@fridjitzu replied: In the fansub I watched back in the day, before the film got an official English dub, that line was translated as "where is the phone booth?" which made me picture Vincent ducking into a phone booth to transform into chaos like he's fuckin Clark Kent changing into superman.
Hellsite still isn’t sending me replies properly. Holy shit so sorry for such a late response. 😔
Honestly? That’s like a galaxy brain translation and interpretation - and way better than what got localized in the final dub. Like damn, we were robbed.
Raz and Bobby for the PN duos meme, if you're still doing it?
oh, i have SO many thoughts of these two that i gotta stick it under the read more because this will be much longer than my bit on mikhail and bobby.
out of all of bobby's dynamics, besides chloe, the one he shares with raz is the most poignant to his character. right off the bat, this new kid just breaks into camp, and bobby almost seems impressed. he's smirking at raz, he's seeing that the counselors are *flustered* and don't know what to do yet with raz. raz is someone who broke up the feeling of mundane bleeding into whispering rock, so bobby's interest is immediate...only for it to die seconds later when raz is shown to be kind to the wimpiest boys in camp, dogen and maloof. bobby scoffs at him, brushing him off as sappy, gag-worthy kid pleading his case to the counselors until raz says a certain phrase that pulls back in: circus freak. as soon as he says that, bobby becomes quiet and just listens as raz talks, discussing the hope of being psychonaut, how it can make him a hero. i'm guessing that's how bobby must felt when he was younger, when he started attending camp before deciding everything was stupid. in a way, i'm wondering if bobby saw a little bit of himself in raz.
both of them seem to come from poverty and "broken homes." for raz, we know why now, but for the case of pn1, raz believed his father hated him to the point of wanting him dead. the usage of "circus freak" implies that he had come to dislike his home life due to the consistent barrage of anti-psychic sentiments and disavowal of his dreams, mostly by his father from what we gather in pn1. bobby, on the other hand, is a lot of more subtle with coming from a broke home. while we don't the exact reasoning, it's believed that bobby has a strained relationship with his father (or mother or guardian, but i think the popular fan theory is that it's his father - regardless of whether anyone is in support of the dadboto theory). it's why he tears up when ford says augustus is the reason for why raz is so strong, why when augustus looks on at raz with such pride that bobby can't help but become sad because, just maybe, he also wants a good relationship with his father but he can't have that. as for the poverty part, raz wears hand-me-downs, and bobby's clothing is tattered. neither of them come from wealth, which more likely than not led to them having to learn how to survive.
to go back to their actual dynamic, they're rivals. bobby sees raz as a challenger to his rule in whispering rock, but raz doesn't back down like most kids. while bobby avoids confrontations with kids who *could* kick his ass, raz is all for it. raz will gladly put bobby in his place, which surprises him! it's like it's been forever since anyone gave bobby a real fight! (mikhail notwithstanding since that fight is incredibly one-sided.) so, the jealousy and resentment toward raz grows immensely over basic braining. bobby does whatever he can do trip raz up. he needs to be the best, after all, and he can't have raz blow him out of the water on the first day! kicking him off, shooting him, pushing him to the death, anyone will work to give bobby that satisfaction, but raz won't go down. raz is very bold in his own right as a performer and as an acrobat. he can outmaneuver bobby, and it drives bobby *mad* to know that the new kid is already so much better than him.
kind of like his dynamic with mikhail, the envy is present. bobby doesn't like this new kid for stealing his thunder, for winning the counselors over, for stirring up the status quo that bobby sought to keep for many summers. but this summer is far different. everything comes crashing down for bobby with maloof rising to power, the coach stealing his brain, and raz becoming a psychonaut. he only has chloe for a friend, and that relationship is tenuous. he's alone, and he knows it while raz was able to become a PSYCHONAUT, which is what bobby *wanted*.
how mortifying must it be for bobby to work and train for many summers only for this random circus runaway to snatch that title out of his hands?
then, there's raz. raz knows he's stronger than bobby. he's not a bully. he's not cruel. he's snarky and witty and he gets frustrated with the other kids when they won't help and he might rub something in their faces, but he isn't as malicious as bobby. he did tell bobby right to his face that he won't back down, that he thinks he's better than bobby. it makes me wonder what truly happened between them during their conversation while re-braining bobby. what led to bobby demanding to know if raz thought he was better than him, with raz replying in exhaustion that "yes, i do, i think i'm better than you" and bobby snapping that he knew it all along.
