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molsno · 4 months ago

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god, what happens next is so good. the character writing is just spectacular. it fascinates me just how much depth there is to each character and how that contributes to the story.

milo's dni is the most revealing thing about him, and it's the very first thing we hear from him:

right off the bat, we can see what kind of person the protagonist is. he's a pastel softboi trans man who clings to a childish aesthetic to appear weak and non-threatening. despite being involved in a toxic relationship with another trans guy who attempted to rape and kill an 11 year old girl when he was a teenager and later murdered his girlfriend, which milo helped with by dismembering her corpse, he puts "pedophiles and unhealthy pairing shippers dni" on his carrd. which, ok, maybe he wants to distance himself from people like griffin now - except that's not really true, because he talks to, moves in with, and regularly hangs out with a serial killer fan who idolizes griffin and is even dating the guy while he's in prison. he puts "being against neopronouns" and "anti-otherkin" on the same level as those things. he explicitly denies any responsibility in the murders of haylie and savannah, despite having literally chopped haylie's arm off. all the while, he has "you deserve to heal" in big bold letters, while not applying that belief to anyone but himself.

right from the start, it's obvious that milo is not a good person. but he's also humanized throughout the story. sure, some of his softboi persona is a means of victimizing himself to avoid taking responsibility for what he did - and you could make the case that he was a victim in some ways. on the other hand, he also never got to grow up because he spent 5 years in a psychiatric institute. is it any surprise that he clings to the same aesthetic, interests, and hobbies he had when he was 15? he never got to stop being a kid, and how is he supposed to now? he didn't graduate high school, he can't get a job, and nobody wants to be friends with him because of what he did. it raises uncomfortable questions - namely, what happens next? milo served his time for the crime he committed as a minor. he was already punished, but now he has to live the entire rest of his life. what is he supposed to do?

that, I think is the most interesting part of this story. almost every character in this story makes it hard for you to like them, but they also have very human reasons for doing the terrible things that they do. I'll talk about some of my favorites under the read more, but be aware that there will be spoilers:

claire is one of the most interesting characters to me, just because of how unlikable she is.

when we first see claire in victim impact statement, she tries to ignore haylie, griffin, and milo as much as possible. she doesn't even seem to like her sister. she treats haylie as a nuisance for coming into the room that they share as sisters. she doesn't want to go to the open mic night to listen to haylie play her ukulele. when she finds haylie bawling her eyes out in the bathroom at anime central, she just looks away, as if to say "you chose to date your shitty boyfriend". when she hears haylie and griffin fighting upstairs, she just pretends not to hear it. when haylie is curled up in terror later, claire puts on headphones and turns her back to her. her headphones become a way of drowning out haylie's screams when griffin is around, and because of that, she doesn't hear haylie screaming for her life, and ends up finding her corpse in the kitchen.

that's why I don't find it surprising at all that she becomes an outspoken transphobe who wants to take her anger out on the trans people who murdered her sister. she goes to media events and publicly degenders milo and griffin. she calls aaron's friends trannies. I think it's easy to misconstrue her as a terf, but she literally doesn't even pay lip service to feminism. how could she? she knew that her sister was being abused by her boyfriend, and she did nothing. let me remind you that she lives in a house where "smash the patriarchy" is embroidered on the wall. she doesn't care about any of that. she just wants a scapegoat. she wants to make the law impose harsher punishments on minors who commit violent crimes because she doesn't know what else to do with her life. she very clearly hates herself, becoming an alcoholic to cope with her guilt. she pretends to care about haylie and fight for this law because it's the only way she can convince herself she's a good person, even though she can see that doing what she's doing is turning everyone against her.

and then that brings us to audrey. it's difficult to like her, too, because she's dating claire despite all of the horrible things she's doing. but at the same time, I can see where she's coming from. her mother died of cancer and she and all of her other black siblings were adopted by conservative christian white parents. she's still christian to this day, and makes a point of separating herself from "criminals" by insisting that she has nothing to do with them because she goes to church and takes care of her family. she doesn't want to disavow the law that claire worked so hard to pass because at the end of the day, it won't affect her personally, even though she is aware that the justice system disproportionately punishes black people. she very clearly has a lot of internalized racism, and I think that's best exemplified in the way she draws herself. despite having pretty dark skin in real life, she draws herself as light skinned as claire, her white girlfriend:

like, it's hard to like audrey, but you can clearly see why she's made all of the decisions she has! she idolizes claire because it's her first lesbian relationship. the way she sees it, claire can do no wrong. audrey does actually seem to be aware that her girlfriend is doing terrible things, but she essentially just plugs her ears and tries to ignore it. that's why she doesn't go to claire's campaign events. she ignores all of her girlfriend's flaws because claire is essentially her savior. because she has claire, she doesn't have to go back to her family, to her abusive alcoholic white father. she doesn't have to actually take care of her younger siblings, which is a responsibility she's foisted off unto mark. that's why she ignores that claire is just as much of an emotional drain as her father. she's highly depressed, she's an alcoholic, she trashes their bedroom (leaving audrey to clean up after her mess), she puts up an emotional wall and dismisses audrey's attempts to comfort her, and dismisses audrey's own problems as being less traumatizing and less important. by all accounts, claire is a terrible girlfriend and a terrible person, but because audrey idolizes her as her savior, she stays by her side. I'm really looking forward to seeing how she reacts to claire's disappearance in future chapters.

and then of course, there's vikki. she's been doing something incredibly disrespectful for years by making true crime videos where she talks about the victims and killers like it's all a joke. she makes a video about whether ethical necrophilia is possible, and makes a callous, bitter joke that the concept of "respect for the dead" is antiquated, because nobody respects her as a trans woman of color even though she's still alive. for this comment, people have harassed her online endlessly, enough that she had to make a video called "STOP TELLING PEOPLE I FUCK CORPSES". that doesn't stop her from making a video about the murder of haylie, complete with an interview from milo. she'll throw him under the bus if it means getting the attention off herself for a bit.

and yet, I think out of everyone, I feel the most compassion for vikki. yes, she used milo for content and called him a "sad little blonde girl", but I can understand where she's coming from! like, again, she's a trans woman of color in the true crime community. she knows the archetype milo is trying so hard to be in order to avoid taking responsibility for what he did. like, I've personally seen trans women of color who are victimized by white trans men who pull the same exact shtick as milo over and over, so I completely understand her frustration. that said, she also realized she went too far and tried to apologize, only to find out she was blocked and that milo basically wrote a callout post against her. I think it says a lot that vikki was one of the only people to actually try to talk to milo, even if the way she went about it was wrong.

vikki does things that are disrespectful, but to be honest, it's not that surprising! she grew up in a 90% white town in the middle of nowhere, got assaulted by multiple white boys for being a faggot, got sent to alternative school, worked for a funeral home as a teenager, and transitioned. not only is she desensitized to death, she's angry that people revere the dead more than her.

it's astounding, really! what happens next is so well written because it makes you feel conflicted about each of its characters. what are we supposed to do with these people who do awful things? a lot of the intrigue in this comic comes from seeing how each of the characters handles this question as they deal with the other characters who have done terrible things, while they themselves are deeply flawed as well. I think the writing really forces you to contend with the idea that these are all still people, and that their humanity needs to be recognized even if they do terrible things. it makes you ask, what happens next?

#txt #what happens next

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shaylogic · 5 months ago

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Wishlist for DBDA Season 2:

A proper noir episode that plays off Edwin's fondness for traditional detective stories

Significantly more focus on Niko's character now that the traditional comic trio had season 1 to establish. Exploring her father's afterlife situation, meeting up with her Mom, discovering her own strength and skills (especially if she has supernatural powers after the polar bear figurine)

More of Charles' living backstory and family mystery possibly reflecting the comics

Edwin's living backstory and family, whom we know next to nothing about even in comics

Crystal picking up more tech/hacking skills

Cryland Crystal x Charles relationship dynamics: conflict around her bully side, trauma-bonding and conflict around the different kinds of shitty parents they have (which so far has been something Crystal's been better about with Charles than Edwin has been)

Monty, Jenny, and Cat King all move to London with the squad. Idc how or why. I'll accept any reasoning.

Happy lesbians or other wlws!!! Didn't quite get that in season 1.

More Kashi! What is going on with him? He seems important

An episode where one of the main characters is stuck floating upside down like in the Topsy-Turvey comic, and the others take turns holding their hand like they're a balloon

Squooshing and the Ghost Roads

More worldbuilding of realms (Neitherlands?) and ghost rules/abilities

Crystal resolving buried David of course

Desire of the Endless interaction with the rest of our queer characters (which is basically all of them)

Flashback montage of the silly early cases Edwin & Charles did together in the past that they referenced in season 1

Flashback on how the boys began their Detective Agency: their very first case.

Expand their first meeting in the attic scene to include if they actually spoke to Death, what happened to their bodies, and showing them realizing the school is covering them both up

Return to St. Hilarion's. Put bodies to rest. Burn it to the ground.

