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daryfromthefuture · 1 year

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Marty McFly: A character analysis

I might make this a new series. I'm really into analyzing them rn (only because a youtube video said that Marty McFly is a flawless character, which I have. Objection against) (I watched this video just before writing this and now I'm committing myself to writing about the characters).

ANYWAY here we go

So. Marty, am I right?

The protagonist of the back to the future franchise. Which is funny, because I read that the movies aren't about Marty at all: The first film is about George, the second about Biff and the third about Doc. And that kinda makes sense. That's exactly what causes people to see Marty as just a flawless, "hero" type character, only there to solve problems with his confidence.

If people are saying that Marty is flawless, what is his role then? (Also, what confidence???)

Let's break Marty up into his good traits and his flaws for this.

Good traits:

I'd say that Marty's most important, good trait is his loyalty. Be it to Doc or his family, during the trilogy, we see him putting the people he cares about over himself - he goes to save Doc in Part III even though Doc told him not to come back, he burns the almanac even though he could have very well kept it for himself and made money off it but didn't want to risk it after what he's seen. He does solve the problems by looking at his loved ones and finding the determination to actually do it. Even though he could have died in the process, or become stuck, or whatever. We see himself willing to sacrifice the entire universe just so Doc survives the shooting at the mall. He stands up for his young mom in 1955 even though that could mean that he worsens the situation with the whole "lorraine has the hots for him" thing. If that isn't loyalty, I don't know what is. And it helps him get through all the insane shit that he experiences, and always pays off at the end. Except when Doc leaves him at the end of part III, but that's on Doc. Booo. Not nice.

Marty is also brave. You might think, "Ah, but Dary! He literally was too chicken to send his recording tapes in. This is not something that makes a character brave." Maybe. But in my opinion, him being brave is partly linked to his loyalty. Which may be me cheating a little, because I have the loyalty thing covered already and now I'm bringing it up again lmao. But hear me out. The situations that require him being brave are the ones he gets into because he's loyal. For example, the rooftop of Biff's casino in Part II. The only reason he's up there is because he needs to know more details about how Biff got the damn almanac just to set the timeline straight. Not for himself, no. For George. For Lorraine. For Doc. Because they met worse fates in that timeline than he did, and that's his priority. The first thing he does after burning the book is check the newspaper about his father. And Marty would jump off a building to make sure his dad's alive in the right timeline. Another, simpler example is him jumping in front of Sam's car in Part I. Why does he do it? To get George out of harm's way. And it was brave. I would have never done that. BUT (here it comes, the actual point of him being brave being a good trait for himself!) he also is brave outside of standing up for or protecting somebody. In the skateboard chase scene in part I, he's protecting himself from being crushed between a 46' Ford and a manure truck, so he performs the arguably coolest stunt in film history and walks over Biff's car. Just like that. He also does the whole hoverboard chase thing in Part II to protect himself from Griff, even through Griff crashing into the courthouse mall wasn't part of his plan at all. Marty is a brave boy and, despite his insecurities, proves that over and over again.

Being inventive and creative is also part of his personality. From the basics like playing his guitar with passion, being the one to jump in when Marvin was unavailable and playing a rendition of the "Greatest 80s Hits"-CD on the school dance stage from basically scratch to coming up with bizzare plans to achieve his goals. Making out with his own mom so George can play hero? Yes. Throwing a literal pie plate at an old west outlaw to save Doc's life? Also yes. Writing Doc a letter when the dude refuses to listen to Marty's warnings? Absolutely. Saving Doc and Clara with his hoverboard, stealing some kids' skateboards/hoverboards to help him out (which is. morally questionable but inventive and helpful for him), all of these things prove that he's capable of thinking on his feet and has the drive and creativity to get him out of every situation.

Alright, to counter that, let's have a look at his rather bad traits.

