Lucky Number 13! An Early Update, As Foretold.

Needless to say, there may very well be a prequel to A Human Condition

People are ANALYZING MY CHARACTER INTERPRETATIONS?!? 🤩 Actively trying not to get a big head about this. ☺️ @crypt-idkeeper has written this lovely post about A Human Condition. Check it out! Incredibly flattered to be analyzed. 🥰🥰

a moment of appreciation for 'A Human Condition'

this fic is by @sapphosscribe and believe I discovered it when there was only 8 chapters, there is as of now 24 chapters and I need to consume it, it is my preferred alphabet spaghetti and probably my favourite fic of the moment, when it's complete I plan to binge read the entire thing from start to finish.

what I really want to discuss today, is how bill specifically is written, and maybe in the future the pines family, cause it's written in such an enthralling way and deserves to be discussed.

many fics struggle to really capture Bill and his motivations though since the Book Of Bill I've seen a drastic change as each version people make of him gains more depth as the mysteries behind the character have now come to forefront he's no longer just this sadistic character with an unknown backstory.

the book of bill brought to light just how pathetic of a character Bill Cipher really is, despite not understanding love he seems to crave it just as much as he does survival, he wants to be adored and he needs to be important.

@sapphosscribe chapters this essence in their work and almost every action Bill makes is for his own survival in one way or another, it's very reminiscent of how characters that feel defeated try their best to seem confident and full of spite. Bill is very spiteful and finds joy in bringing those he's villainising in his mind (the pines family) pain or discomfort and despite how confident he tries to come off he's constantly flinching away from Mabel when all she's doing is trying to be nice, he antagonises ford and stan until they both physically harm him just so he knows he still has some power and he continues to threaten dipper, because dipper is the most scared of him, he needs to be in control, and he needs that power now, cause that's all he has. but he has basically nothing over Mabel accept in her dreams, which as of chapter 24 he no longer does, as she is now somewhat aware of what he is doing, and before that he is scared of her physically, until he is aware she can be useful and is basically harmless.

what I find the most compelling is how the author is able to recreate this sense of almost 'loyalty' that bill has towards those he has connected to, this confusing blur of selfless action he doesn't quite choose to do that remind me of when in the Book of Bill, he gives Ford 3 days, 3 days that confuse him, he's never given anyone such a large bracket of time to obey, and this action confuses him so much, that he chooses to get to drunk and waste those days away, getting so drunk that he forgets his own mother has been dead for at least a million years. I see this being replicated in how he treats Mabel in the fic, saving her life instead of taking his chance to escape and when he hurts her in the dreamscape, there is a moment where he feels actively guilty for doing so, even just for a moment. sure he wants to use her in a way that actively represents the quote from Alex Hirsch where he says "My concept is that Bill genuinely believes Mabel is kind of like him. he sees Mabel a chaos agent." but isn't that also a similar reason as to why Bill liked Ford, in chapter 21 he says "you know how it feels, to be the only one who can see the stars." directly addressing what made Ford special, he saw him as being similar to himself, he sees Mabel as being similar to himself and it causes empathy, sure Ford currently isn't giving Bill reason to empathise due to their negative relationship, but Mabel is, and we're seeing Mabel actively gain his trust to a point where he almost doesn't want to hurt her. A similar thing seems to being happening with Stan, not only is Stan beginning to compare bill to Wendy and Soos but they've actively bonded over their similarities, specifically criminal activity, Dipper is the only person in the family he is yet to bond with in some way, including Wendy.

further Soos and Melody bringing up Bills depression to Ford in this most recent chapter is very interesting, I mean he's clearly unstable and yet Ford refuses to believe it's not of his own volition, that Bill is just Bill. but like why can't an interdimensional demi god esk creature, be unwell. mental health isn't just human, even dogs and cats can become depressed or mentally unwell, and surely the more cognitive load and ability, the higher the likely hood of mental anguish, aren't people known to have the most realistic views of life society also seen to be depressed and constantly negative? he has every right to, he was literally poisoned when he was child and can't remember his home dimension due to the trauma of destroying it and at least in the Book of Bill he has convinces himself he was the hero, that he "liberated" them.

additionally as someone with sensory issues myself, Bills experience of being human, and learning what it means to feel, and eat, and tire, is very relatable and it makes sense why he would feel so weak now, the last time he had to deal with these feelings, was back in Euclydia, when he was in most definitions 'weak' and different, when the sensation of the "feelers" of other shapes was to much, when his medicine hurt and tasted gross, when the only person on his side where societies rejects, or his own mother. so obviously he stops trusting food when it makes him sick, like he did when his parents fed in 'medicine', obviously he takes control of his senses by inflicting pain on himself, and when he miss judges and painfully bangs his hip on the bathroom counter, he refuses to show Stan he is in pain, he feels like pray when he used to be the predator.

either way I absolutely love how this story is written and how Bill feels real, I mean, technically he was never really real, not physically, not in their dimension, but now he is, and now he is confined to their life, and Stan mirroring Bills complaint about the human body, "you think I want to be?" that anyone wants to be human, to be stuck in this incredibly mortal flesh? it's gorgeous, and I praise @sapphosscribe up and down for this lovely creation and I'm very excited to see where this goes now.

I hope to continue these rants, cause I love this fic.

MABEL AND BILL BONDING IN CH. 28!! @paperbugss has done a beautiful job with this these two and the sweater!! 💖💖

Best moment of ch 28

i love this fanfic so so much

@sapphosscribe

extra

A Monday Update Instead of a Sunday Update!

It's short but juicy! Go ahead and sink your teeth in.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/58360870/chapters/164565043

FANART of long-haired Bill in his favorite shirt from the lovely @orpheuswasmine before tomorrow’s update! See you all soon!

Click image for high quality!

Can you believe guys? A Human Condition! Just a day away! A Human Condition in a day! Woo hoo! I am so happy about this information!

Of course! In celebration of a new year and A Human Condition coning back, you know I had to to work overtime and make fanart 🥹 Finally drew the gang and I love how these two came out! (kept my promise from last post 🐺)

@sapphosscribe

NEW FANART GUYS! @dontjinxit18 has got Mabel and Bill being soft together from ch. 26. Enjoy!

Sapphosscribe’s ’A Human Condition’ chapter 25

Anyone else notice the similarities between Bill and the Grinch here? Just me? @sapphosscribe

Me editing the next chapter of A Human Condition for tomorrow, looking at the perspective shifts like:

Live footage of me answering comments today:

I’m so behind 😅 but we’re almost all caught up! Thanks so much to everyone who comments! I love getting to read them 💕

MORE BILL ART from @raviolireptile Gaze upon his magnificence!! This looks so amazing!! 🤩🥰

Fanart for “A Human Condition” on Ao3! This fic is so good I highly recommend it

Plus an extra karaoke Bill

I love him. Anyway go read A Human Condition by SapphosScribe on Ao3 it’s incredible!!

@sapphosscribe

That Summerween comment fells like an omen...

(almost as much as that eventual smut tag, I'm worried)

The two are not related, but one of them is definitely an omen 😂😉