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@crustyshrimp's character analysis blog.

[shrimpanalysis]

I liked your Infinity Train analysis post about Simon Laurent. Would you be okay if I re-posted it to Pillowfort via a link embed? (I think you'd have to add a read-more to it first, though.) Or would you like to have a Pillowfort invitation and join Pillowfort yourself? I have many invitations I could give to people.

Ah sure thing! I'm flattered that you'd want to post it :^] sorry for the late reply!

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SIMON LAURENT ANALYSIS

Simon is mostly known infamously as the Villain of this season and a murderer to boot. He seems to be very insistent about his own opinions and beliefs. Going so far as to outright deny other peoples attempts at correcting him.

Due to this he is seen as narrowed-minded and egotistical, outwardly hating being wrong and giving people this intellectual leverage over him but internally rethinking all of his views. His inferiority complex I mean pride- is what I think to be one of the major factors that causes his character regression.

His pride (No, not the group of lions) is shown throughout the season by holding his ground. Most people interpret it as him being close minded at adamant to his own beliefs but I feel like the beliefs are only the basis to his inferiority.

An example, his own hatred towards Nulls. This can be quite a weak link to bring up as everyone in the Apex has this belief. However, the way he continuously reacts to them despite them showing humanity to him as compared to Grace who has gradually seen the other side of them and starts to understand and develop meaningful relationships with them-

Simon reacts negatively the nicer the nulls are to him.(Tuba’s death)

I interpret this as his own damaged pride, he hates being wrong and the more he is proven wrong the more angry he would get. This fear of being wrong could stem from past experiences of being the butt of arguments and made a fool out of it.

Him experiencing these feelings brings himself to adopt this mentality that other people are perceiving him as an idiot or a fool, causing him to try to justify his beliefs as much as he can in order to victimize himself into thinking that everyone is against him and he is the only one that is right to boost his self-esteem which causes him to adopt this narcissistic and manipulative persona to hide his own weaknesses.

(Simon looks away from Grace displaying emotion, he would be more susceptible to mirroring the reactions of his closest friend and he does not want to show weakness.)

Due to his narcissism, he also displays what the viewers might perceive to be a lack of empathy. He does not display much compassion and can be outright apathetic to other people's circumstances, Such as his dismissal to Hazel bringing along Tuba despite her looking clearly distressed when they said she couldn't bring her and completely ignores her feelings about the subject.

He perhaps reacts this way due to his own internalized hatred of himself and displaying compassion would be showing a less hardened in his eyes as he is perhaps taught from a young age that being sensitive or vulnerable is showing weakness and he does not want people to think less of him.

Him being unempathetic also stems from his ego and beliefs as he usually displays this attribute towards Nulls specifically throughout the show which is because if he was indeed wrong about Nulls, it could cause him to start questioning his own feelings about them which is something he does not want to think about as it conflicts with his own victim complex.

Due to him not wanting to be more exposed emotionally, he lashes out in anger. Anger at himself that he projects onto his relationships with others as he is unable to understand and handle his emotions effectively, this can be caused by not having a stable guardian like figure to help him through such issues.

Simon is also shown to outwardly control his anger by kicking and punching objects.

This is shown to be counter productive as it does not allow the person to understand where their anger is coming from and only prides a temporary outlet for his aggression.

His aggressive personality can also be shown in his interest with making war replicas/models.

This can be taken as him being someone who likes being in control and feels like conflict is the only way to progress which can be found in his own toxic relationship with grace where he tries to control her, not knowing that she is her own person which ties into his lack of empathy. This trait is especially shown almost at the end of the series where he commands the Apex like a leader and donning a military general like coat.

His inability to cope with his own emotions and expressing them outwardly to others is the main reason for his attachment issues.

His own paranoia and lack of trust in Grace by invading her memories when she doesn't tell him that Hazel is a Null which shows us how Grace knows his aggressiveness and acts very secretive around him as she predicts he is going to blow up when he finds out.

Him finding this out himself causes even more hurt as he is hit with the realization the only person that he thinks that ever cares about him has betrayed him. He is alone now, a reminder of the time when Samantha left him behind.

