#barely mentioned

[zanefan123]

SpongeBob dancing alone during prom but still popping off. (I used his design from The Patrick Star show)

The doodle

VS

The final product

I like the doodle more tbh I was just experimenting coloring with markers. I usually use watercolor pencils or normal pencils.

Which do you like more ?

Answer honestly!

[robthegoodfellow]

Because this chapter is kicking my ass but I’m finally making progress—have a snippet. More Billy bonding with Patrick McKinney. Context: Ah... well. Carver & co. tagged the Hargrove house, called Billy a slur. And then Neil was Neil. And then there was a bit of a kerfuffle at school.

TW: reference to abuse and PTSD

Pat had called him up at Harrington’s the night before—the grounding had lasted only so long as his uncle was away, on account of his mother’s decision to keep certain parties in the dark regarding certain recent events. Sorry, man, Billy had mumbled, but Pat blew air into the receiver. Yeah, whatever—you wanna hoop after school tomorrow? And when Billy had pointed out he was kinda laid up at the moment, Pat was likewise dismissive: So you can warm the bench. Admire my moves.

The team had just been knocked out of the tournament—total bloodbath—but Pat was zen about it. We’ll get ‘em next year.

At lunch, Pat had taken one look at him and let out an arcing whistle. Even fading to yellows and greens, Billy’s face still eloquently spoke of blunt force not long past, but Pat restrained himself—didn’t ask about it until they were walking to the courts after last bell.

Billy gave him the Reader’s Digest version, capped it off with, “So. Guess you can say I told you so.”

Pat hummed, critical. “Don’t think I can, though. Didn’t expect him to, like—outsource it entirely.” He squinted. “Who knows what really went down?”

“The painting crew,” Billy began, and as the list went on, the scroll unrolling to drag on the ground, a knot clenched tighter in his gut. “The dweebs. Couple of their parents. Harrington, my sister. Then Eddie, Robin. You.” With a wince: “Chrissy Cunningham.”

“That one’s a surprise.” Pat dribbled the ball, biting his lips. “And—you’re good?”

With all of them knowing? About your dad?

“Eh.” He tried to smile. Couldn’t quite manage it.

“Yeah.” He glanced at Billy with an understanding quirk to his mouth, then took off, bounding for the basket for an easy layup.

“Oh, what moves,” Billy hollered, and sat himself on the bench.

It was cold but sunny, so he buried his dry hands in his jacket pockets, hunkered down in one of the scarves he’d snagged from Harrington’s coat closet—thick and forest green—and tried to savor the rays hitting his cheeks. Now and then, he shouted challenges: Jump from the three! Reverse layup! Alleyoop! At that one, Pat glared, panting, and joined him on the bench.

“Maybe if I grow another foot or so.” He knocked his shoulder into Billy’s. “And if you’re there to pass it.”

“Yeah.” Billy inhaled deep to check and yep—bright bursts across the sides of his chest. “Once the ribs aren’t screaming.”

“Fucking ribs.” Pat tsked like he’d had it up to here with them. “Those are the worst—‘cause like, only thing for it is to wait. And what’re you ‘sposed to do in the meantime? Not breathe?”  

“Just take the pain, bitch.”

Pat laughed, and Billy had been wanting to ask—but they’d only ever hinted at this shit, never really talked about it. Not directly.

Billy watched Pat spin the ball between his hands a moment. Several moments. Then: “Is it—random, what he does? Like the timing?”

The basketball stopped spinning. “Whatcha mean?”

It wasn’t defensive—not a you better not mean what I think you mean. Just neutral. So Billy let it come pouring out.

“Like… I used to think he—couldn’t help it, I guess?” He scrunched his nose. “Or not really that but… like he was Jekyll and Hyde, and when Hyde was out, he wasn’t in control. So for a while I tried not to trigger Hyde or whatever. But then…” Huffed a chuckle, a bleak sound. “After the divorce, I noticed that—that he only ever really lay into me—like, left marks—when there was time enough for them to heal up? Before Ma would see me next? Which meant… it wasn’t random. He was always in control. So…”

He shrugged, and Pat exhaled long, nudged his arm against Billy’s, but instead of retreating, straightening, he stayed. Kept leaning there.

