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MOTM End of Chapter 1 Analysis

THIS WILL COVER THE LATEST UPDATE FROM MOTM FOR CHAPTER 1! IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THE UPDATE, PLEASE DO SO TO AVOID SPOILERS!

OH BOY! That ending, the revalations, the implications! aggghh there's so much to cover! So, let's take this step by step.

The update starts with Cuphead and Bendy backtracking to the former's body after escaping the searchers and butchers. Head still in pieces of course, which greatly unnerves Bendy. Even before we see his face we can tell the body is greatly affecting him. The way he grips his tail and how it turns all wiggly at the end displays how disturbing it is for him. While he claimed that he deserved it, actually seeing the body again may be chipping away that line of thinking. But he doesn't have to long to continue contemplating the body before him. Because two figures come crashing in.

Time for the brotherly reunion we've been waiting for. The Bendystraw duo have very different reactions to seeing in their brothers safe and sound. Cuphead is overjoyed to see both of them are A-OK. Well, as OK as you can be after running from Searchers all day. Bendy, however, looks tense at seeing them. I imagine it may be a result of seeing Mugman again. After all, the last time he saw him he... wasn't in sound mind.

Mugman is relieved to see his brother is, well not alive per say. But still around. Cuphead for his part continues to show he doesn't hold grudges against others easily. While he does say "no thanks to you", it's clearly in a playful manner from his expression along with praising his sharpshooting not even a second later. Just goes to show how deep their bond is.

We also get an explanation for why Cuphead's soul wasn't by his body after his head was blown off.

The magic of the Cupbros is no joke. The blast from Mugman's gun sent Cuphead soaring for miles! And that was his soul! The magic in the blast managed to hit his soul! The Bbros are lucky that they've only been grazed by or hit in minor places by these guys. A well placed shot would have definitely killed them. Speaking of the Bbros, how's their reunion going?

Well, brother like brother. Now there is some irony here with Bendy's reaction to Boris' panic. He had a similar reaction his first time seeing Cuphead. Back then, Cuphead was the one trying to get Bendy to be quiet. Now it's Bendy's turn.

The switch up from Bendy is very quick. From afraid and concerned to irritated in just two panels. It's clear the concern is strictly for his brother and their safety. He still hasn't developed the concern that Cuphead has for him. All he has for him is irritation. Boris for his part, goes from fearful and concerned to shocked. He had no idea Bendy was in as much danger as he was after they separated. I imagine he was horrified for a moment that his brother was in trouble and he wasn't there for him. Then his brother turns to their attackers for guidance. The ones who got them in this mess. He's quick to call him out on this. Which in turn sparks another revelation.

We are once again shown how one sided the deal Bendy and Cuphead made. Cuphead suggested it, but Bendy's the one with all the power. He's the one who calls the shots. And Bendy RELISHES it. He has the most sinister grin we've seen since he first made the contract and gained this advantage. It hasn't fully gone to his head, YET. But it could very well happen in the future where he pushes the limit of how much he can order Cuphead around. And he's the only one with positive feelings about this arrangement. Boris is shocked about what his brother has achieved. And Cuphead is both terrified and nervous. Not just from Bendy showing off how much sway he has over him now. But he did so in front of Mugman. Showing his brother he just sold their souls. AGAIN. And Mugs isn't too happy about it.

Now, Cuphead does have a point here. With the Searchers at large, there was a big chance Cuphead's soul would have been claimed by them. Not to mention the Butchers also searching for a soul of their own. If he didn't give Bendy the power to defend them by signing his soul, he was a goner.

Now something I noticed is Cuphead brings up the Ink Machine again. That it changes everything. Neither brother has the Blot, so it won't help them with that. But if it really has all of Yen Sid's magic like the Prologue states, then it could break their original contract with the Devil. Additionally, something Cuphead doesn't mention, but the contract should end when Bendy takes them to the Ink Machine. Keyword is should.

Now plenty of others have already pointed this out, but it's still a great callback. The language and tone has slightly changed due to how Mugman has matured. It's no longer "your fault" but instead "you got us into this mess". Not "fix it" but "get us out". It's no where near as harsh as it was in the past. The circumstances of who the contract is with is also very different. Instead of the all powerful Devil it's just a "normal" demon who has no real idea how soul contracts work. Presumedly. So they are nowhere near as screwed as they were the first time and Mugsy is more accepting of that. All that's left to do now is revive Cuphead. Simple.

Ok, not so simple. It appears in all their previous fights against the contractors the brothers never had their heads broken. They've probably broken their bones, burned to a crisp, drowned perhaps, and no doubt shot in the heart. But their heads have never shattered. And their heads are key to the Calix Animi (the ability to revive among other gifts) working properly. Nort has stated that Cuphead can still move the body (it got cut for time), so he's not completely helpless. He just can't see or hear to walk or aim properly. Which is a problem, since there are still Searchers roaming around.

At this point, everyone is at the limit. Mugman is still exhausted from using up all of his soul. Cuphead has his body but as stated prior, it isn't in any shape for fighting. Boris tossed his only weapon at the Searcher attacking Mugman. Bendy's the only one who has a chance by using Cuphead's magic and that was with only protecting him and Cuphead's soul. Here, he would have to defend everyone present. Not exactly an easy task. Something Bendy is clearly aware of.

Something I noticed in these panels. Bendy almost has another attack. In the first panel we can see the ink starting to drip down his face. There's also some outlines of drops on his arm. Any more pressure and he might've destabilized right then and there. However a certain map activates and intervenes before it goes too far. In the second panel, where the map flies out to his face, we can see the ink has slowed down to a single drip. By the third panel, he's fully stable as the magic flows around him.

Speaking of the map, it's now fully confirmed to everyone present it's magic. Boris, the most skeptical out of everyone, notices the map glowing. Then they all see it fly out in front of Bendy. Not only that, it causes Bendy's eyes to glow the same golden color. If they weren't convinced before, they sure are now.

We get a brief look at the map's proper form. Most of the locations seem burned out except for two. Toon Town and Sunshine Forest (thanks Nort for the titles and Fly for drawing such as amazing map). These locations will be revealed as we go along the journey. But something impressive is shown with the magic.

The magic doesn't simply point to where they need to go on the map. It makes Bendy see the way forward. As the words are written across the woods "FOLLOW THE PATH". There's even a golden trail of mist winding through the trees for him to follow. This is such an interesting take on a magic map. One that doesn't necessarily show you on paper where you need to go. Instead affecting your vision to see the path in the world itself. You literally can't miss it this way.

There's also something interesting with this. We saw these words before. When Cuphead was leading Bendy away from Charlie. Those same words cropped up back there. When I first read it, I thought it was Bendy thinking that to himself. Looking back now, I think it was the map. The words aren't the monochrome colors typically done for the thoughts of the characters in a scene. They're GOLDEN. The same color of the map and it's magic. I think it TOLD Bendy to follow Cuphead. To save himself by going with him. It was silently communicating with him. Not all the time it seems like, but just enough to try and guide him when he really needs it.

Our protagonists follow the path before them to escape the Searcher. The Demon searcher lurking nearby, watching them flee. Along with another mysterious figure. Who quickly makes their goal clear.

To kill the bbros. And unlike the cupbros, they will not hesitate to complete the mission. The poor Searcher never had a chance. There is so much to the mysterious figure and who they could potentially be. I've been seeing a bunch of theories from everyone in the community as to who this is and their role. One of the most common ideas is that they will eventually join the questers as a sixth member. This is due to a later panel where they contact Mickey about the bounty on the bbros.

The color for the text is purple. A similar purple to the gloves on the toon just out of frame in the Thanksgiving and Christmas updates. Adding to this is the character would balance out the color dynamic the questers have going for them as seen in the character cards. We have the primary colors for Cuphead (red), Mugman (blue), and Bendy (yellow). While Boris and Shelly have secondary colors associated with them (green and orange respectively). And then Pebble has his own thing going for him (blue-gray). This mysterious stranger would add the last secondary color to the team. This is pure speculation of course, and I plan to dive deeper into them in a later post. (The only reason I'm not is because there's ALOT of images I want to use for visual aids and I'm near the limit already. Curse you Tumblr for image limit!)

