#toon analysis

[thediamondcheezy]

Toon Analysis— Boxten! 🫧·˚ ༘

rarity— common

"Boxten The Music Box, Boxten is somewhat shy Toon. He is most comfortable around those he knows. He may not always know what to say, but he always tries to put a smile on a friend's face." —Boxten poster

✎·˚ ༘ Boxten has a timid personality often shown in his dialogue and his interactions among the other toons. often being worried and stressed, stated by Poppy, Rodger and Teagan being concerned about Boxten's well-being.

He is also being taught by Cosmo to bake, and it is also mentioned by sprout to shelly, and Cosmo also comments on Boxten's key spins while being focused.

Boxten is a big fan of Vee, commenting how he loves her trivia with his interaction with Vee; Boxten is shown to be annoyed with Shrimpo in their interaction. In both interactions, Boxten is shown to have confidence rather than being afraid.

"Woke up Glisten last night... I feel bad, had that nightmare again. I really am starting to think Astro might not like me? Hope not. He says he doesn't but I dunno the nightmares are pretty bad. Anyways Glisten helped me get a some water and talked with me some. Than he left for 'beauty sleep' at least that's what he called it? I'll talk again with Astro when I can." —Boxten's note

✎·˚ ༘ Inside Boxten's room you can see a note on his desk about his nightmare waking him up and waking up Glisten and getting water, then Glisten left to get his 'beauty sleep', and this interaction is also mentioned in Glisten's note, then planning to talk to Astro about his nightmares.

And when interacting with Astro, he is confused on why Boxten is receiving nightmares, being sure he gave him good dreams on their interaction. The nightmares aren't described, but it is theorized that Boxten dreams about floating in the clouds based on his skin, 'Cloudy Dream' implying he has a fear of heights.

Boxten often has trouble with grammar and mostly use informal words seen on his note.

Inside his room, Boxten has a poster of himself along with Razzle & Dazzle, Rodger, and Goob, suggesting that they may be Boxten's friends along with their interactions, and close to it is his poster.

And near those posters are crates, and on top of them are two spray cans that match Boxten's color palette, hinting that the toons actually paint themselves.

"One of the most common Twisteds you'll encounter. Overcome by ichor, this Twisted has the innate urge to chase others down. Thankfully, it appears that this Twisted doesn't have any abilities to aid him." —Boxten research

✎·˚ ༘ Boxten's Twisted form has two hands trying to attack you on top of his head, and applying my theory, then the hands may have been a clone of himself developing inside his head, and when attacking a toon, he falls forward and his head mostly leans forward because of the amount of ichor stored inside of it, making it heavier due to the added weight.

I think the reason why Boxten may have hands inside his head is because of his role as an extractor, as plenty of the twisted abilities are parallel to their abilities or roles as toons. Boxten's twisted form is shows that he is able to control the lid of his head while his toon version is closed off. 🪼⋆.ೃ࿔*:･

PS: I DON'T support the dev!—

[raycatzdraws]

Toon Link is aiming through his skull.

I main as Young Link and Toon Link in ssbu and thought it might be fun to tweak their designs a bit based on the alt costumes I wear and how I play. Their names are Zip and Zop (interchangeably) with botw Link as Zap.

[telekinetic-electronica]

bendy, "ink demon", and trauma responses

I've recently got back into Bendy. (tbh this shit is never gonna be going away this has been my special interest for 7 years FDKJNDSJKFD) and I did some thinking on him again. It's crazy to me on how... dehumanized Bendy was. While, yes, he's not an actual human, but he's still, y'know a person. He has feelings, he's conscious. He just doesn't have a soul. Which brings me to this post. The Ink Demon has never been called by Bendy. Which, you're all like "well, duh. That's his ink form. His other form is his toon form, just to tell which forms apart." I know that's possible the case. But I do wanna look into this attitude a bit more. When Bendy was first created, Joey literally called Bendy a THING, and for him to lock him away because he wasn't what he wanted. His literal crime was looking scary. So, Thomas Connor and Gent by the request of Joey, locked Bendy away for... God knows how long. Tbh, it's never clear on how Bendy ever acts, but Bendy was probably scared out of his mind. Can you imagine you're finally made and some people are talking. You have no idea what's going on, but this Joey dude says that you're wrong. You came out wrong. You are a mistake. You're suppose to be loveable, silent, and small. But you're not that. You're tall, empowering, posing, and not even a real chance to prove you're not as scary as you look. You aren't even called by your name, nor the title you would gain via your infamy. You are a thing. You are not someone who has emotions or needs, a thing. You are a monster. Now, you're locked away, probably terrified, and calling for help but people around you are too scared of you to help or don't wanna face the wrath of this Joey Drew.

I think Alice said this best back in Chapter 4 of the original game. At the studio, you were in someone's pocket, or someone was in yours. The studio was a disaster pit. Even if not everything happened was "real" or w/e, Joey was still a dickhead to everyone around him. Bendy was no exception. I think Bendy probably learned the best way to survive the studio, and the harsh reality around him was to manipulate. Bendy is a pretty good manipulator, he can get into someone's head, mess with them, and still taunt them. No one is born or created evil. That's a learned method.

In extreme cases of trauma, many people are in survival mode and thinking about themselves to survive, and how they can get by. This is because their safety, wants, and needs weren't being met. Not to mention, Joey and Gent just threw Bendy into the cartoon world, probably to just lock him away forever. Joey locked Bendy up for God knows how long, and now he's in this like- cartoon world version of the studio. He goes from nothing to everything in one fell swoop. This just made Bendy retreat more into himself. It just made his coping mechanism of always having to be on top, always being in control, the one everyone needs to fear. Because, fuck it.

If he's so horrible, if he's so monstrous, if he's so terrible, than he'll just become it. Minus when Bendy meets Audrey in his toon form, Bendy doesn't have anyone. Bendy has never been shown any warmth, kindness, or love in his entire life. The only thing he does know is pain, suffering, coldness, been abandoned, and been made out to be a monster. Which brings me to this - no one has every called the Ink Demon by his real name.

Even when he's technically no longer being locked away, and ruling the cartoon studio, he's still been dehumanized. Or never seen as a fellow victim of the machine and Joey. Everyone has said to BEWARE the Ink Demon, look out for him, and watch your back. The one rule down there was always beware the Ink Demon. Hell, Bendy calls himself the Ink Demon. Bendy has just embraced the title of being seen as this almighty, opposing figure. People either blindly worshipped him or feared him. They never saw him as someone who was unjustly hurt. Unjustly locked away and abandoned. Unjustly painted as a monster because he didn't turn out the way Joey wanted him to be.

You know who has called Bendy by his name? Someone, for the first time, called him by his real name and not some title?

Audrey.

Audrey is the first person to show Bendy any kindness or warmth. While, yes, it was in his toon form. He actually gets treated like a person. Someone who has emotions, and even APOLOGIZED when she, on accident, hurt him. And Hell, dude accepts it! I really hope, going forward, as a way for Bendy to heal when he's in his Ink Demon form, Audrey shows him the same compassion and kindness in that form of his. But she also calls him by his name. Bendy. Not to mention...

The cycles are interesting to me. It could possibly just being a plot thing. But it could be seen as a continuing of generational trauma and toxicity, and Audrey is the one who stops it. Joey clearly has some shit going on. He hates not being in control and wants to be in control of how other people perceive him. So, he turns out destructive towards everyone. Which is... eerily similar to how Bendy treats his own trauma. Bendy and Joey were physically and emotionally destructive to the people around them. It's also kind of sad because Bendy thinks he's in control of the studio. Dude says it's his domain, when Joey was still in control all along.

Bendy is continuing that toxic cycle. Then Wilson comes along and projects his own trauma, and issues. While the cycle stopped, Wilson didn't make it any better, and probably made the cycle for everyone in the studio just worse. By Audrey having the book now, she's putting a stop to the generational trauma via helping out everyone still trapped and helping Bendy out. That's why I've been calling Ink Demon, Bendy.

Because that's his name, after all.

ADD ON-; I just wanna say that Bendy was HARDCORE self projecting on Audrey near the end. I also wanna touch on Bendy and suffering. Bendy was so miserable, and had nobody he just gave into his own suffering, and became the Ink Demon. If he has to suffer, he's going to make everyone else in the studio suffer. He only found any purpose was in harming others. Also, obvious disclaimer this doesn't justify what he does to the people he has hurt. It explains it, doesn't justify it.

