This is my first animatic, I do plan on making more in the future.
I started this in late September and didnt finish until early January so there is some minor art style changes lol (I was planning on redoing some panels but never got around to it)
I hope you all enjoy watching this as much as I did making it ā¤ļø
I do recall someone making a post similar to this awhile back so if anyone recalls who they were please let me know and I can credit them. This analysis will be exploring how the CB main characters struggle with belonging in different ways but a little more in depth as dissecting literature and lore is fun. Please keep in mind this is just something I did for fun and itās not meant to be fully taken seriously.
CHASE: Chase within Cinderella boy is often overlooked when it comes to his problems while interacting with other characters. For the most part only Deacon notices these things but even he doesn't fully understand Chase. Chase as a character buries his true feelings as he doesnāt want others to see him down. To him he has to be perceived as happy and okay as he doesnāt want others to worry about him when they could potentially be going through something worse. This creates a barrier from showing others his full self. If they only see him on his highs and not lows they aren't fully seeing or understanding him.
Because of this he constantly minimizes his own struggles over and over again trying not to address them. For example he built the keys to a mini little water resort to help cope with Buddy being upset over his lying. This may seem like a different problem aside from belonging but by not allowing himself to fully process and stick with his negative feelings he is discouraging himself from engaging with such behaviors while letting others feel deeply about the same things. Very hypocritical. He is essentially disincluding himself from processing. Not allowing himself to feel negative emotions to their fullness (unless he is alone or at a breaking point.) So his belonging issues stem from his emotions.
Why doesn't he think he is allowed to hold onto hurt? He still has feelings both negative and positive but he will make excuses for others when he cares deeply about them and reassure him when he is upset himself. Yes Chase has had emotional outbursts in the past but he never holds too closely to those feelings. He was upset about his sweatshirt being missing but afterwhile he never brings it up after Goldie is revealed. It isn't until he sees Buddy wearing it that he brings up the fact that he was missing it.
When it was revealed that Buddy had been siphoning narratonin in it was the only time in CB where Chase allowed himself to be upset for a long period of time. (I would include the Pru incident in the vampire arc too although guilt isn't the same as melancholy.) but even then he kept convincing himself that Buddy didn't mean any harm which is fine although again repeatedly telling yourself that someone didn't intend harm while feeling hurt doesn't fully let you process through everything. The messy and negative emotions do belong as much as the positive bubbly ones.
I hope before season 2 ends Chase comes into terms of accepting and processing his negative emotions letting himself feel instead of minimizing them.
DEACON: In the start of Cinderella Boy it is implied that Chase and Deacon arenāt as close as they used to be. For the record you can access Punko's reaction videos for free on Patreon for more context around this. It is revealed that Deacon and Chase used to be very close, then Deacon's family moved and Deacon eventually went to college so Chase didn't see him as much as he used to. So when CB starts they are already less close as they used to be. It is the keys that end up bringing them back together. Then there's Buddyā¦
To be frank Deacon has good reasons not to like Buddy. Buddy used to be a menace. And Deacons resentment towards Buddy only grew as Chase spent more time with Buddy and avoided his cousin in books.
The two of them Deacon and Chase were only starting to build back up their familial relationship and then Chase gets close to the person that was harassing Deacon and starts spending more time with Buddy in books unintentionally disincluding Deacon.
That must have been lonely and difficult to deal with. In the Absentee arc Deacon mentions that he feels like a third wheel to Wave. Wave being more observant then he initially appeared to be. He already sensed that Deacon and Pru were both outliers which is why he has been using them specifically to gain information and trust him. Its easier to gain trust from those who already seem to be lonely.
Deacons' struggle with belonging specifically stemmed from feeling disincluded when Chase engaged with Buddy rather than him. This loneliness has been filmed by Wave but who is to say it won't come back after learning who Wave really is (or isnāt.)
PRUNELLA: Invisible child trope? Throughout CB it is revealed that Pru struggles to make friends. She is heavily implied to be neurodivergent which most likely play part in her struggle. (TBH same) Goldie however encourages her to make friends despite her struggle and has been seen trying to help her overcome this.
Outside of the peer relationship challenges Prus' sense of belonging is also negatively impacted with her time with the Hollows. Within season1 it is revealed that she lied to her mother to be able to keep the babysitting money in order to live of the grid when she turns 18. (i love this kid) during her time as her own babysitter she would spend her time playing in the hollows yard when she wasn't at their house eating breakfast with them, but after Chase found out she was lying and started taking his babysitting gig into account she was still left alone on multiple encounters.
Deacon has mentioned on multiple accounts that they don't know buddy so Prunella should only interact with him when supervised by him or Chase but this suggestion hasn't been implied to Wave.
Whenever Prunella is alone, Wave always somehow manages to interact with her one on one. He is able to understand that she feels left out from the Hollows and uses that to become closer.
Prunella to me falls somewhere within the invisible child trope. She is a kid that others somehow manage to forget about or not fully notice to the extent that they should. She often goes through books independently and it seems to me like the others have forgotten she is just a kid. I wouldn't leave a 8 year old child alone in any setting that I wasn't familiar with (or anywhere in general as the world is a dangerous place.) Why are they allowing a kid to be alone?