They contact Mickey while he, Felix, Oswald, and Sheba are trying to figure out where the Cupbros and Bbros could be going. It also gives us some insight as to how long the Cupbros have been hiding since their Collector days. According to Felix, their last known physical location was around 2 decades ago. When they were still acting as bounty hunters. This means they've been in hiding this entire time. On the outskirts of the city, another part of Inkwell Isles, or somewhere else entirely. Fortunate for them, as it means our friends at Wish Upon can't find a good place to start looking for them. But the Cupbros aren't the only ones they can use to try and find our protagonists.

This is something Mickey mentioned when Bendy first introduced himself to him. The name rings a bell. But he couldn't quite put his finger on it. Until now. Because Bendy was associated with someone Mickey knows. Someone who rose up the ranks of entertainment until the people decided to have him lead them. Someone who is possibly connected to the Butchers roaming and hunting the Bbros.

DANDY. Star of Medicine. The head of Gardenview himself. Bendy's former costar in entertainment. As of right now, we have no idea who Dandy is, how he's leading Gardenview, or what his history with Bendy was like. But we can get some inferences from some of the final panels of Chapter 1.

The crew sees Dandy's face on the side of the cargo car at the train station they were lead to. And Bendy is none too pleased to see it. He looks exasperated, annoyed, maybe even a little angry. Whatever happened between them, it's clear it ended on a sour note. For Bendy at least. These two headed in very opposite directions after their days in the limelight together after all. One ascended up to the top of the world and put in charge. The other fading to near obscurity with a deadly illness and on the run with a magical map to guide him. Their reunion in chapter 2 will be a very interesting on.

Something else of note is the reactions of everyone else to Dandy. Both those present and those not. Bothe of the Cupbros just look befuddled by the graffiti on the car. Boris however? He looks shocked. This is something I'm very curious about. See, we know for a fact Bendy knows Dandy. But it's entirely possible Boris knows him too. Not as well, but well enough. As Bendy's brother, he would no doubt want to keep up with his exploits from time to time. That would also include anyone Bendy performed with. So he may have met Dandy at least once in the past. As to his opinion on him, we'll likely find out when he and Bendy see him again.

Now concerning the graffiti. It's clear they don't particularly like Dandy and whatever he "promised" them. One even goes so far as to call him a "monster". Whatever happened must have been bad. Now, I want to shoutout @yockytherocky for pointing this out in their post. They pointed out that the Barley Butcher has a plate with the word "liar" painted on it. Much like the graffiti we see on the car here. This could lend further evidence to the idea that Dandy is associated with the Butchers and Searchers we've seen in the forest. After all, what's more monstrous than messing with the dead? Additionally, Bendy has been shown to have a history with the Butchers in some way. Whether it's a positive or a negative one is also up in the air at this junction. But with the idea that Dandy is responsible for the Butchers' current conditions, I wouldn't be surprised if he picked them to either mess with or as a "favor" to Bendy. Either way, it's still a grim fate for them. Along with whoever left these messages behind.

There were a number of questions that were answered in this update. And plenty more were raised. Regardless, we'll have to see what happens when our ragtag group of misfits make it to Gardenview in Chapter 2.

And that's it for the update analysis! I shouldn't have waited so long to do this, but AHHHHH, there was so much to go over and I loved every second of it! @nortsauce, @flygutzz, AMAZING END TO THE CHAPTER! It was so well done! And to anyone who stuck around this long, thank you for entertaining my ramblings!

#myth of the machine #motm #motm essay #essay #long essay #motm analysis #analysis #update analysis #character analysis #chapter analysis

A very long and very personal essay on my struggles with gender.

In early 2023, I realized I was bisexual. This coincided with me discovering femboys on the internet. I saw them and thought they were hot, but I also wanted to look like them. I don't know if at the time this was because I wanted to be viewed as desirable or because I innately wanted to look feminine. I don't know if I denied myself this before that because I went down the anti-woke anti-pronoun rabbithole and thought that the singular "they" was stupid. I just know that it really started then (though I did dress up as a grandma a few times as a small child for Halloween). I always felt kind of weird about it but I finally had the courage to do it, to buy the thigh-highs, and ship them to a very close and trusted friend's house. I tried them on in the closet.

Part of what convinced me to finally buy the clothes was some people on Tumblr. I was a Redditor [derogatory] in high school and when the subreddit protests shut down r/196, I saw that many people were moving to Tumblr; so I moved there during my family vacation. I flirted with some people. They flirted back. It was the first time I really talked to someone in a sexual way. I hope I never have to confront those DMs ever again--I would probably die if someone read those back out to me in court. I took pictures of myself in a skirt and loved the way I looked. I posted them to my blog. I got an incredible amount of positive attention for it. People thought I was hot. I liked this.

Of note is that I have always had a relatively feminine body. I have a soft face. At the time, I had very little facial hair. I also had relatively long hair. I had soft skin and if I had shaved recently I had very little body hair as well. I was largely content with my body besides my weight, which I had always struggled with. I looked good in a skirt and good in a dress. Puberty hit me relatively late and I did not develop a lot of the male secondary sex characteristics until later in life.

I bought rounded thick-framed Ray-Ban glasses specifically in an effort to look more feminine. The rectangular glasses were too masculine to me. I looked like my dad--which I didn't mind, but I didn't want to look masculine and business-y.

I had been shaving my body hair for quite a while but at some point gave up. I did not like having body hair but I didn't want people to think I was gay or something, and I also didn't have a good way to do it besides my safety razor.

I had looked in the mirror and pretended to be a woman several times. Sometimes in a sexual way, sometimes out of curiosity.

I was absolutely adamant that I not have facial hair at any time. I would wear a mask if I hadn't had time to shave in a while and I had 5 o'clock shadow or visible facial hair.

I could get away with just shaving and look passably feminine at all times.

I either did not notice or did not have issues with my hairline at the time.

I was okay with my body for the most part. I was okay with my face, my hairline, and my minimal facial hair. I had issues with my body but I thought I would be okay with it as long as I lost some weight.

Time passed. (I do not like the term crossdressing because it connotes something different than what I mean. Femboy fashion is much different than woman fashion--femboys dress to a different aesthetic and to suit a different body type. I will call this "fem-dressing" here.) I dressed up as a femboy in the closet--i.e., when my roommate was not home. I'd have a glass or two of wine and get a bit tipsy and go on Discord or play ArmA III with people. I enjoyed myself, I enjoyed looking cute, I enjoyed what I saw in the mirror. I looked so cute back then. My first year in college went down this way. I still posted images of myself on my Tumblr, but at this point I wanted to show other people what I saw in myself--I wasn't really looking for validation anymore. In fact, the majority of the content on my Tumblr changed to something of a public journal: I posted my feelings, and also a bit of random thoughts.

I went to Anthro New England, the furry convention, in a skirt and thigh highs and cat ears and an oversized hoodie and a mask. This was my first time actually going out anywhere in this type of clothing.

I went into my sophomore year focused on fitness. I started lifting a lot, I ate more, I put on weight but also a lot of muscle. I liked looking in the mirror and flexing and being strong. I liked the idea of being a strong femboy. I still did not want to grow a beard. I did not want to have body hair. I think it was this semester that I bought myself a Conair Lumilisse IPL, which was honestly quite shit but I really hoped it would work. I didn't have the income to fund anything more expensive or effective.

I tried desperately to remove as much body hair as I could when I had energy to do that.

I kept myself clean-shaven when I could.

I asked trans women for shaving and hair removal advice. Not because I was trans, but because we had similar goals and they had good advice on the matter

I began to vaguely entertain the idea of HRT.

I bought more femboy clothing. I was in an 8-person suite this year with almost all queer people so I bought and wore the maid dress around them one night.

I was more open about this stuff with my very very very close friend and roommate.

