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#or he has a hero complex and likes the praise and saving people?

yui-kuromori · 1 year

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One of the things I had to come to terms with, as a manga reader is that in order for me to fully enjoy the live action adaption of Alice in Borderland is for me to sepparate Manga Chishiya and Show Chishiya as two different characters.

Some things change during adaptions, that's inevitable, but AiB did such a remarkable job at keeping (and sometimes elevating) the core concepts of the source material, I fear I may have grown a bit spoiled.

Take Kuzuryuu for example. In the manga, Kuzuryuu was the dealer for the 4 of clubs (which Arisu and Usagi don't participate). He plays the part of the inured player who needs to stay in the bus, there he meets a kind woman who refuses to leave him behind and stays on the bus with him. In the show, he meets the 4 of clubs survivor, the guy Arisu saved, who in an effort to pass on Arisu's kindness, saves Kuzuryuu himself.

Even if these are altered scenarios, the core of it stays the same. Through the 4 of clubs, Kuzuryuu finds that kindness and altruism are possible even in the borderlands (something he believed to be impossible).

Chishiya on the other hand, has his core aspects changed.

One thing I have touched a lot on ever since season 1 came out was the decision they made to switch Arisu and Chishiya's specialties. Arisu is a hearts specialist who in the show becomes a diamonds player. Chishiya is a diamonds specialist who is changed into a hearts player.

This fundamentally changes both of their main arcs as well as the way they paralel each other. Chishiya suffering the most for it. In the manga, Chishiya is fully incapable of understanding hearts games. He doesn’t deal well with them to the point where he never actually solved the witch hunt. He was never part of the Jack of hearts in the first place.

Manga Chishiya was neglected from e very young age, to the point where he doesnt remember what it's like to properly emote or empathize with people. His own complicated relationship with his father causes him to view every relationship he has as transactions. He's cold, to the point of denying a dying man his last wish only because it was inconvenient for Chishiya to help him.

Show Chishiya used to be an empathetic person. He went into pediatrics. He cared for his patients. The medical industry had beaten it all out of him to the point he had been numbed to his own feelings. He's alone and scared to be alone.

Now, I don't particularly dislike this adaption of Chishiya. After the initial shock, I came to the conclusion that the show's writing team had been really smart about the way they went with his character.

Especially considering that Chishiya is a fan favorite, it makes sense that the show writers would want for him to remain desirable and lovable to the audience. Manga Chishiya as complex and fun as he is, is a really dislikable character. Choosing to give Chishiya that hearts speciality, that softer side, managed to keep him likable even as he acted like a anti-hero.

It's also my belief that this was a season 2 choice, as in season 1 he acts pretty similar to his manga self. Which is why you can see the disconnect in his characterizartion between both seasons.

So yeah, once I let go of the manga a little bit, I was able to fully appreciate the work they did for the character in the show. AiB is a wonderful adaption and it deserves a lot of love and praise.

#alice in borderland #ima wa no kuni no alice #aib #aib spoilers #chishiya shuntaro

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let-us-cultivate-our-garden · 10 months

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What parts / bits of Papa Titan's speech do you agree with when he was talking to Luz about Belos? Was he right when was said that Belos liked being the hero of his own delusions and was afraid of things he couldn't control?

So there are two major lines that I think the Titan is dead wrong about Belos: the first is “You assume Belos’ goal comes from a genuine place" and "that man doesn't care about anything but his own need to be the hero."

The first line feels less about explaining Belos' motivation and more like the Titan is trying to absolve Luz's (narratively stupid and overly drawn out ) guilt about "helping" Belos. Because Belos' goals do come from a genuine place; he really thinks he is out there protecting humanity and that he will be thanked for it. He tells Luz that he does not want to see "one more human life destroyed by this place." The man carves up his own arms and ears to achieve his goals! Belos may be genuinely wrong about the target of his mission but he was raised and encouraged to be a witch hunter (by his brother!) and it's the only thing he has left justifying his horrific existence so he has to go through with it.

The second line is missing a lot of context as to why he feels the need to be the hero. A lot of people think that Belos just wants praise and glory and to be the Witch Hunter General but his actions and the story focuses more on the trauma connected to his brother than any desire for fame and glory. He set out to the Demon Realm to save his brother but when that failed, his goal warped from "save brother" to "save humanity because I could not save my only family." His desire to help Luz and bring them home in King's Tide is proof of this.

The Titan's lines are extremely reductive and either ignores a lot of context behind Belos' actions or are flat out wrong. The only thing I do agree with is that Belos is afraid of things he cannot control. Growing up in a Puritan community, he would have been taught to fear the Unknown, the Other. Anyone who didn't fit into the rigid standards of Puritan society was deemed suspicious. The show supports this reading when Masha says that the Wittebane brothers became witch hunters "to fit in." They talk about how the brothers tried to adapt to their new home but failed, so the two adopted the path of violence to gain acceptance and security in the community. With that background and mindset, Philip would be wary of anything different because he was different, and anything outside the norms could threaten his status as well.

We see this a lot in real world communities where anyone who is different is stamped down into conformity because such differences upset the status quo and threaten the identity of the community. It's a toxic environment that breeds suspicion that then can be turned onto anyone, even those already on the "inside."

When Philip arrives in the Boiling Isles, everything is turned up to 11. The inhabitants look just like the creatures he's been taught are pure evil, he can't eat the food, and the very environment itself is dangerous to humans. If Luz had a hard time adjusting to the BI even though she loves witchcraft and all things weird, then for Philip it would have been literal hell. And then he finds his brother alive and thriving in this hellscape and when he dies, Philip has no one to guide and support him. Small wonder he never changes.

I think what's most disappointing about the Titan's speech is just how dismissive it is; we could have had a great story about how trying to adhere to toxic conformity is ultimately destructive, about how small-minded communities traumatize children and continue the cycle of violence, and the importance of positive social connections, especially for the community's most vulnerable members.

But instead, the show decided to spit on all that and reduced Philip's complex story to make the protagonist feel better. It's frankly disingenuous and hypocritical that the writers gave the audience all of these tantalizing details that have massive implications for the character and motivations of the central antagonist, only for all of that to be ignored in the end.

#asks #toh critical #toh criticism #the owl house #emperor belos #philip wittebane #toh titan

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withthewindinherfootsteps · 2 years

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I think the thing that bothers me about ‘extremely self-sacrificial Wei Wuxian’ takes is that they all make his reason for helping others focus somehow on himself, when it’s the opposite that’s true. His kindness is taken as low self-esteem, his righteousness as low self-worth, and his confidence (when it is acknowledged) as a hero complex. It’s always “I deserve this” or “these people are worth more than me” or “I should be the one taking everything onto me, even if other people offer help, even if accepting the help would make things easier for everyone”. It’s always because of some sort of issue with him that he ends up helping people. And maybe that’s true for some characters, and maybe that’s the case in other fandoms, but that is not the case with Wei Wuxian.

Something so many parts of the fandom seem to forget is that Wei Wuxian is someone who enjoys his life — and he enjoys it so, so much. He loves playing around and night-hunting with the Juniors and spending time with Lan Wangji just having fun. He does not want to see it end early (again). But he’s not someone who stands back when injustices happen either, and he’s not someone who will stay put and watch others suffer. And when that happens, yes, he’ll step in. But that isn’t about self-worth or self-esteem or anything, it’s because We Wuxian is a kind, empathetic person with a moral core.

The main thing isn’t the cost of the action. The main thing is the action itself.

He put it best himself:

“Let the self judge the rights and wrongs, let others decide to praise or to blame, let gains and losses remain uncommented on.”

- Exiled Rebels translation, Chapter 75

And it’s sad that that seems to have been forgotten by so many people, because that philosophy is at the core of Wei Wuxian’s character. It’s the thing that lets him move on so easily from the (many) traumatic events of his first life, it’s what makes him able to let go of resentment rather than let it fester or drive him on (contrary to people like Jiang Cheng and Jin Guangyao), it’s the idea shared to him by his parents in one of the only memories he has of them, and the idea he lives by.

That’s why he steps in to save people, even at cost to himself. Because he judges it to be the right thing, and he does the right thing, even if it’s hard. And he never regrets it.

And I think that’s a much more inspiring story to tell than that of someone who’s constantly throwing themselves in front of the axe to save others because they feel they deserve it.

(Part two and three of this discussion)

#mdzs #mo dao zu shi #mdzs meta #wei wuxian #i think we all forget how well adjusted of a person wwx is #he has a tragic backstory yes but he is NOT an angsty character #and that’s what separates him from so many other characters in fiction i’ve consumed #and THAT’s the reason he’s my favourite character in mdzs #my meta #debunking fanon wei wuxian the series

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overthinkingfandom · 2 years

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Protagonist Paradigm Exemplar - A character analysis of Tommy

(Part 1)

/rp /dsmp

The topic of Tommy’s hero complex is a discussion that pops up every now and then in fandom.

The discussion is often framed around a couple of specific moments: The time Techno asked Tommy whether he wanted to be a hero on Nov 16, and the time Dream accused him of wanting to be one during the Disc Finale.

Many people rightfully point out that being a hero is the last thing Tommy wants. He isn’t someone who’s praticulary driven by justice to protect the weak and helpless. Nor is he looking to be the person to swoop in and save the day, praised and admired for his heroics. In fact, he would probably be more than happy to never be involved with a war or a high stakes conflict for the rest of his life.

