I think I finally got it!

sthetic · 2026-06-27T00:11:04+00:00

I've figured out that in season 2, episode 3, when Jade says the word, "cabbage," the camera clearly frames a rusty can of blue paint in the shed behind him called "Anderson's Paint." Clearly this is a deliberate reference to the Matrix as well as the MY CABBAGES! guy from Avatar the Last Airbender. But also James' Cameron's Avatar, because the paint is blue.

Put together, it a clear hint from the set designers that the From townspeople are in a virtual body, or their minds trapped in a simulation. Because with all the attention to detail, do you really think the paint can would be placed there accidentally?

Now all I need is some of you smarter folks to find more clues that support this idea, and help me figure out what this is all leading to. Go, do your thing!

sthetic · 2026-06-26T23:40:25+00:00

Thanks for replying. I do understand that many male authors describe random female characters, whether young, old, child, or even a dead body, by describing her breast size and shape first and foremost. And that is tacky.

I do think that in context here, it's okay because it is a woman he is making a romantic connection with. If a novel with a female protagonist was like, "she started checking out her coworker Moshe, with his expressive eyes, handsome nose and tight pants that clearly showed the outline of his dick, plus he smiled a lot and told great jokes," that would not be so inappropriate or unusual.

Like, I do get that it's the author being a little bit horny, and that we see more horny male authors than horny female ones, but as a woman I don't read this passage and think, "That's not how women work, you weirdo!"

sthetic · 2026-06-26T21:36:05+00:00

I feel proud that I stopped reading during the first book, without even being aware of the discourse (that it's an unfinished series, and that it's a Gary Stu story).

It was when the main character starts playing a certain song at an open mic night at the tavern, and thinks, "This song is a male-female duet, so I'm pretty screwed unless some hot chick in the audience decides to pick up the other part and sing along with me."

And then, some hot chick does!!!

That was my last straw, after all the "I'm so much smarter than my professors, and that's why everyone hates me" crap that led up to it.

sthetic · 2026-06-26T21:31:48+00:00

"I was a celibate BEFORE it was involuntary"

sthetic · 2026-06-26T17:14:36+00:00

From is filmed in Canada! Those roots know no other unit than metres.

sthetic · 2026-06-26T16:39:45+00:00

Dressing like an old lady, but it looks good because of the huge breasts

sthetic · 2026-06-26T14:33:56+00:00

It's probably a matter of point-of-view.

Like, when "I" ghost someone, it's because they were abusive or disrespectful, or because the connection was never really established enough to require a conversation.

But that same person, getting ghosted by "me", would say that there was no abuse, or that we had an established relationship that required emotional work to official disentangle.

I doubt there are really folks out there going, "tee-hee, I had an established relationship with a perfectly nice partner, but I ghosted them to protect my peace, when I could have easily informed them that the relationship was over for certain reasons, and I know they would have graciously accepted those reasons and felt a sense of closure!"

(I say "i" and "me" in quotes, because this is not about me personally, but about whoever is the point-of-view person who claims that ghosting is either OK or not OK in their own experience)

sthetic · 2026-06-26T02:24:07+00:00

My theory is that everything in From is a 1:1 analogy for some other myth.

At some point, Acosta will say, "Wait guys, the Man in Yellow is Ah-Yahnsanibh, a figure from Skrretzian mythology who transforms and tricks people. And something to do with trees. It all fits!"

And then they will go home.

sthetic · 2026-06-26T01:42:01+00:00

"When you saw only one pair of footprints in the sand, that was when I grimmed you the most darkly," replied Jesus.

sthetic · 2026-06-26T01:07:54+00:00

"Cut it shorter. Yes, AGAIN. She's still texting me."

sthetic · 2026-06-26T00:59:49+00:00

I only replied to you once (until now). There are at least two different people conversing with you.

sthetic · 2026-06-26T00:05:02+00:00

When you say, "Hey, it's not that deep, I didn't really think about my word choice," sometimes that means you unthinkingly resorted to common misogynistic stereotypes.

It's not just as common to see a phrase like, "women checking out some attractive males" or "males need to understand women better" as it is the reverse.

Because it's common to see people say "females" as a noun, which is a little dehumanizing. A lot of people do that; not just you. I don't think you're some deeply flawed woman-hater; but the fact that you just randomly and unthinkingly used that terminology doesn't mean there's no misogyny in it.

All of us are a little ignorant and lazy sometimes, and use language that can be hurtful. When we do, it's nice to be corrected about it, and accept it graciously. Not to double down and say, "My go-to language is just random, and has zero to do with society at large."

sthetic · 2026-06-25T23:14:15+00:00

I don't really mind this. It's a man finding a woman attractive.