As the semester dragged on, I had less and less free time. I was not able to dress fem in private as much and the clothes stayed in the bottom drawer where I left them. I have pitifully few photos of that from this time. I missed it.

My second semester things got really rough. I realized I was transferring and a bunch of other things came crashing down. I was constantly stressed and having a pretty awful time. My general mental health took a turn for the worse as I was crushed under the pressure. I pulled a 4.0, I applied to 11 schools, and I worked 15-20 hours a week. I was not doing well. I think this caused me to stress bald for a while. I had a pretty notable experience around this time. My best friend/roommate got me a cute little sundress from a trans clothing swap. I tried it on and felt wrong. I looked in the mirror and saw my big shoulders and I just felt awful. For the first time, I looked in the mirror wearing passably feminine clothing and just looked like....a man in a dress. I started to not like the way I looked in feminine clothing. It made me deeply upset. I did not want to confront these feelings. I did not know what I should do about them. I did not dress fem for a long time after this.

It may have been around this time, or maybe the semester before, that I started to voice significant discomfort with the facial hair under my chin. I saw photos of me and my roommate on his wall and envied the hairless chin and cheeks I had back then.

I experienced the severe disconnect between wanting to look feminine and not looking feminine for the first time. I looked in the mirror and hated the fucking disgusting masculine man in a dress I saw in the mirror. I couldn't. I couldn't put the dress back on for so long. I couldn't do it. I couldn't deal with that.

I told him I might be trans and he started she/her-ing me. I wasn't ready for that. It didn't feel right. His trans friends told him I wasn't ready for that yet and I had self-discovery to still do, and he stopped. I never told him it didn't feel right.

I finished the semester and went to Chicago for the startup. I overworked myself, putting in 60-80 hour weeks towards the end. I also noticed that my hairline was receding around then and it fucking threw me for a loop. Men go bald, men have receding hairlines, men thin on top. I thought at the time it as probably telogen effluvium--I hated the idea that I could have male pattern baldness. I wished it was female pattern baldness. I could not deal with the idea I might have to cut my hair short for a while to let it regrow because it meant I would suddenly lose my ability to look androgynous or like a woman without the use of a wig. People would see me once as definitively male and wouldn't be able to get the image out of their heads. Long hair for me represented the ability to naturally pass as a woman. It affected me deeply. The tail end of those weeks I just remember looking over and over in the mirror at my hair. I have one photo of myself from that time that I really like. I looked super feminine and clean-shaven.

I started making absolute sure I could shave every morning and did my hair down whenever possible. I needed to hold my androgyny.

I started seriously considering estrogen. I really wanted to look more feminine. I really did not want to age like men do. I did not want to look like a man. I posted about wanting to do HRT on Tumblr. I said I wanted to do it but I wasn't sure about the side effects and fully changing myself and everything.

People on Tumblr started saying I should take estrogen. I didn't have it in me to tell them to back off and that I wasn't ready yet. I called my other very close friend from home, the one I'd ordered the thigh highs and short shorts to two years prior, and she told me that what the people were doing was kind of shitty pushing me so hard and that HRT can have pretty severe side effects that I needed to consider well before doing it, since it's not as light a decision as I was acting. I am incredibly grateful for her. I wasn't ready at the time. I realized I may be getting too online and too in my head about this and I desisted. I told my mutuals to stop telling me to do estrogen and that I wasn't ready.

They stopped the "hahahahaha [my blog name] is trans" jokes when I asked.

I came back home for the end of the summer and worked at the other job for the next six weeks. The whole gender thing weighed on me heavily, but I didn't feel I had the space to explore it properly while at home. At one point during the summer, though, I went out with a woman friend with the express goal of buying myself a dress that I would feel cute in. I wanted to change from femboy clothing to proper women's clothing. No more Amazon skirts and shitty polyester maid costumes--I wanted something that an actual regular boring woman would wear. I was so fucking excited. I was so nervous. I tried on outfits at American Eagle and Aeropostale and got the cutest little cropped denim jacket to cover my shoulders and a really nice white dress that fit me well. I brought this home. My mom asked what I bought and she pulled the dress out and asked "are you wearing dresses now?" I said "just for queer events." I went to the Astoria Nonbinary Picnic with a friend I met over Tumblr and talked to over Discord for like three years at that point. I went out in public dressed as a woman for the first time and felt amazing. I realized it was something I could do and I could look cute.

I wanted to do HRT.

I wanted to be a woman.

I realized I could look good and have good effects from HRT.

I made actual steps towards fixing things like my hair by going to a dermatologist and getting blood work and stuff.

I changed the pronouns of a few online things, including my Tumblr and Discord, to "he/they" or "he/they/she"

I went to my new school. I was determined to try several things before considering HRT. I wanted to make absolutely sure that it was necessary before doing anything like that. I changed pronouns to they/them. I went to the trans support groups. I went to a bunch of community events. I got myself makeup and started doing clinical trials of being a woman. I started going to the mall every weekend in some sort of feminine outfit, be it with makeup or a women's shirt or something like that. I borrowed from the community closet and got breast insert things from another trans woman. I started crashing out several times a week over whether or not I wanted to see a woman in the mirror and whether or not it was something achievable and whether or not I could actually see her today. I see her sometimes. I can't other times.

I really really really liked the way I looked in the cute pink sweater with boobs and a nice hair style. I found some clothes that I actually fucking pass, really really well in. I wish I could look like that all the time.

I got ma'am'd several times by middle aged men at the bus stop. I enjoyed every one of them, mainly because it meant that I was being perceived as feminine.

I started going to a therapist and talking about this stuff with them. I want to answer the question, "is HRT worth it?" I don't know what the answer will be but I do know that I know that I want to find out that the answer is "yes."

I cover my hairline at all times. I don't want anyone to see the 100% male part of me and remember that and have that image in their head. (I'm okay about my dick, though--some girls have penises.)

I want to find out the answer is yes so I can do HRT. I want it to be true. I think this is my weird convoluted mental gymnastics that lets me not actually commit to anything.

My main hangups are:

What if I'm wrong and I've deluded myself into thinking that this is what I want. What if I've surrounded myself with affirming people and nobody is willing to think critically about it and tell me I'm wrong. What if it's an echo chamber? What if I end up realizing I've made a huge mistake and I don't want to be a woman and I'm stuck with boobs and fucked up hormones and a social mess for nothing (I find that the likelihood of this is diminishing every day though, I really think I want this).

At the same time, I have had some very close people, e.g. the several friends who warned me against the side effects of cross-sex hormones, who said I need to consider it better, and I've still come to the same conclusion over time. The closest one supports me and just wanted to make sure I was informed.

What if the world treats me differently? What if I lose out on professional opportunities because people see me differently? The world is not kind to trans people and it gets less kind very day. What if I lose the respect of so many people because of this? How much of it is a choice I am making and how much of it is a need?

Fertility. Freezing sperm is expensive.

I know that this is what I think I want. I don't know if I am interpreting myself correctly. I cannot see myself disliking any effects of estrogen. I think I hate the secondary sex characteristics of men. Should I try forcing myself to be ok with it and live as is or no? IS WANTING IT ENOUGH OF A REASON?? Why do I want to learn from therapy that wanting to be trans is definitely what I want? Is it a sunk cost fallacy? or something more? Why do I hate the idea of finding out that I don't actually want to be a woman so much? Why is that horrifying? Does this mean I truly want it?

I keep finding myself imagining scenarios where I come out to my parents, or friends, or whoever is important in my life. They tell me that I haven't thought it through yet, that I don't know what I want because I'm young, that I'm inexperienced and naieve, that I didn't want this before I had the Internet, that I should try to be grateful for the body I have and the natural gifts that I was given, that I should try to work with what I have, that I shouldn't make any permanent changes because I don't know what I want, that I've wanted things in the past and then realized that I was wrong and that could be the case now, that I shouldn't add things into the mix and destabilize myself. This scenario stresses me out so much and it's a huge part why I want to gather so much evidence and be so absolutely sure about it before I act. I am a highly defensive person in general in this way, I always imagine myself defending my choices to others, in every scenario. My mom asked if I was trans once and I said no and I wanted to say "maybe, I'm not sure." I don't want to subject myself to telling people until I'm sure and I don't want to subject myself to scrutiny until I have evidence and research.

