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caligvlasaqvarivm · 3 months

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CLASSES - a comprehensive guide

The first thing that needs to be said is that there is no such thing as a "bad" class. All of them have the potential to be a great detriment OR great boon to the rest of the team, depending on how far along the journey of self-actualization a party member is. Some may have steeper challenges, but this corresponds with greater rewards.

The second thing that needs to be said is that all players are part of a team, and all personal journeys and playstyles are interlinked. No class is truly "solo." Even the smallest viable session is still two people, and even the most suitable classes for solo play are stronger when they're in a party.

The last thing that needs to be said is that the game wants you to succeed. The game, inherently, wants every player to reach godhood, wants every player to self-actualize, wants every player to win. It respects free will and free choice, so it will allow for failures (and, indeed, doomed timelines are vital to the alpha one existing), but Skaia is ultimately optimistic, and tries at every turn to ensure that a golden ending is possible.

Because, after all, SBURB/SGRUB - and Homestuck itself - are about children growing up, maturing, and learning compassion for each other. About fixing their flaws and rejecting the negative aspects of the society they came from. It's about how it is our duty, our responsibility, to become kind, mature people who care about one another, because we will one day be responsible for creating a new society.

And so, without further ado:

ACTIVE (-) Classes and PASSIVE (+) Classes are described with the dichotomy of "powers working for the self" vs. "powers working for others," but I believe this to be an oversimplification of what the active and passive split is. Both active AND passive classes benefit from being in a party; however, an active class will gain fewer party benefits in exchange for being more suited for solo play, while a passive class will be less suited for solo play, but confer much greater benefits to party play.

This is reflected in their personal quests: while active classes and passive classes will both require intervention, empathy, and guidance from their teammates, the struggle of an active class is usually one of grappling with internal flaws, and the struggle of a passive class is one of grappling with interpersonal or societal relations. In other words, the personal quest of an active player will usually involve getting therapized, while the personal quest of a passive player will usually involve addressing a systemic societal issue. Often, both will be required, but whether a class is active or passive will indicate an area of focus.

KNIGHT - / MAID +

PARTY MANAGEMENT

one who wields [aspect] or leads with [aspect] / one who distributes [aspect] or manages with [aspect]

KNIGHTS (-) are a very flexible and versatile class; "wielding" their aspect does not necessarily mean they are skilled at DPS. It actually indicates the way a knight interacts with their aspect, a very straightforward relationship of tradesperson and tool, or soldier and weapon. Similarly, while a knight does not always take up the "leader" position in the party, they will be the "spearhead," a point behind which the other players rally, a beating heart keeping the party together.

This straightforward relationship between a knight and their aspect leads to knights finding little difficulty mastering their aspect once they've begun. Many knights are, in fact, instinctively drawn toward utilizing their aspect, in the same way that they are naturally drawn toward roles of importance or heroism.

Knights often struggle with their perceived place in society, as well as with their innate sense of self and self-worth, seeing themselves as outcasts, resenting the responsibility placed on their shoulders, and fearing vulnerability. Unaddressed, these issues will lead to knights who actively become a detriment to party success. For example, they can dismiss valid concerns, shirk their duties, and in the worst case scenario, actively lead the party down the wrong path, invoking their natural ability to lead for ill.

Therefore, a knight's journey is one of accepting themselves and accepting their duty to better the world. It is about coming to terms with their own insecurities and learning to rely on others. It is about learning to take responsibility, and accepting the banner of a just and glorious cause.

A fully realized knight will be the center of every charge, the guiding star behind which the other players rally. They can provide clarity and guidance to those still on their journeys, and peace and comfort to those who are struggling or in pain. Where the knight goes, the party will follow, as a unified and united front.

MAIDS (+), meanwhile, tend to be on the backlines. If the knight is the forward march, then the maid is the supply line, an incredibly vital role whose absence is disastrous, even if its presence is nearly invisible. Maids have a nearly infinite well of their aspect to distribute, and are uniquely talented at managerial duties - keeping players on task, patching up the holes in a plan, sourcing and supplying resources, so on and so forth.

This is not to say that maids are relegated to support roles - a maid is usually capable of holding their own in combat just fine, especially if they've been endowed with a more combat-suited aspect. Both knights and maids are extremely versatile. That being said, maids truly shine when they're able to take on these backline roles, and many maids are more noticeable by the devastating effects of their absence rather than the invisible touch of their presence.

However, they are the class that most often starts in subservient conditions - low status, strict duties enforced upon them, so on - and their personal journey is a constant struggle against the control of others. Maids whose parties fail to grapple with and undo these shackling forces will find their maids succumbing to the influence or control of malicious entities; in the worst-case scenario, a maid can become an actively hostile enemy or saboteur, invisibly pulling the party's strings and setting them up for failure.

Therefore, a maid's journey is about rejecting societal oppression and throwing off the chains that bind them. A successful maid rises to become the head of the household - nothing occurs within the game that does not first pass the maid's inspection, and their touch ensures that there is a place for everything, and everything is in its place.

A free maid, who belongs to themselves, incomparably increases a party's efficiency. Every communication line is clear, every distribution route is clean, every mystery is solvable, and every plan is airtight. A maid guarantees that nothing can ever go too wrong.

PAGE - / HEIR +

TEAM BONDING

one who must earn [aspect] or inherits the mantle of [aspect] / one who is beloved by [aspect] or awakens to [aspect]

PAGES (-) start the game with the fewest benefits from their aspects, but the greatest potential for growth. Theirs is a constant battle with the self; they are often cowardly and naive. They possess sensitive souls, and while it is incredibly easy to hurt a page, it's much more difficult to build them up. Because of the difficulty of raising this class, it's practically defined by its journey - a constant struggle against the self - rather than its destination, and the powers the class confers.

Pages, like heirs, are classes of inheritance. A page is promoted by trials and tribulations and comes to inherit a greater power than they begin with; in the same way, the class will one day come to embody its aspect, although the road will always be turbulent and long. Moreover, it is a journey without end; pages, being as sensitive as they are, are the most prone to backwards progress, even after reaching their peak.

They prone to staying weak throughout the entire game, never self-actualizing past being the party joke. They attract the obsession and ridicule of stronger-willed players, and their mistreatment can become extremely divisive. A page can easily become a party's albatross, the epicenter of massive interpersonal conflicts, which can tank an entire session.

Therefore, a page's journey is one of the most difficult of all - that of teaching others how to care about other people. Pages rely on great patience, kindness, and understanding. Their sensitive souls must be carefully nurtured and propagated with love and attention. In the same way that a page can tear a team apart, they can bring a team together, all in the name of compassion and empathy. A fully-realized page is the symbol of a party that has linked hands with one another.

Self-actualized pages, as a result of the difficulty inherent to the class, are incredibly powerful and versatile when fully realized. Inheriting the mantle of their aspect, they become pure embodiments of their aspect, capable of achieving impossible feats of raw, unfiltered power, and inspiring all those who gaze upon them.

HEIRS (+) begin the game very strong, but have a difficult time becoming stronger. This is because their usage of their aspect is very instinctual to them, even at times being entirely beyond their control, hence, "beloved by" in the class description. However, because of how naturally their aspect comes to them, it makes taking further command of their powers difficult.

An heir "awakens to" their aspect because their natural, intuitive control often renders them too comfortable to grasp the greater implications of their class. As an inheritance class, heirs can come to embody their aspect, transforming entirely into it. Their challenge lies in breaking out of their comfortable shell and learning how to utilize their powers in more active, intentional ways.

