#TCOAAL

[limonya0]

This scene kept running through my head...

[incorrect-gravescest]

[adobo-toothpaste]

Coffin Fanart by me :3

[toto-4444]

[betakaratene]

Julia tcoaal is a trans girl and no one will convince me otherwise:

- no self esteem (prevalent malaise amongst the transes)

- dysphoria hoodie in high school

- THE TGIRL-SIGNATURE CHOKER

- always fawning and settling and forgiving shit from a manipulative piece of shit because she thinks she can't get / doesn't deserve anyone better

- always positioned to make herself as small as possible in pretty much all of her portraits

- in her dorm medicine cabinet, her two roommates both have what appear to be packages of pads/tampons. she does not. (also she has, like, NO space for herself in this cupboard jeez girl advocate for yourself)

[usmcashley]

Raw

[s0s0chan-artblog]

just the picture

[beevean]

I wonder if something could be said about Ashley's apparent penchant for drawing.

Leyley used to draw a lot. This, in itself, is nothing special: many kids draw as a hobby. The most noteworthy thing is that Leyley loved to draw so much, she'd do it on the walls, which Andy had to clean...

... and on Andy's notes, which made it difficult for him to study.

I don't need to say that this is just one of the many ways Leyley begged for attention and approval, which most surely had the opposite effect.

However, what made me pause a bit are three completely separate scenes.

This is in the very opening of the game:

We don't see Ashley drawing as an adult, but she doesn't seem to be very confident in herself. Then again, at this point in the game, it could be just goodhearted self-deprecation. It does say something, however, that she's still clinging onto that drawing, both because it's so old and not good-looking, and what it represents.

This is after Ashley, as a teen, has a meltdown over Andrew "seeing Julia":

Andrew is being mean, but to be fair to him, he's also angry and interprets the torn drawing as a way to make him feel bad, so I'll let it pass. The artstyle is so crude, I assume this is another old drawing: the lemon muffin is a reference to a way Andy celebrated Leyley's birthday when they were kids, so it's possible she drew it back then. And then kept it for years, before destroying it in a fit of heartbroken rage. It's how she conveyed her love for her brother, and it was that important to her, that apparently, she still had it in grabbing and tearing vicinity. Her hate for Nina is as important as her love for Andrew.

(the other option is, of course, that it's a much more recent drawing, and yes, this is a pretty abysmal way of drawing for a teen who apparently has been doing so for years. I still wouldn't call it garbage though, Andrew, she meant well :<)

Not much after that scene, Andrew also tells us this:

Whether Ashley still draws in her teen years or has stopped, at least we know it's more important to her than her homework, and enough for Andrew to comment on it.

And this is an offhand comment Renee makes to her mother while pretending she doesn't regret her life choices and children.

This is how Renee chooses to paint Ashley in a good light: by praising her art. Which is a lie, of course, because even back then she wasn't exactly Leonardo Da Vinci, but hey, grandma doesn't need to know about that. Worthy of note is that, despite doing everything in her power to interact with her daughter as little as possible, she did notice how much Leyley likes to draw (although afawk it could be because she once saw her drawing on the walls, so it's even more of a backhanded compliment).

So I suppose Leyley's cry for attention did work, in part.

It's a running gag that Ashley is a pretty bad artist. More than once, people point out she struggles to draw circles.

Speaking of attention seeking behavior, and how Renee keeps denying it.

So, what do I take from this?

That Ashley had a predisposition for drawing, clearly enjoying it regardless of her talent, and partially did so as a way to yell "look at me! I'm a person too! I have feelings, here they are!" at the world; but that predisposition was never nurtured, neglected as she was. Her art was ugly at best, a bother at worst. So she never developed her artistic skills, stagnated, and now she's a "bad" artist, which she resents. It's quite a shame, because of all the ways you could vent your feelings, art is by far the healthiest. Perhaps she would have been less destructive.

Naturally, this is part of one of the game's key themes: Ashley never grew up. She wasn't given the tools to, and now, she doesn't even want to. So she never developed past the "Leyley" phase of her life, still drawing in a childish way, still "playing" with her bunny plushies in her mind, still clinging onto her child self when Andrew wants nothing more than to grow up (or so he says). Much like her art, she too was seen mostly as an embarrassment, and so never improved. But every scrap of attention Andrew gives her? Means the world to her. And that's why she keeps going.

Lastly: every ending of the game comes with a crude crayon drawing.

It makes me believe that Ashley's art, ugly and childish as it is, is an important part of her, and her perception of the world.