At the same time, I don't know what it feels like to be 100% sure of something or 100% confidence in myself or my identity. I can pull together a guess of how I feel towards something by taking how I feel in that moment and extrapolating but I can't extrapolate to all time. I haven't felt 100% positive in anything ever, even when i have strong evidence for it. I almost feel like if I wait to be absolutely sure I'll be 40 and bald and saggy and gross and male. I can't do that to myself. There's the part of me that wants to be sure, he's hesitant and tortured; there's the part of me that wants to spend more time doing makeup and exploring clothes, they're happy besides the dysphoria; and there's the part of me that wants to start now, and she's eager and excited for the future.

#trans #gender #transgender #196 #rule #femboy #femboys #transgender women #mtf #therapy #long essay #personal #journal

I've been noticing a lot of people saying that to criticize Caityln, you must criticize Jinx for her actions. I even stumbled upon these tags..

Jinx also was someone who wasn't able to have decent education or lived in a comfortable home environment compared Piltover. Her life was always centered around murder and violence before she even made her first kill. This was normalized to her, and before Caityln came into Vi's life, Vi would also believed it would be necessary to protect her family. Otherwise we wouldn't see Vi literally beating up Silco's goons when rescueing Vander. Jinx was willing to live a life of murdering, Nobody, not even Vander, the man who famously known for his own violence, bothered to tell her that she could have lived a better alternate life. Even if he did, Jinx certainly wouldn't agree after what happened to Mylo and Claggor. Atleast devoting into Silco's cause let her have her own space and materials to work her inventions. Otherwise without Silco taking her in, she would have been one of the Firelights that were killed. Vi even said it herself, Jinx did whatever she had to do to survive. Basically the motto of almost every Zaunite that have existed. Of Jinx, Ekko, Vander, Silco, Sevika, etc. It was not pretty, not good, but necessary.

Necessary Evil: an act of evil that one believes must be committed in order for a better outcome, when other alternatives could result into a much worse concequence.

Now Jinx and her siblings had literally lived in a basement under a bar and had to result in robbing someone in Piltover to help their father in supporting their family. People say murder is never okay (even though rapists who walk away scott free exist but whatever-), but in a city ridden with bountless of crimes and desperation for control, what is the better alternative? Could it truly be empathy? It's so easy to throw in morality and judge the wicked. But why are they wicked to begin with? Why have they result into such violence into their day to day lives? Is it because they enjoy it, or were have they adopted the "us vs them" to keep them and their loved ones safe? Did Jinx truly wanted to kill people because she wanted to, or had she been expected by dangerous people like Silco to make ensure nobody, not even the innocent could steal away the lives they fought to get from them?

Jinx wasn't just Silco's daughter, she was his most valued soldier. She was his most relied and trusted assasin that saw no reason in believing in stopping crime in Zaun when the few things she's been taught was 1) strength was the necessity of survival, 2) family should be your main priority, and 3) weakness will be the very reason your found in an alleyway. It's why Vi exceled as Vander's prodigy, because the daughter of the Hound of the Underground knew what it took to survive in an unforgiving world. The concequences of Jinx working for Silco, with combination of her struggles with her psychosis, leads to Jinx beings simply written of as a "murderous psychopath", when looking at her own methods of torture.

Caitlyn did not have to be an enforcer, she was the daughter of a councilor. She had an extravagantly rich life with both parents alive at that point. She did not have to rely on robbing people from higher class to make ends meets. She did not have to witness people fighting over objects on the streets. She was blessed not to live in that kind of environment. And even though she started to see the complex dangers of Zaun, as well as the hand Piltover hand in it, she never did anything to help improve the lives of Zaunites. She could've aided support for the Firelights when she was made Sheriff, but no mention of that has ever happened. Caitlyn chose to turn against Zaun, regardless if the gas actually put many people in danger. If one person is a monster, than their race/ethnicity/class is a monster. Even the children are monsters for helping them, and must be stopped. Even your own lover will be a monster for saying what you did was dangerous and wrong.

When Caitlyn gave up on Zaun, she gave up on seeing the true potential it could lead to helping them have better finances, better education, allow them more opportunities to have just as Piltover possesed for hundreds of years. And in turn adopted the "us versus them" mentality. Her people of Piltover versus Those animals in Zaun.

Jinx and Caityln are not the same people. They are do not belong in the same environment, the same social standing, not even the same ideologies because Zaun and Piltover are no where near the same cities. Caityln to Jinx wasn't just someone who was taking her sister away from her. That was the least of her worries believe it or not. Caitlyn was tracking Jinx down, thus making her a threat to her boss's (Silco's) operations. Jinx had a job to do, and someone like Caityln who was an enforcer, the same people that have bullied and looked down on Zaunites, needed to be taken care of. And sorry to say, but the fact Caityln was an enforcer + believed to be stealing Vi away made Jinx kidnapping Caityln at least be enjoyable for her to do. Jinx as a Zaunite had no place in her heart to show kindness for someone who was willingly going to side with the same people who killed her parents and brutalized her people, regardless if Caityln knew.

Yet in Caitlyn's pursuit to get revenge against Jinx, she neglected the needs of Zaun when she had all the power to help them. She did NOTHING in making Zaun be better when season 1 was beginning to show her having somewhat of an interest. Giving Sevika a seat at the table would've been as good as the president inviting MLK to brunch. Because it's just Sevika's word against other council members WHO STILL DESPISE ZAUN. So Caityln did nothing, almost how like Piltover did nothing to help their sister city. And guess what that led to? Guess what Piltover would even have to give up in order to have at least show a bit of care after years of opression and exploitation?

Let me ask some more questions: In a city where its more easy to commit felonies to put food on the table or even have some sort of control in their lives, where would or should the process learning empathy begin? Would people whose lives were fucked up from the moment they were born should even care about purity in moral when they have only themselves to truly take care of?

Do people in real life who have resorted in sex work, robbery, drug dealing, etc. deserve to be criticized for wanting to just want better things than the ones they got? Is doing nothing when faced with eviction, thrown into unemployment, and even not able to have decent health care, better if it meant pleasing the good upstanding masses? Have they stopped being decent enough human beings for rebelling against society's morals?

"Well Ekko and the Firelights advocate for non violence!" Ekko and the Firelights advocated in being the sort of Robin Hood of Zaun, steal from the rich and give to the poor. They also knew not everything was going to achieve from simply promoting world peace and empathy. They had to indulge in fighting and very possibly killing if it meant it would protect themselves. After all, many members of the Firelights were killed by Jinx, as suggested. They know their city very well and knew the risks and concequences of trying to help victims of Shimmer because Zaun could not simply be healed by the "power of community". At least not if community also indulged in the us versus them towards other people in their own city.

"Vander gave up violence because it was wrong!" Vander gave up violence because he had kids to take care of, children who belonged to dear friends of his before they were killed by the Enforcers. And guess what, he took up fighting yet again when his sons were killed and his daughter was injured. His family was put in danger and he had to do something, anything to protect the one he at least had left. And working with Enforcers, knowing the past between them and Zaun, was inevitably going to have Sevika and the others turn against him.

Boy this was alot, and I definitely steered away from the topic numerously lol, but I just needed to get this out of my chest. I have no doubt somebody would make a better, more organized argument about this than me so, there ya go. Also I made a post about Jinx and her self awareness in this post, so feel free to check it out.

(If you're going to disagree, which I will also encourage to do so, please don't be a bitch about it. If you come here talking about how "stupid" or "idiotic" I am about this, my black ass will say some unpleasant things that's gonna ruin your whole ass day so watch your fucking mouth. :))

The meaning of Pomni's torture scene and the horrors behind the Circus

I seen a few people having different interpretations about the scene where Pomni gets mauled by Gummigoo and his crew due Caine's powers in Episode 8, so I decided to try to write about my headcanons of this scene. Of course this is just my personal theory and interpretation and I don't meant to insult anyone else things like that. Just wanna give my perspective about this for funsie.

