So what is Narinder and Lambs relationship like from usurpation to the present time?
I haven’t really thought about the more lighthearted aspects of the dynamic yet. I think pre-usurpation Narinder has feelings for the Lamb beyond just seeing them as a useful tool, that he denies or tries to rid himself of because he’s committed himself to the pursuit of power. He’s probably now cynical of love, considering the love between his family also gave way to the self-interested struggle for power, so he thinks that’s all that really matters in the end. To him, any feelings that would come into conflict with that are a sign of weakness. Though I do enjoy headcanons where Narinder still wishes to keep the Lamb around and treat them well in the afterlife though in a position that could never interfere with his ambitions. And I think it’s fun if the Lamb is sharp enough to piece this sad fact about Narinder together, and have to deal with what that means for the future of their relationship.
I sometimes think I make the Lamb too sad in my art - unrestrained I imagine them to be very sassy and childishly silly. I paint them as someone who is deep down very sentimentally bothered by injustice and holds a lot of repressed guilt, though they try to project an image of pragmatism and strength to maintain their reputation, and therefore protect themself. The guilt is even to the point of excess, the result of all the hatred they receive both from their enemies when they succeed and from their followers when they fail.
They see their enemies not really as intrinsically evil, but as profoundly flawed people, who are recklessly selfish, ironically to the point of self-destruction. But they are also very distrustful due to their own trauma and will hurt people out of paranoia if they think it will prevent further harm, which contributes to their guilt that they too might be recklessly selfish. They feel like this makes them undeserving of real love, not just the idolizing worship their followers give them, which they also feel undeserving of. I’m not sure how much Narinder can piece together about the Lamb. At the very least, he is aware that performing as a god takes a toll on the Lamb.
I see Tongues and Teeth as their low self esteem anthem in which they are both critical of Narinder’s ambitions, and the role of submission he expects them to play, but also fully aware of their own destructiveness in resisting to submit to those ambitions, and at the core of that is the sentiment “Even after how you treated me, I still care about your happiness. I want to be with you, but I am suspicious of you and will hurt you, but (probably vainly) hope you would still want to be with me despite that.”
The Lamb can tell when Narinder is hiding feelings of affection but is unsure whether he’ll ever want to act on those feelings or whether he’ll shut them out forever and just succeed in no longer having them. They don’t know which one would be better for him, so they don’t bother pushing him either way.
I do think Narinder, deprived of love and unconditional acceptance, was deep down unhappy. So I think they’d develop a surprisingly wholesome relationship, though one full of ruthless teasing, and their shared issues with emotional vulnerability. But they at least feel like they can be more of themselves around each other without being judged for their vulnerability or callousness, because they each have a bit of both of those traits.
prguitarman
andulkaphoto
theartofmadeline
2087
germansingergirl
blakekathryn
gummygunk
