Tumgik
#especially in his relationship with abigail
tidemoonchild · 1 month
Text
Headcanons & Musing
Tumblr media
Hank as stay at home dad!
5 notes · View notes
daisies-on-a-cup · 1 month
Text
i don't necessarily think will is a good parent, but i don't think he's a bad one either. he's more just like an adult who is in charge of a child- one who can care for them and provide for them, but not exactly hold all the natural sense of paternity or love for that child. any love he felt for abigail was just garrot's love for her. his attachment to walter is very superficial, and there aren't any scenes given that indicate will actually feels anything... loving towards the boy. he takes care of molly and walter for sure- plays the role really well of provider, husband, and step-father. but he "plays" them. he's not really feeling any of it. i think will really wants to feel it, to have that kind of sure, emotional and loving attachment to a child like a parent should, but in the end, they aren't *his* kids and they come secondary to whatever attachment he had to the adult that was around him first. so, even though i think will certainly attempts to fulfill the role of good parent, it falls flat because he is merely playing at the role and isn't invested in it
24 notes · View notes
sharpshotroakka · 1 year
Text
i think that not enough ppl theorizing abt characters n lore for media like stardew valley ask themselves "would this be interesting writing if it were true"
6 notes · View notes
karmaphone · 1 year
Text
ok but this last episode of doom patrol really said 'we're doing uncomfortable camp bc even we can't keep up real quirky when it comes to fucked up relationships with fathers'
2 notes · View notes
strrwbrrryjam · 26 days
Text
so i know we have arthur travelling back in time to the beginning of the game, but i haven't seen or at all seen john coming back from dying in rdr to the beginning of rdr2, freshly coming off a wolf attack, stuck in the grizzlies.
i honestly think it'll be so interesting to see, especially since for arthur there's a lot of mystery, because dying arthur doesn't know what happens after the events of rdr2, while john does and he knows the fates of each and every member that ended up betraying them
we have grizzled 38-year-old john who is very much in love with his wife and has a good relationship with his son, who has been suppressing the shit out of his grief going back into the body of 26-year-old john in a tumultuous relationship with abigail, a non-existent relationship with his son, seeing his brother who has been dead for so many years staring down at him, mocking him, and having to return to a gang filled with people he's either killed/had killed or saw die.
the potential is insane, i love this idea so much.
525 notes · View notes
pretty--in--purple · 9 months
Text
Rating the mommy issues of TLT characters in alphabetical order
contains spoilers technically
Abigail: can't have kids but clearly maternal as fuck. call her mother. 2/10
Aiglamene: she has inverse mommy issues - daughter issues. -10/10
Augustine: full offense but he has freudian vibes. fuck-hate relationship w mercymorn who is has the energy of a neglectful mother. 7/10
Camilla: clearly raised by incredibly competent parents - unclear if she had a mother. Even if she did her real issues are codependency with Palamedes. 0/10
Corona: unconfirmed but a girl like that did NOT experience maternal affection growing up. 5/10
Crux: yknow what. nobody whose mother held them enough is Like That. 10/10
Dulcinea: idk if she had a mother, but i get 'raised by gay dad(s)' vibes from her. possibly the best adjusted character of all 0/10
G1deon: man is obsessed with doing what God wants EXCEPT when it's not to fuck a terrorist. four parts people pleaser one part horny 5/10
Gideon: mum only birthed her to blow her up, died, then used her afterlife to terrorise Gideon’s not-quite-girlfriend; gave her a desperate desire for external validation and attention, especially from evil cougars. 11/10
Harrow: mum committed genocide to conceive her, never smiled at her, attempted to murder-suicide her. 12/10
Ianthe: unclear. daddy issues but no mention of mother afaik - might not even have one. no indication of mommy issues in her romantic life bc she didn’t attempt to fuck mercymorn. HOWEVER she’s such a freak she can’t possibly have had a positive female role model. 3/10
Isaac: born in a vat but had abigail as a maternal figure so 5/10
Jeannemary: same as isaac but she's definitely sapphic so bump that to 6/10
John: literally reformed the Earth in the image of his mum’s old Hollywood hair Barbie. Also, look at him. 100/10
Judith: 9/10 no questions
Magnus: so chill but also he has the vibes of someone into mommydom shit. he's sucked abigail's tits for SURE 3/10
Marta: idk i think she has 'estranged from family' vibes. 4/10
Mercymorn: her mother might have been good but she can't remember her, so 5/10
Naberius: he kissed his mother on the mouth DAILY and you know it. 10/10
Ortus: mostly daddy issues but you saw his mother. 8/10
Palamedes: I haven’t read Doctor Sex but I have his mommy issues on good authority. I hate to say it but camilla is his mommy. 6/10
Pyrrha: unknown. Loves a milf but then who doesn’t. 1/10
Wake: giver of mommy issues. she's the mommy that's the issue. unrateable
[ETA: @everyone making fun of me for saying he sucks tits like it's something special im SORRY i didn't say magnus sits on abigails lap and pretends to breastfeed but i thought it would be GROSS i guess i forgot what this fandom is. ily all be home for dinner]
1K notes · View notes
queeoretician · 4 months
Text
It's amazing how much incidental and easy-to-miss queerness tazmuir manages to pack into the Fourth House section of the Cohort Intelligence Files at the end of GtN.
"Sir Jeannemary Chatur" is a cool vibe and easy to spot, but it's worth taking a close look at Judith's notes on Isaac too:
Abigail Pent has forged a strong relationship with both Tettares and Chatur, much stronger even than her mothers’ relationship with Tettares’ father. It is already suggested that her nephew will be affianced to him once they are of age.
Firstly, "mothers'" (not "mother's"), indicating that Abigail has two moms - this is subtle enough that I missed it in all 5 or so of my prior readings.
Second, and more complicatedly, that Abigail is planning to have Isaac marry her nephew. On the surface of it, this seems cool - my initial reading was that Isaac is gay, and Abigail wants him to have a spouse who he has some chance of being interested in. But given that this is in the context of an arranged marriage between aristocratic families, we should also consider the reproductive lens (especially given the mention of his siblings being "a mix of vat-womb and XX carry" in the preceding paragraph) - I think a more compelling reading of this passage is actually that Isaac is trans¹ (or Abigail's nephew is). And tugging on this thread takes us to a bit of a dark place.
Given how much the Fourth and Fifth evidently care about the heredity of their rulers, we can infer that someone in Isaac's position wouldn't have any real reproductive autonomy even if he had survived to adulthood. And while the existence of vat wombs obviates the horror of forced pregnancy/childbirth, this is still a pretty fucked up situation (to say nothing of the Ninth where they don't even have access to vat wombs). To me, this signifies a fundamental injustice of organising society around hereditary nobility; one that persists even if it can be made to be superficially gay- and trans-inclusive.
With this in mind it's worth interrogating my use of the word "queerness" at the beginning of the post. In the real world "queer" is viable as an umbrella term for all the many LGBTQIA+ identities specifically because those identities are all at odds with the cis-/hetero-/etc.-normative nature of our society. But in the Nine Houses it doesn't seem like being gay/bisexual/trans is stigmatised in the same way, so one could say that these identities are not "queer" per se (strange, other) in a diegetic context.
"Sir Jeannemary Chatur" reflects a similar mismatch. In the real world, a woman using the title "sir" is at odds with both traditional gender roles and (more significantly) institutional usage of the title. But in the Nine Houses this title seems to be devoid of any specific gendered connotations, and its application to Jeannemary is not a subversion of that society's gender norms, but instead an affirmation of the (normative, exploitative) social role of cavalier.
So in summary: Isaac is trans, what queerness means in the Nine Houses can be quite different from what it means in the real world, and pinkwashing an unjust society doesn't make it more just (even if it's headed by a queer person).
¹ This isn't to say that Isaac isn't gay - I headcanon him as both gay and trans. But I don't think him being married off to Abigail's nephew is (primarily) about his sexual orientation.
PS: If you like being haunted by the ghosts of these characters, check out @katakaluptastrophy's fic, Your children are weapons, which got me thinking about these two again lately.
255 notes · View notes
vamppilled · 10 months
Text
‘murder family’ is such an interesting part of nbc hannibal especially within the fandom because theres a weird idea of it ingrained into half the fandom’s brains and i think it skews people’s perception of some parts of the show. i feel like i’ve seen so many people talking about the idea of ‘murder family’ running away together post mizumono if will hadn’t betrayed hannibal, and a lot of hannibal fans genuinely believe their dynamic would have worked and they would all live happily together which makes,,, absolutely no sense. a lot of the fandom has this idea that hannibal and will loved abigail and she loved them which is a nice idea but it’s just so far from the truth. abigail was a traumatized teenage girl who lost her father and was desperately trying to survive in a world where everyone was after her. she and hannibal were both keeping each other’s secrets and she was close with him because that was her only option for survival. i can see the argument for abigail caring about hannibal, she clearly was bonded with him since he offered her the possibility of a new life. her relationship with will is so much more complicated because it’s the one that the fandom gets the most wrong in my opinion. will clearly cared deeply for abigail, but this wasn’t born out of love. he obviously felt immense guilt because he enjoyed killing her father, and he says very early on in s1 that he feels responsible for her. he also says himself in his discussion with alana in episode 1 that he knows his idea of his relationship with abigail is in his head, she says “dogs keep a promise people can’t” (might be getting that quote wrong i’m writing this all from memory) and he says (very loosely paraphrasing here) that he knows his idea of who abigail is to him isn’t who she really is. as he desperately tries to connect with her and assume a weird sort of parental role throughout s1 we see abigail become visibly uncomfortable. she doesn’t love him or even care about him the way she cares about hannibal, he killed her father who she loved despite his crimes and their fucked up relationship and she can’t forgive that. she physically flinches away and looks scared when he holds her hands in s1 (don’t remember the episode but it’s during the discussion about how she enjoyed killing nick boyle i think?? the lighting is greenish and it’s in the psychiatric facility). hannibal found abigail interesting and used her to manipulate will, she was just an instrument in his plan and he couldn’t love her because he didn’t see her as an equal.
