#TIMING MATTERS

[gingergofastboatsmojito]

The green sweatshirt

(color coding means timing matters)

Correction: Right quote pointed out by @mantra4ia is actually:

"Green means we´re on time. Red means we´re behind."

IMO since the sadist made both Syd and C wear or own a green sweatshirt and showed us this for a particular reason, the reason behind making a scene out of Carmy “recovering her green sweatshirt” means that such an item will be used as a plot device to graphically mark her demise. Winner takes it all.

I have been saying in previous #gingerpovs that in S4 C’s character was gonna become unnecessary for the plot moving forward bc once Carmy learns all he needs to learn from that FAILED relationship, and her residency ends, she should be gone. I have also been saying that there’s a chance they get back together at some point but even if they did, it won’t work out, so no worries. I think the last dance (I will make a separate post for that one) they had at the wedding where he symbolically called her his “swing and miss” is confirmation enough bc if he woulda wanted to get back together with her, that wedding was the perfect opportunity to do it, and canonically, they didn’t (unless they did and Storer decided not to show it now but in S5, which I don’t think it’s the case at all). What Storer showed us was them remaining on good terms, like an amicable split where both remain on talking terms, and keep a cordial rapport, bc both decided to remain as friends after the break-up, hold no grudges, summing up a mature and healthy break-up, that S2/3 Carmy was incapable of having, but S4 Carmy who is healing, and growing, and evolving, and following the 12 steps, and learning, and trying to “talk about things” (things he first has to let himself feel and reflect on before talking about them, which is called processing), etc, is apparently very much capable of.

That phone call where she asked him to go get her sweatshirt is actually a red herring (C was wearing red at the wedding during their last dance) bc red marks another kind of wrong timing (they are behind), meaning that should have ended long ago, months ago, in S2, yet she’s still in his life bc he wanted to do things right, which is part of this new Carmy he’s changing into in S4, an improved version of himself that needed to process that break-up like a well adjusted grown up and not like a psycho stuck in a walk-in. He needed, for his own healing process, not for C, to do things right this time around so he could let go of that guilt and all that baggage that was holding him back and making him feel like 💩. Old Carmy’s driver and Achilles heel is GUILT sometimes experienced as shame (for not being good enough, for not knowing his brother well enough, for not being there when he died, for not being able to stick around at Michael’s funeral and go hide in his car, for missing the friends & family event being stuck in a freezer, for letting Syd down, for not breaking up with his GF right, etc) and if we keep digging we’d find 100000 more instances like those where he behaved in the same way and fucked up bc it’s his pattern and up until he got out of his loop last season, by confronting his abuser, breaking down and allowing himself to inhabit that breakdown, cry it out and the manage to still have it in him to thank Chef Terry for all he learned by her side or with her help, he was stuck there bc he didn’t even identify it as his pattern so obviously he couldn’t change it either, bc you can’t change what you can’t see and accept and process first. Well his S3 season finale was what allowed S4 Carmy to “talk about things”, process them and change them to heal. That is healing in itself, regardless of the outcome. He’s making progress and that’s why C is still around, to test him, to assess through his relationship with her or with how he ends his relationship with her, exactly how much progress he’s made.

And that green sweatshirt will be the token. When he can return it to its rightful owner without falling back into old patterns of behavior, without relapsing, without regressing to S2/3 Carmy, we will know: S4 Carmy is here to stay.

We gotta keep in mind that relapses are also part of any successful rehab process. So, like I mentioned above, if there’s a brief reconciliation between the 2, we shouldn’t dispair. Nothing to worry about.

Now, Syd. She was also wearing a green sweatshirt in ep 04x08. Thus, she’s also affected by Carmy’s bad time management, which by now we all know it’s the understatement of the universe, ofc.

So the question is: Who will still be in S5 Carmy’s life when the timing is finally right?

Syd, who is now part of the family family biz, and rightful owner of The Bear? Someone he believes in more than he ever believed in himself and whom he’s trying to set up for success by paying off the debt, giving her a clean start, and getting outta her way to stop dragging her down with his shortcomings he is now finally accepting and working on (even when he wants to do all this away from her not to have his shit hit her fan in case he fails again, as usual) and who is trying to stop sprinting from (all she represents) and be afraid of and he considers his friend, not just a business partner?

Or C?