Edwin new outfit. Once done with the school visit and flashbacks, he should pick something mature and individual to separate the new him from the death trauma time

Jenny's new role in the agency group now that she's aware and sees ghosts. Bonus points for goth knowledge

Charles crop top for the fans

Charles figuring out his 🤞 bisexuality 🤞 this season much like Edwin worked through his internalized homophobia in season 1. We desperately need meaningfully in depth, genuine, quality bi rep in media and I trust this show with it. (Shout out to Nick Heartstopper though)

Payneland dynamics: still slow-burn figuring out their relationship as friends or more now that the confession is known. By the end of season 2 and Charles bi journey?, relationships start to shift a bit from Cryland to Payneland perhaps... [I love them both honestly]. Just when Edwin is making up his mind to put his crush on Charles aside and start looking for his "adventure of the heart" elsewhere, that's right when Charles starts to get more interested. And we may expect him to get all flirty but he actually gets more nervous and genuine with Edwin.

Monty becomes humanoid again and is learning who he is out on his own. Maybe he gets a job and apartment. Trying to figure out his purpose as an individual instead of familiar.

Cat King has a name, an animated backstory, and a new love interest that sees through his bullshit and keeps him humble

Feel free to add your own wishlist in the reblogs/comments! <3

#dbda season 2 #dbda #dead boy detective agency #dead boy detectives #wishlist #season 2 #predictions #text post #cat king #thomas the cat king #Monty finch #monty the crow #jenny the butcher #niko sasaki #crystal palace #charles rowland #edwin payne #cryland #payneland

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tossawary · 4 months ago

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Okay, we finished "Kung Fu Panda 4" and I didn't like it. It was, at best, "okay" to me. It felt visually underwhelming, emotionally shallow, and the world it presented felt underwritten. There are bones of character arcs there that are... fine... but the actual execution felt hasty and unearned, with little sense of real danger or stakes, and they kept stomping on potential emotional depth by defaulting to jokes all the time instead of balancing that with quiet contemplation or real angst sometimes. It felt like a series of disconnected, television-quality, jokey romps.

Like, a lot of the fights in KFP1 were great because they were 1) visually stunning, 2) with real stakes and danger, and 3) serious emotional relevance. Tai Lung's escape sequence from his underground prison shows off how deadly and clever he is, building dread over the fact that he's coming for Shifu and Po. Tai Lung versus the Furious Five is Shifu's old student versus the new ones, on a precarious rope bridge, showing off how deadly and clever both sides are. (BOTH Tigress and Tai Lung are not happy Po has been chosen as the Dragon Warrior instead of them.) Tai Lung versus Shifu is rife with personal history and pain on both sides, as they tear into the Jade Palace during a thunderstorm. Tai Lung versus Po is more humorous, but it feels like relief after all that previous stress, and Po gets to show off everything he's learned physically and how he's grown emotionally.

In KFP4, the most visually interesting fight to me was when Po had fallen through the floor after the first Chameleon confirmation, so he was fighting the lizard guards in a dust cloud of inky silhouettes. It was visually different and could have presented a creative challenge with decreased visuals for Po, but it barely lasted a minute.

And none of the fights felt particularly emotionally compelling to me; a lot of them were very jokey and didn't have interesting stakes. The Chameleon is so painfully underdeveloped as a character and has no interesting emotional connection to Po. She DOES have an emotional connection to Zhen the fox, who I also felt was not well-developed, but that relationship also felt underdeveloped and without compelling emotional stakes to me, so their final confrontation didn't feel particularly satisfying. It didn't dig into the pain the same way confrontations with villains like Tai Lung and Lord Shen did.

It didn't feel like Po grew as a person at all. He didn't want to choose a replacement and then he changed his mind, but... I felt like we didn't dig into his resistance. I liked how emotionally vulnerable and also emotionally enduring Po has been in previous films, and I don't feel like we really got to see him open up and connect to Zhen properly.

Also, Po and Zhen felt like they were the same age, so... why is she a good replacement? Po didn't feel like the teacher between them. If there's a theme of "having achieved your goals, it is time to cultivate the next generation", I don't think the movie did it well. I think it would have been improved by the small change of making Zhen a child, obvious in both appearance and personality, very skilled in her own way but prone to making bad decisions and stuck in a bad situation. More vulnerable. More in need of guidance and support via Po's hard-won experiences. (Awkwafina does not make me think "child" or "youth"; her voice makes me think: "That is a grown ass woman.")

I think the movie would have been much more interesting if it had been about Po taking on his own students and struggling to be a teacher, with the different approaches needed for different children. (Movie Trailer Voice: "The Dragon Warrior takes on his greatest challenge yet..." Switch to Po's shocked face as he says: "Teaching?!") Frankly, it's a little weird that the Jade Palace doesn't have any younger disciples at this point anyway. I have vague memories of Po teaching the other pandas to fight in KFP3, but they were motivated by protecting themselves from an active threat, so it would be different.

Like, the first KFP movie came out in 2008. It has been a WHILE. Po is getting older. He's completed the arc of becoming the Dragon Warrior and Master of the Valley of Peace in the initial trilogy, sooooo... he SHOULD be looking forward.

We could open the movie with Po in some fight or another. It's cool. It's badass. Po is having a good time. Po saves the day and the local villagers, defeats the bad guy, and then at the very end... he gets a crick in his back from a relatively innocuous movement. Ow. He signs autographs for the crowd while holding himself at an awkward angle and trying to hide his injury.

Po then goes to the restaurant opening as he does in the movie. He helps open it while trying to hide the crick in his back. Both of his dads are there and concerned for him. One of them could whip out some funky "traditional" remedy for comedy purposes and Po is like, "Ugh, Dad, not again!" (This is a problem Po has dealt with before.)

Both of Po's dads should be visually older. Panda dad could have a cane now. Goose dad is still running around for his restaurant, but he's slower than he used to be and his eyes aren't so good anymore.

Goose dad has perhaps even hired a couple new cooks and servers for his newly renovated, larger restaurant. Things are changing. He needs the help. Po is too busy with martial arts. Goose dad is obviously struggling trying to teach and manage his new employees; one of the young cooks doesn't get Goose dad's explanations and Goose dad is frequently telling one of the young servers to stop playing with [object that is not a phone but is definitely standing in for a phone to the modern audience].

Po isn't surprised by this (he's obviously discussed it with his dad beforehand), but it's obvious that he feels both fondly for his Goose dad and a little sad that he's kind of been replaced. His face has a conflicted smile. He can even confide in Panda dad about this.

Or, perhaps Master Shifu is here! Master Shifu has come to the restaurant opening because he is friendly-ish with both of Po's fathers and enjoys the food. Perhaps it is implied that Shifu has come here with Po before. Shifu is by this point very used to Po's antics as the Dragon Warrior, and while he disapproves of the autographs for adoring fans on principle, he thinks such arrogance and fawning is dangerous, he by now trusts that Po's heart is in the right place and knows that Po will always put the Valley of Peace first.

Po is jump-scared by Master Shifu sitting beside him casually eating noodles. Shifu is relaxing a LITTLE into semi-retirement and also enjoys scaring Po like that. "I was here when you sat down," Shifu says calmly, and it is clear he's messing with Po. (Shifu is also visually a little older.)

Lines are exchanged which indicate their affection for each other (they've come so far!) and some of Shifu's opinions listed above. Shifu calls Po out for badly hiding an injury. Po whines about how this didn't used to happen so often. Shifu says some wise proverb about aging that Po doesn't process immediately, then Shifu translates bluntly, "You're getting older, Po, it happens."

Po whines a little bit. He gets dramatic and has some miniature crisis because he still feels young and childish at heart. There's a joke sequence where we zoom into Po's mind, perhaps with a different style of animation, as Po imagines fighting battles against bandits as an elderly panda with a long beard and a walker. Perhaps it could even be a diverging reimagining of his opening dream sequence from KFP1. He's still kicking ass somehow, there's just a bunch of jokes about the annoying parts of getting older. (The elderly Furious Five didn't show up because they fell asleep in the middle of the day or something.)

Po is snapped out of his daydream by something. Maybe one of the new servers dropped a stack of bowls, there's a loud CRASH. Shifu could be just sitting there calmly, eating, patiently waiting for Po to get back from his dramatic crisis daydream. Shifu is used to that by now.

Po is like, "Master Shifu, you're super old, right?" Shifu, unimpressed, says nothing. Po begs him for the secrets of kicking ass while being old and fragile. Shifu has some blunt, old-school badass response about pushing through the pain. And maybe Po is like, "Yeah, that's what a real warrior would do!" And then he reached for his chopsticks and somehow pulls at the crick again. Ow.

Shifu softens and says that Po has been the Dragon Warrior and a Master for some time now, he has learned a great many things, done a great many impressive deeds, and it is time that Po take the next step towards true mastery. He must take students.

Po reacts with incredulous surprise.

Cut forward. On the way back to the Jade Palace, Po is complaining to Shifu about how he still feels like a student most of the time. Shifu counters that Po taught the other pandas how to protect themselves. Po says that that was a special case.

