The raggedness of Pepper’s face in the last panel… he’s under too much stress to even hide things from himself.
As I work on myself, I’m constantly amazed by how naturally and thoughtlessly I try to manipulate people, in certain circumstances. And how easy it is for me to just not see that’s what I’m doing, until I get desperate enough.
Sometimes when the local pervert comes over for screaming time, I start shaking him and screaming, too. I make sure to put a knife on the floor to keep things exciting.
Seriously, though, he also promised Ares to come back. He’s broken his promise to think about what she said, but he can still come back like he said he would. If Pepper was being More Normal and not being openly self-interested here, he would say that instead. A lot of comments talk about how he’s manipulative, but like, he kind of isn’t? Not successfully, at least.
Pepper’s not at his best, so even selfish manipulations are gonna be of lower quality.
You’d have to wonder if Achilles cares about breaking the promise, though. If he cares about what he’s ‘supposed’ to do insofar that it gives him certainty, then if that certainty is lost it’s no longer important that he’s supposed to keep his promise and return to Ares.
Even more seriously, this is a key moment, right? Achilles has endorsed a selfish ethos that we’ve been debating the nature of these past few weeks. Pepper just interrupted Achilles’ freakout with a clear signal that Pepper himself is suffering and has been Not Okay since that night, which he has until this moment hidden the extent of from the other residents, save partially Mars. Is Achilles going to put his needs aside for Pepper and Think About It to help him in this moment, or are they just going to scream at each other? Lynchpin for Achilles’ arc and their relationship in general, maybe.
“if it stops making sense then why am i doing anything?” is the type of thought that immediately preceded me having a serious mental breakdown when i realized the religion i was raised in was actually just nothing but lies
different situation from our dear kitty cat but it does feel like a similar kind of complete upheaval of foundational beliefs, where everything you thought you knew was true starts crumbling under your feet
Two for one special on revelations that totally change how a character’s actions can be interpreted…
Was Pepper going along with this the whole time because he wanted to bait Achilles into going back down the stairs? That’s why he was keeping the peace!??
That’s insane. Batty, this is fucking insane. Webcomic of all time
In the past he’s been welcoming to threats etc from basically anyone except Peachy. Like Clair threatening to flay him and Chloe, he immediately said he’d take Chloe’s turn if she didn’t want it. I can’t remember if he liked it when Chloe stepped on his tail but I doubt he hated it. He also enjoyed hurting himself on the rose bushes.
also i LOVE how for all this time peppers been so “i hate your kink thing. when are you going to stop grossing me out and have a Normal Romance like im certain you both want” and then “achilles maybe lets Not fight the paradigm shift that might genuinely be good for you?” but as soon as achilles is like then maybe i Wont go back down the stairs when i run out of cash then its an immediate change back attack because it would be really inconvenient for pepper if achilles wasnt there to be his emotional support cat on the scary stair journey………
pepper youre So close to just asking this man for help. you can do it. he wont think any less of you for it. achilles is one of the safest people around for you to open up about your feelings to. waves pom poms
eating sardines while reading this one. not what i expected but it makes perfect sense one he saw a chance and fucking Took it. he Needs to know. and yknow what? im all for it. bonding time
I think I’m confused about what achilles is saying here. if what stops working, giving money to mars? is he afraid of their status quo changing or not? is he afraid of paying her not working anymore? like on the one hand he doesn’t seem to want her to just be doing it for the money. on the other hand, he DOES seem to want it to be that. “am I supposed to just stop when I run out” like yeah, ideally yes? is paying mars like an assurance that their situation will keep going? a tight business contract based on the value of her work? but oh wait, is what he’s saying not making sense the whole point? like pepper does also literally say it doesn’t many any sense.
chopping continues, except this time pepper’s feeling are reaching a head. it’s nice to see pepper finally open up to someone 🙂
Mars is self-conscious about enjoying her time with Achilles, and how she’s actually bonding with him, so she let Chloe believe she’s only uh… gratifying Achilles for the money, because she’s afraid that Chloe will shun her if she admits to the truth.
And Chloe is working very hard to take that at face value, because she really values her friendship with Mars and is afraid that Mars is spending so much time with Achilles because she’s losing interest in Chloe, or worse, falling in love (EWWW!) with him.
And Achilles has noticed that Mars is enjoying smacking him around, and they’ve been having fun together, so even though he’s been paying her, he understands that there’s more to it than a business transaction. Mars could just say no.