661 notes · View notes
sugarbag · 10 months
Text
Tumblr media
✰﹣𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗯𝗯𝘆 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗰𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗼𝗻𝘀 :)
abby anderson x fem!reader
𝘀𝘆𝗻𝗼𝗽𝘀𝗶𝘀. what i think being in a relationship with abby would be like! (i have brainrot)
𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀. none i think, apart from poor writing because it's 2am 🤡 reader is referred to as girl a few times and it's implied that reader has long hair
FLUFF.
an. ummm so im officially obsessed with abby. theres a part at the end thats very specific for black women because self-insert 💅 but i'll put a little ✰ beforehand! english is still not my first language :) if you enjoy this pleeease let me know!
Tumblr media
- ok so first of all, abby is baby. she is soooo serious about nicknames it's adorable!! once you start calling her by a nickname it better stick because she will literally pout all day if you call her abby. if you do her call something other than a cheesy nickname, she really likes abigail. the way it rolls off your tongue, the way it feels like she's owned by you when you call her that, it makes her giddy :)
for you, she goes for "sweet girl" or "angel" :))
-is a clean freak. like an actual freak. she WILL bully you into folding your socks neatly next to hers and god forbid you leave crumbs in bed
-i do not care what anybody says, abby is an ass girl. when you're cuddling, her hand always finds its way to your behind. and when you question her about it, she says it must be sorcery.
of course, she loves every part of you but dat ass... do not bend over near her, she absolutely will fake fuck you from the back and put her whole heart into it. im talking grunting and moaning and you're just standing there like🤰
- she's such a great cook! she learned how to cook with her dad and after his passing, it became a way to feel closer to him. so she cooks for you all the time and acts grumpy when you call her your little housewife but she loves it really :)
-FOREHEAD KISSES‼️especially if there's a height difference, shes such a sucker for those! receiving and giving of course
- please play with her hair :( if you don't know how to braid, she'll teach you :(( BRAID IT OMGGG she loves when you do anything with her hair, brush it, braid it or just pass your hand in it, she'll take anything :) she'll only let you touch her hair, especially if it's undone and her beautiful blonde strands are on display goshhhh
- she will 100% let you paint her nails whatever color you want. no questions asked.
- shares everything with you. sometimes not even on purpose. like her clothes are your clothes and vice versa, you two basically have one big closet. gives you her jacket (the WLF one:)) you want some fries from abby's plate? done. you like her pine scented bodywash a little too much? it's yours :)
- absolutely HATES horror movies. she cannot stand them, maybe a few classics not too gorey but either way she just doesnt watch them. truth is she's a scaredy cat when it comes to horror movies, so when you insist to watch one together, you see your 6ft tank of a girlfriend with her eyes half open and flinching at every noise. truly an hilarious sight. if you watch horror movies alone, she'll just stand like a dad and never sit down because it scares her less that way lol🧍‍♀️
- ok so she's not big on pda but god is she clingy. she never lets go of you (not that you're complaining), always wants to touch you in some way, wether its by holding you hand or having her hand in your back pocket :)
- takes you on surprise dates!! you randomly get texts like "are you busy rn? the museum is open👀" or "it's been a while since we've been at the park. put your shoes on" XJDJSBD
- acts like she hates sunscreen just so that you'll have to put it on for her and smirks the whole time
- takes all the space in bed and when you complain about it, she just puts you on top of her "there, you go angel, got enough space now?"
- SHE LOVES CUDDLING big spoon, little spoon or just being intertwined on your shared bed, she just loves physical touch, ESPECIALLY yours <3
- she's an early bird. i believee abby has the sleep schedule of a grandpa, so she goes to sleep at 9pm sharp and wakes up at 5am to go to the gym. once you tried to persuade her to stay up longer and you got to 10:30pm🙀
- if you go to the gym with her, she'll be like a little kid, all excited to show you around and stays with you the whole time to teach you some exercises. doesn't matter if you know them already, she WILL show you everything
- is a bigggg fan of deep conversations. very early in your relationship, the two of you would have hours long conversations about literally anything. but at some point, you realize you've been talking for a while and abby's just sitting there, gazing at you and admiring everything about you. the way you talk, your voice, the little mimics you make or the way you move your hands when you're animated.. yeah she's down bad.
- she lovesss when you do skincare together, pretended like she hated it at first but she just feels so comfortable with you, she feels at ease. she can relax more and having a sheet mask on with cucumber slices under her eyes is surprisingly relaxing
- her main love languages are physical touch (i know, shocker), gift giving and quality time!
- gifts you sooooo many plushies but pouts when you put them on your bed?? and you're like, "where else should i put them?" and when she points to the closet, you're so offended. they're your babies they are not going in the closet. when you're both laying on the bed, she gives them the stink eye >:
- loves being domestic. cooking together, cleaning together, going to the museum and talk about what you saw days after still, taking walks in the park like an old married couple :) she just can't wait to be your wife :))
✰ (a few thoughts about abby with a black gf!)
- STEALS YOUR SHAMPOO! and when you tell her about, she acts innocent as if her hair didn't smell like shea butter and coconut
- that woman is fascinated by your hair routine. every product you have, she tries it out on herself because she lovesss the smells. she could watch you do your hair for hours (she has)
- wants to help with wash day and she gives the best scalp massages. gets a bit messy if she helps you and definitely takes even more time but she's so precious when she does it :( "is the water too hot?" "is that okay?" "am i tugging too hard?"
- is a fucking beast when it come to braiding your hair once you teach her, she can do anything, box braids, cornrows, knotless, YOU NAME IT
- could watch you in the sun for hours (she does) in an every day context she already wants to stare at you all the time, but when your skin is glowing in the light? she looks at you like you hang the moon and stars
- she wears bonnets religiously and you have matching ones ughh thats too cheesy (but true)
Tumblr media
LOOK AT HER‼️‼️
can you tell abby's my girlfriend??
tell me if you like it <3
✰﹣𝔰𝔲𝔤𝔞𝔯𝔟𝔞𝔤
876 notes · View notes
gojostan-doodles · 4 months
Note
Your interpretation of Sebastian is my favorite 💖💖💖
Can I have a list of your headcanons for him queen 👑
Tumblr media
Oh my gosh ADGHSGS THANK YOUU!! That means a lot homie! 💗💗 (⁠≧⁠▽⁠≦⁠) As for headcanons;
🎮 He's very competitive! It doesn't matter if you're good friends, dating, or married. When it comes to games, especially pool, he's cooking you... and NOT feeling bad afterwards!!
🗡️ I've mentioned it recently, but he's familiar with the mines and is pretty decent at combat! He's not doing anything super crazy of course, he does spend a lot of time at his computer after all. But with how often he explores AND how far down he goes, (gifting the farmer void essence and obsidian means he's fighting every variation of shadow brute, and AT LEAST reaching level 81) I have to assume that he can handle himself well! It's probably his only source of exercise tbh.
If you marry him, I imagine that the time he spends helping on the farm would help a ton with his overall endurance and strength! And if you're ever in the mines, and gone later than usual, he'll go in to make sure you're okay. In general he wouldn't hesitate to accompany you in mines, or complete any tasks you have to do in there himself if you don't like going in there.
💜 Over the course of being married to him, he breaks out of his shell. Allowing himself to be comfortable, y'know? He'd start initiating physical affection with his spouse more often. I also feel like he'd be more comfortable with occasionally teasing the farmer, and overall being a little shit to them. Only while you're alone at home though, in public he pretends to be sane.
I still consider him to be introverted, but I imagine that over time he gets better at navigating social situations. (He would still prefer to be at home though.)
I like to imagine that his relationship with Maru improves too. There's a mod that I use, I think it's called Mal's Sebastian Expansion? But in that mod he and Maru interact a lot more. It's really nice seeing their relationship improve. They deserve to be siblings, RAAHH!! I really like the mod overall since it goes into stuff with his biological father as well. I pretty much apply it all to my interpretation of Seb!
ALSO! I feel like he has a very silly laugh, but it's rarely heard because he's so reserved. So while in the comfort of your home (and accidentally around Sam and Abigail occasionally) if something funny happens, he'll burst into laughter. It's SO different from he's normal "heh" that it catches everyone off guard.
🎹 He uses his synthesizer primarily for band practice/ concerts, and for the video game he's developing. When he's not doing that, he makes goofy ass beats for fun.
📍He has a high pain tolerance, so he's totally chill while getting piercings and tattoos!