#the amazing digital circus #tadc #tadc analysis #tadc pomni #pomni #long post #long essay

Das Zimmertrio & Joshua (II)

Meine Theorie darüber, dass Joel das Zimmertrio spiegelt, habe ich neulich gereblogt. Die Spiegelungen v.a. mit Noah und Joel, ganz wenig mit Colin, kommen in dieser Staffel wieder zum Tragen, und zwar mehr als je zuvor, weil Joshua aus etwas herauskommt, das sich wohl immer mehr als Schutzbarriere herausstellen wird, je weiter Joshua draußen ist.

Ich denke hier beim Schreiben und ich könnte mich fürs Mitdenken und vielleicht fürs Korrigieren dankbar zeigen.

Colin „Weil es ja so unvorstellbar ist, dass man sich in mich verlieben könnte.“ (Colin, Folge 1006) Colin hat bisher am wenigsten Einfluss auf Joshi gehabt, weil sein Einfluss das akademische Denken ist, und da an der Schule kein Unterricht mehr stattfindet, fällt das flach. Möglicherweise sind Joshis juristischen Ambitionen von Colin, à la Zielstrebigkeit und Hoch-hinaus-Wollen, aber da Joshi in Folge 1111 hauptsächlich übers Anwaltwerden redet, geht der Punkt schon wieder an Joel.

Colin könnte relevant werden, wenn es um Dilara geht und sich mehr aus ihnen entwickelt. (Siehe dazu auch den Teil über Noah). Colins Heldenreise ist ja die Suche nach Liebe in anderen in seine Richtung. Dafür nimmt er einiges auf sich: er riskiert nicht nur seine Freundschaft zu seiner besten Freundin Julia, wenn er mit ihr zusammenkommt, sondern er sucht sich mit Noah jemanden aus, bei dem er das Love Game nicht im Easy Mode durchspielen kann. Und das nicht nur deshalb, weil Noah ein Typ ist. Bei Dilara könnten sich Colins und Noahs genetische Merkmale zu einem kraftvollen ... okay, lassen wir das. Hier lesen potentiell unreife Teenies mit (woww). Womöglich wird Joshi als Goldfigur colinesk, da Colin am ehesten der ist, der sich für seine Liebe aufopfert. Colin wird dann am ehesten bei Joshi durchkommen, wenn es darum geht, als verliebter Mensch Dinge über das Leben zu lernen .

Noah Joshuas Nähe zu Noah wird am ehesten durch Samus Post hier beschrieben. Noah ist derjenige, der sich nach dem Scheitern der Ehe seiner Eltern in die Emotional-Support-Sphäre mit Freddy geflüchtet hat und nie jemanden an sich oder an Freddy heranlassen wollte. Wenn er sagt, dass Freddy normalerweise niemanden an sich heranlässt, dann ist Freddy sowohl sein emotionaler Spiegel (dazu gibts mehrere Evidenzen), als auch sein bester Freund, zwischen den und ihn selbst sich niemand drängen soll. Es ist nicht Freddy, den Noah aufgibt, sondern die Exklusivität ihrer Bindung. Er lässt zu, dass Colin mit ihnen Gassi geht und bald muss Freddy bei Chung wohnen.

(Malik spiegelt das, glaube ich, in Folge 1109 oder 1110, wo er mit Joshua im Aufenthaltsraum sitzt und Survival X auf dem Laptop läuft. Es gibt es noch, aber Malik nimmt sich die Zeit und verschickt Mikkas Schlagzeug ans andere Ende der Welt. Etwas Ähnliches hätte er in Staffel 28 nicht gemacht. Survival X wohnt jetzt metaphorisch auch bei Chung und Malik geht hin und wieder damit Gassi.) (Milo spiegelt das, wenn er Socke verliert, wobei das wahrscheinlich ein Abschied sein wird, zu dem Milo noch nicht bereit ist.)

Noah ist der aus seinem emotionalen Kokon rauskommende Daddy. Joshua hat diesen Panzer aus Marzipan Zynismus, Überlegenheitsgefühl und Besserwisserei aufgebaut und das ist seine toxische Form von Freddy. Er war sich immer selbst der Nächste; anscheinend: weil andere ihn nicht an sich heranlassen, hat er gelernt, eine Persona zu entwickeln, der das nichts ausmacht, die es genießt, allein auf dem Dachboden zu sein. Selbst, wenn Joshi tatsächlich hetero ist, kommt es auf ein Coming-out aus seinem emotionalen Panzer an. Und das ist gerade in der Umsetzung.

Joel Joel ist derjenige, der in den letzten Folgen immer öfter als dominantes Vorbild für Joshua hervortritt.

Heute habe ich geschrieben, dass wenn Joshua in Staffel 26 dabei gewesen wäre und er das Zimmertriozimmer betreten hätte und am Flipchart stünde das Rätsel mit der Figur, die nicht zu den anderen passt, dann wäre Joshua auch – nach den Erkenntnissen der Folge 1111 – darauf gekommen, dass das "nicht dazugehörend" bedeutet. Joshuas und Joels zugrunde liegende Angst scheint es zu sein, keine Bezugspersonen zu haben, nirgendwo dazu zu gehören, ein Alien zu sein, eine außerirdische Lebensform. Das ist das, wie Elly ihn auch manchmal sieht (bin kein Experte für Elly-Zitate).

Bei Joel kommt es Anfang der 27. Staffel zum Bruch, der alles ändert. Er setzt sich für Colins emotionale Gesundheit ein und versucht ihm, einen Rückhalt zu geben, wenn dieser sich wegen Noah kaputtmacht. Er investiert in seinen Worten mächtig in die Freundschaft mit Colin und baut eine Trennwand, damit Colin bleibt und Noah vergessen kann, was aber nichts bringt. Damit verarbeitet er die Angst vorm Alleinsein, er hat gemerkt, dass ihm sein Fokus auf das Rocket-Science-Projekt nicht richtig die Einbindung in die soziale Gruppe um Colin und Julia gebracht hat, die er möglicherweise bis wahrscheinlich schon früher angestrebt hat, z.B. wenn er versucht hat, Colin für sich allein zu haben, statt das Projekt mit Noah zu teilen. Richtig aufgeblüht ist Joel aber erst, als er in Folge 1077 Noah umarmen konnte.

In der Hinsicht scheint Elly Joshuas Noah zu sein, zu dem er die Grenze überwinden muss, um Zugang zu einem Teil von sich zu finden, der lieben und geliebt werden kann. Dabei muss Joshua aus seinem Panzer raus, um die Trennwand zwischen sich und Elly einzureißen und das Einreißen der Trennwand führt zu einer Annäherung zu Elly, denn seine Abgrenzung zu Elly ist ein Teil des Schutzpanzers, auf den Suki gezielt hat. Und sie hat ins Schwarze getroffen. Spiegelbildlich ist aber Noah der Liebende, der nicht nur den emotionalen Schutzpanzer abgebaut hat, sondern auch seine Freundschaft zu Joel perfektioniert hat. Und es scheint, als ob all das notwendig war, damit er in der Lage war, nach Köln zu fahren und es dann im richtigen Moment doch nicht zu tun.

#schloss einstein #joshua hockenbrink #joshua ist das kind des zimmertrios #colin thewes #noah temel #joel lucas #long essay #weil ich's kann #so!#s29 spoilers #1111 spoilers #spoiler zu mehreren folgen der 29. staffel

My Personal Zootopia 2 Premonitions / Theories - Post-trailer release. (Warning: Spoilers from 13th of June's Annecy Festival leaks and possible spoilers for the second/third act of the movie ahead.)

Zootopia 2 will hit theaters in less than two months, but the first novelizations of the movie and the Little Golden Book will be on sale in less than two weeks, on October 14th according to Amazon, at which point business as usual will happen again: the entire plot will be leaked, E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G, everywhere, all at once; people will be outraged, comments will proliferate that Disney is sabotaging itself again, dissertations will be written about how stupid they are and how they seem to actively seek to make their movies flop, etcetera, etcetera, yada, yada, yada.