And it angers him and forces him to project his sadness as vengeance against others such as manipulating grace and using her memories against her, causing her to be stuck in her own memories as Simon just walks away.

Put yourself in Simon's shoes, you are stuck in an unfamiliar environment,

no idea where to go and the only parental figure you trusted in this whole place was just using you for her own self interest and

your closest friend seems to be tip toeing around you.

You also feel like everyone is out to get you and that your flawed beliefs are wrong but it was the basis of keeping you sane throughout.

Not wanting to believe that any of these things happened to you, you disregard all emotion and lash out at others because you don't want to feel that any of these things are real.

It sounds like a fever dream doesn't it?

Congratulations, you are basically in denial.

I would say the beauty of Simon's portrayal in season three would definitely be the lack of context behind his actions. He is very easy to dismiss as a one sided evil character. (I don't deny it, he is one.) Due to this we don't really see him as a fleshed out individual and he feels like the Tom Riddle of the season.(slowly devolving into a villain.) His own deterioration into this ultimate descent to becoming a murderer and attempting to murder his childhood friend; the instances to solidify his own inferiority complex (the mentality of "Grace already perceives me as an evil character, what use is there to better myself when it's already too late?") Which is what I think to be the cause of his inevitable demise.

I doubt it is going to happen but I do wish that the next book will cover some parts of Simon's past. He isn't a redeemable character, and never has been. He is someone molded by his own upbringing that we do not see, the most integral parts of his development. Many people have made the comparison that Simon had just as many chances as Grace, if not more to redeem himself.

I feel like he does not need chances, he needs to build himself from the ground up and truly look deep into himself and figure out why is he acting this way. None of these chances provide him with that opportunity and this is where him and Grace deviate.

The train has improved Grace and supported much of her character development as shown in the series where he becomes more empathetic, more trusting and open to others such as Hazel and confronting her own demons in her own mind.

She also finally manages to stick up for herself after the emotional roller coaster Simon put her through.

Simon on the other hand, uses this opportunity on the train to cause much destruction and chaos. He has a disconnect with the plane of reality inside the train as opposed to real life and this stunts his development. In my opinion this would be due to the faults of the train and the limitations of the amount of people that it can help. Yes, some people get off the train and become better. People like Tulip, Jessie and Lake. But we don't really see the people that the system has failed. This is where Simon comes in, he is the very person that the train has failed and it shows how counter intuitive it is with the limited opportunities and the disregard for the different circumstances of the people in it, bundling them together.

I doubt Simon will be the first, or the last passenger to be ruined by the whole system. I do like how his character gives us an insight into something not many of us have thought of before that is; how can a train be designed to be so perfect that it can help every single person on board? It is impossible. Even Artificial Super Intelligence like One-One would have trouble doing so. Which can represent how people can only change if they want to, and if they genuinely don't they have to be stuck the feedback loop of hell.

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Big thanks to my homeboy @useful-crew-too​ for supplying all of the screenshots for this analysis

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XEFROS TRITOH ANALYSIS

Xefros is someone who possess a low self esteem.

This is perhaps due to the fact that rust bloods are in the lowest caste of the hemospectrum, causing them to be more of outcasts to the Alternian society. He also adopts the nihilistic optimistic view of the world like most rust bloods do.

In reference to Xefros' low self esteem as mentioned previously, he also has a tendency to overthink things as evident when he states that the reason he thinks dammek gave him the auto tune mic was an insult at his voice and to make it sound better.

This however isn't the case as can be heard from the Grubbels' album as the fluctuating metallic rhythm is Xefros singing from his auto tune mic and it is heavily distorted, I doubt it's doing his voice any favors as he thought that it would. Many fans have speculated that the mic was given to Xefros to prevent him from being identified by highbloods(hes the lead singer and Dammek does most of the instrumentals, therefore having a higher chance to be identified and culled. This is also quite a contradictory theory as in the song broom temperature, Xefros sings the lyrics:

did Dammek even approve of these lyrics? Isn't he quite a paranoid troll? Having the title of tetrarch AND being a bronze blood named dammek would put a lot of eyes on him if the album was released. Plus all of the posters they have of their band around their hives.)