🐻 And a sillier headcanon, he's beaten 50/20 mode in FNAF Ultimate Custom Night
Tumblr media
154 notes · View notes
stardewremixed · 11 months
Text
Justice for Stardewies
Because people need jobs and purpose...
Jodi
has been a single mom for so long, even though Kent returns in Year 2. She was a Registered Nurse, and replaces Maru at the clinic when Maru decides to go back to school. Jodi starts to feel her confidence grow as she works outside her home. And Harvey is a good boss, letting her work around Vincent's school schedule.
Maru
Inspired by Harvey, Maru wants to pursue and advanced degree in medical technology. With her poor eyesight, her dreams of becoming an astronaut faded. But she still gets to tinker and play with technology, which is something she loves.
Marnie / Marlon
deserves better than a "secret" relationship with Lewis. His family has wealth and historically held positions of power. The Governor is his cousin after all. Still Marnie deserves real "out in the open" love. Marlon asks her out one day after she visits the Adventurer's Guild with the weekly dairy delivery. Their first official date is the Flower Dance. And they dance together for the whole town to see. Lewis is jealous but... he had his chance. #sorrynotsorry
Shane
is sober and working at the movie theater during the evenings. He attends vet school during the day. Shane wants to open an animal clinic, with an emphasis on chickens... 🐔 er... farm animals. And he makes his famous pepper poppers for all town events.
Pam
Pam went to rehab. She is now reemployed at Pierre's. She really enjoys helping customers find what they are looking for, and she joined Caroline's class to get fit. She has already dropped almost 20lbs.
Robin
Robin does so much for the town. She is convinced by the people to run against Lewis. And then she actually wins. Since she finally has help from Alex, Robin's business is booming. She is able to hire on another employee so she can focus on her new important duties as Mayor of Pelican Town.
Linus
Is anyone surprised he actually has money? And lots of it? Linus gets involved with other veterans like himself with much encouragement from Gus. Now with properly flowing taxpayers' dollars, Linus is able to build a tiny Veterans Village for former military men and women to "get off grid," find healing, and a fresh start. Kent gets involved too after he starts counseling for his PTSD.
Alex
Robin hired Alex as a handyman. Alex is surprisingly good with his hands and figuring things out, especially electrical. With no formal training, he can rewire televisions and stereos. At first, he just tinkers in Robin's workshop. But then he starts doing bigger projects. After getting an electricians license, Alex helps wire houses and rewire faulty electrical in other homes and businesses around the Valley. It's blue collar work but it pays really well, and his skills are sorely needed. And he can work as he wants. So he still has plenty of time to toss the gridball around with friends, and take Dusty to the dog park, and even help Granny in the kitchen.
Evelyn / George
Ev still helps out at the community garden. She starts growing spices and herbs to bake in her breads and cookies. Once the Community Center is repaired, Evelyn hosts a bake sale to help with the upkeep. And Haley joins her in organizing a cake walk. George gets motivated, with encouragement from Jodi (since she is a vet's wife), to do the Valley's own version of Special Olympics. Alex helps his grandpa train.
Abigail
finally graduates after six years. She knows what she wants. She is going to pursue a master's in folklore and mythology. While it isn't business like her dad wanted, Pierre is still proud of his little girl. Abi leaves for Zuzu City (on the repaired bus line). She also has an internship lined up, translating manuscripts (since she learned ancient Dwarven).
Sebastian
takes coding to the next level. He finds a partner in Zuzu. They start a tech company together. Seb still comes home on weekends to spend time with his family (he and Demetrius patched things up ever since his stepdad got his official diagnosis as autistic). Seb always brings rice pudding for Demetrius, from the Asian Market he lives above. Seb is also working on releasing his first video game, inspired by his experiences in the mines.
Sam
After the band breaks up, Sam decides to go solo. He leaves for Zuzu City for some gigs. The first weekend he is there, he makes a connection with a talent scout who thinks Sam is really good. Sam starts landing bigger and bigger shows. Next thing he knows, he's traveling the world, opening for big name bands. It is a dream come true. He never stays in one place too long, but that's just what he loves about his "work."
Elliott
publishes his romance novel. And then his editor suggests a series. It is super successful. With his new steady income, Elliott upgrades his cabin to a proper beach cottage. He teams up with Penny to write a children's book.
Penny / the children
returns to school and obtains a proper teaching license. With help from Robin, she opens an after school enrichment program for Vincent, Jas, Leo, and a few other children. And she partners with Professor Snail to offer summer camps on Ginger Island. Penny also organizes a beach clean-up day.
Vincent starts an entomology club with the Prof, much to his delight.
Jas works with Emily to create costumes for a play. The story of the Winter Star is the first show they put on for the town. And this seriously helps Jas' confidence.
Leo repairs the treehouse with the help of Alex. And Pam, who attended cosmetology school, gives him a proper "big kid" haircut.
414 notes · View notes
Text
Sweet & Salty
I'm feeling a bit sad today so wanted some comfort... Sebastian x (afab) reader, Stardew Valley, Fluffity fluff Warnings: Mention of recreational drug use
-
It’s been a day. You’d sat down heavily on your porch steps, trying to keep the tears at bay. You should probably go mope in your bed, instead of staring at the land that is causing you so much distress. Despite your carefully placed scarecrow, you must’ve miscalculated the distance because the crows have still had a go at your most recent plantings and that’s hard-earned money down the drain - again. You’ve been here two months now and, surely, by now you should know better. The farm has been somewhat transformed since you arrived - a mass of weeds, stone and dead branches - but it’s nowhere near how you remember it in your grandpa’s heyday. He would’ve never made such a rudimentary error in his scarecrow placement.
Some of the fences around your crop patches have started to erode too – it won’t be long until they need replaced, but you’re trying to save up your wood supplies to put in a coop from Robyn. You desperately want to add chickens to the farm as eggs would be steady income – or at least you reckon – but you also don’t want them pecking at your crops alongside the crows, so having a fence seems important too. Your endless to-do list swirls around your head again. Why’s everything so hard?
It's not just your failings on the farm on your mind, but also your lack at making any real friends around here. Shane glared at you this morning as he headed off to work. That’s not unusual, despite your best efforts of a smile and a friendly greeting. Then Haley looked you up and down, judging your dirty dungarees. You’d only popped into town to get some seeds from Pierre’s. It didn’t make sense to get changed… Elliott is sweet but locked away in his cabin most of the time, Emily in her own little world… Sebastian, Sam and Abigail have invited you to play pool with them, but they’re such a tight-knit group and you always feel like you’re missing out on the joke, especially when you were partnered up with Sebastian. He’d been teaching you how to hold the cue correctly, leaning over you, his breath tickling your ear. Sam and Abigail kept nudging each other and whispering, but you couldn’t catch what about and it was clear Sebastian was becoming irritated. You’d begun to think they were making fun of your abysmal pool skills.
Ugh. Your emotions are a rollercoaster and the twisting pain in your stomach reminds you why – stupid period. It emerged with a vengeance this morning. It had stopped in your last months of JoJo Corp. There was no chance you were pregnant, your last intimate relationship fizzling out a year previously, though you’d taken tests just to be sure. The doctor in Zuzu City said you were stressed, burnt out… that it would return once you were feeling better in yourself. So why had it returned now, of all times? You feel more stressed and burnt out than ever before, regretting ever moving here. Why did you think you could become a farmer…?!
The barrier finally breaks and you let out a sob, hugging your knees.
To your shame, there’s a scuffing footstep and your heart stops as you look up, worried who’s seen your breakdown.
“Sebastian?” You sniff. You’re tempted to rub the tears from your cheeks but maybe he hasn’t noticed in the evening light. The black-haired man is standing there looking sheepish, a brown paper bag from Pierre’s clutched in his hands.
“Er, hey…” He’s not meeting your eyes. Poor boy probably wants to run. “Sorry, I… I was just leaving Sam’s and I didn’t want to go through town and see everyone, so I thought I’d take the scenic route back home through your farm…”
“Oh.” You mumble, waving him on. “That’s okay. Go ahead.”
He takes a step as if to go on his way, but then hesitates. “Are… Are you okay?”
“Y-yeah,” you plaster a smile on, which you’re sure makes you look ridiculous as the stupid tears are still flowing. “I’m just being silly. Don’t let me keep you.”
He stares at you for a moment, before a sympathetic smile graces his lips. “You’re a terrible liar, you know?”
“I’m not ly- Ow!” You flinch as your stomach cramps terribly and you squeeze your arms around it, hoping in some way it might alleviate the pain.
Sebastian is suddenly at your side – the paper bag from Pierre’s dropped to the ground. He’s kneeling down on the first porch step with a frown on his face. “Whoa, are you hurt? I can get Harvey…” His hand hovers over your arm,
“No, honestly, I’m fine…” You try and wave him off again with one hand, the other arm still wrapped around your stomach.
He stares at you, a raised eyebrow. He seems to be putting the clues together – the wincing, clutching your stomach, the tears… He nods, making up his mind and gets to his feet, picking up the discarded bag from Pierre’s as he does so.
“Come on, let’s get you inside.” He offers you his free hand.
