weeping about aster’s cards initially belonging to clay and then aster being the only one who remembers them and addresses them. Whatever that is can be so personal
okay wait im listening to episode 17 abd this is actually really fun!!! im enjoying their misery because its not that harmful to them, right? also!! this is fun!! im going to annotate the script later with all my thoughts later
KITTYYY !!! SHES A PERFECT ANGEL WHO CAN DO NO WRONG!!!! 💕
Wanted to write up some meta on Glass before the winter solstice hits and whatever horrific things that’re going to go down happen. Mainly, in all the ways that they are royally fucked in regards to their deal with Aster and the warning signs are already written on the wall.
Let’s start with Episode 13, The Hot Spring. There’s a lot to be said here.
Firstly, we’re being reminded very bluntly that the Springs are not all kind. Glass says that they’re usually the “most benevolent” of the Folk, which is a pretty dangerous assumption to assign — especially since, as they correct themselves in the presence of Oak and Ivy, not always.
Oak and Ivy explicitly want Glass to stay longer so that they can torment them. Glass is being propositioned to stay longer with the Folk, expose themselves longer to Their ways. In Oak and Ivy’s case, they’re just bored, but the fact that specifically Spring Folk are trying to get Glass to spend more time with them seems like a thinly veiled metaphor. Glass even notes the pleasant smell that pulls you in.
After all— magic changes people. Oak and Ivy make this point very clear, even if it’s for the sake of trying to scare Glass. The theme of “this will change you” is not exclusive to their words.
How long will Glass truly be human? Capable of interacting with humans normally? What will happen when the magic inevitably “changes” them?
Well, Episode 13 is full of warnings. All three of the encounters in the episode are people who have willingly forgone their humanity for one reason or another. Silver’s underwater town, Copper’s Trash Hunter—
(Trash Hunter specifically noting getting ‘kept as a pet’ as a worse fate doesn’t bode well in my chest.)
— And of course, the most blatant warning of all, Sad Chris. A person who willingly gave themselves over to the Folk and does whatever they say, to the point of self-destruction. Apparently, they used to think they were smart— better than the Folk’s tricks. Clearly, they weren’t. The beauty of the Springs immediately tricked them.
These screenshots also show Ivy and Oak repeatedly comparing Sad Chris and Glass. We’re obviously meant to think about what is similar and different between them. And while Glass is much smarter about how they interact with the Folk, they are still very similar in that they’ve given themselves over to one in some way. And Sad Chris’s fate?
Well, it isn’t pretty. Doomed to forever be tormented by the Folk because they’re just that damn obedient.
Now, this is a good time to say that I believe Aster is well-meaning. I don’t think they’re going to start making Glass drown themselves for fun or anything. However, I do believe that they don’t understand humanity on humanity’s level. They’re inherently above it, which sort of skews your morals some. I believe they view Glass less like a human and more like their special little songbird. And I don’t know how long it will be until the cage comes crashing down around them. We pin butterflies because they’re beautiful, right? We forget that they can feel pain too.
Late in the episode, the gang discusses humans who chose the apocalypse, or otherwise gave themselves up to the Folk.
“A lot of people didn’t ’give up’ on purpose.” Sounds a lot like Glass. They’re not purposefully giving up, they think what they’re doing is reasonable and safe. But we, the listeners, know that it isn’t. Not to mention Glass here saying their 10-years-past self would only physically recognize them. So you are changing, huh?
There is also the distinct possibility that Aster really is completely and utterly harmless. I doubt it, but I won’t put it out of the realm of possibility. Even so, a relationship like that is doomed to be torn apart by the world they live in. Ivy and Oak seem very eager to find out who gave Glass magic — and I don’t want to think about what they would have done if Glass forked over the answer. Crueler Folk are not going to just let Aster play tea with humans, and humans aren’t going to just let Glass give themselves over to Them.
Also, Oak and Ivy seem very amused by Glass’ denial that they’ve been “spoken for”, which only leads me more to believe that they’re far deeper into this than they think they are. They’re in a deal and giving away writing that comes from their heart. They’re, in essence, feeding parts of their heart to Aster in exchange for magic. Functionally, as far as the Folk are concerned, Glass belongs to Aster. Let’s not forget the hymn from the episode where Glass first made the deal — Tonight You Belong to Me.
But let’s not take the Folk’s word for it. Let’s take a look at the human side of things in Episode 15, The Haven Underground.
Well, actually, I want to take one quick pit-stop at Episode 14, Left Behind. This is by and large an Amber episode, so there’s not much to say about Glass, but one bit at the very beginning does tip me off.
Hey Glass, why are you making excuses for something horrible the Folk did? Why are you trying to argue ‘maybe they liked it’ about something objectively horrifying? Surely this won’t mean anything later.
Anyhow, Episode 15.
Firstly, Glass displays a lot of concern about being caught as connected to the Folk — and not just that, but seems fearful that the Underground is capable of hurting the Folk. Not Glass, the Folk. They’re concerned about Aster, not themselves.
(Side note, I love Seventy Eight so much.)
This is where I bring in something that might be a bit dramatic, but I want you to stay with me here. I’m going to preface this with the fact that I do not think Aster is necessarily abusive, at least not in the traditional human sense. They literally have not done anything yet.
All that said, I think that the writing is intentionally showing us warning signs of an abusive relationship as a way to say “hey, abuse or not, this isn’t good”. Does that make sense? I hope it makes sense.