Flaws

Everyone who has seen the trilogy at least once is familiar with Marty's chicken complex. Strangely, that only appears from part II and onward, which is. Weird. But I can see where that came from - not wanting to stand in George's shadow, being able to prove that he isn't a chicken or a wimp now that his dad isn't. He wants to show everyone that he's not like the original George, not like the family line of his that "never amounted to anything in the history of Hill Valley". Not only is that a flaw in itself, it also gets him into dangerous and even potentially life-threatening situations (e.g. the duel with Buford). I don't know if there's a word for that, but this is his major problem in the sequels.

Connected to that and the root of the chicken thing is Marty's insecurity in himself. And that definitely starts out in Part I. He's scared of rejection, which is why he doesn't even consider sending the tape with his music the record company. This hasn't anything to do with being brave, this is about how Marty perceives himself. And as we see, he doesn't have very. High views. And here's the thing - he actually learns to be less insecure in himself in Part I, by teaching George to be more confident because his literal existence depends on it and he's basically forced to teach George the things he was never taught (well, unless maybe by Doc) and never believed in. After seeing that this has saved himself and his parents' romance, Marty sees that "hm, maybe I should try this for myself" and actually grabs the tape on his way to the dining room to eventually send it later. Then, we dive into Part II and someone - Griff - directly insults his newfound confidence. Boom, cue the chicken complex (which is, by the way, the reason for the entirety of BTTF III lmao).

Marty is also reckless as hell. Not saying that's it's a bad thing to want to keep your loved ones alive, but there is so much that could go wrong and Marty could potentially destroy the world. Well, now he knows how Doc must have felt since 1945 (Yes, this reference was necessary. Forshadowing for my Doc character analysis post <3). He also tends to get in danger because of unfortunate results of a spur-of-the-moment decision, again bringing up the skateboard chase here. He could have died in this and it's not talked about enough. Marty also offended Mad Dog which led to him almost being hanged. Same movie, Marty could have been shot in a duel. Buford could have gone for the head, you know? Marty didn't have a helmet. I wonder how Doc hasn't lost his mind with that boy yet. He's awfully calm throughout all of this. Maybe I should thank Clara for some of that.

Back to the question: What role does Marty play in BTTF?

Well, there's two things: He creates the problems but then also solves them for everyone around him. He learns things for himself. The first movie focuses on George's character arc, leaving Marty's seemingly nonexistent arc in the shadow. But he did get inspiration to get his tapes listened to. Part II, about Biff. Marty learns that being successful easily doesn't mean you've done things for yourself and your own growth, and that it can harm those around you if you're careless, all while the asshole Biff is in the forefront and we see how cruel he can be. Third movie, about Doc. Marty is the one seeing things through Doc's usual angle and he has to make sure Doc gets home (I'm still sad Doc didn't come back with Marty. Like what the fuck :( ) all while dealing with his own problems, and without Doc being here to get him out of that he finally realizes that dying because someone called you yellow isn't worth it. Marty is the protagonist in the "shadow", the hot dude that has the most screentime but is also important to the plot because of his imperfections - which allows us to explore other characters' arcs and personalities. Thanks, Marty.

Marty isn't a flawless character. His flaws are the reason for the damn threequel and 70% of Part II. He's your average, reckless teenage boy who values his friends and family and would do everything for them.

I love that guy.

PHEW. I truly hope all of this makes sense lol I'm writing this at 11:30 PM because, again, this one video pissed me off by saying that Marty is just a flawless, "perfect" hero character.

JOIN ME SOMETIME THIS OR NEXT WEEK FOR DOC HEHE

these are surprisingly fun to write

#bttf #back to the future #can't wait to wake up tomorrow and decide that this is a bunch of nonsense /j #marty mcfly #character breakdown #if you have anything to add. feel free to do so #call me out for my awful awful takes idk im tired #it's late and i have yet to do a pic for mjfs birthday #this is hell but like in a good way #character analysis

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da-birb-writes-sometimes · 7 months

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How You Turn My World; Chapter 4

You finally find your way into the labyrinth, coming across some new and old faces; both friendly and malicious.

