#character speculation

[elissespieces]

I cannot overstate how much I love the Project Hail Mary movie- but there was a concept change from the book to film that I felt stuck out a little errantly.

First- yes; they have to sacrifice a lot between the book and the movie, I make peace with this (most of the time). However, in PHM, one of the things that felt too important to diverge from was how strikingly mirrored Grace was to Rocky. Not as friends, but as individuals. Simplistically, they were psychological and intellectual reflections of each other.

At the point in the storyline where the two species learned to communicate, both characters had already passed the point of mission status: desperation. It was dire circumstances with different forms of helplessness, despite equal intent.

Rocky and Grace both:

-left with a crew and were now alone. Neither one knew why.

-had a specialized skillset that made them uniquely qualified to work the known problem- it just wasn’t enough.

-welcomed help of any kind (this fact is insane. trying to imagine another human being in Ryland’s place does not work. It had to be him. We can assume it’s the same for Rocky)

-weren’t giving up on the mission*

-weren’t giving up on each other

When the communication barrier was no longer an issue, it became a tennis match of science, math, physics, chemistry, etc. Rocky was just as science smart as Grace, and they locked together seamlessly in order to work each problem as they came. It wasn’t perfect, and their ideas didn’t always work, but it wasn’t The Scientist and The Engineer. Their individual skills were bound only by the physical limitations of their separate environments. Knowledge was soaked up on both sides, contributing equally to every problem.

The point I guess I’m making is that I could have done without the scenes where one (or both) of them is made to look incompetent for the sake of the audience. ‘I have done this for you cause you did that for me.’ Even when irritated with each other, their contributions were more or less balanced to the cause.

Rocky saves Grace, Grace saves Rocky. They both save Earth and Erid together.

That’s it- that’s the movie.

*Grace gave up over and over in the movie, especially at the beginning, which was a critical time in the book to learn every inch of the ship and attempt to regain what he’d lost of himself.

Some of the goofiness was fine, that was in character and that’s fun to watch, but by going over the top with the terrified and blundering human act, Grace’s bravery came off as clumsy resignation. The man was writing math equations on his skin before he could find paper (let alone get to any computer controls). He was surprised to discover that he was good at spacewalking. There was a rooted determination to succeed without even knowing how he’d gotten there. Lacking these traits lessens the shock reveal that Grace woke up as another person. He hadn’t been brave, he hadn’t even consented to be there in the first place. And we feel this. It hurts so much because he’d worked and wept and sacrificed himself right from the start, shipped across the universe without help, without his name, on behalf of the planet that had betrayed him.

[critical-ramble]

manifesting a divination wizard ✨🔮✨🧙🏼‍♀️✨

[chestersbraincell]

I swear to GOD if Kris truly ends up being a reflection of chara in the way that they see themselves being a human as reflective of some inherent rottenness within them and having succumb to that as a part of growing up, self-villainising themselves in an attempt to not be hurt by their semi-self-inflicted isolation.

And their younger self having not made this distinction in finding out they were not a monster, represented by the horns headband. And that horns headband being what makes ralsei. And that being why ralsei is so kind and also looks like the monsters that Kris wishes they would look like(their family, the dreemurs). Also why Kris feels so odd about Ralsei as hinted by tea and whatnot, because Ralsei is quite literally a reflection of what Kris thinks they could never be. A self they lost long ago.

Basically this one tumblr post

[twst-hottest-takes]

I'm pretty sure this isn't a hot take, but I'm really hoping that twst doesn't make Nala a full grown adult. I'm hoping that the Nala statue is a subversion of expectations, and that Zira is the one who's actually at RSA.

I think this would work, since Silver (a princess) is at NRC, why not have a villain character at RSA? And I know there's Megara, but her evilness is questionable. While Zira was literally so evil she chose death instead of becoming good!

But I think if they wanted to do another lion character who's not all bad, they could have done Kovu. He's a redeemable villain like Megara, but I think for the twst version this would be difficult to do. Here me out though, since Kovu isn't related to Scar in anyway, why not just make Twst Kovu like an adopted noble or something. And he's talked down to because he's seen as even worse than the second born prince ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Overdone trope in this game I know, but maybe Leona genuinely wants to help Twst Kovu, but Twst Kovu wants nothing to do with Leona.

I have no idea if this take is making sense (ᵕ—ᴗ—), but I just think it would be weird to make Nala go to RSA. Not just because Simba in this universe is a child, but also because Nala and Scar barely interact in the movie. I don't even think they talk to each other in the movie! Every other Radiant 7 Statue has in some way talked with their corresponding villain except for Nala, and Nala wasn't as badly affected by Scar as Simba was. An example of this: in the Lion King 2 she's willing to let Kovu (a random cub Scar chose to be his heir) into the Pride Lands!

Anyone but Nala. Anyone but Nala. ANYONE BUT NALA!

Half-joking aside, I really would love the idea of this character being someone out of left field like Zira or Kovu. Heck at this point I'll take Vitani or Nuka (least likely in a million years that last one he's definitely an NRC kid). Someone with some connection to Scar and not just. . .fitting the theme of the rest of the Radiant 7 series. Also, adding characters from The Lion King 2 isn't super weird when you consider how much of Leona's culture draws from The Lion Guard show. It would be much more interesting and I would love to see how they build up the dynamics between Leona and this new lion.