[soltender]

Some more Pinkdrew💗

Visuals, music, and voice by me

[enemywasp]

"Gooner game!" "Gooner show!" "Gooner behaviour!"

There's literally nothing wrong with media containing sexual content, appealing to sexual fantasies, or ppl finding aspects sexually appealing.

There's nothing wrong with enjoying sexual fantasies, getting off to media, speaking about finding characters attractive, etc.

And whilst theres nothing wrong with it, a piece of media covering sexual topics or having attractive characters doesn't necessarily mean it's just a "gooner" media either. Things can have emotional depth and be beautifully written, and still have sexual content. You sound like a Puritan.

[thegirlgraves]

Hypothetically speaking, if the Graves siblings met their swapped counterparts, how do you see that playing out??

Because the possible dynamic between canon Andrew and Swap!Ashley is eating me alive HAHA

Both of them hemming and hawing about;

“aaaah we can’t :( it’s too weird,, but like if you… really wanted to..? 👉👈”

Not necessarily scratching the itch that lusts for either respective Andys/Ashleys, but doing it anyway because it’s the closest possible thing 🤷Kinda similarly to how Andrew starts dating Julia because she’s basically Diet Ashley LMAO

On that note, I’m also curious about a canon Ashley and Swap!Andrew dynamic as well.

Because on paper, it’s a perfect match. But it’s still not the same because it’s not THEIR Andy/Leyley

HELLO!!! im so sorry i took a near month to respond to this. a girl was BUSY. but im back here for the swaprot.

what a cool idea!!! i think that for each scenario, a array of different things could happen, i'm gonna bullet list it bc i'll find it hard to organize my thoughts otherwise LOL.

SwapAshley & Andrew would be the most lowkey of the pairings, since they both feel mutually the same way about eachother, BUT there is no "leyley" or "andy" here, realistically it could be healthier than any other pairing psychologically wise, but would take a bit for them to get comfortable with it from the incest squick. (or maybe it'd be immediate, who fucking knows!! tbh i find this specific pairing appealing.)

Ashley & SwapAndrew would be a supernova, but i think their intentions and motivations would clash a LOT, think they'd be on the same page, but swap!andrew obviously will fight for control of the situation more than basegame andrew does. they will butt heads a lot, but ultimately swap!andrew is happily to dote on a leyley, that needs her andy, and he's willing to be that for her. so perhaps they'd fall so complacently into a relationship, knowing they're giving the other what they want. will the insecurities go away for leyley, is the question.

SwapAndrew & Andrew loll i cant IMAGINE. a fistfight?? i must assume basegame andrew would be absolutely baffled, or be almost upset that a version of himself could've turned out such a way. who knows. my brains blank here haha!!

Ashley & SwapAshley ooohh.... so here comes overemotional, lonely and insecure basegame ashley, meeting the nonchalant, lonely and apathetic swap!ashley, they would get into an arguement for sure, but swap!ashley would mainly just ignore her, as well as baffled. at worst swap would start blatantly criticizing ashley, because she cant do it to andrew. of course, she'd be willing to beat her own self down, even if those same traits are in her brother.

for this, this is under the assumption that some supernatural, "body swap" happened.

[cleaver-gun]

THOUGHTS & SYMBOLISM BEHIND ASHLEY'S FLOWERS🌸:

a lil yap

-I hc that these flowers look EXACTLY like the pink flowers of a Dodder,(Cuscuta epithymum), which are stem parasites and a PAIN to get rid of (it's perfect.)

-I mean, just LOOK. AT.THEM:

-Cuscuta is a persistent, aggressive parasite. Eliminating it requires early detection, complete removal, and preventing the spread of seeds. Once established, it’s almost impossible to eliminate them completely without harming the host.

-They are often known as lesser dodder or hellweed.

-I also asked ChatGPT for fun what these flowers could represent with NO correlation to Ashley whatsoever

-AND THE DESCRIPTION IS LITERALLY HERRRR:

-In poetry or art, Cuscuta’s pink flowers could often symbolise a sweet-looking parasite, "a burden disguised as beauty", or a pretty/elegant sort of destruction

They work powerfully and PERFECTLY with metaphors for codependency, loss of identity, or even the hidden costs of growth through someone else...

IN CONCLUSION:

IT'S LITERALLY ASHLEY'S FLOWERS AND NO ONE CAN CHANGE MY MIND RAAHHHHH

[chengfagshi]

I saw this and I can't stop laughing.

[tacendamania]

toxic yuri toxic yuri toxic yuri

[renee-graves]

I need coffee...