#and there are probably ways it connects to the themes etc but in general im fucking rabid for characters having kids and starting families
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the way vash and wolfwood are both shown to be good with kids. they care about kids so much. they go out of their way to be kind to them and connect with them. they are so parent coded it makes me insane
#vash the stampede#nicholas d. wolfwood#trigun maximum#it means so so much to me#and there are probably ways it connects to the themes etc but in general im fucking rabid for characters having kids and starting families#so. vw forever!!#i love how it's never explicitly made into a thing but it's still so clear and obvious#and it tells you so much abt them and what they value urgh#trigun#.lieii
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good things about ep. 7:
this episode was by far the best at working with film as a medium. there were still issues, to be mentioned soon, but this ep did a lot of things that impressed me on a level of cinematic structure and format:
some actual tension!! simply showing the trio running from cerberus created investment and stakes for me in a way no monster fight or other obstacle had before (a matter definitely enhanced by the music)
the use of flashbacks!! now, i have some issues with the content of those flashbacks, but since im basically getting two degrees in assessing media i know how to give credit where credit is due lmao. these flashbacks were doing interesting things cinematically, creating parallels with percy's experiences in the present, especially that last flashback where they continued poseidon's voiceover into the present moment. fuck yes!! use the medium of cinema to your ADVANTAGE!!
related to the use of flashbacks, the match cuts!! they were so good, as they helped make visual those narrative and characterological parallels being constructed through the flashbacks. film is an inherently visual and auditory medium, and it was so refreshing to see the show experimenting and making effective choices with those tools
some issues with ep. 7 and the series as a whole:
i'll admit it. im tired of the trio already knowing everything about every obstacle they face (having to improvise in the fight with cerberus was so refreshing and retained more of the spirit of the book as opposed to uh. every other obstacle). and i think this connects with show's overall struggle with writing, adaptation, and the medium of film. these writers have committed the cardinal sin of assuming their audience always needs explanation. in any writing class (fiction and screenwriting are my personal expertise), you are told to assume your audience is smarter than you think, bc a writer's instinct is to assume they need to be clear about action and themes out of a fear of confusing their audience and the end result of that situation is a boring, overly explanatory piece of work. (an re the young viewers, kids are freaking smart!! i literally teach kids of the age range these books are directed for and they are so quick-witted. kids don't need stuff handed to them on a platter, they know how to put puzzle pieces together.)
example of the aforementioned "too much knowledge" issue: the pearls. (people have already explained the issues with medusa, the casino, procrustes, etc., so im going for a new one that's been bugging me a bit.) after percy received four pearls, the general conclusion people came to was that one pearl would break, forcing them to have to choose three people to go/one to stay and thus making the choice more "meaningful" (i.e. bc the opportunity to save everyone had been stripped). it's a fair choice, a fair reason, a fair analysis, and this is a change that bothers me but much more minimally than other changes to the show. here's the deal: the reason they had to give four pearls in the show was bc the trio already knew exactly what the pearls would do. there was no reason to give only three pearls bc that would force a character (probably percy) to raise the question of like "hey, that's not enough to save four people!" so where am i going with this?
in the books and the musical, we get the alluring line of what belongs to the sea can always return to the sea. percy gets three pearls in the book and a seashell in the musical, where he doesn't know right away the specifics of what this gift does (the seashell is an excellent example of adapting a story to a new medium, as a low-budget theatrical production can't afford the effects of smashing three pearls and causing people to vanish from the stage, so blowing the seashell to open a portal was a great move that worked for the new medium and retained the spirit of the source material - percy having an epiphany well after receiving the gift about what, exactly, the gift did and how it would help him). in the show, they issue is that they already know, thus creating the dilemma of there being no reason not to give four pearls. again, not the worst choice the show has made, but it's another example of how the show's most pervasive issue is over-explaining and giving too much information to its characters.
in short: the pjo show doesn't understand "show don't tell." they love telling even though "showing" is Most Important in film as a medium, like it's even more important to show what's going on in film than it is in prose because cinema is an inherently collaborative medium that generates a visually-dominated product. the show clearly lacks a fundamental understanding of the medium it is working with!! and that is bad!!
another issue: the lighting. this show suffers from the current trend in film to make dark scenes impossible to see in.
more characterological problems: the gods are not imposing. just to speak of ep. 7 alone, why was hades so... banter-y? in the book he literally makes percy's hand "move... against [his] will" to show him the pearls. there was none of that power and domineering energy in the show!! the pjo show keeps hammering us over the head with what should be a series-long revelation about the gods' flaws and pettiness and spite and misuse of their incredible power, and yet all of the gods seem almost like... caricatures. where is their ability to be charismatic and threatening. to be lax and powerful. to remind us that they can, have, and will kill demigods.
core thematic issue: the show lacks the humor and fun and adolescent spirit of the books. i've seen a lot of people insist the show is directed for young readers of the book, which i don't disagree with, but the lack of humor and energy and vitality is undoubtedly turning off a lot of younger viewers. in a lot of instances, everything feels so gritty and angsty, lowkey like the winx adaptation (but on a less severe scale). we have moments of sass/sarcasm, moments of levity, but it doesn't feel like a core trait of the show (much less of percy) like it does in the book. and honestly, i think that's a loss! if rick wanted a grim pjo adaptation, fine, but i wish the show hadn't been advertised as something perfectly attuned to the spirit of the book bc it's just not. if it was, i'd be laughing a lot more.
now, let's talk about sally...
i don't love how they've characterized sally in this show. i respect that they wanted to "modernize" her character and more accurately demonstrate the struggles of a single parent raising a child with learning (and in percy's case, also magical) difficulties. i genuinely do respect that choice, and i can follow the thorough-lines created in the show that illustrate this revamping of her character. similarly, i can respect that they didn't want sally to seem like a stereotypical "passive" victim of abuse re gabe, hence her explicitly pushing back at him. that said...
i still don't think these are effective or necessary changes, because i don't think sally was portrayed as overly passive or as a perfectly equipped parent in the book. i understand the argument that gabe is still presented as abusive, i.e. that he checks her phone without permission and controls access to the car, but those moments feel so technical. when i rewatch those scenes and examine the acting (both line delivery and bodily cues), sally is outwardly derisive toward gabe ("who's yancy?" / sally sighs and shakes her head, exasperated, has the long blink to give an extra beat before responding: "the school."), yet at the same time there's a banter between them, where sally insists that she's going to go to montauk no matter what, and if gabe disagrees then she won't bring back both their sandwiches for the knicks game that they apparently watch together often (implied by "you know i hate watching the knicks alone!" "so do i!"). sally holds herself confidently in this scene (hands on her hips). gabe is forced to actually ask politely for his sandwich order (and notably holds his shoulders slightly inward, visually closing himself off in a physical representation of surrender). two of my friends, diehard pjo fans who are not literature or film scholars, were both confused as to why sally and gabe seemed to be bantering within a seemingly standard relationship dynamic - not necessarily the happiest of couples, but a standard married couple (as opposed to clear imbalance of power between them in the book).
to be clear, it's not that sally needs to be a "passive victim of abuse," and it's certainly not that the show needs to explicitly depict gabe hitting sally or percy for us to understand that he is abusive. my issue is that the show seems to have not understood what made sally a strong character initially: her willingness to endure anything for her son, including marrying an abusive man who smelled so rankly human in order to prevent monsters from finding them. like, sally resisted gabe's abuse in the book! the reason blue food is a major motif in the first place is because sally and gabe had a fight where gabe insisted blue food wasn't a thing, and thus percy observes that "ever since, my mom went out of her way to eat blue."
in other words, verbally standing up to one's abuser is not the only way to demonstrate that a character is not a stereotypically weak, helpless, passive victim. it's definitely an easy choice with regard to cinematic staging (and the show has a pattern of taking the easy way out of conflicts and nuance), but i think the real issue is that sally's vocal protests come in tandem with the defanging of gabe. why does his body language and tone falter in arguments with sally? does he not have the upper hand? where is the evidence of an imbalanced power dynamic? there is no one way to write abuse bc the tragic reality is that abuse happens in an infinite number of ways, but nonetheless i am frustrated with the route the show went down in the first ep bc it feels reductive to the core of sally's character and her strengths: her endurance, her implicit but present rebelliousness, and her love for her son.
im also not a fan of some of the flashbacks we're getting with sally. it's not that sally shouldn't be "allowed" to get frustrated ever, but a major element of her characterization in the books is that she didn't take that frustration out on percy. i just don't see sally jackson getting upset that percy doesn't want to swim (beside that, i can't imagine percy not wanting to swim lmao). i just don't see sally jackson almost aggressively telling percy that he is the one making their goodbye ugly (because he's being a kid?? who doesn't want to leave his mom?? you're telling me sally wouldn't recognize the root of his anxiety immediately??). i just don't see sally speaking vaguely to percy about there being things she has to do that he doesn't understand instead of doing her best to meet percy where he's at with her explanation. if someone is coming to this show without having read the books, i genuinely think they might be starting to question sally's parenting, i.e. if she was really as wonderful a mom as percy insists or if he simply sees her through rose-tinted glasses. bc here's the thing: percy does see sally and his mom's struggles through rose-tinted glasses, and it's because sally bottles up and hides her struggles and frustrations from him. she doesn't let percy witness those frustrations. as such, there's an incongruity between book!sally and show!sally that doesn't mesh for me.
in short, show!sally feels like a new character to me. that's fine if that's the route they wanted to take, but again: why advertise it as a faithful adaptation if you're not going to be faithful to the core elements of central characters?
im also disappointed by how much the show has stripped annabeth of her character besides her intelligence. i have some thoughts about the adultification of young Black girls and the fact that annabeth is Black in the pjo show, mostly that i can't tell yet whether the show has the self-awareness to offer commentary on this reality for many Black girls through annabeth's character being seemingly defined by her intelligence and maturity or if they're simply unwittingly replicating this circumstance. i need more material before i can make a concrete assessment here, but all the same, i wish they were allowing these kids and especially annabeth to be kids - to make mistakes, to fall into traps, to have little crushes and get flustered, and to not know everything about every monster/obstacle before they come to face it.
people have talked to death the issue of the pacing so i won't belabor it but in general this show has terrible pacing. the first two eps are rushed (we got so little luke that im concerned his betrayal won't have much heart/meaning/oomph in the final ep), the constant unnecessary exposition creates periods of narrative drudgery, most of the fights lack tension bc the choreography is effectively nonexistent, them missing the solstice deadline has so far sucked the wind of the energy of their quest (of which there wasn't much in the first place bc the show did a poor job establishing the looming threat of a globally destructive war being on the horizon), and in general there's no sense of stakes. sigh.
i probably have more thoughts, but i'll stop for now bc i've got a shit ton of assignments to work on. in sum: the show lacks an understanding of how film operates as a medium, and while the merit of the show as an adaptation can be debated, it's simply a poorly constructed and lackluster piece of tv.