Character; Lilia Vanrouge

Content; Gender-neutral reader, reader is getting tired of being stuck here and smelling like a bog

Content Warnings; Swearing, some talk of death, reader passes out

Word Count; 2.2 K

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 |

As per usual, don't put my work into AI.

You were finally making some decent progress, what, with not being stuck in some bog and knowing somewhat of where you were going. A vast improvement really! Well, it would be, but unfortunately, you still reeked of rotten eggs and skunk — apparently the bog stench only got worse the longer it stayed on.

“Why did it have to dump me into the swamp,” you huffed, rounding yet another corner. “Like, it could have dumped me beside the water, but, no, no, let’s dump the magicless human right into the putrid bog water! A good guffaw, don’t you think? Ha ha ha HA!”

At least your au de Bog of Eternal Stench kept any would-be assailants away since you hadn’t run into anything (besides a rose bush, ouch) since you started making your way through the labyrinth. So maybe it wasn’t all that bad… damn, maybe your sense of smell was just used to it… hey, if stink helps you not die, then you would gladly stay stinky! Well, bitterly stay stinky is more like it.

“Assholes,” you muttered, rounding another corner.

But it wasn’t a corner; it was a crossroad. Three paths merged off of the one you were on.

… aren’t labyrinths just one long line? THIS IS A FUCKING MAZE?! You groaned, looking at your possible options which all looked exactly the same.

Decisions, decisions, decisions. Of course nothing is easy here, no no no! Gotta make things difficult now.

The hedge behind you rustled, and you whipped around, getting into a stance where you could either land a pretty good sucker punch to the hedge-stalker or make a mad dash away. But out of the hedge crawled out a small, fuzzy, caterpillar. And back at home you would have thought it was cute, but you learned your lesson from the doors; don’t trust it, or anyone for that matter.

You looked down at the caterpillar, and the caterpillar looked up at you, blinking slowly.

What are the chances…

“Do you know a way out,” you asked the caterpillar, crouching down so that you didn’t tower over it.

The caterpillar blinked at you again (apparently caterpillars in the Underground have eyelids, which isn’t the weirdest thing considering everything). “No,” it chirped and continued crawling on its merry way, wherever that may be. “But you’ll find the way.” And it disappeared into the growth of the maze, humming a little tune to itself.

You sighed, and pushed yourself back up, straightening out your shoulders and looking up to the sky. “I’ll find a way,” you breathed, looking up at the cloudless sky which was starting to turn a brilliant amber with the setting sun. “I might want to find a way is more like it.”

You looked back down to the ground, looking at the three paths in front of you. They all look the same, save for the ground making up paths themselves, with the middle and right paths looking well worn with travel. And while they may be well worn, there was a voice at the back of your head that was whispering caution. The left-most path was not as well travelled, with dead vines covering parts of it.

“Hopefully you’re right, little buddy since I could use all the luck I can get.” And you made your way down the path, hoping that it was the correct one and didn’t lead you to your death or some other unpleasant thing.

…

Lilia was at the entrance of the labyrinth, in front of the two doors.

“Have you seen a human, about this tall, a bit of a temper, and smelling foul,” he asked the doors.

The doors looked at each other before looking at Lilia. “And what’s it to you,” they said in unison.

Lilia smiled, but it was one of mild annoyance, not joy or amusement. “Royal orders I fear. You wouldn’t want the mistress finding out about you both tampering with a royal matter, would you?” The smile turned cat-like since Lilia had backed them into a corner.

The doors paled, with the blue door speaking up. “No no, sir! We would never dream of such a thing!!! Yes, there was a human, a wretched one at that, horribly rude!”

Lilia hummed, cocking a brow at the door. “I do think wretched is a bit of an overstatement now,” he whispered to himself. “Well, tell me where about they are then. The sooner I can collect them, the better for you lot.”

The red door sighed, “Near the heart of it, they took the left path.”