Well, the sweatshirt handover’s aftermath will tell us that.

Remember to follow my tag #Gingerpovs 💋

[soapbbox]

Tenna watch out for the thirst comments

[morganmnemonic]

I'm thinking of kris repeating berdly's name in shock when you try to tell ralsei that you are going to the festival with berdly of all people. Thinking about the conversations we only get to hear half of, where kris presumably tells ralsei and susie that ralsei and asriel don't look that much alike. Thinking about all the times where kris changes the prompt we give them into something that they'd prefer to say.

Kris talks. They chatter, even, but we as the player don't get to hear it. They don't get a text box. We only ever know that they spoke at all from the reactions of other characters, and even then, we rarely know exactly what was said.

And part of this is that whoever the deltarune narrator is seems intent to pretending like kris doesn't exist. You check the mirror, and it says, "it's only you". Kris plays the piano and it says, "your hands begin moving on their own." If kris speaks without your permission, the narration doesn't acknowledge it at all, committed to the lie that kris doesn't exist beyond their role as our vessel. But that's not what this post is about.

This post is about how it's entirely possible that kris has tried to talk to us when no one else is around. They could have tried to tell us their plan, or begged us not to make certain decisions, or explained that we don't actually need to steal asriel's 5 dollars because they have a piggy bank buried in the front yard. Kris could be asking us questions, or asking us not to look for the bunker password because they have a plan and we should trust them, or asking us to let them sleep a bit longer, and we the soul just carry on the same regardless, their one-sided monologue falling on deaf ears. We would never even know, because of how thoroughly the narrative of deltarune has denied kris a voice.

[gawki]

Fanciest Feast

[gingergofastboatsmojito]

IK this is old news BUT

"She knows he has a GF he is nice to?"

Seriously? What about 03x02? Are we ignoring that scene?

These were just flashbacks of their relationship, PRE-WALK IN BREAKUP.

This is the last she heard of him:

There´s a TL for a reason!

In 03x09, he didn´t choose her either; he went back to the kitchen he shared with his business partner. He didn´t call C to apologize or make up; he gave up on them, again, symbolically.

and in S4, he will probably do it for real... bc C is nowhere to found in the trailer/teasers or in any promo content they released so far, it´s almost as if they are erasing her character bc it´s no longer needed in the plot, which in S3 was perfectly clear.

THIS IS HOW SYDNEY ENDED UP ALONE IN A KITCHEN WITH LUCA. SEASON 3 THE BEAR

She's at Ever

She's been invited by Carmy who is not talking to her.

He's not eating.

The conversation at the table turns to bad experiences at the restaurant.

So she gets to thinking that she's trying so hard FOR CARMY mind you

And all she's getting is grief.

She knows he has a girlfriend who he's nice to but he hasn't been nice to sydney

Then next to her is a guy who is almost as talented as Carmy, happy to sit next to her, smiling when she talks.

Looking at her like she's the sun on a gloomy day

You didn't have to tell her TWICE

And this is how we got here.

CARMY has work to do in season 4

[hamstersnamedmarinette]

Italian microaggressions

[prlssprfctn]

Bruce, adopting Dick: Aw-w, what a sweet little kid! Surely, he is so polite, and—

Dick, the instance he gets in the battle: You fucking disappointment of a person, and (string of curses on his mother language)

Bruce: Oh. Okay.

Bruce, adopting Jason: Well, Jason was well-mannered and soft-spoken so far, so, maybe—

Jason to the random goon: You motherfucking asshole, I am going to shove this boa to your—

Bruce: Right. Okay.

Bruce, making Stephanie his Robin: Maybe...

Stephanie, using the same street language Jason did, if not worse: I FUCKED YOUR MOM, YOU SON OF A—

Bruce: Whatever.

Bruce, eying suspiciously quiet Tim, who came to interrogate the goon for the first time as a Robin: ?

Tim, the minute door closed behind him: Listen to me, you pathetic excuse of a man, I am going to fuck you up, in an—

Bruce, sighing: Yeah. Honestly. Whatever.

Bruce, staring at angry Damian, who looks like he is about to explode, but keeps up as much as he can: Go on, chump. Say what you want.

Damian, staring at the floor with the deadliest stare ever: Not to sound unbecoming, but... Loser. -_-

Bruce, flabbergasted: ...Okay.

