Okay I have to ask what with the prototype obsession for poppy so much, it doesn't feel like a family thing, it feels more like a villain trying to impress the heroine in to liking him.
i read this ask & genuinely had to take a deep breath in. i then proceeded to steel myself because GOOD LORDDD there's a lot to this
disclaimer: i am not a p0ppytype shipper in any shape, way, or form. if any viewer reading this is, GENUINELY DNI & BLOCK ME. THAT GOES TO ALL PROSHIPPERS AS WELL. i am not comfortable with interacting with any of you. move along.
for the rest, genuine yet half-unserious analysis under cut because while this ask caused me great pain, i have many thoughts to share:
okayy firstly, let's establish their familial relation. in the oliver-elliot tape, the latter refers to the prototype with "my boy" and tells him that the three of them (with poppy) can become a family. with this, we can solidly infer that elliot did, in fact, adopt or take oliver in some time after poppy's death — thus making 1006 & 1007 adoptive siblings. while mob never turned to the camera & said word for word "yeah poppy LUDWIG and oliver LUDWIG are legal siblings with elliot LUDWIG as their legal father", they're pretty apparent with what they want to deliver through this tape 😭
with this information in mind, we can see a snippet of 1006's motivations & desires — as well as his overall view of his and poppy's relationship. throughout the tape, ollie's distrust and vexation towards elliot is clear as day — he is both horrified and angry at what he has been turned into. he accuses the older man of being single-minded and wholly devoted to poppy (to that of which elliot doesn't actively try to deny.... genuinely kill him again.) and is pretty much spiky & hostile all around
ollie's attitude only simmers down once elliot pulls out the "we can be a family ❤️" card and asserts that "you and her would get along really well". the poor kid then proceeds to adopt a more hopeful tone, meekfully asking for when he can meet poppy – seemingly convinced. again, ollie is placated with the mention of finding a place to belong with a loving family 😭 which later culminates (rather dramatically) to his obsession with establishing a Better Place — his and everyone else's personal heaven.
the prototype is characterized to be fearful of isolation, as heard in the lines "infinity is lonely"/"everyone dies except us"/etc. this seemingly stems from his implied past abuse & his current predicament of immortality, which drives him to obsessively pursue the recreation of his & poppy's "perfections" to bestow upon the other toys. all of his efforts seem to connect back to elliot's promise wherein ollie is surrounded by a happy eternal family and will never be alone again.
1006's apparent fear of loneliness, of course, exemplifies his desperation to obtain poppy's acceptance and understanding of his side and actions. after all, elliot promised him that they COULD be family. through his ollie persona, he also discovered that they DID get along. and THEY'RE the only ones burdened with immortality and the possibility of outliving everyone they cared about — so why does she keep turning away from him? despite everything he's done for their happiness, for them — for HER?
it's fairly implied (& outright noted by one of the devs) that most — if not all his actions – are done FOR poppy, with the prototype taking the responsibility of a "family member" that will provide and protect for them. also, it's pretty clear he sees the two of them as a cut above the rest in terms of value 😭 — wholly distinct from everyone else. and, honestly, if it came down to it, if there's anyone who he'd rather have with him at the end of the world, it would be family. it would be her.
"I built us a home and kept us safe, and you repaid me by bringing in an outsider... plotting to destroy the only heaven YOU and I will ever get."
"I made us a home from what was once a prison. So if you share my vision – thank me, dear, for paradise...... And in the Hour of Joy, don't bite the hand that feeds you, child."
"The toys' motives were to reach out to the prototype for leadership and a new form of their own humanity. He, in turn, provides that, but his own deep motives for helping these experiments are all to get to Poppy. Everything he does is for Poppy."
"... The prototype mimics the voices to his goal to get to Poppy, no matter the cost of lives."
"They only have each other through their circumstances on immortality... and infinity is lonely."
"You're not nothing to me. You're Poppy. And talking with you. Like this... I know it doesn't make any of what they do right. It can't. But it makes me feel like a piece of me is still here. No matter how small they try to make it. Next to all of that, next to whatever they do... it means everything.... I'm here, Poppy. For you, I'll always be here."
with how much of this game revolves around family and connection (playcare, safe haven, elliot's motivations, etc.), it's not outrageous to assume that – similarly – ollie's obsession with poppy comes from a familial place as well. it's also good to note that he's pretty much elliot's narrative mirror through their mutual obsession with poppy/positions as playtime co's past & current head/acting as father or god figures for their creations & all below them/being certified geniuses at their crafts. it would be very strange if mob twisted 1006's fixation on poppy to be romantic instead of familial after... motions to the whole game. EVERYTHING
to be honest, 1006's character does have the potential of being exemplary commentary on emotional/covert incest (different from sexual incest) and how abuse & trauma can turn regular sibling dependency into something unhealthy, obsessive, and harmful. but with the direction mob is steering the story towards, it's highly likely that they won't explore that character possibility too much. besides, i don't think they have the guts or writing ability to explicitly tackle something like that well, even though i am intrigued with that possible plot point. as an additional point, i don't think this fandom should be handed something like that AT ALL 😭 i know for a fact there'd be weirdos who'd take the chance to fetishize & call it hot instead of engaging into the subject with the respect and care it deserves.