(but on the bright side? the trio is killing it even with the weak material they've been given, and their acting talent is the only reason i and many of my friends have kept watching)
#pjo show crit#pjo tv crit#my brain is EXPLODING with thoughts lmao#now i've gotta go work on my own movie o7 godspeed everyone#amy analyzes
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finally finished the refs for those two 2hnb characters i kind of hinted at working on in one of my posts (unlike like 90% of all my other terraria ocs these guys aren’t based off of player characters at all !)
more about em below:
EMBER:
she’s the demon assigned to watch over (and torture) roy while he’s in hell. thing is she Really Doesn’t Like making sure he’s Suffering properly or whatever (and just doing her job in general). shes like the landlord of the ruined house he lives in and if he doesn’t pay rent in time he gets subjected to One Billion Unholy Tridents being thrown at him by ember. also shes the first terrar oc of mine that’s based off of an enemy (da red devil enemy in particular!)
LADY:
funny lady that’s blessed with eternal luck! she doesn’t really like her luck powers though since nothing really bad ever happens to her. the most she can do with her insane luck (other than like. win lottery tickets) is to mess with people in really exaggerated/almost cartoony ways since interacting with anything always results in things going (mostly) her way. because of that, she ended up scamming a demon which resulted in her being punished in hell. she really doesn’t care though since its like the closest thing to something exciting happening to her lol
now she hangs out at a casino in hell where she continues to mess with demons for fun. she puts up this sexy femme fatal kinda character to lure people in and catch them off guard when she shoots them with her (probably stolen) coin gun that’s runs on all the money she’s won from slot machines, gambling, etc. then she like steals their wallets or something idk
shes was originally themed after the whole luck mechanic in terraria but im now realizing shes not that connected to it anymore.. listen man i just took one look at the luck page on the wiki that had like. Math??? on it and felt like making an oc
full name is lady fortune (though that’s just an alias.. haven’t figured out what her real name is yet)
roy has a HUGE crush on her and she absolutely despises him because of that
somewhat enemies with ember. ember sees lady has a real big nuisance while lady thinks its fun to mess w ember lol
if you’ve actually taken the time to read all of this congrats! as a reward here’s lady’s inspo playlist (it has a lot of jazz in it)
#perry art#terraria#terraria oc#ember (oc)#lady (oc)#im gonna be real with you here i kind of don’t like embers design that much (im also not super satisfied with her name)#but ehhh ill probably get used to it#I think its bc she’s sooo out of place when compared to my other ocs (nonhuman + light hair + name that has more than 4 letters)#but i don’t even consider her part of the main cast shes more of a side character/minor antag#arguably lady would fit in more w all my main guys and im ok w that#she’s like. More Important than ember anyways I think
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Once again I have just woken up and saw a new fic from you and read it and I am going to Scream
God the basement incident. Reading about it in the game felt like getting hit by a ton of bricks and reading your interpretation of the events that led up to it feels worse. I hate how well you conveyed the slowly growing tension and worry as Giann realises Marius is missing and can't find him anywhere. God, the kids who did it were so young too. At most 10 years old and already having nearly killed one of their cousins. I never realised how horrifying the implications were until now.
I really like the ice and cold theme that's present throughout the fic. While Marius was hit with the physical sensation of the coldness of the basement, it manifests in Giann as his mental state. It's such a good way to show how that incident impacted them both and tie Giann's feelings back to that incident in a more tangible way. The chill of that basement never really left him, even though it's been long enough for the seasons to change and to be outwardly warm.
Giann shouldering all of this on his own bevause of how busy his father is...Man
Bringing in Giann and Marius' mom too oh my god the way he feels like he failed her because he failed to protect and take care of Marius in that incident and now needs to make up for it...
That last paragraph hurts so much knowing that Giann is missing now. How must he be feeling, knowing that he once again can't be there for his brother when he needs him?
God this fic hurt so much, I think this might be the most angst I've read from your work since "and I feel my past regrets slipping into present tense". Excellent fic, I love your portrayal of Giann so much and I love the way you wrote about how the basement incident impacted him. Honestly, this might be one of my favourite fics you've written.
🌌
wAAHHH good morning milkyway, thank you for reading "growing pains"!!! for a balanced breakfast, get a healthy heap of....angst.
JHVJSDHVFKHSDF
but gosh thank u so much for this ask, im so glad the pain managed to hit hard since it’s been quite a while since i last stretched my angst writing muscle (and my fic writing muscle in general OTL) so im rlly relieved to be seeing the emotionally devastated comments cuz phew thank god….ive still got it….. ;w;
hashing out the more specific details of how i imagined The Basement Incident was really interesting for me to do! all marius says in canon is along the lines of “a few older kids trapped me there as a prank” and “they were probably tired of seeing how everyone paid attention to me like planets orbiting the sun” and like. how much older is older. it cant be that old, because unthinking jealousy like that is such childish playground bully behavior. they were kids too, not really understanding the consequences of their actions
i actually cut a scene that was in my outline where like, those three kids who trapped marius in there were crying in the commotion once the ambulance came and once the Gravity of what happened set in. i cut it out for pacing reasons and for “giann, in that moment, would not care or notice them at all” reasons.
…..funfact: this is actually the fic where i think i did the most ever cutting of scenes and lines i first put down.
i wanted to be a little bit more restrained in how i wrote this? like, before i sent it to my girlfriend for editing, there were way more lines in the flashbacks further describing the “cold” of the setting and marius’ hypothermia, more paragraphs detailing giann’s experience of guilt, etc. i took em out. not rlly for the express benefit of the fic exactly, but i just wanted to try a “less is more” approach for once to see how it’d feel.
my verdict there is it’s super fun, results in a “muted” kind of reading experience that fit well here. the connections make themselves. it doesnt come to me as naturally as my more ramble internal monolog heavy shtick (i needed to look at my first draft for a whole afternoon just wondering what i wanted to axe JHKJHFSD) but it’s definitely a kind of technique i wanna try practicing more
writing process rambles aside, oh my gosh. “I think this might be the most angst I've read from your work since "and i feel my past regrets slipping into present tense” ” this is high praise to me since that fic is still one that i consider my most miserable piece in this fandom jvkJVJHFVKSDH
thank you so much for the lovely comment, milkyway!!! it’s always such a delight to see your thoughts and im so happy you liked this fic :’D
#man thinking about it my last Super Heavy Emotions fic b4 this one was 'standard operating procedure x4'...more than a year ago...#and also from giann's pov hvJHVJSDF THAT DUDE RLLY DOES SOMETHING TO ME#milkyway!anon#commints#asks
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hi! i'm doing a presentation on the impact and community of tumblr for my media studies final and i wanted to reach out to my mutuals and fav blogs with some questions that relate to my topic. i would so totally love and appreciate if you could answer some of these for me.
it would be so totally rock and roll and awesome and amazing and i'll literally love you forever and ever and ever! :)
thank you thank you thank you!!!!
the questions:
1. how is tumblr different from other social media platforms?
2. how has the tumblr community affected you as a person/online presence?
3. do you feel more inclined to post more personal or private aspects of your life and or opinions on tumblr rather than other apps? as in do you feel you are less likely to be judged on tumblr than other platforms?
4. what are your favorite aspects of tumblr?
5. what would you do if tumblr got shut down?
6. what are some things that only tumblr bloggers would know/understand?
or
7. are there certain traditions on tumblr that you think other media sites wouldn't understand?(an example being our site wide celebration of the ides of march)
8. what are some of the largest fandoms/inner communities on tumblr? are you apart of these fandoms/communities? if yes, what is that like for you?
9. do you find tumblr to be educational in terms of academics? among other things such as politics and general life experiences?
10. all in all, how has this app changed your perspective on social media, the world, your life, and so on.
please add anything else you find to be important!!
aww im honored!
To be truthful, I don't spend much time on any other social media, so I don't have much experience! But in comparison with insta and pinterest, there's far less reason to use the for you tab. Obviously staff has pushed it in recent updates, but it still holds true, at least for me. I think a big draw for me is the built-in customization in general, with tools for making personal blog themes and post tools.
Since I don't use anything but Tumblr, It can be a little hard to connect with my peers who use Twitter or Snapchat, as we don't really have many other ways to connect outside of e-mail or text, which I think have fallen off in popularity with the rise of social media.
I think Tumblr satisfies my parasocial needs pretty well! I think because of the customization you can accumulate a following that's pretty chill. And if there are weirdos, you can block them very easily.
I've prattled on and on about about how cool customizing most aspects of your experience here is, but to reassert my love for it: When customization goes; I go.
While I have some experience with HTML, I might not make my own website on Neocities or a similar platform. I would probably make a Pintrest again. But if they make it so you can register an e-mail to a Neocities domain I'd be down.
I think Tumblr users like to self-aggrandize so I think most of our traditions and mechanics could be understood by other platform's users... Though maybe a lack of algorithms? I hear a lot of people talking about for you pages on other social media. But again, Tumblr's pushed the for you tab instead of the dash, so I'm not sure that's going to be a distinction for much longer...