And maybe Po is a little nervous about change, but the thing is...? I feel like Po would be REALLY excited to have his own students once he settled into the idea a little. Po is a kung fu nerd. Po should know a lot about famous master-student pairs. Po is also maybe a little lonely with the Furious Five gone. (Allegedly, the studio was not keen about the cost of hiring Angelina Jolie back for even a few lines as Tigress.) Po loves learning about kung fu and sharing his love for kung fu!!! I would love to see a character honestly THRILLED for this next stage in their life.

Po should be EXCITED to train his own "Furious Five"! He loves them! He loves that stuff! He wants his own team!

Po and Shifu get back to the Jade Palace and it turns out that Shifu (being the all-knowing control freak that he is) has apparently already selected three new children to be Po's first students. Shifu has chilled a bit but still loves planning his students' lives for them.

(The other benefit to this is that we don't have to waste valuable screen time finding these students. We can learn about the backstories as the movie goes on, but we can for now go straight into Po bonding with these new characters and struggling with meeting their individual needs.)

(I know that Universal allegedly set a strict limit on the length of the movie, because they felt like kids wouldn't be able to pay attention to a long one, and also shorter movies allow for more screenings in a day and also more money.)

Po is excited to share kung fu with these new disciples, but he gets tripped up by the fact that each of these three kids has their own personality quirks and learning styles. They have their own skills. They have their own flaws and vulnerabilities. (One of them could even be connected to the main villain of this movie somehow. A "traitor" stuck in a bad situation.) They don't always get along with each other; they're each vying for Po's attention. (Maybe one of them actually wanted to be taught by Tigress and is grumpy about getting Po.)

Po tries to cook a great meal for them to share together and he can't even get that right on the first try; the kids all have conflicting likes and dislikes. One of them doesn't like dumplings at all! The horror!

Po: "What's wrong, buddy? You're not eating your food..."

10-year-old Student (whose family was killed by the movie's villain): "The only thing that I'm hungry for... is VENGEANCE."

*lightning flashes in the background outside the window and everything*

Po: "...Okay, I love the energy, but that's not on the menu right now. We have tofu."

Student: "...I don't like tofu."

Teaching presents the opportunity for Po to mishandle various situations. He might accidentally upset all three of the kids in different ways. He might feel a little resentful that Shifu shoved him into this without warning and is barely helping. He starts to get stressed when a new mysterious villain shows up in the Valley of Peace and he has to handle that AND three struggling children at the same time. Maybe he gets a little snappish when the kids don't listen to him in a dangerous situation.

And I think Po would feel especially badly about this because of how he has been occasionally failed by each of his father figures. His goose dad discouraged him from following his dreams and has been jealous regarding Po's birth family. Shifu was an ASSHOLE to Po at first. His panda dad was tragically absent and their relationship is sometimes a little awkward. Po thought that his bad experiences would have made him automatically good at this, because he knew how to be better, but it feels like he's doing even worse.

Po and Shifu could have a great heart-to-heart over this, where Shifu ends up (indirectly perhaps) apologizing for springing this on Po, but insists that Po is already doing better than him and that he did it because he knew Po would be a great teacher. Shifu could also pledge to help a little more, Po need only ask. He doesn't have to do it alone.

(I thought that Po's dads in KFP4 didn't have a good storyline. They were overly comedic in a film that already had enough comedy on Po's side of things, and I didn't think that the attempts at emotion near the end landed. They didn't have a compelling role in the film. And Shifu was basically absent from the movie. It's possible to just hire different actors if the originals are too expensive, isn't it?)

Vulnerable students would bring serious stakes back into the fights. Po in KFP4 was essentially unbeatable, with little to fear in almost any situation he entered, because he can handle himself even against dozens of enemies by this point. But his students cannot do that! He would have to protect them! And if there's two or three of them, then he can't easily protect all of them at once. One of them could get injured in some fight to up the stakes for Po.

I don't have anything more concrete from here, because that would involve creating proper student OCs for Po and working out how their arcs would mesh with the Chameleon or another villain. I like the idea of one student secretly working with the Chameleon as per the actual movie. Perhaps another student could have actually lost their family or their home because of the Chameleon, which later puts this student in greater emotional conflict with the "traitor" student.

It's just... if the idea was to challenge Po and have him grow as a person, I don't think they achieved that effectively. He felt a little flat to me. Overly naive and condescending. I was not compelled by his relationship with Zhen, which felt a little shallow, without good chemistry, and like it was happening more between equals than someone Po could really teach. A trio of new students or something like that would have breathed even greater new life back into the franchise.

Hmmm... anything else to say... The people I was watching it with and I picked a bunch of nitpicky holes into the plotting and world building. Nothing super duper egregious. Just a lot of things that didn't add up well or could have been tweaked. (Why were the names "Steve" and "Scott" used in this movie??? It's a joke, but it's not a very funny joke, and it feels representative of a larger lack of attention to detail. It's a shallow joke at the expense of the cohesion of the world and now I'm distractedly confused as to when Western elements were established in this film franchise. Surely there was a Chinese pun to be made there that didn't have to appeal to anglophone audiences???)

I was not impressed by the "and then everyone clapped" ending where all the spirit villains told Po that he was cool. It felt like it was undermining previous storylines to have all of them find their inner peace and not try something. Like, uh, the 3rd movie starts with Kai having been imprisoned in the spirit realm for a long time and busting out because he's still a jerk, so even if Kai has magically chilled now, why are ALL of them in peaceful agreement? I would have thought Tai Lung and Shen and Kai would all fucking hate each other. This is taking off their nasty edges without having earned that development.

I feel like I just watched someone miss the obvious turn because they decided that going another direction would be "more fun" or "better" somehow, but it was not. Just take the obvious turn and give Po his own "Furious Three" kid students! (They're workshopping the name.)

#kung fu panda #tossawary watching #fic ideas #long post #spoilers #tossawary script doctoring

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heavens-aesthetic-kitchen · 7 months ago

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Why the TF2 Defense Trio deserve more recognition

The people have spoken, I have decided to create an essay disguised as a post on this godforsaken website because it's a free country goddammit! (I would have done it either way lmaooo, I have a lot of shit to say about these maniacs) To start this formal essay glorified very serious shitpost, why should you as a tf2 fan care about these 3 men? They're so "boring" and there's not much going on with them. If ya took a second, let's pause with what was being said. YOU MUST BE OUT OF YOUR GODDAMN MIND to think such thoughts, we must shake you out of cuckoo land by giving you an in-depth look into these three so that you understand where I'm coming from. Let's start in order:

Demoman:

After being in the fandom since 2019, there's always one character I always thought wasn't given much anything in the fandom at all. Even taking ships out of the equation, there's barely any fics I've that focus on Tavish Finneagan Degroot specifically that I've seen that isn't a compilation fic (I read a lot of x readers, don't judge me). Believe me, I checked ao3. I went through Demoman's tags and I tried very hard to filter a lot of the crossover and relationship tags, yet there's less of Demoman himself, than there's him just existing as a side character of a story. Which is honestly sad, I honestly think Demo is one of the more kinder mercs compared to a lot of the team. This man made friends with the BLU soldier, despite knowing that they were supposed to be killing each other. Sure, it's unclear whether or not Demo did actually go through with it and it's just a ruse, because the voicelines in WAR! don't have a set timeline. But I do think that Demo would have tried to keep his friendship with BLU soldier. He's very chill. I've never actually seen him get violent against his friends and family, despite being a drunkard. I honestly think he's one of the sweetest people in TF2, he takes good care of his mom and haunted sword lmaoooo. Jokes aside, he seems like a genuinely good man and I barely see anything that suggests he's sadistic. He's a chaotic and loud, but not bad. Not bad at all. The fact he can still do his job well, even after drinking so much that his body created a whole distillery, is even more impressive. He is damn good at what he does and works very hard. He's had multiple jobs, even as wee little lad. Despite what people think of him, the fact he's getting paid 5 million dollars a year, is proof he knows what he's doing. He loves his job and couldn't bear the thought of not working. I feel like his backstory isn't talked about enough in the fandom either. When you think about it, it's kinda fucked up that he was put in an orphanage by his biological parents until he was in the right age to be blowing people up. Not only that, his eye socket was haunted by the Bombinomicon so that every halloween a giant eye would manifest, attacking him and his friends. Even Medic couldn't help him and instead resorting to scooping the part of Demo's brain where he remembered so he would stop asking. He most likely has a lot of stories for you, I see him as the type that has a lot to say. His past is the most fleshed out and complete out of all the mercs, which I really appreciate, you can do a lot more with him. Also another thing, during Unhappy Returns, he took the time to reassure Soldier that he wouldn't think he's a civilian. He didn't brush Soldier's worries aside and instead comforted him. I wish I had a lot more to say about Demo because I am baffled that he isn't being gushed about as a potential partner. He has the excitement and like zero baggage. A thing I also wanna point out is that he seems to be insecure of the fact he's a black scottish man with only one eye during Meet The Demoman. I may be reading into things a bit too much, but it makes me wanna be like "NOOOO don't talk about yourself like that, bro. You're so cute UGHHH" Also also he's handsome. Sure looks can be subjective, but I still think Demo has a face I would kiss hehe. He looks great with his beard and his cheeky ass smile. GOD I could gush about him all day, but I have to move on rip.