(genuinely just nuke ao3 at this point i have yet to encounter a fanfic that explores this interesting direction in a way that ISN'T APPALINGLY CLEAR THAT THE AUTHOR IS A P0PPYTYPE SHIPPER. christ on a stick those fucking tags say it all.)
aaa there's probably more evidence that make it clear that mob intended for 1006's obsession with his sister to purely come from a familial place. i'm sure we can all agree that while his fixation on poppy is not healthy nor good, their dynamic certainly isn't a creepy guy and the girl he wants to romantically get with otherwise i wouldn't be interested in them at ALL 😭 besides, we have enough of that dynamic in other media AND in real life so pass ✋️
objectively speaking, doomed siblings is way more interesting and narratively-woven to what we've been given ingame so far compared to the random twist that 1006 was just into her in a romantic sense 😭 bc i assure you on the low chance that mob goes with that direction in chapter six, 70% of the fandom would just collectively dip INCLUDING ME
elliot & his familial fixation on poppy being passed onto the son is just a story point that slaps so hard. in a way, he's still haunting the narrative primarily through oliver & poppy. the former was forced to become a prototype under his father's whim and, as an effect, obsessively clings onto the last living remnant of the family promised to him. meanwhile, the latter carries the burden that every horrible thing both ludwig family members have committed was all in service to her — under the justification and excuse of family.
dreamy sigh... the ludwigs are just every doomed family enjoyers' crack. they're so angsty, messy, and tragic!!!! they're perfect ❤️
I hope every single person who puts nice comments in tags under reblogged art knows that you you guys are the backbone of society. Being an artist online sucks these days, but here on tumblr I still get compliments under artworks that I made years ago. I hope you know every WOW and heart emoji and heartfelt compliment and funny comment you left in the tags is part of the reason I kept drawing all these years, in spite of everything that was going on.
I've been screenshotting the nice tags I get for years, and at this point it would be literal thousands of lines if I still had my old files. I love u tumblr users <333333333
my order for my first bonnet finally came through today so i got reminded of this ask & drew an additional bonnet poppy ^^ i've started seriously caring for my own thick & curly hair for the past year so i'm been trying to work some haircare into my usual routine as well
What did you think of the reveal toy prototype design?
Although, if we consider it within the established canon, imagine how difficult it must have been for Olie to even walk.
Elliot really hate him
double trouble
i went into detail of my thoughts here & here but tldr: he looks cute af but i do think it's more of his cartoon version than what he actually originally looked like [bc i am biased & unhealthily attached to the jack in the box theory]
(seriously. mob has to repeatedly bash my head into the wall until i'm blue and bloody while proclaiming in bold text that it isn't canon for me to let go of it. it's too thematically perfect & satisfying to NOT be canon istg)
if the stilt design is actually what he looked like in the past (...sigh), elliot pretty much doomed the kid to suffer in like. 12 inch heels for all of eternity 😭
Have you seen Proto in the official art?? BECAUSE YOU GOTTA
okayokayokay let's use this post to speculate if this is his official toy design
ive seen plenty of people mention how this artwork officially disproves the "1006 was a jack in a box" theory. which. I DON'T REALLY AGREE WITH. IN GAME AT LEAST
the artwork would be stylized for pride ALONE or a representation of his cartoon form while the ones playtime sold ARE a jack in a box
like look at that spring man 😭 ive seen other people mention how he could be THIS type of toy instead of a jack in a box
but at the same time, how on earth would he have fit under theo's bed if he had full on legs of THAT length 🤔
HOWEVER. if he was CRAWLING on the other hand.... while rendered half of his size with only his upper half upon being seperating from his box..... + that narrative parallel with boxy boo (elliot's first success > proto; harley's first success > boxy; both jack in a box)
im too attached to jack in a box theory & i don't like people immediately labelling the new design as canon bc im biased like that 😭😭 aaaa i hope someone on the team clarifies on the canonicity