“Thank you, but I’ll be okay. You get on home…”
“Farmer, I know I’m probably not the person you want to see right now, but let me help you out, okay? I can’t go home and just leave crying on your porch.” He waves his offered hand again. You look at Sebastian, hesitantly. He looks genuine, at least, but there’s something a little off about him tonight… Heck, you’ve already made a fool of yourself enough, so what’s one more thing?
This time you accept his hand and he easily pulls you to your feet and leads you up to your door. He opens it – you’d easily adapted to the habit of leaving the front door unlocked since moving to Pelican Valley.
You go to open your mouth, to tell Sebastian thank you, but he can go now. You’re inside, you’ll go to bed and pretend this never happened.
“Sit down.” He orders, pointing at your bed. “You like hot chocolate, right?” You wonder how he knows that, how he knows you have a stash. Had you mentioned it at the saloon before? “I’ll make you a cup.”
“But you don’t know where…”
“I’ll find it. Sit!” He pushes you gently towards the bed and you do sit, keeping a wary eye. To be honest, it is quite easy to find your cups and kettle. Robyn had advertised an extension to you but you don’t even want to think about the price and the materials needed. For now – perhaps even for the rest of your life - you’ve got a cupboard filled with crockery and silverware. The fire’s roaring away, you’re thankful you’d lit it earlier to try and make it cosy ahead of going to bed later on. The cabin always had a slight chill at night. Sebastian retrieves a mug and spoon, scooping the hot chocolate powder into the mug, fills the kettle with water from the jug you keep besides the cupboard, before taking it over to the fire to heat.
“Do you have a hot water bottle?” He asks over his shoulder.
“Huh?”
“Hot water bottle.” He enunciates.
“Y-yeah, I think it’s under my bed. Let me…” Before you can bend down, he drops to his knees and Sebastian is now crawling under the bedframe to retrieve it. You pull your legs up off the floor to the bed, not sure what to say.
He reverses back out, holding the fluffy hot water bottle in the air triumphantly, and gets back to his feet. “Finally, where do you keep the snacks?”
“I don’t have any. Sorry, I wasn’t really expecting to entertain.”
“Not for me,” a chuckle – it sounds a little odd coming from him - “..for you!”
“For me?” He’s acting so weird.
But he’s not listening, already rummaging around the brown bag from Pierre’s. He walks over to the sofa and empties the contents besides you – there’s a couple of packs of chips, cookies and candy. “Ta-da!”
You look at the assembled junk food and back up at the black-haired man, noticing his blood-shot eyes.
“You’re high.”
Sebastian laughs again, rubbing the back of his head. “Guilty. Is that a problem?”
“No, it just… explains a lot.” You wince again as the kettle on the fire whistles. Sebastian grabs the mitt you keep nearby for that exact purpose and places it on his hand, removing the kettle from the fire and placing it down on the hearth. Methodically, he pours some hot water in the hot water bottle, tightening the cap, before pouring some in in the cup he retrieved, stirring the hot chocolate powder until it dissolves. Once he seems happy with his work, he brings the two over to you on the bed.
“Okay, since you worked out my thing, it’s my turn. Time of the month, right?” He flops down next to you on the bed, ripping open a bag of chips. “My sympathies.” It feels surreal as he holds the bag towards you and you take a handful – maybe junk food would make you feel better, and the warmth of the hot water bottle is soothing too now against your sore tummy.
The only sound for a few moments is the rustle of the chip package and the crunching of said chips. You take a sip of hot chocolate, probably a weird combination at that moment in time, but it’s working.
“Sebastian…”
“Mm?” You’ve caught him with his mouth full.
“How are you so good at this?”
“Erm…” He swallows. “Well, I guess cos I have a sister and a mom… and a friend named Abigail.” He replies in a teasing tone. “Maru and Abi usually just get super pissy though. Mom’s the crier.” Sebastian leans forward and grabs the blanket off the end of your bed, throwing it over the both of your laps in a smooth motion. Who knew he could turn into a right chatterbox? “Wanna watch some TV?” He picks up the remote control and turns it on without waiting for a response, flipping through the channels. “Do you have a preference? Nothing deters Abi from horror, Mom and Maru go chick-flick mad…”
You burst into tears again.
“Whoa, okay, no TV! That’s fair too.”
“N-no, it’s n-not that.” You let out a shuddering breath. “Why are you being so nice?”
“Because we’re friends…?”
“No, everyone hates me here.” You know you’re being irrational now, but the floodgates have well and truly opened.
“Come on, you know that’s not exactly true.” His face looks serious now.
“It is. I don’t know what I was thinking – I worked in customer support, why did I think I could farm the land? I’m going to be broke by the end of winter if I lose another batch of crops and this town is so tight-knit that they’re never going to like me being here.”
“I like you being here.”
“No, you’re just saying that because you feel sorry for me.” You go to take another handful of chips, but he snatches the bag out of your reach indignantly.
“I am not.”
“You are.” You clip back.
Sebastian lets out a huff in frustration and he acts before he can even consider the consequences. He puts a hand on the side of your face, turning it slightly and presses a gentle kiss on your lips for a moment or two, immediately causing your tears to cease.
“Would I kiss you if I didn’t like you?”
“I…” You don’t have any words.
He swipes his tongue over his lips. “Mm, salty. That’s not how I expected our first kiss to go, I’ll be honest.”
“Our first kiss?” Your face is on fire. It has to be on fire, why else would it feel so hot?
“Yeah, well, I told you I like you, didn’t I?” He grins, before it drops. “Though I’ve just realized that you probably don’t like me like that, I’m high, and now I’ve made this a hundred times wor-…”
You cut him off, caressing his lips with your own for a moment.
“No. I like you too.”
“Well, that’s that settled, then, isn’t it?” He leans back, a smug look on his face before he grabs the packet of candy. “Shall we see what a sweet kiss tastes like next?”
-
Masterlist . Requests welcome . Ko-fi I'm also running an event for x reader fics to celebrate 200 followers, so please check it out and send in your requests.
467 notes · View notes
junosmindpalace · 23 days
Text
i find discourse around the rdr women so...fascinating and infuriating at the same time. because a lot of the time it doesn't seem like rdr fans want to apply the same level of complex analysis to the women like they do for the men, but when they do, it still doesnt seem all that well-intentioned or that it does right by their characters.
this is a very long analysis/spam/defense so be warned :,)
even though the majority of sadie's character revolves around the fact she not only lost her home and her husband and was thrust into a new life of crime, but was actively struggling with robberies BEFORE the events of the game, people instead choose to focus on whether or not she had feelings for arthur or whether he actions in the game were actually impactful. she helped saved abigail and john when no else would, she fought alongside the men against the army, she helped john set up a stable life, she helped rob the payroll train, helped ensure colm’s death, she fought alongside arthur TIME AGAIN and took over in a leadership role when half the gang was absent in the guarma chapter. to say that she did nothing more except “be badass” undermines all of these contributions to the story that she was either at the forefront of or helped bring to fruition.
in my opinion, abigail is the EASIEST character to defend out of any of the women, and yet somehow she receives the most backlash from dudebros. I lose ten braincells every time i have to read a theory post over whether or not she slept with other camp members besides john, whether or not she was a rat, and about how much shes a nag. the woman has not known a moment's rest in her entire life. by the age of eight she was working in a cathouse. she was a child prior to then scrapping whatever money she could earn at her young age in saloons and dive bars as a woman and child just to survive as a orphan. jack's birth was clearly not planned, and she has voiced multiple times her grievances at the circumstances of his upbringing. everything she does is for a better life for her son: a life she never had. her constant nagging to get john to man up and be a father is for her son's benefit, not her own. she even says so herself when she tells him that she doesn't mind if a relationship between them doesn't work out, but to at least try being there for jack. she can't work a job because she is a mother living a life of crime and danger; she can't afford to leave the camp and her son unsupervised. she still does her share around camp. why would anyone blame her for not wanting to return to a life that has made her miserable, especially now that she has a child who she wants to model a good life for? many people seem to somehow also forget that she herself was a child when she gave birth to jack; only 17-18. she is 22 in the game in a bad situation with the father of her child and financially. she is doing her best to raise her son when she is not fully equipped to do so. how can anyone even blame her for being skeptical of john when hes affectionate in the epilogue when for so long hes been distant? she does not even ask much of john--just to be there for him sometimes, and to live honestly. she is also incredibly kindhearted. comforting other women in the camp, offering a listening ear, taking care of john when hes injured. she puts in her share of effort when it comes to finding a job in the epilogue and maintaining beechers hope.
molly is a young woman who is presumably incredibly far from her home where her family is, and trying to navigate a way of life completely unfamiliar to her. her stuck up nature comes not only from the way she was raised, but also dutch's uplifting affection and presumed lovebombing in the early stages of their relationship. shes even been suggested to be somewhat sociable until dutch and her became somewhat of an official item, in which she grew somewhat of a bigger ego with a mentality that she was his right hand. she deeply depended on dutch for her stability in every way, and its evident in her eventual spiral. she hated being seen as weak and pitiful as somewhat of an outsider among outsiders. she seemed to be close to no one besides dutch, who repeatedly cut her off when she attempted to talk to him about her growing feelings of anxiety, paranoia and sadness. the loss of the one thing that had built her up, coupled with immense tragedy she just wasnt used to, and desperate for a semblance of respect and dignity that she had presumably been all too accustomed to, of course she was going to come off brash and confront dutch about his distant, high and mighty attitude. it's why by the end, she doesnt care if she is killed: there is nothing left for her. karen's comment about her pretending to rat them out for the sake of attention is also interesting in terms of their relationship and parallels, which i dont see ANYONE talk about.