Heavy:

Honestly, I'm having a hard time just finding the words to describe this amazing man without giving him the respect he deserves. But I'll sure try. Heavy has had a difficult life and I've always admired how strong he was. Not just of his muscles, but he endured one of the toughest situations and still kept moving forward with his life even though it was traumatizing. You see why I'm even having a hard time talking about him? I can't really get down into the weeds, without getting serious for a min. I feel like the fandom doesn't give him much credit for being able to deal with so much. He's the rock for his family after his father disappeared (atp I think he's dead, which is the cherry on top this depressing sundae) and I wouldn't doubt that he would be the same for his team. He's a man of few words, but that makes him all the more intriguing. Just because this man has a lot of brawn does not mean he's dumb at all. Despite how he acts in the battlefield, Heavy is observant and clever. Although, it's implied that Spy being Scout's dad is an open secret between the mercs and Miss Pauling, the fact he figured it out without saying it directly must mean he has a lot more going on. He's also educated, getting a phD in Russian Literature. It's not a STEM program, but he actually got a doctorate and went to college, that's a lot more than half of what the mercs did lmaooo. Also he has a bit of a softie side, not just for his mom and sisters, but also other creatures as well. I respect him so much for avoiding violence against those dogs during the Showdown comic. Not only shows what an absolute sweetheart he is, but also how much he's able to think quickly on his feet. Heavy is very direct and blunt, I don't see him as the type to lie about his feelings. I appreciate that he doesn't feel the need to sugarcoat anything, he'll get the job done and he ain't playing. There's no fluff, he knows what he wants and that's to rev up Sasha and ram through sons of bitches without any worries.

I feel like I wanna point out, his story seems the most unexplored in the fandom, even though it has a lot of potential for ANGST factor. I already broke down how sad it is, but I just feel like it isn't said enough. Can I just say how cuddly he looks?! GAH, I feel like he would give the warmest hugs! The way he smiled in Unhappy Returns when he finds out his family doesn't need to live in fear anymore, just melts my heart! He's so protective over his family and friends! I wish I had a lot more to say about this guy because I just can't stop finding more things about him that go unappreciated. I had to literally edit this part so many times before moving on, he just has those little details you don't notice until you take a second and have that OH MY GOD moment

Engineer:

I was getting so hyped, when it was finally our resident southern nerd's time to shine. GOD I have so much to say about this man. It's been over 5 fucking years and I have never stopped simping for this man since 2019, I think I'm gonna go insane from how much I've been repressing, I go feral when he's around. Anyways enough stalling. I don't ever think a fictional character has ever made me swoon quite like Engineer, I really mean that. I have ask and pleaded to whatever god was listening to give me a man like Engie. To me, he is everything I ever wanted and more.

First, I wanna talk about what makes him attractive to me. His accent. His southern charm, UGH he's killing me with that smooth voice and chivalry! I swear this man could make me faint just from existing. The way he smiles is so warm, his insults are so corny I love them. That five o clock shadow GAHH! I'm getting butterflies all over again. I swear I love all three of the defense bois, but Dell Conagher has my heart wrapped around his gunslinger metal finger. All those personal reasons aside, I've always thought Dell Conagher was a very interesting character in the world of TF2. He might not have much screen time or goofy shenanigans like the other mercs, but that doesn't mean you can ignore him oh no no no. This man is important within the whole story of Mann Co and TF industries, his grandfather being the catalyst of the game's events and the comics going forward. The Conaghers are the SOLE REASON why Team Fortress 2's story exists. I find it strange that the fandom hasn't done much with this fact because you can do a lot with this idea. Engineer knows a lot of shit and would be the biggest threat to Helen, if not for the fact that his family has been helping her for years.

Like his backstory, he's not seen much in the battlefield, but he has a lot more going on behind the scenes. Imagine the possibilities. He is damn intelligent and he knows it. While Dell is very sweet and has a southern charm, this is a facade to hide his God complex and sadistic tendencies. If you think this man is just your boring gentle engineer, you've got a big storm coming. It's heavily implied that he sawed off his own arm so that he could use the gunslinger. This man works on projects with Medic and doesn't question the moral implications of putting a human brain in a pumpkin. Hell, he threatened his own employer, even if he was an old man (Granted, Blutarch dug up his grandpa's grave, so he probably should have gotten something a lot worse than just Dell telling him to fuck off). Engineer is more than the texan egghead sweetie pie, he is a mercenary for a reason and I would argue that he might be as insane, if not more than, the rest of the team. No sane man would willingly work with a bunch of war criminals if he wasn't also crazy. That's the thing I really like about him. I love playing as him in the game because it represents his character very well. He technically serves a supportive role to the team with his buildings, but he is a killer with a lot of tools in his disposal, With the right amount of training, he can absolutely dominate in the battlefield.

I feel like he's one of the people that underestimate and assume that he's an easy target, but he's a lot more than that. He has a lot of layers that makes me want to learn more about him and what he has to offer.

In Conclusion:

These guys are cool. Lmaooo okay I won't just end it there. I genuinely believe that they're not getting the recognition that they deserve, they've got a lot more going for them if you pay attention. Sure they might not always be the loudest or most prominant character in the story, but what they lack in quantity, they make up for in quality TEN FOLD. They don't have to be your favourite, but you should at least give them a chance. You never know, they may surprise you.

Okay so thats enough of that, I couldn't find a divider above this message, so you're getting this grainy ass gif. Honestly, I put way too much effort on this shitpost lmaooo, but I just wanted to get my thoughts out in a more concise manner. If you want to add more stuff about these three that I didn't mention, feel free to do so. Anyways thanks for reading

#tf2 #team fortress 2 #tf2 demoman #tf2 engineer #tf2 heavy #tf2 engie #tf2 demo #tf2 mikhail #tf2 defense #i spent way too long on this post than I should have bruh #enjoy the ramblings of a thirsty idiot #defense nation rise up

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ennn · 11 days ago

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IF there is a sequel my feelings for the ending would probably change because i expected more character development for agatha but i don’t see it so i just felt like that was so much missing about agatah and agathario

i heard more about their relationship in interviews than actually saw any relationship on screen and there was practically nothing from agatha there. did she ever love rio?i guess it wasn’t important to answer that and rio was just her crazy psycho ex who wouldn’t stop stalking her for centuries, it was a valid writing choice but it felt very underwhelming

Oh yeah a sequel would totally change / help my feelings as well!

That said, I want to address your points you made — not attacking, I just want to break things down:

We did see their relationship on screen, and Agatha having feelings for Rio

We have seen how Agatha and Rio are together, especially alone together. And the way Agatha behaves around Rio isn't like how she behaves around other people. She loses the theatrics, the more obvious lies. Rio reveals a new side to Agatha and vice versa.

Theirs is a bad romance. Fighting and violence is their foreplay – it's a poor substitute but even in ep 8 you do hear them excited to be fighting each other with magic. If you want a ship that's defined mostly by hugs and kisses and domestic bliss this isn't it.

And also keep in mind that the show has always positioned them as exes. They broke apart for a reason. There is bitterness and anger and pain in their relationship. Neither of them are falling in love with each other. Their relationship is interesting because they know each other so well, including the best ways to hurt each other.

In terms of Agatha's interest: We do see Agatha wanting Rio as Agnes inside the spell – a look into how Agatha would probably feel if she didn't remember why they broke up – and we see her emotional look at the end of episode 1 when Rio leaves.

We see Agatha genuinely embracing and wanting to kiss Rio in episode 4, and how she looks at Rio in episode 5 while on they're flying on brooms as well as how they seamlessly did the hexenbesen with each other.

We didn't get Agatha making heart eyes at Rio with the back few eps but it is hard to get into the romantic yearning mood when you're dealing with the reason you broke up with your ex.

The show has only started delving into Rio as character

I really do NOT think the show wants to position Rio as simply Agatha's "her crazy psycho ex stalker" – I believe the show has set up Rio as a complicated character with depth, in broadly the same way Wandavision set Agatha up to be a compelling character.

Anyone who sees Rio as one-dimensional or just a psycho ex is probably the same sort of person who saw Agatha as nothing but a power-hungry witch – which to be fair she still is, but layers baby.

One key challenge is that Rio is set as the season's major episode 7 antagonist reveal as Death. Just like how Agatha was for WV.

This means that until this finale we couldn't really know much about Rio – not beyond a superficial, limited, or vague level. Because it is Rio's identity and role as Death drives her motivation, her pain, and her tragedy history with Agatha.

Agatha lies and Rio is... not a normal human being

If you took what was happening on screen in episode 8 at absolute face value, without considering the other episodes or history of these characters, I can see why people would think Rio's a psycho stalker ex.

