My BlueSky profile: https://bsky.app/profile/rookmaevsch.bsky.social (Adding this in because this will be where I post updates regarding pages, like if I decide to take a break, or fall ill, ECT.)
It's such a lovely drawing, and a much needed smile. I always struggle to know what to say or how to say it in moments like these, but I'm always so grateful for the wonderful work put into these drawings <3
One day I will have all four hug. Whether Orion likes it or not. It will happen.
Teddy being able to suck the trauma back in for the sake of the groupe... Here you go teddy! You're the born kind leader you deserve to be with your new found broken family
It’s fascinating that the one who arguably has needed the most assistance is now the one who is grounding the other expies. They called out Stringbean for their insistence on saving others at the cost of themselves, and they’re now trying to keep Biscuit from spiraling from pressure from Stringbean and for being stuck helping Teddy. The development of these critters is real af
Aaaaa I that Teddy is forced to be the adult, especially after he's just been attacked, threatened, dragged through the mud. I don't see how Orion is going to come out of this as anything other than a rude, arrogant, petulant brat
The thing I'm hopeing for is that stringbean doesn't take orion too far or that they come back to teddy getting biscuit to laugh or smile again despite the busted nose
And that's okay. Despite all your flaws, you're perfect just the way you are. You can achieve anything through the power of friendship and hopefulness!
Upside: I was awake at the time this was posted for once! Teddy is...way too relatable, as always. Im both excited and concerned, because sucking up the trauma for too long for the sake of others is how I ended up in therapy! (Or one of the big three reasons anyway)
Downside: I haven't slept all night. I'm going to miss my daily Hopefullness page for the day because I already saw it :(
Phenomenal as always, thank you for this gem of a comic. I will await their group hug with much impatience, even if I can't be a part of it
Orion and Teddy bonding exercise: the get along shirt
I love seeing Teddy’s character growing, understanding their flaws and working past it. The demon in the corner is a trick of the mind, it can only hurt you if you let it in.
So my friend who introduced me to c:u's name is teddy
And he's a similar build to teddy too.
Seeing him act like this is so like them too.
It's crazy coincidence but gosh it's awesome. This comic is so good
Funny enough teddy's sona is an otter tho. Heh
I was wondering what was gonna happen to these two poor guys left here all alone both crying, and OF COURSE my GOAT Teddy saves the day!! I LOVE YOU TEDDY!!
AND FINALLY BISCUITS IS GETTING HIS MUCH DESERVED (semi, for now) HUG!!
(love how you made the shoulder Teddy's hand's on immediately whiten, and the eye that's looking at Teddy <3)
God Teddy is so sweet. Even with all he's struggling with and pain he's in he still fights through it to comfort biscuit <3. I hope they get some more opportunities to bond after Orion gets his talking to.
All in all Im loving this comic. The character work is fantastic and they all ooze with personality, especially Orion and Teddy. I hope we get to see some more focus on biscuit tho (after the fight between teddy/Orion is resolved). They are so kind and goodnatured, but so far their character has been defined by their relations/influences from others. It would be cool to see biscuit start to define themselves a little more, or show other sides of their character.
Also, Ive started getting paranoid that someone is going to get hurt. With all the darker themes and the setting being what it is a small fight could very easily spiral into an accident that leaves stringbean, Orion, Teddy, or even biscuit injured or worse... I hope im wrong but I have a feeling this is where things are heading.
Sweet trauma spiral breakage, oh my gods! I am so glad my theories were so wrong here!
Teddy being emotionally aware to manage to shove away the bad memories here is definitely a life saver. Poor biscuit is in so much need of comfort rn...
i havent heard a "pinched nose" voice in such a long time but immediately remembered what it sounds like after seeing teddy being a frigin goober what a trip man : D
What if teddy’s handler turns on his chip and orders him around again. Imaging the others having to watch him force himself to eat a corpse or else one of their chips will explode.