However, by focusing so much on those two specific moments the discussion gets railroaded in a particular direction. One that focuses on the idea of “hero” in the context of Theseus and Greek heroes.

Yet that’s not the only possible meaning the word “hero” can have. A lot of people use it as a synonym for the main character of a story. The protagonist. To be clear, despite being used interchangeably by many, protagonist doesn’t mean “hero”. It doesn’t even mean “good guy”. It merely means “main character”.

Having said that, we know Tommy doesn’t think of himself as a hero like the Greeks, but does he think of himself as a hero like a protagonist?

Tommy: “What if- what if the protagonist over there had a family bond that you simply couldn’t comprehend due to your loneliness on this server and lack of family, so he had to stick with him even though there might have been a slight amount of reluctance in there. Also, he’s had some pretty hard times over these past few months, such as exile uh depression uh lots of terrible things so maybe you should go light on this protagonist.”(x)

Yes. Yes he does.

This protagonist complex is something which accompanies the character from his very first days on the server and affected much of his development throughout the plot, but the true origin of Tommy’s protagonist complex started before even that.

It started with the very conception of the character.

Roleplay has always been a part of DSMP’s identity in one way or another. However, back when it first started it was more along the lines of a sketch comedy or a sitcom rather than the epic character-based tale we have today. The ccs would log on and play their personas, bouncing off each other and causing all kinds of shenanigans before eventually resolving it. There was no script to follow, instead the plot was formed through a combination of roleplay and improv etiquette.

It’s no surprise then that many of those personas took on qualities of the archetypes common in sitcoms. Those archetypes are more than just a collection of personality traits, they often also indicate the role a character has in the joke so it’s easy to fall into them naturally when looking to create humor through character interactions. The influence of those archetypes can be seen most clearly in Tommy’s character, but they also helped shape many of the other characters who grew from their streamer’s persona (like Tubbo, Fundy or Ponk, to name a few).

For cc!Tommy, his persona was a mix between what the industry calls Loveable Loser and what Tv Tropes calls unsympathetic comedy protagonist.

Loveable Losers are common sitcom protagonists. They’re those characters who are driven by their want for something, and in their quest for getting that want they’ll manage to go about it in all the wrong ways. Most of the humor with them comes from their impulsive ideas that are bound to get them in trouble as well as their ability to dig themselves deeper once consequences come knocking. The archetype is very much defined by the character losing, and making that loss as hilarious as possible for the audience.

Which is why it’s a natural fit for the unsympathetic comedy protagonist trope. Despite the name, the trope isn’t about characters who are so hateable no one could sympathize with them. They’re about characters who make it easy to laugh at their misfortune when they bring it upon themselves with their harebrained ideas or by being a jerk.

Of course watching such a character would get tiring fast, so the “loveable” part comes in to balance it out. Whether through their charisma, hidden heart of gold or just an otherwise adorable or cool manner, the character endears themselves to the audience with their charm and makes it fun to watch them, not just to watch them fail.

cc!Tommy relied a lot on what makes those archetypes function in his streams. There was this routine he would do in the early days of the server. He would log on, hatch up a zany scheme (often one which involved getting power, scamming someone or scamming someone in order to get power) and set about implementing it until something went wrong or he provoked people enough that they decided to retaliate.

What followed next was sure to be hilarious. With everyone else also being some shade of asshole, it made it easy to laugh no matter whether our loveable loser ended up bemoaning losing all of his stuff in the conflict again or if he somehow managed to overcome all the obstacles in his way and emerge victorious.

Part of what made this routine so compelling is that it gave cc!Tommy a great way to generate conflict and keep things exciting. Conflict, as we all know, is the bread and butter of stories and indeed that’s what his streams ended up feeling like. Like a story where things were happening, rather than just people hanging out on a live stream.

When cc!Wilbur joined the server the roleplaying really went up a notch. The scope of the bits increased. No longer did they fully revolve around minecraft mechanics - with the main sources of conflict being stolen items or murdered pets - but now they were also about drug monopolies and rebelling countries.

The comedy show aspect was still there but it existed alongside other kinds of stories being told. Sometimes more literally than others. It’s well known that during the Independence War cc!Wilbur and cc!Tommy were constantly referencing the musical Hamilton, with cc!Wilbur taking on the role of the mentor character, George Washington, while cc!Tommy adopted the role of Hamilton, the main character himself.

However, unlike the sitcom archetype cc!Tommy played up to that point, the character of Hamilton embodied a more heroic archetype. The impulsive sort, who doesn’t think before he acts but has his heart in the right place. Who despite all his faults still wants to do the Right Thing. You know the one.

That archetype wasn’t hard to incorporate into Tommy's existing characterization. He was already impulsive and not prone to much thinking. He had enough Pet The Dog moments to show that he did indeed have a golden heart underneath all of his many flaws. The only problem was the part about doing the Right Thing.

You see, sitcom characters don’t often concern themselves with the morality of an action, at least not anything beyond what could get them into trouble. Philosophizing too much about Right and Wrong tends to kill the humor, especially when the characters are all assholes to one degree or another. As such, the archetype doesn’t have many internal values associated with it in that regard.

The heroic archetype… also doesn’t have many values associated with it, surprisingly enough. It wants to do the Right Thing but once we start looking at specific details they get a bit scarce. Heroic characters rarely fight because of a specific ideology. More often than not they do so because they have some kind of personal stake in the issue. Those who do fight for a specific ideology tend to be portrayed somewhere in the range between a well intentioned extremist and a villain.

Still, there are some commonalities which tend to emerge. Power is Bad, unless the Right People have it. The status quo is Good, or at most it was Good until the villains made it Bad. Fighting for the personal is more heroic than fighting for the utilitarian big picture. Etc, etc…

Yet, where in most heroic characters those values are baked into the personality (to various levels of success), with Tommy’s character they’re tacked on top the sitcom archetype. Something which creates a lot of dissonance between what the character says he values versus what his actions show he values.

The combination of those two archetypes creates another interesting aspect to it. Both of them are commonly seen with main characters. It makes it easy to look at Tommy’s character and see him as a protagonist, if only because of how familiar that kind of character is. It doesn’t help that cc!Tommy plays into that familiarity because, well…

cc!Tommy: “Until the exile arc my character was basically just me cause I just assumed I was the main character.”(x)

However, DSMP is not a book or a movie. It’s a roleplay, it has no main characters. Or alternatively, everyone is a main character. Everyone is complex and three-dimensional, with their own agendas and internal worlds that don’t revolve around any other character. Furthermore, it’s a story told live on a minecraft server. The cc’s ability to make the world of the story bend over backwards for the sake of the plot is pretty limited. While stuff can be arranged, it’s not common.

So what we end up with is a character who acts like he’s the main character, expects the story to revolve around him like the main character, but isn’t actually the main character.

What we end up with is a character who has all the makings to be someone with a protagonist complex.

Of course, just because a character has the potential to develop a protagonist complex doesn’t mean they will. While those OOC reasons planted seeds, it’s really the plot and the character’s history which really made Tommy’s protagonist complex blossom.

We see those seeds in the way c!Tommy acted during the pre-L’manburg era. From the very beginning he viewed himself as set apart or more important than other people, whether it be by thinking he’s above rules he himself set(x) or by barging into meetings and talking over people to insist his issues were more important than whatever problem they were dealing with(3:43). At his worst, he went so far as to completely disregard any problems people had with him(x).

We see it also in the way he approaches morality, thinking he’s always a good person(x) or in the right(x) regardless of circumstances, as well as judging if someone is his friend by whether they’re on his side or not(x). Protagonist centered morality is what happens when a story treats everything the main character does as Right simply because they’re the main character. Usually it’s a meta trope, used to discuss the narrative, but here we see that Tommy believes in-universe this is how the world works.

Yet that belief is not confined to a single trope. Just in general Tommy seems to believe that life runs on narrative conventions.

Tubbo: “Wait what made us in the right to begin with? Maybe we’re the bad guys.”

Tommy: “No because we’re the funny guys and they’re always in the right.”(x)

Is it any surprise then that when Wilbur came on the server, spinning tales of evil tyrants and heroic revolutionaries, Tommy believed him wholeheartedly?

Not only did the stereotypical story make sense within his existing worldview, it came from Wilbur. Wilbur, who was Tommy’s guiding light. The one he trusted to point him in the right direction and hold him back if he goes too far. His mentor in all but name.

So when the time came to create and fight for L’manburg, Tommy threw himself into playing a persona that would fit the role of heroic underdog revolutionary that Wilbur’s tale laid out for him. As a result, L’manburg lies in the core of the persona he builds, in more than one way.

There are the obvious moments, like the ones we see during the Independence War where Tommy acts for the sake of L’manburg. Nothing says “heroic main character trying to salvage a hopeless situation” quite like butting into the leaders’ surrender negotiations(x) or making the fate of the entire country lay on his shoulders in a one on one duel with the enemy leader(x). Even the character arc Tommy acted out during all of it, of learning to believe in something bigger than himself and act on that belief - to be selfless for a change - fits the heroic persona he was playing.

(And it is playing rather than a genuine arc. Tommy shows a few notable moments of change, such as when he refrains from griefing Dream’s house or gives up the discs for L’manburg’s independence, but there’s no consistent followup on them later down the line. He continues to grief others and even ends up endangering L’manburg in his quest to get the discs without so much as reflecting on those acts. No actual internal change came from this arc, not even one that Tommy ended up backsliding on.