[gingergofastboatsmojito]

This theory is just like my fic LAST CLAUSE

And my meta

i have a theory about the bear & carmy’s artistic talent and no one else (that ive seen!) seems to be talking abt this. gotta get it out there so if it happens i can say i predicted it

carmy is going to leave the restaurant industry. we see time and time again that carmy is not happy in the industry, and maybe never has been. he’s traumatized by the fancy restaurant he worked at. he wanted to work at the beef, but only to be with mikey. he took over the beef because he (felt he) owed it to michael — and because he had the skills — not out of some great love of cooking. he only got to his level of skill out of a self-professed “fuck you” to mikey! carmy’s not happy. “this shit’s not fun for me,” he says to richie. make no mistake — he’s really, really good at it. but he’s not happy. the industry brings out the worst version of him, every single time. the stress of the kitchen turns him into the bear from the 1x01 opening, into his mother.

contrast this with syd and richie, tina, even marcus. even under stress, even with everyone yelling at each other, the kitchen brings out the best in them. they’ve improved their skill levels because they feel they owe it to themselves. richie thrives under the pressure of being a concierge, he’s a new man, he wears suits now. tina is a transformed person because she’s begun to believe in herself (and knows others believe in her). marcus (although thwarted by his own hyper-focus sometimes) delights in the craft of being a pâtissier, creates spectacular, thoughtful dishes — he flourishes.

and sydney. sydney, under stress, opening night, is throwing up in the bushes, like we know carmy did in a job that was Bad for him. but it’s not the stress of the job per se that’s getting to syd, but the pressure she’s put on herself to do well enough that her dad will see the bear as she sees it — her very own place in the industry she loves above all else, a place to practice her beloved craft, to take care of people, to pour everything she has into this one thing. it’s not the job making her physically sick, like it did carmy, it’s the pressure of showing how much she loves the job, of her dad thinking she’s doing well enough to deserve to love and devote herself to it as much as she is. and in the kitchen, under pressure, with carmy locked in the fridge, syd doesn’t panic, doesn’t yell and scream — not really. she collaborates with richie, delegates as necessary, steps up — and leads. she shines.

carmy as a chef is doing what he’s good at, performing the skills he’s cultivated. it might be the only thing he feels he’s good at. it’s all he’s ever really known. but it’s not healthy. it’s killing him. it’s ruining his relationships with everyone important to him. he needs to get out.

i predict that sydney and richie will take over the bear. probably with nat’s help behind the scenes. they love it. it gives them purpose. it makes them thrive.

and carmy… will go to visual arts school. (or simply become an artist. do people still do art school these days? if so… like… he could do worse than SAIC)

i don’t think the show has been dropping all these references to carmy’s artistic talent for no reason. the pants he designed (thom browne’s!), the drawings of claire they mention and then flash during his panic attack, the speculative drawing of the bear he gifts michael in 2x06, and the menu drawings that sydney gushes over. the painting he hates that’s hung in the restaurant? could you do a better one, carm?? in the future, will that get replaced with one of yours, carm??? his artistic talent is lingered on too much to not be indicating something about what carmy really loves. a talent he innately has but doesn’t seem to realize the depth of. what he’d spend his time doing absently before he got caught up in the rat race of the restaurant industry. he talks about art like it’s something he’s compelled to do, like it’s something he loses himself in. a flow state.

carmy can flourish too. it’s just that he’s going to need to go somewhere else to do it.

[noelledeltarune]

EVERY SINGLE DAY there are MILLIONS of characters in their late 20s who get falsely accused of being father figures to teenagers when in reality the description of "weird older cousin" or "step-sibling that moved out before you were born" is 1000000x more apt

[dudedidujust]

The daily planet runs a front page article calling superman the light of mankind

Cue the batfam launching a counter campaign in support of Signal,  the real Light of Mankind.

It starts as a joke but quickly derails into an all out war.

[gingergofastboatsmojito]

The C file & her reverse psychology

She's a reflection, a shadow of the past and that was graphically depicted by Storer with the very first image we had of C on the show:

She showed up like that, not like this:

Carmy was blindsided when C showed up unannounced and uninvited.

Syd walked into his life right in front of him and knocked first, they were face-to-face, after calling for the sous position and scheduling an interview.

C was always represented as a mirage.