Billy swallowed. Leaned back in return.

“I think it is kinda random, with him,” Pat said, finally. “Because to hear Mom tell it, he wasn’t this way before ‘Nam. Like he is more of a Jekyll and Hyde. Something happens and he just pops off, you know? Like that night after the party, the quarry, when I came in, I—” He snorted. “I stepped on an empty and it made this cracking sound and he—rocketed off the couch like he was electrocuted. And then he just—lost it. Always the same shit, shouting ‘bout I’m an embarrassment to this family.”

“Yeah.” Billy nodded, commiserating. “I hear that a lot.”

Pat grunted, swung his head around so he was eying him sideways. “Yeah, but you half believe it.”

“And you don’t?”

“Nah.” He cast his gaze off somewhere distant, then let out a huff, soft. “When he says that, he’s talking to himself.”

Billy couldn’t say anything a moment, overcome with this aimless, nameless thing—like grief, but not. Rage, but not. “Still not right,” he said.

Pat pursed his lips, the picture of equanimity. “I know,” he said. “I mean, not like I want him near me, no matter why he does it. But…” He tipped his chin back and forth. “Sometimes wish I could’ve met him—the old him. Ma says he was a lot like me.”

And then Billy imagined Pat—bashful, impish, shrewd Pat—plucked from his life and fed through the butchery, sent home a shell, his mind rigged with mines.

Thought of his own uncle, and how maybe it wasn’t a matter of who came home in a box or not—you were dead the minute your number was called.

He blinked the heat from his eyes, cleared his throat.

“Glad we were born when we were.”

“Yeah,” Pat agreed.

They were quiet a while, until Pat asked, with the air of someone gently closing the skeleton closet: “Think Lover Boy could drive me home?”

“Yeah,” Billy replied, rolling his eyes. “He’ll be here soon.”

Edited to add: chapter is up!

[aifastic]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Mortal Kombat (Video Games) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Characters: Johnny Cage, Raiden (Mortal Kombat), Liu Kang, Fire God Liu Kang, Sonya Blade, Jackson "Jax" Briggs, Kitana (Mortal Kombat), Kung Lao, Nightwolf (Mortal Kombat), Fujin (Mortal Kombat), Kotal Kahn (Mortal Kombat) Additional Tags: Hurt/Comfort, Origin Story, Post-Game: Mortal Kombat 11, Mortal Kombat Third Timeline AU, different to MK1, Post-Canon, Alternate Universe - Post-Canon, Minor Character Death, most of the mentioned characters are just mentioned, but they will be important in the next installments, as seen in the previous installment the series includes johnny/raiden, but it's barely mentioned here, so er be warned for very niche ship lol, although seriously this is the beginning nothing happens Series: Part 2 of Mortal Kombat AU - Fury of the Realms Summary:

Little Rai was afraid of thunder.

-----

A/N: This was half-written, fully planned before the announcement of MK1 which is hilarious because it managed to predict some things. Anyways, I hope you give this fic a chance ♥

[oobbbear]

Alone Together au! Where both Ford and Fiddleford fall through the portal

30 years after + first fall through

They fell through the portal after Fidd left Ford and before Stan arrives, that middle period where Ford is haunted by bill and going crazy.

Fiddleford went back after the incident trying one last time to warn Ford but instead they got into a fight actives the portal get sucked in and you know the rest.

[lilbreadbun]

And then I noticed that jinx’s balloon she flies in on has bunny ears painted on it. And markings on the side to match her little goggles

Pain. Suffering even

[violent138]

Damian: "Red Hood has a pretty severe concussion. What do I do?"

Tim: "Extraction's still ten minutes out, just keep him talking."