the thing for raz and bobby just based on their interactions alone is that they're rivals but raz is the winner every single time. bobby can't match him. bobby can't win. bobby is alone while raz gets the glory, the family, the prestige, the friends, the girlfriend, all things that bobby wants. while raz gets higher, bobby sinks lower, and what a despairing way to go leaving camp on a bus while raz flies off in the *jet* to save the grand head of the psychonauts.
they dislike each other in the first game, bobby far more than raz. bobby *hates* him with a burning passion because again, raz gets everything he wants while raz ends up brushing him off by the end of the game.
but then you have the events of pn2 and the changes raz goes through. raz becomes much more empathetic and understanding post-casino mission. he learns that he can't mess with peoples' minds, that everyone is going through strife differently, that everyone is deserving of kindness (unless they're harming his family just like gristol did, in which case, KILL him lili). so, taking into account everything raz endured, what would his reaction be to encountering bobby again?
i think bobby would hate him right off the bat. he's still surly. he's still angry. a couple years wouldn't smother the flames of his envy and hatred, but raz is...different. he's more open to people. he's more welcoming. he's still cheeky and still sneers and sometimes actively taunts him, but something is different. raz doesn't hate him. yes, he's annoyed, but there isn't any outright hatred, which surprises bobby. bobby, who is so used to rejection and combat, would probably be stunned by this new raz. who IS he? WHY is he trying to be nice? it's a ploy. a game. a STUNT. there's no way raz is being nice to him for a reason, not when they hate each other because bobby is blind to anyone trying to be kind to him. he shuts them out, closes the door in their face, and that includes raz.
i think raz would help bobby. it would take coaxing, maybe months, maybe a YEAR, for bobby to lower his guard around him. raz' persistence would pay off...for a price. bobby is resistant to help, wanting raz out of his mind, denying any kind of catharsis for raz assisting him with the mental woes that plague him. but raz sees a person who has been struggling and struggling, and he knows bobby is just like any person who has been tormented by bad moods, regrets, doubts, countless intrusive thoughts demanding he hurt others, to push his suffering on to someone else. it isn't easy. it never is. for bobby, being vulnerable is a death sentence. for raz, it's a way to move on from the hurt.
of course, there's also how they can make each other worse. kind of like with mikhail, if bobby drags raz to his level, then he wins. he gets the last laugh because he was able to make raz mad. it's one of the few joys he gets out of laugh by making someone miserable, but even then, i think that bliss would wear off, replaced with a severe downswing in his mood. his hurt is still there, and raz can see that, but in another scenario, raz would get frustrated enough to leave, let bobby deal with it himself, leave bobby alone again (he's always been alone, it's nothing new.)
but with all of that out of the way, i can see them becoming friends! it would have to after bobby received therapy (or even a little bit of help). because his violent envy of raz fueled him for years. i like to imagine bobby comes up with terrible nicknames for him ("razzy boy" "razamatz" "gogglehead" never goggalicious tho because raz holds that over him.) raz has to suffer through them. i can see them getting into good trouble or having fights that don't end with bloodshed. i do think raz can be a good inspiration for bobby, and bobby ends up being a support for raz. ("lili dumped me again." "YOU should get in this trash can so i can roll you down this cliff to take your mind off it." "good idea bobby.") they joke around together! they support each other on missions or just around the motherlobe. bobby seems to know all the best rumors between agents, so he lets raz in on the know. their psychic abilities work well together, so missions are fine between them (until they disagree and argue because of course they will).
they can be great together! they just have to work out a lot of their past. bobby has a lot of growing to do, but i think raz is more willing to give him a helping hand. bobby might not accept it right away, but stubbornness is one of raz' traits.
this is their dynamic as adults with bobby as gyro and raz as johnny.
AND SEPARATELY, i can also see bobby going down a more villainous path and raz trying to stop him when they're older for maximum angst. at bobby's lowest, raz helps lift him back up again after a lot of struggling.
as for romantically, i'm a bit on the fence about it because it would have to happen when they're older, but i can see the potential! i think bobby would probably have to really, really, REALLY overcome any internalized homophobia. i do think they'd have issues communicating their needs to each other, which is something raz demonstrates in his relationship with lili. if they're both in a place where they're comfortable, maybe a hand brushing against the others would lead to the hands...being held. bobby dies seconds later because he is the emotionally stunted 7'9'' foot tall bastard. raz poses over his unconscious body.
TLDR: they can make each other better. they can make each other worse. they can grow together. they can regress together. they can push each other into the dryers like a sonic sez segment. they can talk to each about their worst fears. they can play video games together and laugh. they can try to kill each other. they can be friends. they can be enemies. they can be more if they overcome a lot of hurdles.
unfollowing a bunch of gross people who made me angry every time i saw them on my dash and following you instead was the best move i've made for a while. keep being your awesome self <3