As cc!Wilbur said: “[Tommy] flips his values radically based on tiny non-emotional changes in his environment.”(x) For this reason, I’m describing him as acting a heroic persona which fits his situation rather than say he’s a heroic character with flaws.)

There are subtler ways in which L’manburg influenced Tommy’s protagonist complex as well. One of the first real values Tommy picks up, the values that actually stick with him and consistently influence his actions, is that L’manburg is Good. A value which was only reinforced by him trading the discs to secure its freedom. After all, his discs were Good, right? And if he gave them for L’manburg’s sake that must mean that L’manburg was also Good. Good enough to be worth his precious discs.

But more than that, L’manburg only existed because of his discs. Because of him. Or at least that’s how Tommy saw it. More than once he brought up how he gave up his discs for L’manburg(x) in order to argue that it’s worth preserving and keeping. In fact, it can be argued he felt entitled to L’manburg for his role in its creation.

On the flipside, feeling like L’manburg is his meant that any attacks against the country felt personal, like they were attacking all that Tommy did in order to preserve the country. And considering how L’manburg has been in the center of most conflicts on the server up until it got blown up for good, that made Tommy feel like all those conflicts were personal to him. Even when the other side's desire to destroy L’manburg was completely unrelated to Tommy.

This only reinforced the mindset that he was the one at the center of the story, the one the narrative of the world orbited around. A mindset that eventually led him to proclaim, “This server wasn’t about- this! It wasn’t- It was about me and Tubbo fighting Dream!”(x) when he saw the world moved on and changed during the month he was stuck in prison and/or dead.

(For the sake of not being misunderstood: Yes, Tommy said that because he was freshly traumatized from the events of the prison and his death. No, this does not contradict what I just said. That trauma didn’t create the sentiment behind this quote, it just brought Tommy to a mental state where it became a problem.)

We see Tommy’s possessiveness over L’manburg most obviously after Schlatt wins the elections. When Wilbur does his bad guys speech and asks if he’s the villain for trying to overthrow Schlatt, Tommy answers that he isn’t because “we started L’Manburg and… we should have won that vote.”(x) Even after Wilbur challenges him, correctly pointing out that Schlatt’s appointment is completely legal, Tommy continues acting like Schlatt usurped the throne of L’manburg away from its rightful heirs.

Yet for all of the ways in which Schlatt threatens Tommy during the Pogtopia arc, the one who truly leaves his mark is WIlbur.

Much of Tommy’s protagonist complex can be traced back to Wilbur’s influence in one way or another, an influence that is inextricably linked to the way Tommy sees him as his mentor. Despite being more self aware about it, Wilbur also acts like life runs on narrative conventions. This reinforced Tommy’s own belief, both because Tommy adopted a lot of Wilbur’s mannerisms but also because Wilbur treated him like a protagonist.

Wilbur: “And here’s Tommy. Here’s the man of the hour himself, Tommyinnit. The protagonist is finally here.”(x)

He even went out of his way to put Tommy in the spotlight sometimes. Such as when it was time to kill Schlatt and Wilbur decided to give Tommy the “honor”, despite there being people (like Niki, Tubbo or Quackity) who have an equal or greater claim to that honor due to being personally victimized by Schlatt(x).

But Wilbur’s biggest influence came from his downward spiral. “Let’s be the bad guys,” He told Tommy, “let’s blow that whole thing up!”. In that moment Tommy’s mentor died, stepping out of the story and leaving in his place a threat he had to contend with.

Like any mentor dying, this too forced the “hero” to stand on his own two feet rather than rely on someone else. It’s at this point in time that Tommy really internalizes the role. If Wilbur kept talking about being the Bad Guy, Tommy - who wants to stop him - is by implication the Good Guy.

We see it in the words he chose to use when arguing against WIlbur. “[Blowing L’manburg up] isn’t the moral thing to do,”(x) He told Wilbur when they first discussed it. A sentiment he didn’t express a few days before when he wanted to torch Manburg to the ground to avenge Wilbur’s honor after Fundy disowned him as a father.

Tommy: “Wilbur, take one look at Manburg. Cause it ain’t no more!”(x)

Because really, it’s not that Tommy suddenly gained a conscience about property damage. He didn’t. Even months later he would suggest blowing up the community house and had to be talked down(x). Rather, it’s Tommy retreating further into the “heroic” role in order to distance himself from Wilbur’s “villainous” role.

(Ironically enough, it’s at this point where he embraces the “heroic” role the most that he starts to reject the narrative Wilbur creates for him. The one that places him as the most important person. The one that would place Tommy as the president.)

Wilbur’s tales worked too well, and by the time Pogtopia came Tommy bought into the myth of L’manburg just as much as he bought into the myth of his discs, in a way that was independent of its origin. Seeing Wilbur - the man who came up with the idea and taught it to Tommy and bolstered his faith when it faltered. Seeing that man trying to shatter the myth and go against it shook Tommy to the core. It would’ve been like seeing Tubbo trying to burn his discs.

The more Wilbur spoke about destroying L’manburg the more Tommy dug his heels into the opposite position. If Wilbur wanted to blow it up, Tommy made sure to not allow a block to be out of place, even if he needed to grief Manburg as a distraction(x). If Wilbur went around calling himself the villain, Tommy would pull out the most stereotypical heroic arguments regardless of how relevant they were to the situation(x).

All of this, in addition to Wilbur’s death, left a deep imprint on Tommy. So much so that even months later he talks about the way Wilbur’s “let’s be the bad guys” line rings through his head when he tries to sleep(x). The ghost of that experience haunts him and even without Wilbur around Tommy tries to distance himself from being the “bad guy”.

However, it’s important to note that there’s a very specific kind of “bad guy” he tries to avoid. The image of the “bad guy” Wilbur evoked in his speech and downward spiral. Image being the key word here.

For all he talks about not wanting to be the bad guy, he sure doesn’t mind taking the same actions said bad guys take. That double standard is there in many of his actions, but we can see it even with his objection to Wilbur’s plan to blow up L’manburg. I’ve already talked about how he’s not really opposed to property damage, but one may argue that the thing Tommy took issue with was abandoning L’manburg rather than the way it was done.

Tommy: “So you have all the discs?”

Tubbo: “I believe so, yes.”

Tommy: “So- Sit with me, Tubbo. Right now we could- I mean we could run away from here and we’d never have to- We have everything we ever wanted.”

Tubbo: “We have everything we care about.”

Tommy: *resolute* “No. We can’t. We’re here for L’manburg. We’re not giving up now. We’re gonna restore it.”(x)

Except later in the day, after Wilbur made his speech and Tommy argued with all those pretty words, Tommy considered the very thing he condemned Wilbur for.

While he ends up deciding not to, the way he frames those two situations is very different. With Wilbur he framed it as a moral issue. But when he himself considered the idea, Tommy framed it more along the lines of whether it’s worth it to fight. Not because L’manburg may not be worth saving, but because the fight is hard and they may lose.

What we see here is Tommy’s protagonist centered morality from the early days after it has been entangled with the myth of L’manburg and the heroic role Tommy has been playing all this time. By the time the events of Pogtopia finished, that mindset grew much worse.

This was not helped at all by what came next.

Exile.

Exile did many things, but most importantly in the context of Tommy’s protagonist complex, it cemented Dream’s role as an irredeemable evil villain. Where before he saw Dream as his arch nemesis but still could accept the good sides in him (to the point where he seemed genuinely surprised that Dream wasn’t on their side during for the Pogtopia-Manburg war(x)), now the resulting trauma clouded over any attempt to see Dream outside that role.

Something which Dream abused mercilessly.

In order to pull off the Disc Finale the way he wanted to, Dream had to make sure his actions won’t be looked at too closely. Many of his actions and mistakes would make anyone familiar with his methods raise an eyebrow simply by how stupid they are for achieving his stated goal there. That level of scrutiny wasn't good for someone who relies on information warfare as much as Dream does.

So for the sake of masking his goals and win conditions, Dream played into Tommy’s existing expectations. All of which were colored through his belief that the world runs on narrative conventions with Tommy as the protagonist.

Confirmation bias is a powerful tool and we see Dream continuing to adjust his persona to give Tommy exactly what he expected. “Why?” Tommy asked, and Dream answered: “The server will be at peace now.” “Couldn’t you just do it to me?” Tommy continued, and Dream changed tracks: “This is much more fun.”(x)

The way Dream went about Doomsday was in large part because he needed to establish his supervillain persona before the Disc Finale so it won’t seem like it came out of nowhere. As soon as he got his hands on Tubbo’s disc, Dream switched from his normal, more reasonable demeanor to that of a blatant villain. The more stereotypical the better.

Techno: “Dream, Dream, what’s our plan for tomorrow? Why did you give them a full day? We could’ve been back there in like thirty minutes, Dream.”

Dream: “Well, it’s like an evil villain thing, right? Like you give them time and then-”

Techno: “Ah, an evil villain thing. Cringe. Been watching too much anime.”(x)

From Tommy’s POV, this didn’t seem like an abrupt change but rather Dream taking off the mask and showing his true colors, confirming what he always thought about him.

In fact, everything from exile up until the Disc Finale served to confirm and reinforce Tommy’s perception that the world runs on narrative conventions. Not necessarily because all of it was meant to cause that impression, but because thinking this way made it easier for Tommy to cope with all he has been through.