Damian, urgently pressing the comm: "I don't want to talk to him, he's even more insufferable than usual."

Jason, lying on the ground, eyes closed: "That's funny Junior, because head trauma's the only thing that makes you bearable."

Damian, to Tim: "I'm leaving. It won't be the first time we've had a closed casket."

Tim, groaning disgustedly: "Robin--ugh, seriously, just stay there and keep him awake."

Damian, seething even more when he sees Jason's smirk: "Fine."

Jason, cracking open one eye: "Aww, are you concerned about me?"

Damian: "Shut up. The only thing I'm concerned about is our family's reputation after your public wipeout on that stupid motorcycle."

Jason:

Damian: "Are you still awake?" *kicks him* "Todd?"

Jason, grinning: "You said our family."

Damian, furious: "I didn't. You've lost more brain cells than you could afford."

Jason: "Wait 'till Tim hears, I think he'll want a group hug. Bruce is probably going to get emotionally constipated. Dickie would probably cry--"

Damian, panicking as he hears the Batmobile get closer: "Stop. Do not tell him--"

Jason: "You better erase every single fucking video of me crashing then."

Damian: "You have a deal."

[aromanticduck]

Sorry if you're already over 50, I ran out of room (you're welcome to leave your thoughts in the tags or replies!)

If you're younger than 10, get the fuck off Tumblr. People are saying swears on here!

[EDIT: It's OK to vent a bit about negative feelings in the comments/tags, but if you're gonna talk about killing yourself, do me a favour and fucking don't]

[throesofincreasingwonder]

You know what? I want a whole post for this:

Sex Repulsion is not the same thing as, or an excuse for, Sex Negativity

non-negotiable!

I am a sex-repulsed asexual. This means that I am uncomfortable and repulsed by the idea of engaging in sexual acts. This does not mean that I have an excuse to be repulsed by other people's sexual attraction or the right to police how other people engage in or express sexual acts or attraction.

Young queer people need to learn the difference between sex repulsion and sex negativity, and actively work to unlearn sex-negative attitudes. Asexuality, even sex-repulsed asexuality, is and should be fully compatible with sex positivity.

If you are uncomfortable with the idea of other people feeling sexual attraction or engaging in sexual acts that do not involve you in any way, that is not sex repulsion it is the cultural Christianity and you need to seriously work on that.

[rriverrunning]

love house tully. super cool castle surrounded by water aptly named riverrun. produced the truly insane cat/lysa/edmure sibling dynamic. the original petyr baelish haters since 270-something AC. "oh yeah that's gay uncle brynden". had several generations named for the muppets. lords of the trident in a three sided castle with three house words. fish sigil and they make it work. made catelyn tully stark like that.

[kindnessoverperfection]

Please, if you can, take a moment to read and share this because I feel like I'm screaming underwater.

NPD (Narcissistic Personality Disorder) stigma is rampant right now, and seems to be getting progressively worse. Everyone is using it as a buzzword in the worst ways possible, spreading misinformation and hatred against a real disorder.

I could go on a long time about how this happened, why it's factually incorrect (and what the disorder actually IS), why it's harmful, and the changes I'd like to see. But to keep this concise, I'll simply link to a few posts under the cut for further reading.

The point of this post is a plea. Please help stop the spread of stigma. Even in mental health communities, even around others with personality disorders, in neurodivergent "safe" spaces, other communities I thought people would be supportive in (e.g. trans support groups, progressive spaces in general), it keeps coming up. So I'm willing to bet that a lot of people on this site need to see this.

Because it's so hard to exist in this world.

My disorder already makes me feel as if I'm worthless and unlovable, like there's something inherently wrong and damaged about me. And it's so much harder to fight that and heal when my daily life consists of:

Laughing and spending time with my friends, doing my utmost best to connect and stay present and focused on them, trying to let my guards down and be real and believe I'm lovable- when suddenly they throw out the word "narcissist" to describe horrible people or someone they hate, or the conversation turns to how evil "people with narcissistic personality disorder" are. (Seriously, you don't know which of your friends might have NPD and feels like shit when you say those things & now knows that you'd hate them if you knew.)

