DVD commentary: the one where ty and julian rebel in little ways to help their batch of trainees? I think it's the one with some really great sun/light metaphors
!!!! I’m always stoked to speak to someone who thinks about Julian. He’s one of my side characters that I just adore but I do not give enough attention.
Unfortunately your description links to pretty much all of his drabbles because you hit upon the two key conceits I have with Julian pieces: the importance of small rebellions, and the way he collaborates with Ty. The ‘sun to his moon’ phrase actually comes from the Biohazard ask about Ty, but it is the idea behind their dynamic.
Class Clown is, in my opinion, the quintessential Julian piece. It highlights how different he is to the other captives, and how much they love him for it. It shows him in his lovely happy-go-lucky self, but also being very caring. Ty does more of the reaching out and forging connections with the other captives, but Julian is involved. Through his finger-spelt messages across the room, he keeps up with what’s going on.
And when trouble comes sweeping over the group, Julian is brave. He steps into the firing line. He takes the spotlight and performs the rebellious trainee. Until the very last second, he’s joking, making sure he can squeeze out a few more seconds of smiles before he gets beaten down again.
And it works. Boy does it work. Dead hairs and grit came away under the cloth and he felt a pang of almost-deadened revulsion. This is Ty we’re talking about, narrating this, feeling next to nothing at the dirt under his hands. Julian is the only reason Ty survived as long as he did in training. They supported each other.
But then, one day, the sun went behind a cloud, and it never came back out.