RGB

"Are you a monster?" - Hero

"The very worst one." - RGB

RGB is the second protagonist of The Property of Hate, introduced in Chapter 1: The Hook. He lived in The World of Make Believe for indescribably long time.^[11]

Story[]

RGB's past is mostly a mystery. He at least died in some sense of the word, implying he may have once been human, likely an actor. He has had some unknown bad experience relating to a clothes iron. He entered the World of Make Believe in an attempt to be a hero.

RGB described his efforts as failing so miserably, that when he begged for another chance Hate granted his request because it was so pathetic it amused her. Hate was about to rip him apart during this interaction. This was when RGB receives his task at finding the next hero for the World, being given a Key.

Before RGB leaves through the Inbetween, he asks Hate how he could find a hero, or if any existed for that matter, to which she replied with a smile "Why, but that is easy- for all you need to do is find someone who wishes to become one... and everybody wants to be a hero."

He enters the city of London brimming with confidence, quickly dissipating when he realizes Hate was being ill-intentioned by saying everybody, anybody, could be a hero. RGB gets overwhelmed at the prospect of finding the right hero, while also requiring to not stay in this world for an extended period of time and to avoid water damage. He considers his options, thinking about the qualities of a hero, coming to the conclusion it should be someone who is generally unnoticed in a crowd and years to be more.

RGB finds Click and, wanting to believe destiny had led him to this man, sees all the superficial qualities of a hero in him as he watches Click live out his mundane life. Even after observing him for some time, RGB did not recognize the mental instability in Click nor his militaristic outlook playing a part in how he would act. RGB invites him to become a hero, to which Click accepts eagerly.

Realizing his misjudgment only too late in Click's journey, RGB flees in dismay, running as far as the Inbetween in order to find Time. He bargains with Time for all the seconds he has left, deleting large parts of his memory in exchange. As he figures out a solution on what to do next, he gives up, not before realizing the loophole in which he keeps the story afloat.

RGB uses this loophole to go through a cycle of , all of whom he failed. At some points in time, RGB steals multiple Keys from T.G., one of which would lead him to Manchester, England. RGB uses this Key to scour Hero whom he recruits successfully after some trickery.

Personality[]

Though he appears to be classy and sophisticated, it is only a facade, and nothing about him is genuine.^[12] RGB is very expressive and enigmatic while trying to uphold a gentlemanly persona, at first appearing jovial but is actually a conman with a cowardly outlook. While somewhat prideful and takes great risks (by running away from his problems) to survive, his insecurities often get him into bigger troubles. He has a hard time telling the truth^{[citation needed]} and tends to avoid lying by giving indirect answers.^[13]

RGB has a habit of filling in the silence with his own words, speaking to himself even when no-one is around. He refers to himself as an unreliable narrator, and that if he were a better one the story would have ended long ago. All of the former heroes are disdainful towards him to certain extents, from Julienne trying to murder him to Gladys giving him derisive looks. Hero observes the fact that none of them told her to not accompany RGB means that they actually trust him to be with her.

RGB was at first cold towards Hero, trying to not get too attached to her knowing his track record, but always makes an effort to protect her life and mind, half of the reason being she's RGB's last chance to save the World. Although he kept his distance, he's shown to care for her well-being immensely and validates her feelings such as being afraid of the dark. He is very proud when she figures out the properties of the World, often quizzing her on such matters rather than answering immediately.

He is described by Hero as neutral when asked about whether she considers him to be good or evil. She also calls him weird. RGB is first seen to heavily cry when Hero called him "dad" while half-asleep, after which he gets his most traumatizing nightmare yet when he cries himself to sleep.

RGB's past self is implied to be a severely unlikeable person.^[14]

Specific Traits[]

Colour Bleed[]

The colors that drip from the front of his screen are not, as it may seem, merely candylike drool. It is actually his Colour, each bar drips according to an emotion.^[15][16] A mix of magenta and green indicates blushing.^[17] It is assumed that such a "life-force" behind living characters ought to generally stay inside of their bodies, making RGB another peculiarity. His Colour runs through the wires of his circuitry.

This is also a pun on the actual term for "color bleed".^[18]

When RGB is sleeping, his screen actually does look like it's drooling. Hero uses this substance to vandalize RGB's screen much like condensation on a window.

TV/Suit[]

RGB's head not only looks like a television set, it also functions as one. If he is being used as a television, he loses awareness of himself for that period of time, incapable of being anything other than a television. He is, however, completely aware of what is being played on his screen.^[19]

The upper white dial changes the channel, and serves to switch him into "TV mode". The lower black dial adjusts the set's volume, which affect RGB's voice. The bottom white panel contains brightness, saturation, and color sliders, which affect his suit coloration in tangent with his screen. The black square above the panel is a power button; when pressed, RGB's head switches off and he loses all form in his body.