It's just downright depressing that he thinks he had no purpose, his existence was a lie, thought of himself as a mistake, and monster. To be frank, I wouldn't be surprised if Joey called Bendy a monster or a mistake. He did call Bendy a THING after all. I really hope Bendy does get to heal and realize his purpose doesn't need to be him suffering and he can have SOME peace.

[lucawrites11]

the lionesses biggest problems against france and my solutions

keira walsh unable to lose her marker

the lack of a left footed centreback

poor defending of corners especially from hampton

terrible substitutions

a lack of speed and players in the box

a lack of creativity in line-ups making us completely predictable

okay, let's look at these problems in depth:

sarina loves a 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1 looking something like this:

however this line-up has multiple problems. the first is that it's predictable, it is a slight modification of the same line-up with the same people that has been used since the euros except it no longer has the same level of success because the opposition has figured out it's weaknesses.

the first major risk is the reliance of Keira Walsh. Germany had figured this out by the Euros Final. as one of the best holding midfielder in the world, she's absolutely crucial in terms of the passes she provides forward and her ball recovery but if you just put one player on her all game (in France's case it was Kenza Dali) you can mark her out and remove England's ball recovery ability and ensure that they struggle to get the ball forward.

Another weakness is that if Sarina choses to start Greenwood, as she did yesterday, there is no defender with a good left foot and that leaves the defence vulnerable and also limits the connection that Hemp can have with her full-back down the left. Furthermore, without Lauren James, Ella Toone doesn't provide the same speed running in behind in the 10 role and that switch with Russo to allow Russo to overload the midfield and start goal scoring play. It was something that she did multiple times against France but Toone didn't make her way into the box like James and there is no finishing. English is struggling without that out and out striker, and Lauren James compensated for that gap. Without James, speed in the frontline is also lost, leaving Hemp the fastest forward player and no one chasing after her to get into the box with her.

Also loosing Earps meant that Hampton was shaky and thrown off coming on and she has never been as strong at set piece defending. Khiara may be a better option to defend set pieces where France are deadly but that's too much pressure for a debut game almost. I would like to see Khiara get her first England cap in the next Ireland match to allow be more of an option for Sarina as competition for Earps and Hampton. Sarina also failed in terms of not making a subsitution until the seventieth minute and bringing on experience where England clearly needed more speed and fresh legs. Leaving Jess Naz, Grace Clinton and Jess Park's speed on the bench was criminal.

what's the solution?

in my opinion, sarina has to use an entirely new line-up that does a few things:

either takes Walsh off the pitch or uses a midifeld overload that allows her more freedom

brings more speed into the attacking line

places a winger or ten behind Russo with the ability to get into the box

makes space for a left-footed centreback

there are a few options:

3-4-3

this is my least favourite option. it solves the keira walsh problem by taking her off the pitch but that leaves stanway as the sole holding midfielder. furthermore, it gives space for a left footed centreback in alex greenwood but it means bronze is pushed into the midfield which she can play effectively and would allow for speed in the attack but can leave a defensive hole on the wings. also without a clear left midfielder (carter could maybe play where i've place clinton and if she does, clinton should replace kirby). however clinton has speed to get into the box and as does kirby. this is also tiring for the midfield however england does have the midfield depth to bring on in park.

4-4-2 (diamond)

4-4-2 is on the left and the diamond option is on the right

both are strong choices for this england side and i think that hemp can also play up front next to russo with mead on the right with bronze and clinton or stanway on the left. two centre-forwards in russo and mead/hemp allows the centrebacks to be occupied and for a high press which can interfere with the french attempt to play out from the back that they love. clinton allows has the pace to run in behind when russo or mead manage to steal the ball allowing for a quick counter attack. four in the midfield can also overload the three that the french place in the there and challenge their ability to mark keira walsh out of the game. furthermore, a strong press in russo and hemp/mead allows the midfield be bypassed because the four doesn't always provide a full overload. two upfront can also compensate for when russo drops into the midfield and to hold up the ball, this also allows for the full overload with five in the midfield to pull markers off keira. with a strong left back in greenwood who can play centreback, williamson can also drop into the midfield for an overload. a four at the back with the left-footed defender allows for a deep block if the ball is lost, something that is likely to happen if france play in the midfield again.

3-5-2

this is my favourite line-up

the five in the midfield allows for a complete overload that can release walsh and give her the freedom to pass forward. furthermore, there is the left-footed centreback in greenwood. bronze and hemp playing as wing-backs also allows for a deep block when they drop back and they are both fast at getting both back and forward on the defense and attack which can be the main weakness of this line-up however bronze and hemp can play well as wing-backs. furthermore, bronze, hemp and clinton can overload the final third to support the high press of russo and mead that ensures players in the box and speed on a break to that can work quickly to throw off a french defense and a build up of play from the back

i think this will solve a lot of england's problems going forward and back and release keira walsh in the midfield as well as throwing france off with a new line-up that they wouldn't be expecting

i would also like to see jess park and aggie beever-jones up front to provide support as a striker for alessia russo or speed in behind replacing grace clinton

[animationgirl89]

[Video Credit: https://youtu.be/dHF_KC5juUY?si=IgRmWMeWyOoGn4Ok]

"It's still unfortunate and saddening how a certain amount of many people out there (especially certain toxic critical blogs) still misunderstand the meaning of this song and overall don't get the point of "Loser Baby" as a whole. I've seen many (especially when the episode released) criticize "Loser Baby" mostly on Twitter and Tumblr and say how Husk is doing nothing but victim blaming and telling him to "Get Over It" as he's not the only one with issues and this still very much frustrates me, it's like..that's FAR from the truth!! Like, how do people still not understand and get the meaning of the song? And while I'll honestly admit myself that it's not perfect and some things could've been changed, but the entire point of "Loser Baby" Is Husk telling Angel to be more self- accepting and just own it, "Be who YOU are, be yourself. The REAL you!" And to also know and see that, Husk isn't any different from him. Husk understands and is able to relate to Angel's struggles and his situation as both have made mistakes especially dealing with powerful overlords and are both stuck in deals they'll probably never be able to get realease and free from as it's difficult. Husk is saying and telling Angel that, "We're in this together and you aren't alone. So let's just both own it, embrace it!"

"And hell, towards the end of the song, Husk even sings and says: "Play your card, be who you are!" He's not exactly shamming or trying to victim blame Angel for his situation or even trauma dump on him, that's far from the truth. But, believe me..I do understand how some could see it differently and I'm not gonna downplay their feelings and as I said some things could've worked better with the song but it's still annoying how many still don't seem to get the meaning of the song and I think VgMarkis put it best here and he also made some pretty good and interesting points himself during this video, I'd definitely recommend his content." :)

[sirenvrse]

Don't think about bugs always having a mandatory love interest and how that affects daffy. Don't think about it. Don't think about how one second daffy is spending the night bantering and joking with bugs, eating the dinner he knows is made for him and him only. Reveling in the fact that bugs was expecting, anticipating, if not, then maybe even hoping that daffy will show up and bugs *prepared* a dinner for him. And then the other second having to look at every single piece of merchandise and media pushing this picture perfect relationship of Bugs and Lola. Don't think about how Daffy had to sit through each and every love interest that bugs had. Whether that's honey bunny or Penelope or currently, Lola. How he watched as bugs allegedly, "fell in love" with them, as far as the audience knows. And don't think about how, maybe somewhere in the haze, he started to doubt bugs himself. What if he *did* fall in love and everything daffy sees is just a delusion? What if all they've been through is just that. A circumstance. What if the mandatory love interest is more? More than they ever were?

At the end of the day, it doesn't matter. Daffy isn't ever going to be some one who bugs is in love with. And that has nothing to do with bugs' feelings, no, it's just how the universe works. They weren't meant to be, not in the official sense.

[artist-issues]

do you have any thoughts on the Tinkerbell movies?

what it does with the different fairy talents seems exactly like your kind thing.

I do!

You're right!

It is my kind of thing!

The thing that's so great about it is, that's such a good lesson for kids. Sometimes, you're just not naturally gifted at the thing other kids are naturally gifted at. It's not your thing. Not everybody can do all the same things that everyone else can do. And society might not find the thing you're gifted at as flashy or even important as everyone else's thing. But that doesn't mean it's not important.