. . .

I know TWST is gonna twist, but the idea is so lame that they would go that route. Please don't be Nala. I am begging on my knees.

Thank you for your take!

Like, what do you mean TWST Nala isn't a precocious child that hangs out with Cheka and raises Leona's blood pressure even more?

[lazulisocinfodump]

Base Child Robot Model Idea

not quuiiiiiiiite an oc, but more a design idea for characters in the Eclipse and Puppet Show: 3 Ghost Kids (Jake, Andy and Andrew) who at the time of this post are thought to be likely to gain robot bodies to possess for themselves in the future. That being said I actually like this design and might use it for an oc in the future.

Based of a Pizzaplex Staffbot given child proportions and legs. As in-universe Eclipse is designing these bodies and I recon hes not as good at aesthetic design as Sun (or at least cares a lot less). So won't end up as original or nice looking as the body Sun helped design for Dazzle.

Might post my ideas for all three kids after their bodies are customized for each one, but only on my main blog as its not My OC-adjacent enough for this one XD.

[maneaterwithtail]

Why has no one ever mentioned this piece of official artwork when talking about shipping or characterizing chilchuck?

I'm including people who ship them with the dwarf it makes no d*** sense this is as much of a silver bullet is anything proving the guy aint straight or at the very least show up more than thin "found doppelganger handsomer " on Senshi shipping.

If anything man is a pan Supreme in allure if not interest due to cute looks. And has issues on ot..just crime not work with this.

Maybe just narcissist

[iriiiiiiis]

To me, the highlight of chapter 121 were the breadcrumbs of Yoshida characterization. Like, after multiple chapters of this dude escaping into the background—probably cuz of his devil hunting job—this feels…lowkey revealing? In a couple ways.

For starters, it’s been confirmed that Yoshida’s working for some vague organization to ensure Denji has a normal life. The exact morals or motives of this organization are, as of now, unknown. However, we do know they don’t intend for Chainsaw Man’s true identity to be revealed. No matter what, even if it conflicts with Denji’s wants. So, on the surface, this line is most likely in reference to the reasons why Chainsaw Man’s true identity being disclosed to the public is very bad. People would either—unsurprisingly—become obsessed with him or try to hunt him down for momentary reward/devil contracts, like in the International Assassins arc.

However, this line could also be a peek into Yoshida’s own viewpoint towards relationships in general. Throughout the story, Yoshida has been known as the student who frequently skips class. This has been a pretty consistent trait with his character since part 1: he doesn’t stay around unless it’s absolutely necessary or beneficial to him in some way. With this in mind, this line heavily implies that genuine relationships—whether they be romantic or platonic—are not categorized into these two groups. To him, there’s too many variables that are uncontrollable. Relationships can be messy, distracting, or lead to heartbreak. Despite this, you can’t control another person AND expect the connection to be “mutually agreeable”. This is a realization even the previous incarnation of the Control Devil, Makima, came to despite all the power she had.

Upon first meeting Yoshida, I assumed he was gonna be the “chill, popular guy” that everyone wanted to be close with. But so far, in my humble opinion, part 2 has really subverted that with his continuous disappearances. Even with the few scenes we’ve seen of him interacting with other students, he doesn’t really engage with any of them aside from exchanging expected pleasantries in conversation. Like, he’s friendly. He puts on an unassuming smile. He’s even regarded as conventionally attractive in the story by being called a “pretty boy”. However, despite all these ideally positive traits, he doesn’t seem to have any interest in getting to actually know people outside of his occupation. Moreover, the dude is rather unsettling. This could be intentional on his part, but I have to wonder if that’s a product of his solitude. Like, does he even know how to talk to other people outside of showing basic politeness. Especially to people around his own age? He didn’t have to be so cryptic when talking to Asa, he could have just lied and made up something horrible about Denji to make her repulsed by him. I could be proven wrong, but I get the vibe that Yoshida doesn’t have any close friends or immediate family members. Why would he? Especially in his line of work, a career path that leaves most six feet in the ground through the devils they hunt or in upholding the mandatory contracts they make. The latter of which is another unknown aspect about Yoshida. We’ve still yet to get any further details on the devil he’s contracted with, Octopus Devil. Like, what type of contract did he make with it to have such control over its appendages? I’d assume a pretty intense contract, maybe it has to do with his preferred solitary? Perhaps he’s a “country mouse”. That’s just speculation on my part though, along with the rest of this post lol.

Would be more than happy to hear others’ thoughts!

[foxblood]

Y'all ever think about how Wyll had total faith in his contract with Mizora at the beginning of the game? At least that one clause:

'Targets shall be limited to the infernal, the demonic, the heartless, and the soulless.'

He just seemed to assume that there were no loopholes or contradictions until the player character suggested otherwise. If you choose, you can kill Karlach and he never questions it. He blinds himself to other options, like he's not capable of doing wrong. His worldview assumes that all people in those categories must be worth killing.

It gives an evil Wyll run a distinct flavor to it. A man trying to save the world by dominating it, hiding behind his moral code to justify actions for which he condemns others.