karen very clearly struggles with...a lot. she has even said so herself when talking with molly. she struggles to accept help, evident in pieces of dialogue where she brushes off concerned gang members about her drinking (mary-beth, arthur, javier), and when she seems somewhat ashamed and embarrassed having to have been rescued by arthur in the valentine mission (SAYING EXPLICITLY "i dont much like being saved"). she struggles with believing people have good intentions/feelings toward her, illustrated in the way she's constantly rejecting sean, yet seemingly disappeared further down the bottle after his death, and her conversation with mary beth and tilly about the world having no equal and fair place for women. her negative experiences in the world as a woman could also influence her view of the world, perhaps being why she finds herself somewhat hostile toward feminist mindsets and why she, for a while, enjoyed the outlaw lifestyle: it was her little slice of freedom. her hatred for the rich can also be because she has experiences as a poor woman, perhaps some direct experiences in which rich people have negatively impacted her life. though molly and karen don't get along through most of the game, karen actually tries to step in and help her near the end, and its this action + defending her after her death that shows she was sympathetic toward her situation and on some level able to relate to it, both craving some kind of love beyond superficial things.
@/cryptidcr3ature said it very well in a post i reblogged recently: mary is essentially "her brother's keeper and her father's caretaker". she herself lives somewhere middle class with traditional notions of the time impacting her views on arthur's lifestyle and anything below those middle class standards being deemed as socially unacceptable (which is evident from the very first letter mary sends to arthur, in which she seems confused on what a polite term would be to refer to prostitutes, who were obviously thought very lowly of in the time). i also don't think its fair to criticise her condemnation of arthur's lifestyle when pretty much all audiences, contemporary and not, including members of the gang, acknowledge that it isnt anything pretty. killing is not fun. running from the law is not fun. mary was not only influenced by her father's views of arthur (a person that, despite being horrible, she still deeply loves), but looking after her own family, herself, and arthur's wellbeing when she ended their relationship + suggested they run away. she had given him an opportunity at compromise. perhaps the first time, scared and unfamiliar with his lifestyle, she had offered arthur an ultimatum: her or his outlaw life, but later was willing to also leave behind her brother and father, two figures that tie her down and make her life more miserable than need be despite loving them very much, in order to settle somewhere with arthur and start over. her asking for arthur's help comes from a place of desperation and excuse to allow herself some semblance of stability when she hadn't had it; at least not since her mother and husband passed. if arthur refuses to help her, she is incredibly understanding and sympathetic. she does not lash out. if arthur does help, she is immensely grateful, and even tries to bond with him despite their years apart.
this post isnt to excuse some of their more negative behaviours and aspects of their characters'-- but im saying that they deserve to be fairly treated and analyzed just like any of the rdr men. many of them are young. many of them have unique challenges as women. that isn’t to say the men have it easier, but their struggles and less prettier aspects of their characters are always met with more sympathy than the women. why do arthur and john get passes as reformed absent fathers and criminals? why does sean receive sympathy when karen rejects his pushy advances? why does hosea get a pass at being better than dutch when he still groomed younger members of the gang for a life of crime alongside dutch? why does dutch get a pass by having his downfall be justified by tough circumstances? lets just be fair
69 notes · View notes
toomanythoughts2 · 14 days
Text
Theory on Why Murderface and Toki don't practice.
Tumblr media
(Just a heads up, this is going to be a bit of a theory with a lot of analyzing but I'll put the gist above the cut away in case no one wants to read the long version. To keep things in order, I follow the Dethklok age range, oldest to youngest: Pickles, Skwisgaar, Nathan, Murderface, and Toki.)
GIST: Magnus' abrupt dismissal from the band and Dethklok being just signed on with Crystal Mountain Records put a lot of pressure on Nathan and Skwisgaar (both known perfectionists), thus resulting in Toki's (brand new member) and Murderface's (hard-headed bass player) parts being re-recorded by Skwisgaar in order to satisfy Nathan and Skwisgaar's perfectionism. This in the long run would further push Toki and Murderface being apathetic toward practicing.
Below is a more detailed description and timeline of this theory.
(I would like to point out that this theory is not to make Nathan and Skwisgaar the bad guy, but more to pinpoint how perfectionism can often times have negative effects on individuals who are just starting out, like Toki and Murderface.)
So this theory is based on a lot of information I can gather from the show about Nathan and Skwisgaar's perfectionism, Toki and Murderface's apathy and work ethic, and the theory timeline of how it started.
______________________________________________________________
Nathan's Perfectionism
As everyone knows, Nathan is a notorious perfectionist. Nathan is known to record, delete, re-record, delete, re-re-record, delete, over and over again until he is satisfied. It's a theme that is shown multiple times in the show. The very first album we see them make in "Dethwater" is because Nathan kept deleting the record.
Tumblr media
Nathan's perfectionism (along side his connection to the Whale Prophet) is a whole arch in Season 4, resulting in him destroying their master record in "Prankklok".
Tumblr media
In fact, it could be argued that Nathan's whole arch in Army of the Doomstar of trying to write the Song Of Salvation while still in a Death Metal Perfectionist Mindset was one the reasons why he wrote the wrong song in the first place. Nathan trying to figure out who he wants to talk to and what he would say to them that would also match his perfect Death Metal Image is why the lyrics came so hard to him, even before Murderface's possession interference.
Tumblr media
The idea of being the hand or the fist in Army of the Doomstar can also play into his perfectionism. It could resemble the idea of forcing oneself to be a certain way rather then letting oneself just be who they should be. (Peep the painted nails, LOVE!)
Tumblr media
Now, while we don't see Nathan "practice" like how Skwisgaar practices his guitar, it's safe to assume that he does have a lot of knowledge on how to sing. For his style, it would be important to know how to practice singing in order to maintain his signature growling voice, especially since that's not his normal voice. On top of practicing, we also know that Dethklok is Nathan's band. Not Skwisgaar's, not Pickles', not Murderface's, and not Magnus'. Nathan's band. That is a very proud fact of his that he has shown to not hesitate bringing up when other people try and mess with his band, including higher ups like Abigail. Dethklok is Nathan's baby, it's his first love, it's his literal everything. As the creator of Dethklok, the frontman, the "dad" of the band, Nathan has a LOT of pressure on his shoulders to make sure that the albums that come out are good albums.
Tumblr media
This is why Pickles' character is so important to Nathan because he balances him out. Pickles cares about Dethklok just as much as Nathan but he's been down this road before, and he knows how Nathan is. "Prankklok" and "Writersklok" are so important to bring up when discussing their relationship because it shows just how much Pickles knows about Nathan's perfectionism, temperament, and what that obsession can do to him. THAT'S WHY PICKLES IS SO DETERMINED FOR THEM TO GO ON THEIR FRIENDER BENDER, TO KEEP NATHAN AWAY FROM THE ALBUM AND LET LOOSE! Their fight in "Writersklok" wasn't just a funny "Mom and Dad are Fighting" bit, it was real argument with anger and frustration. It was about the album and about Nathan's lack of an apology or recognition to what he's done. (Look at how scared everyone looks around them while they're fighting. They are scared.)
Tumblr media
It's also important to note that Pickles and Nathan's problems revolving Abigail didn't really start until much later in the season, I wanna say "Going Downklok", AND Pickles was not aware of the Whale Prophet until the end of season 4, when even Nathan finally had to confront his own memory about that night and what the Whale Prophet told him. THAT IS WHY NATHAN'S APOLOGY IN CHURCH OF THE BLACKKLOK IS SO FUCKING MEANINGFUL AND GOOD! That despite the group now understanding that Nathan had to destroy the record, he still apologized to Pickles for doing it because he knows it harmed his relationship with him.
Tumblr media Tumblr media
The destruction of the album is equivalent to Nathan saying that everything that was put on it was not good enough, meaning it looks like a big "Fuck You" to Pickles when he's laying on the floor watching Nathan destroy the Master Recording.
Now remember: Nathan's perfectionism and destruction of the album harmed his relationship with Pickles in an almost life altering way. Nathan's inability to apologize almost split up Dethklok permanently.
Skwisgaar's Perfectionism
One of Skwisgaar's most famous characteristics is that he is always playing the guitar. It's a running joke in the show that he is always fretting, always practicing, and playing guitar is all he knows and does. He plays in the hot tub, he plays at meetings, he plays at the dinner table, he plays outside, he plays when he's stressed, he plays when he's bored, he plays in his sleep, and he plays when he's hurt in Army of the Doomstar. Skwisgaar is known to play his guitar and play it very well. So well in fact, Skwisgaar regularly records the parts for both Toki and Murderface for the albums, even when Toki and Murderface already have a recording. It's another running joke in the show that Skwisgaar will just go back to the studio and re-record whatever they have already done. However Skwisgaar has also been shown to listen, critic, and make Toki re-record his parts numerous times as if to find a good take for the record.
