Oooooh god. The way that Damien is the first of these that I'm doing laughs. We've talked about this a lot Cola and I still am constantly finding new ways that their CR surprises me.
I think if Damien really wasn't himself in the sense of being rude as shit, Rindo wouldn't have gravitated as much as he did even if at first he really didn't grasp that they were somewhat similar people. I want to say that maybe he did, but I don't think he had enough foresight to really determine that. I do think, however, that Rindo realized very early on that Damien understood certain things in ways other people didn't.
"But - when you want people to be honest with you, you end up hearing a lot of shit that you wish you hadn't."
"I think I get that. Maybe that's why I always found it easier to talk like this. You can have a little more control about what you say and how people take it, and what people will say back."
"... But you also can't fully connect with people like that. Not really."
I think a good crux of their relationship really was that they were two people who were trying to figure out how to actually connect with other people and doing it in ways that were considered unusual or intense or even just not really doing it despite thinking they were giving their best efforts. Really early on, Rindo realized Damien had powers at one point and lost them and that, too, was something he resonated with especially right after he got his phone case back and started getting some of his memories. It was something that he couldn't quite relate to anyone else about, because people either had their powers and lost them by being in the Prism, or didn't have powers at all. With Damien it was the unique set of circumstances of losing the power back in their own worlds and trying to figure out how to move on and live with that.
Damien like. Never babied him LMAO LIKE HE WAS TRULY SO RUDE TO HIM and Rindo was just like 'ah, yes, this is actually what I want in a friendship' but I think it's solely because despite being emotional in different ways Rindo is also pretty pragmatic and oftentimes overthinks about how things will impact everything else. Damien as a whole can be selfish but I think Rindo himself has the capability of being similar, so talking to Damien was sort of jarring because a lot of things the guy said were alarming, but there were also several things he agreed with. We've talked about this and a large part of it is that I do read Rindo as a depressed teenager even before canon starts, and especially after at his specific canonpoint and Damien kind of knew how to actually approach him, when to push and when to leave things alone. There were a lot of people Rindo spoke with, but Damien was one of the people he actually felt like was listening to him even if the answer was just arguing with him or sympathizing with him instead of actual advice.
"Even people that want to be left alone usually want to talk to somebody after a while."
It's kind of difficult to really pinpoint when, exactly, they became friends. Especially since for a long while Rindo wasn't even sure Damien liked him, period, but then eventually Damien roasted him by saying they were friends and he couldn't even dispute it. After a certain point in time Rindo really kind of just wanted friends and wanted to talk to people and Damien usually fit the bill of not babying him, hanging out with him, and letting him braindump and actually get to know him at his own pace.
"... I've made a lot of bad choices. But I'm still here, so."
"Maybe you have, but it's not like you're a bad person."
"I kind of am a bad person, kid."
" I think you can be both a bad person but still a person who is getting better at not being a bad person and that's probably where you are."
A lot of Rindo's arc this game also centered around his efforts not being enough to change things and I think that reflected in Damien a lot, too, which is why even though their endgame refracting thread was really short it kind of hit a lot that Damien was (mostly, in his opinion) being as honest as he could be and made it a point to say he could only do so much. Rindo truly did believe that it was enough because it was with intent and that kind of made him feel better about not being able to do enough even if he wanted to. I think he, like, recognized eventually that Damien was actually changing from being a huge asshole to being someone who was actively trying to reach out to people and be less of an asshole. It is very much a case of "you're a bad person but you weren't as bad to me as you could be and I see your efforts" but look. Listen. That's also Rindo himself.
He would absolutely die before ever admitting it but he did end up feeling kind of a familial relationship with him toward the end and he became someone Rindo really trusted. Somehow Damien got a lot of the fears and worries Rindo had and phrased it back at him in a way that helped him calm his mind a little and start to really assess. Also, hilariously, Damien was the only one to suggest going back to Fret's point in time and it truly threw him for a loop but also me because I had also not at all considered that so thanks ig. Can you believe that literally one of the first texts he's going to send Damien is probably a selfie of him and Fret being alive? Wow.