Left path? Why the left path leads to… Shit. Lilia mentally groaned, knowing that regardless of the path you took, you would end up having to deal with them eventually. “Your cooperation has been noted,” is what he said though, giving the doors both a nod before turning into a bat and flying over the labyrinth, trying to find you before you ran into whoever them was.

“Please be clever enough not to die,” he whispered to no one, hoping that he didn’t have to deliver your body to the Queen.

…

The left path brought you to what looked like a forest; with old-growth trees, ferns and moss covering the ground, and a list mist hanging in the air. It was peaceful and beautiful, with the setting sun illuminating the mist without burning it away.

But that would not last, night was fast approaching and you had nothing to protect you this time; no rowan tree to haul your ass up, and no sort of weapon to protect yourself besides the oh-so-lovely smell of the bog to deter something from eating you. You were pretty sure it would also keep away anything that wanted to otherwise snatch you up.

“AH!” Something jumped out from a tree, and you couldn’t fully register what it was since you were also screeching, much like the creature was at you; you with fright, the creature with amusement and joy.

Two other creatures jumped out from behind the trees and startled cackling, jumping, and clapping. Together, they surrounded you, with no way to really escape them without fighting through.

… you really should have read about fae species, since you didn’t know what they exactly were, or how dangerous they were either.

One pulled you near a pit and lit a fire, cackling in glee and dancing, trying to get you to join them. “Ah come on, human, have some fun! DANCE BABEY!!!!”

But you stayed still as more creatures came out of the shadows, dancing around the fire, giggling, cackling, and pulling a bit at your clothes to prompt you to join them. You didn’t know, cementing your feet down, your eyes watching their movements with caution.

‘Should you dance with the fae, you shall not stop dancing until you exhaust yourself. And once you wake up, you will continue dancing. This cycle will repeat itself until you dance to death.’

At least that was what the book said, and so you stayed still, regardless of how much the creatures pulled at you. While it looked like a grand old time, you remained where you were.

“I don’t have time for dancing,” you answered coldly, flinching from pinching fingers. You were also a bit shocked that Eau de Bog of Eternal Stench wasn’t keeping them away. Either, they couldn’t smell, or, they didn’t care that you smelled downright awful. “So this ‘baby’ won’t dance.”

And should I be offended by you calling me ‘baby’ or am I reading too much into it?

The main creature just shrugged and spun its dancing partner around. “Your loss human! More fun for us then! YIPPEE!!!” And it threw something in the fire to where you could feel the heat on your face.

What now? You were just standing there awkwardly as the creatures danced about, singing something that you couldn’t really make out. All you knew was that the heat, noise, and the dizzying dance of them was making your head pound, and throat scream in thirst. You hadn’t drank anything for over a day(?) — no, bog water did not count — and the heat from the fire made the thirst only worse. Shit.

“Ah, you don’t look too… hot there human,” one of the creatures snickered at its own joke at your expense. “Maybe if you dance with us, loosen up and have a bit of fun, then you can have a drink? Hmm? Dancing won’t kill you!” But its failed attempts at covering up its own malicious giggles were more than enough to stand your ground… which was coming at you quite fast since you practically collapsed.

Was it the thirst? The pounding migraine that wanted nothing more than to crawl into some dark hole and hide? Or your exhaustion from making that tiring trek, crawling yourself out of the bog and making the trek again, or the hours you had spent wandering around the maze with no real idea of where you were going? All you really knew was that you were now on the ground with the creatures poking at you to see if you were still alive.

“Aw, man! Are they already dead? That’s no fun!” One of the creatures pouted, raising up your arm, and you let it plop back to the ground. “Come on human! Get up! You’re not a party pooper are you?”

Scre you buddy! Can’t you read the situation?!

You were trying your best to stay quiet, which wasn’t all that hard, since all of your energy was gone.

“They best not be,” a familiar voice called out.

From your position, you couldn’t see who it was, but you could make out the creatures jumping away from you like you were the hot fire instead of the fire pit. But someone else was approaching until you could make out a pair of shoes in front of your face.