This is reflected in their personal quests. They are often set to inherit great privilege or wealth prior to entering the game, and are thus naive to the realities of the suffering and pain of others. Without a supportive party willing to challenge their views, heirs can perpetuate that pain by submitting to their place in the world, becoming a divisive force within the party, or, in the worst case, losing themselves to their inheritance, and submitting so wholly to their aspect that they become lost to the rest of the team.

Thus, an heir's journey is to question the stratification of the society they belong to, so that they can recognize and address its flaws. They must learn to interrogate their inheritance, separate it from themselves, and reconcile with it. Theirs is an arc of examination and understanding, descending from their position of privilege and peace to learn about the suffering of others, and deciding that they wish to do something about it.

With full command over their aspect, and a clear vision for how it ought to be distributed, the party gains a new and powerful ally - the aspect itself, which will come to embrace the entire party as family. A fully-realized heir connects the privileged and underprivileged, spreading their inheritance to all.

MAGE - / SEER +

GUIDANCE

one who invokes [aspect] or is drawn to [aspect] / one who comprehends [aspect] or is guided by [aspect]

MAGES (-) are a class of prophets, although saying they "see the future" is misleading. Rather, mages "invoke" the future, collapsing causality to align to their desires. Most mages remain unaware that they are doing so until well into their journey. While all players weigh on the scale of causality, affecting both past and future events, and which sequence of events is the "alpha" sequence, mages have the most direct effect.

Because of this ability to invoke future events, mages possess powerful buffing/debuffing abilities. Furthermore, as one of the two knowledge classes, a mage usually has a very deep understanding of their aspect, and an intuitive knowledge of how the flow of time and causality function. They are "drawn to" their aspects in this way, instinctively searching out points where their influence can affect the flow of events.

However, with great power comes great cost; the mage class is usually assigned to those who are stricken by tragedies and prone to negativity and self-loathing. Mages often begin the game as a detriment to the party, "prophesying" future events that leave the party - including themselves - at a disadvantage. In the worst case scenario, a mage can invoke certain doom for their party or themselves.

Therefore, it is vital that a mage address their tragedies and be given a chance to heal and grow. The ones most struck by tragedy, theirs is a journey of reclaiming lost joy and rediscovering lost hope. However, the transformation is powerful once completed - as the one who suffers tragedy and loss most intimately, a mage can also come to be one of the most empathetic and compassionate members of the team.

If a mage is uplifted, and capable of believing in a kinder and gentler world, then their ability to invoke the future - and the aspects of their aspect that they are drawn to - become kinder, as well. Pain and suffering still have their place, but the ending will be a happy one. With a fully empowered mage, the future will always be better than what came before.

SEERS (+) see multiple branching paths. A mage determines where a road will be built, but a seer tells you where a road CAN be built. They are also often gifted with knowledge of the game and its mechanics, and are especially uniquely gifted with understanding of their own abilities. In this way, they "comprehend" their aspect.

Seers themselves are not particularly gifted in combat through their classpect alone; however, in exchange, they often play a vital role in steering the party. They are the game's built-in guides, with an intuitive knowledge of the game's victory conditions, as well as an instinctive desire to lead others along their paths. Seers are, therefore, one of the most important classes in the game, when one is present.

However, the ability to see is a burden as well as a gift. Seers find themselves paralyzed by choice, and often doubt their own abilities to choose "correctly." They are prone to becoming mired in what-ifs, and struggle with political or ethical debates with no clear answers. In the worst-case scenario, a seer may feel so cursed by their sight that they self-destruct, and deliberately choose poor or incomprehensible answers, in an attempt to free themselves of their sight.

Thus, a seer's quest is, ironically, to see the world beyond the purview of their aspect. They must come to have a more comprehensive understanding of the world they live in, and what purpose they are trying to achieve, so that they can feel confident in the choices they make. A seer is often blind - their journey, therefore, is that of regaining their vision, by connecting with the world outside their inner sight.

A seer with a clear vision for the future will always know exactly which path to choose. A party with such a seer in it will never be stuck and never be lost. If there exists a path to self-actualization, the seer will know it. And if there exists a path to a breathless and perfect victory, a fully-realized seer will light the way.

THIEF - / ROGUE +

UTILITY

one who steals [aspect] from others or steals with [aspect] / one who steals [aspect] for others or steals from [aspect]

THIEVES (-) are a very difficult class to play. They start out with almost no passive abilities regarding their aspect, and their ability to actively use their aspect is contingent on their ability to first "steal" it from someone else. Thus, they are always playing a game of resource management, and there is always a chance for them to be left helpless after a heist gone wrong.

However, their gimmicky nature allows them to overtake other classes even in that class's specialty, if they can set up the exact right circumstances and manage their resources well. This makes them incredibly versatile, especially when a thief is working together with a party, and thus able to count their party among their potential resources. It takes great cunning to play the thief class well.

However, this also makes the thief a potentially dangerous element to the rest of the party. Thieves are often egotistical and self-serving, willing to see enemies and allies alike as resources and tools. Unaddressed, their reckless, selfish natures will earn their teammates' distrust and enmity. In the worst case scenario, a thief running rampant can severely harm the party, or earn so much ire that the party turns against them.

Thus, their journey is that of realizing that their selfishness and ego are flaws - the classic parable of "money doesn't bring happiness." Beneath their uncaring surface lurks genuine emotional distress; a thief must come to realize that their greed and selfishness is an active detriment not only to the people around them, but their own selves. Only then can they heal from their injured souls.

A thief that has undertaken this journey is one who has realized that they are stronger when they are working with others. Their versatility, creativity, and cunning are incredible assets once harnessed toward the will of the party. No situation will ever be inescapable, no safe uncrackable, and no problem unsolvable - not if the thief has anything to say about it.

ROGUES (+) are similarly difficult to play. Unlike the thieves, rogues do see passive benefits from their aspects. However, their active abilities are much less straightforward, and rogues often struggle with understanding them. A rogue's role is to redistribute wealth - thus, "stealing for the sake of others."

A rogue, being able to steal directly from their aspect, truly shines when given enough time to prepare. If a thief must fly by the seat of their pants, then a rogue is a heist planner - they have an infinite box of tools to pull from, if only they know what tools they'll need for the job. This makes them incomparably versatile, even if not necessarily in the heat of combat.

Rogues take on the mantle of challenging the status quo. They usually begin the game already in opposition to their society, seeking out better alternatives and considering unorthodox options. However, not every party is ready for a rogue's radical ideology, and not every rogue has considered the full consequences of their belief in change; in the worst case scenario, the rogue can become outcasted and disregarded, or cause an upheaval that proves disastrous, rioting for the sake of rioting.

It often requires the help of others for a rogue to understand how to use their powers. In the same way, it requires the party's honest communication and exchange of ideas to help a rogue grasp exactly what form their rebellion ought to take. A rogue knows instinctively that something must change; their journey is learning how they ought to go about it.

Once they do, a rogue - given enough time to prepare and plan - is the ultimate utility player, having the right tool for every possible situation. Their abilities are only magnified in a party setting, as their teammates become variables that unlock new possibilities. A party with a fully-prepped rogue always has a perfect plan, a way to solve any problem that they might face.

