long time no see my uni professors want me dead and i want to write fanfic so here’s the start of a thread of character analysis/headcannons about post-canon lost in translation
Jaewon:
ok first things first this guy goes through so much head trauma in canon what the fuck is up with that?? i don’t feel like verifying all the occurances right now but off the top of my brain i count four different times (ceo park literally stomping on him, jaewon hitting his head on a door knob (and yes rhat is mostly humor but also im counting it), jaewon hitting his head on the floor of the club (club situation with minseok and dae), ceo park hitting him over the head with glass bottle AND stomping on his head (two for one combo)) and as far as i recall, jaewon doesn’t specifically get treated for head trauma in any of these situations? yes he gets hospitalized twice, once with a visible bandage on his head, and while i can understand not wanting to get super medical i am also just like 🤨🤨🤨🤨 someone check him for a concussion please???
so i know this sounds insane but keep the previous stuff in mind: i honestly to god think he’s got a TBI (traumatic brain injury)/some sort of brain damage by the end of season three, and my main reasoning for this is his behavior in the episodes when he is hospitalized/leading up to the trial. YES he has dealt with a lot mentally by that point and that could also explain his behavior, BUT!!!! his behavior in those episodes (specifically when he snaps at daehyun) just feels. off. INTERESTINGLY ENOUGH THEY ALSO LINE UP WITH SOME SYMPTOMS OF A TBI!!!! specifically behavior/mood related symptoms but yeah the point still stands. He’s irritable and i’d even say a bit aggressive (behavioral symptoms) but he also seems to be swinging between being angry to anxious/lonely to just straight up apathy (specifically during the bridge scene.) which are all common mood-related symptoms. FURTHERMORE. he is back to normal (basically) at the trial, and many of the symptoms mentioned are like. shorter term symptoms? so. TBI is definitely a possibility and a very likely one in my opinion bc ceo park kinda fucked him up ngl!!!!
anyways. the headcannon that comes from this. spiel of medical stuff. ok the headcannon is that jaewon has a TBI, but more specifically there are long term symptoms of those, A LOT OF WHICH DO NOT WORK WELL WITH BEING AN IDOL. given that he does redebut with mayhem and there is no mention of him having severe medical repercussions, i have sorta cherry picked things that like. make sense but also still Theoretically let him be an idol?? anyways here we go:
i think that post-canon, jaewon would likely still have issues sleeping (partly due to like. stalker trauma, partly TBI), but I also think he would end up with some form of chronic migraine situation/sensitivities to light & sound AND I KNOW YOU’RE THINKING “HOW DOES THAT WORK WITH BEING AN IDOL” well lemme explain.
- CEO Choi (SHC’s CEO & MAYHEM’s new CEO) seems to be like. very willing to pull strings and just generally help his idols/models? just from what we’ve seen he really does seem to care about MAYHEM :’) and i really do think he would like. ensure MAYHEM have an altered promotion schedule/whatever else is needed if the options are having jaewon be able to be in the group or not having him promote when he wants to be with the group.
- as someone who has dealt with chronic migraines! yes they suck but 1) you can. sorta self manage a lot of stuff? (i.e. sunglasses/hat for light sensitivity, headphones/earplugs for noise sensitivty) and there’s a point to which you can just. deal with it? not optimal but tbh you don’t always have a quick fix. THERE ARE SOME EXPERIMENTAL THINGS OUT THERE THOUGH!!!! i got a daith piercing (not officially considered a cure but it did work for me), and a more researched option are these red/pink tinted glasses?? i haven’t had to try them but. jaewon would kinda rock some pink sunglasses. SO THE TL;DR is that there are options, i absolutely think jaewon would find a way to be active with MAYHEM, and more than likely he (and mayhem) would have more rest days/rest periods built into their promotion schedules.
THE SECOND THING: jaewon’s reputation post-canon. i do think he would end up doing some sort of exclusive tell-all interview (likely with a magazine/newspaper instead of a recorded interview?) prior to redebut. mayhem would likely also get interviewed for it, both to confirm some parts and to just reiterate the fact that they didn’t know what was going on???? at all??? so between that and the lewsuit (and HCE being bought out), I do think it would generally be received as the truth and mayhem/jaewon’s names would be cleared.
I do honestly think jaewon would end up being one of the most popular members, if not the most popular. part of this is previous fans of his coming back, part of it is just that he sort of has that it-boy factor??? (handsome + cute, dyed hair, is close to and is supporting his family, sorta tragic backstory) BUT ALSO. AND THIS IS A KEY POINT OF IT. he would absolutely say that he took on the wyld reputation For Mayhem. a side effect of that (not completely/necessarily a bad one?) is that he would sort of become a martyr-type figure to a lot of fans. very much in a “oh he took on so much hate for them to get their chance” type of way. some people would obviously take it too far, but generally he would kinda be given a break by kpop twt 😭 (also like. duh. the whole bridge situation.) very little hate towards him, i do think a lot of people would probably kind of pity him a bit??? (even more so if he did end up being open about any ongoing physical/mental health stuff) and his photocards would cost so goddamn much. HCE-era jaewon photocards or a downpayment on a car, you decide.
but yeah post-canon jaewon? adored and can do no wrong in mayhem twt’s eyes. they are right.