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kittytheartist · 1 month ago

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Ajawnich canon discussion, hcs and incessant rambling

TW! Mentions of suicide, depression and an eating disorder

Ajaw is my little silly guy so my head runs circles around him

There's just something about their relationship and dynamic that draws me in man, these two lonely awkward guys finding each other and feeling solace in the others company...

They don't seem to communicate very much and instead leave it up to an understanding of each other, or maybe that's just my interpretation. Ajaw is admittedly very stubborn but I think Kinich is also stubborn or maybe a better description is firm, he mostly goes with his own judgment and won't be persuaded on it, especially not by Ajaw who is a loudmouth egocentric maniac that would, to Kinich, never keep his safety or best interest in mind

I can imagine the fights they'd have would be fuuull of tension not to mention always being around each other

Ajaw DOES care but their relationship is a little complicated and so is their situation, if it was up to either of them they never would have stayed together but being with each other although forcefully has brought a little more life to each other's lives

Just thiiiiink, Kinich goes through his commissions, maybe shops then goes to his quiet empty home. Sure he has friends or people he could talk to but they're all in different tribes that you don't see all the time, (we also dont really have an idea of when exactly he met Mualani, Kachina or Ifa) most of the time he's surrounding himself with the people that are hiring him, greedy, selfish or rude people (most often and from what we've seen)

You go through the day to make a living, absolute silence at home and during travel. He lost his family, carries heavy burdens and he doesn't like to spend more than necessary

Now this may not be explicitly canon but I think, and probably most of us think, that he is depressed. He carries the weight of his childhood trauma and continues to live a dangerous life (that is, before his Vision story when he learns what being a hero is about)

In his character story, when he meets Ajaw, Ajaw sought to make a deal with him, with his life and he made it expecting Kinich to die soon because of how reckless and self destructive he seems

Kinich didn't have trouble deciding whether he should let him have his body after he's dead but was more cautious about his intentions and whether he'd stay true to the deal

Kinda sounds like Kinich doesn't care about when or how death would happen back then huh? Depression and suicidal thoughts don't exactly have to be about killing yourself by your own hands, a lot of people experience daydreams of something bad happening or, for Kinich, disregarding your life in itself and failing to take extra measures of protection on purpose

In his character line "hobbies" he talks about how he's tried many extreme sports. Here's his line

"I've tried my hand at all kinds of extreme sports. When I get bored of one thing, I move onto the next. It's a good way to hone your skills while learning to control your fear... First, you face your fear, then you learn to tolerate it, and finally, you conquer it."

Yeah, you can't convince me otherwise on whether this guy does stupid things to "face his fears" 😭

Now it is my personal hc that he has a ED and is very underweight, I imagine he doesn't eat or buy much food unless he deems it "necessary for survival"

Even if he has the luxury to buy food he won't spend the money. After his Father's (very fortunate) death he was a kid living on practically nothing, granted he wasn't being fed very well at all before then so I'd imagine he finds it normal and just another part of life so he'd have a hard time spending the money on more food

I do know we see him eat well (as far as we know) in story but spending the money is different than an event, he's stingy, we know that

Here's even Ajaw pointing it out when talking about his encounter with Veresa (sorry it's blurry I couldn't seem to get a clearer image)

I think Ajaw had definitely helped bring more to his life! Prepare for more rambling...

Once Ajaw and Kinich make the deal and start living life together suddenly those quiet empty rooms were full of, uh, Ajaw...lots of Ajaw

Kinich can say how he misses the silence, peace and quiet but really Ajaw is very talkative (maybe not pleasant but this guy has a loud mouth) and I think that is a perfect fit for Kinich. He isn't very social and sometimes comes off awkward and short in responses but Ajaw fills in all of those blanks, he has wants, complaints, evil schemes big dreams and a lot of attitude all while lacking the social queues and decency most people stick to because, well...he's a dragon with a big ego so he sees himself above humans

Ajaw, seems greedy and loves to eat, so I'd imagine Kinich would get more used to picking up food and having it in the house which could lead to better eating habits.

