Alternative Character Interpretation Cleanup

Yeah, these aren't character interpretations. Also, the sub-bullet mostly praises the essay but doesn't actually explain much, and the second one is a ZCE that relies on a link, while Weblinks Are Not Examples.

I'd say this doesn't count as you can accuse virtually any narrator of being unreliable and come up with whatever "true" story you like instead. The entry doesn't bring up any evidence to back up this interpretation.

Not sure about the other two examples; they might be popular with the Twilight hatedom (heck, I, too, have made jokes that Bella's head is just empty.) I hope there are answers to my questions, including the one about detractors. :)

Edited by Tenebrika on Apr 10th 2021 at 4:52:32 PM

I've definitely seen jokes about Bella's mind being to empty for Edward to read, but those were jokes. In my opinion, that belongs under Memetic Mutation, not Alternative Character Interpretation.

Edit: I have heard people suggest that Bella is an unreliable narrator, but I've never heard the theory that she's manipulating the vampires and werewolves because of a sense of Fantastic Racism. It seems like one troper's fanwank.

Edited by RustBeard on Apr 10th 2021 at 8:58:45 AM

Are we supposed to be troping the hatedom, though? Because I’ve heard people say the YMMV pages are supposed to be based on what fans feel, but I’m not completely sure.

"Let’s see who’s stronger: someone that has something to protect, or someone that has nothing to lose."

Well, it's based on what audiences feel. Some tropes are fan-specific (like The Scrappy and Ensemble Dark Horse), but not all of it is.

Currently Working On: Incorruptible Pure Pureness

I think troping the hatedom is valid as it counts as an audience reaction. The theory that Edward is an abusive stalker or that Bella is a sociopath who likes manipulating Jacob and Edward were both popular with the hatedom, but I consider them legitimate interpretations because people genuinely believed them. Meanwhile, the theory that Edward couldn't read Bella's mind because she was too stupid is a joke and I don't think anyone took it seriously.

Edited by RustBeard on Apr 10th 2021 at 11:00:10 AM

Personally, I think an interpretation coming from hatedom deserves a place only if it is a plausible interpretation, and not far-fetched complaining.

Sure, but we delete things for being mindless bashing already. I still think "Hatedom Interpretation" can be just as valid, because they're part of the audience surrounding the work.

Currently Working On: Incorruptible Pure Pureness

I agree. My only issue is that the theory is clearly a joke. In my opinion that belongs under Memetic Mutation or Stock Parody Jokes.

Okay, it's a good point about hatedom being part of the audience, too. Still, what about context? I think an ACI entry needs to explain why an alternative interpretation is possible, and the one about Bella being an Unreliable Narrator seems to be a ZCE. Perhaps I'm jumping to conclusions and there are reasons to think so but the entry doesn't give these reasons. And what if there are no legit reasons?

I agree that an ACI should need actual explanation for why it exists, just like any other YMMV item.

I do some cleanup and then I enjoy shows you probably think are cringe.

Edited by Tenebrika on Apr 12th 2021 at 2:44:15 AM

Ah cool, we do have a cleanup for this. There are a lot of examples on YMMV.Friday Night Funkin that are seriously long-winded and could use a trim - the entries for Girlfriend's parents especially, since they reek of being episodic troping - but I'm unsure how to do that.