But consider:

Rio looks devastated when Agatha makes her choose between seeing her again or Billy – like this is Agatha knowing what kind of arrangement would pain Rio the most; Agatha testing at what point Rio would bend the rules again.

If you consider how Rio hasn't gone back on her word or told a lie on the show to Agatha, you'd expect that Rio will stick by her promise to leave Agatha alone. That's why it's heartbreaking. Agatha would absolutely back out on a deal but not Rio.

When Agatha says "I want you to stop pursuing me, I want you to stop making my life hell" you have to remember this is Agatha who uses words like weapons, who masks and lies all the time. Making the life of such an asshole hell may also not necessarily be a bad thing.

Rio's only on the Road now because they summoned her. She was honouring what she said about giving Agatha time to get her power back in Episode 1 and just watching.

Agatha is literally a manipulative serial killer who is surrounded by death regularly. "Psycho stalker ex" is a label that really needs to be considered in context here.

The show has underlined how Death isn't evil. It comes for us all. It's what we have in common. Part of a natural order. Rio is an antagonist sure, but only a villain depending on which perspective you take or what the circumstances are.

#agatha all along #agathario #rio vidal #tv: agatha all along #ship: vidarkness #asks #anon #aaa meta

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fantasywater · 17 days ago

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Stolitz Writing Fumble

Blitz:

She went to long with him exhibiting disinterest,annoyance and hate toward Stolas i.e. the character that is supposed to be his love interest. Plus it's odd how she seemed to have the animators go out of their way to show it too. Blitz interactions with Stolas are extremely negative with no positive balance.It's not until the last few minutes of apology tour that this negative writing lets up after two seasons of Blitz barely tolerating Stolas.

Blitz has been so consistently animated and written(one of the few consistent bits in the show) of barely holding in how much he hates Stolas that a good chuck of the fandom, damn even a lot of shippers, were all pretty strongly pointing out that this romance is extremely one-sided for something we should be rooting for.

Stolas:

She went to long making him heavily sexualize Blitz with nothing else going on that showed positive interest. So when Stolas drops this sexualization in Oz it seemed like it came out of nowhere. However, she then makes him go back to harassment like Ozzie's didn't happen. It's not until OPPS that she truly cuts Stolas sexual obsession with Blitz off for good. Even then why does Stolas love Blitz? Instead of showing an in depth answer, for a ship we're supposed to want to see together, she thinks giving him such a lambasted trope as baby's love at first sight is good enough.

She also writes Stolas ignoring every single blatant sign that Blitz can't stand him. How much unawareness does a character get to have before we can deem it a mental handicap?

When your love interest is constantly showing strong dislike towards you and giving verbal putdowns to your face, but you still have feelings for him and also think he wants you too, there is more than a lack of self-awareness going on here.

Another example is his music video Look My Way. Sure, it's beautifully sung and animated. However, once the appreciation of that fades a dark truth comes forth. Who the hell was Stolas singing about because it's definitely not canon Blitz? The canon version has shown way to many times barely contained disgust and disregard toward Stolas for him to be having any hope that Blitz might want him romantically in the first place.

Conclusion:

Furthermore both characters lack softness toward each other. The fandom shouldn't be still asking the question, three episodes before they look like they will become canon, where the hell is the love? Hell where is the like? Even in the official art and merch there's an insistence on selling a romance that doesn't exist in the canon that's been airing for two seasons.

All they do to each other is argue, ramp up negative coping mechanisms because of the pain and anger they're causing each other, and make one another feel bad about themselves rinse and repeat for two freaking seasons. When the love interests are so toxic for one another that's it's killing them bit by bit they should be running away from each other not being rooted for. However, by Sinmas there's every hint that they're probably about to be made official even though the romantic buildup has been nonexistent.

When a a sizable portion of the fandom is begging for your endgame ship to be put out to pasture, and to find someone else for both of them, then something has heavily gone wrong in the writing room.

The story she has actually written is an animated thesis on why these two need to permanently part ways not why they should be in a romantic relationship with each other.

#helluva boss critical #anti stolitz #anti stolas #helluva boss blitzo #helluva boss

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rainbow-crane · 5 months ago

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In-Depth Analysis On All The DR Characters Because What, Are You Gonna Try And Stop Me? Who Are You, My Mom? Yeah, I Didn't Think So- Part 3: Sayaka Maizono

It's finally time for my #1 THH girlie to shine!!! I may be a bit biased with this one because of how much I adore her, but I'll try my best to remain objective as we go in-depth on how well-written of a character she is. They used her character schtick incredibly, and I can't wait to go into why.

As always, only offical, canon material will be used in this analysis, primarily the english translation of the THH game. If you aren't interested, just keep scrolling.

Part 1- Character Design

Sayaka Maizono was one of the first characters to reach completion, designed for maximum likability to the player. Her look is extremely basic and palatable, with a regular schoolgirl uniform and softer features, and she's characterized instead through her expressions, which are used to either purposefully cover up her true feelings or let the 'perfect idol girl' mask slip when appropriate.

Her given talent was that of the SHSL Idol, or the Ultimate Pop Sensation, adding to her cutesy and likable nature. She was also used during development of the game itself as a placeholder due to how quickly her design came together, which made the developers sick and tired of looking at her(alongside Leon Kuwata, who was also finalized relatively quickly) and led to an early exit in-game.

Part 2- The Assistant Trope/Inspiration

Like many of the characters in Danganronpa, Sayaka was designed around and used to subvert one of the many tropes found in mystery/detective games at the time. For Sayaka, this was that of the deuteragonist, the assistant(one well-known example being Maya Fey from Ace Attorney). Her character introduction, the quick establishment of her relationship with the player, and her 'pleasant' demeanor all factor into this, making her seem as though she's going to be a major player throughout the rest of the game. She was originally meant to be a childhood friend as well, but this was severely cut down to just having gone to the same school. She was also put front and center alongside Makoto and Kyoko in the promotional material for the game to create a level of perceived importance for her before the game even started, and preemptively raise the audience's expectations for her role.

But there was another character that a lot of inspiration was pulled from- Marion Crane from the 1960 film Psycho. Marion is a character who'd lived her entire life as a good person but, in a moment of desperation, steals $40k and goes on the run. The first half of the movie paints her as the protagonist, only for her to be abruptly murdered and for the movie to shift to solving the mystery of her disappearance. Sound familiar?

Part 3- Character Introduction

From the get-go, Sayaka is put into a helper's position. She's not the one to suggest going around and introducing ourselves, nor is she the one to justify why, but she is the one that ends the debate and moves the game into introductory mode, suggesting that she's the go-to for the player to move forward in the game- "Okay, so let's get introductions out of the way, then we can move on to whatever else. Sound good?" She's not asking the class, she's asking you as the player if you're ready to keep going.

Her first intro is brief, focusing less on her character and more on her public image. Makoto narrates about her position as lead singer in her idol group and how beautiful she is, as well as teasing some form of previous meeting between her and us. We also quickly establish her strong intuition.

"Well, never mind. No matter how you slice it, she's really beautiful. Almost like a doll or something..." "I'm not a doll, you know. I'm alive!"

She also seems to recognize you, despite the belief that she probably wouldn't remember. Of course, before you can talk any further, you're interrupted so the plot can keep moving, securing a connection to her without any actual information required.

As you talk to the rest of the class and head towards the entrance ceremony, she's one of the few to voice her concerns about the state of the school, and points out the lack of other students("And why isn't there anyone here? Walking through the halls, I didn't see a single person..."). She's observant and perceptive, keeping her guard up. In fact, she barely speaks throughout the entrance ceremony and immediate aftermath, waiting until their situation has been explained by Monokuma and all the rules have been read to call any attention to herself. When she finally does speak, it's to try and clarify rule 6- the rule that states killers can leave unless discovered.

So the first impression we're left with is that she's a more level-headed and competent girl with some kind of important connection to us, one that appears to be mutual. Anticipation has been built to learn more about that connection as well, which directly affects the story going forward.

Part 4- Your Ultimate Assistant

A major part of why Sayaka works as a character is because she connects with the player directly, offering to help you via a connection to our player character, Makoto. This relationship with us as an audience is the core purpose of her existence in the narrative. When we wake up in Makoto's bedroom and walk outside, it's Sayaka who's there waiting for us, to check if we're okay and fill us in on what's happened while we were out. She's here to help, but keeps the focus on how we're doing.

"But... are *you* okay? You know, from when Mondo hit you..."

"Oh, that's good. I was kinda worried..."

"Well, if you really are feeling better... I was hoping you could come to the dining hall."

She's also the character used from a meta perspective to teach us the functions of the game itself. It creates a certain reliance and trust in the character to continue being helpful to us as the player, even when it's not actually her doing.

