Lesbian Elephant Shrew

Rainer blames Belle for his suicide. Given Paul & Belle’s parallels in the Quitter’s room, I’d imagine Belle’s attempted rebirthing was around the same time as Care’s, and they were within the same age group. So— Rainer was blaming his suicide on Belle (already abhorrent) when Belle was like. 5.

Rainer blaming Belle for his suicide, I feel, is extremely telling about how Rainer generally views Belle and how he’s treated her. Rainer views Belle as someone who is greatly emotionally responsible for him. He believes that if Belle acted in a way that he disapproved of, then, she would be responsible for his death. Once again— Belle was about, like, 5, when Rainer viewed & treated her like this. Rainer thinking Belle is responsible for his life shows he was extremely codependent on her and inappropriately emotionally intimate with her.

I think, because of Rainer’s perspective on Belle, Rainer didn’t view Belle as a child— when she absolutely was one. He treats her like an adult. In the messages he leaves her in Petscop 12, they feel a lot more (for the most part) directed towards an adult. He never talks about her having a daddy or mommy. He never talks about “casting a spell” on her. The Book Of Baby Names (that Rainer wrote) says Belle means smart. I feel that implies that he viewed Belle as “mature for her age.”

Who Rainer chose to rebirth Belle into is also very telling. We don’t know a lot about the actual Tiara Leskowitz— all we know is that she is an adult who maybe has knowledge on rebirthing, and, a very doting mother. Mothers, obviously, are supposed to be emotional caregivers.

I think it’s common knowledge that Rainer was incredibly mentally unstable, and likely isolated. He doesn’t mention having any friends at any point in the game, nor is there any indication he had any. I think this is partially why he did what he did. Rainer craved emotional intimacy and someone to rely on, so he forced Belle to be that for him. His entire emotional support system. I think also though, that a lot of Marvin’s entitlement towards women and children rubbed off on Rainer. Rainer knows to an extent that what Marvin is doing is wrong— sure— but he doesn’t care when it’s done to children who aren’t family. I think this is a part of how he justifies his abusive behaviors towards Belle. He tells himself it’s okay, because, at least it isn’t family that he’s hurting. He thinks it’s her fault, anyways, because he’s the victim here, and Belle is supposed to “take care of him.”

I, currently, don’t know exactly what Belle did for Rainer to have considered her a quitter. Rainer’s hold on her seemed strong enough to where Belle several times identifies as Tiara. My guess currently is that, she couldn’t keep up the pace anymore. Belle as Tiara eventually became worn out, and couldn’t act as the caregiver Rainer wanted her to be. Even with Rainer and Marvin hurting her. Even if Belle was genuinely convinced that she really did have to take care of him, it’s hard to keep up.

I think the viewer can see this in how Belle interacts with Paul, as well. Belle seems to be very privy to protecting people’s feelings and conflict avoidance. Belle, at first, says Paul is lying about finding Petscop then later admits she had played it. While I view the two as adoptive siblings, and this could be her being protective, Paul is an adult. Belle shouldn’t feel the need to try and lie about hide potentially upsetting things from him. Her wanting to protect him to the point of lying about her own experiences could show that she’s been harmed for not protecting people’s emotions before.