Dhmis Analysis - Tumblr Posts

Therable fanart

CLASSPECTING YELLOW GUY: DHMIS and the aspect of Light

Well, Yellow won the poll I put out a few days ago, and I have a very clear idea of what I see in him (fitting, given his title) so I'll detail my thoughts down below. This is all my personal analysis, you're free to come to any different conclusion, Classpecting is subjective even if some answers are clearer than others.

Yellow Guy. David, Doi, Manny, whatever debatably official/completely unofficial name you want to refer to him by, he's arguably the most important character to Don't Hug Me I'm Scared. Some may argue that Red Guy takes on the role of protagonist in the sense that he moves forward the narrative, but Yellow is the one it centres around. The whole show is, from an in-universe perspective, built around him.

This is going to go over mostly his role in the TV series, but include some aspects from the web series.

I think Yellow is a Page of Light.

He begins as a simpleton, struggling to grasp the most basic knowledge and very much filling the role of the team idiot. Despite this, however, he's always filled with this inherent curiosity and desire to learn things. He's the integral student, seeking to understand Light even though he so fundamentally lacks it.

This is, of course, a dead ringer for a Page of Light. Yellow is incredibly deficient with his Aspect, but nonetheless it's still an integral part of his life and how he leads it - like Tavros with Breath, Jake with Hope and Horuss with Void.

Naturally, the Page holds great potential to understand their Aspect and share it out and lead through it once they fully comprehend how to use it. Yellow's moment of understanding, that 'lightbulb' moment if you will is when his batteries are restored.

Suddenly, he's unlocked that potential with Light. It's... equivalent to God Tiering, let's say. But he's not a master. The Page has a far longer road to walk than that. He's merely beginning to comprehend Light, his relationship with it and his search for it. Not only that, he's willing to share it; he ends up schooling one of the teachers, after all!

Naturally, the world has it out for him. The Page, to put it bluntly, is the narrative joke. Hussie did not like any of the characters he made Pages. Tavros is portrayed as a softie, a crybaby and the punchline of some very ableist jokes by the fandom, Jake is called 'jape' or 'joke' more than his actual name by Vriska, and Horuss is a thinly veiled and very tasteless parody of therians and systems.

Naturally, Yellow follows this pattern of being fucked around by the narrative, just in a way that makes more sense in-universe beyond 'the author's being a dick'. Yellow is the narrative plaything. Knowledge is constantly distorted or withheld from him, he's surrounded by Void given to him by other people (Roy is most definitely a player of Void) and thus those brief sparks of Light, those points of data and precise moments that makes up the aspect, they're very few and far between.

The house's upper floors represent his quest for knowledge and relevance. He steps closer and closer to the truth, every higher floor is another tier of knowledge reached. He's growing to understand that Aspect, confronted with false understandings of Light and pushing them away. Like any Light-bound, he wants the truth, he wants that linear point of data that gives him clarity.

But, as the Page, the narrative plaything, Lesley and Roy's toy to torture and play with as they see fit... he doesn't get it. He has the answers held in front of his face, and then all of that development is reversed. Amusingly, this seems to mirror certain arcs at the end of Homestuck, but I digress.

Yellow fails his quest, but not of his own volition, and we'll see if the TV series drops a new season (9 days away, people!) whether or not we'll see him ever fully realise the truth.

Next up, Red Guy as a Breath-bound and Duck as a Doom-bound.

CLASSPECTING RED GUY: DHMIS and the aspect of Breath

So, Red was technically tied for first with Yellow in the poll I made, but given that I had more clear ideas for Yellow I elected to make this first. Now I've taken some time to think over Red's classpect, I think I'm confident about my answer.

Red's characterisation hinges on two key factors, I think.

Factor one: Red Guy is disaffected, apathetic and bored. He seems to enjoy doing nothing, to the point where he gets frustrated when his plans of doing nothing are scarpered. Red Guy is lazy.

Factor two: Red Guy always seems to want to leave wherever it is he is. He never belongs. Consistently, throughout both series, Red Guy has the urge to depart the most frequently.

With this, it's pretty clear what Aspect he's bound to? Red Guy furthers the narrative, is in constant pursuit of freedom, and remains avoidant and detached throughout it all. He's a very clear Breath-bound, and I'm irritated it took me this long to realise it.

Red Guy's desire for escapism and refusal to fit into boxes comes into play particularly during the Family episode, which serves as a little mini-arc for him, I feel. He seems to like the idea of family, connection and 'belonging' (a very Blood-coded idea), but finds very quickly that he's not cut out for it and is rejected outright by the people he seems to think he belongs with. It happens again in the Dreams episode of the TV show. Red's among those whom by all accounts he should conform with. They're quite literally carbon copies of him... but he doesn't connect.