An unwanted figure in his life, that's why he gave her the wrong number to begin with.

The fact that later she forced herself into his life.

And he ended up giving in and even enjoying it, as I mentioned in this previous post → He let her take the wheel, is beside the point because in this case, the point is his real intention behind that behavior all along because he was compensating - projecting - sublimating and masking with her, as I thoroughly pointed out:

Here

So what was behind all that or underneath, what was he trying to cover with C?

His real feelings → More about that here and here.

The haunting

The haunting feeling Carmy described, is nothing but ruminating thoughts based on guilt, which is rooted in his own omission and irresponsible behavior and the fact that that relationship lacks closure, and that is what is keeping him stuck till he faces the consequences of his actions and turns the page but not just unilaterally as he did here and here, it has to be agreed upon or at the very least briefed. All parties should be in the loop for "the haunting" to end, the unfinished business is what's causing it, and giving it closure is what's gonna end it.

Reverse Psychology

What in this case triggered the ruminating thoughts was not just Carmy's inaction but also Claire's.

In the past C did the chasing now she's no longer doing that and the reactive nature of Carmy is reacting to that change of pattern C initiated. Since he noticed, his haunting began.

Typical reactive nature. If she had kept the chasing pattern they had going on, he would have either apologized and continued going out with her or apologized and ended things, but no "haunting" would have happened. One way or the other he would have "reacted" to her actions but since she halted all efforts he has no way to react, so he is stuck as I explained above.

This will end when they finally have a conversation and he reacts to her words.

As far as I know, that scene has already been shot, so we are cool.

Catalysis

C is a catalyst character as I explained here.

That being said her role can't be fulfilled unless Carmy is ready to realize what she's gonna show him.

Meaning: Claire shows him what he needs to heal because she's a healer, what he needs to change because after her he will be very clear on what not to do. And with her he will also learn to do what needs to be done, to use his words, to open up about what he wants and what he doesn't want, and also who he wants it or not with. She enables all of that in him. But not if he doesn't react.

So right now her role is unfulfilled because they are yet to have that conversation and that will enable Carmy to make a final decision. At that point, the catalysis will be complete and her role will no longer be necessary in the story. I'm not sure how they will go about this, therefore IDK if she will definitely break up with him after that conversation, or the other way around, or even if they will agree to give each other another chance, which is a possibility. What I do know is that when Carmy goes through this catalysis with her, she will no longer be necessary for his redemption arc because after that all those feelings that he keeps in his BOH, will move to his FOH, more details on that metaphor → here. This catalytic process will enable that.

Bonus track: The L Carmy already made a decision about his priorities, which are the restaurant, and the star, in that order. That leaves no room for C, and that decision was confirmed in the last scene where symbolically he was being "signaled" by the L to Loop back → The Loop. If he'd loop back to C, assuming she'd still have him, that is, he couldn't focus on the star, because he has always seen her as a distraction and he has already vowed not to leave Syd alone again:

And regardless of how Syd feels, in his head, he hasn't broken that promise because the one who is haunting him is actually → Sydney.

Remember to follow my tag #Gingerpovs 💋

[biggest-gaudiest-patronuses]

enough about the timeloop I wanna hear about the post-timeloop.

person who just got over the horror of being trapped and settled into a comfortable routine...but then the timeloop breaks and they struggle to reacclimatize. person trapped in a loop for years who grieved their loved ones—who are suddenly back and acting like nothing happened (because for them nothing did). teenager who aged physically and mentally during the timeloop and now they're so much older than they're supposed to be. random strangers who were trapped in a loop together relieved to get away from each other at last, but feeling oddly bereft of familiar company. service worker who is pissed as fuck to have to go back to work

[beesinmymoth]

Someone’s gotta teach that boy how to kiss

[hinamie]

10 years later

[atthecenterofeverything]

in fact there IS a good grade in therapy that is (always) normal to want and (sometimes) possible to achieve in part through being labelled "insightful" and "self-aware" and it is to avoid being stripped of your autonomy and forcibly medicated + incarcerated. but of course the people treating this as laughably irrational - who think of therapy, in essence, as two people voluntarily talking in a room - are often the ones for whom this risk is the lowest

[jodeldijodel]

Lee 🥺🥺🥺🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍⚧️🥹🥹🥹🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