WITCH - / SYLPH +

AREA CONTROL

one who manipulates [aspect] or achieves dominion through [aspect] / one who nurtures [aspect] or creates a land of [aspect]

WITCHES (-) carry with them the winds of change. A witch manipulates, changing properties of their aspect and their aspect's effect on others, creating a "territory" over which they rule. They see few passive benefits of their aspects, in exchange for their active abilities being so all-encompassing and overwhelming.

Once their territory has been established, witches make the rules. Their changes can be permanent, temporary, massive, and miniscule. However, a witch "achieves dominion" with their aspect - this means that they must first struggle to create this domain, and it's difficult for their abilities to manifest until they do, often leaving younger witches weak and vulnerable.

Witches have strong feelings for how things should and should not be, but not necessarily grounded ideas for how to implement them, often due to some "outsider" status in society. Unfocused witches become dangerous for the party, as they are easily manipulated; in the worst-case scenario, they can fall in with malicious forces, who can sway a witch's turbulent heart and utilize them as a force for negative change, rather than good.

Thus, a witch's journey is that of interrogating right and wrong. A witch must struggle with morality and ethics, and come to clarify their own beliefs; only then can they know what sort of domain they wish to establish, and what sort of rules they wish to enforce. Once they know their own hearts, they can shake off the insidious whispers of malicious external influence.

As if a reward for their struggles for autonomy and independence, the witch is the one whose will is most imposed on the world that comes after them. Just as an evil witch putrefies the world around them, a fully-realized witch who has decided to use their influence for good can create a near-utopia.

SYLPHS (+) call to mind the images of fey folk who sprout plants where they walk. That is how a sylph "creates a land" of their aspect - merely by existing, the world around them becomes suffused by it. A sylph's mere presence nurtures, grows, and heals their aspect; unlike witches, who manipulate what is already there, sylphs can create something from nothing.

The establishment of their domain comes naturally to them. Those caught within it are on the receiving end of their aspect, whether they want to be or not. In exchange for such powerful passive abilities, a sylph's active abilities are weaker, and usually unsuited for solo combat, generally being of healing, buffing, or debuffing nature.

A sylph is prone to selfishness - to luxuriating within their own land, their own aspect, their own mind. They often have difficulty connecting with others and understanding why their own personal world may not be to the liking of the world outside of themselves. Often, they are aloof. An unrealized sylph can cause great harm to the world around them, their domain choking out and smothering their party; in the worst case, they can mire their party within it, leaving their party unable to proceed.

Thus, it often requires the outside world to breach their safe haven in order for a sylph to grow. They must be made uncomfortable, and then made to accept that uncomfortable things are also important - maybe even more important than comfort, at times. Growth often requires pruning; a sylph's journey is to come to understand that good intentions may lead to harm, and, vice versa, that harm can often lead to true growth.

Sylphs can provide the greatest compassion and emotional comfort within a party, encouraging - if not enabling - their teammates' growth in their personal journeys. Once a sylph understands when it is appropriate to encourage, and when it is appropriate to pull back, there is no refuge safer for the party than the sylph's domain.

PRINCE - / BARD +

OBSTACLE REMOVAL

one who destroys [aspect] or destroys with [aspect] / one who allows the destruction of [aspect] or allows destruction through [aspect]

PRINCES (-) possess the ability to annihilate, a destructive class not limited to physical or tangible objects. Princes also enjoy auxiliary benefits as befits their royal titles - many princes start the game with great talents, great status and wealth, or both. They are also endowed with royal presence; their very existence provokes strong emotions from those around them, for good or for ill.

One of the more straightforward classes in the game, a prince's ability to destroy most commonly manifests as DPS. However, their abilities encompass a greater scope than mere damage - the prince's ability to annihilate figurative or metaphysical concepts makes them capable of directly removing any obstacles that stand in their way. As if hungry to consume their aspect, they are naturally drawn towards where it congregates.

However, with great power comes great responsibility: princes are often the most psychologically maligned within the party, and their destructive talents can very easily become self-destructive instead. Usually the result of societal pressure, trauma, and suffering, a prince is prone to embodying the lack of their aspect, rather than its presence. In the worst-case scenario, a prince spreads this misfortune to the rest of their party, destroying the presence of their aspect from their session altogether, often taking themselves along with it.

A prince must be shown compassion. Though they are often viscerally unpleasant to engage with, turning a blind eye to foolishness, loneliness, and suffering - which a prince embodies - is one of the worst things that a party can do. Though the effort at times seems undeserved, to heal a prince requires a staunch belief that there is good to be gained if we are kind to each other. This kindness will be returned; once you are counted among a prince's "people," they will do anything to keep harm from befalling you.

A prince, once shown this grace, is incomparably powerful. To destroy their aspect or with their aspect is the ability to destroy nearly anything, including concepts such as despair, death, and doom. As if proclaiming a royal decree, a fully-realized prince can banish misfortune and ill tidings altogether, leaving nothing standing in the party's way.

BARDS (+) are a wildcard of a class, often responsible for a party's improbable victory, abject defeat, or both. Their abilities are not very well-understood, even by the bard themselves, and they often utilize both passive and active abilities intuitively, unaware that they are doing so. The morale of the party is deeply tied to the bard's own, and it's unclear which side is cause and which is effect.

The ability to allow the destruction of their aspect, or invite it through their aspect, is actually something of a debuff rather than DPS - the bard's ability is to break unbreakable shields, tear down unclimbable walls, and nullify unstoppable forces. Rather than dealing damage themselves, they allow for damage to be dealt that would otherwise have no effect - in other words, by nature, they make the impossible possible. This is the true source of their ability to evoke "miraculous" situations.

Bards are inextricably tied to society - after all, their tales only hold as much value as their relevance to the audience. This means those with the bard class are invariably molded by the worst aspects of the society they come from. They serve as living embodiments of the most unpleasant aspects of society, and living reminders that leaving these elements to fester only means they will multiply in severity. If these beliefs are allowed to go unexamined, bards will always steer a party towards ruin.

Therefore, a party must engage with the bard earnestly, compassionately, and openly, and help them see the errors of the past. A bard must be led, with gentle guidance and genuine openness, to discard their harmful beliefs, and sing a new, more beautiful tune.

A bard that has been brought back into the fold is a worker of miracles. When every other possible option has been exhausted - the knight and maid in disarray, the page and heir unable to keep the party together, the mage and seer blinded, the thief and rogue out of action, the witch and sylph with their territory lost, the prince no longer able to function - this is where a bard will step in, transmuting abject defeat into a perfect and breathless victory.

#homestuck #classpect #classpects #just my own opinions obviously #feel free to disagree #this is also more meant to examine the actual text of homestuck or serve as a reference for fanworks #i dont actually vibe that much with classpecting actual real people #because unlike fictional characters we contain multitudes #still i cant STOP you if thats what you want to do hahahah

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pastryjay · 4 months

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I'm really surprised that a lot of people didn't like how Ghosts ended and consider it to be a sad ending. I loved it.

It was just not practical for the family to stay in Button house. It was falling apart and neither Alison or Mike had the funds to fix it or keep up with the costs of running the place. They made that clear many times throughout the show. The heating bill alone would be astronomical. The charm of living in an expensive, falling apart, old house would not last. Even if they wanted to stay there, the family would get to a point where they would have to move if they wanted to afford food and other basic needs, especially with the new costs of raising a child.

The family haven't permanently left the the Ghosts behind. They could stay at the hotel every year, multiple times a year if they wanted. The place has a sauna, probably other leisure facilities like a gym and a pool now too. Many hotels double up as a leisure club so it wouldn't be weird for them to visit as often as they like. Especially as they would have a lot of money from selling the house.

