not going to judge you like a fucking Volkswagen would.

Shang Qinghua isn’t going to judge you like fucking Yue Qingyuan and Liu Qingge other people would. Shang Qinghua is like a judgement-free zone to some extent. He’s safe. You could embarrass yourself in front of him and it’s fine because Shang Qinghua is going to shove his foot into his mouth immediately afterward and allow himself to be bullied into “forgetting” it ever happened. 

At the same time, Shang Qinghua clown act is pretty clearly at least partially an act, at least if his terrible muttering habit and occasional bouts of spectacular competence are anything to go by. If Shang Qinghua was a 100% genuine fool instead of a clown putting on a show (who is occasionally a genuine fool), then Shen Jiu (and Mobei-Jun) wouldn’t be able to respect him. 

Shang Qinghua can also be a straight-up bitch, a bastard, and an asshole. (I still hold the headcanon that Mobei-Jun honestly thinks Shang Qinghua is very funny.) Shang Qinghua can have a sharp tongue sometimes and bite back viciously - or at least bark back viciously - which is another thing Shen Jiu can probably respect. Shang Qinghua doesn’t put on airs about being better than anyone or noble and righteous. He talks shit properly. 

Shang Qinghua is also pretty reliable. He’s steady and supportive. He’s also cool with laying on the flattery to soothe any fragile egos! And he’s apparently cool with being bossed around and rescued! 

So, on that post where I was talking about Shang Qinghua seducing Shen Jiu through stories of bad or comedically disastrous sex stories for my Shangjiu Friends with Benefits AU, why would Shen Jiu find that appealing?! 

It’s because Shang Qinghua is clearly observant, wryly funny, knows a lot about sex, uninterested in romance, and also uninterested in pushing his partner around in an unpleasant way. (I think Shang Qinghua and Luo Binghe both like being in control of the situation, but that they also don’t mind giving up control or giving over at least some control to their partners.) Also, clearly, Shang Qinghua is desperate and pathetic and has low standards, which makes him “safe” for someone looking for some no-strings experimentation and relief. 

He’s also not... not cute? 

Also, he’s the one who brought up all those sexual acts in great detail - incredibly graphic detail - so now they’re stuck in Shen Jiu’s head. 

Shang Qinghua needs to take responsibility for that. And then tell no one that this ever happened - anyway, no one will ever believe him and also Shen Jiu will kill him. If it’s bad, Shen Jiu can also just kill him. 

Shang Qinghua: (internally) “Note to self: bro, stop getting hung up on beautiful assholes who are incredibly mean to me.” 

[gillianthecat]

I was in a weird and oddly vulnerable mood yesterday, so instead of watching the three new episodes of the shows I was "supposed" to watch and risk feeling disappointed* by them, I rewatched the first To My Star. I think I wrote right after my first viewing that it would probably become one of my comfort shows, and apparently it has :-)

First of all, I think I loved it even more the second time. And it was better than I remembered. I still didn't think it was perfect, but parts that had seemed disjointed previously seemed more coherent this time, and I could see how much of the characters' arcs she was setting up from the very first moment.†

This was my first rewatch after seeing To My Star 2, and I'm amazed at how much of the groundwork for the sequel was already laid out in the first show. The two really feel like a coherent whole. I had previously decided that TMS2 was basically fanfic of the first one, and while I don't think that's wrong exactly, TMS is very clearly setting up everything that happens in TMS2. All of the character traits and issues that lead to the conflicts and struggles of TMS2 are already present in TMS, they merely become bigger and less ignorable.

Even little things that seemed like comedic throwaway moments or relatively minor scenes turn out to become major relationship issues or important plot points in the sequel: Things like Seo-joon teasing Ji-woo about not believing he'd been in a relationship before and Ji-woo being so closed-lipped about it, Seo-joon's attempts to smooth everything over with money, Ji-woo's dislike of accepting money from him, even Seo-joon's cooking video.

There were several lines of dialogue that are basically previews to some of the most significant conversations in TMS2. Ji-woo tells Seo-joon "You're not considerate of other's feelings and say what you want to say. I'm envious of it," which is a foreshadowing of what he says after the relief of finding that little girl is safe, just before their desperate kiss: ""How could you be so honest about everything? How can I ignore you now?"

And their fight just before Ji-woo moves out of the house (this is how he deals with conflict! He runs away!) is the basic conflict that permeates TMS2.

J: "Everything that happened between us... Thinking about it made me feel disgusted." S: "This doesn't make sense all of a sudden. There's something wrong, isn't there." J: "When I'm with you, I feel like I'll be put in danger."

Ji-woo misdirects and lies about his feelings, he gets overwhelmed by the bleed-through of Seo-joon's fame, he thinks he can protect Seo-joon by pulling away and leaving him. And Seo-joon knows something doesn't add up, but he can't figure out what. This is what starts the events of TMS2, and it foreshadows many of their conversations.

