I wonder what it is about Chloe that makes her immune to Pepper’s new conversational move he’s been using? I’m pretty sure it’s worked on every other person so far (except Peachy).
It’s also interesting that she tends to get along with the pre-Many Worlds reveal residents but as soon as Pepper went through that trauma and went from someone who listened and affirmed to using his empathy to manipulate, she sees right through it and is turned off.
It’s more like he’s a bit more curious abt Claire than usual and is making *that* the central focus; when Chloe wants nothing to do with it. It was just bad timing tbh, and Pepper made the wrong call to push when she said no.
Taking things less serious and joking around or being dismissive is a coping/defense mechanism that relates to overthinking. Pepper and Chloe’s previous meeting alludes to this by the topic of discussion focusing heavily on how pepper is thinking too much and its causing his distress, so they instead play a game to distract him.
Joking around and being less serious means you aren’t thinking about whatever is bothering you and you don’t have to confront those issues, it also means if people have a problem with the way you act or what you can say it was just because you were joking around. Pepper trying to relate to her by using a game to talk about her feelings is the opposite of what she normally does. Pepper always listens to people and then tries to use what he learned to help relate to them, while this helps most people from HH open up more and be less alarmed, this has the opposite affect on Chloe, which only builds up her walls more and confronts her.
People who cope this way often are aware that they do it. Pepper trying this Is likes using someones own words against them, or taking someones comfort stuffy and beating them over the head with it. More so than being immune, I think it’s just this specific way of trying to relate to Chloe sets her off.
I don’t think Pepper is intentionally trying to manipulate people, but I agree he is less passive and more inquisitive since the event. You can tell that while he is still trying to be there for Chloe (he clearly genuinely feels bad that he abandoned her) he can’t help but be curious and try to find more about whats going on. Pepper looks like a Golden, or Lab Retriever which are common therapy dogs as well as being very curious in nature. This is part of why he’s such a good listener and helps people through their emotions. They’re are also very curious animals. We see parallels with the other HH members and their animal counterparts as well so there definitely is intention behind what animal each character takes their likeness from.
Yeah I see a lot of myself in Pepper, there are reasons he’s my favorite character. I’ve learned to only be like this when friends start talking to me (which certain ones do with some regularity) but I think I still press more than would be wise sometimes. I try not to push when someone doesn’t want to talk about something but I still really want to know even if I drop the subject. Because I don’t know how to help or what words to say if I don’t have the full picture. But I really want to help. Like, really really. It’s a strong urge.
So no, that’s not intentional manipulation, though it can be manipulative. For example, I can ask what might be considered leading questions to drive towards a point I’m trying to make and get my friend to realize on their own. I can be trying to draw out more information they didn’t readily give, whether out of not wanting to or not having thought that deeply about it. It isn’t dissimilar from how I might treat an argument I’m trying to de-escalate while getting others to see my side of it.
I’ve been on both sides of this scenario; as Chloe I felt pissed off and annoyed that someone wanted to dig up my trauma because all I could relate to it was pain. All it did was hurt and people wanting to hear about it just felt like they wanted something to gawk at or mock. How could they understand how I felt? They should mind their own damn business, and fuck off, because they can’t help with my problems.
Many years of therapy later, and I’ve grown and healed a lot. I relate more to Pepper now because I look at people that are struggling with the same issues that once crippled me emotionally. I can’t know all of their experiences because I’m not them, but I see their behavior, the self-hatred, and the way they respond and see a reflection of the old me. And I want to help, I can’t fight the desire to help.
I also know from experience that I can’t solve anyone else’s problems. For years I sought help, wondering why I couldn’t be fixed, until I learned that I had to be the one that pushed myself for change. No one could do it for me. But the thing that did help me was having people who would listen to me, that would let me talk about my problems without judgement or criticism, in a way that allowed me to explore and process my own emotions. It was a number of ‘Pepper’ types that helped me reach a point where I was able to fight against the problems no one else could.
i love pepper. think there is a lot of empathy in the comments for all the other characters when they do hurtful or self destructive things, but often not for him as of late. I think its important to remember, that ALL the characters are supposed to be representative of ways trauma effects a persons behaviors, actions, and personality. pepper desperately needs to fix others, and be in control. those things cause him to often disregard boundaries and feelings, same as Clair… but Achilles also does the same. Mars and Chloe often disregard the feelings of others. they are all doing things to harm one another… pepper cares about his friends, and he is worried that something horrible is going on behind the scenes. it makes sense that his thought process would be that those things wont really matter if something bad happens to everyone. not that what he is doing is GOOD. but it comes from a place of, attempted logical thinking. im very interested in seeing how far he can fall, and what he will have to do and how he will have to change to be able to crawl out of the grave he is digging for himself <3
What about “you don’t have to let me in your head”, Pepper? You’re really reneging on that right now.