Trying to look up "mental health positivity for people with npd", "mental health positivity cluster bs", only to find a) none of that, and b) more of the same old vile shit that makes me feel terrible about myself.

Having a hard time (which is constant at this point) and trying to look up resources for myself, only to again, find the same stigma. And no resources.

Not having any clue how to help myself, because even the mental health field is spitting so much vitriol at people with DISORDERS (who they're supposed to be helping!) that there's no solid research or therapy programs for people like me.

Losing close friends when they find out, despite us having had a good relationship before, and them KNOWING me and knowing that I'm not like the trending image of pwNPD. Because now they only see me through the lens of stigma and misinformation.

Hearing the same stigma come up literally wherever I go. Clubs. Meetings. Any online space. At the bus stop. At the mall. At a restaurant. At work. Buzzword of the year that everyone loooves loudly throwing around with their friends or over the phone. Feels awesome for me, makes my day so much better/s

I could go on for a long time, but I'm scared no one will read/rb this if it gets too much longer.

So please. Stop using the word "narcissist" as a synonym for "abusive".

Stop bringing up people you hate who you believe to have NPD because of a stigmatizing article full of misinformation whenever someone with actual NPD opens their mouth. (Imagine if people did that with any other disorder! "Hey, I'm autistic." "Oh... my old roommate screamed at me whenever I made noise around him, and didn't understand my needs, which seems like sensory overload and difficulty with social cues. He was definitely autistic. But as long as you're self-aware and always restraining your innate desire to be an abusive asshole, you're okay I guess, maybe." ...See how offensive and ignorant that is?)

Stop preventing healthcare for people with a disorder just because it's trendy to use us as a scapegoat.

If you got this far, thank you for reading, and please share this if you can. Further reading is under the cut.

NPD Criteria, re-written by someone who actually has NPD

Stigma in the DSM

Common perception of the DSM criteria vs how someone may actually experience them (Keep in mind that this is the way I personally experience these symptoms, and that presentation can vary a lot between individuals)

"Idk, the stigma is right though, because I've known a lot of people with NPD who are jerks, so I'm going to continue to support the blockage of treatment for this condition."

(All of these were written by me, because I didn't want to link to other folks' posts without permission, but if you want to add your own links in reblogs or replies please feel free <3)

[casscainmainly]

The Batkids' deaths vary in severity/importance, but they all serve to shake some core part of their superhero identity. Sometimes it affirms their existing identity (Cass' first death), or it spurs them to discover more about what their current identity means (Damian, Tim); sometimes, however, it severs them from who they were. Dick's transition into Agent 37 and Cass' turn to evil both stem from very temporary deaths, where the death is not as important as what happens after. It's not the pill or Cass' dip into the Pit that actually changes them, but the boundary these events create between their old and new selves.

Which is why Jason's death is different from all of the above. Beyond being (at one point) permanent, his loss of self is irreversible. Dick and Cass claw their way back to their identities pre-death, Nightwing and Batgirl respectively; Jason does not. He cannot, because he doesn't fit Robin anymore, and Robin doesn't fit him. It's not only that his sense of self is shaped by his death, but that it was, in many ways, destroyed by it.

But it's ultimately Stephanie's death that links death so closely to the loss of a superhero identity. Her death, unlike the others, is instigated by loss - Batman fires her from Robin, which leads to the events of War Games. On her deathbed, Steph asks "was I ever really Robin?", and Bruce replies "of course you were." It's a sweet moment, but it's retroactive. He can only affirm her legacy as Robin in the past tense (it's over; it can't impact anyone anymore). Her non-existent memorial can be read not only as a lack of care for Stephanie Brown the person, but for Stephanie Brown the Robin - Jason's Robin is immortalised, Stephanie's Robin is erased. She dies because she was made Robin, and she was made Robin to die.