Here's Ajaw being a little glutton

I like to think Ajaw kind of points out or talks about how Kinich has gone too long without food and gives him shit on starving his future body

Okay enough Kinich analysis for now, let's talk CARE! How do they care for each other? Well well....😈

Their relationship, in canon, is NOT all hatred or just about wanting Kinich dead. Now it may have started as a deal and Ajaw is a wicked little thing but there are bits and pieces where I see true trust and a bond between them

First of all, Ajaw is not JUST evil or wants to destroy everything. In Kinich's voiceline "Chat: Ajaw" he says that Ajaw loves being antagonistic and to just ignore him, that's it, Ajaw just loves to be dramatic and play this evil overlord persona, Not that he isn't cunning or wicked but he sure loves the attention...It's EXAGGERATED he isn't just all evil, he does like to be perceived that way though XD

Now I wanna circle back to when they met in the ruin (character story 5)

the deal wasn't struck immediately, Kinich took time to understand Ajaw and spent a few days there to ensure he wouldn't accept a deal and be tricked

Here's what I wanna talk about

"And so, after several days of mutual testing that was at times friendly, other times hostile, but always brimming with intrigue..."

At times friendly....they really are not always against each other and can share some pleasant time together, it's just mostly bickering lol

The deal was also not just for Ajaw to attain Kinich's body after his passing but it was also to get him out of that cave, to see the sun again.

Ajaw is undoubtedly also a lonely person, just like Kinich (what I was talking about earlier!) Ajaw would have stayed in that ruin for who knows how long. Complete silence, dark and broken, he longed to see the sun once more and destroy Natlan be free, he's a chatterbox but it's empty and lonely talking to yourself for maaany years, even millennia (I don't remember how long ago the dragon war was)

So Kinich not only gave him an opportunity to get out of what's chaining him to the gauntlet wristband whatever but also to let him see the sun, grass and to be out

Whether he can feel the same way he used to is up to personal hc, we can tell from the quests that he can feel but how much? (He has gone into the ice to bathe, he eats, drinks, probably feels getting thrown)

As a phlogistion projection is he really that close to being "real"? I personally really loved the portrayal of the projection and deep diving into the bracelet and hcs in a fic called "choking on flowers" by agoodghost on Ao3 you can read HERE (Amazing fic 100% suggest it drives me insane/pos)

Where it had severe consequences on Kinich and his physical state if Ajaw tried to use too much phlogistion, such as a bigger form and even becoming "solid" like it strains Kinich if Ajaw pulled at his phlogistion and solidified himself so he could feel more. Very fun idea and it hit the nail for me!

Moving on to Kinich's Vision story, I think we see a deeper side to how his death would really go down, Ajaw can say he'd celebrate as much as he wants but is that really true? Hah NO he's a loser

This is part of his story

"He knew that this was the end of the line, and that was also the first time he heard dignified solemnity in Ajaw's voice:

"I fear this is as much power as is mine to display, Kinich..."

"But I swear on my name, K'uhul Ajaw, that upon my accession to your form, you shall all be avenged."

Ajaw tells Kinich that the abyss monsters surrounding them is just as powerful as he is, Ajaw is useless here but he makes sure Kinich knows that his death will be avenged and he will finish the fight in his name

It also says after once Kinich seemingly dies

Ajaw closed his eyes to give the fallen their due respect...

At the end of the story once Kinich gains his vision and is revived Ajaw kind of throws a dramatic tantrum and says

"was gaining my succor insufficient for you?"

Succor means assistance in hard times so he freely admits he was trying to ease Kinich when he said he'd honor his death.

Hey, do you hear that? Sounds like RESPECT!! That little bitch just can't admit it!

They are a DUO whether they like it or not they've grown comfortable with each other and trust the other to work with them. In Kinich's character teaser we see how they work together and how taking commissions goes

They do work quite well together, although Ajaw tends to be a pain he doesn't drag it along. In the trailer when Kinich asks him to translate what the Saurian said he first says it wishes to serve him but after Kinich tells him to be truthful he translates perfectly

In Kinich's tribal quest Kinich has Ajaw act as "bait" to pretend to plot with Enjou, Paimon yells at him for betraying his partner and Ajaw responds:

"There is no betrayal! The Almighty Dragonlord, K'uhul Ajaw is a partner to no one."