So when Chloe started talking to Mars about “only doing it for the money” right in front of Achilles, mostly to reassure herself that was what was going on (and Mars pretended it was because she was afraid of Chloe’s reaction to the truth), Achilles assumed that he’d completely misunderstood the situation… because he usually misunderstands the situation. It’s a reasonable assumption for him.
Then Chloe isn’t listening to him when she has him on the leash, and compounds his distress by answering a different question than the one he asked her.
This hurts and scares Achilles because he feels like A, his emotional/romantic bond with Mars doesn’t exist, and B, he has this whole cracktheory that his purpose in life revolves around making the other residents happy, whether that means helping Clair or getting smacked around by Mars… but if he can’t pay Mars to hit him, Mars apparently won’t, if what he thinks Chloe meant is true.
BOYS TRIP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:peachy-aaa::peachy-aaa::peachy-aaa::peachy-aaa::peachy-aaa::peachy-aaa:
Finally! He’s been putting it off for so long. It’s just like the stairs. He needs someone else to go with him because he’s understandably terrified.
O-oh, this is. This is not where I was expecting it to turn, this could go really well or…
I’m with you there, I didn’t see this coming
The pull of the cosmic horror has finally grown too strong, it seems.
ah boys.. several day walk
surely noone will notice
neither of them are doing too hot right now huh
extremely rare Pepper swear
oh no they both have poo brain :achilles-onedge::pepper-onedge:
Oh thank goodness that’s bell pepper, you would not believe the speed of the double-take on that last panel
:achilles-cutesy: oh
Oh no:achilles-onedge:
Last? i assume you mean the knife on the third panel, unless im missing something?
Right, yeah, the second to last panel, my bad.
This was all much easier when we could pretend that you wanted to go for yourself, because now I have to admit that I want you to go for me.
The raggedness of Pepper’s face in the last panel… he’s under too much stress to even hide things from himself.
As I work on myself, I’m constantly amazed by how naturally and thoughtlessly I try to manipulate people, in certain circumstances. And how easy it is for me to just not see that’s what I’m doing, until I get desperate enough.
Sometimes when the local pervert comes over for screaming time, I start shaking him and screaming, too. I make sure to put a knife on the floor to keep things exciting.
Seriously, though, he also promised Ares to come back. He’s broken his promise to think about what she said, but he can still come back like he said he would. If Pepper was being More Normal and not being openly self-interested here, he would say that instead. A lot of comments talk about how he’s manipulative, but like, he kind of isn’t? Not successfully, at least.
Pepper’s not at his best, so even selfish manipulations are gonna be of lower quality.
You’d have to wonder if Achilles cares about breaking the promise, though. If he cares about what he’s ‘supposed’ to do insofar that it gives him certainty, then if that certainty is lost it’s no longer important that he’s supposed to keep his promise and return to Ares.
Even more seriously, this is a key moment, right? Achilles has endorsed a selfish ethos that we’ve been debating the nature of these past few weeks. Pepper just interrupted Achilles’ freakout with a clear signal that Pepper himself is suffering and has been Not Okay since that night, which he has until this moment hidden the extent of from the other residents, save partially Mars. Is Achilles going to put his needs aside for Pepper and Think About It to help him in this moment, or are they just going to scream at each other? Lynchpin for Achilles’ arc and their relationship in general, maybe.
There’s gotta be some kinda symbolism in Pepper absolutely obliterating a bell pepper while thinking about/eventually talking about The Stairs
And then the red Bell pepper echoing the bloody knife from last time
Is… is Pepper’s hoody mad at me
…yes.
“if it stops making sense then why am i doing anything?” is the type of thought that immediately preceded me having a serious mental breakdown when i realized the religion i was raised in was actually just nothing but lies
different situation from our dear kitty cat but it does feel like a similar kind of complete upheaval of foundational beliefs, where everything you thought you knew was true starts crumbling under your feet
dear gosh you had to use the red bell pepper :mors: my heart fell from its socket for 0.051 seconds
Two for one special on revelations that totally change how a character’s actions can be interpreted…
Was Pepper going along with this the whole time because he wanted to bait Achilles into going back down the stairs? That’s why he was keeping the peace!??
That’s insane. Batty, this is fucking insane. Webcomic of all time
🩸
🍿:batty-long:
Wait…does this do anything for him, or is it just when Mars does it?
