#I had things to say on cave and caroline but my brain is foggy and I also want a chance to replay portal 2 before i tear into those two

[strawberrycircuits]

Thoughts on Aperture Desk Job Cave Johnson lore?

im admittedly a little unfamiliar with ADJ (< no steam deck 😔) but my general opinion is that while I certainly find it an interesting concept i do think it fucks with the lore and meaning of the games a little too much for me. the thing that draws me in is the absolute tragedy of glados, in that she was forced to be subject to the very things she'd watched and facilitated for years-- unethical science that preyed upon the most vulnerable-- which she only did because she was a woman in the 1940s who was a scientist, damn it, and if turning men into monsters and letting people break their legs on blue paint was what she has to do to get a foot in the door then so be it. it's when cave seeks a means to cheat death that her ultimate powerlessness in this situation all comes crashing back down, and suddenly SHES the one being monitored, experimented on, irrevocably changed because cave decided it was the role she had to play. the whole reason this happens is because cave dies and his apparent last decree to the company amounted to "hell, pour her in my computer, i don't care" before that final attempt to slip through the cracks, that final push to avoid the consequences of his actions finally fails and his efforts to circumvent his own death at the hands of his own science is all for naught. i feel like implying cave WAS able to cheat death and that he DID succeed and that they just? did that shit to caroline and gave her control of the facility just because?? kind of cheapens the whole thing. there's certainly interesting things to be done with the concept but the person to do that probably isn't me, sorry.

gradys fucking awesome though i will say that. absolute highlight of the entire thing