Except I won't be here to witness the massacre it. After actively following every single crumb of information they’ve been releasing, and especially those details revealed during the Annecy Film Festival on June 13th and the most recent trailers, I've decided I don’t want to spoil myself further if I want to let the movie surprise me when the time comes; that’s why I will be taking a much-needed break from social media and live in analog mode until early December.

However, I didn't want to leave without putting all the chips on the table first. Because after seeing the trailer from September 30th, combined with what was already discussed at the Annecy Film Festival on June 13th, I'm now 99% convinced what the BIG SHOCKING TWIST is going to be, and I want to share my theory with you all so that if by chance it turns out I'm right, I have proof that I had already stated it before the entire plot was revealed. 😆😆😆

That being said, I'm placing a giant STOP sign over here.

Major spoilers for the movie will follow, based on information leaked at Annecy and the two official trailers released on July 30th and September 29th. If you don't want yourselves to be spoiled and want to see the movie fresh when it comes out, the time to leave this post is now.

… … …

As we already know from the leaks from the Annecy Festival (if you want to read them, I've attached a link to the post published on the ZNN website), in this installment we'll meet, in addition to Gary De'Snake (the first snake seen in Zootopia in a century, voiced by the amazing Ke Huy Quan), the city's founding family: The Lynxleys, made up of Father Milton; the older twins Cattrick and Kitty; and the runt of the litter, Pawbert, who didn't appear in any of the trailers but did make a really brief appearance in May’s first teaser trailer during the final character reel, and in a screenshot shared by Walt Disney Animation Studios via Twitter a few weeks ago:

Here you got him (The difference in his expressions between the two pictures is striking, though 😯😯😯):

This family in question is guarding a book of extremely great historical value, written by their ancestor (the lynx whose statue is demolished by the van in the July trailer) that contains information about the creation of the enormous climate walls that make it possible for so many different mammal species to coexist in Zootopia. This is the same book Gary tries to steal at the lavish gala attended by Nick and Judy.

Thanks to the most recent trailer, we know he needs it, quoting his own words: "to set things right so that his family will finally be able to come home," arguing to Judy that the snakes aren't the bad guys in this whole story.

Now, everyone that has seen the last trailer will be aware the real villains are in fact the lynxes, or at the very least, three of them (the father and the two older children), which can be seen angrily telling the mayor in the darkness of their office that they must immediately capture Nick and Judy, who by the way ended up helping Gary escape capture and stole the book, becoming fugitives themselves.

Whatever secret that book contains, the Lynxleys don't want it to be revealed. As Jared Bush confirmed in Annecy (BIG SPOILER AHEAD):

Its secret is so big that someone has already killed another animal to keep it hidden. 😱😱😱

Now, what is this gigantic and dangerous secret? Why did Gary need the book in the first place? And why would the Lynxleys want to kill someone so no one finds out?

I'll repeat it AGAIN: Possible massive spoilers from the next paragraph onwards. If you want to avoid (possibly) getting spoiled, get out of here… RIGHT NOW.

I'M SERIOUS.

Wait? You're still here? Are you sure you want to read about this crazy theory? (Sighs)

All right. Don't say I didn't warn you.

My theory about the city's great mystery:

Gary wants the book because it contains the original blueprints of the Climate Walls.

He wants the blueprints so he can get inside the Walls.

And the reason he wants to get in there…

Is because…

Because…

BECAUSE THE SNAKES NEVER LEFT ZOOTOPIA!!!

THE SNAKES ARE SECRETLY BEING HELD CAPTIVE INSIDE THE CLIMATE WALL. THEY WERE MADE PRISONERS BY THE LYNXLEYS' ANCESTOR WHEN THE CITY WAS FOUNDED!!! A FRIGGING CENTURY AGO!!!

THE SNAKES ARE PROBABLY THE REASON THE WALL WORKS IN THE FIRST PLACE!!!

Do I sound like Scuttle to you right now?

I know, I know, I know at first glance it sounds insane, but...

But think about it. Let's say for a moment that I'm right and that this is actually the great secret.

Think what it would mean for the Lynxley family if someone found out about this:

Slavery, kidnapping, snakes being held hostage, conspiracy, distortion of the truth; a lie perpetrated over a century…

Are any of you fans of the Castle series (2009-2016)? If you remember the season 2 finale, episode 24, Castle and Beckett were investigating the murder of a man participating in a spy game. (I looked for the clip, but I couldn’t find it).

During a nighttime poker game with his writer friends, one of them tells Rick:

“No matter how many twists and turns we put into a mystery novel, there are only three main motives for committing murder: money, love, or covering up another crime.”

Personally, I think this isn't entirely true and that there may be more: revenge, like The Count of Monte Cristo; that the criminal is involved in a brainwashing cult, as in The Invisible Guardian (a novel by Spanish writer Dolores Redondo; there's also a movie out there; or the murderous monk in The Da Vinci Code); or that he's simply crazy (the killer in The Silence of the Lambs).

But let's stick with the three ones mentioned in Castle: love, money, covering up another crime.

We can rule out the first one, at least as far as the Lynxleys are concerned. Altough it's very likely that Gary is the one that’s doing what he's doing, even if it's illegal (after all, he caused a stir at a party and is trying to steal a book), moved by love.

And given that the Lynxleys are the founders of the town, they literally live in a damn castle, for crying out loud! I think we can also rule out financial issues.

So what's left? Covering up another crime, something they want to keep hidden at all costs. A crime that could ruin their reputation and their good name forever. Something related to snakes. This isn't just theory anymore; Jared Bush himself confirmed that the mysterious book contains the secrets that explain why there haven't been any snakes in the town in all that time.

If the Lynxleys had been perpetuating snake slavery and trafficking for a century, would that seem like enough reason to kill?

What proof do I have of this?

Plenty! And believe it or not, perhaps the most important one came in the first trailer on July 30th.

Remember this scene?

Nick takes a can from a vending machine at the police station while talking to Judy and explaining that "no snake has set foot in Zootopia in forever."

HEAR... ME... OUT...

There's some very serious foreshadowing here, delivered in three different ways:

The expression Nick uses. He doesn't say "the snakes haven't been seen in a long time" or "it's been centuries since the snakes stopped living in the city" or "it's been centuries since the snakes left." He says that no snake "has set foot on it." This phrase is not a coincidence, as is repeated during the second trailer. Indeed, if we are going to take this in a literal sense, it may be true that no snake has set foot on the city's pavement, because perhaps they were beneath it, within the depths of the wall, being held hostage with no possibility of escape, like prisoners in a Laogai (for those who don't know, or haven't caught up with that episode of Avatar: The Last Airbender, these were a series of forced labor camps and prisons in China during the 20th century during Mao Zedong’s regime, where prisoners were “re-educated” and provided cheap labor, in some cases for decades).

Notice what’s happening as Nick tells Judy this. He’s taking the can out of the vending machine ("NO WAY, REALLY? I COULDN’T TELL", I bet u guys just thought that, am I right?). But pay attention to this detail (it’s so subtle it’s very easy to miss):

There is a tiny mouse worker inside the vending machine, possibly cleaning or servicing it. He's so small that it’s very easy to ignore that he's there, and yet, surely without him the vending machine would break down and stop working. What if the exact same thing, only in a way bigger scale, is happening inside the climate walls? That the snakes that are being kept there, and whose existence is being covered up by the Lynxleys and ignored by the rest of Zootopia, are actually the ones primarily responsible for making it work?

You think I'm overthinking this or just rambling? Let's move on to point number three. What happens when Nick finally has the can?

Nick tosses it and ends up breaking the wall, allowing us to see the adjacent room, where a tiny burnt-out computer worker (a mole?) turns around, furious, to give them a very mean-spirited look (before the liquid from the can shoots out and hits him full-on. Let's not forget to attend the funeral).