Partner to no one? Sure... Ajaw is not just willing to do anything evil, he has pride and he simply would not betray Kinich

he just works with him as per their deal. I highly doubt Ajaw is one to go back on his word

In his trailer Ajaw had "set up" Kinich with some bandits or whatever to get Kinich but well clearly that didn't work, they didn't even hurt him

You'd think if Ajaw was serious about finding ways to kill Kinich he would know Kinich's limits best? It's like he didn't even try, and I don't think he did.

Unknowingly or not they KNOW each other and keep their preferences in mind

In Kinich's voicline "favorite food" Ajaw points out how he never takes grainfruit

Kinich: "Out in the wild, I eat for convenience. Meat and fruits are always my preference, of course."

Ajaw: "Ha, look at you, pretending you're not a picky eater. How come I never see you picking any grainfruits, hmm?"

I think this shows how he does pay attention and they know their preferences🙏

In Kinich's teapot voice line he offers to make his homemade Quenepa berry something juice and Ajaw goes CRAZY for the juice XD in his voiceline about Iansan he also says how he uses the rejected berries for making Ajaw's favorite juice, Ajaw is very angry to hear that though lmao but it's cute that Kinich makes him his favorite juice so often

Okay I'd like to talk headcanons now hehe

I like to imagine Ajaw taking the form or a human with his phlogistion projection cause I think it's fun and interesting having hcs for how his shape-shifting would work, how he would adapt to being like a human and also how it could affect their relationship

I think it's cute to imagine he takes the human form to show "affection" the way humans usually do, even if he finds it stupid but I can see the dragon traditions and human ones being quite different for dating so sometimes it's necessary to put up with the weird romantic gestures of humans/dragons

Although Ajaw can show affection in a human form I think there would be boundaries, silent boundaries though, I don't think they communicate at all they just accept when something is a no go

I'd imagine Kinich would have a form of td or just some forms of touch are off limits because of his abusive father, I like to think that he cannot sleep with Ajaw when he is in a human form and would wake up freaked out and couldn't handle it but when Ajaw would sleep by him in a dragonlike form he can sleep soundly and even feel comforted.

I don't believe there's any more canon explanations on the ancient relic that Ajaw is trapped in but I looove seeing people make their own hcs and interpretations on it, I talked about it earlier with the fic recommendation! I think it's a common assumption that the phlogistion used for Ajaw's projection is limited and It could definitely be supplied by Kinich himself so I like to think he gets very annoyed if Ajaw uses more phlogistion than he's said he could (but how could you be mad if it was to throw you off a cliff hug you!) But in his idle he opens up a menu of some sort for his Saurian bounties on the bracelet so I assume it has other uses

Including (my hc) a phlogistion monitor and buttons to limit the phlogistion output, so of course Ajaw could be kept under wraps, that's why he was trapped in the bracelet in the first place!

I read a few fics and it portrayed Ajaw getting frustrated and annoyed with all these pesky "rules" to follow and things to avoid so he doesn't upset Kinich and trigger him and it just felt so true! Kinich and Ajaw can be stubborn and probably get on each other's nerves so I can definitely see Ajaw getting mad at "caring" about how Kinich feels because humans are oh so needy and emotional but yk...he has a soft spot and it's not like he really thinks humans are that much more emotional but Ajaw deals with his emotions a lot more differently (probably due to the way dragons are, boy are they all assholes) so that's probably places strain on their communication and overall relationship.

For my personal humanized Ajaw I like to think he horns dissipate into floating phlogistion when Kinich goes against them so they don't bump into him or get in the way but he ONLY dissipates them for Kinich, if his fabulous horns are in the way for anyone else it's their problem! Although if Kinich and Ajaw are fighting...he'd probably intentionally hit him with his horns

Or trip him with his tail, actually he'd do that even when they're on decent terms XD

I'll stop here for now! Haha