8. I don't participate in fandom so I wouldn't know! That's not to say that I don't ever see anything from fandom, but really I'm not sure if I'm missing out on anything. I'm content with the content I do see. I guess you could say I'm part of the "My friends" fandom ^-^.
9. While there's plenty of academic discussion on Tumblr, I don't think there's a replacement to more genuine methods of education. However, there have been things I've been informed of through Tumblr, such as posts summarizing and linking news articles, scientific journals, etc. and methods of accessing them (such as 12ft). In that regard, I suppose that Tumblr has been a fine source of education and keeping up-to-date, though it's far from perfect.
10. I think being able to curate my experience has helped make me less tolerant of ads, weird posts, and other distractions. But I think the greatest impact it's had on me has been all the friends I've made.
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🍉🍒🍌🍐!!
🍉—Do you prefer to write short fics or long fics? Multichaptered works or single ones? Why?
I usually go for shorter stuff, or single chap stuff even when longer. I think it’s mainly because that’s the easiest way for my brain to order a story, and a lot of the time I’m focused on smaller interactions building on a common theme, idea, or symbolic accentuation. I can get really run down doing longer stuff and have a harder time finishing or sticking with it if it’s not something I can get done with relatively dedicated focus in a week or two. The few multichaps I’ve had are either ones I wrote as one thing and then decided up, ones that took months and were made from an extreme fixation, or have been abandoned since (even if I hope to return). So ig just with how my creative process is, im able to keep the momentum on single stories and shorter ones better than longer ones!
🍒—What’s your favorite character dynamic to write? (Can be romantic or platonic specific or general!)
I don’t think I necessarily have a peer for platonic over romantic, even if I do trend towards writing romance more than gen fic. It depends on the characters involved and the flavors of intimacy I’m interested in exploring, and all relationships have types I love to write. Friends are so valuable and important and beautiful, romance is too, and finding the line of definition between them for characters is sO fun.
I think in a larger sense I like writing relationships that help to explore each character, that define the other with their presence or absence. Obvs that’s just how relationships work, but that’s how I always approach writing them no matter what type they are. Friends, partners, people having sex, it’s all a way to feel out intimacy and boundaries and connections for the parties involved.
🍌 —In your opinion, what’s the funniest joke/reference/pun you’ve made in a fic?
I’m so bad at rmring specific lines but recently made one in an E rated fic that I won’t post but had to do with… similarities in a hand position to that used when shooting webs. I’m happy w that one.
🍐—Is there anything in canon that you absolutely hate and love to fix in fics? A wrong choice made, a fuck-up in characterization, a misunderstanding never cleared up, a conversation never shown on screen, etc.
I rly love when comics Moon Knight fics add back in the system dynamics and headmates missing in canon. It’s a vital exploration for the group and who they are and it becomes very inorganic feeling in canon and adds much more genuine feeling and exploration in stories that actually write them as they should be written. Other than that I can’t think of too much as which canon I’m thinking of affects the answer, but yeah I’d say that! In general tho probably unnecessary romance plots that distract from the plot n characters r a big pet peeve, but half the time I don’t even write for stuff that does that lol
Send me a fruity writer ask!
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after reading your takes on how Bart's future treated queerness and on YJA!Barry (all very interesting btw!) i'm very interested to ask: do you think Bart came out to his family (i imagine he told his friends first) before or after getting together with Ed (aka when he had a "reason" to)? how and when do you think he did it, and how do you think it went?
So sorry for the delays in my responses! And to the other anons as well! The past weeks have been a bit hectic for me and I like to take my time to properly answer asks. Thank y’all for sending them to me, honestly every single thought that’s shared with me is always so fun to read <3
Im so glad you enjoyed those posts! Especially with the way you related the two because in developing these thoughts they're entirely connected! So I appreciate that. It was so satisfying writing it all out and being able to share it with others to see how it would be received as well as to explore those kind of themes as well, especially since they all make up my general understanding of characterisation and world building regarding Bart and his fam.
Also that’s such a good question anon! Especially because its one of the few things that I don't have a fixed view on. It usually varies with what kind of stories/plots I think of. I try to usually stick to as close as canon as possible so I like to develop my theories to a point where I can see it being canon, but with the time jumps its possible that anything can happen, so i struggle coming up with a set outcome regarding the scenario you outlined. And I have thought about it a lot all the way since last year lol.
According to both canon and my headcanon posts (lol) what I “realistically” can envision is that when he first arrived to the past, Wally was the family member he most probably could connect with the easiest. So I like to think that maybe (especially with how important flirting/girls was to Wally when he was younger) it couldve been possible that they touched on the subject a little bit and he couldve been Barts best chance at comfortably coming out. So with him gone I think it also motivates Bart to kind of rescind back to being generally cautious which I think of as his “default setting” lol.
So I don't think he finds it particularly important to come out, both out of caution, mixed feelings (discomfort/weariness), as well as most probably trying to figure out both the general reception of his environment to queerness as well as that of his family. Its also generally at the back of his mind, what with his responsibilities as hero etc, but ofc as he gets more comfortable in his new time, it crosses his mind more every now and then. Especially during moments where I think the flash fam might innocently/accidentally reinforce heteronormativity, keep prying him about girls and all that, especially because they're basing their experience of a growing teenager on what they know from Wally. So I can imagine that would make him really uncomfortable. But yeah all in all, I don't think at that stage he would be motivated at all to come out to them.
Especially with what I interpret as him having a generally awkward relationship with Barry. Combining that with my post on Barrys heteronormativity, well I don't really see Bart thinking of coming out to him at any point pre-Ed lol and regardless of when he does come out to him, I do think it would be at the very least mildly rocky. Ultimately ofc Barry would have no problem with it, but I think his journey to that point is definitely made up of (again) awkward situations which could really go either way. I think Barry could find out by accident somehow or through a second party just as easily as or if not even likelier than Bart having to come out to him.
I can easily envision Iris picking up on things (because she and Bart have a much better relationship/understanding) and testing the waters to try to coax him into coming out to her and this might eventually give him some sort of comfort to come out to her at some point. But again, I don't see Bart being particularly motivated in doing so unless hes reached some sort of tipping point where it would be important to him for some reason. And dating Ed well thats easily one, so with Iris I think chances of when are more balanced than Barry lol. I think the aftermath would be really smooth, I don't see her having any problems and being very much supportive.
I do think Bart has a really good relationship with Jay/Joan and is very comfortable with them (parent figures who r very dear to him). But I think his general tendency to be guarded which he easily plays off to his family is something thats very much second nature to him, so I can see him unintentionally hiding it from them because its just what hes used to. This also applies to the rest of his fam. Whether they (Jay/Joan) pick up on things themselves or not I think is rlly up in the air and anything is possible. I think him breaking the news to Jay (because at that point Joan has already passed away) of him dating Ed could be difficult for him because its just like any classic situation of how its like coming out to ur parent. Especially in what's essentially a single-parent type of situation. But of course I believe Jay would largely respond positively.
I don't have the full picture specifics set in stone, but my above essay (sorry lol) is the general sentiment of what I usually envision.
Thank you sm for taking the time to read all my rambles, it warms my heart <33 lol and I hope I managed to answer your question :)
#YJ asks#bart allen#kid flash#impulse#young justice#young justice animated#flash family#Flash Fam#Barry Allen#Iris West Allen#Wally West#Jay Garrick#joan garrick#eduardo dorado jr#zetaflash#el dorado#yj#dc#world building#I think I should use that tag for these type of posts I gotta edit my previous posts tags to include this#young justice phantoms#lgbtq
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Hey im super intrigued to know what you're taking notes of and annotating in infinite jest. I picked it up again and there is just so much, so many details to track and im interested in how your mind organizes it all.
omg nice! I'd be super interested to hear what you're thinking about it too.
first of all, with Hal's interview in the first pages, I started marking things that were particularly like, neurodivergent (him saying he's a person with thoughts and feelings as if it's under question, the way he doesn't talk around authority but is much more relaxed around his brothers, all the masking he does, the "eyes like two great pale zeros" also cracked me up lol) ? I'm not sure if that's an intentional theme through the book or if that's just me working through things I do personally but there's a lot of interesting (again.. to me lol) autism coding with Hal and Mario and idk because I haven't seen enough of Orin yet but probably something similar. with that color tag I also put Hal's reclusive behavior (I accidentally spoiled a chapter looking at reviews so I'm preemptively connecting dots). and all the times Mario makes people feel like they can speak freely around him. etc
then I have a funny things tag, for .. idk lol when something is particularly funny or ironic to me. I'm not being that deep 😭
I have another for things that feel very meaningful or impactful, like certain events or likes that feel like foreshadowing. like how Orin hates spiders and probably got that from his father's own issues with them. generational trauma etc.
another color I don't use much for how I feel DFW projects onto James Incandenza, especially in the footnotes with the film history which was .. something
then I just like underline whatever line I'm referring to with my tag ?? idk how people usually annotate lmaoo I haven't done it since school. I have one highlighter for semi interesting stuff and another for stuff that's fully deserving of a note. and I put some of my questions in the margins but I usually have to but a tag nearby or I'll never ever see it again because the books so long.
I guess I could have separated things by storyline or theme but I'm figuring stuff out as I go so basically anything I want to revisit gets marked ... it's a lot but I'm cutting my sticky note tabs into little strips anyways and it's 900 pages soo...
I guess tldr I do not know what I'm doing but it's chaotic and fun <3 ty for asking!!
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YEAH YEAH!! Ok so sorta my theory goes that humans in their universe isn't the one giving ballyhoos out, and instead it's our universe's love for them (and our current involvement with the comic) that is feeding them. You're completely right about Bugs too!! She ALWAYS looks at Us when talking to, as i thinkkk it was swiper who said it? But she hears who is giving her Ballyhoo, and she always talks to us or faces us when she does it. It lines up with Scooby's comment about how it's getting worse! Her small bursts of talking to us would be us experiencing her through flashbacks, and it would be more consistent as the time to current events gets closer and closer. I would continue with how Bugs gives us a bit more evidence ("keep all eyes on me" and "look away kids" meaning shes AWARE shes being watched), but i have MORE evidence!!