So, what Class does this place him as? What do you give to a player who has quite literally been rejected by their opposing Aspect? I'm going to pin him as a Seer of Breath. He has the stubbornness, argumentative nature and self-destructive nature that most Seers have, for sure, particularly Rose. Much like Rose, he begins without his Aspect and disregards it (lacking in freedom, adhering to Blood rather than Breath) and his quest begins once he starts searching for it. Once he has his eyes on the Aspect, he is relentless in his thirst for knowledge of it. Red, like Rose, rejects the role given to him by the higher powers (Roy & SBURB) in the name of something greater and desires to destroy what's been laid out in front of him. And, as you can see in Transport, that's what he does.

Ultimately, Red's motivated wholly by desire to understand Breath in the name of others, working tirelessly to free himself and his friends from the chains they're bound by. And, of course, in the web series narrative he grants them that freedom.

There's an alternative reading for sure that Red is a Thief of Blood - not understanding the value of Blood whilst continuing to crave it and obsessively hoard it, but Thieves aren't really known for ghosting their opposite and he doesn't really strike me as being selfish or callous enough to be a Thief. Plus, the Breath in his characterisation outweighs the Blood significantly.

Finally, I'll be going over Duck Guy for June 19th, as a player of Doom. Don't miss it.

CLASSPECTING DUCK GUY: DHMIS and the aspect of Doom

Saving the best 'til last, of course. I'm not at all biased.

I love Duck Guy. I think this crusty old son of a bitch is the best character in the show and I think he's a very interesting one to analyse.

His Aspect is, of course, very simple to pin down. Duck dies all the time. He dies so much they have backups to make sure he can come back. There's an entire episode revolving around him dying. Duck is an obvious Doom player.

His relationship with the Aspect, though, goes far deeper than just 'he dies a lot'. When you expand Doom to cover rules, regulations, acceptance & compliance, you realise just how well he fits into the box. Duck is the only one of the guys never to reach self-awareness. His attempts at rebellion end in his mutilation and destruction. He's the only one with the wool pulled over his eyes, obedient to the system that controls them.

This, of course, makes him sound more like a Hope player, but... Doom has more facets than people give it credit for. Duck is 'fate's chosen sufferer', to use the EZ's description, for sure. Plus, who better to represent the aspect of rules and compliance than the guy very much portrayed as a right-wing bootlicker? ('Memories of him telling me about the military, digital currency, etc'...)

The Class is where things get interesting. Duck is a narrative joke, just in a different way to Yellow. Duck is the chewtoy, the plaything, when somebody needs to get hurt, he's the one there. He's an arrogant jackass to boot, and, here's the kicker - Duck passively influences the other characters to gain awareness. He destroys their suffering and limitations, he's just unaware of it. Episode Five, anyone?

That's why he's the Bard of Doom. Sure, he doesn't exactly fit the pattern of the Bard's journey (ghosting their opposing Aspect 'til a dire crisis pushes them into their own), but he's definitely got the traumatic incident that gives him an influx of his Aspect covered. Episode Five, anybody?

Duck's a tragedy, made to suffer over and over again, existing to demonstrate the limitations of their universe and ultimately showing the dangers of falling into compliance. But in his mere presence, his actions erode the limitations and regulations that bring suffering to those around him, his rebellion and irascibility leading to their liberation.

Plus, a series like DHMIS could sure use somebody to represent the aspect of predestination and acceptance. One could argue Duck destroys that too - his death is the straw that breaks the camel's back and leads the other two on to fight against the cycle.

Tomorrow, I might be giving another little insight into two of the show's most prominent figures...

So let’s go through this one-by-one, shall we?

Red Guy

Flat affect in voice, not very expressive 

Or from the perspective of other Red Guy, he is far too expressive and tend to smile at inappropriate situations

Express emotions either ‘too little’ or ‘too much’ in terms of volume, very little in-between

Speaks very bluntly 

Feels physically uncomfortable with bright colors

"Well, this isn't that fun, is it? can't make out where I am in the room like this. What if I'm standing in an embarrassing area?" "I actually don't mind it. Kind of a nice break from all of those... garish colors"

Duck

Loves cataloging and organizing things as a recreational activity

Anthropomorphise inanimate objects (like ACTUALLY inanimate, not teachers)

"You have to jab it hard or it won't respect your choices!"

Has a hard time fitting in in ‘normative’ social groups

Odd sensory sensitivities

"You're supposed to say that the floor is too loud or the window is disrespecting you"

Yellow Guy

Relies on a heavy amount of social mimicry in unfamiliar social situations

"I'm making bits and parts, although sometimes I feel a bit like the bits and parts are, eh, making me."

Tends to understand metaphors and turns of phrases very literally

Which is actually a trait that he displays even in his hyper-intelligent ‘Charged’ mode

"Oh there he is, it's about time." "Yeah, what have you been doing?" "Um, okay, let me see... We were learning about electricity... I completed a crossword puzzle..."

Who is also very sensitive to sounds when two or more people are speaking at once

He also seems to have ‘clumsy’ motor functions in both ‘forms’

In conclusion: