#you can see the hurt there

[handfulofmuses]

“Trust me.“

“I did trust you.“

What I like about that scene is that you can tell both of them are hurting here.

Max is not mad, he is disappointed. His reaction is more quiet than his usual outbursts who pass quickly, most of them are short lived. In that moment, the old meerkat is silently staring at his nephew, waiting for Timon to explain himself with crossed arms. No accusing him of something, he just waits until Timon starts and until he finishes.

Once he is finished? Max does not respond immediately, there is still a bit of a pause.

When he does speak, there is a sad, soft, more genuine tone in it. Max means it. He admits that he trusted his nephew, but it was an unspoken expectation on his part.

Timon didn’t know that, especially not with the reaction Max had over the suggestion in the first place.

One thing to note about the old meerkat is that more than often, his anxiety gets the better of him, expecting the worst outcome. Max in general is acting on raw emotions. His paranoia is controlling both his actions and responses. He speaks without a filter and doesn’t realize what he says might upset others or consider the consequences for it. A good example would be when Timon’s mother asks him if he has seen Timon and he just cheerfully replies that he did not. It might come across as him being relieved that his nephew is not around, but it’s more about the injuries that come from Timon’s shenanigans rather than Timon himself.

By allowing Timon to stand guard over all of them, Max is putting his trust in him, but it remains unspoken. In general, Max is someone who shows his trust and care through his actions rather than words. But when he goes deep, he means it. Max believed in Timon to manage the situation.

I think a small part also realized that it was something that was also on him, considering he is averting his eyes. A part of him also feels responsible for what happened.

Timon is hurting as well. He likely expected another outburst, so what happens here hits a lot more differently for him, especially since his uncle is unusually quiet in that moment. Max does not need to say he is disappointed - Timon receives the message by the words spoken, the tone and the fact that there is no further scolding. Just his uncle looking away from him. No further lecture, no outbursts - and that feels much worse for him because now he feels like he failed his uncle and everyone else. He feels like he has lost his uncle‘s trust completely. Not only does he feel like he has he failed his uncle, but a small part of himself.

It says a lot that he leaves right after that incident. Aside from the general feeling of not fitting in, being an outcast among his own colony, he also had to likely deal with the guilt of almost getting his uncle killed. We see his reaction when he realizes his uncle is missing, so if the hyenas had succeeded in ending him that would have likely put a heavy conscience on him.

Timon needed to figure himself out and that was not possible in a place where he lives as an outcast. I also think Max and Timon needed the space away from each other at this point.

Max likely did not even realize at first that he was gone, busy with doing damage control after the skylight and hyena incident. It was only after a few quiet days without any kind of accidents and seeing his sister down that he realized he was not among them anymore.

I don’t think Max ever meant to make Timon feel the way he did. The problem was that his paranoia for predators got the better of him and wanted to keep everyone safe, including his nephew but unfortunately that led to him neglecting the needs of his nephew. Digging tunnels and making sure to survive turned into a slight obsession. He is entirely restless, always preparing himself for the next disaster. One tap from the mother is already enough to send him into a panic.

Timon never meant any harm with his actions, he was just trying to make life for his colony better. He wanted them to be able to live, not just survive but unfortunately it generally led to a lot of accidents. For Max, it feels like his nephew didn’t take it as seriously as he should have and he tried to get him to understand what’s at stake here the only way he knows how.

His reluctance to follow doesn’t come from that he wants nothing to do with his nephew, it’s because it’s a big, dangerous world out there filled with predators. They don’t even know where to start looking, Timon could be anywhere at this point.

But he is out there searching for Timon with the mother, showing that he was willing to take that risk for his nephew. I don’t know if it was because the mother dragged him out of the hole himself, or if he tried to stop her and she managed to convince him, but I would like to think that it turned into a bit of an argument at first where Max has to realize just how much his stress is controlling him.

[akanemnon]

I don't like this place. It's turning everyone edgy and sad.

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MASTERPOST (for the full series / FAQ / reference sheets)

[giantkillerjack]

Today my therapist introduced me to a concept surrounding disability that she called "hLep".

[plain-text version of this post can be found under the cut]

Which is when you - in this case, you are a disabled person - ask someone for help ("I can't drink almond milk so can you get me some whole milk?", or "Please call Donna and ask her to pick up the car for me."), and they say yes, and then they do something that is not what you asked for but is what they think you should have asked for ("I know you said you wanted whole, but I got you skim milk because it's better for you!", "I didn't want to ruin Donna's day by asking her that, so I spent your money on an expensive towing service!") And then if you get annoyed at them for ignoring what you actually asked for - and often it has already happened repeatedly - they get angry because they "were just helping you! You should be grateful!!"

And my therapist pointed out that this is not "help", it's "hLep".