The ghosts are right too, them being there 24/7 could easily become too much. I know i'd feel unable to relax and feel like i'd have no privacy if I lived with that many people who literally can not leave, ever.

I know it's a comedy show that hinges on being somewhat unrealistic! However, these characters are expected to behave at least somewhat how real people would. Alison and Mike are sensible people and react to situations in the way normal, sensible people would. To me, there is no way they'd be able to stay happy living in that house for the rest of their lives.

#bbc ghosts #feel free to disagree #ghosts #ghosts spoilers #bbc ghosts christmas special #i'm not saying anyone is wrong for disliking it! I just can't see an ending where they stay in that house but remain happy forever there.

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heartbreakprincewille · 1 year

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Masculinity In Young Royals

So, in honour of Ke Huy Quan and the team of Everything Everywhere All At Once sweeping the Oscars(been crying about it since morning), I was watching this BRILLIANT video essay(check it out it's so well thought out!) about Waymond(Ke's character) and this gave me thoughts about Young Royals as well, because hyperfixations go hand-in-hand, right? :)

Masculinity, and especially different portrayals and aspects of its prevalent notions is a theme brilliantly explored in the two seasons of Young Royals. I wanted to talk about some characters, and this list will progress from worse to better(not using the word perfect because nuance > perfection).

Note: The traits I will discuss further are not restricted to just a cis or male perspective, anyone can exhibit these traits, but since assertion of masculinity is a constant spectacle in Young Royals, I will associate some traits with it.

1. Vincent

Vincent, especially in S2, embodies the worst traits on the masculinity spectrum, and since his character is understandably not offered the privilege of nuance, he comes off as this typical, toxic, sort of "alpha-male" character, especially after he's elected as the prefect and Rowing Captain. He constantly bullies others, especially Simon, tries to enforce the hierarchy of privilege and class firstly through August and then by himself. As soon as he sees an opportunity shown by Wilhelm to take control in his hands, he doesn't take much time to betray his "friend", August(although August of all people getting betrayed is certainly irony at its best). He kinda reminds me of the Royal Court in some ways- their presence furthering the divide of tradition and social systems in their respective environments.

2. August

The only reason August is not placed higher than Vincent in this list is the privilege of nuance August is provided with throughout the story. This nuance is what sets him apart in the narrative, but is also the thing which dooms him as a character.

August is misogynistic, sexist, classist, obsessed with power and privilege and feels entitled to both of them, set to further the class divide just like Vincent. He stokes his ego like fire, and if someone tries to cross him, he does not hesitate to burn them with the flames, like Wilhelm exposing his money issues and August violating Wilhelm and Simon's privacy in return. He's manipulative, he's calculative, he knows how to scheme things in his favour(failed attempts, though) and he's just a walking red flag of a person. He also falls around the worse side of the spectrum of masculinity.

But, he is offered nuance by the narrative. In S1, it's in the form of familial and personal issues: his dad killing himself, financial problems, addiction issues and possible issues of body dysmorphia. In S2, through his relationship with Sara, we are shown a different side of him- a side that is capable of being vulnerable, capable of being soft, and this almost sparks this hope within the audience that maybe August can change a little, for the better.

But then he's offered a chance of power and his hamartia is revealed to the audience: his inability to change. The greatest tragedy (which is also its brilliance) with August's character is he cannot change for the better. Even if he tries to. He can have opprtunities to grow, but it will be a Herculean labour for him to take advantage of those opportunities and actually change. He is so deeply entrenched in his perceptions of toxic masculinity and power and lost in his conceited, privileged worldview that it's quite hard for him to see the light at the end of the tunnel. And it's what sets him apart in the narrative- despite all his nuance, he is still a terrible person at his core. The nuance is just what separates him from all his shallow and one-dimensional preceding antagonists of the past.

3. Nils

Nils brings a neutral perspective to the extreme hyper-masculine and cishet dynamics upheld by August and Vincent. He's revealed to be queer in S2, but chooses to be discreet about it- which gives him a chance to build solidarity with both his cishet peers(Vincent and August) as well as a fellow queer person (Wille). He's not dismissive of Wilhelm's queerness, but he believes it to be something "better behind close doors". He's one of the few people who actually acknowledges Wilhelm and Simon's relationship, but is also dismissive of it, mainly because of the difference in their social standings. He's devoid of the typical "heteronormative" traits associated with masculinity, especially in S2, but he still uphelds the toxic class hierarchy and privilege.

4. Simon

Simon is a quite interesting character to me on this list because he subverts these traits in a very unique way.

Usually canonically gay characters in media are often stereotyped to possess "feminine" traits, which is NOT a bad thing at all, BUT mostly the portrayal of such characters usually leans more towards the mockery of the "feminine" traits, rather than something which strengthens the queerness of that character.

Simon is actually very different from this famous rendition of gay characters- he's actually very masculine in his behaviour. He exhibits two typical masculine behaviours in general:

1. "Man Of The House", or taking the mantle of emotional(and sometimes financial) stability in a house in one's own hands. He often takes matters in his own hand, especially when Sara says or does something that disrupts the peace of their little family. It's interesting because despite being the youngest person in the family, Linda subconsciously lets him take the mantle on his shoulders, without realizing how heavy it can be. And consequenty, it brings us down to the second trait:

2. "Suppressing emotions", or avoiding being vulnerable in public spaces or with people one loves and trusts. Simon constantly shoves what he's feeling deep in his heart, he refuses to break open in front of people, in front of Wille(S2 E6 gun scene) and would go to lengths to maintain a facade of "everything's fine!" even if he's breaking inside. It makes sense because his backstory alludes to hesitation to open up to people and it can be possibly related to his familial trauma, but it's still interesting nevertheless because he shows incredible emotional maturity throughout the story, much more than his predecessors on this list. He's devoid of both the toxic traits of heteronormativity and elitist behaviour associated with "masculinity" in Young Royals, but he still possesses a different set of problems associated with orthodox masculinity.

5. Wilhelm

Wilhelm is, in my opinion, the closest example to what is emerging as the new definition of "masculinity" in the current media. Wilhelm, through his immense emotional journey and growth in the two seasons, subverts all the traits of masculinity displayed by his predecessors in the list with grace and humility.

He's not obsessed with upholding traditions and asserting heteronormativity like Vincent and August, he is quite indifferent to it in S1, the only "compulsion" he feels to do so is immediately after Erik's death in S1, which he quickly overcomes as well. His "revenge" attempts on August by pulling rank and exercising his privilege stems from a feeling of injustice and anger rather than something he enjoys or feels the need to practice at all.

August's hamartia is Wilhelm's strength. Wilhelm, unlike August, displays great capacity to change for the better, which he constantly does throughout the story. Love knocks on both of their doors as an opportunity to grow, to change for the better, and while Wilhelm embraces it, August slaps the door shut on its face.

Unlike Nils, neither Wilhelm's queerness was never given a chance to be discreet in the first place, nor he ever felt the need to do so. The idea of keeping his and Simon's relationship a secret was more of an idea subconsciously conceived by Kristina in Wilhelm's head rather than his own desire to be secretive.

Wilhelm even subverts the traits displayed by Simon in this regard- the position of the "Man Of The House" falls on him in the form of "Crown Prince of Sweden", and although he understandably struggles with the role initially, by the end of S2, he consciously embraces the role with grace and humility. Compared to Simon, Wilhelm wears his heart on his sleeve, he is not afraid to express his true emotions to the people he love and trusts, and even to strangers.

