pre-hermitcraft grian (the reason he's a watcher)
WARNING: TW BULLYING MENTIONS! I haven't watched the entire YHS (how is one even capable of doing that) and I'm only in the process of wathcing the EVO series. this is a pure fanon-ish speculation about c!Grian based on some visible facts in these series/other videos. I don't mean to offence fans of other creators mentioned here! also, Grian is a grown man and (I'm sure) he is able to manage his social life as he wants. this is just a contribution to the lore that I wholeheartedly love.
tumblr is against me giving you a lot of videos with lore, so every screenshot has a link with a timecode for the essential moment.
now, let me begin by saying:
I'm terrified of Yandere High School. I feel too bad for Grian.
(if you can't reach the link in the picture, it's here)
he had been a target for awful and hurtful jokes from his first YHS entry. you can sense the same dynamic in pretty much every interaction of Sam, Taurtis and Grian:
1. Sam is always in the position of the most attractive, the most the powerful, the most popular. Whoever and whatever he wants -- girls or attention -- he'll get everything, just because he's the Sam Gladiator, the protagonist, the hero. No one is allowed to steal his spotlight even for a slight second. He'll do anything to keep his throne.
2. Taurtis is pretty much Sam's silent side-kick. He's always around; as a side-kick, he always gets the girls and whatever, but only if Sam is indifferent. While Sam is leading the action, Taurtis is needed to support whatever joke/discussion is going on.
3. Grian is… a friend -- formally, but a whipping boy -- in fact. He is accepted into this trio, but never gets to be in the role of an 'equal'. I've watched several 20-30min long episodes, and there is no kind or even neutral attitude to Grian. Your appearance sucks, your jokes are stupid, you are ridiculous, you do everything wrong, you're not allowed to be with these girls because they're mine, you're not allowed to do this and that becuase only I am.
and this is. every. single. freaking. episode. of. YHS. I've. seen.
these are not silly hermitcraft jokes, this is pure shit.
I have a few ideas to speak about at this point.
-- this is where it all started. the social experience Grian got from YHS affected many situations in the future, I'll write about this below.
-- Taurtis became a close friend for (c!)Grian not nesessary because he was a good friend. but he wasn't bullying him direclty. he was only ment to watch. so they got close -- because Taurtis was somewhat respective of his boundaries. and, between Sam and Taurtis, the obvious 'good' was the latter.
-- the Grian's lesson from this was: be powerful. do not let them push you down. be in charge. and -- he invented his own method for it.
the EVO series was the desired spotlight for Grian and his opportunity to be The Chosen One.
(the link for video is here)
in the first episodes, Grian mentioned several things:
as he mentioned in the e1 of EVO and e1s6 of HC, the EVO was his comfort zone since the first versions of Minecraft were truly his element (unlike for Netty or Jimmy Solidarity, who Grian said would die a lot (LMAO)).
he was actively looking for the weakest people on the server. he made a trap near the spawn (what made it unintentionally unescabaple) first -- because he wanted to see who wouldn't be able to resist the temptation.
--but it was not a YHS case from the very beginning. Grian let viewers know that rudeness and bullying others is unacceptable, and the participants are all good friends that are aware of pranks being silly jokes.
so he wanted to be in charge, from my point of view it was traumatic for him not to be -- and then he always tried to be sure he won't harm anyone.
but at this point, as watchers noticed him, becoming one was inevitable.
he was the perfect one for being a watcher. he analyzes people around him, he uses traps and tricks to find their vulnerabilities, and then he uses their vulnerablilities to his emotional needs. gently, in a human-like way; but Sam forged him the way watchers needed, and they happily accepted the broken being of Grian.
and you know who put Grian down on earth, made him stay?
(once again, the link is here)
the EVO series started after the first collab of Mumbo and Grian and not long before the second (build swap).
the behaviour I described in my beloved post about the first collab, the irritation and passive agression from Grian could also be the effect from YHS. Grian expects the worst from the unknown: he tries to build his social comfort zone boundaries and never cross them when it's unnecessary. he's anxious, he's learned his lesson -- do not trust, do not be weak, that's why he had to react so harshly, and yet--
mumbo managed to soften him. he treated him like not a single friend did before: he was sparkling with happiness and joy from every build Grian had, from every time they met. Mumbo adored him from the first sight of Grian's creations, and the first thing Mumbo said after seeing Grian's re-build was that he wants Grian's builds on HC.
and -- as I can assume -- it was grumbo's friendship that made Grian change his decision and join Hermitcraft after all. as he mentioned in s6e1, he recieved plenty of invitations on the server but declined every time before s6. but then, he finally got a friend.
after Grian joined, he couldn't help himself anymore, he couldn't hold back -- he needed being around Mumbo. pranks transformed from being a weapon to being the reason to... visit Mumbo's base and be around a little bit longer. in s6, after Mumbo's irl trip to Italy (sorry for breaking the 4th wall), Grian sincerely told him that he missed him very much and his favorite activity was just being around.
Grian became a watcher at the end of EVO, ~ 11 of September, 2018. at this time, he had already joined HC. so... it can be said that Mumbo saved him from turning into a cruel creature, from falling into the void of his past.
Mumbo saved him. And Grian stayed.
and the final note, to break you all completely.
do you know when did the first iteration of the watchers' deathloop, 3rd life, happened?
after Mumbo had lost the election for mayor, turned to Scar's side, and they stopped keeping in touch.
oh boy. I have much more about the further lore.
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