Does Horror like feeding Atrophy? Or is it something deeper that feels like he has to? Or maybe a sort of dog/owner “good dog” rewards system?
Yeah he does! He loves feeding him
It does mean something deeper to him. Horror lost his entire timeline to his own mistakes when it came to supplying food. So him feeding atrophy is like his second attempt.. but I’d say there’s even more to that
Nightwatch Horror is characterized with an obsessive desire for control. The most control you can have over someone is their own life source- food. Horrors childhood taught him that violence and manipulation is the only way one can survive and protect the people they love. Horror does love people- he just thinks that people are too stupid to make the right decisions. So to protect them (in his eyes) he will control every aspect of their life.
Food, mobility, comfort, a sense of self- horror provides that to those he keeps close. Horror likes how dependent atrophy is on him. He does.. actually care for him genuinely. But Horror is so untrusting that he can’t let Atrophy be his own person without Horror paving and measuring the path for him.
It’s even worse considering food is incredibly emotionally vulnerable to Atrophy and horror is very aware if this.
The Dog stuff is how horror is perceived by Atrophy. Atrophy sees himself in control of the situation, in a way it’s very dehumanizing to Horror. It bothers horror a little but horror plays into it.
There’s a scene where Atrophy is suggesting the nickname Pav or Pavlov to Horror- Atrophy says it’ll be cute because it’s named after the conditioned dogs (Pavlov’s dogs)-he says that in a teasing demeaning way. Horror chuckles and says it’s fine as a nickname. Though he only accepts it because he knows the name belongs to the man who conditioned the dogs. (Atrophy thinks horrors the dogs and horror thinks he’s the trainer blah blah)
Horror as much as he lies to himself though is loyal to atrophy like an animal. And that makes him very insecure. Atrophy is physically dependent on horror for food but horror eventually learns he’s dependent on Atrophy for praise and a sense of self. He hates it so much but he finds himself loyal nonetheless.
So in conclusion horror feeding atrophy is mostly him trying to exert control over atrophy because he has a chronic obsession with controlling the things he cares most about, and the dog stuff is a demeaning tease from atrophy-picking at the fact that horror is vulnerable to him, but horror doesn’t see it that way and instead believes himself to be the trainer…
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