#flug is pushed down and devalued a lot by the people in his life

[sadsack-phd-a]

The whole development of Flug and Penumbra’s friendship is just really cute to me tbh

Like it’s very understated--as in it only ever really comes up in Penumbra’s Instagram. You see Flug pop in periodically in her posts, but the first post is (presumably) the second time they’re meeting. Flug is clearly frazzled, tense, and clearly didn’t expect anybody to want to snap a selfie with him. 

And then for the rest of the time Penumbra’s Instagram is active, you just sort of see them popping in and out of each other’s lives and it’s just... wholesome??? Genuinely sweet???

Cut for me being extremely Normal about mad scientist besties.

Like! They send each other holiday and birthday gifts!

Flug tries to help her find a cure for her condition!

AUGUST 23RD CALL B-DAY BOY

PENUMBRA KEEPING TABS ON FLUG’S HOBBY OF BUILDING MODEL PLANES AND KNOWING ONES HE DOESN’T HAVE

HIS CARD FROM HER BIRTHDAY IS STILL THERE IN THE BACKGROUND

It’s super cute too because Flug sends her a handwritten letter that’s like “Hello Miss Penumbra! I am following up with you as a client! For business reasons! To discuss the business thing! By the way, do you think we’ll be able to meet up at Business Thing this year? It was really nice seeing you at Business Thing!” Meanwhile Penumbra is like “this is my FRIEND this is my BUDDY he’s my LITTLE SCIENCE PAL!”

Flug is there for her in an Emotional Support Zoom Call when the media starts vilifying her!

THEY HAVE A LITTLE GET-TOGETHER TO DO SCIENCE WHILE THEIR BABIES HAVE A PLAYDATE, AND PENUMBRA SHOUTS OUT HOW INSIGHTFUL FLUG IS AND HOW HAPPY SHE WAS TO GET TO HANG OUT WITH HIM

idk, like. While I love the kind of volatile sibling relationship Flug and Demencia have, and the doting parent-child relationship Flug has with 5.0.5., it’s really sweet to see him have an earnest and genuine friendship with a peer who respects him as a fellow professional, likes him for who he is, and genuinely loves spending time with him. It’s a dynamic I don’t fully expect to see explored in the series proper, but I love that they took the time to flesh it out a bit.