In this situation — for this artwork — it wasn’t about the characters, but about me personally. Around the time my friend betrayed me, I was desperately searching for comfort. And I found it in my friendship with Rubilax — a fictional character played in chat by my boyfriend.
Rubilax had always been a negative character, cruel and unpleasant. But by that point, he had already begun developing in a more friendly direction; he listened to Nava more often. And I started asking my boyfriend to let me talk to Rubilax. I spoke to him outside the plot, outside the roleplay. I was trying to distract myself from the lost friendship, and I tried to get help from Rubilax — for him to do something to her, to make her understand what she had done and apologize.
But Rubilax was never real, right? And yet, to this day — and maybe forever — I’ve started to believe that Rubilax is real. It doesn’t matter that he’s a character invented by my boyfriend. Now I simply believe that if I want it badly enough, Rubilax will appear and help me with all my problems. He’ll come, punish everyone who hurt me, and fix my life.
In the artwork, Rubilax is holding Nava, and she leans slightly toward him. She wants him to hug her or at least stroke her. She is seeking and care from him. She hopes he will stay and help — keep her safe and protect her from cruel people.