AUGHHH

risky fucking gambit procrastinating on this post so long that tpot 24 is now being shown at the meetups bc theres a HIGH chance the episode expands upon their relationship, so i ask that if its so, NO spoilers be given to me nor put in the notes-if im like 100% dead wrong you have my full permission to draft a reblog laughing at me that you post once the episode is officially out. cuz i think itd be funny. now onto the actual post!

I think that a lot of people, seeing three bring up fours name in a more negative context, seemed to have assumed that she was afraid of him, and used that to fuel the already pretty popular thought that four was mistreating three the way he did the objects-however i was never really able to really see it that way? i wanna start by pointing something out-she isnt afraid of four.

three seems to react to react to fear/threats making herself seem larger and more aggressive, making HERSELF seem like a threat to scare people off. notably, she doesnt do this at all until one is brought up and she misunderstands it as six working ALONGSIDE one, prior, she seems to allow her fear to show, being frightened of six but not seeming to read her fully as a major threat. for the brief moment four IS brought up-

Three tenses, and narrows her eyes-but she doesnt seem to be making herself larger, instead shifting her eyes suspiciously. her voice here isnt shaky, and she reads more to me as more frustrated or annoyed at four than she is scared or threatened. she also, just before, says this-

which implies she at the VERYVERYVERY least trusts four to not let people roam in her space-and shes right! four locks the door to the EXIT so its only accsessable one way, and spends a full episode tracking down the exitors when they do in fact Go Into Threes Space.

we can tell that the problem isnt really all that much with them leaving the classroom, given he keeps the FRONT door fully unlocked and doesnt do very much to discourage them hanging out in that area (he does push roboty back for the third image there, but like notably he knows roboty is actively trying to fully escape so like..no shit) given the snacks and entertainment around the EXIT, as well as the fact we know they do have freetime, i think hes actually Fine w them roaming around the front, as long as they do their work and dont try to escape. i genuienly think, if not for the concern of them running into three, four WOULD be a LOT more lax about the idea of them wandering around in their free time.

he also seems to be incredibly protective of threes stuff, particularly her drawings..

which we do know to be Her drawings.

WHICH..NOTABLE TO ME THAT SHE WENT OUT OF HER WAY TO DRAW FOUR AND X SPECIFICALLY. AND SO HAPPY TOO! she also seems to have drawn one, but THAT drawing gets buried at the very very bottom of the pile, while the four and x drawing isnt fully covered. (sidenote, the fact that she draws four with bigass bunny ears is SICKENINGLY cute.)

The exit is very clearly built for three to have the freedom to have fun exploring-we know it was initially just the fourest, which was EXPLICITLY created for the sake of three and her safety, and we also know that three seems to enjoy adventure and discovery. i assume the rooms themselves are intended more for the discovery aspect-a lot of them seem to open into alternate worlds, or else odd parts of the universe theyre already present in. theres also a lot of CLASSES, which also applies to her adoration for learning! seeing that three can and is INTENDED to move freely, we can also assume that she could quite literally just.....leave. whenver she wants. i think thats a detail subtly confirmed that i people seem to miss, she can easily reach the halls, meaning she could go through literally any of the doors if she so desired, she could even go to through the classroom and just fly out that way-which, notably, the exit is marked from the hall side

and seeing as four can very clearly just teleport around without needing directions, and the exitors were never intended to see the door from this side, and no other doors are actually labelled, its clear to me that for one reason or another, this sign is meant for three! so like yall can stop saying shes trapped in the exit/fourest now pleasepleasepleaseplease she can very clearly just fucking leave genuinely whenever she wants and she i dont think she does want. i dont think she does want to leave bc well if she did she Would Have CAN WE LOCK THE FUCK IN anyways

ive previously written a post on the fact that i think a lot of threes behavior is rooted in the fact that she might be very jumpy and prone to overstimulation, which four seems to actually try and accommodate for-pretty much everywhere in his pocket dimension is very quiet with low lighting. unfortunately, no matter how low stimulation four makes their dimension......four themself is very, VERY loud, prone to sudden movements, and impulsive. this probably wouldnt be a huge issue if four was visiting three more rarely, im sure she wouldnt mind them in small doses, especially if she knows to expect them, but...

FOUR IS OBNOXIOUSLY CLINGY AROUND THE PEOPLE HE CARES ABOUT.

and he DOES care about three, BEYOND just building the exit for her-hes ALWAYS cared about her..a LOT!

considering three is very sensitive and paranoid, and four is very clingy and prone to being obnoxious and having a short fuse even to those he cares most about, i think its like...really fucking easy to see how they may have a tense relationship, why three immediately seemed agitated at the thought of four, while also not seeming scared. so basically...