In the past he’s been welcoming to threats etc from basically anyone except Peachy. Like Clair threatening to flay him and Chloe, he immediately said he’d take Chloe’s turn if she didn’t want it. I can’t remember if he liked it when Chloe stepped on his tail but I doubt he hated it. He also enjoyed hurting himself on the rose bushes.
“Shoving Is The Answer. The Kitten Must Be Shoved. We Must Go Down The Stairs.”
–Pepper’s Anxieties, apparently
BARK BARK BARK BARK BARK BARK BARK (wild excitement)
also i LOVE how for all this time peppers been so “i hate your kink thing. when are you going to stop grossing me out and have a Normal Romance like im certain you both want” and then “achilles maybe lets Not fight the paradigm shift that might genuinely be good for you?” but as soon as achilles is like then maybe i Wont go back down the stairs when i run out of cash then its an immediate change back attack because it would be really inconvenient for pepper if achilles wasnt there to be his emotional support cat on the scary stair journey………
pepper youre So close to just asking this man for help. you can do it. he wont think any less of you for it. achilles is one of the safest people around for you to open up about your feelings to. waves pom poms
LETSSS FUCKING GO
I don’t think achilles will go with him. he still needs to take his own steps
EEHEHEHEHEHHEHEHEHHEHEHEHEEEHEHEHEHHEHEHEHHEHEEEEHEHEHEHEHHEHEHEHHEHEHHEHHHHHEEEEEEHEHHEHEHEHEHEHEHHEHEHEHEEHEH:peachy-menacing::peachy-menacing::peachy-menacing::peachy-menacing::peachy-menacing::peachy-menacing::peachy-menacing::peachy-menacing::peachy-menacing::peachy-menacing::peachy-menacing::peachy-menacing::peachy-menacing::peachy-menacing:
Man’s and lil man’s all fired up!
Well
not where i expected this to go but color me intrigued i guess
eating sardines while reading this one. not what i expected but it makes perfect sense one he saw a chance and fucking Took it. he Needs to know. and yknow what? im all for it. bonding time
oh my god ares and pepper meeting?????????????
Ooooooh Pepper is actually talking about it!!!!!! :pepper-scruffy::pepper-shoot:
But how deep will they truly go?
Does their journey end once they find Ares, or will the destination take them down to the core?
Who screams louder? Pepper or Achilles?
I think I’m confused about what achilles is saying here. if what stops working, giving money to mars? is he afraid of their status quo changing or not? is he afraid of paying her not working anymore? like on the one hand he doesn’t seem to want her to just be doing it for the money. on the other hand, he DOES seem to want it to be that. “am I supposed to just stop when I run out” like yeah, ideally yes? is paying mars like an assurance that their situation will keep going? a tight business contract based on the value of her work? but oh wait, is what he’s saying not making sense the whole point? like pepper does also literally say it doesn’t many any sense.
chopping continues, except this time pepper’s feeling are reaching a head. it’s nice to see pepper finally open up to someone 🙂
It’s a misunderstanding plot.
Mars is self-conscious about enjoying her time with Achilles, and how she’s actually bonding with him, so she let Chloe believe she’s only uh… gratifying Achilles for the money, because she’s afraid that Chloe will shun her if she admits to the truth.
And Chloe is working very hard to take that at face value, because she really values her friendship with Mars and is afraid that Mars is spending so much time with Achilles because she’s losing interest in Chloe, or worse, falling in love (EWWW!) with him.
And Achilles has noticed that Mars is enjoying smacking him around, and they’ve been having fun together, so even though he’s been paying her, he understands that there’s more to it than a business transaction. Mars could just say no.
So when Chloe started talking to Mars about “only doing it for the money” right in front of Achilles, mostly to reassure herself that was what was going on (and Mars pretended it was because she was afraid of Chloe’s reaction to the truth), Achilles assumed that he’d completely misunderstood the situation… because he usually misunderstands the situation. It’s a reasonable assumption for him.
Then Chloe isn’t listening to him when she has him on the leash, and compounds his distress by answering a different question than the one he asked her.
This hurts and scares Achilles because he feels like A, his emotional/romantic bond with Mars doesn’t exist, and B, he has this whole cracktheory that his purpose in life revolves around making the other residents happy, whether that means helping Clair or getting smacked around by Mars… but if he can’t pay Mars to hit him, Mars apparently won’t, if what he thinks Chloe meant is true.
At least, I think that’s what he means?