Xefros is a rust blood. Rust bloods are more adventurous and impulsive. This can be a huge setback and can also prove as to why Xefros wanted to be Moirails with Dammek; probably on a whim. However, rust bloods also hold high expectations for anyone in their quadrants and themselves, perhaps Dammeks title as tetrarch and talking about rebellion appeals to Xefros. Xefros has also hinted that he would want to pursue a redder relationship with Dammek. This is again- pure speculation. (During the conversation with Joey, he mentioned liking a guy.)

He probably knows a side- or wants to know a side to Dammek that no one has ever seen before.(bronze bloods being more reserved emotionally)

Xefros is a rage player. Rage players are set in their beliefs and loathe lies. They also seem to have contempt for people in authority as they can abuse their power for their own liking. This is ironic as Dammek is someone with great influence over the revolution, he also holds a title which puts him in some sort of authority position aswell.(It is unclear that whether being a tetrarch in alternian society gives him any sort of power as it contradicts with him being a low blood. He obviously likes being in power as he has told Xefros to call him tetrarch instead of Dammek.)

Rage players are also seen to be more drawn to chaos and anarchy. (Xefros pursuing a quadrant with dammek who is a rebel leader.) His aspect and blood caste ties in well with why he decided to be palebros with dammek. Rust bloods who hold their partners to a high standard and rage players who hate lies and authority. Im going to say that Dammek is mean because it's technically true. Hes the type guy that likes to call himself brutally honest while trying to justify why saying that your hair-do looks like shit is just constructive criticism. I feel like Xefros would be attracted to that trait in him due to the Alternian leaders being huge manipulators of the system. The propaganda that lies to the masses and brainwashes some.

Upon meeting Xefros, he thinks that Joey is a 'test' from Dammek who is trying to train Xefros to be more suspicious of the people he interacts with on the net due to the anonymous nature of it. Dammek probably does this to try and see if Xefros is trustworthy enough to know about rebellion plans and to not blab about it to random strangers pretending to be him.

Due to Dammek being the organiser of the rebellion, Xefros stays by him to experience the revolution. As confirmed that rust bloods are more adventurous and keen to new experiences; Xefros might confuse his relationship with wanting to experience the rebellion instead.

One other thing I'd like to point out would be during the part of the storyline where Xefros was being crushed by rocks and texting Joey and telling her not to be worried and that he's fine. Perhaps there was someone in his life who panicked and got really upset when something bad happened to him and his worry made Xefros feel bad about himself? Dammek perhaps?

In conclusion I feel like xefros' anxiety and fear of worrying Dammek leads to him to catastrophise their whole relationship. Dammeks whole cool rebellion leader shtick probably intrigued Xefros and leads him to stick by him despite the mistreatment.(rust bloods affinity to adventures)

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TETRARCH DAMMEK ANALYSIS

Tetrarch Dammek isn't an inherently bad character that most of the fandom paints him out to be. He quite selfish, paranoid, and hedonistic in some aspects from what we have seen but what we see in Hiveswap is most Xefros' portrayal of him and how he perceives Dammek's gestures and Joeys comparison of alternian to human culture which is not a very well rounded representation of character.(yet.) Though it does give us a glimpse into their relationship and his motives.

Bronze bloods like Dammek being the second lowest, would perhaps try to take advantage of their lower caste counterparts.

To dammek, filling a quadrant with a troll of a lower blood caste gives him an ego boost. As evident from Zebruh's route in friendsim, we can see that many lower blood trolls are pursuing red/pale quadrants with those who are above them on the hemospectrum for protection.

The highbloods benefit from having an obedient partner (if they're even into that) who will try to actively sustain the relationship as it benefits them greatly and allows them to have better opportunities. The highbloods manipulate this desperation and use it to force them to be their slaves of sorts.