Plus, it's all very selfless. What the fairies do, they do for others, or the greater good. Changing the seasons, caring for the animals. It's work. That's their lives. They work at order and beauty. And they make it all beautiful while they do it. And they enjoy it. Even when Tink is selfishly trying to be special--either in her talent, or in getting to go to the mainland--she's never trying to avoid work. Work is portrayed as a good and natural thing, and an enjoyable and beautiful thing.

I love that all the other fairies make beautiful things or preserve beautiful things. But Tink learns to fix things that were once beautiful, and are now broken.

I love that her friends do try to help her, but ultimately it's all misguided—she can't be something she's not. She just can't. It's not possible. There are things about Tink that are inherent, and cannot be changed, only pretended otherwise.

Plus, speaking of Tink, they still manage to keep her in the realm of "in-character" even without Peter around (and even though she can feel more than one emotion at a time, unlike what I think the book says.)

Disney Tink always wanted to be special to Peter Pan. She wanted to be his one dearest companion. Thats why she gets jealous of Wendy. In this movie, before she's met him, her issues are still "I want to be special and mean something, and I'm jealous of others who seem more special than me."

I also love the whole style of the movie. I love that the music is all Celtic, and I love seeing the different things made out of leaves and flower petals and twigs and stuff. That's a spin that makes it different from Barbie movies or whatever.

I think the best movie in the series is either the first one or the Neverbeast.

And those are all my jumbled thoughts on the TinkerBell movies!

[thisonlyguy-49]

As Extermination Day comes to pass, the heavens have descended from above with a showcase of Adam!

From Viv’s confirmations of his villain role, looks like he’s about give no shits from anyone all while playing the holy axe in his hand.

Full image in all of Heaven’s glory!

From the looks of it, it seems that Adam’s got himself a right-hand companion. They could be like a second-in-command type of character. The attire definite makes it appear if the exorcist is female.

Viv states from a reply of a another’s tweet that her name is… Lute.

The way these two could go in the series is mostly as comical, yet never afraid to set an example as for why they’re who they are. Feeling very “oh shit these two clowns have the power to erase us into nothing in an instant” vibes.

If this is just the first sneak peek into Heaven, imagine what we see in the actual series!

One more silly Adam close-up for y’all!

[marinerainbow]

OC x Canon analysis under the cut.

One of the reasons I love Pocho is because of how opposites they are. Especially in how selfish Poppy and Psycho are.

For Poppy, she isn't. She's selfless to a fault. Even in a way that's toxic to her own self; she would just stand there and let someone verbally abuse her in hopes they're at least letting off steam. She would- and has- stepped in the middle of a conflict just to drag someone out of it who, as far as she knew, didn't deserve to get hurt. And, if she had to, she'd sacrifice herself if it meant someone would live- whether she knew them or not.

She is genuinely a kind and good person. But it mostly stems from the fact that ever since she was created, it had been hammered into her head that she doesn't matter. And, even now, she holds that same value to herself. She feels like she has to have a reason to do things just for herself.

Psycho on the other hand, he is a selfish person. All of the weasels are selfish to varying degrees, and that includes him. The only reason he doesn't jump on people as often as he likes is because he decides it's not worth getting a lecture from Smartass. He'll act out on his impulsive thoughts without a care for how it may affect others, only how it would satisfy him. From small, silly things like biting into the soap bar, to more grim things.

He was mistreated like Poppy. Though unlike her, he decided he wouldn't let others dictate what he can and can't do. To an extent at least, since he still listens to Smartass. That and he's just that kind of guy.

You can even see it in how they both approached falling in love and confessing. Poppy fell for him first, but she didn't say a word. Because she knew he didn't like her back and didn't want to not only make him uncomfortable, but also lose a friend. Psycho however, it took him a long time to catch feelings for Poppy. But when he realized he wanted her, it didn't take him too long before he approached her about it. Even if she said no, he still wanted to get it out that he loved her.

Psycho can't comprehend why Poppy would just sacrifice herself so much. And Poppy doesn't get how he can't think of everyone involved. But they can agree on this; they love each other, no matter what. And they'll do anything for the other.

Poppy still has a hard time doing things for herself. But Psycho just sees this as an opportunity to make her smile. If he sees she wants the last piece of dessert, he insists she has it. And will growl at the others if they try to protest. If he notices she's eyeing a necklace or another piece of jewelry while window shopping, that store is instantly on his list of places to rob. And every time he does anything like this, he looks to her in hopes of gaining her approval. He doesn't want her sad, both out of love and because he prefers her happy.

And on Psycho's end, Poppy is finally able to make him think of others. Well, not all the others, just her. Before, he would have killed the bag boy without a second thought just cause. Now though? He hesitates. Because he knows Poppy wouldn't like it. And if he sees she's trying to mediate a nasty fight, he'll come in, scoop her up, and run out of there with her because he knows that this takes a toll on her. She manages to bring the good within him out, even if the good is only directed towards her.

Poppy has noticed. She sees how important she is to him, and that alone is enough to get her to cry happy tears. Yes, it is partially out of his own wants, but he still wants to make her happy. He still wants to do all this for her and protect her. She isn't used to people wanting these good things for her, and that only makes Psycho even more important to her. And makes her try so hard every day to make him feel just as loved as he makes her feel.

And slowly, Poppy's able to start thinking of herself because of him. At first, it was only because she didn't want Psycho to worry about her, but it started getting easier for her to do things that she needed for herself. From little things like buying that sunhat she's always wanted, to things like keeping out of Smartass' way when he's yelling at the others. Because of Psycho, she's now able to see importance in herself.

Psycho is a selfish toon. And Poppy is a selfless toon. It seems like they would be a toxic match. But it only shows how perfect they are for each other.

[shadowlinktheshadow]

HI HI HI I LOVE TOON LINK HYLIAN AND I'LL SEE IF I CAN TRANSLATE IT!! :D

the writing is NOT consistent at all, since there are some differences between the close-up, and the further away shot with Vio holding it

but if we ignore that and try to form SOME sentences, we actually get some really cool things!

(apologies for my handwriting--)

one last thing:

in the wack-a-mole mini comic, not only is Vio mislabeled as "Green", the poster above only has " Red" and "Blue" when in the japanese version, it has all three of them

Miscellaneous things I noticed in the FS Manga

I reread the Four Swords manga quite a bit now that I have it, so I figured I might as well share some of the things I’ve noticed over the course of those many rereads.

- In chapter 11 it’s revealed Blue keeps his hammer in his hat.

- The flower Zelda is mentioned to like is potentially a blue flax, just going off of appearance and status as a wildflower. 

- In the first chapter, all the Colors have dark-shaded undershirts/sleeves, but starting in chapter 2, only Green has dark-shaded sleeves (Blue has a lighter grey color). This was probably done to save time, or maybe just to make it easier to tell them all apart. 

- Everyone’s default expression just seems to be :0 which is honestly probably just a quirk of its era, but still really funny. 

- In chapter 2, the first time Blue gets hit by Shadow, Red is briefly seen crouching next to Blue as if to check on him. I think Red remains crouching after Blue gets up, but I’m really not sure. He’s back on his feet by the time Blue gets hit again.

- Vio holds books really weird but at least he seems to be having fun. Up until someone talks to him, anyway. (I attempted to translate the words we can see, but I think it may just be gibberish. It was not a very good attempt to be fair.)

- Shields, swords, and sheaths only seem to exist when relevant. 

- For being touted as the “boring” and “uninteresting” member of the team, Green sure does have a lot of expressive moments if you focus on him. I think he’s the most well-rounded of the bunch in terms of personality. His defining character trait is “motivated”, which when compared to “angry”, “cry laughing”, and “morals are a roulette wheel”, isn’t that easy to see visually. He’s competitive with Blue, he shows when he’s scared or happy like Red, and he can think rationally like Vio. He has all these overlapping traits with the others, they just aren’t nearly as prominent. Like a jack of all traits.

- In chapter 2, Shadow jumps at Green in an attempt to kill him. A similar pose is mirrored by Vio later in chapter 7 during his fight with Green. Perhaps intentional? (What do they have against Green??)