I guess my point is that everyone's deaths are linked to how much they are valued within their mantle, not just in a metatextual sense (as in, how much DC editorial liked them) but also in the text itself - deaths either instigate further ownership of their name, or dismantle their sense of self. This is why it's important to recognise Steph's tenure as Robin (both in comics and fandom). Recognising Steph-as-Robin is a direct refutation of her death, a long-delayed memorial.

[kyurochurro]

troubles that come with tribbles...

(aka a good excuse to draw one of my fav episodes and fav crew members while coming back from a heavy week at uni ;D)

[thenxthird]

i started at my new job so that means they r also employed

full sketch page vvv

[cloudabserk]

look i understand if you like marius because this is the evil morally bankrupt vampire story. however when people argue that marius was actually really cool and chill and normal about armand i want to fight them

[cenfitto]

i miss viktor oh my god they robbed us i was nutting in my jorts when this shit came on in season 1 with the fucking framing to pose the arm over his shoulder oh my god. can you imagine up at 3am to watch this on release and here comes a direct foreshadow teaser for your fucking Boy. i am chasing that high for the rest of my life like actually. and then they DONT EVEN FOLLOW THROUGH ON IT. WHY IS HE MAGIC. FUCK. WE COULD HAVE HAD IT ALL

[beargregor]

wait i'm curious, what makes you say that gregor doesn't like everyone else (if i read that post right)? just curious since i've never seen anyone else say that

i don't necessarily think gregor dislikes everyone else at lcb but i do think that gregor is an incredibly petty person that isn't nearly as close to the rest of the sinners and even outright dislikes some of them cough cough rodya cough cough which a lot of people just Refuse to see because he's as much of a doormat as he is. there's several examples i could get into to try and prove my point however i'll just focus on what i personally think to be the biggest ones.

additionally, this is going to be kind of long, so i'm adding a read more. read more! read it. sorry for being so wordy. i have several diseases.

Pt1. gregor is the type to try and get along at least decently with everyone, especially if he gets a good first impression from them.

this is less a point in favor of gregor's distance w/ the rest of the sinners and more just a contributing factor to it. once again there's several examples i could point to here but i think the most in your face one happened in canto I with yuri, as several people have pointed out. even before gregor comes clean about growing attached to her as quickly as he did because she reminds him of his sister, we get this interaction.

i'll go ahead and make the disclaimer now that i don't necessarily think gregor is the most reliable of narrators, especially when it comes to his feelings and interactions with most people, but from the way he acts when the topic of yuri comes up (and the way we still see him act even all the way up to c7, nearly a whole year after yuri's death) i don't see reason to question his sentiment here. gregor immediately got that aya and yuri were close, potentially even taking note of their traded belts, and went out of his way to get something nice for yuri despite hardly knowing her.

i feel like a lot of people have forgotten as much, especially since it's been so long since c1, but gregor actually spent a good bit of season 1 doing the exact same thing with the other sinners! gregor reads a connection between him and ishmael pretty quickly despite getting off to a rocky start

mostly because gregor can tell that ishmael is pretty sardonic in a very similar way to him. there's been multiple instances where ishmael and gregor have essentially expressed the same sentiment at different moments, most notably gregor's little argument after ishmael got shot with a decay ampule in c4

and ishmael's response to pilot talking about self-sacrifice in c5

i could go ahead and pull up more examples, but in general pm has gone out of their way to show us that gregor and ishmael are pretty similar, so it makes sense for gregor to assume that they're friends, right?

this will be pushpin 1. keep note of this for Later.

ishmael's only the first sinner we see gregor trying to do this with in s1, we also see him try it out with heathcliff, sinclair, and ryoushuu

he's tried to get along with charon, being one of very few sinners that we've seen actually try to establish a connection with her at all

even rodya, despite my insistence that gregor doesn't like her nearly as much as the fandom thinks he does

all of these seem pretty fine and dandy, right? sure it frequently leans towards self-degradation, micromanaging, and commiseration, but gregor can at least be pretty chummy with most of the sinners, can't he?