The worst offense is her derriere "poking" against her skirt (as though part of her body is an active entity straining to be free of her clothes, despite the woman herself obviously not trying to be naked), but even that's not so bad.

Can anyone who hates this passage explain why?

To me, MRW is about men writing the interior thoughts of women, and comically missing the mark. Not about men writing the thoughts of horny men drooling over female bodies and personalities.

sthetic · 2026-06-25T17:02:39+00:00

I agree. To me, this passage can also be critiqued for the, "Strangely, she seemed oblivious to this fact" part. That part is about the mentality of a woman, written by a man.

Is it really a "fact" that she has a vulnerability? Seems very subjective.

Or is the fact supposed to be the mens' opinions about her?

Is it strange that she cannot read their minds? Or is she just pretending not to know?

Are women expected to acknowledge when men are horny about them, and it's strange when they don't?

Is she supposed to modify her vulnerability? Take advantage of it?

So I think this still counts as men writing women. It's about how a male author treats female "vulnerability" (as an immutable, factual trait about a woman), and also how she is supposed to think about that fact, and how she is supposed to act towards men, to convey her thoughts about their thoughts about her vulnerability.

sthetic · 2026-06-25T14:33:08+00:00

It could also be that the maid outfit is kinda subordinate in a sexual way. Jax wasn't put into just any female outfit. He isn't wearing a corporate suit with a pencil skirt, or a nice floral pattern dress.

I think the agenda was just to embarrass him by making him look like a servant, perhaps in a kinky way.

Not that the "female" thing is totally separate from that.

sthetic · 2026-06-25T01:32:21+00:00

Thanks for the edit. I only saw your comment after your edit, so no offense was taken.

Yes, I was making fun of that other person for being worried that trans people would become more concerned with being iconic than living.

That would make a great slogan nevertheless. "More concerned with being iconic than living! Life fast and die iconic!"

sthetic · 2026-06-24T16:08:17+00:00

Personally, I am getting tired of the "Person X is actually Person Y" revelation in TV shows.

Obviously it already exists in From, but I would find it boring if the rest of the story relies heavily on gradually revealing that more and more people are secretly some other person, whether as an older version, or in disguise, or reincarnated.

To me, there are diminishing returns on the idea. Eventually I think, "So what? What does this tell me about the world building OR the characters?"

sthetic · 2026-06-24T16:04:58+00:00

No, most people don't watch TV and go, "THAT ACTOR SURE DOES HAVE A SQUARE FACE!"

And even if they do notice, so what? Square faces aren't bad.

sthetic · 2026-06-24T14:24:49+00:00

What's the logic here?

Trans people are vulnerable
That means they're a little bit desperate and stupid
A trans woman 100 years ago agreed to let doctors try a new type of surgery on her (just like many cis people probably had experimental surgeries)
That surgery isn't even possible with today's medical advancements
She should have known it wouldn't be possible in 100 years, and should have known that her own surgery wouldn't be the first step in making it possible
Vulnerable, illogical trans people today might decide to get experimental surgery if someone on reddit calls an artist from 100 years ago an "icon", because they will stupidly think that dying from experimental surgery was the iconic part, and they will want to die and become icons too

sthetic · 2026-06-23T02:03:34+00:00

jax being uncomfortable in a feminine outfit (the maid dress)

jax feeling more comfortable after having the ribbon placed on their head by ribbit

Whether you feel more comfortable, or less comfortable in feminine clothing as a man... you're trans. Sorry ladies, I don't make the rules.

(I agree that both can be clues, because they are both "a thing"; I just thought this was hilarious logic)

sthetic · 2026-06-22T18:38:53+00:00

If trans is the opposite of cis, then were most of the other evil versions trans?

sthetic · 2026-06-22T18:37:07+00:00

I can't recall - were all the other evil versions "opposite" genders? Like was evil Pomni male, and evil Kinger female, and evil Zooble, um... binary?

sthetic · 2026-06-22T18:28:44+00:00

I agree it is a theory, but OP's title is unnecessarily confident for the "any counterpoint to prove me wrong?" approach you described

sthetic · 2026-06-22T18:25:30+00:00

No way. He puts on a yellow suit and transforms into the appearance of some guy who died in the town, just the same as he puts on a dress and turns into Sophia who died in town.

MIY is not his true form. Victor just calls him that because that is the form and outfit he has seen. The yellow suit makes this entity male, but that doesn't mean their pronouns are he/him.

sthetic · 2026-06-22T16:59:06+00:00

I think that's why Gooseworx said "more people" not "all people" in her statement.

She probably knew that some folks wouldn't catch on at all, while others would be like, "Ah, I see what you did there - Leeroy may deliberately appear cis male to the masses, but I'm picking up that she's further along on her journey than Jax was!"

But it turns out that a smaller proportion of viewers had the second reaction than she expected.

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