- Blue is the undeniable powerhouse of the team. He lands the final hit on Stone Arrghus, protects Red throughout the whole Temple of Light/Darkness (which I thought was really sweet, dude was not leaving Red behind no matter what), takes out Big Poe, and steps in to take down their father (so Green doesn’t have to). He also drops a bunch of Hinox into lava if we’re counting that. Pretty much all these instances did have help from the others in at least some capacity, but you can trust him to finish the job.

- The dynamic between Red and Vio, though not seen much due to Vio’s Evil Shenanigans and the team being split for multiple chapters, is surprisingly wholesome.  In chapter 2, shortly after receiving their names, Vio lists the obvious personality traits they all have, and pats Red on the head while smiling (which may or may not be his first genuine non-smug smile at this point?). Red seems to admire Vio, though honestly he’s like that with all of them. They seem to stand near each other a lot early on before the group is split. In chapter 3, when Red gets stuck in place and Stone Arrghus is about to attack him, Vio is the first to jump in between them to save Red. In chapter 8, Red runs to hug Vio after they get him back from Vio’s Evil Shenanigans (and Red also seemed to run to him for a hug in chapter 6, but because it’s not shown, Red probably stopped just short of giving him one). I really wish we got to see them interact more. 

- Speaking of Red and Vio, their speech bubbles in chapter 10 appear to have been flipped around. 

- Of all the Colors, Vio is the only one to never be shown crying. The closest he gets is when Green stomps his foot and his eyes tear up. Red cries all the time, Blue cries a few times but most notably when Green “dies”, and Green seems to be crying when their father “dies”. 

- Not so much an observation but just a question--are the fire rod and ice rod actually two different items, or just a toggle for the same rod?? Due to the lack of coloring, and the fact the rods look pretty much, if not completely the same, I can’t tell if the “click” that comes from it in chapter 7 (while they’re standing on Vio’s execution rock), is the fire rod being changed into an ice rod, or Red switching weapons all together just with a weird onomatopoeia (or potentially the “click” had nothing to do with the rod at all). 

- Though not super fleshed-out characters, the other knights of Hyrule showing up in the fight with Vaati to help out the Colors was a nice nod to the start of the story, what with the themes of teamwork and all that. They might not have been there on time, but they made it there eventually and got the Colors out of a tricky situation. Their unity is their strength, as they say. Also, shoutout to Link’s father, he’s doing his best and clearly loves his son(s)

- In one of the bonus comics, “It’s Not Easy Being Purple,” Vio is for some reason labeled as Green. This one bugged me when I noticed it.

- In the final bonus comic, “Fear Like Never Before,” I am convinced Vio’s Evil Shenanigans Part 2 would commence had Green not put the sword back in again. (Just look at his face. Why is he staring at the ground? Shadow??) 

- Red is best boy, moving on.

These are just some of the immediate things that come to mind when I’m rereading. I seem to get a new appreciation for each of the characters each time, so that’s really neat. Back when I was like 13, I only knew of a few pages of the fan translation, and of the characters I only really had a feel for Red’s whole deal, so he was my favorite (still is tbh). 

Now I can say I like all the characters, each for a different reason, and not to the same amount, but I don’t dislike or feel neutral about anyone like I used to. Green and Blue were really “meh” to me when I first acquired the manga a few months back, but honestly they’re both really interesting in ways I’ve only started to notice recently. 

I thought Blue was just angry all the time, but he pulls off a lotta cool shit constantly (not including the time he literally got frozen) and I think he does care about the others a lot even if he won’t admit it (his interactions with Red turning more soft is definitely an indicator). I wish we had gotten to see what his response to Red would have been back in the Temple of Light/Darkness when Red asked if he was even worried about Green and Vio. He was definitely worried, but someone had to be focused, and in that moment it had to be Blue. 

Or something, I’m not very good at character studies. I’ll stand by what I said about him caring for the others though.

Liking Green more is still on the newer side for me. Again, I never disliked any of them, but Green always came across as plain (since he doesn’t have any stand out character traits other than being the one who looked most like Link), so I tended to overlook him. The thing that got me to like him more actually was his body language. He is very expressive, be it his facial features or the way he moves. I love characters that emote in exaggerated ways, it’s also why I like Red so much, they share this in common. In particular, Green just has some funky poses I think are neat, like in chapter 5–he may be fighting for his life but his dodging is just so cartoony and bouncy, I want to see it animated. 

To some extent they all move like this, but with Green it’s nice since he’s not usually comic relief. It’s nice to have a “main” main character be just as goofy and cartoonish like the rest. 

And when it comes to Vio, I’ve always liked Vio. Finding out how unhinged he actually is was a treat, but it also was a really funny realization for me. I knew him as the serious bookworm, which isn’t entirely wrong, but he’s also a smug bitch who, had the narrative allowed him, would definitely have a kill count. In fact, he has only read one book, but it was in doing so that everyone latched onto the idea he loves reading. Love that for him. I also love the fact he’s a liar.

It’s like he got most of Link’s negative traits wrapped into one, and then they set him loose into the wilderness. It’s a miracle he didn’t kill anybody. He certainly tried. 

I do not have the words to explain how much I love Red. He’s adorable and so unapologetically emotional that it makes me happy. He’s just being himself, havin’ a good time. The others would have perished without him, I’m convinced (or, well, Blue would have frozen to death, Green would have died to the Hinox, and Vio would presumably continue living in his darkness-sponsored love affair with Shadow until he either killed one or both of them). 

This got longer than it was supposed to be whoops.

[toffeecoffeee]

An Analysis of Shelly

I know what you're thinking. "But Toffee, you only ever post Goob-related content! What's with this sudden Shelly craze?"

Now, my one and only favorite character is and always will be Goob, but I have started to take an interest in Shelly's character lately. And hoooo boy, it has been one HELL of a rabbit hole. Plus, I haven't seen anyone else actively point this out, so I'm doing it myself.

Are you ready?

Let's begin.

(analysis below cut)

The first thing about Shelly that struck me as odd in the new update was her design.

Now, there is absolutely nothing bad about her design-I find it very good, actually!-but when I saw that she was a MAIN CHARACTER TOON (I wasn't keeping up with update news), I was shocked. Everything about her design, from the clothing she wears to the colors made her look like a more...out of the way character. A character meant to have one singular purpose, and then be brushed aside and forgotten. The fact that she was one of the main toons was....strange.

I mean, look at her compared to Teagan!

If you knew about Dandy's World, but didn't know about the update, which one would you guess was the main toon?

I found this...interesting.

Then, I looked into her dialogue on the wiki.

Average stuff, for the most part. She didn't really have anything that jumped out at me. In fact, she didn't show too much unique personality at all. The only thing she was really doing was helping others, or occasionally asking for things from others. Nothing else, really.

Although, there was one strange piece of dialogue that caught my eye, that actually showed a hint of what kind of person Shelly is.

Odd, but ok...

And then, I read the description for her twisted form after finally getting 50%....

And it all made sense.

See it yet?

Let me highlight it for you.

"The blatant ignorance of her existence by everyone around her has enraged her."

At first I thought that this had to be an exaggeration. Surely this friendly and helpful toon couldn't just be ignored like tha-

Oh.

They're right.

Every single bit of dialogue she has is either her helping someone or her asking for something. It's sort of like that person at a job you like being around, but you never really get to know. That's Shelly with basically EVERYONE.

Seriously, name ONE genuine friend that she has currently IN THE GAME (not counting Sprout) that she has had an actual conversation with where they bond and get to know each other as people.

The only time she had some sort of conversation was with Teagan, when she mentioned she was doing ok..."sorta-ish". That line in itself is interesting as well, as it shows how she feels about all of this. But still, they don't really seem to be friends.

We're dipping into a bit of headcanon territory here, but I believe it's rooted enough into Canon to include.

Shelly is someone who craves human (or in this case, toon) connection. She wants to be dependable, to be the one people can fall back on when they're feeling down, to be the one people rely on, and she has that, in a sense. However, no matter how much she does for others, no matter how much she helps them and supports them...

People only see her as..someone to ask for help on occasion. Uh oh, I dropped something, better get that fossil girl to help, since she's always so useful. And that is a part of what Shelly wants!

But that's it.

Useful.

A tool to use and then toss aside for the next person until they need her again.