Pt2. hell's chicken was more than just comic relief guys please

i'm fully aware that this is quite the hot take, but i think hell's chicken deserves a lot more credit for character writing than the fandom gives it. hell's chicken gave us foreshadowing for several events, such as the donqui bloodfiend reveal

heathcliff's distortion in c6 (as well as hong lu's highly speculated distortion at some point in the future)

and ryoushuu and sinclair's continued connection by making him the odd one out on her team

which, hey! that implies something about gregor's odd one out, don quixote, too, doesn't it? yes. yes it does. that's pushpin 2. keep note of that for later.

speaking of pushpins, hey! that's pushpin 1!

splitting into teams is one of the major events in hell's chicken, and most of the sinner's choices are either motivated by very little, backhanded, or motivated primarily by not wanting to be on the opposite leader's side. i didn't include all of the picks, just because i feel like including most of them already gets this across, but i think gregor took one major thing from this: most of the sinners, when push comes to shove, will only side with gregor when they refuse to or can't take his opponent's side.

now, don't get me wrong, i'm fully aware that this is primarily intended to be comedic relief, but when gregor is being described as having his trust broken by ishmael or nearly crying because no one on his team properly sided with him for him, i feel like it's pretty fair to read into this.

something that i think is pretty important to remember in conjunction with this is that we know that gregor is the type to hold a grudge, both from his general attitude towards the G corp soldiers in c1 as well as his continued distaste for vergilius

even beyond the splitting into teams of hell's chicken, the sinners have given gregor plenty of reasons to feel bitter. i feel like this is something people have noticed but haven't really put a finger on, but it's kind of wild just how often the rest of the sinners make gregor the butt of the joke

and sure, we could argue that a fair few of these aren't really made with any ill intent. quite a bit of it could have been meant as harmless teasing, but with gregor being more sensitive than most, it coming from nearly all sides, and as often as it does? yeah, i think he's prone to taking it a bit personally.

Pt3. yes i do still think gregor was the third most important character in canto VII you guys gotta hear me out okay

of course, all of this leads up to the bit of the story i highlighted, doesn't it? c7? i totally get why people haven't really picked up on all the gregor things i did in it, seeing as they were mostly not *directly* said about him or by him.

personally, i think that gregor's distaste for talking about himself on any serious level and thus leading to him getting sort of "sidelined" narratively (which i take issue with that claim, but still. it's effective for getting what i mean across atm) is supposed to lead players to take a deeper look at the times gregor gets held up to other characters and compare and contrast what's being said about them by the matchup. as i showed earlier with his immediate latching onto ishmael, i think this is something gregor himself is at least partially aware of too.

so, that begs the question, who was gregor compared to in canto VII that makes me think it's one of the most critical pieces in understanding his character?

really, i'd like to avoid getting too lost in the analysis of this canto specifically, since i'd like to do a proper post about this later, but i figure i can bury the lede a little before doing it properly.

c7 features several characters being made to perform in sansón's play, acting out the relevant backstory for this segment of the plot. a lot of these characters have rather direct, degrading reasons for playing the roles they do.

outis, a character with an inflated ego who wants her journey to have a purpose, is made to play an aimlessly wandering villager with a single line.

hong lu and ryoushuu, two characters for whom families and the expectations placed upon them are likely going to play a major role, are made to play bloodfiends.

rodya, a character who resents her lot in life and is constantly shown to be eager to leave her destitution behind her and become someone special, is made to play a helpless villager that's too poor to even offer any money to the hero that saves her.

heathcliff, a character that has spent most of his life getting dehumanized by comparing him to beastly animals, is made to play a literal bear whose sole purpose in the plot is to get beat up and then quickly left by the wayside.

sinclair, a character that has two opposed parties essentially treating him as a macguffin to procure for their side, is made to play the character who was arguably the catalyst for this entire canto, not to mention playing a decently major role in ruina.