Tommy: “I fucking miss when times were simpler. When all I had to worry about was defeating one big green guy.”(x)

Seeing the world through narrative conventions allowed Tommy to make sense of things. There are certain ways in which stories go. Consistent arcs and patterns that show up over and over again. If Tommy is the protagonist and Dream his antagonist, that makes the way forward clear. He can rely on tropes and countless other stories told before to figure out what’s going on and put it in context.

But it’s also something that brings comfort. Stories are neat in a way that life isn’t. The good guys win, people learn to be better and once the bad guy is taken down everything is resolved. Tommy held on to the hope that once Dream was defeated, it would all turn out alright, even when Dream’s defeat didn’t logically solve the problems he was facing(x).

Dream’s supervillain persona being so stereotypical and generic made it easier for Tommy to believe in it. It played into two of his beliefs at the same time. Both that life runs on narrative conventions and that Dream is a mustache twirling villain. He had no problem believing Dream would monologue his actual plans or have an evil lair where he puts his schemes on display, because that’s just how villains act, right?

And if Dream is the evil villain and Tommy opposes him, that makes Tommy the hero right? The only one, by choice or by fate, who’s capable of stopping the villain’s evil.

Tommy: “[Dream] was just here to make sure- ‘cause I’m the only one that will thwart him. I’m the only one that Dream’s scared of.”(x)

As a result, Tommy ends up defining himself in large part through his opposition to Dream, which has the same effect as his desperate attempt to distance himself from Wilbur and the “villainous” label he chose during Pogtopia. Only by comparing himself to Dream he also exacerbates his tendency to think he’s always in the right. After all, when the bar for “evil” is set as low as Dream placed it, any lesser fault comes across as inconsequential.

We can see the results of how much he defined himself in his opposition to Dream in him saying that he feels like he has no purpose without Dream(x). We can also see it in his mindset in exile. In fact, this mindset is what allowed him to escape exile in the first place, which is another reason why it’s so hard for him to let go of that mindset.

However, it also opened him up to being more easily manipulated by Dream. Someone who always says no is just as easy to manipulate as someone who always says yes, the key is just presenting your goals as the opposite of what they actually are and then watch the victim rush to be a contrarian. Lying to Tommy also became significantly easier by abusing that persona and narrative conventions to get him to believe it.

Something the Disc Finale shows perfectly. Dream set up the confrontation and played the villain to a T, allowing Tommy to get a storybook ending while giving Dream exactly what he wanted.

This storybook ending marks Tommy’s “completion” of his hero’s journey, and unfortunately it also marks Tommy’s protagonist complex being fully cemented.

#dsmp analysis #c!tommy #tommyinnit #innitblr #dsmp #redtaxproject #character analysis

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ghostdoctor · 7 months

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midoriya analysis because im fucking insane and hes insane

Midoriya analysis because I'm fucking insane and he's insane

Ps i won't be covering the movies bc I like to leave them as their own entities

pps this contains spoilers

god okay so we all know that Midoriya has SOME kinda issue because... yk.... he was literally bullied and abused by his peers physically, emotionally, and mentally for all of his formative years and that's gonna FUCK SOMEONE UPPPP

but but but Midoriya so so obvi has a thing for escapism!!!! yeah, his quirk thing started before he was diagnosed as quirkless and then abused, but did you see how intense it got after he was abused??? how that was literally all he spent his time doing and how it was the only thing he was known for?? AND THEN. HE MEETS HIS IDOL WHO CRUSHES HIS LAST HOPE. and then said idol proceeds to try and build up an already destroyed boy (it doesn't work) because THEN we see even more escapism in UA because they make it so clear Midoriya spends so much time training and pushing himself to be a better hero because it's the only way he knows how to be useful and escape away from his reality of believing that's he's really not worth all that he's been given. Btw pls dont say that “midoriya is just ideally heroic he doesn't have a hero complex” this is an analysis for my opinion ty

Midoriya can be viewed as a narcissist for many reasons as well but that is because he's a product of his environment. Honestly there's ways to show midoriya has a hero complex, is a narcissist, has self esteem issues, has a superiority complex, and more. Im slapping midoriya and going “This bad boy can fit sooo many issues it him”

Another btw before you continue reading: I have really bad adhd and halfway through this forgot what I was writing about so my points get super blurry but I just wanted to state it here. I believe midoriya has severe self esteem issues and a hero complex. I can explain why concisely if anyone asks!

Going by arcs now because I need some order to follow and regretfully can't just throw my thoughts about Midoriya at a wall and hope they stick (I will happily just spout nonsense at anyone who wants to listen):

Pre ua-

Most of this I already covered in the above paragraph but I still wanna break down why Midoriya's childhood set him up for a hero complex and a love of escapism. As mentioned before, Midoriya has always had a love for analysis and heroes but it got much more intense after he experienced large bouts of trauma. You can see him isolating himself and getting completely absorbed into his analysis in multiple parts of the pre-UA sections of bnha. His hero complex stems from the fact that there genuinely was no one to save Midoriya. Because he knows what it's like to be alone without help, he takes it upon himself to save people (he basically says this himself too like my god this boy's hero complex is so so clear). Not to mention the fact that his abuser has been called a hero throughout his formative years. like….god….

All might training-

And THEN all might destroys his dream by telling him he can't be a hero then LEAVES. Midoriya has not had a single good personal hero at this point. Like even his own mother doesn’t save him from this blatantly obvious abuse. So midoriya is just like. Left there to evaluate everything being broken in his life when he falls back on his escapism aka he walks to the scene of a hero feet because “[his] feet carried him [there]” ARE YOU KIDDING ME. he is literally doing something that brings him joy on autopilot. As a response to being told he can't do his life long goal by his idol. Following that he sees bakugou in pain and trouble and this is like right when the hero complex forms. The entire ‘feet moved before you can think’ IS NOT A GOOD THING!!!! He has NO self-preservation in this moment. AND THE ALL MIGHT PRAISES HIM FOR IT. literally cementing his hero complex as a ‘positive’ thing and not at all the self destructive thing it actually is.

Following this all might tells midoriya he has to be the next symbol and that he has to be the one to make everyone feel safe. That is NOT a healthy mindset for a child to be in. Here Midoriya is told that he needs to protect everyone and this is where he starts to feel the need to be the one to fix everything, this is where he feels that everything is his fault.

Usj-

Bro just got put into a hugely traumatic situation and did you see how he literally like blacked out when he went to protect Tsuyu? I’d also like to point out that at this point he's been told by all might that his lack of self preservation is a heroic quality. PLus plus plus being put into a situation like this would hurt your brain function so immensely, the adrenaline rush he must be having at this moment.

Sports festival-

Todoroki. Just the entirety of the todoroki thing. Someones gonna go “he was just doing the heroic thing, that makes him hero quality!!” BUT!!! I GUARENTEEEE MIdoriya saw some of himself in Todoroki then. Like, todorokis situation is ‘boy whos in bad situation with no one coming to save him because no one would believe him/step up against the number ½ hero’ and midoriya's situation as a kid was ‘boy whos in a bad situation and no one is coming to save him because no one would believe him and no one wants to help the quirkless kid’. So midoriya obviously took it upon himself to be the one to save todoroki and at this point he's had all mights words drained into him so he probably has taken it upon himself to save everyone in similar situations.

Hero killer-

Speaking of people in similar situations: Iida! Sooo you're probably going “ghost. Iidas situation is NOTHING like midoriyas” and to that i say LET ME EXPLAINNNN because at this point iida has seen so many people be killed by stain that he more than likely believes no one can stop him but iida himself. This situation is ‘things are happening and no one is actively trying to stop it in the way I should, no one is coming to save this situation.’ so iida takes it upon himself and Midoriya sees this and recognizes it because of his own situation.

Final exams-

Bakugou. I have thoughts about this arc. Midoriya has no self preservation here at all. I could quite honestly say I believe midoriya is in some way suicidal. There is no ounce of non hero complex actions here. Midoriya takes it upon himself to save bakugou from failing the entire final exam even if bakugou doesn’t want that. And the their fight afterwards??? Where midoriya is like “youre all I look up to [bakugou]” (side note i hate calling him kacchan)???? WHERE IS YOUR SELF RESPECT MIDORIYA!!! BAKUGOU BEAT THE SHIT OUT OF YOU VERBALLY AND PHYSICALLY FOR YEARS!!!!!!

Hassaikai and Paranormal liberation--

Combining these because during both arcs midoriya shows absolutely ZEROOO self esteem and self preservation. These two arcs are combined because therye basically him on the brink of absolutely losing his shit and fully leaning into the hero complex.