#WHEW this got long #but yeah #young royals #prince wilhelm #simon eriksson #august horn #vincent young royals #nils young royals #feel free to disagree

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theerurishipper · 6 months

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Anyway, Gabriel's role as Monarch is directly tied to Adrien. It doesn't make sense in terms of the story to split his character into two parts to act as a villain for both Marinette and Adrien separately, because Monarch has specifically been set up to impact Adrien's character as both a civilian and a hero.

Aside from the obvious part where the terrorist Adrien has been battling for months on end is his own father, Monarch's main motivation is to bring back Adrien's mother. That itself directly connects Adrien to his father's supervillain alter ego. They have even come into conflict over this, like in Felix.

Adding onto that, Gabriel's abuse of his son is also tied to his supervillain shenanigans. Gabriel has, on numerous occasions, targeted several of Adrien's classmates using Adrien as a way to get to them. Like in Bubbler, where he used Nino's relationship with Adrien as a way to akumatize him, while also ensuring that Adrien would remain isolated. Or even like in Optigami, where he uses Adrien's relationship to his classmates in order to execute his plan. There are several such examples, but the fact is that Gabriel exploits his son's relationships as a civilian in order to pull of his schemes. He involves his son in this whether Adrien is aware of this or not.

Aside from that, we have examples like him using Adrien as a virtual avatar for the Alliance rings which he uses to transfer Miraculous powers and uses to "Miraculize" people in the finale, literally by exploiting people's nightmares about his son being kidnapped by Ladybug and Chat Noir, essentially using his son's image as a way to perpetuate his plan.

And he has also deliberately targeted his son. See Riposte, Gorizilla, Style Queen, Representation, etc. He at his worst, is not concerned whether or not his own son is targeted by someone who might want to slice him apart or let him crumble into dust, and at best, is worried but not enough to stop. And there are the cases where he exploits his own relationship with his son in order to akumatize him. See Chat Blanc and Ephemeral. None of these would have happened if Hawkmoth/Shadow Moth had been anyone but Gabriel Agreste. Him being Adrien's father matters here. See Transmission for a non-magically erased example, where he is able to give Adrien an Alliance ring under the guise of being a caring father so that he can akumatize him.

Aside from that, Gabriel uses his powers to enforce his control over his son. The most obvious example of this is the whole "Adrien is a Sentimonster" business, wherein Gabriel uses the rings with Adrien's Amok to mind-control him. This directly ties his abuse of Adrien to his magical shenanigans. Aside from this, there are subtler ways, such as him using his akumatization into The Collector to guilt-trip and gaslight Adrien in The Collector and Illusion. Or when he akumatizes Kagami in order to stop his son from going against his wishes in Protection. He specifically takes advantage of his supervillain powers to abuse and control his son.

And even forgetting all this, his supervillainy involves causing harm to Adrien's friends, whom he then has to fight and save. Imagine the pain he might feel when he realizes that his father is responsible for all that. That his father hurt his best friend to take advantage of that sadness. That his father went after his friends in their moment of vulnerability to turn them into his minions. All this under the notion of bringing his mother back, even as he hurt and neglected him.

And Adrien has been fighting this man on a regular basis. He's fought this man. He's accidentally mortally wounded this man. Gabriel is crumbling and dying under his cataclysm, and he doesn't know that he's essentially killed his father (he's not to blame, of course, but still). Imagine the horror that comes with knowing this, imagine the pain. Chat Noir and Monarch are not impersonal enemies, even if they don't know it yet. Chat Noir is Adrien and Monarch is Gabriel, and they are father and son. Gabriel's motivation is about Adrien and Adrien's mother. Adrien has been fighting the man who has been abusing him, in part using the magical items he possesses. Chat Noir, to Adrien, represents freedom from his life, and especially represents freedom from Gabriel.

You cannot separate Gabriel into Gabriel the abusive father and Monarch the supervillain. You cannot. Not in the way this story is written. It would be a better argument if Gabriel were a generic villain who just wanted world domination or something, but he isn't. His motivation is personal to both himself and Adrien. Marinette does not have the same stakes in this. She feels the responsibility to defeat him, sure, but when it comes down to it, it is Chat Noir who has the emotional brunt of this confrontation, even made physical by the deadly wound unwittingly caused by his power on his father. And it's not like Chat Noir doesn't feel the responsibility to take down Monarch either. Marinette may be the Guardian, but she is not at the center of this. By virtue of how the story is written, Adrien is the one who will be most affected by Monarch being Gabriel, he is directly linked by virtue of being the hero who is fighting his father, and the confrontation is and should be between them.

I say this, of course, in the objective sense of how the story is written, not because I think Marinette shouldn't be the lead and Adrien should. As it stands, Adrien is the one with the emotional stakes in the matter, and he was cast aside. This isn't a matter of wanting my favourite character to have the spotlight, this is a simple matter of narrative payoff and thematic consistency. Plot points that are set up need to be resolved. If they set up Adrien and Gabriel as father and son, they need to deal with it. If they wanted Marinette to be the one to defeat Gabriel and be the only one who fights Monarch, then they shouldn't have given Adrien the arc of breaking free from his father by virtue of becoming a superhero. If they wanted the emotional core of the conflict against Monarch to lie with Marinette, they shouldn't have made him Adrien's father.

If Monarch was meant to be Marinette's villain, then what is the point of Chat Noir? Why was Adrien made into a superhero when he was never meant to fight his father? Why have him swear to be by Ladybug's side to defeat Monarch, why have him mortally wound him, why have him there at all, if none of it mattered? Why is it called The Tales of Ladybug and Chat Noir, if Chat Noir was never going to be relevant? Why write it like this if it was supposed to end with him being left out of the arc they seemingly set up for him?

As it is, Marinette doesn't even defeat Monarch by being a badass superhero. She talks him down using his relationship to Adrien. This is undeniable proof that Gabriel and Monarch are not separate. This was never Marinette's fight. In the end, it still comes down to Adrien. You cannot remove the fact that they are father and son from this, you cannot separate their identities. When it comes to defeating the big bad, the fact that he is Gabriel and Adrien is his son matters most by how the story is written. Throwing Marinette in there at the last minute and trying to give her the greatest stakes in the fight will never work, because the story is built around the Agrestes from the beginning.

If they wanted Marinette to have the boss battle to herself, they should not have made Monarch Adrien's dad. He should have been some rando. Then Marinette would have the most stakes in the fight and the Bug Noire thing wouldn't be as insulting. But they didn't, so she didn't. We were left with a finale which had cool fight scenes, but not emotional payoff. I personally did not feel a thing watching it. Because there's nothing to be emotional about. Adrien was left out, and Marinette got a cool fight scene with no character moments to show for it because the emotional core of the conflict was never about her.

When you set something up, you can't sweep it under the rug because you wanted something else later. You can't ignore what you wrote because you don't wanna write it anymore. If they set up Adrien and Gabriel's relationship this way, it has to be addressed. It has to be dealt with. If Adrien was supposed to confront his father and free himself from his control, then he should be allowed to face him, not have Marinette do it for him. And if Marinette was supposed to have a stake in her battle, she shouldn't have to play the supporting role in a conflict that isn't about her ultimately, and she shouldn't be shoehorned into the role another character should occupy without any of the narrative or emotional weight in the matter.