That's all there is to almost every relationship she has.

And part of it is her fault.

You see, Shelly is so focused on helping people that she forgets to take that next step to forge true friendships, and unfortunately, nobody seems to ever catch on that she wants to take that step to forge genuine bonds with others.

She's non-confrontational by nature, and she doesn't want to ruin her perception of being useful, because then people might forget about her entirely, so she waits and hopes that someone will hear something that she will never say herself.

A good example of this is the strange dialogue I mentioned earlier between Shelly and Vee.

Vee asks if she's busy after they're done with going down the elevator. Shelly initially doesn't believe that anyone would ever ask HER of all people to...possibly hang out...and talk..like friends...

So she gets excited. She asks what they're going to do together (although notably phrasing it in a way so it seems like she is offering to help), and...

It was...just moving some supplies. More work. More reasons to be useful. This isn't a bad thing! It means that people care about her! That they have need for her, so they'll never forget about her! It's not like she hoped that someone actually wanted to take time out of their day to hang out with her, nope! She'd never tell Vee any of that! And besides, she's totally fine with this!

So why does it hurt so badly?

Shelly's greatest fear has been happening to her for years, and she refuses to agknowledge it. To her, it could be so much worse if she stopped helping people. As long as she's useful, people will like her. They would never even think to toss her aside and forget about her, right?

Except they have been for a long time now.

When people talk to her, she either has to initiate by asking for something, or they initiate only because they need something from her. She wants to tell them so badly, to ask them why they never seen to pay any attention to her, or attempt to even have a real conversation with her, but she will never be that bold.

Even with the cardboard cutouts on one of the maps, she's hidden in the back-present, but barely noticed by those around her. (this is more obvious in game)

No matter how much she tries, no matter how friendly or helpful or dependable she is, people never seem to see her as a person. Why don't they see her?! She's right here! She's here and she's endlessly waiting for connections that will never come to pass! It's fine though, really!

Keep being friendly, and people will like you more.

Keep being helpful, and people will have a reason to talk to you.

Keep being dependable, and people will have a reason to come back. They won't ever leave you alone. Right..?

Keep being friendly.

Keep being helpful.

Keep being dependable.

(That's all you'll ever be.)

Ironic that a fossils greatest fear is being forgotten.

[ihopesocomic]

Wait so you mean to tell me MP ISNT someone's indie creation passion project and actually a show with a buject and stuff??

Great, now I can finally say this without feeling bad: why does the animation look like THAT. It just looks so wonky??? Like the characters are about to fall appart at any second because they are made of paper that has been hastly glued togheter?

Because if its your passion project, yeah I get it, animating is hard. I animate too, and god making the characters move and look good is difficult. But if its a show and you're getting paid (or u have money to give someone else to animate it) why dont make it look better? And actually learn how ro use the engine you're using?

My Pride was not somebody's indie passion project, no. It had a budget and said budget was funded by "an agency of the provincial [Canadian] government" (Ontario Creates) via taxpayer money. You'll notice that they're credited at the end of each episode.

I'm sorry to hear you've been misled. You're not the first and you certainly won't be the last. oof

As for the animation, we know somebody who offered Tribble assistance on how to use Toon Boom more effectively and make the process easier for her. Their offer was turned down. To compound this, since Tribble opted for limited animation, and since a lot of the time the characters are standing while talking: re-drawing characters for every single scene was just a further waste of valuable time that could've been spent doing other things to make the show presentable.

I do feel there are some parts of the show that do look nicely animated, as we said in our analysis. It's just a shame that this wasn't a consistent thing. I don't know the reasoning behind that either. I can only assume that the most obvious culprit seems to be a lack of model sheets. I feel the animation team did their best with what limited direction they appear to have been given.

And it's also this inconsistent animation that has led people to believe that it wasn't a professional project. Even though professional = polished and nice looking/hobbyist = bad and amateurish is a very common misconception that needs to die already. lol - RJ

[lucawrites11]

my optimal lionesses line-up v ireland

i am going to this match and i am not afraid to insult sarina from my seat loudly if she doesn't play younger players for this one

A lot of players are on yellows and one more will put them out for the Sweden game so this is the main consideration in the creation of this line-up. It's two yellows for a suspension, Jess Carter, Ella Toone, Leah Williamson, Lucy Bronze and Chloe Kelly are all on one. This is also one of the easier games in the group and an opportunity to play some younger players.

Alessia Russo may be injured after leaving last week's camp early with a hamstring injury in training but I think that was minor and mostly precautionary however if she's not ready to play a full 90, I would like to see Aggie Beever-Jones start in her place. They've tried starting Lauren Hemp in the nine before and it regularly fails to produce goals. However, if Aggie Beever-Jones starts, I would like to see Fran Kirby over Grace Clinton to bring more experience to that front line and introduce someone that Aggie is more familiar with playing with rather than two young players connecting through that central channel to create a line-up like this:

Okay, so justifying my other choices. Firstly, England needs to start introducing a more consistent staring line-up for chemistry and game plans. This is not possible in the defence but consistency can be carried over in the attack and midfield with the exception of Grace Clinton. Hence, my choices of Russo, Hemp and Mead up front. I think they need all the chances to build up their chemistry possible so England can start scoring the goals they need to score. This especially comes with how they understand each other's movement. Clinton can slip into this as the best like-for-like replacement for Toone who can get up front to compensate for Russo's runs that create a midfield overload much needed for chances through the centre especially with both Wubben-Moy and Williamson unavailable to make these runs from the defence.

However, England will likely benefit from Ireland's lack of a midfielder with the talents to mark Keira Walsh out of the game which is why I have deemed it okay not to play Williamson and miss out on her midfield overloads that free up Walsh and allow her to make her crucial chance creating passes through the midfield. England will also benefit from Clinton's speed, allowing more of these passes to capitalise on as she can outrun her markers. Stanway and Walsh are further irreplaceable in the midfield, although I would accept Park in Stanway's role however with two inexperienced defenders, England would benefit from experiences in the midfield.

With all the yellow cards and injuries, England is limited in the defence. As a result, Greenwood despite being a stronger player at centre-back is the best option at left-back and fortunately links up well with Lauren Hemp so this isn't the worst scenario for England. However, it does leave England without a left-footed centre-back. Both Morgan and Le Tissier can play at right-back. However, with McCabe preferring the wings to score goals (though let's face it we have no fucking idea where she's going to play and quite frankly she shouldn't be given a positional label any more, she should just be called an outfield player because she plays fucking everywhere), it is better to play the more experiences player at right-back to possibly counter this and that would be Maya Le Tissier. However, Esme Morgan and Maya Le Tissier's positions in the starting line-up are interchangeable for me.

I want to see Keating make her competitive debut sooner rather than later, as a result, I think this would be the perfect time to give her a chance. She had minutes in the game against the Netherlands and with no friendlies coming up soon, I think this may be the only opportunity. If both Hampton and Earps are injured, she is the keeper we would turn to and she needs some competitive experience to remove the pressure and give England and herself the best chances in the future. She is a stronger keeper than most in the WSL and with Greenwood and Morgan in front of her she will be in the unique position of playing with a familiar defence to guide her.

If Niamh Charles makes the match day squad and Maya Le Tissier returns to the reserves, I would like to see Millie Turner play the centre back role alongside Millie Bright. In that scenario, Esme Morgan would take up the right back role to look something like this. (Left if Russo isn't fully fit and right if she is.)

Substitutes

With Mary Earps and Niamh Charles still recovering from injury, the match day squad (limited to 23 players) would be:

(players in italics are on a yellow and at risk of a suspension)

Hannah Hampton, Khiara Keating, Lucy Thomas/Anna Moorhouse Lucy Bronze, Alex Greenwood, Millie Bright, Leah Williamson, Jess Carter, Esme Morgan, Maya Le Tissier, Millie Turner Keira Walsh, Fran Kirby, Georgia Stanway, Ella Toone, Grace Clinton, Jess Park Lauren Hemp, Beth Mead, Chloe Kelly, Alessia Russo, Aggie Beever-Jones, Jess Naz

I think it would be sensible to give Charles and Earps a little more time, especially Charles, ahead of this game and not name her to the squad especially with the limits already placed on the defensive by the yellow cards and it being key that Le Tissier, as a right back replacement for Lucy Bronze, is named in the match day squad.