Is this a hint of the film's very denouement? Will Nick and Judy "open a hole," metaphorically (though possibly literally) to free the snakes and give all the mammals a chance to see with their own eyes the truth of everything that's been happening, of the suffering all those snakes have endured for so long?

Next point:

Gary's Family. Okay, I'm not saying that this cinnamon roll that might be too pure for this world doesn't have a wife and/or children that are waiting for him somewhere, or that they were kidnapped to blackmail him, and that this is the catalyst that drives him to act, unleashing the chain of events that will unfold in the movie. I'd love for that to happen, I mean… just think about that hypothetical reunion scene when he finally embraces all of them after saving the day and defeating the mean cats… it could perfectly be the most tear-jerking scene Disney has ever made since 2017 Coco’s "Remember me"; not to mention the sheer amount of Epic animatics that would come out with the songs "Monster" and "I Can't Help But Wonder," maybe even "Would You Fall in Love with Me Again." However, and without meaning to break anyone’s heart, including mine (I also liked the idea of Gary having young cute noodle-like snake children), I'd bet that the film wants to play with this quote he tells Judy after she has him cornered against the fireplace to make us believe he's talking about his biological family, when in fact he's referring to his entire species as a whole, to a huge population of snakes.

Don't forget that snakes, except for a few very specific species like the garter snake (very cute little creatures, by the way; I think their venom is even harmless to humans, but I'm not 100% sure, I'm not an herpetologist), are solitary animals; they don't form "family units" or long-lasting social units like mammals. Even maternal behavior is limited to laying eggs or caring for their young for a very brief period after birth.

If Jared Bush, Byron Howard, and their team did their exhaustive work documenting the behavior of various species of mammals (lions, buffalo, among others) while visiting Africa during the production of the first film, they'll have done the same with the sequel regarding reptiles. And if they want to be faithful to the nature of snakes, then this will be reflected in the character of Gary. Therefore, when he talks about "family," he can only be meaning "his species."

There’s something else, did any of you come across a certain information sheet that China released about Gary’s character earlier this year?

Credits to this post on reddit for the actual translation.

It mentions he is an extremely optimistic character. Now, I realize that there has probably been some major changes on the final product from january till now, but when I first read this, I thought they were going to give us a kind of Olaf 2.0 (only less cringe); or that he'd be the typical character who would get along famously with Judy and drive Nick crazy, but now I think his optimistic worldview can be interpreted in another way. My opinion is that Gary wants to believe that mammals will blindly accept snakes without question, once he manages to clear their bad reputation. But let's remember Judy's words at the end of the first film: "Real life is more complicated than a slogan on a bumper sticker".

In real life, there are prejudices; we can all be the bad guy, we can all secretly think Illy of someone or be prejudiced against someone just because of who they look or where they've come from. Perhaps Gary's character development lies in realizing that while there will always be someone (Nick and Judy in this case) willing to help and give them a chance, to put aside their preconceived notions, not everyone will be so quick or willing to discard their prejudices, and that even if snakes are allowed back into the city, there will still be mammals who will view them with suspicion.

But back to the theory. If the snakes are actually trapped within the wall, do the words he says to Judy when he begs her for kindness make sense?

Yes. He's telling her himself: The snakes aren't the bad guys, they're the victims. He wants to fix things (show everyone what's been going on) to clear his species' name so they can return home, to the city, to Zootopia, a territory that perhaps even originally belonged to reptiles until mammals arrived. Perhaps they're introducing an analogy about colonization here; perhaps there was a war over territory. Or perhaps not! Perhaps the snakes and the rest of the reptiles that lived there (let's not forget that in the second trailer they revealed that snakes are not the only ones) at first, didn't mind giving up part of the city so that the mammals could live in it, but the founder of the Lynxleys, seeing them as the most dangerous species, decided to kill two birds with one stone, and after building the wall, he imprisoned them all, wiping the city of what he saw as nothing more than poisonous and treacherous animals and earning free labor to operate the wall that would allow the presence of other species of mammals, such as polar bears and other animals native to cold-climate habitats. This would make the betrayal doubly underhand.

Also, think about the brief scene shown in the first trailer, when the van smashes the founder's statue.

We already know this will be a consequence of the disastrous outcome of the initial police chase, which will lead Bogo to send Nick and Judy to partners therapy. But I also see it as another foreshadowing: It's not just that the statue itself will be physically broken; it's a subtle hint that the founder's reputation will also be shattered when the truth comes out.

If this theory were to be true, then the underlying message of the film would no longer be the same as the first, focused solely on racism, but rather, perhaps, we would be talking about a brutal and ruthless analogy about the pronounced power imbalances between Western and developing countries. Have you by chance seen any documentary about what’s going on in Bangladesh, for example? Rivers covered in garbage, entire families living in shacks, children working from the age of six in factories without being able to go to school to make sneakers with a manufacturing value of three euros that are later sold for 150 euros in America and Europe. Another case, Sri Lanka: women locked away in boats, sewing tirelessly for hours, non-stop, without a minute's rest, clothes that will later be sold in any chain store at rock-bottom prices.

Third Point: The Reptile Club. Watch the scene where Nibbles leads Nick and Judy to the clandestine reptile club.

The red light and the dark atmosphere make it difficult to check the image entirely, but we can see that the animals behind the turtle guarding the entrance are all lizards, like Jesus the basilisk. THERE ARE NO SNAKES. How strange! Isn't it? After all, this is supposed to be the clandestine meeting place for all the city's reptiles.

And finally, these three scenes:

Pawbert (we know it's him because he's wearing the green sweater from the teaser and because some Pop Mart figurine already shows him riding a motorcycle) is driving, with Judy in the sidecar and Gary behind him on the seat. Where are they headed? Yes, sir, toward the Climate Wall (top right of the image).

You can barely see it. But it's Nick in the dark, crossing a walkway in what looks like the inside of a factory. On both sides, there are several spinning propellers. To his right, a little further down, on a walkway perpendicular to the one he's crossing, you can see Nibbles. Only this isn't a factory, but the inside of the wall!

Want some more? Let's go to the scene that's keeping everyone in the fandom up at night. Yes, that same scene that threatens to break our hearts, the maybe Nick-confessing-his-feeling-towards-her scene, the one with him and Judy staring at each other, with the sunrise or sunset (I still don't know which one it is) in the background.

Look where they are. They're on top of Tundratown's weather wall. You can see the top of the wall on the left. AND THAT'S NOT THE MOST IMPORTANT THING. Look closely. Is it just me, or is the walls' activity... been shut down? Let's compare it to Judy's arrival in the city at the beginning of the first film, as she travels through the different districts by train.

Do you see how the walls appeared to be creating a blizzard back then? However, now they seem to have stopped. Are we witnessing the moment of calm after the final battle?

And finally, remember Rango's words... erm... I mean, Jesús's: "When you two save the city, maybe everyone will see that reptiles ain't that different." When you save the city...

Does he know, or at least suspects, anything about what might be brewing inside the wall? About Gary's motives for wanting to save his folks?

Is the narrative circumstantial evidence not enough for you? Maybe you think this theory doesn't hold up logically because, if this is really true, then how the hell could they have survived 100 years inside, in deplorable conditions, working tirelessly, without seeing sunlight for a single day?

Okay. How about I give you some biological evidence? Have you ever wondered or looked up the average lifespan of a snake? I didn't know, and out of curiosity, I Googled it.

And you know what I found out? It's mind-blowing. Well, it turns out that life expectancy varies greatly depending on the species of snake. Generally, it's between 15 and 30 years. BUT, BE CAREFUL, there are big differences depending on whether they live in the wild or in captivity: In the wild, it's rare for them to live more than 20 years, but in captivity they can reach over 30 years. The longest-lived snake on record was a ball python, which survived in captivity for a whopping sixty years.