No one got a good conclusion here. Marinette was shoved into someone else's arc instead of having her own. Adrien was ejected from his arc. Both their characters suffered here. The narrative set-ups were demolished, and the themes were destroyed. Both Adrien and Marinette deserved better than this.

#MLB #Adrien Agreste #Marinette Dupain Cheng #Meta #My meta #S5 Finale #ML Salt #ML Writers Salt #ML Writing Salt #Gabriel Agreste #This is just my opinion #Feel free to disagree

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money-and-dandellions · 3 months

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Apollo as Lester would absolutely adore or hate with his whole heart "The Emperor's New Groove".

(Feel free to disagree).

#pjo #lester papadopoulos #feel free to disagree #it is only my opinion #he will fond him and kuzko alike #and absolutely hate it #maybe #before admitting that they are alike #imperator's new groove #imperator kuzko #they both were... not the best with mortals/citizens #they changed #i love this movie #toa

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ashesfordayz · 4 months

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This is probably a hot take but whenever I see people mod Kerry to romance Female V I side eye soooo hard

#he's into male v for a reason #cant the gays have one damn thing???#he may be bi but he absolutely has a type #that type is men #kerry eurodyne #cyberpunk 2077 #feel free to disagree #its just my opinion haha #no shade to anyone

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rosekiller-addict · 4 months

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Time for a maybe unpopular opinion:

I don't like when people give Barty a good mother figure.

Obviously, in some sense this makes sense because of different plots and stuff that people are trying to convey but I think overall Barty shouldn't be seen as someone with a good mom if people decide to give a mom at all.

I think the main reason I think this is because, at least for me, a big part of Bartys character is not being understand love because of his childhood.

When you think about the other character such as Regulus, Evan and Sirius, they all had some sort of out lit to show them love. Regulus and Sirius had each other. Regulus had Evan. Sirius had Andromida. Evan had Pandora and Regulus.

Barty had no one. He was stuck alone with his father, having to take his abuse and assume that was normal.

If Barty had a loving mom he would have that out lit for love. It would make him have some sort of highlight of his childhood.

Barty isn't supposed to have that. Barty is supposed to be alone, even in Hogwarts because he'll never be like Evan and Regulus, not completely.

So that's why Barty shouldn't be headcanoned to have a good mom a lot.

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drowning-moonlight · 5 months

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A Little Rant About the Fathers of the ASL Brothers

people in this fandom are so mean about Roger and Dragon being "dead-beat" dads and I don't get it.

like I think it's pretty obvious that Dragon couldn't raise Luffy because he would have been in danger being around the World's Worst Criminal and all. and okay leaving him with Garp wasn't a great idea but saying Dragon is a dead-beat is kind of harsh in my opinion?? my point is that there's definitely a REASON why Dragon didn't stay with Luffy. do we know the whole reason and is it even a good reason? that remains to be seen but still. I see people say he needs a "redemption" from being a bad father and I'm like... no he doesn't

and what baffles me even more is people saying Roger was a dead-beat. like! the man died! "oh he abandoned Ace to a life of suffering" y'all say about a guy who died before Ace was even born. the man gets murdered while his wife is pregnant and everyone goes on about how he's a dead-beat dad. and I know he turned himself in to the Marines so he basically did cause his own death but he was dying from an illness anyway. I don't think he was ever going to live long enough to raise Ace, I think he still would have died soon from his illness even if he didn't turn himself in. and again, leaving him with Garp wasn't a great idea but I don't think Roger really had a choice and I don't think that makes him a "dead-beat"

Fuck Outlook III though he sucks and I can’t defend him

#monkey d dragon #gol d roger #gold roger #one piece #I don't really see people call outlook iii a dead-beat but thought I should still include him just because #also I know I called it a rant but this really isn't that serious. it's a silly haha post even if does sound like it truly bothers me #feel free to disagree #I just really like roger and dragon and I think it's funny/fucked up that two separate people left their infant sons to garp of all people

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kogetaikid · 1 month

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It's Finally Spring Break, so Let's Start it Off with a Theory

(TW! Child Neglect!)

(P.S. I'm not gonna become the next MatPat. Just going this for fun, but may his legacy be remembered)

Remember my Clover headcanons? Today I'm gonna talk specifically about this one right here:

I was binge-playing Undertale Yellow this morning and saw this piece of flavor text

This is makes me suspect that they didn't grow up in a nice place. It also gives more insight on Clover's possible caretakers if they had any (which judging by the text, he probably did)

Their parents must've been lazy for whatever reason (Since it's implied Undertale takes place in the future, and Clover fell before Frisk, It's implied Undertale Yellow takes place in the future too! Let's use the year 208X as an example)

This also makes Clover's closeness to other monsters in the underground make more sense. They lack any parental figure

Keep reading for a reenactment. I might spread this into a bigger theory on Mt. Ebott and the human souls, but that's for another post...

Feel Free to Debunk this! I've only gotten to the end of the neutral ending before!

Ebott Village, 208X

(I couldn't come up with a better name, alright!?)

There lived a young child named Clover. He loved western cinema and loved to pretend they were a cowboy! They had a hat, a "gun" (due to their age they couldn't get their hands on a real one), a southern accent, everything!

Their parents were lazy, and never cooked or cleaned. They just stayed cooped in their house, addicted to whatever people in 208X are addicted too. They even forgot they had a kid.

Clover heard about Mt. Ebott and the missing children from their village, and the war between humans and monsters centuries ago. They decided to see the truth for themselves and find the other humans either dead of alive. Their parents wont notice them gone.

[Everything else just cuts into the events of Undertale Yellow. Fell free to debunk!]

#txt #undertale yellow clover #undertale yellow #ut yellow #safe utdr #utdr #utdr au #uty clover #uty #undertale yellow au #theory #fan theory #theories #crack theory #undertale theory #tw neglect #feel free to disagree #feel free to debunk

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i-hate-everything-except-fandoms · 7 months

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Potentially hot take, but I feel like the episodes so far have reaffirmed why I've never been big on Steddyhands. I get why people love it, but I've always felt like Izzy's big win should be getting to move on from Ed and actually be his own person for once.

Maybe they'll prove me wrong and make me believe they can have something healthy, but right now I can't imagine them getting to a point where that's entirely possible.

#feel free to disagree #these are just my own thoughts #izzy hands #stede bonnet #edward teach #our flag means death #ofmd #ofmd s2 #ofmd s2 spoilers #ofmd spoilers

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sarascamander · 1 month

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My unpopular TUA opinion:

1. I genuinely like Viktor as a character but I have a hard time watching his scene lmao. I root for him in season 1 but I skipped a lot of his scenes with Leonard because their relationship makes me uncomfortable and I really want to stab Leonard in the eyes every time he shows up on screen. In season 2 I found his story low-key boring and in season 3 — it's hard to watch the thing with Harlan. I actually agree with Allison on her feelings for Harlan.

2. Sissy and Viktor's relationship is cute... But I'm not a fan of it. Mainly because of the cheating 😭. I know it's an unhappy marriage and they love each other and the husband is a huge dick but still, the cheating still didn't sit right with me (which is another reason why this particular plot is hard for me to watch). I once watched this drama where the male lead married this villain and sneaked with the female lead behind her back and i felt so bad for the villain even though I hate her gut lmao.