The first sign, then, being that Glass is placing Aster in a position of higher importance than themselves. They feel excessive concern for Aster while seeming minimally worried about their own consequences for being attached to a Folk. Glass has started to put Aster on a pedestal and put themselves at its base— which deeply worries me. They need to be valuing their own safety if they’re going to survive. They can’t be putting all their worry into the safety of a Folk that, likely, can handle Themselves.
Then, the cards are asked to be handed over. First of all, we get another warning sign — lying about the relationship. Glass does this quite a bit, so I won’t screenshot every instance, but they repeatedly lie about Aster to both strangers and their friends, because they know that the relationship would not be approved of. Obviously not every hidden relationship is bad, but in synergy with other warning signs, it feels more like ‘hiding a toxic partner’ than, like, ‘hiding that you’re gay’ or something.
Secondly, their resistance to handing the cards over. Obviously they wouldn’t want to give up their divination tool — but I think it’s more than that. Those cards connect them to Aster. To have them taken away would screw up the deal — and maybe even make them lose their access to Aster. They obviously can’t have that— they’ve become attached. So attached, that they physically can’t let the cards go.
Twelve has to pry the cards from Glass’ hands. And I don’t think it’s just Glass being stubborn on purpose. I think a part of them has become inextricably linked to those cards because of the deal. I think it may have actually been physically painful to hand them over. If we consider the cards as equivalent to Aster themselves, the attachment is becoming physical and painful to remove.
The entire time they’re at the Haven, Glass is twitchy and looking at everything as a reason to leave right now immediately. That isn’t to say that they’re wrong, as we learn the Haven is bordering on a cult in its behaviors, but I also don’t think this is just Glass’ good intuition telling them the place is no good. I think they’re also upset that they can’t get to Aster in this Folk-proofed place, and bitter about the cards being taken.
Yeah. And what “plenty of Them”, Glass? At least in the podcast proper, we haven’t met any of Them who are completely benevolent besides Aster. Unless I’m forgetting something, which I very well may be. But it sounds like Glass is making excuses for Them again.
This line also harkens back to the deal. They want us to keep thinking about the precarious situation Glass is in, especially without their cards.
No comment on this one.
This one is, uh— not pretty. Glass is starting to turn against their friends in favor of the cards and, in turn, Aster. They claim that Amber just wouldn’t understand, and seem to imply it’s something wrong with Amber specifically. That they’re the judgmental one. They even openly admit the cards are more than having the magic — the cards represent their connection to Aster. They cannot stand to lose that, and the others just don’t get it. I’d like to point again to my ‘abuse warning signs as a conduit for whatever-is-going-to-happen-to-Glass warning signs’ theory.
There’s a whole argument that happens here that I’m just going to highlight as it goes along. Consider, again, that Glass has admitted that this is about more than just the magic.
“I don’t want it to go away.”
“I might get hurt, but what if I don’t?” What if I’m special? What if the danger spares me, specifically? Another thing you’d hear from someone getting into a dangerous relationship.
“Might never have the chance to try again” — To what? To use magic? Or to see Aster?
“Maybe They are.”
Aster is worth the risk. They bluntly say it. Aster is worth doing something incredibly dangerous for. Glass has become completely attached to Aster and will gladly do something dangerous because of them. Remember how I said Sad Chris was a warning?
“You wouldn’t have understood.” Again, Glass leverages that the others ‘just wouldn’t get it’, insinuating that they are special somehow and won’t get hurt doing this. That the others are lower and stubborn and refusing to understand. They continue to sabotage their friendships in the name of defending their relationship with Aster.
And of course, “Maybe it’s more than just the magic, Amber.” Here is an admittance — it’s not about the magic. It’s about Aster. It’s about being special to Them. It’s about their special relationship that nobody else can understand except them and Aster.
And when Glass can’t find the cards, can’t find the thing that connects them to Aster, they panic. This isn’t about the magic, self-admittedly. This is about not knowing what Aster will do if the bargain is screwed up. This is about not knowing if they’ll be able to keep being Aster’s special human.
And with the cards lost for good? Glass is hollow. They feel absolutely empty without that feeling that they’re special. They don’t care about anything else, they care about the cards— they care about Aster.
The deciding factor for everything, I think, is how Aster reacts to the loss of the cards. If their personality is how I believe it to be, I think they’ll be understanding enough, but may push Glass towards a different form of divination so they can keep the deal. If they do react aggressively, that will be a very interesting situation — but not one that I think is going to properly change Glass’ mind. I think it’s going to take a lot more than that to make them realize this is all a terrible idea.
In summary, all of the signs are flashing red that Glass is becoming irreversibly attached to and dependent on Aster in a desire to feel special and valued by Them. We are being warned repeatedly that if this continues, Glass will change irrevocably, and not for the better — they may very well “give up” without meaning to. They’ve started to push away their friends, lying to them and even becoming angry with them for not ‘getting it’, in favor of Aster. They’re already doing something dangerous for a Folk, and who knows what else they could be talked into doing? Again, I don’t believe Aster is malicious, but I do think they’re going to trap Glass eventually — perhaps even physically take them away from the waking world.
My personal theory is that Glass will not die, but will be ‘taken away’ eventually, or otherwise be lost to the Folk. Maybe even willingly, if they keep coming away from their friends. They’re Aster’s little songbird, and eventually that cage will grow around them. All of the warnings are there, and Glass isn’t hearing a single one of them.