I do not trust this squad not to get yellow cards against Ireland despite managing it last time out, especially Lucy Bronze. Quite frankly, some of the players not on yellows are quite literally bloody miracles (*cough* Georgia Stanway *cough* *cough*)

Personally, I am a little disappointed in the match day squad as it would be a good space for Bo Kearns to make a debut off the bench and I think she would do very well against Liverpool and she's in the unique position of being one of the few future English midfielders who can play in a defensive midfield position. The lack of depth in the defensive midfield role hurt England in their matches while Keira Walsh was injured with Katie Zelem one of the few other English options available in this role and nowhere near the standard of Keira Walsh however I think Bo Kearns, despite being more of a central midfielder, does have the ability to learn this role and slip into it much like Patri Guijarro is able to do at Barcelona. I would like to see her make the squad over a player on a yellow card as a tactical decision. Ella Toone is probably the best option as a like-for-like change in the midfield squad list.

Considering this, this is the substitutes that I would like to see made throughout the game.

And if Russo is not ready for a full 90, these are the substitutes that I want to see made:

These crucial substitutes would allow England to keep the experience and also allow young players to get game time ahead of the 2025 Euros something that is crucial for developing a game plan similar to the one that won England the 2024 Euros. With qualifiers for both the World Cup and Euros getting increasingly difficult, there will be no more opportunities like Luxembourg and North Macedonia to give young players a chance and they are going to have to get their chances in these matches. Jess Naz, Aggie Beever-Jones, Missy Bo Kearns, Maya Le Tissier, Grace Clinton, Jess Park and Esme Morgan will all be crucial to England's future success and they need to get the chance at some point and these substitutions will be the way to give it to them. For me, the most crucial players to play with be Beever-Jones, Keating and Naz.

[cartoon-buffoon]

Notes on this video I had and some disagreements as well as some pleasantly surprised agreements I had and honestly this video is good because I think blind praise and the hype around a game can kinda shield people from its faults. It's good to be a contraian once and awhile and this is a perfect display of that.

* In regards to the "skipping right to the action feels substanceless" I would disagree honestly. Idk about you but when I play a game I want content, I know there's a such thing as building suspense which this game does do later on but I actually think the start is a highlight.

* I will agree the parkour is a bit jank but it's not horrible unplayable jank it's 2000s video game jank where you have to get used to it and use it to your advantage. Some may argue having to use a game's messed mechanics is a downside but like no game is flawless in terms of gameplay and with finding Frankie ultimately the jank doesn't get in the way of the main gameplay and or parkour—at least in my experience. Still with a game focusing on parkour this is valid criticism but I like I didn't have any issue with it.

* Also in regards to the CONSTANT comparison of fall guys yeah the inspiration is clear with the aesthetic and some of the music but like.... You know what also was a platforming gameshow that was really popular and has like A LOT of the same obstacles featured in Fall Guys that was the main inspiration for Fall Guys? Wipeout... I was too young to even appreciate Wipeout before it got cancelled but like... I can still acknowledge ya know, it's moreso wipeout and saying it's directly ripped from fall guys could only extend to how it looks visually

* This is a disagree of opinion but I do like exploration and I find the complaint about being confused on where to go can be dismissed by the fact that the environments in this game are fun and cool to look at and I like seeing them. Some may find this annoying though which is totally valid and he does state he just doesn't like exploration so ya know there's that, simple disagree of opinion.

* "Huh we're doing the same thing over and over again, weird" what horror game is exempt form this? Like even ignoring mascot horror, horror games in general kinda do become repetitive because they are designed around a specific set of gameplay. It would be better here to IMO say he just wasn't a fan of this style of gameplay in particular

* he praises the chase sequence and I HEAVILY agree this manor of chase sequence only being used twice kinda feels lackluster since it's SOOOO GOOD! But this is could just an adrenaline rush situation, maybe because that feeling you get in the chase sequence is just so good that only experiencing it twice in the game is for the better and it avoids losing its charm—but I don't know for certain because ya know, it does only happen twice

* Complaint towards Henry Hotline retreating is "awkward" is something I disagree with because to me I don't see Henry as a villain. Dude just wants his head to stop ringing and it's obvious he's being driven mad by it and from Frankie messing him up and punishing to kill us (plus his way less brutal death he gives us) it feels like Henry doesn't want to kill us and is just being forced to do his job whilst also just REALLY WANTING that ringing to stop. Like apparently people don't last as long as we did so I think Henry retreating his him giving us a chance to leave his area and stop ringing his damn phone. Idk this is an interpretation of the story more than anything.

*Him getting frustrated at Henry Hotline's area is just a skill issue honest to God it was not as hard as he made it out to be. While Henry is patrolling this isn't on a timer and I feel like a lot of gamers have this sense of urgency they give themselves that is NOT there and dying over and over could be stopped by taking a second and stoping for 1 minute rather than redoing the puzzle and wasting an extra 5. Plus it does give you a safe zone lol. At least he does KIND OF acknowledge it was his fault but giving criticism to something you sucked at rubs me the wrong way.

* "Another fall guys inspired minigame" hay dude um there was a TV show that had 3 entire seasons on nick called hole in the wall. Now while I don't know when Fall Guys was released I doubt it was before 2008. Fall Guys didn't invent platforming game shows, like a quick google search could of stopped you from saying this.

*Deputy Duck's underutilization and Henry's hand chasing you in the sewer puzzle does feel like a missed opportunity for something else. Agree there

*This dude wasn't at fault with the circuit breaker on the ceiling thing. Unless you're looking up on purpose it is kinda hard to notice, I'll cut some slack and relate there

*The Noob Noobs don't need an explanation IMO. It's apart of the goofy charm, it doesn't take itself seriously and these random exploding critters are evidence of that clear as day. Plus their funny lol

*Spleef/surviving disappearing platforms is a really old concept so to say hex-a-havoc is copy pasted from fall guys is something that irritates me. Like design wise YES Fall Guys, the general concept was NOT invented by Fall Guys though and I think just using the disappearing hexagon style of spleef is perfectly okay and honestly if they used like circles or cubes to do the same thing it would of felt like an even bigger rip-off.

Honestly a really good video though all around with some very valid complaints. I will say though this ultimately just boils down to big expectations from a studio who's first game and debut is this! I think having such large wants was kinda a bad idea and will just lead to disappointment. It's obviously okay to dislike the game though and honestly pretty well rounded review because ultimately this is to me just a review. Like there is some criticisms here TOTALLY VALID but also some that are just clear opinion but that's okay! I do kinda take issue with moments where opinions are kinda used as criticisms but no one is immune to doing that. ALSO NO BITCHING ABOUT THE STORY OR COMPARING IT TO OTHER MASCOT HORROR GAMES SO I GET TO KEEP MY SKIN! FUCK YEAH!

(All serious though solid video 7/10 with bonus points towards the garten of ban-ban insult at the end)

.... I haven't watched it. This is 25 minutes long, it can't be just 25 minutes of comparing the game to its processors and I'm sure there's some VERY valid criticism in this. With that being said if the complaints and or "missed potential" I see is just talking about "oh there's no story and/or it doesn't make sense" I'm gonna rip my skin off... I'm actually gonna fucking peel skin back like I'm a banana peel.

One of the reasons why I find mascot horror now so derivative is because we've been conditioned to believe every game needs some deep complex lore while that simply isn't the case. This game could exist without it and still make sense with what little we're given. Like sure we may never know how the 2 brothers turned themselves into the Frankies—heck we may not even have confirmation that the 2 brothers are the Frankies because all there is heavy speculation regarding it and sure it POINTS to it but it could be something totally different that was intended on the devs part. Funny reminder that this game was made out of hatred for the standard mascot horror formula which became low effort slop made by people wanting something deeper than they are capable of thinking of. Now I'm gonna watch this video but all I'm saying is if it just complains about the story and or just compares it to other games, my skin? COMING RIGHT THE FUCK OFF

[powdermelonkeg]

Echoes of Wisdom Trailer Analysis: Part 1

I'll tell you what, a new Zelda game, especially one this year, was NOT what I was expecting. I was hoping for a teaser a la "the sequel to BotW is now in development," but to have a full on main-series game come out? That caught me completely off guard.

But I've got my bearings. And I like what I see. So let's break down what we DID see, shall we?