Sure, it looks like help; it kind of sounds like help too; and if it was adjusted just a little bit, it could be help. But it's not help. It's hLep.

At its best, it is patronizing and makes a person feel unvalued and un-listened-to. Always, it reinforces the false idea that disabled people can't be trusted with our own care. And at its worst, it results in disabled people losing our freedom and control over our lives, and also being unable to actually access what we need to survive.

So please, when a disabled person asks you for help on something, don't be a hLeper, be a helper! In other words: they know better than you what they need, and the best way you can honor the trust they've put in you is to believe that!

Also, I want to be very clear that the "getting angry at a disabled person's attempts to point out harmful behavior" part of this makes the whole thing WAY worse. Like it'd be one thing if my roommate bought me some passive-aggressive skim milk, but then they heard what I had to say, and they apologized and did better in the future - our relationship could bounce back from that. But it is very much another thing to have a crying shouting match with someone who is furious at you for saying something they did was ableist. Like, Christ, Jessica, remind me to never ask for your support ever again! You make me feel like if I asked you to call 911, you'd order a pizza because you know I'll feel better once I eat something!!

Edit: crediting my therapist by name with her permission - this term was coined by Nahime Aguirre Mtanous!

Edit again: I made an optional follow-up to this post after seeing the responses. Might help somebody. CW for me frankly talking about how dangerous hLep really is.

Plain-text version:

Today my therapist introduced me to a concept surrounding disability that she called "hLep".

Which is when you - in this case, you are a disabled person - ask someone for help ("I can't drink almond milk so can you get me some whole milk?", or "Please call Donna and ask her to pick up the car for me."), and they say yes, and then they do something that is not what you asked for but is what they think you should have asked for ("I know you said you wanted whole, but I got you skim milk because it's better for you!", "I didn't want to ruin Donna's day by asking her that, so I spent your money on an expensive towing service!") And then if you get annoyed at them for ignoring what you actually asked for - and often it has already happened repeatedly - they get angry because they "were just helping you! You should be grateful!!"

And my therapist pointed out that this is not "help", it's "hLep".

Sure, it looks like help; it kind of sounds like help too; and if it was adjusted just a little bit, it could be help. But it's not help. It's hLep.

At its best, it is patronizing and makes a person feel unvalued and un-listened-to. Always, it reinforces the false idea that disabled people can't be trusted with our own care. And at its worst, it results in disabled people losing our freedom and control over our lives, and also being unable to actually access what we need to survive.

So please, when a disabled person asks you for help on something, don't be a hLeper, be a helper! In other words: they know better than you what they need, and the best way you can honor the trust they've put in you is to believe that!

P.S. Also, I want to be very clear that the "getting angry at a disabled person's attempts to point out harmful behavior" part of this makes the whole thing WAY worse. Like it'd be one thing if my roommate bought me some passive-aggressive skim milk, but then they heard what I had to say, and they apologized and did better in the future - our relationship could bounce back from that. But it is very much another thing to have a crying shouting match with someone who is furious at you for saying something they did was ableist. Like, Christ, Jessica, remind me to never ask for your support ever again! You make me feel like if I asked you to call 911, you'd order a pizza because you know I'll feel better once I eat something!!

Edit: crediting my therapist by name with her permission - this term was coined by Nahime Aguirre Mtanous!

Edit again: I made an optional follow-up to this post after seeing the responses. Might help somebody. CW for me frankly talking about how dangerous hLep really is.

[knightofleo]

Angela Orosco Silent Hill 2

[corpsentry]

pick your battles

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Council of lovefools.

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[lilybug-02]

Patience and responsibility....that's a promise....right?

Part 27 First || Previous || Next

--Full Series--

An exorcism? In my family-friendly Deltarune? It's more likely than you may think. The backgrounds here were very interesting! Much more complex than how I usually do them (especially that computer).

Player POV:

Feral energy.

[the-amazing-hat-trick]

This song uis literally isat

[lupins-hehim-pussy]

[ ID in ALT ]

he giggles

[ibahibut]

💀: Fewer wounds, more kisses from me.

🐦‍⬛: Contract's accepted, mi amor.

Music inspiration: A Little Death by The Neighbourhood

[girlboyburger]

tears of the cowdom 💧

[valtsv]

when a character says "please don't do this" and they're begging: 🥺

when a character says "please don't do this" as a warning:

[tea-n-ink]

Homesickness is where the heart is

[intotheelliwoods]

FUSION FIGHT FUSION FIGHT! <- <-

@dianagj-art The fusions are fighting!!! Because hey funny story, their first meeting does not go to well 😌It was SUPPOSED to be a friendly spar.. more details in my tags vvv

[wistfulwatcher]

hotch + growing somber as he realizes emily is leaving

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Good morning, Sleepyhead.

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