Tumblr media
He even offers to show Murderface how to play his bass parts in "Dethsiduals", despite prior viewer knowledge that Skwisgaar records his parts anyway.
Tumblr media
For me, Skwisgaar's perfectionism is in between "No one will ever be as good as me" and "Why isn't anyone as good as me?" He obviously wants Toki (and Murderface but he has more interactions with Toki and his guitar playing) to play to their full potential but his expectations are either never met, or they are met too close to "Good as or better than me" that he lashed out. In "Dethlessons" Skwisgaar lashes out at Toki when he gets a new guitar teacher and the band are being dicks to him, making him think Toki is getting better.
(This could also be read as jealousy for Toki's guitar teacher because Skwisgaar has been shown to be attached to Toki in their strange rival/BFF relationship in a way he is not attached to anyone else. I.E. "The Duel" in Doomstar Requiem and Skwisgaar's Nightmare that happens in "Dethlessons".
[If you want a really good analysis on Skwisgaar's Nightmare, check out this post by @dichromaticdyke. It's honestly one of my favorites.]
OR jealousy in the sense that someone ELSE was able to get Toki to start practicing in a way that is actually beneficial. No, Skwisgaar, dropping a bucket of blood on Toki during a guitar lesson is not good teaching.)
Something else to remember about Skwisgaar is that he has been playing and practicing since he was a child. "Fatherklok" shows us a glimpse of how Skwisgaar got his first guitar, and how attached he had become to that guitar, showing that he has been practicing for years and years and years. He has also been in countless bands before Dethklok like said in "Snakes n' Barrels", when they're naming off bands they have been in. Skwisgaar has discipline to the craft and an ego to match. He is known as a glowing guitar god. That's why "Skwisklok" is so important for the viewers to understand the amount of stress that title brings him. He knows he's the best but he also knows that everyone eventually falls, including himself. That's why he is so stressed about the show, because not only does he have to be good at playing guitar, he has to be good at teaching the guitar (which is shown in "Dethlessons" that Skwisgaar may not be completely talented in teaching guitar than he is playing. Granted, in the special features video that actually shows an episode of Skwisgaar teaching the guitar part to the Duncan Hills Coffee jingle, he is capable of teaching. It may not be his strong suit, but he can do it when need be. This also goes back to the idea that Skwisgaar's strong suit is guitar playing due to years of practicing)
In both episodes, "Dethlessons" and "Bookklok", the viewers see how stressed out Skwisgaar becomes when his title is compromised (Specifically by Toki but again, that's their own specific relationship) It can be implied that, without his guitar, Skwisgaar believes that he doesn't have a place in music (obviously "Fatherklok" showed us Skwisgaar can be a regular jackoff, but this is about his thought process, not his actual capabilities.) If he didn't believe that, he wouldn't be so freaked out and catatonic when his title is compromised by Toki.
Tumblr media
"Dethlessons" and "Bookklok" also show us a side of Skwisgaar where, despite his fears, he still cares deeply for Toki's abilities and wants him to play good, though this is usually shown when it's apparent that Toki isn't going to be able to top Skwisgaar's playing ability (which goes back to that ego of his of being the best.)
Tumblr media
It's also important to note that Skwisgaar writes all of the guitar and bass rifts for the band, meaning that anything he could play, they should be able to play, despite knowing he was always going to re-record their parts while knowing his bandmates limitations. I see it as Skwisgaar presenting them a challenge they could barely win in and then deciding at the last second that it's too difficult for them and yanking it away, destroying any possible effort, progress, or self esteem. In "Bookklok", Skwisgaar and Toki's interaction before the solo really shows how much importance Skwisgaar puts on practicing. But this episode also brings their relationship to a head, where Skwisgaar's constant negativity toward Toki's playing destroys their relationship, but it is not invalid. Skwisgaar has absolutely valid reasons for not letting Toki play the solo, especially if he had not been practicing, however, constant denial and bullying by Skwisgaar to Toki over years makes Toki's feelings also valid about being constantly snubbed.
How many solos has Toki been snubbed out of or destroyed by Skwisgaar due to his jealousy?
It's also important to note that Army of the Doomstar does have Skwisgaar genuinely teaching and complimenting Toki's guitar abilities, specifically about during a time when Toki practiced. That is an important detail because Skwisgaar does not compliment Toki's guitar playing in the show nor does he show any genuine interest in actually teaching Toki either (that doesn't end with Skwisgaar or Toki being upset.) This tiny interaction shows the viewers that Once Upon a Time, Skwisgaar did not have to worry about getting Toki (or Murderface) to practice and even liked it when they practiced.
Now remember: Skwisgaar regularly writes and re-records Toki's and Murderface's parts for the albums, despite making them record over and over in the first place. At one point, Toki did practice and Skwisgaar was aware of it, even saying it was good. This was most likely not a problem for Skwisgaar so he did not freak out.
______________________________________________________________
Toki's Apathy and Work Ethic
Toki (my love) is what I would call, gifted. I truly believe that Toki's character is suppose to represent the musically gifted or naturally talented. He has the type of talent that people could only dream of possessing. I say this because Toki's ability to shred like he does during "The Duel" makes to no sense without being gifted. Toki's childhood is isolated, desolated, physically and mentally abusive, neglected, and frowned upon. Toki was the outcast, he was the forsaken, the forgotten. He should be dead, but he isn't. He shouldn't have known about the village closest to his home but he did. He shouldn't have known Runke but he did. Toki is a story of perseverance and looking for the light in the dark and not letting it consume him. (He is VERY Cinderella coded.) Toki represents the raw talent of guitar playing. We are never shown nor is it talked about where Toki's love for guitar came from or how he first came upon it or for how long he had been playing for before meeting Dethklok, but it couldn't have been a long time.
The only clue he do get is that he was once friends with Runke, the owner of Drep Du Selv, a black metal record shop. With no other information, it's safe to say that Toki probably got his love for music and metal from that store, and probably from Runke personally. It can be inferred that Toki was probably sent out for errands in the village, came across the store, and fell in love with music. The topic of Toki being professionally taught by Runke or if he learned on his own is anyone's guess, especially when the wiki describes Runke as being slightly rude to Toki when he comes in. Toki has a hard time understanding what a "good" friend is suppose to be (E.I. Dr. Rockso, Magnus.) so what Toki remembered as a friend, was maybe more a begrudged acquaintance.
Tumblr media
So, with that being said, Toki is probably self taught with very minimal interactions with other guitarists or musicians to guide him in the right direction. Toki's home is very rustic. I can't recall if the house showed any signs of having electricity, but it wouldn't be out of the realm that they wouldn't. That means Toki probably couldn't actually hear his own electric guitar, since he has no amps, cords, or other electrical devices to help him. Toki either had to practice at Drep Du Selv or he practiced WITHOUT HEARING HIS GUITAR PROPERLY!
Tumblr media
The guitar he is seen playing in "The Duel" is also banged up and held together with duct tape, and is seen as being that way from the beginning. This means Toki was practicing guitar with no electricity on a busted and possibly broken guitar.
Tumblr media
Also remember, Toki can't read music, so it would be very hard for him to learn on his own without understanding sheet music while being at the level Toki was when he first met Skwisgaar.
Which takes us back to Toki's journey to meet Dethklok. We aren't shown how Toki is kicked out, but it's implied it's due to his passion for guitar. At this point. Toki is probably well within teaching himself cords and melodies. Granted, we do not know anybody's actual age, but I have always seen Toki in his teens when he is kicked out. Whatever time frame was between Toki being kicked out, his journey to America, and his life on the streets is up to interpretation, but a year doesn't sound too far off, in my opinion.
All of this in between time, all of this time when Toki is in the punishment hole before being kicked out, all of his precious free time, Toki was most likely filling it with practicing the guitar the best way he could. Toki has a wild imagination, as we see with the clown doll we see in the punishment hole or his spider-dad in "Dethzazz". What's to say he wasn't constantly imagining his life as a famous guitarist, playing on stage or people, where he is loved and adored and no one hurts him anymore.
With all that being said, TOKI PRACTICED! HE PRACTICED!
At "The Duel", Toki's raw talent mixed with his determination to play guitar despite his challenges, is the reason why Skwisgaar chose him above anyone else. He made Skwisgaar feel challenged, which is not something anyone has done before, because no one before him has ever been as dedicated to the craft as him.
Toki and Skwisgaar are both dedicated musicians in their own right, in their own obstacles, in their own influences.
And that's where the problem lies.
Where Skwisgaar could feel himself growing and changing and getting better, Toki couldn't because his mentor/friend/rival knew his potential and wanted Toki to reach him, but not so much Toki would surpass him due to his perfectionism, stress, and self esteem issues. Skwisgaar's instance for better guitar playing, Toki's back and forth relationship with Skwisgaar being friends and rivals, and Toki getting used to Nathan's methods of recording, caused a feeling of apathy to grow in Toki.
"Why does it matter if I practice or not when I'm constantly being scrutinized and then replaced?"
Over the years of being in the band, just like how Toki described his and Skwisgaar's relationship in "Bookklok", it was once very good then bit by bit, it began to crumble. No more compliments, no more comradery, no more genuine interest (at least to Toki's perspective). As time would go on, Toki's passion for practicing guitar would eventually die down until practicing just became a thing of the past, while his passion for other things, like videogames, went up.