…Just tell her you saw something you weren’t meant to and now you’re scared and confused.
What’s sad about this is, I GET where Pepper’s head is at. He’s scared of Clair because, from the whole revelation about the different layers and Ares’s words painting her as an oppressor, he probably thinks that Clair will do something bad to them if they get wise to the truth, and that she doesn’t REALLY care about their well-being outside of them being tools to help Chloe. And TBPH, with the way Clair acts, it’s not a completely unreasonable conclusion to jump to. That said, I think she DOES care, and Pepper is looking at her as being malevolent/menacing, when she’s at worst condescending and a control freak (which he’s honestly growing to mirror more and more). And because of that, he’s unintentionally hurting his friends because he’s too focused on figuring out the mystery and regaining a sense of security about his life and the world in general.
Chloe must feel really lonely after this. She never vibed with Achilles, and Peachy was made to annoy her, so when Mars got preoccupied first with making money and then with Achilles, Pepper was her only company and his house probably felt like a sanctuary. Now that she can’t feel at ease with him any more because of his constant prying, she is alone again like in the start of the comic, but this time it must feel very bitter.
What makes it tragic is that Pepper is trying his best to help her and everyone else, but he can’t let her know that since the situation feels extremely dangerous and unstable to him, so he just comes off as intrusive and manipulative. Right now he can’t be the company Chloe needs, and Chloe can’t be the help he needs either.
its rlly sad seeing ther relationship crumble because chloe trusts him enough to stay over at his place and to confide in him just a little bit, while pepper was always very empathic and would listen to her and not pry as clair often did
the way he treated her in this update probably reminded her of another certain someone who would push and pry into her life
but yknow ofc i understand peopers side of things, he wants to help chloe but at the same time, i feel that he has a sort of ulterior motive of asking chloe about what her relationship with clair because finding out the deeper context to chloe n clairs relationship is the key to finding out what really is going on in halohead
HOWEVER chloe can sniff this out somehow (without knowing about what pepper went through and his deeper motivations) and chooses to leave, which is understandable because if someone used your words to get something out of you, saying that “well you DID SAY that you think everything is a joketo you right?” is just terribly hurtful…
i wanna spray pepper with a hose until he stops trying to be everybody’s therapist
Why spray Pepper when you can pepper spray?
(I don’t dislike him that much I just wanted to make the joke:pepper-scruffy:)
Yeah, Pepper pushed too much…
I wonder what it is about Chloe that makes her immune to Pepper’s new conversational move he’s been using? I’m pretty sure it’s worked on every other person so far (except Peachy).
It’s also interesting that she tends to get along with the pre-Many Worlds reveal residents but as soon as Pepper went through that trauma and went from someone who listened and affirmed to using his empathy to manipulate, she sees right through it and is turned off.
It’s more like he’s a bit more curious abt Claire than usual and is making *that* the central focus; when Chloe wants nothing to do with it. It was just bad timing tbh, and Pepper made the wrong call to push when she said no.
Taking things less serious and joking around or being dismissive is a coping/defense mechanism that relates to overthinking. Pepper and Chloe’s previous meeting alludes to this by the topic of discussion focusing heavily on how pepper is thinking too much and its causing his distress, so they instead play a game to distract him.
Joking around and being less serious means you aren’t thinking about whatever is bothering you and you don’t have to confront those issues, it also means if people have a problem with the way you act or what you can say it was just because you were joking around. Pepper trying to relate to her by using a game to talk about her feelings is the opposite of what she normally does. Pepper always listens to people and then tries to use what he learned to help relate to them, while this helps most people from HH open up more and be less alarmed, this has the opposite affect on Chloe, which only builds up her walls more and confronts her.
People who cope this way often are aware that they do it. Pepper trying this Is likes using someones own words against them, or taking someones comfort stuffy and beating them over the head with it. More so than being immune, I think it’s just this specific way of trying to relate to Chloe sets her off.
I don’t think Pepper is intentionally trying to manipulate people, but I agree he is less passive and more inquisitive since the event. You can tell that while he is still trying to be there for Chloe (he clearly genuinely feels bad that he abandoned her) he can’t help but be curious and try to find more about whats going on. Pepper looks like a Golden, or Lab Retriever which are common therapy dogs as well as being very curious in nature. This is part of why he’s such a good listener and helps people through their emotions. They’re are also very curious animals. We see parallels with the other HH members and their animal counterparts as well so there definitely is intention behind what animal each character takes their likeness from.
Yeah I see a lot of myself in Pepper, there are reasons he’s my favorite character. I’ve learned to only be like this when friends start talking to me (which certain ones do with some regularity) but I think I still press more than would be wise sometimes. I try not to push when someone doesn’t want to talk about something but I still really want to know even if I drop the subject. Because I don’t know how to help or what words to say if I don’t have the full picture. But I really want to help. Like, really really. It’s a strong urge.
