Isn’t this great? We each get to choose the thing that eats us.
Vaughan was a friend of Carpenter and later a co-worker and friend of Paige. They are at least 31 years old, around the same age as Carpenter and Paige.
| ATTENTION: SPOILERS AHEAD! Beyond this point, major plot spoilers are expected. Continue at your own risk. |
Personality[]
Vaughan is sardonic and cynical. They have a desperate desire to make something of themselves. At the same time, they acknowledge that the odds are not in their favour.[1] They are canny and resourceful, but it does not save them from their fate.[2]
Background[]
Vaughan was Carpenter's co-worker at Hallowed Hoagies, and a friend of Carpenter. Their departure to a college in the Linger Straights on a scholarship for marketing removed one of Carpenter's ties to the area, likely making her more susceptible to Mason's offer to join the Followers of the Trawlerman. Their cynical view of the gods likely also influenced Carpenter's skepticism of the gods in general, with Carpenter mentioning that the line 'we each get to choose what eats us' stayed with her.[1]
13 years later, Vaughan is working alongside Paige at Old Black Crow Incorporated. They hold a position of experience, directing the conversations in what we hear of their work in marketing gods. When Paige is told of the incoming company shake-up, they tell Vaughan, who pretends to have heard already, and has already gauged the situation- that the worst-performing and redundant of them will be sacrificed to the new god. When Paige grows concerned after another announcement, Vaughan reassures her that the fact she's been told means she's ear-marked for promotion, as the company told her first. When Paige is glad for both of their survival, Vaughan reveals to her that they didn't receive the email, and they suspect, from their performance, that they might be ear-marked for sacrifice. Paige is outraged, but Vaughan reassures her that they have a plan.
Paige decides to send an email to the Hooper, notifying them of Vaughan's good performance, and attempting to Vaughan them to her own successes. She does not act further- still doubting that the company would actually sacrifice long-term employees. It is possible that this unknowingly sabotaged Vaughan's plan, which was potentially to throw themself under the radar, as the email highlighted them to those in charge of the sacrifice as a target. Either way, at some point Vaughan stops coming into work, and is next seen bruised, in a van at the site of the sacrifice. They are dressed in the robes and masked head of the Bronze Savant, and are dragged towards it, being the first to fight back, and inspires a struggle, though this is ultimately futile. They are again singled out as standing still, separate from the crowd of sacrifices banging on the door as they are all transfigured into a saint of the Crawling-In-Ecstasy, which is summarily killed.[2]
Episode Appearances[]
| Chapters | Synopsis |
|---|---|
| Chapter 6: It Winds, It Worms, It Wends | Vaughan expresses their desire to leave and make something of themselves. Carpenter worries about losing her friend. Eventually they do leave, inadvertently pushing Carpenter towards Mason and the Parish of Tide and Flesh. |
| Chapter 7: It Carries Few, It Drowns Many | Vaughan is a team leader at OBC. It appears as though they have achieved everything they desired to. When the company decides to change, Vaughan is sacrificed to the Crawling-In-Ecstasy. |
Connections[]
- Carpenter was a friend of Vaughan's in their late teen years. Due to Vaughan's scholarship and residence in the Linger Straits and Carpenter's reconnection to the Parish of Tide and Flesh, the two lose contact.[1]
- Paige was a co-worker and friend of Vaughan's at OBC. Paige tries to save Vaughan from their sacrifice to the Crawling-In-Ecstasy and fails.[2]
Trivia[]
- Despite coining the phrase "We each get to choose the thing that eats us", Vaughan ultimately didn't get to choose the thing that ate them.[2]