It's here where we go on to learn how exactly she knew Makoto- the two of them went to the same middle school, albeit in different classes, and despite the fact that Makoto straight-up admits to having no distinguishable traits, all she can do is laugh it off, happy to have someone somewhat familiar nearby. She attributes this relief solely to Makoto, as if she's indebted to him, and decides she wants to thank you by acting as your Ultimate Assistant. In other words, she's buttering us up so we'll trust her wholeheartedly, and establishes a 'you and me against the world' relationship. And in-character, it works perfectly, with Makoto falling hook, like, and sinker.

"I'm just surprised, is all. I wouldn't have thought you'd remember me." "We went to the same school for three years, of course I remember!"

"But *you're* the one that helped me find my courage again. Not any of those 'ultimate' students." "Thank you for saying that..."

"I'm going to help you out as much as I can, so let's get out of here together!" "When she says things like that, it... it just gets me pumped up!"

"I may not be the best assistant in the world, but I'll give it everything I've got." "No... you've already done so much as my assistant." <-(said almost immediately afterwards, with no character action or events in-between)

And again, the game's mechanics force you to rely solely on Sayaka, utilizing the purple words to have the rest of the day's events explained through Sayaka being personable and helpful.

She continues to be the one to calmly explain what's happened so the player isn't lost or confused. She acts as a voice of reason when the class starts to panic. And again, once the conversation is ended by Celeste, she checks in with you again before splitting up.

"Okay, so since you're in the dark about all this, let me lay out what's been going on."

"Everyone just calm down, please! We need to stop and think about what to do from here."

"Makoto... are you ready to call it a day?" "Yeah, let's go."

The entire next day is spent completely with Sayaka, without a moment's break. From the moment Makoto wakes up, the objective is to talk to Sayaka, and you hunt for a defensive weapon with her. Even without finding a reliable weapon, Makoto very quickly offers himself up as a protector for her, and with that, the search ends. She's gotten what she really wanted- a reliable friend.

"H-Hey, don't worry about it! It's not like you need it right away, right? Plus, if anything *were* to happen... when the time comes... I'll protect you." "You'll... protect me? Thank you for saying that... If I've got you on my side, I guess I don't need a weapon after all!"

You learn more about her by sticking together and talking afterwards, and once you're done with that, the game decides to explain the concept of FTEs via immediately sending you Sayaka's way, again, to bond with her even more("Anyway, why don't you try it out by spending some time with Miss Sayaka Maizono? She's the ideal partner to begin with, don't you think?"), as well as give the player their first skill for the upcoming class trials. It's on-the-nose to the point where Sayaka herself apologizes for it.

This also works to her benefit, as even if the player is getting annoyed by the tutorials, they're less likely to blame Sayaka as a character for it, since she's showing shame for how much time it's taking. Sayaka is unequivocally the character to care about, the character to pay attention to. She becomes the object of Makoto's affections, and makes herself invaluable in his and the players' eyes, all with the handy help of game mechanic tutorials. Whether or not you as the player trust her or find her suspicious, she becomes the character at the forefront of your mind. Either way, the job is done.

Part 5- The Idol Mask

All this knowledge about how she operates for the player as a meta perspective is great, but it doesn't actually tell us a ton about Sayaka herself as a character. It's moreso about how we're being set up to perceive her existence within the game. Regardless, it's important to understand that setup to see why she works, but it's equally important to get into the characterization itself. So, let's do that now.

We already know that she's been working towards establishing a strong bond between herself and Makoto, making him feel better about being surrounded by people with insane talents and offering as much familiarity as possible, as well as singling him out and separating him from the rest of the class while everyone else forms their relationships separately.

She's been doing a great job of keeping up this appearance of a cute and reliable helper, but this leaves her seemingly lacking in substance, as she's solely focused on making us comfortable with her first and foremost. This is something that, from a character perspective, can easily be pulled from her idol career- she's a massive celebrity who advertises cuteness and likability, so leaning into that and using it to her advantage is a logical first step for her in establishing fondness.

As we head to the trophy case in the gym, we do start to get hints of her actual motivations and desires if you stop in the main hall to talk to Leon. It's brief, but a nice touch, especially considering the dynamic between these two later on.

Sayaka's true self doesn't really reveal itself until your conversation with her in the entrance to the gym, though, when she asks to spend some extra time together. Having nothing else to do feels wrong to her. It's unfamiliar, and puts her on edge("No, it's not that it's boring. It's just... I've never really done it before. I don't have a lot of time to just... do nothing."). It's enough to start to move her out of that idol shell in an attempt to fill that time, and let a little bit of that idol's mask slip- "Hey, um... this is kinda out of nowhere, but... Makoto, do you have a dream?"

By turning it around and asking about her dream, we directly connect with her core value- her deeply focused motivation for her childhood dream. It's something that she can't help but gush about, both the wonderful and terrifying parts of it. We get to learn exactly where she came from, raised by the TV, no mother to speak of and an absent father working his ass off, and how her dream took form as she watched her own idols.

"But more than anything else, there was her smile. Looking at her smile, I could feel my loneliness melting away. I decided that's what I wanted to be someday. I wanted to give that kind of encouragement to others."

The mention of an idol's smile specifically is proof that she did, in fact, succeed wholly on this dream, as it calls directly to the repeated mention of how comforting Sayaka's smile is to Makoto.

"That somehow mysterious smile of hers made my heart grow calmer."

"I can tell it comes from the heart. It makes me feel at ease..."

"That mysterious smile that softens my heart... I really wasn't flattering her. That smile saved me."

It also gives us some insight into why said smile exists, and just how often she's masking around us- "Her earlier mood disappeared, replaced by the bright smile I'd quickly grown used to. But how'd it happen so fast? It was almost like a mask, like some kind of neutral expression."

We also get to learn just what kind of world Sayaka lives in, and how much work it takes to keep her dream alive. The entertainment industry is cutthroat, and to be a positive role model and live her dream onstage, she has to fight tooth and nail at all times.

"I did whatever it took to reach that dream. I mean it. Even some things that... weren't so pleasant."

"To make your dream a reality, you have to keep your gaze fixed on it no matter what. In that world, if you lose focus for even a split second, you get left behind. You have to keep on swimming against the current, without even taking time to breathe..."

She even has to compete against the people in her own idol group for attention, though that rivalry is a major factor in what motivates her so much.

"We've been performing together since we were young, so they're all like family to me. Without them, I would have given up on my dream a long time ago."

Although Sayaka has been using Makoto to build herself a safety net and have someone to fall back on, her willingness to share this part of herself exists as proof that she did care about him to some extent. She genuinely does feel more secure with him around, and it allows her to let out her fear and frustrations safely. She's able to take the mask off for a bit.

She has a deep-seated fear of losing everything she's worked for, her entire life's work, to the whim of public attention. And it's not just her livelihood put at risk by this- it's the other 4 girls from her idol group as well. She's their lead singer, their central figure people think of from their group. They could keep performing without her, sure, but the public's perception of them would irrevocably change, and interest would drop. It's a realistic fear, too, as celebrity culture is defined by its "15 minutes of fame," and while she could probably milk her kidnapping story for exposure if she got out quickly enough, tragedies happen every day. With enough time, people would and could forget about her.

We get to see this further after the viewing of the motive videos. After everyone's watched their videos, she has the most volatile response, shoving Makoto away and running out of the AV room to hide. Upon being found, she's described as having no expression or emotion on her face. She's in the process of going completely numb, and can't even bring herself to lie when Makoto asks if she's okay.

It's here that a solid divide is truly defined between Makoto and Sayaka. Their motive videos, while both intense, have completely different implications. Makoto hasn't actually seen hers yet, but assumes it must be the same as his, and thus, his attempts to assure her ultimately fall flat.

"Think about it- those videos have to be fake! Because if those things really had happened...people out there would be in an uproar. Our families, the police, everyone!"

But Sayaka's motive video didn't just imply that her loved ones were hurt. No, her motive video insinuates that her being trapped led to her band falling apart. Their stage presence is gone; they're fading into obscurity. The family she found through the stage is now separated. And that's not something the police would think twice about. That's just the entertainment industry functioning as normal, and actualizing her greatest fears. She is replaceable.

It's here where we truly see what Sayaka's resolve is made of, and where she shows us that she's been thinking of killing this whole time.

Though no one's died yet, the mere idea of killing someone to get free has been gnawing away at her. Not only that, the need to act before anyone else makes the first move is something she's already familiar with thanks to working in the entertainment industry; to keep ahead of the game, you have to push out content constantly. She has to be the lead singer, she has to have the best music. All this pressure is mounting, and the motive video is leading her to blow. And through Makoto's help, she's able to calm herself down enough to direct the steam.

"I-If that happens...then I'll get you out of here myself! No matter what it takes!"

"Can I... can I believe what you said? That you'll help me get out? No matter what it takes?" "A-Absolutely!" "Makoto... You're the only one I can trust. So please... No matter what happens, please always be there for me. I need you on my side..."

Makoto says himself that he'll get her out "no matter what it takes." And he says this while they're trapped in a killing game, where as far as they know, the act of killing someone is the only way to escape. To Sayaka, this reads as an offer: I'll help you kill someone if we have to. So that's what she plans to do.

(It's also worth noting that, at that point, neither of them knew about the class trial at this point, or the potential repercussions of voting incorrectly in one. If they had, this entire situation may have been very different. We'll never know for sure.)

Though the personality she shows us for most of the game is one that's carefully curated, on the inside, she's constantly in terror. She knows how much to reveal about herself and how much not to in order to gain favor, and is always calculating her next move. We know from the description of her dream that she isn't an inherently selfish person- she acts for a dream that she believes is worth it in the long run, and wants to inspire and comfort young girls like herself and make them feel more secure. The concern she shows for Makoto's health and her remembering him from middle school isn't all purely an act; you can't fake memories that are that accurate to what actually happened in the past(will go into more detail in Relationships for this). She latches herself onto Makoto because she wants it to be Makoto, and while she tries to act to her benefit, her softer, more caring nature ultimately stops her from doing so, and winds up getting her killed.

Part 6- Sayaka's Murder

As stated previously, Sayaka being the first victim was designed to be completely shocking to its original audience. She was someone so clearly set up to be important to Makoto, and assisted us in walking through the beginning of the game. A strong bond was established between the two of them, and a character like that was typically propped up to be someone critical to the story unfolding. So this twist was like a gut punch to 2010 Japan. Nowadays, this trope-subversion has become a trope in and of itself, and that can be partially attributed to how much impact Danganronpa had within the genre, but it does make this twist into more of a base expectation for a newer generation of fans. Regardless, this was a major shock at the time, as was confirmed by interviews with the creator. This twist was even protected by the demo of the game, as the victim there was Yasuhiro.

For the rest of the chapter, we have to work to find out who's responsible for her death, and why she ended up dying. It's set to be both the moment that the player begins to take the murder-mystery aspects of the game seriously, and acts as a way to force Makoto as a character to take initiative in the class trial, as almost everyone immediately writes him off as responsible for her murder due to the location of the body. So in a way, Sayaka works in one final act as helper to the player, as it's her murder that leads to the first trial and how to play them.

It's in the trial where we also have it confirmed for us that Sayaka was the instigator, as the evidence gathered unfolds into a failed murderer being murdered herself. Though this comes as a shock to Makoto, we've already seen and addressed how she came to this point and why, so I'll spare the details of explaining the entire trial so we can stay focused on Sayaka herself. Suffice to say, this revealed betrayal serves to develop Makoto's empathy for the rest of the cast going forward as he realizes the one that trusted him most was using him as a buffer, thinking through every step of how to keep suspicion off of herself.

"Now do you understand? She wasn't a blameless victim in all this."

"And if it's true that she had the kitchen knife and attacked without provocation..." "Indeed... these are all the actions of an assailant."

"And by committing the murder there, instead of her room, that would implicate Makoto."

"For one thing, even if her plan worked, Mr. Naegi would just tell everyone they'd switched rooms." "I don't know... I'm not sure our softhearted Makoto is capable of that kind of cutthroat behavior. I'm sure Sayaka realized the same thing".

In the end, it's Kyoko who puts together not only that Sayaka was the one responsible for the trial, but also that her dying message existed to save Makoto. She deciphers the inverted English letters, and even pulls Makoto aside to say as much about Sayaka's true intentions.

"Sayaka meant to double-cross you. That's a fact that you can never change. But even till the very end, she wasn't sure of her decision. That's why... as she lay dying, she was thinking of you."

And because Kyoko is a character who goes on to be established as someone who seeks out the absolute truth, combined with the behavior we saw from Sayaka prior to the murder plot, we can trust that this inference is accurate. It's also directly shown to be true in other official adaptations, such as the stageplay, in which she's murdered in the bedroom and drags herself to the wall to write down Leon's name for Makoto.

Part 7- Relationships

Though Sayaka has few relationships, they're all fiercely important to her, enough to where she's willing to die/kill for them.

7.1- Sayaka's Bandmates

Though they aren't ever named in-game, Sayaka makes it very clear how important her bandmates are to her. She tells us that she sees them as her family, something huge for a girl who grew up lonely, and that her greatest fear is being forced to go their separate ways. They're her best friends, her coworkers, her rivals, her family. They've been involved in every aspect of her life as her bandmates. Their existence and this focus brought on them elevates Sayaka's own motivations- fearing for the success of their band as an idol isn't just about her own success anymore. Her being kidnapped puts her family's livelihood at stake, not just her own. And the motive video serves to throw that fact in her face.

7.2- Makoto Naegi

Sayaka latches onto Makoto quickly for a reason- he's familiar. The government-mandated FTE tells us as much. Not only did they go to the same middle school, but he was someone she very distinctly remembered. Because Makoto was in charge of taking care of the school's animals, he was the one who once led a giant crane out of the school's pond and into the nearby forest. It left enough of an impression on Sayaka for not having spoken to him back then becoming one of her greatest regrets, attributing the event to being something out of a fairytale.

"Honestly though, I was so impressed... That's why I always wanted to talk to you, even just once."

This story is one that's undoubtedly true, and Makoto himself remembers the event clearly as well. It stands as solid, undeniable evidence- that even though she was trying to use him to her benefit, she did genuinely like and admire him as a person, long before the game ever began, and enjoyed his company. She doesn't tell him how she became an idol or confide her fears purely for strategy; if that were the case, she wouldn't have panicked so badly at the motive video and ran. She doesn't want people to see that fearful side of her, but developed enough trust in Makoto to take the risk of letting him see her vulnerable. In the end, that vulnerability works in her favor, but to write it off as just manipulation for the sake of her plan would be inaccurate. Rather, she had genuine fear, and a genuine need to confide in someone, and made the observation as she did that it may be something she could use.

We're given a distinct difference between when she's acting for her benefit and when she's being genuine spelled out for us in our final conversation with her as well. When she's faking that fear of someone trying to break into her room, her irises still have their color, and she's still perfectly in control of herself, able to control her volume and look us in the eye as she gets access to Makoto's room. It exists in a stark contrast to her two breakdowns, where her eyes went white and she started to scream, panicking too much to pay attention to her surroundings.

She trusts Makoto wholeheartedly in the way he trusts her. He was there for her when she needed it, and that's how she's able to develop the confidence to go on and fake it later; she knows he'll take her concerns seriously. So she lies, saying that someone attempted to break in, and convinces him to switch rooms for the night, simultaneously giving her the space she needs to work with to avoid being caught and absolving Makoto of any blame for what she's about to do by keeping him in the dark. When she becomes a killer, he won't fall with her. There are a couple other instances of this subtle protection of Makoto that can be found in the game, like her taking him to look for a defensive weapon only to convince him he should be the one to have it, or her writing the name of her real killer down so Makoto wouldn't be blamed for her death.

It's also worth noting that in the canonical au novel Danganronpa IF, when Sayaka goes to have this conversation, Makoto faints and Sayaka immediately drops the act entirely, instead choosing to focus on getting Makoto taken care of. She rushes him to the nurse's office, and stays with him through the entire night, only going to bed in the morning when Mukuro takes her place so she won't pass out. These aren't the actions of someone acting purely in accordance with her self-gain. If that were the case, she could've just grabbed his key, thrown him in her room, and continued with her plan as normal. But she didn't. Makoto's health and safety is decidedly a real priority of hers every step of the way.

7.3- Leon Kuwata

The original game doesn't do very much to explain why Sayaka would choose Leon to attack as a victim. We learn through Leon's introduction that he wants to become a musician, but other than that, these two barely interact, and only in scenes that are skippable and not on the main storyline(pictured earlier). This comes from the unfortunate result of Leon just so happening upon the developers' shitlist and being killed off first so they wouldn't have to look at him anymore. As was stated earlier, both Sayaka and Leon were the first character designs to reach completion, and were then used in early development of the game quite often. This led to the game devs becoming sick and tired of looking at them and thus, chapter 1 had them both die. And while Sayaka was important enough to the development of the protagonist, Leon was not, and ultimately fell to the wayside throughout his time alive in the game. But that's not to say they didn't at least have an idea of what they wanted to do with the two's relationship at all, and the truth behind why she chose him was expanded upon in the supplemental manga series.

After Mondo knocked Makoto out on the first day, it was Leon who offered to help Sayaka carry him to their dorms in the hopes they'd get to talk. As we already knew, he wants to be a musician, and admires Sayaka for succeeding in the industry. Sayaka sees his excitement and how lighthearted of a person he is, and simultaneously admires and pities it; someone so casual wouldn't be able to fight his way through the industry, as far as she thinks. It'd only hurt him further.

Later, when she's trying to decide who to kill, she remembers this conversation. Leon is one of the only other people besides Makoto she's made any connection with, so he wouldn't suspect she was planning to kill him. Besides, surely he'd understand where she was coming from if he really wanted to be in the entertainment industry, and if he couldn't understand then, well, he was never cut out for it anyway. She was able to justify attacking him in her mind because of this, and thus, he became her target.