Our opening shot has Link in some ruins, looking over at what appears to be Soldiers (as in the enemy, a lesser version of Darknuts), which are a staple for Fallen Timeline games.

However, they usually aren't this color, restricted to red, blue, and green. And they usually have swords or tridents, not axes.

The axes are a new development, as are the black armor and white capes. Maybe they've taken on the red -> blue -> green -> black -> silver difficulty pattern that BotW and TotK had?

Moving on.

Link here has a dark blue cape with teal geometric patterns on the back. Tempting as it is to connect this to the Zonai with the recent game-

-I'm going to abstain for now, because Zelda games like their teal geometry.

Looking around, the ruins Link finds himself in are unique.

We have eye patterns on the walls and double helixes framing the door. We haven't seen any pattern like this before, to my knowledge.

Link rushes in, sword drawn. The floor is plain square patterns on cracked tile.

We get our first glimpse of the Hylian Shield

As well as a clear shot of his sword. Oddly enough, it's not the Master Sword, or anything like it—it looks too plain to be something final, like the Four Sword or Phantom Sword:

And yet, it still very distinctly matches Link's current aesthetic, with the teal geometry.

Honestly, it looks more akin to a beginning sword that needs to change, like the Goddess Sword of Skyward Sword:

It's basic, it's easy to look at, but it's distinct and memorable.

Immedaitely after the cinematic run, the camera snaps to an overhead view, in which Link attacks. So there's at least a little gameplay as Link.

We see Princess Zelda in her crystal prison. Nothing unusual so far, but she definitely has a new look to her, even if her dress is distinctly Toon/Oracles/AlttP style remade.

Then we pan down to Ganon. Fallen Timeline's beast Gan, as we're used to seeing him. So far, he seems to look the most like his ALBW iteration, with the spiked cuffs around his wrists.

Link enters the scene. Purple mist is there for ambiance.

The pattern on the ground feels...ornamental. It doesn't stick out much or have enough detail on it to be the usual big-bad-evil-ritual.

Link throws his cape away dramatically.

Again, we get a camera-snapped view in which Link's attacks seem very much in the player's control.

And blocking Link off from escape, we have a magical barrier, though this one is emitting particles.

It's almost like Ganon's torn the ground open for this.

Defeated, ready for phase two, Ganon dissipates into purple sparks, only to reappear and start his tennis volley.

And here's where we get our proper view of him head-on.

ALBW's Ganon is a bit easy to miss in-game, because Yuga takes him over moments after he arrives. But he looks like this:

This is not our Gan's design.

He has the bracers, yes, but his forehead gem isn't spiked, his eyes are red, not white, his armor is gold with red edges and has chest plates that look a lot like really old art of ALttP Gan:

But most interestingly, his necklace is different.

In every version of Ganon that looks like this, he's either had a skull at his neck

Or a gem

But our Gan has something new. Something that, given the eyes in the corridor, feels deliberate:

There's a menace in this branch of Hyrule's history that's known for three things: a horned eye, purple magic, and possession.

And I'm out of images. Part 2 here!

[skemford]

Wanted to collect some thoughts i have about the ink demon as a character and what made him the way he is

So here we go, another personal character analysis

1. Backstory/Background

As we all know, the ink demon is an attempt to create real life toon Bendy with using the ink machine

He's the only one known instance of cartoon character being recreated without someone dying (for example, Buddy Boris) or without them being based on real people (Tom and Allison)

GENT and Joey saw him as a failed experiment and they've tried to find reasons for "why" it didn't worked the way it was intended.

It's really important for story's development and becomes one of main forces that move it:

Joey believes that you need human souls to create a perfect cartoon character (explored through batim)

GENT tries to figure out if there's something wrong with the ink machine and decides to start experiments on humans later (batdr/fade to black)

1.1 Isolation

The ink demon was closed off and isolated from everyone while they've tried to find the ways to "fix" him

Joey said that he started this project to create "alive attractions" and BendyLand in batim's cycle has a spot where Bendy (presumably) could've been placed if he was perfect:

which, obviously, didn't happen

It's worth to note that this place can be found at the haunted house which is a part of "Dark Land", location that was later confirmed to be toon Bendy's personalized attraction.

We don't know for how long the ink demon was closed at JDS but it was long enough for some employees like Norman to notice that something is off:

"...Every night, just as I'm pickin' up my coat, there's a deep groan rising up from the floor. One of these days, I'm gonna get my light and see what's causin' all the fuss below me" (Norman Polk, Boris and the dark survival tape)

After JDS went down, he was transported to New Jersey and was closed off again.

Similar thing repeats one more time in 1953 when Joey has started to work on "Joey Drew Studios show" at Kismet Productions.

We have no idea when exactly Joey has decided to 'permanently' put him in the cycle,we can only speculate that it happened somewhere in 1950s.

2. Thomas Connor/GENT

Thomas is GENT representative at JDS and he was directly involved in the ink machine's creation:

"One weird note, the first figure ever created was a failed attempt in the likeness of the character called Bendy" (Thomas Connor, batim ch 5)

In batim ch 5 Joey claims that he saw the ink demon at Tom's office which confirms that he was completely harmless at the beginning:

"...Whatever that grinning thing was I saw wandering around your office,you better keep it locked up tight!" (Joey Drew, chapter 5 tape)

He doesn't say anything about him being violent or damaging their property.

It looks like the way he acts is a consequence of abuse and isolation from GENT and Joey; it's not the reason he was isolated in the first place.

3. Joey Drew

Joey saw toon Bendy as his child that he loved and cherished but the ink demon is seen as "a weird abomination" and "a grinning thing" by him:

("... I'm paying for living attractions,not weird abominations!...")

Outside of wanting to make profit without spending more money than he intended to,Joey is also known to be obsessed with toon Bendy and his design; he sees the little devil as the most perfect work of art the world has ever saw:

"Picture me standing side by side with my greatest creation, Bendy." (TIOL, page 11)

He also notes in TIOL that toon Bendy's creation process was supposed to perfect and he nitpicks every minor detail as important

Joey calls himself a perfectionist on multiple occasions which further explains his disgust toward the ink demon, someone who came out "imperfection".

"...They were swell, I’m sure you’ve seen them and enjoyed them yourself, but they weren’t what I, ever the perfectionist, wanted them to be. Something was off." (TIOL, page 159)

"It wasn’t Bendy. But it was a cartoon character. It triggered something inside me. That deep-down place that held the solution to Bendy’s appearance had finally stirred" (TIOL,page 153)

Shawn Flynn mentions that Joey reacts deeply negatively to bendy dolls having crooked smiles:

"...So what if i went and painted some of these bendy dolls with a crooked smile? That's sure no reason for Mr. Drew to be flyin' off the handle at me..." (Shawn Flynn, batim ch 3 tape)

In Joey's eyes, Bendy was supposed to be 1 in 1 recreation for him to be perfect and lovable; the idea of him coming out off-model was something deeply unacceptable.

He separates bendy from the ink demon and calls the ink demon monster or beast:

“I think you woke the beast.” (FtB, page 247)

We know the ink demon's perspective on Joey only through his minor interaction with Memory Joey in Batdr's ending. After he decided to speak about his love toward Audrey with ignoring second person in the room, the ink demon calls him a "poor excuse of Joey Drew" and crushes to death.

He was never loved after being recreated by the ink machine and this scene can be easily interpreted as jealousy.

Even with Audrey and the ink demon temporarily sharing one body, she was still separated and put above him.

4. Henry Stein

Henry is Bendy's second creator (or "real" one, depends on how you interpret this) but he wasn't present in the ink demon's life when he was 'born' from the ink machine.

Does the ink demon know that Cycle! Henry is not the real deal? Likely he does, it was stated a couple of times that he can differentiate humans from ink creatures (and he senses ink creatures through the ink)

Latest source of this information is FtB, where he easily knew where Archie Carter, person who was experimented on, was located.

“He’s connected to me. I can’t hide and I’m leading him right for you both..." (page 215, FTB)

We don't know the ink demon's perspective on Henry (sadly,they don't have interactions in BATDR) but it can be said that he likely has complicated feelings about him.