Dark hero (so important r you kidding)-

R you serious rn..this is literally him going ‘no one else is fixing it so I WILL. in a dangerous way this IS the hero complex arc

But it's also the most self centered arc midoriya has had. His entire childhood has taught him to rely on himself and only himself so it's a given that he would only think about himself when anything happens that he needs to take care of as he's the only one who's ever shown to care about himself and others for a large portion of his life. Midoriya is such a complex character but you genuinely can only tell if you look deeper than what bnha has on the surface of it which makes me sad. I’m not here to diss horis writing and world building skills-he's much better at it than me- I just wish he would go deeper into his characters issues than having them fixed in short spurts (momo)

#brief one line mention of being sucidal #midoriya is just. such a guy #he runs around my mind all the time #i hate him!!!! and i love him!!!#we r literally the same #midoriya izuku #izuku midoriya #this is highkey anti bakugou #i am just not a bakugou fan #sometimes hes okay but most of the time he SUCKS #midoriya izuku analysis #character analysis #bnha #mha #boku no hero academia #my hero academia #bnha character analysis

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rylana404 · 6 days

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My appreciation essay of Bart Allen, posted at the request of @melonlthawne

English Composition

19 April 2024

Impulse Appreciation Essay

A person I appreciate is Bart Allan. While he is fictional, that doesn’t mean I understand him any less. Bart is a character from the DC universe, adjacent to the Flash franchise. He is the grandson of Barry Allan, the second Flash. I find myself relating to him and looking up to him in many ways. Despite everything he’s endured, Bart maintains a positive attitude and a cheerful smile on his face.

Bart Allan, also known as Impulse, was a speedster born towards the end of the Thirtieth century with a hyper-accelerated metabolism . As a result, his body aged much faster than his mind, meaning he could still be young mentally while his body would be dying of old age. To prevent him from developing mental problems from this, he was immersed in a simulated world that would hopefully be able to keep pace with his rapid growth. However, when it became clear that the simulation wasn't working, they went back in time to find Wally West, the current Flash. Wally figured out that if Bart used his superspeed at extreme levels, it would counteract his metabolism and allow him to age normally. Despite knowing that he could die if he stopped using his speed, he always has a casual and upbeat attitude. Sometimes to the point where he comes off as stupid, which couldn’t be further from the truth. Despite being only 15 years old, he has the intelligence of a college student because of the simulation he was raised in. In fact, his intelligence has been praised by several people. When Bart slows down time to strategize with his friend, Cassie Sandsmark, she says, “ Bart. You’ve always been smarter than we gave you credit for. I’m glad you’re stepping up.”

Bart's unique genetic makeup grants him incredible speed and enhanced senses. His mind and body operate at lightning-fast speeds, allowing him to process information and react to stimuli in a fraction of a second. With his exceptional reaction time and ability to perceive the world in slow motion, Bart is highly skilled at navigating complex and risky situations. Despite this ability, he often jumps into action impulsively. Instead of using this ability to keep out of danger, more often than not preemptively, he relies on it to save himself. He is often ridiculed for being too impulsive, hence why Wally gave him the moniker “Impulse” in Flash #93. Wally frequently lectures Bart about saying to much about the future, often to the note of “If you are what you say you are, revealing too much could crash the whole time stream.”

Bart Allens's upbringing differed from most children's in that he was raised in a simulation and not socialized well. This had caused him to be incredibly naive and gullible. In the earlier comics, he tended to see the best in people, which could be exploited by others. Despite encountering several bad people, he has not yet grasped the realities of life, making him almost dangerously oblivious, not cutely and innocently. Bart has stolen cars and fought people recklessly thinking they’re just another “goon” to beat. It takes him a while to realize the hard way that life isn’t like the simulations he was raised in.

After all the adults are magically removed from their world, Bart teams up with Conner Kent and Tim Drake to figure out what happened. This later forms the team of young heroes, the Young Justice. Initially, Bart struggled with impulsiveness and a lack of focus, which sometimes caused friction when working with the other heroes. Bart is forced to learn how to focus his mind and implement his knowledge in his fighting. He quickly learns how to work with others and becomes quick friends with Tim and Conner. Later, many other heroes join this team, and it quickly grows. He has formed strong bonds with these young heroes, and although he can still be reckless at times, he has shown that he can work effectively within a team.

I appreciate Bart Allen because, despite the challenges he faces due to his unique genetic makeup and upbringing, his incredible positivity, resilience, and courage always shine through. His journey from being impulsive and naive to becoming more mature and a great team player with the Young Justice team is a testament to his growth as a character. Bart's ability to stay cheerful and face adversity head-on reminds us that we should embrace optimism and resilience in our own lives. He is the power of perseverance and the importance of friendship and teamwork. Bart's legacy as Impulse continues to inspire and uplift countless individuals, leaving a lasting impact on those who admire his spirit and determination.

#bart allen #essay #appreaciation post #dc impulse

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mysticwolfshadows · 12 days

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One thing I like about Bakugo as a character, is that by the very nature of his personality, it would have made perfect sense (to me) if he had remained Midoriya's 'friend' through elementary and middle school.

Just, hear me out, okay?

Bakugo has a deep rooted need to be a hero. He wants to be like All Might. He wants to beat All Might. And he will do that by beating villians. But thats not all a hero does. A hero protects. And I think, with all the praise Bakugo got for his strong quirk, if even a little bit of that had been directed from "wow, you can use it to beat up villians" to "wow, you can protect and save so many people", Bakugo could have gotten a bit of a hero complex when it came to Midoriya.

Because of everyone Bakugo knows, Midoriya is the weakest, a quirkless dork that can't protect himself much less than others. Bakugo could have easily latched onto that, had the "I'm gonna be a hero already" and basically kept Midoriya around. He'd still be a dick through school, rough and aggressive, but it would be turned in a different way. His agression is turned outward, like a cattle dog snapping at an intruder, and Midoriya is his sheep.

It would create an interesting dynamic, adding another layer to their relationship, rather than Bakugo being Midoriya's bully. Bakugo would need to be close to Midoriya to protect him, even if it's from Midoriya himself. Because Bakugo has a great quirk, but Midoriya has none. There's no way he'll be a hero. He'll just get hurt.

#fanfic idea #katsudeku

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just-an-enby-lemon · 1 year

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In Defense Of J.Jonnah Jameson

When asked about fictional jornalists that would he a part of Fox News we are likely to see Jameson. His MCU interpretation specially goes into this comparison hard. And I think this is unfair.

The thing Jameson - in most medias, he still have some good somewhat recent comic appearances, it really depends on the run - was extremely flanderized over the years until he became basically a joke. His whole personality became "he hates Spiderman" and I think it takes away an interesting discorse behind his feelings about your friendly neighboor Spidey.

▫️Jameson and Responsability

Here that's the only point that matters. J. Jonas Jameson doesn't hate Spiderman. Let me explain: of all big popular heros Peter is the only one who can't be taken acountable.

We the readers know Peter is responsable and has a guilty complex only rivaled by Batman, we know he is a good guy who cares a lot and would never do something deastic. But Jameson doesn't.

To Jameson Spider is a powerfull person doing good things. Except this particular powerfull person has no face, no adress and no name.

We all know why it's so important that Peter keeps his secret identity but again Jameson doesn't. He doesn't know Peter is poor and would not be able to aford top security. He doesn't know about Peter's elderly aunt or friends or MJ or any of the people whose life would be endengered if the secret camr out. All he knows is that Peter is super enhanced and can sense danger and is out there.

He is a hero NOW. But if Spiderman decided to go around killing criminals for the greater good or even just became an straight up villain... than all we could do would be hope the heros do something. If Spider does a grave mistake but thinks he is right. That's it. No one can tell him otherwise. We can't ask about what Spiderman is doing, we can't really question his moviments, or better we can (Jameson does) but we can't do it directly or ask for an answer.

Even when all the Avengers keept their secret identities they had Tony Stark (pretending to just be their sponsor) as a spokesperson and a mailbox. People could send their fears and complains and if the Avengers fucked up they would have to talk about it, to cut their funding via Tony. People can hold them acountable.

The X-Man had the school and later a whole different nacion who abide by their own laws but also by international diplomacy. They can be hold accountable. The Fantastic Four has the Baxter Building. Always had.

Spiderman isn't a team. He doesn't have a known base or a spokesperson or even a small group to discuss his decisions with. If he fucks up and he will because he is just an well-intencioned guy. This is it. And we know Peter will hold himself accountable. That he will try to fix it. But Jameson isn't a reader. He doesn't know Spiderman's intencions (he knows Peter but not Spider and that's why he stops bashing Spider in most timelines after he discovers his identity, because he knows Peter can be hold accontable and won't go mad with power) and so how can he trust him.

Is it really weird for him to question the insanity of an world who is just happy to praise and accept this new guy without any concerns? Yes his headlines are overeactions and insulting but that's the only way one can sell, most newspappers have misleading headlines. It sucks but isn't a Jonah problem is an industry problem.

Yes Spiderman saved his son and he should be more gratefull. But should he let his private emotions influenciate his supposed unbiased bussiness. Saving his son didn't made Spiderman more acessible, didn't made so Spider can hear the normal or even underpriviledge comunities voices. Didn't mean that he will respond if he comits a crime. (We know Peter listens and wada wada wada this isn't me bashing on Spider, he is great, is explaining why for someone who doesn't have the reader privilegde of onipotency it makes sense to do it).

Peter doesn't deserve Jonah's critics. He is a true hero and a great guy who truly cares and listens. He doesn't deserve hate and he already has too many problems as it is. But Jonah doesn't know that! Is s shitty situation with no guilty parties.

▫️Social Work

Good portrays of Jameson besides explaining his motivations show him as someone with a huge sence of comunity he was pro-mutant in a time where other newspappers were all against them and we can assume the same for other minorities.

Not only that but he isn't a hypocrite either (well wasn't nowdays he mostly is but oh well) he listens to criticims and either explain his points or tries to improve. He is open to be taken accountable by his viwers AND by his employees. He pays his employees well and is open to hear them and after offering an unfair salary to Peter he listens to Parker and raises it.

