#not Lumon

[sageshouldknowbetter]

Lumon as the abusive mother. The building shaped like a uterus. (“I understand you’re unhappy with the life you’ve been given.”) Wire mother/cloth mother in their commercial. “Lumon will always protect and provide.” Creating their employees — waking them splayed out on a table, helpless — to give what Dan Erickson called “a sense of being born to the company.” “Milchick’s a nice man. He can’t always be nice like that.” Controlling realities. (“But eventually, we all have to accept reality. So here it goes.”) Building a chokehold of perfect pastel power based on shame and fear. “I’m afraid you don’t mean it. Say it again.” Covering up inflicted injuries with comedic explanations and little treats… because we don’t want people getting suspicious, do we? “What I just did was something I knew that you could handle and grow from. It was very painful for me. I hope that you’ll let it help you.” Rapidly oscillating between artificial comfort and breaking you into pieces. Lying. Infantilizing. And never dropping the smile. (“I am a person. You are not. I make the decisions. You do not.”)

Outies as the absent father. Only present for a single moment in the act of creation and never relied on again. (“The point is that Mark made a decision.”) Initiate the birth of a human consciousness for convenience — and then refuse to take responsibility for it. (“And that decision was controversial, ethically and socially.”) Portrayed as the ultimate authority and final word, but hold no actual power. Lied to. “I know your innie will be sad to have missed a day.” Fantasized about by the human consciousnesses they’ve created. “I like to think my outie lives on, like, a riverboat.” Trusted as rescuers — powerful. (“Well, we get her to the south stairwell… I’ll go with her… and once we’re out the door, my outie will know what to do.”) But are truly beaten down by life and don’t have all (any) of the answers. (“I don’t know. That’s his problem.”) They can’t BE there, but they can live on both in their creations’ skin and behind their eyes. “You carry the hurt down there too. You just don’t know what it is.” Want to stay away… yet cannot help but be curious. (“Like, you could get married and have kids, and just forget they exist for eight hours every day, for your whole life. That doesn’t mess with your head?” “I think for some people… that’s the point.”)

Innies as children. “Innie” — diminutive of “infant.” (“Forgive me for the harm I have caused this world.”) Petey’s first memories of Lumon coinciding with his fifth birthday. “Then again, you’ve been severed for two years, right? So your innie really is still just a baby.” Referred to with first name and initial… like little kids in a classroom. (“None may atone for my actions but me, and only in me can their stain live on.”) Have no say in how they dress, eat, or live their lives. “You brought him into this world without his permission, based on your own desire for emotional convenience.” Mark in the Grand Central pop-up being made to stand in a corner as punishment. (“I am thankful to have been caught, my fall cut short by those with wizened hands.”) Thought to be pacified with claymation. Cartoon mascots. Little treats. “Are you mad at me?” Not considered human, because if they’re human… how can we sleep at night? (“All I can be is sorry.”) Horrifically abused, but cannot leave their abuser, because they are unable to survive without them. “Well, since this perceptual version of you only exists at Lumon, I mean, quitting would effectively end your life.” Unable to ask the outside world for help. “They’ll all be Kier’s children.” Broken again and again… and always for. Their own. Good. (“And that is all that I am.”)

[sbeana]

coping by drawing them being fun and awesome and normal and silly

[ghostoflyra]

Shoutout to my favorite behind the scenes pic

[forgetlove]

always that one crazy coworker am i right

[enabuns]

Watched Severance for the first time this weekend and I am AFFECTED by it holy cow. What a perfect show my ass drew this in 4 hours I loved it so much okay byeeeee

[ophelias-gh0st]

Imagine scarfing down chinese food like a rabid animal only for jeff bezos to come and sit next to you and insult your dead wife, so you go home and get a lobotomy about it

[adam-scott]

SEVERANCE (2022–) #02.05 ‘Trojan's Horse’

[lovecherryzoldyck]

helly and the woman she tried to kill herself over / helena and the woman whose life is hers for the taking

[sir-se]

my girlfriend introduced me to this show and now it's consumed my every waking thought

[saintclementinearts]

the birth of Helly r

[nellandvoid]

felicia telling irving the only time she ever saw burt scared was when he spent two hours fixing his hair before going to see him,,,,,, irving drawing burt over and over between the times he could see him,,,,,, felicia hugging irving the second she saw him, having lunch with him and telling him stories,,,,,,, irving's getting the "widow that's still loved by the family" treatment by o&d as he rightfully deserved

[rosevrauer]

gemma consistently being depicted in nature with new flowers in bloom as in springtime, her clothes implying warm weather. the town seemingly in a perpetual snowy winter. the mammalians nurturable rearing baby goats in a manufactured green glade, evoking the turn of the seasons and new life. the mammalians nurturable having worked with ms casey. the project mark s. is working on concerning ms casey/gemma being called 'cold harbour'. much to think about

[moggettt]

I used to think it would take a monster to put someone in a place like that office. Especially if the person was himself. But we're not monsters, Mark. Not real ones.

[ghostoflyra]

Love how Severance implies or occasionally explicitly states that meek, rule follower innie!Mark was just as rebellious as Helly when he first came to the severed floor. Like how he knows exactly how the code detectors work down to the graphic details (“when Milchick asks when you swallowed it, I cannot recommend honesty enough”) and his fear when it comes to certain punishments (“do you want Graner to use the bad soap?”). It makes me wonder if Helly’s fire would have burned out too if her outie hadn’t literally told her she wasn’t a person, and if the others hadn’t had their own moments that inspired them to rebel.

Edit: forgot that Mark S mentioned he literally told Petey he was going to kill him the second he woke up lol

[ninthprime]

severance 2x04 spoilers

seth milchick planning this ORTBO like “i’ve bought a large supply of kier branded marshmallows. i’ve ordered the creation of custom made animatronics of every member of MDR to guide their path. i’ve filmed an informational introduction video with musical cues. i’ve brought a riveting story of kier’s youth to warn the team against the dangers of wanton lust. miss huang is playing the theremin, for atmosphere. MDR is going to be so satisfied by this, nothing could possibly go wrong” and by the morning of day 2 he has to murder someone

[rickenhalesbookclub4innies]

browsing design & fine arts careers at LumonIndustries dot com like:

Optics & Design

Mouth Wall Photographer

Caricature Portrait Artist

Stop-Motion Propaganda Cinematographer

Thereminist

Melon Effigy Sculptor

Disorienting Hallway Design Specialist

Defiant Jazz Composer

Blackface Oil Painter

Coveted Egg Bar Curator

Elevator Tritone Tuner

Pixel Art Animator (Celebratory)

Pixel Art Animator (Funerary)

Waffle Party Dance Ensemble