• Some people say that Daddy Dearest isn't really that evil, or is doing everything to stop you. One could say he's not willing to let his daughter go, but all he's trying to do was to test your skills before he could have faith in you, and allow his daughter to be on your side. The same could also be said for Mommy Mearest. Them having purple skin, pointy teeth and red eyes could just be The Boyfriend demonising them, simply by the fact that they didn't want him to date her. This was possibly jossed in later updates: Week 5 has them holding the mall's Santa Claus at gunpoint, and Week 6 reveals that Daddy Dearest apparently was the one who trapped Spirit in the dating sim forever, and is implied to have done similar things to other people. Even that is contestable though. Did Daddy Dearest trap those people because he's evil, or was Spirit genuinely such an asshole that he took it upon himself to seal him away? Was Spirit even that hostile before he was trapped in the game? If many were trying to use or bring harm onto his daughter, does that explain why Daddy Dearest doesn't trust The Boyfriend even several weeks into his and his Daughter's relationship? For that matter, could it be that Daddy Dearest is evil, but he doesn't want other evil people messing with his beloved daughter?
• After the theory that the Boyfriend and Pico are exes became Ascended(-ish) Fanon, Week 3 can take on a whole new meaning. Is Pico also interested in the Girlfriend? Did he relent from killing the Boyfriend because he still loves him (and maybe even proposed the battle to impress him?) Or did he figure that humiliating him in a rap battle in front of the Girlfriend would be a fate worse than death?
• The Monster is subjected to this in spite of limited context to his involvement. Is it a vicious monster out for a gourmet serving of flesh, or just some creep with a twisted sense of humor and singing style? For someone so seemingly adamant on eating the protagonists it seems content with singing some catchy tunes and then letting them go on their way. Its danger is alluded to when the mall evacuates when it reveals himself and the place is lousy with blood and guts, but that’d leave it to a toss up whether that was all a bluff or it sincerely got humiliated enough from being bested in his song to let the Boyfriend escape.
• Regardless of the ambiguity of how evil or not The Girlfriend's parents are, many have questioned what's actually going on during Mommy Mearest's week. While it's easy to see her as just as much of an overprotective parent as Daddy Dearest, a combination of the general rhythm of her songs along with Mommy Mearest and The Boyfriend frequently performing outright duets makes it seem more like she's actually just having some fun singing alongside The Boyfriend. Building off that interpretation, quite a few players take their battle as actually being about Mommy Mearest fully supporting The Boyfriend and The Girlfriend getting together, with the competition instead being her testing how far The Boyfriend's willing to and capable of going for the sake of her daughter. This is somewhat jossed with Week 6's update, which gave each week an official name. Hers, Week 4's, is titled "Mommy Must Murder", which doesn't indicate friendly competition.
• In Week 6, the female student NPCs in the background look smitten with The Senpai, but when he starts getting angry by the second song, their heart-eyed expressions turn into ones of absolute shock. Are they taken aback by The Boyfriend being able to keep up with The Senpai's singing specifically, or are they reacting to The Senpai's complete change in demeanor and attitude? If it's the latter, are they disgusted by his outburst and insults to The Boyfriend and The Girlfriend, or, given that they completely disappear by the third song, were they afraid of The Senpai getting angry and warping the environment of the game in fandadvertentlyadvertently wiping them out?

I've also been meaning to remove the second part of the second sentence regarding the background girls in Week 6, as it's inaccurate (the character who causes the warping is completely separate from Senpai).

Edit: forgot a word

Edited by Crossover-Enthusiast on Apr 12th 2021 at 3:32:46 PM

Jawbreakers on sale for 99¢

From the Ymmv of the fourth episode of Falcon and the Wintersoldier:

• Alternative Character Interpretation: Zemo claims that anyone who takes the super-soldier serum will be corrupted, but concedes that Steve Rogers wasn't. This re-raises the question of was Steve ever truly "incorruptible"?
  • Even back in Captain America: The First Avenger, Steve was willing to break the chain of command and go AWOL when he thought that he was the only one who could do what was necessary.
  • In The Avengers (2012), right after telling Tony and Bruce to just trust Nick Fury and get back to work, he immediately breaks into a restricted section of the helicarrier to find out what Fury and SHIELD are up to.
  • After leaving government service at the end of Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Steve still leads the Avengers, a government-formed group, conducting operations both covert and overt in foreign countries for years with no oversight from anyone. Even after 177 countries signed the Sokovia Accords, he still wouldn't submit to any oversight because his judgment was the only judgment he trusted.
  • There is also him keeping the secret of the Winter Soldier killing Howard and Maria Stark from Tony in Captain America: Civil War after his jab at Tony in Avengers: Age of Ultron about how frustrating it is when teammates keep secrets.

Are these examples legitimate? They sound a bit too much like complaining to me.

Edited by Unoriginalusername3 on Apr 12th 2021 at 1:01:27 PM

I agree that this is flimsy. Breaking rules doesn't necessarily make a character corrupt.

And on Twilight, I support moving the jokes about Bella's empty mind under Stock Parody Jokes.

Edited by Tenebrika on Apr 12th 2021 at 11:43:19 PM

To Be Lawful or Good is a thing.

"That's right mortal. By channeling my divine rage into power, I have forged a new instrument in which to destroy you."

I'm still mulling over the remaining Twilight examples, and um, still think it's too common to say that character X is an Unreliable Narrator. There's this on the Stock Epileptic Trees page:

• The story is actually being told by Character X, who may be an Unreliable Narrator. If the story actually is being narrated by one of its characters, they can't be trusted; if the story admits they can't be trusted, they're lying about different things than are implied.

So, I'm still leaning towards removing the Twilight entry for stating something too common and for being low on context, especially if the attached theory about Bella's Fantastic Racism is just one troper's fanwank. Or do you guys think the entry is worth keeping after all?

An example from YMMV.Gone Girl (under the Book section) just ends:

• Alternate Character Interpretation: Desi is a disturbing Control Freak whichever way you look at it, but is he Affably Evil or Faux Affably Evil? While constantly polite and gentlemanly, there are more than enough hints that he nurses very dark deep-seated resentment for Amy alongside his obsessiveness, and it's clear that

That's it. I'm not sure where it was going.