Someone mentioned in a post (you'll probably find it in the scoob and shag tag theres like 5 of us here LMAO) how all the colors of the Beings are the same as a TV screen's colors, and how theyre all sorta tech-based (all the characters having files, their tech screens, etc). What if the beings ARE apart of a TV though? The colors that make up the pixels on our screen, to show us the entertainment we desire. The comic. The beings obviously have control over ballyhoos, and are REALLY getting involved now. Like you said, its supposed to be a rare occurrence, but now we have Mickey, Bugs, Scooby, Deedee, and possibly more. Why? Because its entertaining to us! Its drama! Theres probably other reasons, but it fits, doesnt it? Are all the characters in the comic real? The theme thus far has been humanity, and the meaning of it. It'd fit in quite nicely, although idk how far into the idea the comic would go. I do really think, at least, our involvement with the comic is going to affect Shaggy in some way once he gets ahold of Jump Cut. The comic has also interacted directly with the readers, when Bugs asks the viewer who should he kill first. Apparently the decision WAS up to the viewers who voted on polls or in comments! I do think that'll make a return too. ANYWAYS IM RAMBLING I HAVE MANY IDEAS FLOATING IN MY HEAD,,,
ANON I AM TELEPATHICALLY GIVING YOU THE BIGGEST HIGH FIVE RIGHT NOW. THIS IS ALL SO FUCKING COOL HOLY SHIT..... BESTIE YOUR MIND
I'm not a super analytical person and I'm really not that good at Theorizing, but your asks have got my brain fucking SPINNING in circles in a VERY good way.... basically I need to check the Scoob and Shag tag more often huh-
I really think this idea works with the meta nature of this series--especially in regards to the characters' identities. One thing I like to joke about is that like... just who the characters are makes summarizing this webcomic to anyone the most RIDICULOUS experience. And while these characters in-universe are more than just fictional characters, the comic also doesn't simply let go of that identity. Also, with the amount of references to film/television in general, I REALLY like the idea that the beings' colors are specifically meant to tie into that. It works much better than just arbitrarily assigning colors.
Side-note, this also has me wondering a bit if there's specific symbolism around which colors seem to be assigned to each character. It could definitely be an arbitrary thing, but the fact that it seems there are two characters aligned with Magenta is really interesting to me. As I said before, it feels a little weird to have two, so if that IS the direction Dingo is going, then there's gotta be some reason behind it, even if it may ultimately be a simple one.
The colors don't necessarily seem to be unique to each character, so what connects each character to the entity they align with? I honestly might end up sitting down sometime soon to try and analyze similarities with Deedee and Bugs that make them both stand out to Magenta, but that might be a bit of a moot point because there's still a lot we don't know. Still, might be a fun exercise... actually fuck it okay I'm gonna brainstorm a little.
The main thing that stands out in my mind is Magenta's dialogue during the scene where Deedee gets their blessing. As I said previously, the dialogue implies that getting blessings like this is meant to be rare (specifically mentioning that Magenta and the others made some sort of promise not to interfere with the conflict going on in the story, and Magenta is making an exception for this situation), but it's got me thinking a bit.
Deedee gets Magenta's blessing because of her desperation to protect her brother and her devastation that he sacrificed himself for her. Magenta specifically says that Deedee and Dexter's bond reminds them of their relationship with their own siblings, and they want to stop the senseless bloodshed that resulted in Dexter's sacrifice to save his sister.
It's a bit of a tenuous comparison, I will admit, but I think it could easily be argued that this parallels Bugs's alignment with the Martians--I don't remember exactly which update this first comes up in so I could be wrong, but Bugs wants to help the Martians against the Toones, and especially against Mickey. Sure, she isn't a Martian herself, but she has a connection to them. Plus, though she is a rather capable character in combat, she doesn't really seem to revel in senseless violence. She's far from a pacifist, but she's not doing anything without a purpose. Especially in part two, long after she seems to have received Magenta's blessing, she states that her goal, while it isn't necessarily PEACE, is to put a stop to Mickey, which would (at least hopefully) stop the violence.
Okay yeah this got out of hand, and like I said this is very tenuous and I'm definitely not stating any of this as fact. I just really think there has to be some kind of rationale behind each character's ultimate alignment--I HIGHLY doubt it's pure coincidence that Bugs and Deedee specifically both seem to be aligned with Magenta. We don't know much about the entities so far so this is mostly speculation, but there has to be something.
Okay I gotta stop before I start looking into color theory and analyzing the full cast, this is long enough and we don't know enough about the entities in my opinion to fully speculate more about which entities are going to be aligned with which characters (assuming more and more of them are going to be making deals). (And once again I'm just gonna say that I'm forever obsessed with the imagery in the Coward King arc finale with Velm in the field of cyan flowers. Even if this predates the reveal of the entities, it
Also you're 100% right that all of this ties in really well with the theme of humanity in the comic--the characters' identities as fictional characters VS their identities as actual people is a really interesting conflict (idk if that's the right word but brain is mushy). The fourth wall breaks only add to this--while it comes off (especially when Bugs is first introduced) as a playful reference to fourth wall breaks in the original cartoons, it really seems like they serve a greater narrative purpose here. I mean, why CONTINUE calling back to them and making them a core part of who Bugs is as a character rather than simply a small joke or reference?
Also. I just had a thought. Remember when Bugs was introduced and shown to be eating a banana rather than a carrot? I know that was 100% very likely just a visual gag to separate this character from the original cartoon, but on the same line as these characters forming identities outside of the original cartoon characters they're based on.... idk that's just making me think.
I am very interested to see how all of this continues to evolve, and I'm SO fucking sorry for this mile long essay I wrote in response, but I really love your thoughts!!!! Please feel free to keep sending them my way!!!!
#talk to the bunnykitty#scoob and shag#scoob and shag anon#anonymous#sorry i took a bit to answer this but genuinely thank you for sending me your thoughts#this was a big fuckin highlight of my day honestly#i love this silly series so much and i love how intricate and interesting the lore is#and man y'know i'm not really the type to make my own theories most of the time#but you've got me thinking#i am connecting dots. i am connecting them.#and you are too i love these#long post
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i was thinking about it and i realised that i had sort of subconsciously been under the impression that atla was one of those star wars situations that tells you anyone can be magic but in actuality every major plotpoint just ties back to one single family every time (some of you may be saying “but rey wasnt a skywalker!” to which i respond “who was the primary antagonist then wiseguy” but this post isnt actually about star wars so fuck me ig) anyway what im getting at is, other than zuko, whose major theme is his relationship with his family and therefore with his nation as a whole (and also he was actual royalty so it was inevitable tbh), every single other main character’s parents were not explicitly benders, or were nonbenders. aangs parents arent ever even shown! i mean for a show where its canon that magic is genetic, they do a waaaayyyyyy better job at delivering the “anyone can be a hero” storyline than media that actually textually tells that story lmao
not only is the show about children, its also about lots of marginalised groups. all the characters are POC, toph is blind, katara is a girl (toph is obviously also a girl but her character doesnt really explore misogyny like katara ykwim?), sokka is just some guy even in the context of the magic system, even aang — the literal chosen one!!!! — is just a random kid who also happens to be the reincarnation of the most powerful spirit in the galaxy or whatever (thats a recurring theme of the show actually), and zuko ,who is the most nepo baby protagonist, isnt actually the prodigy of his family and is instead frequently upstaged by his little sister lol
like it would have been so easy to do a “and guess what the reason toph is such a great bender is because she’s secretly king bumi’s great niece!!!!!!” reveal, which is such a classic plot twist that tbh its barely a twist these days, but instead toph was a badass specifically because of the unique perspective she gained by being disabled and the way that allowed her to connect with the world around her ie the badgermoles — thats a way stronger story! the only relationship reveal we get (other than i guess aang learning he’s the avatar which kind of maybe counts??) is zuko learning he’s related to roku which. i mean he was already a nepo baby so it doesnt detract from his agency really and in fact reinforces his recurring “there are two wolves” conflict, which up to that point was mostly shown through azula and iroh (think his ba sing se fever dream wherein there were two dragons inside him voiced by azula and iroh respectively one advocating good the other evil, foreshadowing the final conflict of the season where he must choose between azula and iroh and he backslides in his moral arc by choosing azula which is a really cool narrative choice that tbh now that im thinking about it i probably should have made this tangent its own post but we’re here now ig)
also i was thinking about how bending is genetic but also skips generations (neither kya nor hakoda is a bender, and we dont know of any grandparent other than gran gran, who is a nonbender, and i think its a dominant gene bc ursa wasnt a bender to my knowledge but zuko and azula are, so probably neither kya nor hakoda had bender parents, but obviously katara is a bender, but sokka isnt, plus there were identical twins in the volcano episode where only one was a bender which does confuse me scientifically but i dropped science so whatever) and bending is shown as common enough that probably everyone has atleast one ancestor who is a bender so tbh it sort of circles back to being random lol
this post is really just me thinking out loud (well not. out loud. bc its written. you get it) so it might not be coherent but idk its another way that atla is very clever and has effective storytelling and creates themes subtextually etc etc ok thanks
#christ this ended up a bit long#atla#analysis#? tbh i dont think this counts as analysis but tags r hard idk#look i had to think about punnet squares for a tmblr post about a 20 year old nick jr show cut me some slack#im good at maths and english so science had to be my dump stat it is what it is#also semi related writing this post made me realise i dont pronounce the a in and which. its always weird to analyse your own accent idk
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ok so. basically i think both abby and cecil were born before 1983 and their mom was an encarnation of huntokar (their dad might be an encarnation of the smiling god or just some dude that worships him, eitger way) but in 1983 huntokar accidentally harmed her conection to night vale, and from this point on the childrens mom started acting distant/not acknowledging either bc her mind was "on another plane" or mourning cecil that died on at least 1 version of 1983
so its taken me forever to respond to this, a. Bc ive written so much abt it before and i think it was better than i wrote here, and b. bc i was searching for posts neck deep in my archives to help explain but only found some
post 1 — comparing 171 and 192 quotes
post 2 — about episode 183– more general theories
(i had a post somewhere where i verbally vomited into the tags abt night vale being a post war landscape trapped in time but i can find it)
okay now that those r out of the way im gonna ramble a lot and its not gonna make sense probably bc im a little drunk on topo chicos
cecil exsists (i think as a radio host too) in every timeline/reality. i remember this being said but i cant give an episode number bc i dont remember where. he is always reporting and he is referred to as the voice of night vale.