The tombstone picnic cartoon (1929) features toon Bendy looking at someone and smiling after seeing them:

TimetheHobo (previous cartoon animator) has confirmed that this shadow was intended to be Henry:

It explains why this is the only one cartoon with a lost ending; after Henry has left the studio, Joey didn't wanted him to be associated with Bendy in any way. But especially when Bendy was happy to see Henry in cartoon's context.

Possibly the ink demon remembers Henry from cartoons? It may be the case but it's based on thin speculations; i won't claim that it's confirmed to be canon. Only time will tell.

5. The keepers/Wilson Arch

After Wilson has decided to enter the cycle and "tame" it, the ink demon becomes one of things he wants to deal with first and foremost.

The keepers, being Wilson's servants of sort, were tasked with capturing him. We don't get context on how exactly they've succeeded but we do have a couple of tapes from them:

" ...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." (Keeper Log 13, Batdr)

Some time passes and they figure out that it's impossible to destroy him, so plans start to change. They decide to include tortures and surgical invasions to try to make him weaker:

"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" (Keeper Log 26, Batdr)

Which, obviously, fails to work. On their 44th experiments they were able to press him into toon bendy form, which has worked as a 'jail' of sorts:

"...He is smaller in size and harmless in this more timid state. His powers are also greatly reduced." (Keepers Log 44, batdr)

They also state that it was painful for him and under this pressure he has started to express emotions,like crying:

"...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..." (Keepers Log 44, batdr)

Through the game the lost ones did wanted to believe that the ink demon has "died" but they knew that it's not true:

" He said that the ink demon is dead but i saw him. I really did"

Putting the ink demon into a smaller form and placing signal towers around is not equal to destroying him

It doesn't seems like this effect was permanent anyway; Betty says that the ink demon was at the North Wing some time ago, which seems to happen way before Audrey has entered the cycle

Wilson's plan didn't worked from the beginning, he simply delayed the issue that he had.

6. Audrey Drew

The ink demon knows who Audrey is (even before she or the player does), he says himself that ink speaks to him and has revealed everything that it knows about her:

"...The ink speaks to me. It whispers your secrets..."

"... This realm.. is mine. You were born from it... you belong to it."

They have strong narrative parallels through the whole game:

The ink demon was abandoned and forgotten. He's a cartoon mascot who's supposed to be profitable and if he isn't, he doesn't serve his purpose.

Audrey in contradictory was loved. She's human passing and wasn't put under the pressure that the ink demon has experienced.

6.1 The ink demon projects his feelings onto Audrey

The ink demon does understand that their situation is a bit similar, at the end of BATDR he projects on Audrey on purpose. She's the only one person who can (at least try to) understand the way he feels.

Based on that, they do have a lot of things in common:

One creator;

Audrey's relation to Joey is obvious, he created a daughter for himself and refers to her this way.

With the Ink demon it's Joey's presence after his creation, comments and intentions which makes them 'related'. The ink demon=Bendy and Joey saw toon Bendy as his child/"firstborn".

Failed daughters/Audreys were replaced until the perfect one, in similar way with the ink demon being replaced because he's imperfect;

Even if girls demises is not Joey's fault (we genuinely lack context), it's still interesting that it has happened.

It does makes Audrey's existence "a terrible lie" (as the ink demon says) because she doesn't know that it has happened

Their situation may make them feel lonely among others;

One of them is a tall demon among dead employees/more cartoonish characters and another is an artificial human among regular humans. Again, the ink demon's attempts to project on her make a lot of sense.

Other residents of the cycle were manipulated by higher-ups (or created to only exists in the cycle) but before that,they had normal life (or fake memories about it)

With these two, it never was "normal" for either of them, even if their experiences are highly different.

6.2 He's trying to be honest

I've brought it up in my post with Joey analysis but I'll mention it here too:

The ink demon doesn't lie

Him being an antagonist doesn't mean that he has to lie or that you can't trust him. Antagonists aren't always plain evil characters,they can be complex! In contradictory to Joey who's a huge liar,his creation isn't one.

Nothing he says is misleading, neither he intends it to be. He either tells truth directly or projects onto people.

At the moment Audrey is the only one character he has a couple of completely honest moments with:

"He's lying, Audrey..." (about Wilson)

"They promised us peace,but they bring us only more pain" (about Wilson and the Keepers)

He drops the act of sounding threating here and says it as calm as he can. He stops it only after she says "be quiet".

He was shut down when he wanted to do a genuinely good thing in a long time; after that,he won't say anything similar anymore.

7. DR Beast Bendy

The ink demon doesn't need someone's soul (whatever this concept means in canon) to transform, which is backed up by Batim; him wanting to become one with Audrey is not related to this.

The ink demon wants to feel perfect and loved, using Audrey for this (who had almost everything he didn't) is the closest thing to perfection he can do.

He became one with "Joey's greatest creation" only to feel perfect. He wants to "give her purpose" only because he feels like he doesn't has one.

It goes from a really sentimental place which has made this scene look cheesy or weird to some people; but we're talking about 'unlovable' character who was completely abandoned by people

I also doubt that he couldn't fight for control in his own body, resetting the cycle is something that he has accepted at the end of the day (even without wanting it to happen)

8. DR Toon Bendy

Personally I interpret him as one person, there's nothing in canon right now that says that it's Jekyll & Hyde situation.

He's still the ink demon but smaller and weaker,as thekeepers say in their logs. This form is designated as "toon bendy" but it was never said that they were able to create another personality.

After signal towers forced the ink demon into the 'toon' form,he simply walks away from Audrey. He knows that she wouldn't want to see him after that.

If they indeed were different personalities, toon Bendy would have no reason to do so; we know from Buddy Boris that two personalities in one body have different values and don't blame themselves for something another one did.

I don't think that his behaviour was "manipulative" or "pretendious",it feels as it misses the point of his character.

He acts the way people would expect toon Bendy to act, the way Joey expected him to be. He has the looks for it and he can get positive attention he never had before.

People loved Bendy in cartoons. Audrey was happy to see Bendy and wanted to spend time with him/protect him.

I see this as him playing the role that he could never fullfil before. As I've mentioned earlier, even when looking as himself he still has small moments of honesty/vulnerability.

9. The cycle

(based on personal speculations from BATDR)

"...Here, you'll find the meaning in your pain.

This voice line is one of my favourites, i also can see it as him projecting. Possibly he has tried to find the meaning for himself or for why everything has went the way it is.

The cycle is the only one thing that belongs to him, he takes control over it and has no one who'd command him (especially after Joey's death)

He's the most important entity in it and everyone are either scared or worship him.

I can see the cycle as something that also gives him sense of stability/"privileges" which would explain why he was against resetting it even after Wilson's influence.

Outside of this,he had no idea what Audrey would do to him after she'll leave the cycle; she doesn't communicate anything and he was left in the dark.

10. "The end"

"...You see, there's only one thing Bendy has never known: He was there for his beginning, but he's never seen... The End." (Joey Drew, batim ch 5)

I always liked that "the end" reel is his only one weakness. It makes perfect sense because Bendy's a cartoon character and JDS has closed without release of any "goodbye" episode.

But it also makes a lot of sense for ink demon's origins. He saw his beginning but he never got a happy ending.

Every loop ends with the ink demon looking at Henry's face and reaching to him before the reset; it continues in BATDR in similar way.

I've mentioned "The tombstone picnic" (1929) cartoon earlier and it feels like batim's ending was written by Joey this way on purpose.

One huge difference is that in cartoon Bendy was happy to see Henry but in the loop it's written off as a negative thing.

Henry is the one who brought "the end" to Bendy

Studio has started it's slow downfall right after Henry has left. He was way more important than Joey wanted to admit.

Joey has blamed Henry for almost everything,he likely blamed him for this too,so it makes sense why the cycle ends this way; it reflects what has happened in reality

TL;DR:

The ink demon didn't came out the way that was expected but he's still (obviously) is Bendy. After Joey has figured out that it's impossible to 'fix' him, he closes him in the cycle and puts into the role of the main antagonist.

The ink demon embraced this role and doesn't see himself more than a mistake and a monster (which he projects onto Audrey in DR)

~~~~~~~~

I'm always open to discussion if you've noticed that i missed or misinterpret something!

Thank you if you've read it to the end! I really appreciate that you've decided to spare some time for me

Also TY @cr33ping-cr34tv3r for inspiring me to finish it! :)