gripps_biggest_fan

Zephyr's statement...

The change in his eyes after meeting HER...

This comment...

Feeling like a coward for even desiring to survive...

Gripp's body has been scarred by being grabbed by the Mermaid, and yet he kept wearing a shirt despite the fact it was painful for Mortuga to do the same on his own scar...

And leaving Cornelius behind...

There's kind of this weird thing going on with Gripp seeming? Jealous?? Bitter??? About how strong Mortuga was compared to him. It's also kind of present in the way he talks about Mortuga and Felica looking windswept and heroic and regretting inviting himself into their world, it's like their existence made him feel inadequate in comparison.

Every time he talks about Mortuga the vibe is laced with this sentiment somehow. The part where he accuses Mortuga of wanting to use the mermaid's tongue almost feels like he's trying to drag him down to his level in a way (I personally don't think Magnus was actually gonna use the mermaid's tongue because why the fuck would he leave the necklace key with Gripp if he was). Even though he himself admits that Mortuga rarely did things just to be selfish earlier.

Everything about this reeeksss of inferiority complex. Especially the several times he mentions his own previous cowardice.

drew some more

Okay so Godrik has this sprite animation here. And in the animation his thumb is like, rubbing over something. And at the time when I got to this bit I was kinda confused by it? Like it was the one animation where I couldn't parse out what was trying to be conveyed. HOWEVER, IVE COME TO A REALIZATION ☝️

ITS THE SCAR. HE'S TOUCHING THE SCAR WHILE TALKING ABOUT THE DEAREST SELENA VOYAGE BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT IT REMINDS HIM OF 😭.

god. idk how to word this very well but the fact gripp made sure that everyone got at least some closure so they weren't left blaming themselves (or eachother) for everything that happened and especially for magnus's death before escaping on his whole suicide mission. him reassuring symmetry especially that she shouldn't blame herself with the timeline in mind (her being one of the additional guests he'd known the longest, zephyr taking her in from an abusive guardian etc. you could make some arguments/hcs of him being Bonus Dad to her when it was just the 4 of them in the sub but anyways) he's aware it's entirely him. he doesn't shift the blame to any others, he doesn't even completely blame magnus by the end either, despite the amount of building resentment and tension that drove him to drag him into this voyage in the first place (and later murder him)

i dont knowww it says so much to me about his character and makes his unhealthy obsession with the mermaid all the more fascinating . he was on this entire desperate search driving him insane and definitely was dragging magnus down with him, but he never meant for everyone else to get caught up in it like this. and even though he still follows through endangering everyone in the process, in his mind, this event was inevitable, he HAS to do this. he HAS to find her, speak to her. even if it's the last thing he ever knows. there was no other option. just the way it's meant to be. and in his view of limited choices, he could at least put everyone "at peace" as much as he could before metaphorically steering them straight into the sun.

What's better than puns?

!POSSIBLE MERMAID MASK SPOILERS UNDER CUT!