He is able to change the color design of his outfit both willingly and accidentally, allowing him to camouflage or adjust brightness as needed or when startled or hurt. His outfits are typically very bright, and will always match. His outfit will correspond to the interference on his screen, less-so the cane and hat as they almost always stay the same color across outfits. He has had over 16 distinct outfits so far, including Negative's.

Cane[]

RGB carries a bamboo cane that is extremely durable against elements like water and fire, but not against Hate's weapons. RGB, and only RGB, can summon the cane by way of high-speed gravitational force when snapping his fingers, which can also pull RGB if a stronger force is holding the cane back. The cane can only be summoned if RGB's snap can actually be heard.

Flashbacks[]

Whereas Dreams within the world of the comic appear to be healing for most of its' inhabitants, RGB experiences horrific nightmares when exposed to Dreams, typically consisting of him trying to figure out how he died.

These deaths are gone-wrong depictions of black-and-white film era stunts, which are in order: "Steamboat Bill Jr." (Buster Keaton, 1928), "Safety Last!" (Harold Lloyd, 1923), "Modern Times" (Charlie Chaplain, 1936), "Sherlock Jr" (1924, Keaton), "One Week" (1920, Keaton), "The General" (1926, Keaton).

He is typically very unfazed by these, remarking that they are "not how he died". The only dream known to actually disturb him during it was one relating to being faced with an ironing board.

Sometimes RGB would have flashbacks of his "real" self; a scene where RGB dozes off in his workplace, a clapboard clapping, him receiving a diary, himself telling an unseen force "I hate you", and a scene where a comedian incorrectly retells the story of their doctor's appointment.

Common motifs in these flashbacks are a trapezoidal prism, two inverted hands, an iron, a drop of liquid, and rectangular frames. Other secondary themes are the presence of filmstrips and a black train.

Appearance[]

RGB stands 5'5" tall^[20] with a lean, athletic figure and an exemplary physical form.^[21][22] His body is seemingly entirely made of electrical static, making it appear invisible although it is tangible to things that are conductive. Notably his clothes act more like his body than the static, seeing as he can snap his fingers through gloves.

His head is a white CRT television set with a short circular stand, three large vents on the sides, various dials to the left of the screen, and two short antennae placed on the left side. The antennae can move and change with his mood, acting as his eyebrows in a certain way, and are extremely painful for him to touch.^[23] The vents prevent his circuitry from overheating.^[24]

When he's awake, the screen has a blank white background save for the colour bars on the bottom being his actual mouth, freely emoting by curving and bending into shape. His screen leaks out colour according to the emotion he's feeling. When asleep, the screen shows white noise while leaking out colour-stained liquid. RGB also has other screens such as Data Memory Storage, No Signal, and an Error screen.

RGB wears a neatly fitting suit, an oversized collar shirt, a pair of dress gloves, a bowtie, suspenders with cheap fastenings, and dress shoes with built-in spats.^[12] He used to wear quarter-length socks, but it's heavily implied he gave it away to create Assok.^[25] The collar of his shirt is turned up due to the static from the television, which can give him the appearance of a satellite dish, he couldn't change this even if he wanted to.^[26] He also wears a beige Buster Keaton styled porkpie hat.^[27]

RGB's inventory always consists of magician's items like a rope of handkerchiefs, playing cards, and vials of Dreams.

RGB often rolled his shirt sleeves due to the length until Hero tied sleeve garters onto them, using a pair of ribbons in Chapter 12: Wardrobe. These garters are off-white and can't change color.^[28] Since Chapter 13: Hoofers, he has wooden horseshoes nailed to the bottom of his shoes which have significantly been worn down over time. In Chapter 21: Greenlight, he loses his suspenders.

Human[]

Although this version of RGB is a humanized version of his post-transformation design, it can be dubiously attributed to what he may have looked like before entering the World.

The earliest designs featured multicolored wavy hair, matching the bars on his screen, and bright hazel eyes.^[29] He's been described as looking like a cross between David Bowie and Buster Keaton, and use of facemorphing has confirmed this.^[30] He was also inspired by Dorian Gray.^[31] Sometimes, his would be colored blonde, and on rare occasions freckles.

He is deliberately meant to look pretty.^[32]

Dialogue[]

RGB's speech bubbles are rectangular and white, connected by thin free-form speech lines. He uses the same font as Hero, Digital Strip, and Chicago when glitching out.^[33]

Mod's headcanon voice for him is a cross between Patrick Magoohan and Colin Firth.^[34][35] She's also liked the idea of him sounding like John Cleese.^[36] Either way, he has a very proper sounding Received Pronunciation English accent.^[37]

Gallery[]

RGB's tarot card, The Magician.^[38]

RGB's suit during a flashback on Page 473.