we know that night vale was split off from reality in 1983 when the world had a nuclear war by huntokar. huntokar “ existed in the mudwomb” she wanted to “protect and nurture humans” and ”became attatched to her version of night vale so she saved it causing all version of it to collapse inward on itself“ — quotes from the fan wiki (i mention the mudwomb bc in 192 cecil sees either himself or his dad climbing out of the mud at the base of a tree)
my theory is that night vale was saved and chosen as a favorite by huntokar bc she became more human by loving cecil as her child. There is a whole monologue in that episode (stone spire arc or huntokar episode i think) about how the humans of night vale forgot why they worshipped and wore meat crowns and what it meant to worship gods, but huntokar also mentions she loses sight of what she is (i think it was implied if not said) and she became too attached to the humans and the town (Thus why she saves Night vale)
i think cecil is a god who has forgotten what he is— he knows events before they happen or as they happen, he is intertwined in Every Major Event, he knew when the other gods were coming, and he is immortal. he knew old woman josie as a young adult and i assume he looks 40-50 bc thats what carlos’ age is around. he is an oracle. he says his mother was an oracle (figurative or literal) he doesnt know his father (a common theme in myths abt gods and demi gods) etc. AND the knly way the town gets to hear Huntokar and her story is through the radio. Cecil was around before the invention of it (mentioned during his europe trip i think)
i think his love of science and night vales affinity for science is a replacement for religion to explain why things are the way they are. science is essentially night vales belief system. (This post explains this more)
cecil cant look at himself in a mirror bc of a monster he sees— but i also think its bc he is a literal god he cannot look upon himself in a mirror (there is a lot of judaism themes in wtnv, one of the writers is jewish after all, and i believe that that is done purposefully. cecil’s v existence, to me, feels like hes caught in in a never ending shiva)
(From this wiki article abt shiva)
do u get the connections im making? Especially with the paragraph on mirrors and judaism?
i think it makes sense that she is his mom if u pick up what im puttin down idk ! Idk idk its just fun to theorize and analyze haha
#im sitting by the fire drinkin and reading and i figured id finally answer this sorry it took me so long!#I hope it makes some sort of sense!#its sort of just theories i squash together and hope people can make the leaps my brain is makkng#Thanks for the ask !#wtnv#wtnv headcanon#welcome to night vale#huntokar#cecil palmer#i also hc cecil as literally just being a Normal Guy who is omniscient but all my theories live in a vaccum haha#They dont cancel out#long reads#long post
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extended authors note for “the liminal space between love and lonely”
the pinterest board | the spotify playlist
✫ cw ;; me being super emotional, personal feelings you might not care about, but also general warnings and thoughts about this indepth analysis of a character! be forwarned!
you know how sometimes you don’t really write a story and it just kinda.. comes out of you?
well! that was this. i think i started this thing? at the beginning of this week and it’s been a rollercoaster! been a weird and fucked up week where i felt weird and fucked up. i cried a lot like a little hermit and screamed about deku and got really sad over him etc. there’s a lot i want to say because this is 1. my longest fic to date 2. the only fic of this length that i’ve ever written in one sitting without breaking to write something else.
this fics main and most central theme is loneliness, at the very least - how people cope with loneliness and busy-ness and the general. without getting into excessive detail - life is very lonely lately. its probably the first time in my life ive let myself admit that and this was truly an exploration. exploring loneliness through deku, which is why so much of this story is in his pov
i think one of dekus biggest flaws is that sometimes his sense of justice runs so deep, that he unconsciously seperates himself from others and doesn’t know how to see people with agency. he gets caught up in the version of him that supposed to exist instead of the one that does and he isolates himself from others. from love. i think sometimes deku forgets he’s a person and that’s a very lonely way to live.
the connection between the two of them is very central to the idea that sometimes there are people who sort of just work out, and that reader is so far removed from deku - he finds it easy to be with her. i could probably go on and on about deku and how i feel about him but the fic is there. im mostly just here to say this fic is very special to me. i’ve put a lot myself into it so if you read it, and hate it - please choose kindness and be nice about it. i care about this fic a lot so im asking nicely <3
if you read this far, congrats! u win nothing i dnt think but i appreciate you. very, very extra special thanks to the bubblepop server generally for being so fucking welcoming of me and my shy and miserable ass (all of u, ALL OF U) (<333) but especially @cyancherub for staying up at night and sprinting with me, @katonshoko and @a-shy-blueberry for betaing my fic in an insane amount of time holy shit you are a lifesaver for me. i appreciate you so SO much it makes me sick.
show kindness and i hope this fic makes you feel a little less lonely <3
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one of the common themes across the media that my corner of the internet really enjoys is "normal" characters learning to become more unethical, violent, evil, etc. idk if anyone else has noticed this but im obsessed with it. here are some of my thoughts:
the redemption arc was really successful on 2012/2013 era tumblr because kids wanted to believe that even if they werent understood by their immediate family/friends, that someday someone else would connect with them. there was this need to hope for future love, future stability.
these days, tumblr (or at least the bits of it that i occupy) is much more focused on reverse redemption arcs. get more evil! harder to understand! more obsessed!
(im thinking specifically of re-animator, hannibal, succession, american psycho, what we do in the shadows, black sails, and to an extent horror more generally (the final girl has to give into her violent emotions to survive. as sam raimi says "you must taste blood to be a man")).
instead of asking for future hope/love/understanding, these narratives tell you to just take it. become the person you're supposed to be, listen to the voice inside your head, get angry, get violent, dont sit around waiting for some self-insert character to make you a "better person."
i think this change occured for 2 reasons:
the people on this website have aged. we dont always have to wait for things anymore. we have our own cars and our own jobs. we have more agency, so we connect more with characters who are active in their own story (redemption arcs often require that the redeemed be forced to face their actions or forced to spend time with someone else, etc)
we just cant wait anymore. i dont know about anyone else but i reached a point where i had to come out and transition. i had to take my own agency back. theres nothing selfish about that, but in many stories, id probably end up the villain (magneto was RIGHT by the way). so now all these young ppl who have felt powerless for whatever reason are flocking to shows where people take their power back. where they dont just let themselves get "fixed" but instead let themselves become MORE of what they already were. it's about giving in to your instincts and not fighting the thoughts you've tried to avoid.
#this is very rambly but i think ive started to actually build a hypothesis about this#just fasinating stuff#ruth talks
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[copied over from my cr blog, also this is gonna get long, i’d apologise but im not sorry]
okay, so
this is a rant probably about 7 years in the making, bc when i first watched lok i had not done any music study, i had not done any composing of my own, my knowledge of music theory was at a primary school level and i still thought tv soundtracks were just made by one person composing a whole cache of music and then the audio editors pick and choose what track to place where
(spoiler alert that’s not how film and tv scoring works, i have now done a music composition course where we had to score a short film, among other things, and i have so much more respect for tv composers jesus christ)
but this one stuck out to me even way back then, bc me barely knowing what a leitmotif was was like “hey this one little refrain keeps popping up whenever bolin does lavabending, and i like it, i’m gonna see if it’s on the soundtrack”
it was not, and that’s sort of where i left it back in 2014, but i actually did a rewatch of lok pretty recently out of nostalgia, and then noticed it even more
and to explain why (and this is also a little bit why five’s stuck out to me in tua, i’ll get to that in another ask), let’s cover, leitmotifs, and tv scoring in general
so a leitmotif is basically just a short musical idea that represents something in a piece of music. when i studied motivic development we were encouraged to make that motif four notes or less, and then develop it into something longer (aka a theme), because if you can constantly come back to a really short idea while keeping the piece moving, that’s what makes a piece of music memorable
(you can ignore those rules on purpose but that’s a different essay)
so the most common way that a leitmotif shows up in soundtracks is to represent a character or a location - you play the motif when that character shows up or when you’re in that location and boom, the audience associates that motif with that person place or thing, and you can then use this to tell the audience things without actually telling them. for example, star wars playing the imperial march whenever someone does something darth vader related - darth vader isn’t on screen, but you can feel his presence, because his music is playing
and if we were a film score, where we have two hours to show one particular character’s development, great! we give them a simple motif, and then as they grow as a person we change their motif to reflect what is happening to them, until we end up with something that communicates on a subconscious level how much they’ve grown. we toss in as much symbolism as we can, and we have a really great soundtrack that’s instantly memorable
tv scoring, is harder. partially because of time constraints (have you ever composed half an hour of original music a week, and had to make sure it fits perfectly with every beat of what’s happening on screen? these guys have), partially because there’s a much larger focus on ensemble casts
so what atla and lok do, for the most part, is not score individual character motifs for everyone. this is fairly common in tv soundtracks, instead we score ideas, concepts, and feelings - these’ll come up a lot more and give you more information than just “oh hey this character’s on screen”
the avatar state, for example, has the strongest and most recognisable theme across both shows. i’m linking an atla track in here because it has the best example but you’ll know this shows up with korra too - and with particularly important moments for wan, for kyoshi, etc. they also appear in the opening of both shows, four strong notes that start and end on the same note (in the case of what i’m linking, it’s an F#)
youtube
the first part of this track is the more uncertain, pensive theme that comes up when both avatars are feeling doubt/worry/sadness, but then it transitions into the more recognisable four. worth noting though, those are both basically the same motif. if i write them out back to back, you’ll notice they both have four notes and start and end on F#. if i had to guess, four notes four elements, and it comes back to the start because the avatar is a cycle.