It is also important to note that practicing for adult Toki is not completely gone. In "Tributeklok", Toki/Skwisgaar is fully capable of playing the lead guitarist in Thunderhorse with no hiccups or problems. "Dethlessons" where Toki seeks out guitar lessons from Skwisgaar and his guitar teacher, shows determination from Toki to get better at guitar. "Bookklok" also shows us that, with the right motivation (and a power trip), Toki is fully prepared and able to play a solo to a sold out crowd, completely confidant in his abilities, unlike in "Dethlessons" when he initially freaks out. "Bookklok" Toki shows us a Toki that has most definitely practiced for this show, with a costume and attitude to match.
Tumblr media
In Army of the Doomstar, we finally get a chance to see Skwisgaar genuinely teach Toki something about his guitar, and tell him he needs to practice "like when he was good". No buckets of blood, no yelling, no insults, no fighting. Just a genuine tip and a stern notion to practice with a compliment. And what does he do? HE PRACTICES!
So apathy has not completely destroyed Toki's ability to practice, but extreme circumstances have to happen for him to even want to do it again, which isn't viable.
Now remember: Toki represents raw talent with serious determination and discipline for guitar playing in horrible conditions. He did practice and can practice. Constant belittlement of his talents, especially by Skwisgaar, has rendered him to be apathetic toward practicing. However, Toki seems more inclined to practice when he is given a reason, such as a power trip or by positive reinforcement and lessons.
Murderface's Apathy and Work Ethic
Murderface (my other love) is what I would call, spiteful. We get almost 0 information on his background other than: his parents murder-suicide, growing up with his grandparents, he threatened his principal so he could graduated while only drinking, smoking, and playing bass, and that he is most likely Southern American based on his confederate flag boxers and pension for Early American wars.
From what can be gathered, Murderface is an angry boy that turned into an angry man. Murderface's parent's deaths most likely uprooted Stella and Thunderbolt's entire retirement plan (along with Thunderbolt's stroke) Seeing from how Stella dresses and how we see Thunderbolt for the first time, Murderface's childhood was probably one in poverty. Mixed with medical debt, new child debt, the loss of a son and daughter-in-law, and with a seemingly already angry outlook on life (and possible Southern Baptist Christian religious values) Stella most likely raised Murderface in a very angry and unsafe home.
Tumblr media
With how we see Stella talk and hit Murderface the few times she's on screen, their relationship as grandson and grandmother is probably very very strained, toxic, and hostile. I could imagine Stella being particularly cruel and hateful toward Murderface, crushing any kind of attempt to connect.
Tumblr media
It is canon that all Murderface wants is to be loved and love back. But how is one suppose to do that when they grow up in a home that hates him, blames him, tells him that he's nothing, that he can't do a damn thing right, that he's stupid, and that he isn't going to be anything?
Tumblr media
That's the difference between Toki and Murderface. Where Toki refused to be swallowed up by the hatred, Murderface embraced it, and it became his saving grace.
We see Murderface try to take credit for things he hasn't done or try to say he's an expert in something that he barely knows anything about. It's half assed attempts to get things for himself, but also, for people to admire him for something he is good at. Toki is known as a copy cat, but Murderface mimics a lot, especially intelligence for things that people often respect. I could imagine Murderface trying his best as child to make friends but his constant failure of "everything" ruining it for him. The things that made him him were not good enough. So he would start mimicking what got other people positive attention. Which would lead to him being caught and getting in trouble, but with his background of being an angry household, anger and violence was how he would react to being called out, making him more of an outcast.
This is also why we see Murderface wanting to constantly give his bandmates "advice", because it mimic's someone respected and someone that people want to listen to. It's not the best when he forces it, but at times, when he is being genuine, like when Murderface is consoling Nathan about his G.E.D. test, it does make him into someone that people want to listen to.
Now, while we have no timeline for Murderface at all, we can say that he was playing bass in high school, so a good 4 years of his teenage years were spent playing bass. So somewhere in his childhood, Murderface found the bass, he started drinking, and he starting smoking. He also completely gave up on his high school career to focus on the bass.
Why would he do that?
Because Murderface's passion for the bass didn't come naturally.
He found himself a niche he was good at and got him the tiniest bit of attention, and he ran with it. Why would he focus on something, like school, where he was probably bullied and teased by his peers, teachers, and family when he could focus all his time on something he was actually good at, like bass. Something important like bass got him attention and praise and the connection he longed for. So he practiced for years, day in and day out, in order to get a taste of admiration.
But not only did he practice with his hands, he practiced with his penis. Murderface has CALLUSUES on his DICK! You only get those when you practice over and over and over again! Murderface in Dethklok is known for his dick bass solos! It's what makes him very unique compared to any other bassists.
So, Murderface HAS A WORK ETHIC! HE HAS MOTIVATION! He wants to be admired and respected and he wants people to like him. So he practices. However, I don't think bass playing is his top passion, which makes him more suspectable to lazing about and not practicing.
During "Religionklok", Murderface keeps getting gifted basses from the band while in the hospital, even when he has a pile next to him just growing, and he doesn't look too excited to get them either.
Tumblr media Tumblr media
Now, in "Birthdayface", the band gifts Murderface the Kennedy car with Abe's chair and a car destruction lot, and he sheds a single blood tear.
Tumblr media Tumblr media
He shows more emotion toward the car than he does the bass, which makes me think that Murderface's passion for the bass is because it pulled him out of poverty and into the limelight and not because it's his greatest passion, where that would be history. (This is not to say that Murderface has no passion for bass, he obvious takes great pride in his dick playing and has never once decided to pick up another instrument.)
Murderface, for as lazy as he is, ABSOLUTLY HAS A WORK ETHIC AND CAN AND HAS PRACTICED HIS BASS BEFORE! He would not have been in Dethklok if he sucked. Nathan would not consider him the brutalist bass player if he sucked. Murderface sucks in a way where his playing can never really be beat by anyone else but he's not giving bass playing his full attention either. Murderface is the best bass player in the world, but the band is not acknowledging it, and is constantly the butt of jokes for his instrument.
He is responding to the bands bullying like how he responded with the kids at school. The one thing that made him liked in school, his bass playing, now made him a running joke in the band, so he's desperately trying to find something else to make them respect and admire him. That's why he is always trying to do something, like start his own band, "Planet Piss", be fire chief for the band, claim the title "band dad", claim writing credits but he knows he sucks at all of these things. Of course he does, he's self aware enough to know these things, but he still tries, because he's desperate for their attention and respect.
And when Murderface is looking to try something else, he isn't practicing, and when he's not practicing, he's not good at the one thing that got him in the band in the first place. This results in more bullying, more cutting of his takes, more desperate moves for attention, and more spitefulness.
Murderface only knows how to respond in spitefulness, so when faced with Skwisgaar and Nathan's perfectionism, he only grows more bitter and cold toward his playing and becomes completely apathetic to it, knowing that he could never truly please them anymore, and has to find something else.
Now remember: Murderface is an original member for Dethklok and has shown and talked about years of practicing. He craves loves and attention but is bullied by the band for the one thing he knows he is good at it. The bullying and perfectionism of those he desperately wants approval from makes Murderface branch out into other niches or ways to get that positive attention, which negatively effects his playing. Bass is most likely not his number one passion, and thus more likely to be pushed aside for other favored passions, like history.
______________________________________________________________
Magnus Hammersmith
Magnus is a very interesting character but I will keep this part short in reference to the theory.
Very limited knowledge is known about Magnus but just enough is known of his early involvement with Dethklok and why his removal brought the band so much stress.
Magnus most likely had industry experience but was never in a band, perse. From the clues in the show we get, Magnus is an OG member for Dethklok. He is so OG, that he is still known as an Ex-Member of Dethklok. You can see it on the flier for Rock-a-Roonie camp in Toki's room. This means that Magnus was a part of the band when they were actively giving out music. At least enough for people to see his name in the credits.
Tumblr media
Now, Doomstar gives us a look at Dethklok's old band manager, an unnamed man, but someone before Charles. However, in "Renovationklok", we see Charles is Dethklok's band manager when signing on to Crystal Mountain Records and Magnus is in the back. So it's safe to assume that Magnus was there in the very very beginning of the band. It's also safe to assume that, when Roy is talking to the band in "Breakupklok" about receiving a CD with a sharpie written name on the front called "Dethklok", we can assume he is not referring to Toki on this CD, but Magnus.
Tumblr media
We also get a glimpse of a Dethklok with Magnus in it where everyone looks happy, where they are all friends. I am assuming the picture was taken before being signed on, because Magnus leaving and Toki coming in, had to have happened AFTER they were signed onto the label, as Magnus was at the signing!
Tumblr media
The reason Magnus probably snapped at the band is because he too is a perfectionist. This was his first band and he didn't know quite how to handle the pressure that came with it. Everyone else in the group had a good handle of keeping themselves in line, except Magnus. Magnus, who is known only for being an Ex-member of Dethklok and nothing else. Magnus, who once put under a lot of pressure, attacked Nathan by stabbing him in the back. Magnus, who was kicked out the band after being signed on, thus creating a 5th member slot open.