So no, that’s not intentional manipulation, though it can be manipulative. For example, I can ask what might be considered leading questions to drive towards a point I’m trying to make and get my friend to realize on their own. I can be trying to draw out more information they didn’t readily give, whether out of not wanting to or not having thought that deeply about it. It isn’t dissimilar from how I might treat an argument I’m trying to de-escalate while getting others to see my side of it.
how did he fuck that up
fucking thank god she isnt buying his bullshit
The second hand embarrassment i got from this update…. phew
I’ve been on both sides of this scenario; as Chloe I felt pissed off and annoyed that someone wanted to dig up my trauma because all I could relate to it was pain. All it did was hurt and people wanting to hear about it just felt like they wanted something to gawk at or mock. How could they understand how I felt? They should mind their own damn business, and fuck off, because they can’t help with my problems.
Many years of therapy later, and I’ve grown and healed a lot. I relate more to Pepper now because I look at people that are struggling with the same issues that once crippled me emotionally. I can’t know all of their experiences because I’m not them, but I see their behavior, the self-hatred, and the way they respond and see a reflection of the old me. And I want to help, I can’t fight the desire to help.
I also know from experience that I can’t solve anyone else’s problems. For years I sought help, wondering why I couldn’t be fixed, until I learned that I had to be the one that pushed myself for change. No one could do it for me. But the thing that did help me was having people who would listen to me, that would let me talk about my problems without judgement or criticism, in a way that allowed me to explore and process my own emotions. It was a number of ‘Pepper’ types that helped me reach a point where I was able to fight against the problems no one else could.
You don’t know me.
:chloe-bored:
FOOL! you are incapable of knowing me!:peachy-aaa:
BINGO 💯🍑
i love pepper. think there is a lot of empathy in the comments for all the other characters when they do hurtful or self destructive things, but often not for him as of late. I think its important to remember, that ALL the characters are supposed to be representative of ways trauma effects a persons behaviors, actions, and personality. pepper desperately needs to fix others, and be in control. those things cause him to often disregard boundaries and feelings, same as Clair… but Achilles also does the same. Mars and Chloe often disregard the feelings of others. they are all doing things to harm one another… pepper cares about his friends, and he is worried that something horrible is going on behind the scenes. it makes sense that his thought process would be that those things wont really matter if something bad happens to everyone. not that what he is doing is GOOD. but it comes from a place of, attempted logical thinking. im very interested in seeing how far he can fall, and what he will have to do and how he will have to change to be able to crawl out of the grave he is digging for himself <3
What about “you don’t have to let me in your head”, Pepper? You’re really reneging on that right now.
…Just tell her you saw something you weren’t meant to and now you’re scared and confused.
What’s sad about this is, I GET where Pepper’s head is at. He’s scared of Clair because, from the whole revelation about the different layers and Ares’s words painting her as an oppressor, he probably thinks that Clair will do something bad to them if they get wise to the truth, and that she doesn’t REALLY care about their well-being outside of them being tools to help Chloe. And TBPH, with the way Clair acts, it’s not a completely unreasonable conclusion to jump to. That said, I think she DOES care, and Pepper is looking at her as being malevolent/menacing, when she’s at worst condescending and a control freak (which he’s honestly growing to mirror more and more). And because of that, he’s unintentionally hurting his friends because he’s too focused on figuring out the mystery and regaining a sense of security about his life and the world in general.
“This could be a game” come on man she’s not a toddler
Chloe must feel really lonely after this. She never vibed with Achilles, and Peachy was made to annoy her, so when Mars got preoccupied first with making money and then with Achilles, Pepper was her only company and his house probably felt like a sanctuary. Now that she can’t feel at ease with him any more because of his constant prying, she is alone again like in the start of the comic, but this time it must feel very bitter.
What makes it tragic is that Pepper is trying his best to help her and everyone else, but he can’t let her know that since the situation feels extremely dangerous and unstable to him, so he just comes off as intrusive and manipulative. Right now he can’t be the company Chloe needs, and Chloe can’t be the help he needs either.
its rlly sad seeing ther relationship crumble because chloe trusts him enough to stay over at his place and to confide in him just a little bit, while pepper was always very empathic and would listen to her and not pry as clair often did
the way he treated her in this update probably reminded her of another certain someone who would push and pry into her life
but yknow ofc i understand peopers side of things, he wants to help chloe but at the same time, i feel that he has a sort of ulterior motive of asking chloe about what her relationship with clair because finding out the deeper context to chloe n clairs relationship is the key to finding out what really is going on in halohead
HOWEVER chloe can sniff this out somehow (without knowing about what pepper went through and his deeper motivations) and chooses to leave, which is understandable because if someone used your words to get something out of you, saying that “well you DID SAY that you think everything is a joketo you right?” is just terribly hurtful…
i just feel bad. for both of them.
the stars aligned in the worst way possible