thatd be so fucking horrifying and so completely unexpected and out of left field because everyone remembers the titular "user has disconnected" but no one ever thought to think how fucking scary itd be to hear "user has reconnected"
Exactly. Worse if the handlsrs can talk to the expies and teddy just hears their voice in their head. For extra torment they might order him to not tell the others or else making all his weird actions unexplained
I really like how teddy stopped the trauma from getting to him too. Despite being called fragile back then, in this situation he's the one who stood strong
Also the description of this post makes me really... I guess you could say... hopeful (ness) :3
Honestly, thank y’all for these. The suffering of your characters makes my own problems look small, but your ability to write & demonstrate how internal turmoil can be healed is an inspiration. And I always feel lighter after having read it. :’)
So Teddy is recalling the insults they received from the scientists, taking on that judgement and directing it at Biscuit's weakness (in a "what are you crying for, you're not even hurt" kind of way I guess) and then deciding that's stupid and putting the thought away? I think that puts them in the lead in terms of getting over their life with The Company. Obviously it's not a contest, everyone works through things at their own pace. But if it were a contest Teddy would be winning right now.
I interpret it more as self reflection, realzing he is no longer in the labs. Completing the memory before the memory completes itself, and therefore taking control of the hallucination. Then, he realizes that everyone sent to the caves has had similar trauma since they are all from the labs, based off the handler's dialog.
Though, it is interesting the possibility that teddy is projecting his trauma onto biscuit.
The way I see it the red dialogue makes more sense as being about Biscuit. The opening about being reduced to whimpering came in right as Biscuit stopped being able to speak because of being too emotional, and the line about being disciplined without needing "the rod" doesn't make sense for Teddy, who HAS been physically hurt, nor does the jab about being fragile because they're taking it quite well now that the initial shock has passed.
The "we're all a bit broken down here" would then be an empathetic reminder that it's an experience they've got in common and Teddy thinking about how they would like to have been treated in moments of weakness back then.
The red dialogue is both used for biscuit and the handler. Teddy has had these episodes before, were he isnt able to perceive sounds around him, hence the squiggly text from biscuit.
Also, Yes, teddy has been physically hurt by the baton. For that reason, he knows just how much it hurts. His handler is likely using that fear against him to gain a leverage of control. I believe that Teddy, after being around stringbean for awhile, is starting to realize that he cant be hurt by his handler anymore. Therefore, I think Teddy's thoughts were the intermediary point between in the episode and in reality.
Although, I cant seem to quite recall other sawians being so clearly visible during the episodes (of any character).
A possibility is that the sobbing from biscuit may have triggered the 'whining' part of the episode, as teddy's handler appears to have often punished Teddy for crying. No matter what it is, Biscuit is clearly plays some important part of teddy's episode, as bluewolf seems to be emphasizing on their presence.
Side note: I think my whole analogy of "teddy completing the memory before the memory completes itself" i said previously was a poor analogy. Doesnt really make sense looking back on it (guess that is what 2 hours of sleep does to you lol).
TLDR: handler and biscuit both have red text (might be coincidence?). Teddy naturally fears the baton as he knows its capability. During episodes, the affected sawian usually cannot perceive sounds around them (squiggly text).
Edit 1: maybe i should learn how to summarize my thoughts. The mobile text editor thing reddit has does NOT give a good sense of scale for messages.
Teddy officially become my goat. Everyone is a little bit broken but Teddy decided that it's okay to be a little bit broken as long as everybody is there for each other
I just had a thought after coming back to read this panel again:
If Teddy is successful on cheering up Biscuit and Stringbean finishes their lecture with Orion. Then the two will come back, mainly Orion, to see Biscuit is smiling and giggling (hopefully) thanks to the expie they hate passionately.
...Orion gonna have a bad time from both ends if this happens, oh dear...
I hope Orion lets Stringbean in and I hope Stringbean eases up (but admittedly it might be out of character so probably not a good chance).
The best way to get through a bad traumatic episode, a little bit of humor and a good friend to distract you from it :3
>w< Fashionably late enough(again) that I’m reliving the same excitement and anxiety from seeing you mention my posting of that piece ~w~ and I am truly happy that you liked it because I’m still going strong with riding that high for the last three days seemingly dumbass grin and happy thoughts skipping along ;]
YEAHHHHH HUGGGGS >:3 you can never go wrong with a good hug between these lovely fluffy boios, especially when they need or want one 0^0 “Tough Shit”(Always included :333)
400
u/Natural-Dentist1567 Living mine sweeper 23d ago
Omg teddy is so precious :)