RGB's suit during a flashback in Chapter 26: Casting.

RGB's suit during Click's backstory in Chapter 26: Casting.

RGB's suit during Anxiety's backstory on Page 562 and Page 598.

RGB's suit during Assok's backstory on Page 374.

RGB's suit from Chapter 3: Soft Focus to Chapter 4: Diegesis.

RGB's suit from Chapter 5: Suture to Chapter 6: Negative.

RGB's suit from Chapter 7: P.O.V. to Chapter 10: Pitch.

RGB's suit from Chapter 11: Ensemble to Chapter 13: Hoofers.

RGB's suit from Chapter 14: Click to Chapter 18: Dolly Zoom.

RGB's suit from Chapter 19: Inbetweens to Chapter 27: Flood.

RGB's suit from Chapter 28: Double Exposure to Chapter 30: Turnaround.

RGB's suit from Chapter 31: Pause to Chapter 32: Kuleshov Effect

RGB's initial suit from Chapter 31: Pause.

RGB's concept sketch. Truly a work of art.

Trivia[]

• RGB is a literal "TV personality".^{[citation needed]}
• He has a deathly fear of water since his head is an electrical appliance.
• RGB was originally created as a Shadow persona,^[39][40] which is an amalgam of all the qualities Sarah Jolley considered to be her worst. He quickly developed a life and story of his own.^[41]
• RGB's design and behavior come from many inspirations, the main one being Buster Keaton.^[42]
  • He was influenced by the Donald Duck comic character Gladstone Gander.^[43][44]
• The way which RGB carries Hero (which is to say, poorly) is not actually careless, and would actually be correct if Hero were a stuffed animal.^[45] Unfortunately, Hero is in fact a human child.
• If he were an animal, he would be a coyote^[46] or a red fox.^{[citation needed]}
• If he were a Pokémon, he might be a Girafarig.^[47]
  • Girafarig has a tail with a mind of its own (although can only rely on instinct) that can unleash psychic abilities. This may be a reference to Negative.
• Out of the three new Pokémon Sun and Moon starters, he'd pick Popplio for their entertainer aesthetics.^[48]
  • This is extremely ironic considering how dangerous water is to him.
• RGB has been drawn with a Pokémon team consisting of a Haunter and a Yamask. He would also prefer fleeing than engaging in battles.^[47]
  • Yamask is a shadow-like Ghost Pokémon holding a mask of its face from their time as a human, retaining a memory of its former life. They cry when they look at the mask, and search for people who knew its face. This is likely to be a correlation to his presence in the World and/or the fact he was Mod's Shadow persona.
  • Haunter is a predatory Ghost Pokémon who are generally very dangerous towards humans, having the ability to steal their life away just by one lick. This may be a reference to how RGB "stole" the lives of the former heroes, and the fact he's apparently "haunted" himself.
• He is a Gemini, which works well considering Negative exists.^[49]
  • Since his Chinese Zodiac is the Rooster, his worst match is the Rat which is Hero's Zodiac.
• The Purple and Green suit we haven't seen yet was actually an edited picture by ModMad for one of her followers who wanted a tattoo.^[50][51]
• RGB's hat resembles the hat worn by Snow Miser in films like The Year Without a Santa Claus.^[52]
• The current colors of this wiki correspond to his current suit colors.
• RGB wears boxers (Julienne remarks that it makes sense with a head like his).
• RGB's longest-lasting suit coloration is his pansexual pride flag suit, used from Chapter 19: Inbetweens (while he is unconscious) all the way to the end of Chapter 26: Casting. In our real-world time, this suit lasted a little over 4 years.
• RGB has never dated any of the previous heroes.^[53]
• RGB has a handful of bardic skills:
  • He has a great singing voice.^[54]
  • He can play the ukelele.^[55]
  • He can dance, with his main style being tap-dancing.^[56]
  • He's proficient at chess.^[57]
  • He taught himself magic tricks, and used it to cheat at poker which got him kicked out of a gambling place. Because of this incident he doesn't play anymore.^[58][57]
  • He prefers and is better at rollerblading than ice-skating.^[21]
• Human RGB's favorite tea is Rooibos.^[59]
• RGB likes dogs, but hates cats.^[60][61]
  • This is because their fur will cling to his screen due to the static energy, and he had a bad experience while attempting to recruit another hero.^[62]
• In school, RGB's favorite classes were Psychical Education and English, and he hated Maths and Economics. He did terribly in French and Latin.^[63]
• He smells like pennies and ozone.^[64]
• RGB's cane, hat, and his sleeve garters, all together give him the appearance of a barbershop singer.
• RGB would be a "toaster" (Protogen) as a furry.^[65]

Theories[]

For analysis and speculation, see RGB/Dreaming

References[]