#but yeah in terms of platonic interactions i think i find lottie and van the second most interesting dynamic

[novelconcepts]

um how do you feel about van/lottie for the ship game?

Van and Lottie are another ship I don't actually vibe with, but I am so compelled by the platonic arrangement. I love that Van is one of the trusted acolytes for Lottie's accidental cult situation. I love even more that I don't know that Van actually trusts in Lottie, per se; she just looks at this story they're trapped in, looks at how often Lottie gets things right, and understands a broader mind is going to be necessary for survival. I am fascinated by the fact that we get a real sense of what's going on from Van's perspective--with the dream, the bone necklace, her near-death experience, the meditation, etc--but we don't really know what Lottie's thinking in return. Like. Is Lottie relieved that Van's got her back? Is she hoping Van the storyteller will take the weight off her shoulders even before the Antler Queen of it all?

I think mostly I just like the idea that they were decent friends before the crash, and then Van is so eager to have some purpose, some way forward, that she unintentionally helps bend Lottie into a shape she can't hold for long. The look on Van's face when she gets to the compound and looks at Lottie for the first time is one of the most shattering, underrated moments in the show thus far, and I really want to know more about it. It just screams "I believed in you, and that belief broke something in us both, and then you vanished for 25 years" and that is just...devastating.