Here it is, the pinnacle of my self-indulgent Gwendy & Ghost pieces, uploaded on Gwendy’s birthday, no less. Meet Judgement, a being formed from the fusion of Gwendy (14) and Ghost (16 at time of death) and the accumulation of everyone’s anger and resentment towards Michelle Plumby, the latter being made possible through Gwendy’s strong empathy. I like to think that from the end of Episode 9 onwards, everyone pushed their anger down so they could focus on providing each other (mainly Gwendy) with comfort. But it still needed to unite, so it all gathered within Gwendy. The reason it’s still being suppressed almost 5 years later is because Gwendy’s aware of the danger of letting anger towards an abusive parent govern one’s whole life, like her classmate Richie does. However, Gwendy doesn’t realize she’s overcorrecting. By not letting herself feel any anger towards Michelle after Episode 10, she’s hindering her ability to separate Michelle from “Mom,” which has led to several moments of sorrow since. Realizing she can feel continuous, non-destructive anger towards Michelle will make these moments easier to bear. Until that happens or until Michelle returns, the anger will wait to be freed. As an additional note, Omri Moon is made aware of the situation with Michelle, allowing his anger to become a part of Judgement as well. As Gwendy’s boyfriend, a parallel to Ghost, and my favorite character on account of me being autistic and headcanoning Omri as such, I feel Judgement wouldn’t be complete without him.

There are three techniques I’ve always wanted Michelle to be subjected to upon her return: Empathic Fist, Historic Fist & Judgement Fist. Empathic Fist comes first, and has Judgement flood Michelle’s mind with every negative thought and feeling people have had towards her for her neglectful and abusive behavior. Michelle acted as though her emotions were the only ones that mattered, so the obvious solution is to make her feel others’ emotions as though they were their own. Historic Fist comes second, and has Judgement call forth Michelle’s memories of her relationship with Chad, her memories of his death being the most important. Not only do Gwendy and her sister Gilly have a right to know how Chad died on virtue of being his daughters, but it was Michelle’s refusal to face her past – especially the decisions she made to form it – that led to their suffering and necessitated Ghost’s presence in their lives. It’s only fair that Michelle face her demons on the trio’s terms and at the trio’s pace, with said terms and pace being all of them at once with no rest until the process is complete. Armed with new knowledge and new emotion, Judgement would perform their final technique: Judgement Fist, thus casting Michelle from their heart forever. Michelle’s actions have consequences, and the point of these techniques is to make it completely impossible for her to deny that reality, no matter how painful it is, because reality is the only thing that can make things better.

The main thing that motivated me to draw this was the song Undefeatable from Sonic Frontiers. The pose and expression are taken from the starting cutscene of the Giganto Boss Fight, which is where the song plays in-game. The song itself managed to perfectly encapsulate everything I have felt toward and wanted for Michelle since the end of Episode 9. It also brought forth a new idea inspired by the Giganto Boss Fight. Said idea is Judgement entering Michelle’s mind to fight her memory of herself from between the end of Episode 9 and the start of Episode 10. This fight would be where Judgment would use Empathic Fist and Historic Fist, and the defeat of Memory Michelle would signal the arrival of everyone’s freedom. Listed below are the thoughts Undefeatable’s lyrics invoke in me.

I won't give up 'til the end of me

“Judgement will win.”

Welcome to the mind of a different kind

Where we've been growing slowly

“The accumulation of everyone’s anger and resentment towards Michelle is one of the two things that gave rise to Judgement.”

Think I'm on eleven, but I'm on a nine 

Guess you don't really know me

“Gwendy snapping at Michelle at the end of Episode 9 was her greatest display of power yet, but it was not the true extent of her power. Judgement vs. Memory Michelle is.”

Running from the past is a losing game

It never brings you glory

“Michelle’s avoidance of the past is futile. She’ll face it regardless of whose terms it’s on.”

Been down this road before 

Already know this story

“When Gwendy and Ghost are angered by someone, they confront them and win. Their moments of fury in Episode 9 are proof of that. This confrontation in particular is taking place within a memory of a day Judgement knows all too well.”

Face your fear

Face your fear

It's time to face your fear

“Michelle will face her fear of everything regardless of whose terms it’s on.”

'Cause when your time has come and gone

I'll be the one to carry on (carry on)

“Judgement will take everything they need from Michelle and obtain freedom.”

And you can throw me to the wolves (throw me to the wolves)

“Michelle’s various avoidance behaviors involving Gwendy’s grades.”

'Cause I am undefeatable

“Judgement will win.”

I'm what you get when the stars collide

“Gwendy and Ghost’s fusion is the other thing that gave rise to Judgement.”

Now face it, you're just an enemy

(woah, woah)

You're crossing the line

“Michelle is no longer a Plumby and will never be one again.”

(woah, woah)

Now we've run out of time

“As a result of the end of Episode 9, Gwendy was unable to complete her domination of Michelle, who had now squandered all chance of redemption.”

(woah, woah)

I'll take what is mine

“Judgement’s use of Empathic Fist, Historic Fist & Judgement Fist.”

And when the story ends

It becomes a part of me

“Judgement will take everything they need from Michelle and obtain freedom.”

I've given what it takes

I'll find another way

“Ghost’s existence was a secret no longer worth keeping. Thus, Gwendy revealed it to Michelle, choosing to use the pain of reality to build a new, better peace instead of trying to maintain the old one.”

I used to never know

But now it's crystal clear

This feeling's just a ghost

“Michelle is alive, but she’s no one’s family anymore. Therefore, Gwendy and Gilly’s Mom is dead, along with her other familial selves (Jane’s Sister, Edith’s Daughter, Chad’s Partner, etc.).”

In the process of brainstorming this description, I managed to articulate to myself why I’m so fixated on just anger and lack thereof in Gwendy & Ghost, both inside and outside of Michelle’s plotline. I’ve said before how anger is the ultimate proof of power and caring in my eyes. The nature of this comic’s existence makes it one of the most human I’ve ever seen, so it means a lot to me to see the true potential of power and caring realized in the face of injustice whenever it appears in the story. I even came up with a quote for this viewpoint of mine.

“Anger is the greatest manifestation of human power that exists.”

If any of this has made you interested in reading Gwendy & Ghost, here are links to all the places it is available.

Gwendy & Ghost Website 

Gwendy & Ghost Tapas Page 

Gwendy & Ghost Webtoon Page