They crouched down beside you, placing their fingers gently at the base of your throat; taking your pulse. “Hmph, playing dead, are we, Beastie?”

That irritating chuckle. The annoying nickname. Those mischievous magenta eyes that now looked at you with curiosity and amusement.

It was him — Mr. Sparkles.

And he had just blown your act of playing possum (well, not really, since you had actually collapsed).

But you didn’t say anything, instead favouring to give him a dirty look. Yet he just shook his head in jest, and proceeded to pick you up and wrap you around his shoulders and neck like some sort of bizarre ermine pelt; better than being carried like a sack of potatoes or the bridal carry you supposed.

“Her majesty sends her regards for not turning or killing her guest,” Lilia offered the creatures. It would be such a waste and pity to see such an entertaining Beastie leave us too soon now. “But do know she won’t take to their condition lightly.”

My condition? I’m not some Victorian child with some unknown illness wreaking havoc on their body you know?! But all that you did was groan and cough. You couldn’t even cough in Mr. Sparkles’ (Lilia’s) face, since you had a lovely view of the moss-covered ground and the fae’s shoes.

He patted the back of your calves, and you would have kicked him if you had more energy, but you didn’t. “Now, we really should be off, since Beastie has… an hour to get out of this maze before they turn into some sort of worm, or a hedge; never know what this old labyrinth will decide on really.” Lilia chuckled at the thought (was it merriment, or was he happy that you weren’t joining the caterpillar you met earlier?).

“No,” you wheezed. “WoRm!”

“See! They said it themself! No worm! How lovely that we are on a similar wavelength, Beastie! Marvellous even!” Lilia exclaimed, and the both of you started levitating off of the ground. “Now, do enjoy your party, Fireys!”

The creatures (Fireys apparently) groaned but got back to their party, dancing around the fire like they didn’t just try to lure you to your death mere minutes before.

“Tsk tsk, Beastie,” Lilia’s tutting brought your attention back to him and you grumbled. “You owe me two favours now, you know. Lucky that I found you… although that part wasn’t hard. I thought you learned your lesson the first time you decided to take a dip into the Bog of Eternal Stench?”

You lightly kicked him, letting your irritation be known, but Lilia just hummed. “Now now, no need to be like that! Do you want to smell like a bog when you meet the mistress? She wouldn’t take kindly to your… unique aroma.”

You hissed out a breath since he decided to pinch at your ear rather harshly — prompting for you to answer. “No,” you whispered hoarsely.

“Also, do read up on that book, since you will want to know about the government and fae species etiquette!”

From a smelly bog and fumbling around a maze for hours on end, to finding yourself being taken to fae high society… was it too late to become some worm in the maze? I think being a worm actually has a better chance of me living.

But sadly, you were saved from an eternity of being a worm. Hopefully, Mr. Sparkles (Lilia) would cover for your blunders a little for when you found yourself in front of ‘the mistress’.

...

To be continued!

~~~~~~~

Tags; @afunkyfreshblog @cheezy-moon @eynnwwyjth @identity-theft-101 @ithseem @lucid-stories @ryker-writes @twistwonderlanddevotee @xxoomiii

Link to Masterlist

#twst #twst x reader #twst x gn reader #twisted wonderland #twisted wonderland x reader #twisted wonderland x gn reader #lilia vanrouge #lilia vanrouge x reader #lilia vanrouge x gn reader #yup! we're moving away from the labyrinth but fret not! the shenanigans shall continue and relationships will be built!#i forgot how fucking terrifying the fireys are and i now remember way labyrinth gave me nightmares as a kid #twst labyrinth au #also i shit you not i went to go eat at a burger joint last week and 'magic dance' was playing and i lost my fricking mind #like HELLO?! WHAT THE HELL?!#apparently the radio was telling me to fricking work on this fic...#i should really start posting this on ao3 as well... but idk where this is going to go #also posting a standalone fic (oneshot?) tomorrow; you guys will be eating good for a bit. here some crumbs for you and for you and for you

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