I don't think I realized how consistent the characters were between shows, or how similar the overall tone of the two shows was. I think the first time I saw TMS I was expecting a more traditional BL and that colored my perception. But upon rewatch, its style - it's treatment of the two main characters, the world around them, even the aesthetics - has a lot in common with TMS2. And I don't think it's just a Hwang Da-Seul thing, the To My Stars are much more similar to each other than they are to either Blueming or Where Your Eyes Linger. Now I'm curious if Hwang Da-seul had written them both together, or if she only thought of the sequel after the first one was a success. It's starting to feel as if they were conceived of as one unit.

Anyways, I could write a lot more words about all the threads and themes that carry through to TMS2, and perhaps I will, but not today.

*I did make myself start The Eclipse, but I felt so irrationally betrayed that the kiss was just a fantasy that I decided I wasn't in the right headspace and gave up for now after the first quarter. I have been loving all three of these high school shows so much, and I don't want them to do anything to make me stop loving them. This is one of my first experiences devoutly following a series week to week (and my very first experience reacting to it as part of a community), and I didn't realize how much I would bond to these shows. Usually I binge things and process it all immediately, and in my own head. Don't get me wrong, overall it's been a wonderful experience watching them this way, I just didn't want to push it yesterday and ruin things for myself.

† I had planned to enjoy TMS mindlessly, but apparently these days I'm incapable of watching something without writing out my thoughts on it.

[quillyfied]

I have seen Netflix’s Persuasion. I’m mostly baffled by it. I might have been content to be mildly entertained by it as a regency comedy if it wasn’t trying to pass itself off as Persuasion. I’m not even that angry, really, I’m just…confused. (Edit: and apparently have ingested more plot from other movies than the book, apologies for some inaccurate details BUT ANYWAY)

For a start, it’s clearly a comedy, for all that google categorizes it as a drama romance. Persuasion is not a comedy. It has comedic moments but its most notable quality as a story is that it’s somber, melancholic, quiet. Angry. Good on them for trying to make it a comedy, bc there is comedic potential in the plot outline, and comedy done well wouldn’t even necessarily erase the heart of the theme, which is living with deep regrets and facing the consequences of our actions and finding hope where hope had been lost. But this wasn’t even comedy done well, really. I’m gonna dig into it bc I can’t say I had a bad time the whole of the movie, but…hmm.

Firstly, the casting, and rewriting Anne to be a snarky narrator and Wentworth to be an awkward lad. Um. No. No, see, I watched Cosmo Jarvis, and I just felt vaguely sorry for him. He did awkward very well; I think his Wentworth performance would be a better Edward Ferrars. He and Dakota Johnson had zero chemistry. The man looked like he was dealing with threatening indigestion for most of the film. He had his moments, mostly fleeting tiny things (the tear shed in the opening scene, his look of absolute relief during the hug at the end—that, I’ll admit, was his most and maybe only believable Wentworth moment). But. THAT ISN’T WENTWORTH. Frederick Wentworth is a charming dude, an ambitious sailor and a good friend and a man so embittered by his own dashed hopes that he intentionally jabs at Anne, but derives no pleasure from it, or from seeing her situation so degraded from her youth.

Anne, though. Making Anne witty isn’t untrue to her character. What’s untrue is making her sarcastic. Anne’s greatest fault is how she bends over backwards to accommodate people—she was only persuaded out of marrying Wentworth in the first place by being told the marriage would make HIM unhappy, not herself. Dakota Johnson’s Anne is wry, but too self-assured, too brash, too confident. At no point would she have EVER revealed that Charles Musgrove proposed to her first—certainly not at a dinner party where she just spent a painful two minutes playing musical chairs to avoid Wentworth and then got herself worked up in jealousy over his flirting with Louisa (and Louisa’s with him). Yeah, Anne is jealous, but she tempers this with knowing she has no right to Wentworth’s heart anymore and she internalizes her anger and jealousy accordingly. This Anne is too modern, is the problem. Her trials are timeless but the way she deals with them is so a product of her environment that changing her from an accommodating spinster to a sarcastic wine aunt shouting at her estranged former fiancé out of windows and then dropping gravy on her own head is a fundamental betrayal of Anne’s character and heart.

Plus the other changes just felt…eh. Making Louisa intent on setting up Anne and Wentworth before falling for him herself felt like a cheap way to try and up the drama that didn’t need to happen. Turning Mr. Elliott from a cold-blooded shark of a manipulator into a shallow open book was a waste of Henry Golding’s talents and face (and closer actual chemistry with Dakota, but also I love Henry Golding, always brings a delight and sincerity to his performances that I love to watch and now I actually want to watch him play an Austenian rake, one with an actual dark side and not reduced to a wit machine). Removing the subplot of Anne’s sickly school friend makes sense from a timing scenario but HEY MAYBE IF WE DIDNT GO ON A TANGENT ABOUT OCTOPUS DREAMS WE COULD HAVE GOTTEN TO THAT INSTEAD. Even changing Anne’s family just felt weird. Sir Walter was spot-on, I’ll give him that, but turning Elizabeth into a markedly plainer and more openly vicious older sister and Mary from a hypochondriac to a narcissist just changed the flavor in a way I didn’t like. Mary’s bits were very funny, I will allow that, but it felt like it missed the point somehow? Or got the point but played it up too much? Bc she does complain of ailments out of a desire for attention, and she does feel herself the victim and vilely mistreated in every situation, but…I dunno. They leaned into it too hard. Mary is clueless but she’s not so self-absorbed she becomes an idiot.