Done.

Edited by Scarecrow4774 on May 8th 2021 at 9:43:13 AM

“We’re all mad here. I’m mad. You’re mad.” - Lewis Carroll

Ugh, I hate it when sentences just

But seriously, cut.

Currently Working On: Incorruptible Pure Pureness

From Characters.With Pearl And Ruby Glowing:

• Alternate Character Interpretation: In-Universe; while Fenton is disturbed and distressed by Mark Beaks' treatment of him, he does admit that he's not sure if Mark is trying to demean him, make him quit or acting in a misguided effort to flirt with him.

I don't think ACI can be in-universe in this context since it's characters analyzing each other, not characters analyzing characters from a Show Within a Show.

I do some cleanup and then I enjoy shows you probably think are cringe.

I have seen Alternative Character Interpretation used like this quite a few times I wonder if this is a potential missing trope unless there already is one I don't know about.

CM Sandboxes, MB Sandboxes

Yeah, characters speculating about each other's motives doesn't look like in-universe ACI. Looks like an interesting potential trope though. :)

Ambiguous Situation, maybe?

I do some cleanup and then I enjoy shows you probably think are cringe.

TBH, that's such an incredibly broad concept that bringing it up just makes a stronger case for launching a new trope here.

AlternativeCharacterInterpretation.SCP Foundation:

• SCP-447 may do something unimaginably horrible when brought into contact with dead bodies... or it may simply have a memetic effect that makes people think it does.

I think this is misuse as 447 is not a character so what's being interpreted alternately isn' character related. I’ve seen Ambiguous Situation used for another non-character SCP that was intentionally ambiguous. This sounds more like Wild Mass Guessing as it’s the first I’ve heard it as opposed to the common speculations I’ve seen for 447.

AlternativeCharacterInterpretation.My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic:

• The "Screwball" pony flying around with a propeller hat could be like Pinkie: a pony that would be happy if Discord's reign was permanent ("Eternal chaos comes with chocolate rain!"). Then there is the idea that she was created by him.
  • When she first appeared there were interpretations that she is a normal pony, possibly a baseball star, who only seemed unusual due to Discord screwing with everything.
• Celestia and Luna being Physical Goddesses is itself an ACI; there are numerous hints for it, most significantly their dominion over celestial bodies, the aspects of nature they represent, and their extensive lifespan, but the actual word god/goddess has never been used in the series. Less common is the interpretation that they are "merely" extremely powerful ponies, or two of the few remaining alicorns after their race was nearly rendered extinct. With the introduction of "Age Spells" in "Magic Duel", spells that can alter the age of the target but can only be cast by the most powerful of casters, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna's immortality may not even be inherent but the product of repeated self-cast Age Spells (which would also explain Luna's difference in appearance between her first and second appearance).
  • This is further complicated by the presence of Princess Cadance. Is she also a Physical Goddess? We are told that she is the niece of Princess Celestia, but she couldn't be Luna's child. Luna spent the last thousand years in the moon. So who are her parents? Is she also immortal, and will she outlive her husband Shining Armor? Does she even have a blood relation to the Royal Pony Sisters? (It should be noted that Cadance was originally conceived as a unicorn but made an alicorn because of Executive Meddling.) Twilight Sparkle and the Crystal Heart Spell expanded on Princess Cadence's backstory and where she came from: It is revealed that Cadence was originally an orphaned pegasus that was adopted by an earth pony village. A Wicked Witch by the name of Prismia attacked the village by draining all their love for each other. Cadence somehow defeated her and was magically transported to the same "interstice" that Twilight went to when she completed Starswirl's unfinished spell. She met Princess Celestia there and was turned into an alicorn, adopted by Celestia, and made a princess herself. Whether this is canon or not is up in the air right now, but this is the closest thing to a backstory she has so far.
  • Then Twilight became an alicorn, also making her a princess, bringing another whole host of questions. Do all alicorns "earn" their ascension this way? If so, how did the other three do so? Can it be given as some sort of reward or a Enlightenment Superpower? Is Twilight now immortal? And if she is, is this a way to give Celestia some more company for her eternal life?

The first is a very minor background character with only two scenes and seconds of screentime. This sounds more like WMG or O.C. Stand-in as ACI seems misused for one too minor to have primary character interpretation for fanon to deviate from. The second is Fanon/speculation over how alicorns work in the setting and backstory. These seem misused as ACI as they have nothing to do with characterization or character motives/actions.

Thoughts?

Found this on The Wicker Man (2006):

• Alternative Character Interpretation: One fan-made trailer states that The Wicker Man was actually a Stealth Parody.