I COULD KEEP GOING BUT THIS IS ALREADY LONG, they were essentially the same person and I think he really often swung from wanting to shove him off a cliff and wanting his approval and like. Wanting Damien to acknowledge he maybe cared about Rindo at all? It was a mess, it's fine, sometimes you just want someone to acknowledge you matter because they matter to you. But overall this was definitely one of, if not his actual favorite person in the game.
DAMIEN;
I'm a lion trying the best that I can, I thought you got what you wanted
Don't you understand that I'm running much faster that I ever did before
And you're not in the position to make that demand
Oooooh god. The way that Damien is the first of these that I'm doing laughs. We've talked about this a lot Cola and I still am constantly finding new ways that their CR surprises me.
I think if Damien really wasn't himself in the sense of being rude as shit, Rindo wouldn't have gravitated as much as he did even if at first he really didn't grasp that they were somewhat similar people. I want to say that maybe he did, but I don't think he had enough foresight to really determine that. I do think, however, that Rindo realized very early on that Damien understood certain things in ways other people didn't.
I think a good crux of their relationship really was that they were two people who were trying to figure out how to actually connect with other people and doing it in ways that were considered unusual or intense or even just not really doing it despite thinking they were giving their best efforts. Really early on, Rindo realized Damien had powers at one point and lost them and that, too, was something he resonated with especially right after he got his phone case back and started getting some of his memories. It was something that he couldn't quite relate to anyone else about, because people either had their powers and lost them by being in the Prism, or didn't have powers at all. With Damien it was the unique set of circumstances of losing the power back in their own worlds and trying to figure out how to move on and live with that.
Damien like. Never babied him LMAO LIKE HE WAS TRULY SO RUDE TO HIM and Rindo was just like 'ah, yes, this is actually what I want in a friendship' but I think it's solely because despite being emotional in different ways Rindo is also pretty pragmatic and oftentimes overthinks about how things will impact everything else. Damien as a whole can be selfish but I think Rindo himself has the capability of being similar, so talking to Damien was sort of jarring because a lot of things the guy said were alarming, but there were also several things he agreed with. We've talked about this and a large part of it is that I do read Rindo as a depressed teenager even before canon starts, and especially after at his specific canonpoint and Damien kind of knew how to actually approach him, when to push and when to leave things alone. There were a lot of people Rindo spoke with, but Damien was one of the people he actually felt like was listening to him even if the answer was just arguing with him or sympathizing with him instead of actual advice.
It's kind of difficult to really pinpoint when, exactly, they became friends. Especially since for a long while Rindo wasn't even sure Damien liked him, period, but then eventually Damien roasted him by saying they were friends and he couldn't even dispute it. After a certain point in time Rindo really kind of just wanted friends and wanted to talk to people and Damien usually fit the bill of not babying him, hanging out with him, and letting him braindump and actually get to know him at his own pace.
A lot of Rindo's arc this game also centered around his efforts not being enough to change things and I think that reflected in Damien a lot, too, which is why even though their endgame refracting thread was really short it kind of hit a lot that Damien was (mostly, in his opinion) being as honest as he could be and made it a point to say he could only do so much. Rindo truly did believe that it was enough because it was with intent and that kind of made him feel better about not being able to do enough even if he wanted to. I think he, like, recognized eventually that Damien was actually changing from being a huge asshole to being someone who was actively trying to reach out to people and be less of an asshole. It is very much a case of "you're a bad person but you weren't as bad to me as you could be and I see your efforts" but look. Listen. That's also Rindo himself.
He would absolutely die before ever admitting it but he did end up feeling kind of a familial relationship with him toward the end and he became someone Rindo really trusted. Somehow Damien got a lot of the fears and worries Rindo had and phrased it back at him in a way that helped him calm his mind a little and start to really assess. Also, hilariously, Damien was the only one to suggest going back to Fret's point in time and it truly threw him for a loop but also me because I had also not at all considered that so thanks ig. Can you believe that literally one of the first texts he's going to send Damien is probably a selfie of him and Fret being alive? Wow.
I COULD KEEP GOING BUT THIS IS ALREADY LONG, they were essentially the same person and I think he really often swung from wanting to shove him off a cliff and wanting his approval and like. Wanting Damien to acknowledge he maybe cared about Rindo at all? It was a mess, it's fine, sometimes you just want someone to acknowledge you matter because they matter to you. But overall this was definitely one of, if not his actual favorite person in the game.