Jameson is a good guy. He is -should be- more than a joke. He should be a guy that makes Peter question things he shouldn't. There should be a tragedy in this two good man working together who could help each other and be great allies but, by complex circunstances Jonah can't truly understand, they aren't.

#j jonah jameson #this is my intepretation and opinion #it may be occ but it is how i view him #spiderman #marvel

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kayura-sanada · 2 years

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Oh yeah, some sections of this fandom LOVE to hurl abuse at Anders, who's trying to change things and then heap praise on Vivienne who's really only in it for herself and doesn't care who she has to step on to obtain more power and prestige. I wouldn't say I enjoy the way the narrative destroys any mage who goes against the Chantry as that would be a lie on my part, it actually feels like the narrative just disregards quite a lot of the more pro mage choices, at least to me. Particularly DA:I.

Mm. Tumblr was in its heyday when DA:I came out, and Tumblr is a place where fandom has collectively come together to dwindle everything in the universe down to simple, black-and-white cardboard cutouts. With a world and story that's very complex, Dragon Age as a whole was bound to crash and burn in such a fandom. It's no longer a matter of complexity and moral ambiguity, but a question of good and evil, right and wrong. To me, that's both infinitely infuriating - use your brains, for god's sake - and infinitely interesting. Since, you know, the Chantry also pushes a right-wrong, good-evil narrative. Oftentimes it feels like real people in our real world have fallen for this same simple narrative, though their opinions on who and what falls on which side may differ a bit from the Chantry's.

When it comes to Anders, he's evil because he killed innocent people in a terrorist attack. Which is weird, because most of fandom hates the Chantry and how mages are treated? Yet they believe change will come through negotiation? Honestly, I think these people who hate Anders are still in the mindset I was when I first played DA2 - these things I hate about the Chantry and the Circle and Kirkwall will all magically be fixed because I'm the main character in a video game. But in reality, it never works like that. Every country gained its freedom from monarchy with revolution. Slavery only ended after a war (and even then only in part). Corrupt leadership only dies when the leaders die, and innocent people will always die, too. "Gone With the Wind" is a classic for a reason.

To me, revolution is always bloody and messy and cruel, just as much as it is necessary. But in the world of good-evil, anyone who kills innocents (on-screen) is a bad guy. Period.

Vivienne, however, is different! Because the innocent man she sent to his death made a racist remark, which deserves death, apparently. (And with the good-evil crowd, such over-the-top violence is often lauded.) And since Vivienne hides behind elegance and cleverness, her careless cruelty and dismissal of other people is either missed or ignored as 'girlboss, take no shit from no man' behavior.

Or at least, I hope it's this and not the usual 'she's a powerful black woman so we love her' thing that fails to look at the character and only looks at her body. There's reasons I love the new Spider-Man MJ and hate Vivienne, and shockingly none have anything to do with their looks.

And on the point of pro-mage choices being thrown out the window, nonny, I'm afraid we're gonna have to disagree on this. The first Dragon Age showed me the cruelty of the templars and the Circle the instant I was told I either saved the Grand Enchanter or every mage died, even if I killed all the blood mages and demons. I saved those mages' lives then. DA: Awakening gave me the chance to befriend Anders against templars who would have seen him killed simply for being a free mage. DA2 gave me the chance to back Anders' revolution. DA:I let me give Fiona a leadership role outside of the Circle and let me bring back the College of Enchanters. It was the world and its anti-mage attitude that kept trying to set me back. But if the Hero of Ferelden hadn't befriended Anders and Justice, the revolution would never have happened. If my Inquisitor hadn't saved the mages of Redcliffe, they all would have been made slaves to Tevinter.

I love the efforts I've made because it feels difficult to induce change, and it comes through the two-steps-forward-one-step-back dance that is so common in history (we're watching it right now with our loss of abortion rights!). So this feels very real to me, that the changes I make seem unimportant and subtle and like they've barely made a ripple in how the world works. But my tiny efforts sparked a revolution. It made a giant portion of mages free. The world of Thedas may be fighting against these changes with everything it has, but they're happening, like it or not. We just have to keep pushing.

#nonny #response #dragon age #vivienne de fer critical #anders #pro-mage #anti chantry

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kiaramori · 1 year

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📓📓📓📓📓📓‼️‼️‼️‼️

Yay! I’m so excited you sent this to me!! One fic idea I often end up daydreaming about is kinda like a megamind!au (with steddie obvs).

Eddie and Steve both were catapulted from their respective planets at a very very young age, to save their lives.

From the beginning there’s a bit of a class issue—Steve’s pod has a masterful navigation system that allows him to avoid debris and land in a wealthy home, where Eddie is rocketed to earth painfully and ends up with criminals (in jail if we wanna follow the movie but i more imagine just in a more realistic criminal’s home)

Steve grows up being given everything he wants (except love, attention, care). He’s given praise in spades when he acts like a boy-scout and saves cats from trees etc

So he begins to associate love with saving others (thus beginning his hero complex)

In the meantime, Eddie excitedly attends school for the first time—only to be immediately discriminated against because of his alien appearance (maybe blue w/horns)(iceplanetbarbarian style 😳)

He has wild experiments and stuff but he’s a kid, they go wrong. Steve defends the other kids and fully slots Eddie in to a villain role in his head

Steve really does see things as black and white, good guys and bad guys.

Eddie has the classic megamind moment of “no one will let me be good, so I’ll just be bad”

CUE METAL MUSIC

“thus our glorious rivalry began! He would win some, I would almost win others” that vibe

The BANTER.

Ok fast forward to the present day.

Zooming in on Steve, he is really struggling actually. He works at the [Daily Planet knockoff] as a reporter alongside Nancy [his Lois lane] and everyone believes that him (as metro man) and her will end up together etc

Nancy HATES being the damsel in distress though. They’ve been on and off again in their relationship mostly for that reason. She is breaking up with him for good and moving to [knockoff gotham] to room with Robin [who did end up having to ditch Steve for similar reasons of being a frequent damsel being too stressful for her]

Also btw in this universe Hopper is Batman. Because he would be.

In the meantime, Steve learns there was another girl from [knockoff krypton] (El) who escaped like he did, but was subjected to government experiments. Finding her, he assumed they would be like siblings, but she wants to stay in her own city and help the people there

Steve is beginning to feel lost and purposeless, as he kind of is forced to wrestle with things bigger than metro city

As they’re breaking up, Nancy does accuse Steve of caring more about his image and helping people on the surface than actually making meaningful change—

In the meantime, Eddie is having a blast plotting against his favorite superhero!

He is building robots, he’s got his trusted minion (intern) Dustin, he is breaking out of jail. He is having the time of his LIFE. He loves his rivalry with Steve. As soon as he’s been beaten, he immediately starts plotting something again (just so he can see Steve again)

Flashback to Steve, who is having his little quarter life crisis

Eddie kidnaps Nancy (who is FURIOUS about it), Steve goes to save her,

And (unbeknownst to Eddie) Steve decides to fake his death officially so he can be absolutely free to prove to Nancy and himself that he can help people and save the world in lasting ways without making himself known.

“OOooo I’m shaking in my custom baby seal leather boots!”

There’s a skeleton moment, Steve “dies” Eddie is horrified but also feels like he should be happy. He can do what he wants now!

“Take the most evil thing you can imagine and multiply it by six!”

Eddie is having a blast (he is) he is having fun, he is making mayhem and…and…it’s not the same. Life without Steve is joyless.

In the meantime, Steve is running himself RAGGED trying to save everyone in the world. He’s constantly on the move, transporting food to places and water, trying to save every single person. He finds horrifying things he has never encountered before in his life

And he’s realizing that things aren’t so easily solved just by punching baddies. There’s complexity in these issues that he can’t solve by himself. And he’s beginning to get depressed by it.

Which is where we find Steve (in his civilian identity) and Eddie staring up at the metro man statue in the museum. (Eddie also in disguise as a human) (have played around with the idea of Jonathan being Bernard and Eddie disguising himself as Jonathan but meh idk if I’d want that or not)

They end up talking and connecting about their respective identity crises and they decide to meet again.

Montage—they date, they’re falling in love. They make each other want to be better. Eddie shows Steve how to reach a little smaller and understand his only worth isn’t saving people, (caretaking vs caregiving lesson). Steve shows Eddie how to find joy in helping people, and learn to connect with people

Eventually OF COURSE there is a big alien bad guy (maybe Billy as Hal, following the movie plot; maybe Vecna as an evil alien, etc)

Before that though, Eddie and Steve’s secret identities are revealed (much to their mutual horror) and they fight and break up.

Eddie decides he’s going back to being evil, when life was easy.

Anyways the big bad appears and Steve “comes back to life” to fight the big bad. But they are slamming him. Maybe they have knockoff kryptonite, either way Steve is on the struggle bus.

BUT THEN EDDIE SAVES HIM.

“Oh you’re a villain alright. Just not a super one!” (What’s the difference?) “PRESENTATION!!!”

Eddie has his hero moment as he saves Steve, beats the bad guy, and wins over the city in the process

Steve and Eddie make up, kiss dramatically, and find a happy balance of saving people and having fun on their own and live happily ever after!