korra has a theme for when she’s fighting, but not an individual character theme. the airbenders as a concept have a theme, republic city has thematic instruments, as do some big name characters, like iroh and his tsungi horn (this is also a cross-series thing, he’s always playing it in atla, it shows up when zuko has to make big moral decisions, and when we first meet iroh in the spirit world in lok, it shows up there too, to let the audience know who this is before we properly see him)
so, if korra doesn’t get a single theme and instead has several for different aspects of her life, and mako and asami follow along with the mood of the story like all the other characters, the fact that bolin has a personal leitmotif at all, let alone a solid, developing one, is pretty remarkable!
now, granted, it mostly starts with book 3, before then he was like every other character, but it has clear symbolism through those last two books! and, initially i thought it was related only to his lavabending, since that’s most of when it shows up, but since my rewatch, i’ve started calling it his hero theme
see, when people wanna criticise mako and bolin, usually the comments they get are that bolin’s too immature and mako’s too serious/uptight. but like, that’s how they work, you can’t analyse either of them without the context of the other. since they were little kids on the streets, bolin chases his heart and mako makes sure they don’t die from it, that is their entire childhood. and neither would have got here on their own because mako wouldn’t take the necessary risks and bolin wouldn’t take the necessary precautions. (like. remove either one from the equation and they’d still be working for the triple threats bc s1 and their flashback miniseries make pretty clear that bolin got them out and mako kept them out)
and then book 2 proves it! because it splits team avatar up, and what happens? bolin is totally taken advantage of by varrick and used as a pawn in his evil plan and mako ends up in jail
so what’s book 3, to them? it’s, being able to find themselves without having that codependency. mako no longer has someone to protect, which is what he’s based his whole life around so far - bolin’s doing fine and he’s no longer dating either korra or asami. and bolin’s trying his hand at some of that responsibility (look at how he immediately adopts kai who is explicitly them but younger because he wants to be the older brother for once). most importantly, they find the rest of their family, and stop being defined by being orphans. they don’t have to be that singular piece of a puzzle, they can just be themselves. and that’s where bolin’s character really starts to shine, because that’s when they bring in the bending plot, and bending, perhaps more than any other character, really gets to the heart of who bolin is
if you want more of my thoughts on that i have an essay here, but tl;dr: bolin’s an extremely powerful earthbender, but he’s not a metalbender because metalbending requires you to double down on the earth characteristics and think like an earthbender, and bolin doesn’t, he’s too fluid for that, which is one of his major strengths, so of course he can lavabend
and finally - to his motif itself! (as a note, i’ve put all of these in the same key to show where it repeats, but there’s a variety of keys used in the show)
as far as i can find, it first shows up in s3e8, when bolin stuns p’li with this well placed shot
[Edit: it first showed up in the s2 finale, but again in a simplified version and again with him doing something heroic with earthbending, so we can still start the analysis here]
mako volunteers bolin for that job, because he knew bolin was capable of it. why? because bolin landed an identical shot earlier in the episode, after trying to metalbend, getting frustrated he can’t, and cheating with some extremely well aimed earthbending. it’s just a short refrain and you barely notice it, but it’s the first connection of this motif with the theme of bolin’s bending
it looks like this, and it’s always played on a trumpet, which is part of why i call it the hero theme, because, if you’re looking at music from a western perspective, trumpets were used to herald kings, and then used to represent military glory, and then when superhero themes started happening, they used trumpets too - it’s basically western music shorthand for hero these days
(it’s also symmetrical so that helps with the good vibes)
and he’s saving everyone here, so it’s linked to his bending, but it’s also linked to his heroism
it ties the two together, and they are tied together.
when’s the next time it shows up? episode 10, when the brothers are in prison in ba sing se, and bolin tries to metalbend them out. again, he’s doing this to save people, and this motif gets a few notes added on to the end in a raising pattern - they’re inspiring, but they don’t go anywhere. which is exactly what happens in the scene, because he’s trying to go about this in the wrong way. mako believes in him, but it won’t (and doesn’t) work
it appears in episode 12 when bolin saves everyone from ghazan destroying the temple, in a more fancy orchestral remake of the first version - it’s impressive, but it hasn’t actually developed yet, it’s just his discovery of it
the book 3 finale already has its own fucking amazing soundtrack, i love that entire episode’s score, but it gets its own moment there too, and the first real development!
because what we hear is not what we’ve heard before. we know it’s the same theme, because it’s using those signature trumpets, but it’s the second part of this phrase, the answer to the question supplied by the first one. why? because bolin’s figured out who he is and he’s starting to use it. it still hasn’t settled yet though, it’s early days and he’s still just turning ghazan’s lava back on him, so again, it raises, leaving it on a question mark
it doesn’t appear in s4e7 when he lavabends as a warning against the escaped prisoners, because he’s using it as a threat, not to help people. but it does later in the episode when he uses lavabending to save them from kuvira. and that’s when we get the first full phrase, question and answer
it keeps the first motif identical, takes out the first note of the second, and ties them together - except now it’s not open ended, now it knows where it’s going - it’s been three years, at this point bolin is confident in both himself and his bending
and then that phrase appears all over the place in the finale, because all bolin does is save people - everyone from the exploding building, he slows the giant mecha with lavabending, he saves opal, he slows the giant mecha again by collapsing a building on it, and most importantly, he’s the one rescuing his brother this time, instead of the other way around (though that one doesn’t get a motif appearance bc admittedly a fuck ton of other things are happening in the soundtrack at the time)
so to that question asked in book three - who is bolin when not next to someone else? well, funnily enough, we saw it in book two as well, just in a warped way, playing nuktuk. it just wasn’t truly him because it was created by varrick, and he needed to get away from varrick too. the question put forward by the narrative is who is bolin, and the answer given by the music is, he is a hero. and i don’t know why bolin is the only one to get a theme like this, but i think it may have something to do with the fact that, while everyone in team avatar has been a hero and saved people, he is the only one who has, from the start, solely been motivated by wanting to help people. he follows his heart, and his heart cares, about everyone. it’s been the driving force behind almost everything he’s ever done. and i love him so much
#so yeah those are my thoughts on bolin go forth and cry with me about five notes on a trumpet#legend of korra#lok#bolin#music
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I've seen a lot of people saying that rot was BAD, what is your opinion?
OH IM SO GLAD YOU ASKED
like most people (im sure) after finishing rise of the titans, after wiping up my tears i went to the rot tag to see maybe some gifs or something. you know, make myself cry a little more. instead, i found a bunch of people saying how much they hated the ending, how it was as terrible as some of the worst big finale bombs (endgame, game of thrones, etc) and uh. im not saying the ending is perfect, but it is DEFINITELY not as disastrous as what people are making it out to be, in my opinion. i thoroughly enjoyed the movie, actually, and i thought it was an effective way to end the tales of arcadia.
warning: rise of the titans spoilers, as well as general tales of arcadia spoilers
were there some things i didn't like? yeah!
the major things i didn't like align with a lot of what i see other people saying:
the weird mpreg plotline with steve. it just felt so strange and out of place, and it was used as a tactic to remove eli and steve from the major action, which i don't like.
and the 'ninth configuration' thing that, once again, excluded eli and steve. i didn't see a reason why they shouldn't have been there, seeing as they have contributed to trollhunting since nearly the start of all of the tales of arcadia. multiples of three are clean and smooth, i get it, but at the expense of two characters that were so lovingly developed in trollhunters and 3below?? yikes
with that being said, though, i don't agree with what a lot of people are saying about the time travel at the end. obviously, they bring up some good points - by changing the timeline so drastically, there's no way for jim to ensure that they'll be able to succeed or if the arcane order will even act in the same way. it's a big 'if' and it is worth thinking about
but people have been saying that the ending is out of jim's character and negates his arc, and i have to say. that's not true.
if you've been following my blog since july 1st, you'll know that ive spent the past twenty one days rewatching the entire tales of arcadia series at a steady pace, and within that time, i've paid a whole lot of attention to jim's arc as a character and how the finale of trollhunters left me feeling as if something just wasn't clicking right. his arc wasn't finished.
because all throughout trollhunters, jim is constantly having to prove his worth - and most of the time, the way he's proving his worth is by sacrificing himself. he takes all the blame when anything goes wrong, and on some level, jim never truly learns the lesson from season one of trollhunters that he's enough as a hero because he has his friends to back him up. like, yeah, he relies on them a bit more after that, but in the end, he still stands in the bathroom alone, separated from all his allies, and shoulders the burden of turning into a troll alone. and he leaves arcadia, the city he was fighting so hard to protect, and he leaves his best friend, the one that has been with him since the beginning.
then we get wizards, where jim lets himself be corrupted to save his friends. and then, because of that sacrifice, he ends up hurting all of them. i believe this fact - that he willingly corrupted himself, separated himself from his allies, and ended up hurting the people he loved - shook jim's foundation as a hero, which is why he can't believe he's the trollhunter without the amulet. the amulet was the physical manifestation of what it meant to be a hero to him, but it was destroyed when he was corrupted - it was destroyed when he hurt his friends.
that's how we see him in rise of the titans; he's still struggling with his identity as a hero because he doesn't have the amulet or the unshakable foundation he previously had of his heroism. literally everyone is looking for him to be the leader and make the huge, world-saving-or-destroying decisions, but he can't shoulder that huge burden knowing he could hurt everyone. and then, just to add fuel to the fire, it's his plan that causes people to die or be permanently separated from the group. and he can't even get the sword out of the stone! why? because he himself doesn't see himself as worthy - how can you think of yourself as worthy when you just got two of your allies killed and two more gone, presumably for forever?
but this is the moment it finally clicks for jim. he looks around at his allies, and he sees them reflected in the amulet. he's not alone, he doesn't have to be worthy just by himself, he has an entire group of people who have fought by his side time and time again that, even despite all the mistakes and missteps he's made, are still by his side.