3. Allison's character arc in season 3 is horrible and I hate watching her character digress like that but at the same time I think it is kind of justified in a way. I mean, a girl can only take so much before she pops. But it's kind of frustrating that it's OBVIOUS that the whole siblings tried to give her support. Viktor is obvious, Diego took her out to release tension, Luther always looks out for her, and even when she was arguing with Viktor, Five asked Allison if she's okay when she's the one that dropped the not okay words to Viktor. You can't say that the siblings didn't try to be there with her but she still acted selfishly.

4. This is just a minor thing but the way the Sparrow treated Grace will never stop making me feel angry. Like bro, have some respect that is your MOTHER. Or could have been. It's just heartbreaking to see how Grace ended up in the end because we see in season 1 that she could have feelings and the brellies love her but in this timelimes she's being treated like a servant 😭 AND when Diego saw Grace and look so happy and relieved to see her and then Jayme said he's a creep. SHUT UP HE LOVE HIS MOM OKAY.

5. Am I the only one who kind of ship Human Grace with Reggie in season 2? Low-key ship them and it's kind of weird but I like the potential there? And there's chemistry there.

6. Klaus can be annoying sometimes starting from season 2. I LOVE him but sometimes I want to strangle him lmao.

7. Umbrella Ben will always be an innocent precious little cinnamon roll in my heart, but in the show he can be quite horrible lmao. Possessing Klaus without his consent, preaching Klaus with the "Luther would do the same for you" in S1. Like SHUT UP BEN NO HE WON'T.

8. Lila pissed me off so much in season 2 with her relationship with Diego because why was she angry with him? Girl, he did nothing but give you heart eyes, YOU'RE the one that lied to him, betrayed him, and drugged and kidnapped him. SO WHY ARE YOU ACTING LIKE HE'S THE ONE THE SCREW UP!? "I even introduced you to my mom" GIRL YOU KIDNAPPED HIM. He didn't have a say in that. Stop tripping. And the things she did with Stan, is honestly not okay, wth Lila? (But they do warm up to me in season 3).

9. The romance in the show is not the greatest tbh. I don't actually ship any of the ships in the show (except for Diego and Lila at the end of S3) because they all kind of happen so fast and I felt like as soon as someone gets a love interest, that will be their first priority, their family be damned. And maybe logically this is true (I never experienced love so who am I to know) but I'm here for the family love so to see that happen pissed me off lmao. I understand their actions with their love interest but at the same time GET A GRIP.

#this is jsut my thought #feel free to disagree #there's probably more I'll type later lmao #the umbrella academy #five hargreeves #ben hargreeves #klaus hargreeves #viktor hargreeves #allison hargreeves

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bouquetofalliums · 10 months

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i've said it before but if people start villainising q!wilbur.... i will find you. it will be on SIGHT (/lhj)...

seeing our girl tallulah go on without her papa for months with barely any source of communication for eachother now (as q!wilbur stopped sending letters bc cc!wilbur physically Couldn't) and her missing him and talking abt him(? i haven't caught up on tallulah content) everyday IS heart wrenching but IT ISN'T Q!WILBURS FAULT !!!

wilbur didnt WANT her the FIRST DAY they met because he knew this would happen. he made it known to tallulah that he's a busy man and he won't have time to look after her bc he's always away on trips. he spoke to fitmc about how he didn't even want to be a deadbeat dad and how she deserves a proper parent, which looking back on now... yeah its unfortunate how that turned out

and tallulah is still allowed to be depressed about that!!!! fuck yeah!!!! but ultimately she understands and just wants the best for her papa <3 tallulah is too kind of a soul to ever Seriously Hate q!wilbur. upset? distant? overwhelmed? yes, but never hate

so No i will not accept the q!wilbur slander. thank you for coming to my scattered ted talk

#my life has come to the point where i write essays abt minecraft father daughter relationships #good to hear #i'm never doing this again #feel free to disagree #these are just my thoughts on it #love q!wilbur... love tallulah.... love musicduo #i also miss them dearly #send help #qsmp #wilbur soot #tallulah

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s1lly-gh02tz · 3 months

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Transfem Zim,,😎

#this came to me in a vision #feel free to disagree #invader zim #zim #Zim fanart #zim iz #iz zim #invader zim fanart #fanart #transfem #headcanons

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lucem-stellarum · 6 months

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So I actually wanted to go through and listen to the video, "Your Vampire Boyfriend Explains His Turning". It doesn't exactly match up to the way they tell it in "The Vampire Boys Have It Out". I'd recommend you go watch both videos back to back because it's fascinating, and frustrating. Redacted is contradicting himself on some things to push hard on the idea that both Porter and Vincent are in the wrong. I'm not saying that Vincent is perfect, but the way Erik is going about framing the circumstances of their fight and changing previously established canon so "they both have their reasons" isn't the greatest. Details and receipts under the cut because of length, and because it gets critical.

When Vincent's talking about the circumstances of his turning to Lovely, he says at 5:00 that "all he's had is the clan, and they already knew the story. Will had told them." That the only person he's ever explained it all too was Sam, because William told everyone else on his behalf. Which, first of all, makes it sound like the clan was a lot more supportive overall and a lot more informed than ANYONE implied in the later video. Even if William edited out a lot of the details there's some things you just can't get around. Like the fact that William, who is old blood and promised to never turn another progeny, and so needed a damned good reason to break that vow. The fact that neither of them had ever met before that day. Vincent's refusal to discuss the exact circumstances of his turning to the rest of the clan, the fact that William had to list Vincent a missing person rather than letting the department handle the human authorities around his turning. The fact that Vincent was uninformed/unempowered before this and had to be introduced to the entire magical world from the ground up. He couldn't have known anything about who William was as a powerful political force, the advantage that being turned by old blood gives him, Vincent literally couldn't have arranged his turning for his own selfishness because he didn't even know that was an option, let alone the bonuses of having William specifically as a maker.

There's so much evidence that Vincent's turning was impulsive, any combination of the above facts implies that it wasn't a choice on Vincent's part, let alone something that he would try to "earn". Plus, William bought WonderWorld because of the lawsuits after the very public accident to be their home base. People saw Vincent get on the coaster, that he was riding it just before it crashed, and that's the same day the clan gets a brand new prince that matches the description of a "body that was never found"? Even if William didn't blatantly spell it out for the more oblivious members of the clan, it's SO obvious what happened from knowledge available to them. An "impulsive" turning isn't ever going to be a happy story.

Speaking of "publicly available knowledge"... we can argue about how much of the full truth is available throughout the general clan population (however many people that may be), but if Porter is close enough to William to be offered his last name, and close enough to know secrets that Vincent isn't aware of, shouldn't he have known William and been part of the clan long enough to have been around for the original explanation for Vincent's abrupt turning? Let alone, potentially, being closer to William and getting more personal details, at least from William's side of the story? Getting a new progeny isn't a decision to be made lightly. Porter very heavily implied that he's known William for longer than Vincent has; since Vincent's turning was the first time that William and Vincent had met, then Porter's been part of the clan longer than Vincent has.

Next, we know that both Porter and Adam were foundlings, but considering how fundamentally eternal and unchanging vampires are, it seems odd that there'd be such a population turnover in the clan that Vincent was tormented by "the rest of the clan" (per Sam, when he said it wasn't his place to tell other people's private stories at ~18:00 in the later video). Vincent was turned Feb 13, 2000. Sam is turned by Alexis in 2008 (per the timeline). That's not long enough for immortal vampires to forget Vincent's story. Even if there are a LOT of new vampires in the clan over time, Vincent is the golden boy, the prince. It's natural he'd be the subject of gossip, and the circumstances of his turning would be pretty good fodder for the rumor mill even if he doesn’t talk about it himself and not everyone is as principled as Sam is. If some of the newbies (or Porter) were getting prissy about Vincent never having to take his turn guarding WonderWorld, just the fact that he died there doesn't seem like it would be uncommon knowledge among the clan.

