q!tubbo was locked in a glass cage that was slowly filling up with lava desperately trying to escape but finding no exit. he listened as his friends screamed in fear as lava slowly clouded his vision knowing he couldn't help them no matter how hard he tried. he was stuck begging them in pained screams to not leave him behind trapped and suffering for the federation to see. all he wanted was to figure out what happened to the eggs and fred and instead he got scars, both mentally and physically, in return. q!tubbo is such a tragic character.
i have not known peace since i realized the dayman dennis parallel was 100% intentional and was very specifically included in the "16 episodes to rewatch before season 16" list on sunny's social media accts. complete with a clip of him saying. i am the ruler of darkness. i am. the dayman.
There's something about Ray saying all of that to the Sand in his imagination that makes it that much more raw. It allowed the focus of that scene to stay on Ray, which was so necessary for that scene to hit home. I think he always thought that love would 'save' him somehow, but never really thought about what it would save him from, or how. This scene is him finding that out, and it's both a salvation and a heavy, heavy weight. With every word you can see him feel the weight of all he's saying head-on for the first time. It's the way he is finally letting himself accept how deep his pain goes without wanting to kill himself. Because at the same time, he's realising that he's found a happiness he never before knew he could have. It could be gone now, but this isn't about that. It's about discovering it in the first place and feeling greatful that it's possible, that it happened, instead of losing himself even more because he may have lost Sand. It's such an awful and wonderful thing to know yourself and that scene is Ray finally doing that. No wonder I can't stop watching it and sobbing with him every damn time