and what makes the amulet work, in the final fight, is his firm determination to see this fight through, no matter if he has the armor or not. he's terrified, he's probably going to die - but it's that bravery despite the fear that makes him a hero, a trollhunter, amulet or not. and he knows that now - he's had to face it before, in the unbecoming episode, but it's different now. in the unbecoming episode, he was truly alone when he decided to face the fight. and he's alone here in rise of the titans - but not for long! because almost immediately after jim comes to terms with his place as a hero again, toby comes along, and he doesn't finish this fight alone!! he finishes this fight with another trollhunter, who doesn't have an amulet!!
jim deciding to rewind time to back before the events of trollhunters is a bold choice, but it tracks with a theme in wizards - merlin told douxie that what set him apart as a master wizard was his belief that every life was valuable and worthy of being saved. this theme is repeated in the new amulet in rise of the guardians; it's for the glory of all, not just for one person.
and jim deciding to have toby become the trollhunter finally marks the completion of jim's arc. instead of shouldering the burden alone, which is inevitably what would've happened if jim had rewound time, kept all of his memories, and accepted the amulet again, jim is choosing to accept allies into his life sooner. instead of being the trollhunter, jim is letting himself be a trollhunter, alongside all the other trollhunters.
of course, there's some things in this alternate timeline i don't like; mainly that no one stepped in to stop steve from bullying eli. that, to me, was the most out of character, and i can only assume jim didn't step in because he's leaving room for that fight to be toby's; competing against steve was a large jumpstart to jim feeling like he could be strong enough to bear the mantle, and maybe jim was just trying leave it up to toby to establish that on his own. still, i didn't like it.
and, of course, there are people lamenting the fact that none of the heroes of arcadia know each other or that they might not have the same relationships, but i immediately thought of the time loop episode in 3below. in that episode, the trollhunters team and the gang from 3below meet and become friends and ultimately lose the memory of that friendship from that day. however, in that episode, blinky says that true friendship would last against the test of time; if they were meant to be together, then they would be. and guess what? even though none of them remember that happening, they all still became friends. it was meant to be.
i think a lot of anxieties about the changed timeline are because people loved the events of trollhunters so much that they a) don't want to see anything changed and/or b) are trying to project the events of trollhunters onto the new timeline and are upset when they don't fit. toby won't be the same kind of hero that jim is, though - he never has been. inevitably, the story will be different, and that's scary. that was the risk jim took, though, and jim has always trusted in toby, so why shouldn't we?
to me, tales of arcadia has never been about clean endings that make you feel entirely good. they've always left me with a tang of bitter along with the sweet, and i think that's the point. tales of arcadia has always battled with hard questions and difficult endings, and i don't see rise of the titans being any different from that.
like i said before, i don't think rise of the titans is perfect. but you can hate it as much as you want; i still really think it did a good job with the story it was trying to tell. i mean, ending with the idea that all lives are important and worth saving, no matter the risk? that heroism inherently means being part of a collective that you trust and believe in? that through time and space, you will always be able to find and connect with the people you love? that's powerful.
im climbing off my soapbox now, but basically tl;dr: rise of the titans was a good finale, despite it's imperfections, and i think that's all i can ask for.
also if you don't like toby as the trollhunter just because you don't like him breaking out of the 'funny sidekick' archetype you can die by my blade
#anon#ask#rise of the titans#rot#rot spoilers#jim lake jr#rott#rott spoilers#what im trying to say is media does not have to be perfect in order for you to enjoy it#and not only did i enjoy rot i also just. thought it was good? it didn't invalidate any of the rest of toa to me at all#the story we witnessed was still valuable; that was why we were shown this version#i won't get philosophical but like. i am.#all that being said it should've been jim telling the story in the beginning#WBKEBKEWKW I JUST REALIZED THERE WAS NO DOUXIE WITH HIS SICK ASS GUITAR. so that too
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the meme man full analysis
Yeehaw here we go. Analysis of Mikoto Kayano’s video and song, along with some theories about the many themes and symbols in the video. Note: If there’s any other supplemental material for him out there, I haven’t read it. This is just an analysis with the music video we were given. If I happen to miss stuff that was mentioned before, I may talk about it in another post lmao
I was SUPER invested in this video as I watched it and soon realized “Oh shit, I think Mikoto’s plural”. Cuz, you know, I’m plural too (not disclosing what kind) and it felt SO good to see some actual parallels to stuff I go through- though of course not to Mikoto’s degree.
That said, I feel I should make a disclaimer in passing: yes, portraying your only plural character as homicidal ain’t the best representation. But, you know, we’ve seen other cases like that in Milgram so I’m just gonna leave it at that. Personally, I’m not that offended because the execution is SO top-notch. Though, hey, I totally understand how this can be very frustrating to other systems to see plurality depicted in such an unhealthy light- if it’s not for you, it’s not for you.
Keep in mind the point of the Milgram series is to make you uncomfortable in so quickly incriminating someone; if you’re hesitating to determine someone as guilty, hey, that’s probably intended and good! It’s about personal decision, so I’m not going to judge you one way or the other in voting. I just find it fascinating how these videos can put us in such conflict. This is all just my own perspective, BTW, so if you disagree with some of these points, good! I’m just hoping to share my thoughts since I can make a lot of connections. I’m by no means an expert in plurality or tarot, I just have some background in both and decided to try my hand at this analysis, so I really don’t the final say on what’s going on in the video.
Now, onto the actual video analysis.
I’m sticking with the basic idea that Mikoto is split into two parts; his more loveable, gentler side, which I referred to in another post as Softboy Mikoto, and the more violent side which may be acting as a catharsis to his frustrations. I referred to this side previously as the Devil alter, as he is depicted with the Devil major arcana tarot card. I can see how this could be taken badly, so for now I’m just going to refer to him as the shadow alter. There are many themes of duality in the video, most commonly with the symbol of the half moon which appears so many times. Shadow of the moon etc etc. I’ll be bringing this up several times as I analyze the lyrics. I’ll be breaking down the lyrics as evidence to support the idea that Mikoto is plural, and to show how softboy Mikoto (and shadow alter Mikoto) view this particular relationship and how this culminates in murder. Sometimes I refer to Mikoto (as a whole), softboy Mikoto, or shadow alter Mikoto depending on what I’m trying to describe in the below.
First piece: the title. MeMe. Me x2. A dead giveaway, like Umbilical. Also, it can be a meme, which is interesting taking the definition of the word meme in this context: “an element of a culture or system of behavior passed from one individual to another by imitation or other nongenetic means” (Oxford Dictionaries). HMMMM. I know memes are generally within the context of a community, but I think it’s interesting to actually apply this to Mikoto. What exactly is being passed on? Could we argue that Mikoto’s frustrations from one of his parts is being passed on to the other? Interesting to think about, though it may not be relevant.
Going into the lyrics:
So from here I’m guessing there was a point in Mikoto’s life where his plurality was not an issue; or, potentially, there was a time before his split. These were the good times.
Playing dead vs. being alive – representing duality. May refer to how, when one side has their way, the other is locked away in the headspace with no control, thus feeling like being dead. In the context of “if only”, perhaps he’s wishing that he just didn’t do anything if only to prevent things from getting this far.
“If” I could end- I believe Mikoto (particularly softboy Mikoto) is saying “Hey, I have no control over my other side. If I did, would things still be the same? Would I still be ‘letting’ this happen?”
“Keep it” and “hide it away” I feel like are both representative of his shadow alter and of the desires that alter represents. Many words related to destruction are tied to this alter, so it could be seen as Mikoto trying to hide those urges as well.
“’I’ will save ‘me’”- this is a very interesting line that I think very well encapsulates the shadow alter’s initial motives; he’s saying “hey, I’m going to take care of us,” I believe to try and convince softboy Mikoto to let him out. As far as if softboy Mikoto can actually “let” him out is TOTALLY up for debate.
Part of the reason I refer to the other alter as softboy Mikoto is because there are softer words I notice used by him in the song; here’s I’m seeing “snuggle”, so I think this side of him is more vulnerable and soft.
SWITCH, shake up that brain- wow couldn’t be any more obvious here
This is where the chorus starts. This I think is from softboy Mikoto’s perspective, PARTICULARLY when he’s trapped in the headspace. There are many forms of plurality IRL in which alters cannot simultaneously front, so one or more are “pushed” back into the headspace. This very act occurs several times throughout the song in the weird minimalist vaporwave shadow realm room, where the tarot cards are. During this time, we can assume that is when the shadow alter is fronting. Softboy Mikoto slowly starts to become more helpless and fearful in this space as the song goes on, and this is where he makes his celtic cross tarot spread that quite frankly defines the whole song. I discussed that in my other post.
Another facet of plurality that is applied here is amnesia, which is common, especially when alters are pushed back to the headspace. Within the headspace, there may be a lack of awareness to the outside world, which Mikoto seems to express in his confused sentiments like the above (in the video, he is also scratching his head, which as a gesture can represent being confused). “Why am I here?” can act as a double entendre, both referring to “Why have I suddenly been pushed to this headspace?” as well as the whole point of Milgram- “Why am I in prison?”. He may not be aware of exactly what he did, hence why he feels it’s a mistake. He may be experiencing amnesia of what his shadow alter is doing, so he doesn’t even know what crime he committed. However, he at least has enough awareness to tell someone else is present in his body doing things, so he begs the viewer “Hey, just watch whatever my body is doing and it’ll all eventually make sense. I don’t have access to this information, but you do.” I thought this was an interesting fourth wall break.
The truth revealing itself could also be the truth coming to light from the particular tarot reading he does in the headspace; note that the cards only seem to be appear in this place and not in the outside world. So softboy Mikoto is trying to figure out what’s going on this way. If he can’t figure it out himself, maybe the cards can give him some direction.
Another duality- “I won’t forgive you if you reveal the truth” vs. “However I know I’m right when I say I’m innocent”. Or he could be right about something else.
I’m wondering if the breaking here is just reflecting the shadow alter or is softboy Mikoto actually wishing he could end the shadow alter. He at least wants things to change; the way things are right now is not something he’s okay with. Though, it sounds like he isn’t getting help with this and has no idea if he can even arrest full control again. It seems at this point, this has been going on for a while so he’s stopped trying.