And that’s the fic idea! Pretty fun to write out lol, I hadn’t realized how much I’d thought about it until I was actually writing it out! :)

#fic ideas #steddie #thank you

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mintedwitcher · 5 months

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Watched a video review of A Good Man Goes to War by Harbo Wholmes earlier tonight and I wanted to touch on just a couple of the points he made in his video. (It's a fantastic video, highly recommend it, the link is here.)

So, this'll be a long one but bear with me. (I have many many thoughts about Eleven in general and this episode in particular, this post is really only half of what I want to say about it, since I'm trying to stay On Topic here.)

Everyone who has watched Eleven's run is most likely familiar with AGMGTW. It's the pinnacle episode of season 6, and it has... a Lot happening in it.

Firstly, we find the Doctor collecting "debtors"; aliens that he's saved over time and who owe a debt to him. This, at first, seems at odds with the Doctor's whole persona. He doesn't save people so that he's owed favours later, he does it to be kind, because it's the right thing to do, because they need saving and he can do it, so why not? Harbo shares his thoughts on this in his video, but my take on it is that the Doctor hasn't been taking on debts at all. I think it's less of a demanding contract and more of a case where these people he saved have crafted their own debts to him.

They owe him, not because he said they do, but because they know that without him, they would've died. So when he comes to call and ask for their help in saving his best friend, they agree to help, because he saved them once, the least they can do is return the favour.

Next, Harbo talks about how the narrative surrounding the Doctor seems to flip back and forth between praise and condemnation. I agree, however, I think it's less the narrative as an overarching theme and more the Doctor vs the people who know him.

The Doctor is waging war, he's on a revenge mission as well as a rescue mission. The Kovarian chapter has stolen his best friend out from under his nose, they've infiltrated his TARDIS, they've humiliated him. This is personal, on a level that other villains so far haven't quite reached. So, he views himself as being righteous, being the deadly and dangerous war hero. He views himself as doing the right thing. The praise, the fanfare, all of that, that is him. That is the Doctor believing wholeheartedly that he is right, and that he is delivering justice.

The longer the episode goes on, the more we see of this angle. He's proud of his reputation, he mocks the soldiers at Demon's Run. He makes jokes, he brags, he taunts, and he knows that he is the most dangerous man in the room, because all of these people have heard of him. They know about him, they know who he is, what he's done. They're afraid of him, and he mercilessly uses that fear against them. He turns out the lights to confuse them, he dresses like a monk to disorient them, and he taunts them through the loudspeaker as the soldiers begin to turn against the Headless Monks.

This is his god complex at play. He's watching the chaos and pulling the strings and he is loving every minute of it, because the more unsettled his enemies become, the easier it is for him to win.

He emphasises this again later with his confrontation of Colonel Manton. His speech in that scene starts fairly lighthearted, he's having a joke, he's making fun. "I want you to tell your men to run away." He's toying with the colonel. As he continues, he grows angrier, until he's blatantly threatening to turn this man into an example of his prowess. "When people come to you and ask you if trying to get to me through the people I love is in any way a good idea, I want you to tell them your name." That line is so powerful, and the way he forcibly reigns himself back in again is terrifying. Because that last part is spoken so nicely. Almost sweetly. He's smiling, it's a game again.

Like I said. God complex.

But, where Ten leaned into his complex (Waters of Mars -> End of Time pt 2), Eleven hides from his.

When River finally joins the fray after the loss of Melody, Eleven is furious. He's raging, he's vengeful. He's been bested again, humiliated again, and he's lashing out. When River condemns him, he rejects it entirely. "This wasn't me! This wasn't my fault!" He says, hurt and offended that River could even think such a thing let alone say it out loud. But River is right. "This was all you, all of it."

Eleven has based himself, modelled himself for so long on being the 'raggedy Doctor' that Amelia Pond met in her garden when she was seven years old. He thinks of himself as her hero, her protector, her guardian angel. He can't tolerate the thought that anyone would go this far to get rid of him, because he thinks he's right. He thinks he's justified. So he rejects the possibility of responsibility, because it can't be his fault that Amy and Rory's baby is gone, it can't be his fault that these people have died. Look at what he's done to save them! Look what lengths he went to already to save Amy! He killed a Cyber legion, he called on friends and allies to fight with him (for him). He's a good man, he is a good man, look at what he's done!

But look what has been done in fear of him. Amy and Rory's baby is gone, stolen to be crafted into the perfect assassin to kill the Doctor. People have died, serving him or serving a faction of the Papal Mainframe dedicated to killing him. Allies and friends have died in his name. What sort of a good man inspires something like this? What sort of a good man could even look at this and not be disgusted by it? Ashamed of it, even?

It's not that the Doctor's characterisation is inconsistent, it's that we as the audience are seeing two separate perceptions of it. We see the Doctor as he sees himself and how Amy sees him - heroic, magnanimous, determined - and we see the Doctor as his enemies and allies see him - dangerous, vengeful, and angry.

It is an interesting conflict within the episode itself, where we're being shown two very different perceptions of a character we've known for quite a while now. Narratively, it's a fantastic concept and it's executed brilliantly. It is without a doubt one of the standout episodes of Matt Smith's run as the Doctor, and it perfectly encapsulates the fluid morality of the character.

#doctor who #obligatory disclaimer this is not hate or character bashing in any way shape or form #eleventh doctor #a good man goes to war #doctor who meta #sort of #technically? idk #I love this episode and I love ripping it apart to examine it piece by piece

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lighthouseborn · 3 months

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Common Misconceptions: A Post

Henry is an adrenaline junkie.

Nah. He is a risk-taker, but not a risk-seeker. He will take risks to get to a desirable end result but he does not seek out ways to put himself at risk for the sake of the thrill. He does like adventure, but adventure doesn't have to mean life-at-risk. If anything that's an unfortunate side effect. Also worth noting that Henry (though often underestimated) is capable, experienced, and confident in his knowledge and abilities: there are things he does which other people consider dangerous that are, by virtue of his experience, not actually a significant risk to his person. Many of the places he occupies have some level of risk inherent to them that he is fully equipped to navigate. Henry's cautious is the common man's uninhibited, in these places. Because of his knowledge & experience, his scale is different. Sometimes he misjudges! but it's not his ambition to make things a close call. In fact, the really close ones shake him up in a bad way.

Henry is a Martyr/has a Savior Complex.

False!! In his words: "he'll never stop" fighting for his loved ones. Sometimes this means taking hits, or putting himself between them and something dangerous, or stepping into a bad situation on their behalf, but it's never his intention to be cut down or any such thing. He, emphatically, wants to live, he just really doesn't want to do it alone, and can't stomach the idea of standing idle when people he loves face threat or insult. A way to shorthand remember this is something like "he is not him-last, he is his-people-first." Another important way to distinguish this from martyr-styled characters is he will not (typically) tell people to leave without him. He may encourage them to go first, but it is always with the intent to follow them out. "Go first" can be an inch in front of him, hands locked, just go first. Additionally, his family have just as much right to come back and fight for him — he won't decline help or a rescue, and he really doesn't want to be left behind. He wants everyone, himself included, to walk away.

Henry has a Hero Complex.

Not even a little bit. He absolutely does not have to be the one to save the day. Anyone else is just as welcome to do what they see fit, in this regard. And they can make as much or as little fuss about it as they want. As long as he does what he can for the people he loves, it does not matter to him one bit where the 'credit' or the praise or whatever else goes. If they are well, he is well. Honestly, if his people aren't in danger, it's a coin toss whether or not he'll involve himself at all (barring verses where it's his literal job to get involved, obviously.) In every case, it has nothing to do with external perception or accolade or praise, it's entirely because he cannot self-reconcile inaction when it comes to defending his loved ones (/people he is responsible for.) He's not answering to a perception, he's answering to his own conscience. Not "I have to save everyone in the world" savior or "I have get all the glory" hero, but to and with himself "If I can do something to help, why wouldn't I?". There are answers to this question, sometimes. Mostly, if the response to "why wouldn't I?" is "because it will endanger/abandon someone I love", then he won't act. He might not be happy about it, or even be very miserable about it, but that's the main line.

Henry is a perfectionist. (thanks uquiz)

Nope. Henry is an idealist, and to a lesser degree an optimist, or like... an optimism-leaning realist. He wants problems to be solvable, though he knows they aren't always so cut and dry, and he has an imagined version of the world that he believes is possible to achieve. He works very hard to get to that version! but it's not a fixed state and things don't have to fall into some strict order to achieve it. There is no perfect standard and no uniform measure, no exact thing-to-do, there is just Possibility, and the idea he can get to it. Things can be so good, if you work for it. If you let them. Nothing has to be perfect, but if something could be better, why not try?

#i was digging on my old blog for reasons (dwbi) and i found this and i went YEAH so i touched it up n now its here #good post past-me #there's a light that never goes out ( hc. )#note: i can see! how people arrive at these though!! i think the first time i posted this a couple people got rubbed the wrong way #but like i fully get how people land on these it makes sense it's just that nudge of nuance that argues it #i think the martyr/savior complex one is the one i bump into the most but i simply do not think it's like that #no self-sabotage only uplift of others (because he's got the strength)

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cartoonrival · 11 months

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im about to make a comparison then immediately refute it because everything poisons my brain if i dont get it out -> its very clear that naruto and sasuke HEAVILY inspired deku and bakugou, literally down to specific scenes like the one-on-one impromptu fight after all mights fall (where bakugou had to be rescued by deku [and company] and ended up blaming his weakness for the fall of his hero) and the fight on the top of the hospital (after sasuke, trying to save NARUTO, ended up needing to be saved by HIM because he got his ass handed to him by his brother after spending his whole life since the death of his clan preparing to fight itachi, then finding out that itachi literally does not give a flying fuck about him, after all these years, not even as an opponent), naruto/deku's need to be acknowledged as an equal vs sasuke/bakugou's refusal to GIVE that acknowledgement, even if its deserved, because the formers rapid improvement has made them feel like they havent grown at all, and acknowledging that they're now on the same level forces that weakness to be true.