our star don quixote is made to play her father, the first kindred, but there's someone by their side the entire time, isn't there? don quixote's dear, steadfastly loyal companion. a character which don quixote has tasked themself with getting to come out of their shell?

hello again, pushpin 2.

gregor has been made to play our unreachable star, sancho. someone had to, of course. you can't really tell a story without it's main character, now can you?

now, i should once again give a disclaimer. i am not trying to say that i think adapting what happens to donqui/sancho in c7 to gregor is the road pm is going to take here, not only would that toe a bit past the line of foreshadowing, but it'd also just amount to rehashing that plotline again, which i don't think would make for a particularly exciting story.

what i DO think is that we can take a lot of the things that are said to either directly be the case for sancho and use them to inform how we see gregor.

and god, does playing sancho have some fucking implications for our favorite ossan archetype.

starting off, the earliest moment we get to see of sancho is quite literally her just waiting for death to take her in a pile of ashes.

which, i should remind everyone, is actually pretty damn close to what happens to gregor's literary counterpart at the end of the metamorphosis. gregor samsa experiences one final breaking point that pushes him over the edge and makes him decide to just wait for starvation to take him.

gregor and sancho both consider themselves to no longer be human, something which sancho goes out of her way to highlight repeatedly throughout the canto and gregor is quick to get defensive on her behalf for when outis starts really tearing into her

sancho spends quite a lot of this story denying herself the joys of community and friendship, despite knowing that, even with the rest of the sinners frequently making jokes at her expense and outright insulting her, they were things that she desperately craved.

and, while this is getting into my "outis is a red herring meant to distract us from gregor's eventual betrayal" theorizing, i also think it's worth noting for this discussion that sancho's fellow kindreds, her family, all seem to be under the impression that she dislikes them and ultimately her departure was an act of betrayal

and that, despite gregor being one of LCB's resident mood makers and attempted conflict de-escalators, one of the sinners that's most prone to making appeals to the bonds they've all forged together, only him and faust remained silent during everyone's speech

so yeah, i think there's quite a lot of little details and hints building up to the reveal that gregor's not quite as fond of everyone as he presents himself to be. i do think a lot of this ultimately comes down to gregor getting in the way of his own happiness, similarly to donqui, particularly because he's been frequently portrayed as something of a self fulfilling prophecy, especially by giving him as many christ allegories as they have by way of priest and garden of thorns. gregor is convinced that the rest of the sinners don't like him because he's not convinced anyone could like him, so he convinces himself that he hates them because why should he care if someone that he hates hates him too?

a lot of this ultimately ties back to my personal interpretation of what happens in the metamorphosis as well as my own theories regarding all the times gregor has made weird callbacks and references to lobcorp and ruina, but yeah. i think about this guy and his deeper characterization a fairly normal amount, i think.

to end this off i'll highlight one of my favorite little "gregor is fucking seething and trying so hard to keep it cool" moments, in the credits CG for c7 we see rodya teasing him by drawing a little horse on his window and actively pointing and laughing at it, which gregor really doesn't seem all too pleased about.

i personally think this ties into the other cruel part of sansón forcing gregor to play rocinante, which is the more literal "he's actually just straight up playing rocinante" side of things. gregor was quite literally made to play something less than human, less than even animal really, as he was reduced to nothing more than the shoes don quixote wore as she got to play the leading role. sansón directly makes jokes about gregor being nothing more than shoes in the play twice, which adds to this reading, i think.

this, imo, really plays into the adaptation of the metamorphosis! i've seen a lot of readings for the book that posit that, despite being the protagonist, gregor samsa can't really be considered the main character due to nearly everything he experiences in it being used to further his family's character development at his expense, which i think fits nicely with limbus gregor seemingly having the most said about him through indirect means by holding him up to other characters. also it's rodya carelessly making fun of His Big Major Insecurities™ again like she did in c1 which i always find fun. rodya i love you but god you're the worst.