In the video, the shadow alter is doing a GREAT job hiding the evidence; while of course probably just trying to not get caught, the shadow alter may also be trying to hide his crime from softboy Mikoto so he’s none the wiser.
He’s hoping he can be rid of the shadow alter side, but I think he also is dumping all his difficult feelings onto the shadow alter. Maybe he feels its some sort of release, even if he can’t control it, so he feels a lot of guilt over the shadow alter’s existence, even though that alter is serving a purpose as a conduit for those emotions.
I really really think though that there IS some connection between softboy Mikoto and shadow alter Mikoto. Maybe they are both truly aware of each other, hence the scene where they are viewing each other through the mirror. I think here, softboy Mikoto might be admitting that it feels good to let the shadow alter out, like a hug. The “minus energy” probably refers to the shadow alter.
“Maybe it’s okay that we’re separated like this?” he wonders. There seems to be a sense of feeling alive at least that is conveyed through the shadow alter.
SPLIT IN HALF- yeah, again, pretty encompassing.
In the video, I think this is when we have a switch, as Mikoto’s expression changes in the outside world mirror.
The chorus again, softboy Mikoto is shoved into the vaporwave shadow realm headspace. He’s asking the audience to investigate him here, but I also like to joke that he’s like “uwu look at me I could never harm anybody, pwease let me out”, which may be true only so far as softboy Mikoto is out.
I wonder if in “I will NEVER forgive you if this is happening to me” is directed at the shadow alter instead of the audience? Like softboy Mikoto is saying “I swear to god if you murdered someone im gonna be so pissed, but I also already kinda know it’s happening.” Just another take.
In the video, softboy Mikoto is THROWN into the headspace, where he is gifted with just one hint of what’s going on: The Devil tarot card.
You DARE accuse Miette of murder? Oh! 1000 years jail for Milgram viewer!
Now the vaporwave space starts to turn into a bloody mess; perhaps now softboy Mikoto is starting to put two and two together.
“Hurting it, holding it down, it doesn’t change anything, does it”- I definitely understand this being plural, like if your alters are causing problems, you may try and chastise them, or you may try and lock them away deep inside, but that often doesn’t stop them from existing. It’s really cool how that idea is present here. Like YES that’s how it is quite often. So even if softboy Mikoto TRIES to smother or accuse his shadow alter, that’s not going to change anything.
It being the same anywhere he goes makes me think he’s been putting up with this for a long time, that it’s not about what environment he’s in because his shadow alter is with him everywhere he goes.
“It’s like what’s wrong isn’t wrong”- may be referring to multiple things:
-the shadow alter having a different morality (hence why murder is okay for him, his indulgence in smokes and…redbull/alcohol, etc)
-OR, how softboy Mikoto’s amnesia isn’t letting him understand the full picture so everything is okay when he’s out fronting (shadow alter cleaned the place up and stuff, perhaps hiding all evidence of murder)
-“I’m already the fake one”- a very common sentiment for plural folks, worrying if you as an alter aren’t “the original” or if you’re not actually split and it’s something you’re making up, etc. I think softboy Mikoto is having these feelings. Poor boy, wish we could get you some therapy instead :/ (all of Milgram would be very different if only most of these people could get therapy, let’s be honest)
Now, what’s special here is that BOTH alters are in the headpace, with shadow alter Mikoto looming ominously behind softboy Mikoto.
During this next instrumental, just a side note: we see what’s going on through security footage. The security cameras reflecting a third person perspective is kind of neat in context of pluralism, where someone else fronting can feel like a third person awareness to another alter. I may be thinking too much into this one, but it’s a fun connection.
Another thing many plural folk go through: DISSOCIATION FROM REALITY. Ah yes, my good friend dissociation. Especially like in Mikoto’s case, where the consequences of being split have drastic consequences, he could be running away from the truth which may always be partially concealed to him. Something’s VERY wrong, he knows this for sure, and it may be at this point he really realizes “Oh shit. I just committed murder.” But instead of taking responsibility in any way, he’s trying to imagine that it’s a fabricated reality. I’m not going to say if this makes him bad or not, but it is a known coping mechanism.
I know I mention that the bad habits of smoking and drinking may be the shadow alters habits, but they could also be softboy Mikoto’s own methods of escapism, which definitely fits with the above lyrics. “I need to wake up soon”- but he still realizes that he’s going to have to face the harsh truth of reality soon.
Now this point indicates a marked change in softboy Mikoto and shadow alter Mikoto’s relationship: I believe there may be a time when softboy Mikoto expects to come back out to the front, but now the shadow alter is starting to take over fully and keep softboy Mikoto locked inside. This is supported by the Outcome card in his celtic cross spread being The Devil. Not only does this card have its own meanings, but here it may mean that the more violent side of him takes over.
Again, don’t know if he’s talking to the audience or his shadow alter in never forgiving this outcome. I believe softboy Mikoto does have a clearer morality in that murder is NOT okay, and if he were to fully acknowledge that he as a whole was capable of that, I think he’d break down. So he’s like “it better NOT be true” because he doesn’t know how he’d be able to deal with that.
Interesting in the video is when Mikoto snaps and the headspace turns red again; I would think this is when the shadow alter is entering the scene and taking over. The snap here is symbolic of the switch.
Now presumably softboy Mikoto is like “PWEASE WET ME OUT MISTEW OBAMA”, which, again with the double meaning, can refer to letting him out of the vaporwave shadow realm headspace OR letting him out of prison. Both apply.
“That it’s a lie
That I’m right”- a nice duality here. Mikoto is having difficulty separating the truth from reality.
Also NOW he is forgiving. Forgiveness vs not forgiveness (grudge)
I think it’s gotten so bad that he’s like “okay fine. Fine if I committed murder, fine if you’re accusing me of murder, but please help me understand what’s going on. Let me out”. Maybe he’ll forgive the shadow alter if only he fesses up to the murder.
Of note for the scene however is that shadow alter Mikoto is holding up The Fool card, which represents softboy Mikoto in this case. “I’m right” may be the shadow alter’s sentiment.
-THE CARDS AT THE END-
Then, all the cards show up in more detail, all depicting weapons instead of the standard minor arcana that you might see in your standard Rider Waite tarot deck (which these are based off of). The Wands are baseball bats, the Swords are kitchen knives, the Cups are…poison cans? Acid? The Pentacles are….records but I can see these being rotary saws if you squint. The Wheel of Fortune has car wheels with a snake….GTA time baby (the snake being hidden danger, the devil’s temptation, etc). The chariot is a really weird motorcycle death machine. I was thinking how like, people would drag people along behind them while driving a vehicle as a method of torture so there is that.
Now we see some cards not in the original spread- I think this represents shadow alter Mikoto inserting himself into the headspace and changing things to fit his goals. We see a couple placed in the original spread, but some don’t and are just free-floating, but you’ll see below we have enough context to decipher their meaning.
First, it’s the Page of Pentacles, which has taken over the position of the 7 of swords as the current challenge affecting the issue. This card indicates “Manifestation, financial opportunity, skill development”. I think this means the shadow alter is finally learning to take full control.
Then we see the reverse 2 of swords, which represents “Indecision, confusion, information overload, stalemate”. This could probably represent softboy Mikoto not suddenly understanding why the shadow alter is ALSO in the headspace. Maybe his dual presence in the outside world AND the headspace is indicative of exactly when he learned to take full control. This was NOT in Mikoto’s original spread.
Wheel of Fortune again, which was in the original spread. “Bad luck, negative external forces, out of control”. Yup, that confirms it.
Next, the Five of Swords from the original spread comes up. “Conflict, tension, loss.png, defeat, win at all costs, betrayal”. Softboy Mikoto is now being completely taken over. There is a facedown card on the chair. This might be the one that reads as Death later, so it may be that softboy Mikoto is…KILLED OFF?
Cup of Ace, “Love, compassion, creativity, overwhelming emotion”. I think this one is also meant to represent softboy Mikoto, but it could be that the shadow alter sees it as an act of mercy to take full control for softboy Mikoto. Maybe he feels his alter can’t handle reality and he’s going to take over full time. Or more likely he just has ulterior motives.
Reverse King of Cups. “emotional manipulation, moodiness, volatility”. Softboy Mikoto was lead along, thinking it was okay to leave things to the shadow alter or to exist alongside him. Now we see that isn’t a viable solution.
Reverse Five of Wands. “conflict avoidance, diversity, agreeing to disagree”. I went over this more in the other post.
Chariot is the last one, WHICH ALSO WAS NOT IN THE ORIGINAL SPREAD. “Control, willpower, success, action, determination”. The shadow alter Mikoto has taken full control. Which is very quickly followed by…
Shadow alter Mikoto drawing Death. Also not in the original spread. Perhaps effectively “killing off” softboy Mikoto and betraying him.
Concluding Thoughts.
Now, I understand I do take most of these lyrics from softboy Mikoto’s perspective, but I’m sure there’s a layer of deception added on by his shadow alter. The Challenge card of the 7 of swords did represent betrayal. So softboy Mikoto’s only context into what’s going on outside may be his headspace tarot reading. If you want to question some of the lyrics, or even think one of the alters is lying, that would add SO much to the complexity of the situation, and I wouldn’t put it past the Milgram team to add something like that.
Common Themes/Symbols:
The mirror, both in the headspace and in the outside world bathroom
The Hanged Man- in a painting in the headspace and on Mikoto’s shirt. Indicative of being wrongly accused or martyred. Softboy Mikoto is likely represented with this, as well as The Fool. The Fool painting probably is there to show that he doesn’t know any better, that he is without the knowledge of what his shadow alter is doing (or doesn’t believe he’s doing anything wrong)
The Half Moon- a light side and a dark side. Pretty self-explanatory. Symbolically, it can also represent life and death. NICE.
Sorry if the conclusions end up being kind of vague. That’s the way a lot of this video is; what’s really going on, as it usually is, is up to viewer interpretation at this stage. I was just hoping to provide a bit of context into the images in the video, plural life, and narrator interpretation. I just really love this video and after this full analysis hope others can at least appreciate the work that went into it.
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