#ry does meta

[tragedry]

i think an underappreciated element of ashlyn's character is her dry sense of humor and ability to go along with a bit despite literally having no friends and little to no social life before meeting the gang.

like take this scene from episode 28:

this bit is still hilarious to me, even to this day. i love how ready she was to throw hands at the sight of clownassery (courtesy of aiden, ofc)

it's honestly such a fun concept of her character, and i love getting to see her be silly (or threatening) bc she's the #1 person you do not wanna piss off. ever.

[binnarystar]

when you stop to think about it, it's honestly insane how kix just wakes up one day to the news that he's in a future where none of his brothers are alive.

can you imagine the disconnect, of being so used to hearing hundreds and thousands of his brothers' laughter, of being able to see his own face greet him first thing in the morning, of constantly being reminded that he is one out of a thousand copies of one singular person, only to wake up one day to complete silence.

he's all that's left.

and he's all there ever will be.

one last surviving clone out of millions.

if he looked at himself in the mirror then, do you think he's hoping to see someone else?

[tragedry]

sometimes i wonder if tyler heard the laughter from the other room when mike lifted him in his arms.

would he have mistaken the warmth of mike's hands for his dad's?

would the thought of finally being carried to his bedroom after years of doing it on his own bring him any comfort?

(episode 50 still fucks me up to this day)

[tragedry]

big fan of tyler depriving himself of anything beyond basic human needs, both as a way to focus on keeping his family afloat and as a traumatic response.

i say traumatic response in the sense that everything regarding their family was placed upon him after ethan's funeral. tyler had to set his own grief aside in order to find a way to raise himself and taylor without mariana's help, and when you've spent years without any anchor or guidance, when you're constantly living in survival mode, you tend to neglect everything else.

self-indulgence becomes off limits, especially when he has more important things to prioritize.

and what really hurts is how young he was when he made this decision.

[tragedry]

still can't get over the fact that we (the audience) don't get to see the expression ashlyn was making when she gives tyler her apology.

can't begin to put into words how significant it is to have them share this moment together, where tyler is the sole receiver of ashlyn's moment of vulnerability.

and the fact that she had been crying not too long ago from the weight of responsibility and her guilt for leaving him, her emotions were all over the place, and the first thing she does is go to check on him as soon as she felt something was off.

you can see just how worried she was in this panel

ough they make me insane, actually.

[tragedry]

probably my favorite thing about tyler's character is that he is so empathetic but he is still a deeply guarded character, bordering on cynical in nature. he trusts no one and expects no help from anyone.

and yet.

he did not fight back when ashlyn calls his paranoia out, and listened to her.

he is the first one to spot barron bullying logan and is the first one to step up.

he has offered to teach ben how to play guitar after learning about ben's past willingly.

he has indulged aiden's penchant for humor (even at the worst of times)

he has comforted ashlyn more than once when she starts to doubt her leadership or blame herself for getting them into this mess.

he took on the role as taylor's primary guardian at a young age right after taylor tells him she was hungry, and he's never regretted his decision once.

so frequently are the bleeding heart characters portrayed in media as someone emotionally intelligent/intuitive than logical-analytical, and so their worldview is often implied to be a consequence of naivety, childishness, or wishful thinking.

so for a character like tyler to be so explicitly compassionate and also explicitly logical, closed off, and guarded actively fights off against that stereotype and says yeah, empathy is actually a conscious choice. compassion is not a magical tool only wielded by those who wear their heart on their sleeves, it is a decision. it is an active one at that, because the character is only given two choices: either choose to offer or show empathy, or walk away from it.

and we constantly see tyler choosing the first option time and time again in the webtoon.

like, he's definitely far from being the most emotionally intelligent in the group (that title obviously belongs to tay), but i think people don't give him enough credit for always choosing to be empathic despite all that's happened to him.

oh tyler hernandez, one day of these days fandom will understand you.

[tragedry]

Hernandez twins: s1e13 // s2ep54 parallels

they run to each other for hugs, especially during times of distress. do you know what that means? it means by s3, they'll realize they have no one to run to, no one to hug them to help calm them down. no one to reassure them that they aren't alone, that they aren't facing the world on their own. sure, they manage to have one of the group with them, but it's not. the. same. and it will never be the same until they reunite.

[tragedry]

one of my fav details about episode 37 is that we got the two most cynical characters in the webtoon to smile.

getting tyler to actually acknowledge their efforts gives the team hope (bc if the most realistic guy in the group believes they can do something, then they definitely can!) while ashlyn's reassurance is what pushes them forward (bc if the leader is fine, then she can take them anywhere, and that includes safety and security!)