Anyway Pru needs an apology from the men who are forgetting what their responsibility as babysitters entails. And to be honest she should be able to keep that babysitting money as well. They were only watching her when they were trying to hide her existence from Buddy. Let that girl save her off the grid money. (But honestly now that i think about it, its kind of depressing that a 8 year old wants to live off the grid. She's already preparing to live alone as no one has been reliable.) I hope when this all blows over they don't blame her for accidental reveals she's been saying in front Wave. She is 8.
BUDDY: While all of the main characters within Cinderella Boy struggle with belonging in different ways I noticed that Buddyās alienation is unique as it has been structural, based on his lived experiences.Being a marginalized youth within the Gilded ages, and his transformation as a key have both served as a reminder that his struggle with belonging has become something perceived as dehumanizing and deeply internalized from his experiences.
Within season two it is revealed that before the keys Buddy had no one . He didnāt have friends nor family. Had to pickpocket in order to survive (and dipping is hard to do so kudos to him). Not much else is revealed about his past other than glimpses of him having to fight for whatever reason. It has been revealed by a Punko that Buddy isnāt a fan of fighting or violence and he only turns towards it when he needs to defend himself or doesnāt think theres another way. (Keep in mind Buddy still torments and used to physically harass Deacon and Chase, but never took it to the point of hurting them. Minus the wolfs-sorry Deacon, and the spear-which was accidental. And that one time with the chain and that guy, but Buddy probably filed that away as justifiable and I don't blame him.) So whatever he was scuffling for probably had to do with a resource, or self defense. It hasnāt been revealed when he started living alone so theres a chance he doesn't remember. Oftenly when people experience traumatic things (especially when they are young and their brains have not fully developed) they will unconsciously forget things in order to protect themselves. He says he has always been alone so maybe that is true to him as he doesn't remember. I'd assume he had to have some sort of parental or guardian from infancy to at least 5 years in order to physically survive but his brain cant recall anything past a certain point or memories are fragmented or dream-like. Without anyone he could recall and no friends growing up in poverty he would be very alienated from society in a very specific way.
Buddy admitted he turned to burglary after he owed money to some dangerous people and pickpocketing wasn't efficient enough. This is what led him to the mansion that Ex Libris at the time resided in. When he ended up opening the cicada jar it transformed him physically. After being interrogated he manages to learn that he has been placed into the Villain key which was created like the other keys but never turned into a key person. Upon this realization Buddy thinks that he was chosen specifically for this transformation as he believes he exhibits traits that a Villain would have. This adds onto his struggle to belong and creates the problematic belief that he is a villain or a bad person. For reference the keys do have archetypes that are roles to the people who use them in stories, but neither Buddy or Violet are evil despite being Villian/ness keys.
He does eventually befriend Violet and is accepted into the Keybling family but he still feels like an outsider. He doesnāt want to be key. He longs to be human again. The keys do accept him as he is but what is to say if they met him before he turned into a key would they? His alienation continues- he comments on how the others donāt know what they are missing as they have never known anything more. He misses the wind, and the heat. Things metallic beings canāt feel. Going into books with Chase and co im sure helps him feel less dehumanized for the most part when it comes to his perception of his physical self but not with belonging.
As a kid who was originally from the gilded ages the way we speak is not the same as today. He doesn't pick up on the slang or more recent terms that came to be. Within his reactions with the others I noticed he doesn't react at all when he doesn't understand something. He will just go quiet and not acknowledge what was said. EX: Chase asked if Buddy would be his boyfriend. The term boyfriend was not around in the gilded age. Buddy probably assumed Chase was asking if Buddy would be his friend but Buddy didn't engage as he already thinks that they are on good terms or was confused by what Chase was saying and didn't want his confusion to be apparent as that would bring up questions. Rereading the webtoon I found other moments where Chase would say something and Buddy similarly would ignore what was said and continue on the discussion to where it was before Chase said something he didnāt quite get.
This communication barrier also plays a part in his alienation. As well as the fear of the future and what it holds. Currently in the story all that he wants is a future with Chase but he canāt imagine anything past that. In the Stardust arc he is faced with the genre of sci-fi. Not understanding that the majority of what the world holds in the story is fictional or over exaggerated drives him to the point of considering that maybe he is not equipped for the modern world. (and to be fair he really isn't equipped to handle the modern world at the moment but is pretty smart and adaptable, so with support im sure he would be fine.) Violet reinforces this fear when he brings up wanting to stay and become a human again. She doesn't indulge in his fantasies at that moment and says he doesnāt belong there and they need to go back to where they are from. Eventually Violet does come around to accepting the fact Buddy wanted to become a human again and that he didnāt want to go back but im sure that initial comment she made stung as she confirmed what he had been conditioned to believe.
As season 2 progresses we are coming closer to CB finishing off (Unless season 3 gets confirmed. Cross your fingers xp) I hope to see Buddy gain some closure in regards to his alienation and come into terms of acceptance. It's okay to accept others into your life and belong and I hope this is explored a little more as we near the final episodes.