Dammek takes advantage of the hemospectrum and does use it to rule over his relationship with Xefros, pursuing a pale quadrant with him. A healthy moirallegiance is usually mutually beneficial, but as from what we can infer from Xefros' reiterations of his experiences with Dammek, we can see that it's not really the case here(Dammek taking Xefros' stuff without permission, and also being one of the possible causes of his low self-esteem). There can be toxic moirallegiances as well.

Dammek is a bronze blood. Bronze bloods are more closed off and are untrusting of most relationships. They are also quite materialistic and place their worth on the belongings they own. This is evident when you enter his hive in the game. It looks like a storage unit that has never been sorted out. It is an accurate representation of a basement dweller who has never cleaned out his room in years.

He usually gives Xefros materialistic items while being closed off to him emotionally, trying to distance himself from Xefros by treating him lower than himself.

This possibly can be due to his own inferiority that he feels the need to put people down and his fear of authority (starting of the rebellion in order to be in control of the very system that oppresses people like him).

Bronze bloods also have a knack of communing with animals due to their craving for validation and animals are mostly quite affectionate to people who are nice to them(this can cross over to their own personal interactions as trolls/humans are more complex than animals). Dammek not reciprocating Xefros' kindness might be due to past experiences with quadrants(previous relationships not reciprocated, causes him to try and distance himself emotionally to prevent from getting himself hurt.).

Dammek being a blood player, leads him to be someone who feeds off camaraderie and loyalty from others. Blood players are also known in most instances to be natural leaders as they manage to inspire many through their actions or words which might be why he is a tetrarch. Blood players stick tight to their own beliefs and views- even if they are wrong as they are too prideful to back down from what they have already worked hard to build up. (Him being an organizer of a rebellion)

Dammek seems to have a fear of separation, mostly to Xefros as is evident with how he always takes his stuff and claiming it as his own. Due to the nature of bronze bloods this can represent Dammek not wanting to let go of Xefros and can also provide a incentive for him to engage in conversations or interactions with Dammek to get back his stuff as Dammek does not want to come off as desperate due to his ego and forces Xefros to interact with him first.

Dammek also seems to be quite a paranoid person. With him planting several bugs in Xefros' home to the elaborate security systems he has in place- there are probably people who are after him, or people he thinks are after him.

Dammek's paranoia is also the cause of much tension between him and Xefros' relationship, his controlling behavior over Xefros to make sure he doesn't doesn't go against him(like his ‘tests’)and his reluctance to open up or be more vulnerable around his moirail.

Xefros and Dammek have quite contrasting personalities. Dammek being the more outgoing and crude rebellion leader while Xefros is a more withdrawn, selfless follower. Xefros' personality leads him to be more drawn to guidelines and a need of directions and rules to follow that Dammek is more than willing to provide. Xefros' emotional vulnerability leads Dammek to want to "toughen" him up and Dammek's more emotionally constipated nature leads Xefros to empathise with him.

Here are some extra thoughts that I would like to add. In optimistic duelist's hiveswap video, he mentions that some hiveswap trolls might not act like their aspect as they have not played SGRUB and do not know much about themselves. They are still kids trying to form their own direction and opinions based off on their experiences on the world around them and are all going through some sort of an identity crisis. Whereas in homestuck, the trolls know their aspects and what they are and how they fit into them.

There is also a theory that I've heard that Xefros is looking for a more redder relationship with Dammek while Dammek is looking for a black relationship with Xefros. This can also be as to why Xefros is more empathetic to Dammek while Dammek is more rude and distant to him. I do kind of disagree with this to an extent as Dammek wouldn't have let Xefros join the Grubbels if he didn't at least harbor some form of trust or closeness with him.

All in all, Dammek is a emotionally stunted and socially inept prick. He is constantly fighting against the system that is used to oppress him and conflicts with his controlling nature. I hope he does turn out to be a more three dimensional character in future acts as some fans can easily antagonize him. (There was also a post circulating about awhile back where a writer of hiveswap answers an ask about a Dammek redemption arc and they replied that Dammek will not be redeemed in the game. I am unable to find the source of it so take this with a grain of salt.)