Ultimately, Leon wasn't even trying to kill her when she got stabbed. After getting the screwdriver from his toolkit, he was trying to wrestle the knife away from her and talk things out. He didn't trust Monokuma's empty promises, and respected her enough to try to get through to her. Meanwhile, Sayaka couldn't give up; she was in too deep, and if she didn't kill him, then surely he'd tell everyone, and she'd lose everything she'd worked for. But in their struggle, the knife ended up in her stomach, and he ran out, unable to watch her die as he went into damage control and she wrote his name in her blood, as one final apology to Makoto.

In the original game, we never get any of this insight into what happened. We only get Leon's insistence that it was out of self-defense and that he was "just unlucky."

He never fully gets to explain himself, and is executed without another thought, similar to how Sayaka died without ever getting to tell Makoto the truth.

Part 8- School Mode: Sayaka's Ending

After completing THH, you unlock School Mode- Enchanting Dangan Academy: Purely Prismatic Souls, in which instead of announcing a killing game, Monokuma demands the class build themed backups for him. In the downtime for this mode, it acts as a dating sim, as once you finish out someone's FTEs, you can take them on trips to different places in the school and level up their hearts to a max 10. If you win the school mode, and max out Sayaka, you unlock an ending conversation between her and Makoto. This is true of all the characters, but Sayaka's is special because she brings up the promise to stay by her side you made in the main game, despite it never taking place in the school mode.

This reveals something major- Sayaka was, in fact, psychic, and could see into alternate timelines all along. Her psychic intuition assured her there was a universe where Makoto would succeed in saving her, and it allowed her to endure the killing game.

"I knew everything... I knew you would never give up until it was all over. That's why I was able to go through all this, why it didn't hurt... Cuz I'm psychic, ya know?"

(And forgive me for getting conspiratorial here, but the way this is phrased leaves me to wonder if she, to some level, knew she was in a game, and that the tutorials being geared to Sayaka may not have been such a happy coincidence in-universe.)

Part 9- Starfall (Why do we care?)

After reading everything I've said in here, I imagine there'll inevitably be people who disagree with the end results of my analysis. I mean, there's not any real way to know what she's really thinking. So who's to say I'm 100% correct about her genuinely caring for Makoto? Maybe she cared more about her own idol status than anything else, and really was a selfish attention-seeking snake. (I mean, she wasn't completely lol, but I'm making a point here.) What I've presented is my interpretation of her motivations based off of the evidence given. You may not completely agree, and that's okay. Honestly, if anything, disagreeing with some of these conclusions only furthers the point of her character- We're not meant to fully understand her because people aren't easy to understand that quickly. People are complex, and you're not gonna be able to automatically trust the people that appeal to you. Sayaka's story is a remnant of the original idea for the beta version of DR; she pushes you to distrust. Blind faith can get you killed.

Afterword

I think I've really outdone myself with this one, y'all. I adore Sayaka and, even knowing why they chose her for this early-death role, still believe this was an incredible use of her character. As you can probably tell, she's my #1 character from THH for a reason lol.

I'm gonna start on Yasuhiro's analysis in a couple days, but there'll probably be a bigger gap between this one and the next than there's been between the past few analyses bc I have a real life I need to attend to sometimes :/

I hope y'all all thoroughly enjoyed this analysis!! Catch ya later

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blossomthepinkbunny · 4 months ago

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I'll probably just go on a rant after starting with this topic, but Helluva Boss really failed at showing us that Stolas doesn't look down on Imps. Or that he doesn't treat Blitzø as an exception, while not caring for Imps as a whole and the struggles they face. The only Imps/other lower-class Hellborns we see Stolas interact with are ones he:

-dislikes and shoves in Blitzø's face to make him feel guilty (Striker)

-abuses physically (his Butler)

-is indifferent to because they're on his side with being mad at Blitzø (Verosika, Tex)

-gets something out of (Blitzø, the guy at Verosikas party)

-ignores (Millie, Moxxie, Loona)

He gives Imps nicknames like: "little ones", uses the word "impish" as if Blitzø being an Imp implies anything about his behaviour (specifically his behaviour in bed). He tells Blitzø that his "friend", Striker tried to kill him, which either means that he believes every Imp knows/is friends with eachother or, that he said that to make Blitzø feel like he and Striker are like-minded (basically putting someone who was reasonably mad at him and tried to discuss their issues on the same side as someone who tried to assassinated him twice), which is manipulative as hell. He also ignores the fact that Blitzø couldn't come to save him because he had to take his daughter to the doctor (as if Loonas safety is less important than his, even though Blitzø has more of a reason to care for Loona than for him) and, that he sent Millie and Moxxie to save him (without them he literally wouldn't have survived). Stolas ignored Millie and Moxxie helping him in "LooLoo Land" as well, he only asked where Blitzø is because he is his "knight in shining armour", because he gets something out of him, which means he can just ignore the other Imps, who have no obligation/interest to sleep with him. Stolas being rich is never something he uses for the greater good. He could easily help Blitzø and his employees out financially, though I get that that might not be something Blitzø would want. But other than that as well, him seemingly having authority as royalty is completely useless. He only gets recognized in public when it's plot convenient (he has assassins trying to kill him as soon as he leaves the house in "LooLoo Land" and "Harvest Moon Festival", but going to a party with atleast 50 people or so is completely fine and no one seems to recognize him). We don't really see any of the duties he has as royalty. Apart from organizing the Harvest Moon festival, there really seems to be nothing he does (unless i'm forgetting something). The fact that he has to repress his sexuality also feels a little less impactful when you remember that Andrealphus and Vasago are also Gay. Though I guess we don't really know the connection they'll have to the story yet. The fact that he is super wealthy isn't really brought to focus either. He lives in a mansion and wears fancier clothes than the Imps, but that's just sorta it. Him being royal just makes the power imbalance much more apparent. Something that (from how I see it) was done intentionally, because Blitzø and Stolas were never ment to be endgame from the very start. At first it seems like Stolas is mostly just a running gag character, who got some depth in "LooLoo Land" but was never ment to be that important to Blitzø's story. He was more of a device that the I.M.P need to keep save, not because they actually cared for him (as he doesn't really care for them either), but because he is the only way they'll get to the human world. Characters that seemed like they'd be much more important to Blitzø's personal journey were:

-Moxxie (who probably gets used the best out of pretty much every character in HB, atleast in his relationship with Blitzø. Though they also didn't have real interactions for a while now)

-Loona (who hasn't changed her abusive behaviour towards him, because the show fails to give her meaningful screentime with Blitzø)

-Millie (who sorta has no real relationship to Blitzø aside from not really being dismissive of his actions. Though the Ghost episode might focus on how they met, etc.)

-Verosika (who they could've gotten more out of with the actually interesting relation she has to Blitzø, with a seemingly genuine and happy relationship they had, had they not sidelined her for the other, more uninteresting ship)

-Fizzarolli (who is utilized pretty well, though he and Blitzø got over their issues really fast and now they're just best buddies again with no complications and interesting moments whatsoever)

-Barbie Wire (Ya know, his sister who literally got nothing at all in terms of screentime, even though she should arguably be one of, if not the most important relationship Blitzø would need to be confronted with)

-Striker (who, from my understanding presented not only a threat to Stolas, but also a possible temptation for Blitzø to go against the system they live in. It was clear that he and Blitzø shared atleast some common ground, judging by the fact that he nearly became a new member of I.M.P because Blitzø liked him. They had chemistry and what Striker says about the system of hell is true and seemed like it would present a new option for Blitzø. A way to break free from oppression, which he might have never considered but is considering now that someone gave him a chance for things to change. But Striker got turned into a villian who completely lost the connection he shared with Blitzø. To become just another way the show could coddle Stolas by saying: "Oh no, Striker is saying that the upper class takes advantage of the lower classes?! But Stolas would never look down on Blitzø! He must be really aggressive and also, he was just hired by the evil Stella who wants Stolas dead for no good reason! So let's just ignore all the good reasons Striker has for wanting Stolas dead one way or another! Striker doesn't know what he's talking about, he was only an Imp suppressed by the upper class his whole life, how would he know what's best for Imp's?! Afterall Stolas is in love with Blitzø for real!!! That means that there is no problem with the royalty whatsoever and Striker and anyone like him should just shut up and stop complaining UwU..." <- definitely exaggerated)

(can you tell i'm really upset about what they did with Striker)

Some of these characters got dropped in order to make space for more screentime for Stolas, who is now considered the most important relationship for Blitzøs development, even though he should most definitely heal in other places, with other people before immediately deciding wether he wants to be in a romantic and sexual relationship or not. Blitzø has lots of issues and hurt a lot of people, there should be a lot of room to explore these relationships and to make Blitzø heal by sorting out his stuff, but the one he has with Stolas is not the one they should focus on first and foremost. If the way they've been writing Stolas for season two isn't going to change for the better, then I think he should've just stayed as an edgy joke. Atleast then he would've added context to the Imp's lower class status without taking away screentime from them and leaving way more interesting characters to be ingnored.

#vivzepop critical #helluva boss critical #helluva boss critique #helluva boss criticism #anti stolitz #stolitz critical

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