#thira

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I do like to think Thira and Doomguy were a romantic thing pre-Divinity Machine. I guess that's sort of a controversial topic in this slice of the fandom? I dunno, but I think it makes sense. Specifically I think they were a thing, and then the Slayer's mind was really fucked with by both the Divinity Machine and the Tether, and the result in TDA is a dynamic where Thira is one of the only people who trusts this man, and there are lingering feelings of care from the Slayer... but he has lost the ability to engage with people like he once did.

The evidence: Eternal's Codex explicitly says that King Novik pulled strings to make Doomguy a Night Sentinel because he impressed him, despite objections from other Night Sentinels. It would make sense if part of his decision were influenced by Thira having a word with him. The Slayer's demeanor towards Thira in TDA is also already a lot warmer than with others - she's one of the only characters in the series he actually on-screen nods to or acknowledges in the affirmative, and his body language in Temple of Lomarith points to a level of care for her. Thira is also the only Night Sentinel in the story to trust and care about the Slayer as a person throughout the entire narrative; everyone else is either scared, indifferent, or needs convincing. They have past history.

People say, like, "but he had a family, he had a wife," which, like, 1) it's pretty clear they died long before he met the Sentinels, and 2) I think it's important to note that the modern Doom story still frames Argent D'Nur as the majority of the Slayer's backstory and his motivation in the modern games. I disagree with the idea Doomguy's just meant to be a broken man by this point. Because the vibe I always got is that he was getting better, in between the Eternal flashbacks and the Divinity Machine. I think he was healing from some of his trauma and learning to cope with it slightly better, because now he had comrades to fight with, and a community he was a part of. Something bigger than himself that he wasn't forced into like Mars. These people are his family. I think if there was any point where Doomguy was beginning to move on from the loss of his family and Daisy and all that shit, it was here, when he was fighting in the Unholy Wars alongside companions who weren't dropping like flies.

I think at this point, where Doomguy's struggle against Hell is beginning to look like it's manageable, it'd make sense for him to be in some sort of relationship, and I think Thira makes sense given their dynamic in TDA - as well as the Slayer blatantly caring about her safety specifically in a way he doesn't with others.

(I mean, he cares about people's safety in general. He's saving people. But there's a lot of emphasis placed on saving Thira specifically instead of just butting his head against Ahzrak some more.)

"But Doom isn't a love story-" no, it's not, but guess what it kind of is? A tragedy. And this idea heightens the tragic nature of his transformation. The subtext with TDA is that the Slayer, to the rest of the Sentinels, is a soulless Maykr weapon wearing the face of their former comrade, and it's fucking ghoulish to them. Only Thira, who knew him intimately, can look into his eyes and see that the person she knew is still there. She trusts him and knows him, and we can tell by his own body language that she still means a great deal to him. But the Maykrs have stolen his humanity. The Tether has traumatized him in a way that can't be undone, and the Divinity Machine has set him on a path that he can't stray from.

I don't see it as a love story and I don't see Thira as his love interest. I see it as a tragedy, where Thira serves as the only person who has faith that there's still some of this man left inside the Slayer, and despite that it isn't enough to undo what has been taken from him. She's just a part of this world, the culture of Argent D'Nur, that the Slayer truly loves but feels he can no longer truly partake in.

I dunno. That just enhances the story to me. I'm not usually the, uh, shipping type, I guess - if I like the idea of their relationship it's because I think it makes things more interesting.

the monster in me loves the monster in you by me!

Theo Raeken has something special—not to himself; no, he’s just a simple guy in a quiet, unremarkable town. Not to Liam Dunbar and Kira Yukimura, though. To them, Theo is special; magical. And they have to have him, one way or another. Theo will end up liking it; after all, he won’t have a choice.

art by @hemlocksandfoxgloves 🧡

beta by @thiamsalpha 🧡