I knew they mangled the “worse than strangers” line but they did it TWICE. And not only that, but Anne and Wentworth actually having a CONVERSATION about their past and trying to find a way to friendship?? Painful. Very painful. Wentworth’s staredown with Mr. Elliott was wooden. They took one of my favorite parts out of Wentworth’s letter where he admits how poorly he acted towards Anne. And after all this…idk, they at least could have had Anne running smack into Wentworth at the end, really jolt them both with the physical impact, instead of what we got. The slow down and grabbing his lapels felt weird.

AND WTF THE F//K WAS THE BIT WHERE ANNE FINDS MR ELLIOTT MAKING OUT WITH MRS CLAY AND THEN CUTTING TO THEIR WEDDING LATER??? I have…so much burning rage for that. Bc my favorite thing is that Mr. Elliott was playing the field, courting Anne while wooing Mrs. Clay to secure her out of the way of Sir Walter, and the wrap-up on that story being that she was installed as Mr. Elliott’s mistress and might have caressed her way to being his wife anyway bc they’re both cunning individuals. He doesn’t merrily trot with her down the aisle the second Anne is unavailable. THAT is the de-fanging of Mr. Elliott that sucks most—that he’s going from a cold-blooded being who only acts according to his own desires and drives a business partner and his wife penniless before marrying rich to restore his coffers, who dares to nicely court a titled woman to secure his family’s compliance while stealing away his predecessor’s possible chance at fathering a male heir, to a guy who just tells the audience what he’s up to and smiles nicely about it. I just. UGH.

Costumes, sets, and casting weren’t completely terrible. I liked the colors, though pretty sure Wentworth had only like two outfits, his navy uniform and his casual clothes. Lady Russell traveling Europe to visit new lovers is an odd addition but I’m not mad about it. Pacing was a bit abrupt in places. Giving Anne a more involved relationship with her nephews and the Musgrove girls was kinda nice. Why did Anne have a pet rabbit, though??

As a Persuasion adaptation it’s a travesty, character assassination at its most heinous, just gutting the story for parts and expecting people to see it as a fresh take rather than the hack job it is. As a movie on its own merits, a little too wooden and strange in places to be an enjoyable romp. I didn’t entirely hate all of it, but I’m disappointed in it.

[taiyakiiwrites]

— angsttober day #16: clown (part two)

pairing(s): hitoshi shinso x gn!reader

wc: 0.4k+ words

summary: the moment your usual happy go lucky attitude faltered, it was downhill from there. shinso was just prolonging the inevitable.

content: depression, again the reader is a more goofy and fun person so if this doesn’t seem like you either leave or request yourself, reader grows distant, sad shinso you poor thing im so sorry—, UNEDITED WRITING SPARKLE SPARKLE

notes: this whole thing is just Sadness™️ so my apologies for making you sit here and read the physical embodiment of depression ✨✨ anyways enjoy (if you can in this situation—)

⇉ requests are open!! || main masterlist || angsttober masterlist || rules

you apparently didn’t trust him as much as he thought.

or maybe you did. either way, that didn’t distract the idea that you were slowly drifting away from him.

you two were incredibly close. you never spent any time away from each other. seeing you without him or him without you was the equivalent of a fever dream. yet somehow, that logic had grown outdated.

it started off small. you would cancel hang outs saying you had to train and would sleep earlier rather than relax in his room. he’d just smile and dismiss you with a wave of his hand. sure, the moments you weren’t around weren’t nearly as fun as they were when you were there, but he knew you had other things in your life beside him. he could live with that. he would just wait until the next morning when he’d greet you in the halls and walk you to class.

it was only when you didn’t even have the time to do that when he started to get confused. you were slowly growing more all over the place. you were before, but it was all for laughs. now, you busied yourself more with studies than he ever saw you do so. you trained by yourself even when he offered to help. you would disappear in the blink of an eye if a conversation went silent for a single second.

he found himself chasing you, grasping for straws whenever you were around. he wasn’t being clingy—he just wanted to talk to you again. you seemed so occupied now, and he couldn’t even find a reason behind it. the days you’d bug him about your schoolwork and demand attention from him seemed like forever ago.

no matter what he did, you kept falling farther and farther away from him. he tried to ask the other people who knew you if anything was happening: your teachers, classmates—even monoma (shinso knew how much he liked to try and get on your nerves). no one had an answer for him.

with how little you and him started to see each other, shinso couldn’t notice how the smile that used to be stapled onto your features had vanished. the constant jokes you made devolved into basic comments. the comedic relief everyone knew you as turned into a background character. no one even asked if you were okay. they didn’t even seem to notice. this made his blood boil more than anything.

he should’ve be able to help you. he was your best friend. you should’ve felt free to talk to him about anything. you were his rock and he was yours. but when worst came to worst, he found himself helpless to the strings of the unfairness of it all now tying him down and holding him back. he was restrained to a front row viewing of you making your way out of his life. there was nothing he could do.