The Behavioural Event Network—who happens to go by NETTIE.
it is a separate entity from BEN DROWNED, entirely! this is very important because my ben is a child, and NETTIE is... not a child. it's an ageless, digital being that acts as the host for digital pastas, also known as the Moon Children!
with my rewrite, there's no cult. it's just this creature and its network of guys.
here’s a better look at the design! it’s meant to be artificial, yet also… uncannily represent a human. that’s why it lacks prominent wrinkles. the wires come out of its back and is just there for fun. it has no ears, and it detects things with its antennas.
(i chose the name NETTIE to differentiate it from ben, if that wasn't obvious hahah.)
the proxies have really interesting coping mechanisms like for example masky copes through alcoholism and liu copes through alcoholism and toby copes through alcoholism and lulu copes through alcoholism and
candymaker and their mutual toxicity need to be studied and it will in fact be me who studies it. (they aren't a canon couple in my main AU n all of this is hypothetical LMFAO) (they are def friendly-ish tho ^_^)
candy pop is the optimistic foil to jason. while they've both been through hell and back, jason internalised his bitterness. he's resentful and believes he's incapable of change—not that he wants to admit he's flawed in the first place. on the other hand, candy pop seeks out the good in the world. he's patient, even if NT makes it difficult for him to be, and he advocates for change, pushing jason to be a better man.
their bond started from a deal, but eventually sprouted into a genuine friendship. platonic love. jason hadn't experienced that before. at least not to its truest extent. when he looked at candy pop, he didn't see amelia in him at all. so why did he love him if that wasn't the case?
in any universe where they fall in love, both of them will deny their feelings. but this post isn't abt their tortuously long slowburn, so all i have to say is candy pop's the first person jason had SINCERELY loved. candy pop wanted jason to love him because of that serious hard-to-get personality of his. and it was fun and jokes at first, then it turned into something more.
they're codependent—mostly jason, because again he never loved someone as much as he loves candy pop and he can't bear the thought of losing him. jason is also used to getting his way in relationships. he's manipulative even if he doesn't intend to be. (not that it cancels it out.)
jason is possessive. (in past relationships, he was mostly the one who showed "affection" via gifts and flattery. he did this to keep his chosen ones at bay. so him being on the receiving end means he'll become overly attached.) he hates when candy pop is gone for too long. he hates when candy pop hangs out with other people. he hates knowing candy pop has the OPTION to hang out with other people in the first place. he tries so hard to seize control of candy pop's relationships, but it doesn't work.
candy pop isn't stupid. candy pop knows how to see through his tactics after being with him for decades. this leads to confrontations, then disagreements. but because jason genuinely loves candy pop, he starts putting in effort to change. he's confused when he doesn't argue back against candy pop, but instead takes his words into consideration, without devaluing them. jason has to get used to this. another reason why they're so compatible for each other is that candy pop understands how difficult it is for jason to change his ways. both of them are flawed.
they both go through hella separation anxiety because of their abandonment issues. candy pop leaves for hunts, or to check in on NT's children. it drives jason insane and the first time candy pop left for longer than he expected, he ended up rearranging his entire flat. meanwhile the only time jason is gone is when jason is at work. candy pop does have a problem with clinginess (like obviously he's clingy even when they're not dating), but he doesn't TRY to lose his mind over it. he'll be pacing around, fidgeting with his hair, doing anything to keep his hands occupied. when he's not going through mood switches, he's relatively calm about it. which i think makes sense because he was in a loving and healthy relationship with april fools so he has enough knowledge to know how relationships work. but then when he has intense mood switches it gets all like DO NOT LEAVE ME or WHY DO YOU STAY YOU SHOULD JUST LEAVE ME or I SHOULD KILL MYSELF SO YOU CAN FIND SOMEONE BETTER (EXAGGERATING)
but jason would recognise his episodes. candy pop doesn't willingly act like this. jason's there to help him calm down. even if it means sitting next to him in silence, reassuring him that he's there.
you obviously cannot have a relationship between a man with anger issues and a man with mood issues and not have them both lash out at each other at some point IT DEFINITELY FUCKING HAPPENS and when it does it'll be jason who feels bad because he doesn't want to lose candy pop so he "apologises" for it (he never once uses the word sorry) with a gift or something and candy pop accepts. if jason ever uses the word sorry i imagine it'd be like "i'm sorry you took it that way."
if it's ever candy pop apologising (and he does use the word sorry) i'd imagine jason forgives him and then gets an ego boost afterwards... but like later on this dynamic would change the more candy pop asks for clarity and the more jason realises "no way i actually feel terrible for treating the love of my life that way?" YES IDIOT if you LOVE soMEONE YOU WANT TO TREAT THEM WELL.
i view jason as someone who loves to have control. but as much he loves control, he loves candy pop even more. and he NEEDS candy pop to love him back. he needs to be loved so bad he'll do anything for him. he's so scared of being abandoned. it gets to a point where he's willing to fuck up his life just so that candy pop doesn't leave him—but candy pop would never do anything to hurt jason. candy pop's always telling jason that he's not broken, and that he doesn't need candy pop to fix him. but jason won't come to terms with that. his parents hammered it into his brain that he's broken, and he believes wholeheartedly that candy pop is as broken as him. and that they can fix each other.
(i've had a scene in my head where one day, candy pop breaks down and says "you were right, i am broken" and. deep down, he wants jason to refute that claim. he wants jason to reassure HIM now that he isn't broken. but all jason says is, "it's okay. we can fix each other." and now candy pop's sobbing harder, unsure if he's comforted or horrified. but hey. if they're broken, at least they're broken together!!!)
candy pop has self doubt issues. he often goes through episodes where he believes jason will leave him, because he can't offer more to him. at times, candy pop is avoidant, too, believing jason doesn't love him as anything more than a tool. (NT gave him the ideology that he's really only a sexual object and nothing else.) jason tells him that's not the case, and that candy pop himself is enough. and when jason's going through the same thing—his is more on the "i'm worthless" end—candy pop makes all his strengths apparent.
TLDR: they need to get therapy. i have more to talk about but let's save my ramblings for other posts...... (BTW I THINK THEY'RE GOOD AS A COUPLE OTHERWISE I WOULDN'T SHIP IT.) (CLARIFYING THEY'RE NOT ABUSIVE AND I DON'T SUPPORT ABUSIVE RELATIONSHIPS SORRY!!!)
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