With how rare vampires are supposed to be, even without specific numbers and censuses it doesn't make sense. The Solaires are supposed to be the largest and most influential vampire clan in Dahlia, sure, but population-wise that still can't be that many people. Either the clan grows slowly enough that word about what actually happened to Vincent can get out and corrected, (and the minority of new people who don't know better perpetuating baseless rumors face charges of slander against the prince) or the clan should be large enough to effectively patrol WonderWorld without Vincent needing to take regular shifts. (which... wasn't Vincent on patrol the night he first met Lovely?) 'Duke' Sam has to patrol sometimes, but does Alexis take shifts too? If the clan doesn't have a large enough population to support even the "royalty" from skipping that duty (except for Vincent), then they can't have that many members. By that logic, the clan is small enough that "everyone knows each other's faces" and so why is Porter bitching about the unfairness of Vincent having the "perks" of the Solaire blood and name when he ought to know damn well why Vincent of all people generally avoids that particular duty?

Again, Porter was almost certainly around to watch Vincent join the clan. Why doesn't he know about the circumstances of Vincent being invoked for a single time? Vincent tried to starve himself to death because he refused to feed on humans. William couldn't convince Vincent to feed of his own volition, so he invoked him. That is a seriously drastic measure to take for someone who "wanted to be turned". Alexis' many invocations seem to be common knowledge among the upper echelons of the clan that we see in videos; if Porter is close enough to have the Solaire name and be part of the "family" and is close enough to William to know "more than could fill the city of Dahlia", why is he so out of the loop around Vincent? Porter is jealous, not stupid nor blind.

Porter's comments about the rumors that popped up when William 'brought home the new baby?' More proof that he HAD to have been with the clan at that point. How else would he have heard all those rumors? Porter was jealous of Vincent's circumstance immediately after his induction to the clan and didn't hesitate to start "tearing Vincent down" from the moment they met for the crime of "not being grateful enough" to William. Porter's accusations that Vincent wanted to be turned by William to get the associated power and prestige of being turned by "old blood" is proven to be a lie (again, ignoring the fact that he was uninformed before being turned) because Vincent avoided events (like the Summit) for years longer than most makers would have allowed their progeny. If Vincent wanted that prestige, what possible reason would he have to avoid events where he could flaunt it, and potentially acquire more?

I'll admit, we DON'T have a definitive date for when Porter joins the clan, or anything at all about Porter and William's relationship. The timeline website hasn't been updated with Porter's information yet. Even still, William offered Porter the Solaire name; that's supposed to be some great honor not offered lightly. That level of trust takes a LONG time to build. Porter had to have been part of the clan to see Vincent in the depths of his depressive and suicidal ideation, to criticize Vincent in the specific ways and faults that he does. The way the argument video is set up, though, it sounds like Porter was both there to torment Vincent at every turn from the beginning but also not there to miss every blatant fact of the situation around Vincent joining the clan.

Porter's claim that "all [Vincent] ever did was moan about how terrible it was to be you. As if we all didn't register in your mind as people with our own far worse problems" (15:00) is just so hypocritical considering his apparently willful blindness to Vincent's own deep seated issues. After having it pointed out to him, and being punched by Lovely, he sees it clearly enough to apologize and sound like he means it, but then why didn't he see ANY of the points from my first paragraph in the first place? Porter saying that "he didn't know" about how traumatic Vincent's turning was in the later video, while his voice sounds genuine, is either blatantly false or things are being retconned in order to make the feud between the two of them more dramatic.

Some of Porter's accusations do hold weight. I'm not going to lie and pretend that Vincent is some perfect angel in all of this. Vincent is arrogant, self centered, and blind to his own privilege. He used to be a manipulative ass. He's favored, powerful, and lucky in certain ways that Porter isn't, but that's not his doing nor his fault. But Porter's comment about Vincent's "egregious actions" is so vague as to be meaningless to me; if it's not worth elaborating on here why is it part of this 20+ year grudge match y'all have going on? Vincent couldn't choose his maker, he didn't know a single thing about William when they met and he was turned. The fact that Vincent has the self control to only "need" to be invoked once shouldn't be a criticism. There's years that they're skimming over for the sake of limiting it down to a 20 minute conversation for watchability. But I hate retconning, I hate this sort of character self-contradiction and hypocrisy especially to push "both of them are in the wrong", I hate that Sam is just being played as a mouthpiece to force this "grey morality" (12:38, 13:24) and defend both sides, and I'm not going to lie I expected Redacted to do better than this. Trying to equate Vincent's jealousy that Porter was well-adjusted to being a vampire with Porter's complaints that Vincent was traumatized and suicidal because of the circumstances of his turning is not okay.

14:30 Porter says: I said you were arrogant, and favored. That from the moment you were turned you've never wanted for anything. You'd never been invoked into doing something horrific for your maker's amusement. You've never been beaten within an inch of your life for the slightest transgression. You've never gotten so much as a slap on the wrist no matter how egregious your actions. You never had to guard WonderWorld. You'd never had to do anything. And still all you ever did was [look down on us]... You were turned by old blood... and didn't even have the tact to show a little gratitude for it.

19:30 Vincent says: I did look down on you. I hated that you seemed to enjoy being a vampire so much. I hated that you seemed so at peace with who you were. And what we had to do to survive. You made everything look so easy. And that made me feel broken. Even more than I already felt.

You can't have it both ways, Porter. Either you want Vincent to be just as broken and mistreated as you imply you were, or you want him to be happy and grateful about his "perfect" life. You can't complain that he never recognized that other people had far greater problems when you're the one who ignored that he's practically screaming with every action, every fact, every unsaid word that he's literally being forced against his will to stay alive, both by turning and by invocation until it literally hit you in the face. You don't have the right to tell Vincent, as a (formerly) uninformed unempowered human, that he shouldn't have manipulated something he didn't even know existed into getting the power you envy so badly. Porter was jealous of Vincent because of his circumstance first, and that jealousy made Vincent's every legitimate fault unforgivable and threw in a lot more illegitimate criticisms just for good measure.

I'm not going to pretend like I have the right answers for this, how it "should have gone". Everyone is going to have their own preferences, and at the end of the day this is Redacted's story. He makes the final decision. But I do have the right to point out flaws and criticize where I think he could have done better. Maybe he wanted Porter to be a hypocritical, jealous, contradictory character. Maybe he legitimately did just forget that the rest of the clan already knew (or easily could have put together) the messy details when he wrote that Porter didn't know better. He could have written it any way he wanted to, but he chose this way.

#redacted asmr #redacted vincent #redacted porter #media criticism #character analysis #i was thinking my thoughts and came up with this #I reserve the right to change my opinions if we get new information #I'm trying my best to keep an open mind about Porter and who he is as a character #but can you tell that retconning and hypocrisy makes me very angry?#this is my opinion #feel free to disagree #also #vincent changed his ways for the better after meeting lovely #do we have any proof that porter changed his ways and improved on his flaws #like sam hoped he did?#because from the way he's treating Treasure it doesn't seem like it

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