The conversation between the band, Charles, and Crystal Mountain Records was probably not good, not at all. In fact, it probably brought the pressure up tenfold, seeing how a member was missing, an instrument would have to either be filled or deleted from their already created songs, and this would be their first real record as a band, which could make or break them.
With Magnus' departure, the pressure was on.
Thus, welcoming Toki, into a steaming kettle pot of stress.
______________________________________________________________
Timeline
This timeline describes the theory as it begins. The analysis describes how the boys are all suspectable for perfectionism/apathy and how that carried over with them through the career.
It goes as followed:
Pickles leaves Snakes n' Barrels
Nathan graduates HS
Skwisgaar comes to the US in search of another band
Murderface is entering high school, practicing bass, drinking, and smoking.
Toki is learning how to play in secret in Norway
Pickles meets Magnus at an industry party and discuss a partnership of sorts but nothing concrete happens
Nathan puts out fliers for a band "Dethklok", looking for musicians
Skwisgaar finds a flyer, auditions, and joins
Murderface continues to practice and threatens the principal to leave him be
Nathan and Skwisgaar struggle to find other members for the band, so have to go in and out of jackoff jobs for a few years
Pickles joins a few bands to fill his pocket with Magnus by his side, producing or engineering for a few years
Nathan and Skwisgaar wind up at an industry party, where they meet Pickles and Magnus. From here, they audition as musicians and get in. They get their first manager.
Murderface graduates HS and runs away from home to Florida, where he stumbles upon the flier and auditions for Dethklok, getting in.
Toki is found out by his parents and kicks out of the home, resulting in Toki being homeless
Dethklok produces a few songs with their old manager but decide to kick him out once they learn he was embezzling money from them
Dethklok meets Charles through an employment office, using the last of their money to hire a new manager who knows his shit.
Toki works his way through Europe until he can find a way across the ocean to America.
Charles is able to get a Dethklok CD to Roy Cornickelson, CEO of Crystal Mountain Records and he likes them. The band is signed on shortly after. They are given a year to produce a full album with a sign on bonus. They use the money to buy equipment and roadies, also known as "Klokateers".
Toki is able to get a boat ticket that will take him to Florida
The pressure of making the record begins to get to the band, specifically Magnus, which results in him insulting the band.
Toki is in Florida, living on the streets, and playing and going to any audition that was open, only for none of them to want him since he was a gross looking homeless boy
While practicing, Pickles changed the drum pattern that Magnus created, causing a fight to break out between Nathan and Magnus.
Magnus is kicked out the band.
Magnus destroys the apartment and the equipment, along with threatening the band and insulting Murderface.
The sign on bonus is dwindling quicker once new instruments had to be bought
Dethklok tells Charles what happens and he schedules a meeting with Roy. Roy is not happy. They had a decision to make. Either redo the whole album without a rhythm guitarist or find another member, and fast, as the deadline is virtually around the corner.
Dethklok decides to hold auditions for a rhythm guitarist, Skwisgaar decided to dual them all and if one can beat him, then they can join
Toki find the flier for the audition, gets lost on the way, and arrives late. Skwisgaar decided to let him duel, they duel, and Toki is let in the band.
With the deadline approaching, Nathan and Skwisgaar are very concerned about the album, and plus the introduction of a new member.
While recording Toki and Murderface's parts, Nathan and Skwisgaar are pushed to their limits at being perfectionists, nitpicking everything about their playing. Pickles ends up having to reel them in when Toki looks close to crying and Murderface looks close to murder
Toki and Murderface both manage to get their parts recorded, but are then deleted and redone by Skwisgaar in fear that the band will suffer and fail due to an inexperienced teenage guitarist and a hot-headed bass player.
Pickles finds out, and while also sharing their same fears, tells them that what they did was not cool. Skwisgaar and Nathan end up keeping a few of their original recordings in the songs that they don't care for so much as the other, EP style singles, as a way to appease Pickles and to make their "not guilt guilt" feeling go away
Toki and Murderface do find out from a drunk Pickles that a majority of their stuff was erased from the album upon completion and they are equally hurt by the revelation
Their hurt gets pushed to the side once the money starts coming in and Toki is still revealing in the fact that he has a family now and is no longer on the streets
Toki and Murderface decide to let it go and focus on the positive the album has brought them
Nathan and Skwisgaar secretly credit their re-recordings for the reason that the album did so well, and continue to do it, becoming less and less secretive as time went on
Toki becomes more and more hurt and confused as to why his once amazing guitar playing skills were being deleted and scrutinized by the same guy who wanted him
Murderface is hurt that the one thing he believed he was good at was now not enough, thus loosening his hold on his passion and seeing out other things to get their attention
Toki and Murderface become apathetic to practicing as their parts are always re-recorded, deleted, or never mixed in
Skwisgaar and Nathan believe they are doing the right thing for the band and get upset when Toki and Murderface don't practice
______________________________________________________________
Conclusion
The cycle of being deleted and bullied and being upset that their bandmates aren't doing their best end up creating some animosity in the band. It isn't until Army of the Doomstar that the band will be able to fix their wrongs, work toward being better toward each other, embrace each others own unique abilities and styles with their instruments, and apologize to one another. Toki and Murderface feel re-energized to practice once more and Nathan and Skwisgaar are instead working with the material they have instead of trying to force something out of a hundred+ takes.
It is also important to note that Dethalbum IV is said to have more rhythmic guitar and bass sounds than previous albums, thus concluding to a musical standpoint that Skwisgaar is writing and letting Toki and Murderface shine on this album rather than mixed out to hidden behind the lead guitarist. This development is incredible and backs up what
And THAT is why I think Toki and Murderface don't practice!
125 notes · View notes
felixwhy · 7 months
Text
ive made a couple more misc rdr hcs giggles
john has ZERO sense of fashion. sure, he has some good couple of outfits here n there, but holy BALLS this guy cant dress himself. abigail smacked him for wearing double denim
modern bill is into anime figures w huge honkers and he has an anime body pillow
if ur in a relationship w dutch he would totally be like those guys that are like "where my hug at" either w hugs or kisses
modern dutch does the dad hand. u can not open a bag of gummy worms in the back of his car.
arthur likes to talk shit abt almost everyone in his journal. ESPECIALLY MICAH
ok bye
runs away
161 notes · View notes
cannibalmetaphor · 1 year
Text
the significance of hannibal and will’s sitting positions in hannibal
hannibal is a show that relies heavily on symbolism. it’s used to express what the character’s don’t - particularly hannibal and will, who tend to speak in riddles about their emotions. if you look closely, you can see how that the way they sit with each other is intentional!
let me show you what I mean
opposite one another
the way that hannibal and will’s relationship begins is through therapy. therefore it’s no surprise that one of their main motifs is their chairs being opposite each other (remember hannibal’s line about the chairs holding all of their conversations).
Tumblr media
several things to note about this sitting position
• they are facing each other, so there is some level of intimacy. they look into each other’s faces
• yet this is at a comfortable distance. while their friendship develops through sitting opposite each other and having conversations, this is a professional position and it allows some emotional distance
• they are positioned equally
when will imagines speaking to hannibal in season 3 about his past, he imagines them in this position.
Tumblr media
because will feels most comfortable talking to hannibal in this position. especially after the bloody aftermath of mizumono, this position provides will with a calm and familiar space to talk to hannibal in
Tumblr media
the last time we see hannibal and will sitting facing each other is before hannibal surrenders. this is the symbolic “end” of the polite distance between them. no longer can they sit and have conversations - indeed in the second part of season 3 speak through a prison cell. yes they are facing each other, but they are always standing up. that level of familiarity is gone.
one up and one down
if being opposite each other represents equality, then having one sitting down and one standing up represents a lack of equality.
for most of the series, hannibal is predominantly the one standing. he leans over will when he is vulnerable, physically crowding his space.
Tumblr media
in mizumono, hannibal strips will of power completely. both physically by hurting him, and emotionally by killing abigail. he is on the floor while hannibal stands above him, a malevolent god
Tumblr media
in season 3, after chiyoh shoots will, will is on the chair sitting and hannibal isn’t. however, unlike in the previously mentioned scenes, hannibal crouches down to his level.
Tumblr media
this is because although hannibal wants to be in control, he is also wounded. the power dynamic has started to shift, though ultimately hannibal is still in control
until the final episode, where will turns this motif on its head. he stands over a wounded hannibal and gloats.
Tumblr media
the power dynamic has been completely subverted. hannibal is now vulnerable to will- meanwhile, will has regained control and has the freedom to choose what happens next
beside each other
the last position is beside each other. it’s only in the second half of season 2 that we start to see hannibal and will next to, rather than opposite, each other.
Tumblr media
what is important about this position is that it is intimate. they are physically close. in emotionally vulnerable moments, we see them like this, particularly in dolce.
I also think sitting next to someone is more intimate because you can speak without looking at them - you might be more inclined to be truthful. when you do choose to look at someone beside you, you are closer to them so the moment is more intimate. you can see every detail on their face
Tumblr media
their true peace and happiness is obviously symbolised by the two of them sitting beside each other in their shared memory palace
Tumblr media
now what I want to add about this position is that we see them from behind. look at the screenshots - it’s like we’re looking in on a private moment. they are shutting out the rest of the world.
I hope this made sense!
521 notes · View notes