WAVE: Good. You don't belong. Stay away from my children. Please? Anyway this isnāt exactly confirmed but I'm sure Wave is from a book. For those of you familiar with āThe Elephant Bookā Punko has stated it takes place in the same universe as Cinderella Boy. Which means Wave could be a fictional character that was brought to life through someone's love. Before Wave was a confirmed back stabber i had a weird AU where he was brought to life through the love of Ro. Anyways i still find that funny but Rose should get a restraining order against Wave or dress him silly. Iām thinking tutu and taira next book with a crazy looking wig. Make him look stupid Ro. Or steal his sandals.
Just a general reminder. If someone expresses discomfort in a broad or general way it does not need to be analyzed picked apart or debated.
When I say people have different comfort levels I mean someone might be okay with certain types of content or language but not others. That does not make them inconsistent it just means their boundaries are not the same in every situation.
Making assumptions or accusations based on general statements can come across as unnecessary or rude.
Please be mindful of how we engage with others especially younger members of the fandom. Tone and context matter and dogpiling helps no one.
Edit: This post was meant as something to consider regarding tagging and visibility in shared spaces. Iām not trying to define what is or isnāt NSFW or tell anyone what to do.
As the fandom continues to grow I think itās worth bringing up something in regard to NSFW content.
I donāt have any issue with NSFW content itself as long as itās clearly tagged. However CB is an all-ages webtoon, and there are minors in the fandom space especially on platforms like Tumblr.
While Tumblr does a decent job of flagging mature content itās not a perfect system. Some users may still come across posts unintentionally especially when content appears in general fandom tags. Also āmatureā can mean different things depending on context (suggestive themes, body horror, etc.), so people may not always know what theyāre clicking on.
Because of that I think itās worth being mindful of tagging. Using a tag like #CBnsfw for content that isnāt appropriate for minors and avoiding general CB tags (like #Cinderellaboy) on those posts could help reduce accidental exposure.
Chase has tried to sneak his number to Buddy before recently after the Cinderella book flooding incident. Buddy never correlated the number with anything and assumed Chase was just giving him some sort of code. He and Violet could not figure out what the number was for and just ended up throwing it in a lost and found box.
Deacon is demiromantic
If Bronze really wanted to he could upstage Violets outfits but he doesn't feel like competing
Prunella originally was in a club equivalent to girl scouts but quit because she was feeling left out by the other girls and wasnāt a fan of all of the activities
Deacon wanted to help with a theatrical production as a techie but his fear of stage fright and pretty girls stopped him from even applying or fully considering it
Buddy is a pescatarian
Silver wants to try needle felting after she finishes her knitting projects
Wave went to school for marine biology but considered becoming a science teacher at some point
Chase still says āpoggersā and uses brainrot terms 24/7. unfortunately Buddy thinks these words are normal.
Deacon is obsessed with mythology
Buddy has hid Chases body pillow after becoming a human and refuses to say where it disappeared to. Only Violet and Bronze know where he put it but they wont tell Chase either for very different reasons.
Deacon writes self insert fan fics
Prunella once picked up a wild goose and almost gave Chase a heart attack. Goldie was very proud
Watching jellyfish have the same effect on the keys and Buddy that the lavalamp does
Chase has ADHD while Buddy is Autistic. Neither of them are diagnosed though.
Goldie likes to sit on the chickens backs and ride them as if they were horses
Wave was entering books before Buddy knew that Prunella was a kid and not a cat.
Buddy would get jealous if his siblings tried to sit on Chases shoulders or head.
Violet likes to paint herself with nail polish every once in a while but then will demand for nail polish remover a few hours after applying the nail polish on.
Deacon once wanted to dye his hair. His parents immediately shot that down.
Wave has thought over actually trusting Chase and Deacon and telling them his location (which I believe he knows as he probably was the one to hang up those posters) but believes they are incompetent and wont be able to do anything considering his situation.
Bronze will bring Terrence into conversations as if Terrence was a real chicken. This bothers Deacon. Deacons facial expressions in response to this is what motivates Bronze to continue.
Buddy hates water and rain from the memories it holds when he lived on the streets
Chase at one point in his early childhood wanted to be an astronaut and a danseur (Male ballet dancer)
Wave is Bi
Before the boy band thing Simon tried to convince Chase to start a garage band with him. Chase convinced him otherwise.
Buddy wishes Violet would call him Buddy too but is to anxious to ask as she specifically picked the name Nox for him
Wave and Deacon surprisingly become good friends after everything occurs but Deacon does stop talking to Wave for 2 weeks tops because of what Wave did.
Prunella wants a pet chipmunk. She saw someone have a pet chipmunk while watching videos with Silver and Goldie on Deacons phone. (Bronze was asleep) Her mother says the chipmunks are the fairies friends and cant be pets though.
If Ro went to Chases room he would fall for Alistair helping Chase loose interest in him.
After living with the Hollows Buddy's favorite place to nap is on top of Chases head in his wavy hair.
Prunella reminds Wave of his little sister, and he feels bad for manipulating her but his family will always come first
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