HOWEVER i think that the messy history that bakugou and deku have significantly darkens deku's need for recognition and bakugou's refusal to provide it. theyre childhood "friends"; theyve been close since they were children, and bakugou made dekus childhood a living hell because deku was born without a quirk, whereas bakugou was born with a quirk that is widely and understandably recognized as being incredibly powerful and useful. bakugou grew up with a superiority complex. coming to UA, he was suddenly not the strongest anymore (everyone here is powerful, thats how they passed the exam, at the very least there are people who come close to rivaling him), and the kid who has been useless their whole lives was blessed by the man bakugou looks up to most in the world (acknowledgement that bakugou did NOT recieve and is jealous of), so an inferiority complex starts to fester as well, which is a paradoxical nightmare to be subject to. deku has looked up to bakugou their whole lives. finally he can stand beside him, and he wants to prove that. he wants bakugou to see that. he wants them to be friends, but bakugou fucking hates him for complex personal reasons.

for naruto and sasuke on the other hand, their history is pretty limited. theyd never really interacted before being put in the same team as genin, outside of naruto's imagined one-sided rivalry. their initial relationship is MASSIVELY less antagonistic than that of deku and bakugou. sasuke is aware of his strength and that being born into the uchiha clan makes him uniquely powerful, keenly aware, but hes also living in the shadow of his brother, who was much stronger than him and made fucking sure sasuke knew that. he isnt particularly interested in proving himself to anyone other than himself and itachi. naruto wants to prove himself to sasuke just because he recognizes sasukes strength and literally likes him as a person lol, instead of deku's need to prove himself to bakugou because bakugou doubted deku and put him down all his life. naruto has been neglected most of his life by everyone and no one in particular; it would make equal sense for him to insist on proving to, idk kakashi that hes strong and good and worthy, but hes fixated on that person being sasuke.

sasukes complex about his abilities come from a wildly different place than bakugou's, considering baku's come from a childhood of praise so reverent and constant that it lost all meaning until his view of "success" became something very narrow that only he was able to define it, while sasuke's comes from his horrible childhood in first his brothers shadow, first just as the second best son, then as the survivor of a massacre that he was only spared from because of how useless he is. he's very strong and he knows that, but he has to be better. if naruto is catching up to him, keeps saving him, is more valued by itachi than sasuke is, then sasuke's abilities are at a standstill. he isnt good enough. sasuke also does like naruto as a person, whereas bakugou never even liked deku outside of being like heh! another idiot who looks up to me. bakugou struggles to acknowledge deku because of who deku is and the exact events of their relationship, whereas sasuke LIKES naruto. if he wasnt hellbent on revenge, being saved by naruto would probably incite a pretty regular rival level of annoyance. lmao. no conclusion to this post just a comparison going nowhere

#txt157 #nrto

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luceaeros · 2 years

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broke: masaru and mitsuki are abusive

woke: i can see why so many people find it easy to read the bakugo parents as abusive. their first introduction is just after their only child is kidnapped by the league of villains, a group that at the end of the day answers to all for one, a man who had no qualms absolutely destroying whoever he needs to. their son was taken while under the supervision of several pro heroes and yet none of them were able to stop it from happening (and it's also important to remember that he wasn't the only one about to be taken, he just wasn't saved in time). katsuki miraculously survives the whole ordeal and is saved by a bunch of his classmates. except not really because their plan involved katsuki having to save himself midway through the fight.

and mitsuki's only reaction once he's home is to blame her son for his own kidnapping at the hands of people who, let's be honest, would have likely just turned him into a nomu if he kept saying no. in front of his teachers she calls him a brat with an ego who needs to be taught better, that all other adults just fed his ego growing up, and that she admits her faults in not putting him in his place and has faith in the same school that couldn't stop him from being kidnapped while on their watch that they'll do so. masaru doesn't even seem to be happy that his son is back or concerned for his well being, he just wants him to stop yelling at mitsuki in front of aizawa and all might.

compared to other characters, katsuki's backstories seems devoid of not just friends but of parents. kirishima mentions his mother when he talks about his quirk manifesting, jiro's parents are revealed to be the ones who instilled in her a love of music. rei and inko have several moments with their kids in flashbacks and in the present time. but masaru and mitsuki might as well not exist for how little they're shown. even his hobbies seem noticeably devoid of anything resembling his family's involvement.

this extends as well to the light novels, where simulation where the parents are "kidnapped", all mitsuki does is yell at her son.

even smash got on the joke by having a chapter where the students' mothers come to ua. mitsuki has no problem praising the other 1-a kids while berating her own son, insulting him and telling him to make tea for the other mothers. i get that the joke is that mitsuki and katsuki share similar personalities, but it feels tasteless when in the manga panels where the kids are all hugging their parents before the final battle, mitsuki is just smacking her son's head and everyone else had a sweet moment.

in the face of adults who exist in the story to either be unquestionably good, almost saintly parents, and ones that are more complex but still at the end of the day people who love their kids in their own way, katsuki got saddled with two parents who don't really seem to care for him.

#og #katsuki bakugo #masaru bakugo #mitsuki bakugo #it's incredibly easy to read them as–at best–emotionally neglectful #and at worst intentionally abusive

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abri-chan · 2 years

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Alright so, while Delico and Yang are baby, and Nic is feral baby, Worick is indeed toxic and with many red flags.

However this is what I think is his worst trait yet: a hero complex. This manifests in two main ways: 1) thinking he knows better than anyone else (or that he knows what is best for everyone else), and 2) thinking he is the only one that can and should act upon it.

The first one comes from his days as a kid, where he found adults around him stupid (and useless too). And in a sense they were--his father was dumb and beat him up for being a smart ass, and not a man to be reasoned with no matter how emotionally or logically Worick pleaded, and while he had tutors for his courses (interestingly hot women), they never went past knowledge memorization. Now Worick was a kid with photographic memory, so why should he waste time with a tutor if he can read all that and more in a book? He tells his tutor to go home. And in a way they should because they failed to do what any good adult should have done with kid Worick: sit him down and have a talk about how he's not as smart as he thinks he is and life isn't as simple as a highschool textbook makes it sound--you learned all this knowledge? you memorized and categorized it all? (well so does Wikipedia, so does any encyclopedia). that is merely step one of learning. the next and more important step is reflecting upon what you have learned. built upon it even.

Yet no adult did tell him so, or took a moment to tell him so, and Worick now thinks he's hot shit, not just for looks, but brains too. While in reality, he's got a brain that is all gpu, but with no efficient algorithm. He doesn't know best, and in fact it's dangerous bc he knows the opposite of the truth: he doesn't know that he is wrong.

We see this with Alex, where he tells her to get out of the city fast, bc he must know best because he knows how dangerous this city can be. And surely she must want to look for her brother, as it is the only thing keeping her here. Yet he fails to acknowledge that what Alex needed the most is finding her place in the world--having been trafficked at 15 she doesn't even know who she is, having been catapulted from a kid into adulthood with only a baggage of trauma. She's not in service of anyone, not even of family like Emilio, instead all these are secondary to her growth. We see this in a larger scale with his personal plan of how to eradicate the twilight patient zero, which is the city, for a happier and more utilitarian world--he has already decided which chess piece goes in what position and who needs to be sacrificed (Nic, and all the city too if his plans be damned) and who deserves saving (Alex if she makes it out of the city in time, but Alex should die too for the greater good if she misses this crucial deadline which he just informed her about in the letter next to Miles's body).

If Worick only knew best, he would be a man who scorns everyone, but to have a full-blown hero complex he needs a second component: the belief that only he can act, and that he must act alone, and that he only has the capacity and responsibility to fix the wrongs of this world. Possibly because he had no proper adult figure, he learned all there is to learn from books, and having learned no real connection to people, he acts on being the hero as the hero is the closest one can get to anyone without actually getting emotionally close: what is more intimate than someone saving your life, or worrying about your well-being 24/7, and yet so distant and stranger like bc a hero is anonymous at best, and secret identity at worst. And Worick chooses the self sacrificial anonymous hero anyway bc he gets off to his own complex and not external praise. (And he is willing to die with the city and everyone else he sacrificed, because what is a hero without people to save?)

It follows that he doesn't discuss his plan with anyone, or ask for multiple eyes or brains on his conclusions, because either no one is as smart as he is, or no one should bear the burden he can bear- since everyone working together does away with the need for a hero. (Where everyone is a hero, no one is.) Possibly if Worick bid his time, and stood around and looked pretty (or shut his mouth as Alex told him), less problems would be caused, because I suspect his plan, and his stubborn refusal to discuss it prior with anyone, will make the whole Ergastulum lock-down blood bath worse bc of all the misunderstandings, if not outright hurdles, he created for everyone else.

#anime manga rambles #gangsta.#gangsta #worick arcangelo

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