It's true that we don't quite know how the age thing works in the Zootopia universe. When the first film came out in 2016, they confirmed that Judy was 24 years old and Nick was 32, which would mean they were well past the normal lifespans for these animals in the real world, which is usually 9 years for a rabbit and between 3 and 4 for a fox in the wild. On the other hand, there's the case of Fru-Fru's daughter, little Judith. The sequel is supposed to pick up a week after Nick joined the ZPD. When the first film ends, Fru-Fru is already pregnant. It would have been logical for her daughter, if the directors are attributing to all animals the same lifespan and growth rate as a human, to have appeared as a newborn baby. However, in the hilarious "Kiss my ring" scene, the little shrew appears to be between 3 and 5 years old. It might be an intended plot hole to make a joke and get a few laughs though.

However, assuming that, despite this slip, they still maintain the premise that, in this universe, animals have the same average lifespan as humans, and if they're going to add those extra years to snakes if they live in captivity, then it's more or less feasible that snakes could have been locked up for that entire century and survived.

And that's it. Now it's a given, I promise. I'll come back in a few months to see if I can celebrate being right...

Or if I have to bury my head like an ostrich after all this rant I've unleashed.

Now, I swear I DID NOT meant to write such a long essay. I might have gotten a little too carried away, and if despite that you have read it to the very end, then I can't just thank you enough for all your time and patience.

So, do you think it has some chance of it being correct or does it sound too far-fetched? Likes, comments and Reblogs are very much appreciated. (I might not read them until the movie comes out, though).

SEE YA!😊

#original post #zootopia 2 #zootopia #theories and headcanons #gif warning #possible spoilers #HUGE SPOILERS #spoilers #spoiler alert #seriously don't read if you don't want to get spoiled #long essay #long text #I'm starting to regret I wrote this in the first place

ERICSON'S WALLFLOWER

or bpd as a twdg fandom essay, & violet's analysis

[Mar.26-29.2024 | 27,991]

Throughout my time spent within the TWDG fandom—since late 2019, early 2020—, Violet as not merely a love interest but a character exists as the fandom’s staunch polarization. And the funny thing?

I get it. A lot.

Much of what I’ve read into this character has been extrapolated from my own experiences, and those experiences speak to an inherent, polarizing chaos. It’s something that’s quite honestly a purgatory to try and articulate—I have tried—, and another bane to hope that people will get it. At least, enough to not just sweep my words under the rug. This essay is ultimately a trial to see if I’ve done enough work with myself, both emotionally and in writing, to be able to explain this to those none the wiser, or to the some who feel the same things, but have yet to hear it spoken with absolute clarity.

Through a fandom essay, no less. Specifically about a video game character who grows on people—Louis promises so.

Borderline Personality Disorder.

Nobody really likes to talk about it. Too many times in my life, I’ve had people sweep it under the rug because it is not a pretty thing, in times where I was pleading for help; often, in presence of the wrong crowd, it feels like a target nailed to my back.

It’s intrenched within stigma. And what’s difficult about that is…, yeah. I get why. There’s no mystery to it.

…yet there is so much people do not understand because not talking about it is so much easier, and the joke is, talk therapy is quite literally BPD’s primary treatment.

And so let’s talk about it. Allow me to pull away the confusion this disorder brings, and lay it out—as best I can—in a more digestible manner, through a deconstruction of Violet. I’ll have a little fun with it. However, if this essay reads in a more…straightforward tone compared to the couple others I’ve written now, it should. I’ve attempted to write this in a more lighthearted language before, but it didn’t really get the message across well, I would slip to this anyway, so. Yeah. I will still be conversational, just less so.

With that, however, this is another long essay. I hope you enjoy. :)

[Given the subject matter & the inclusion of my own experiences, take heed. This discussion is sensitive. W/ my experiences, I assure you I'm fine. I speak from a place where I’ve worked through my experiences.]

[Also, to stop-breaking-my-heart-telltale: I reference Louis and one of your essays about him, hence the @. But this thing's real long and about Violet, and stuff. Lol.]

#volt's library #twdg essay #fandom essay #essay #long essay #TW: this is intended to explore BPD; so with that comes the sensitive topics as mentioned in the introduction #twdg #twdg violet #twdg clementine #violentine #twdg louis #louis & violet 🥺🥺🥺#twdg minnie #twdg minerva #twdg aj #twdg brody #twdg 4 #the walking dead game #bpd #borderline personality disorder #the amount of times i looked something up and saw myself staring back at me is…too many times #like okAY GOOGLE i GET IT i have bpd #i know #LET ME WRITE ABOUT TWDG IN PEACE #thank you #and also thank the wiki transcripts my gOD #and and gotta love reminding myself that violet's dad was canonically an alcoholic #which is concerning for aydf since…well…gotta love alcoholic clementine #also also i do intend to edit/polish this later but what i wanted to say is here anyway so #im gonna nap now

Of fandom, age, and David Tennant being our own personal Time Lord

I read the fantastic post that @davidtennantgenderenvy wrote about David Tennant and aging (if you haven’t yet read it, go for it!) and, as a fan who is closer to DT's age range than to what seems to be the rest of the fan base's age (yeah, being well over 40 is A THING), I had an interesting mix of ideas and emotions. I was going to just reblog her post with some of these musings, but when this started getting longer (and I started searching for bibliography, ha), I decided that I was not going to hijack her post, but rather cite it (and reblog it on its own right, really, read it). I should say that this is a long essay, and it comes peppered with references to one of my preferred fields of study (but I make it light and fun, promise).

Becoming an “old geek”

The first time I came into the idea was when I found a thirst TikTok with that very nice audio that goes “I think I need someone older…” and clearly, the thirst was there, but also… David is 8 years older than me, and when you are 45, thirsting over someone who is 53 doesn’t feel as “edgy” (and thinking about “needing someone older” starts verging on thirsting over people well over 65, which is absolutely fine, but a very different category over all for the rest of TikTok). So yeah, it was weird. You see someone who you feel is "in your range" and everyone is calling them "old"… And you start thinking about aging, inevitably.

Of course, I "don't feel old", but most of my friends are younger than me, and I'm the oldest person in many of my "fun activities". Take, for example, my lightsaber combat team, where every sponsorship is pitched to people under 30, and you should be training at least twice a week and following a strict diet to reach the expected “competitive or exhibition” level (enter the “old lady” who is taking this training just for fun, who needs to take care of her joints and who is not going to be invested in becoming Jedi Master General or anything of the sorts in the near future). Or we can talk about the expectation about fandom in general being a “teenage phase”, and thinking about everyone who still is into it actively after certain age as “immature” or “quirky” at best (hi, mom! Hi, work colleagues! Hi, students!).

Society, aging and social constructs

Of course, this has a lot to do with societal expectations. For almost 80 years, popular culture has been built around "youth" and "young people": before rock & roll, most things (music, clothes, movies, art in general) were targeted to “adults”, and you were expected to be “a functional adult” since a younger age. There was a seismic shift in the way popular culture was built when consumer culture decided to see and cater young people: trends became shorter, being “hip” was desirable, staying younger for a longer period was a nice aspiration (a good, light reading to get a deeper view around this is “Hit Makers” by Derek Thompson. It is written for marketers, but that makes it an easy historic overview and I like that). This has a lot to do with the change of our view about old people, too: while being old 100 years ago (yup, 1924 still fits the bill) made you “a respected elder” and you were expected to be wise, to know best, to be the voice of reason and an expert, nowadays not even us older people like being seen as “old” or “older”.

Frequently, culture becomes entrenched in binary oppositions. The binary opposition between “young” and “old” is… well, old! And while the opposition is sustained, the meanings around it change over time (that’s what the past paragraph was about, really). If in the 1940’s being old meant “mature, respectable, wise, responsible” and being young meant “inexperienced, immature, foolish”, after the 1950’s those meanings shifted a lot: being young became “fun, interesting, in the now and in the know, attractive”, while being old was about being “boring, dusty, passé, uninteresting, dull”.

#david tennant #aging #aging gracefully (or not)#long essay #long post #cultural studies #cultural semiotics #I need someone to pay me for writing this sort of stuff really #when I said I was writing again I meant it #this was 6 pages long in Word #and it includes references #look at my (written) child #the doctorate in cultural studies would never #neil gaiman