#OOOOOOOOOO JACKIE AND RIDDLE'S RELATIONSHIP IS SO

[jabberwockprince]

THIMKING about Jackie's dynamics with all heartslabyul for their sheet and its sending me into a spiral bc OOOO i love these themes parallels and details that are meant for me and me only

everyone agrees that ace and jackie are ppl who would absolutely clash with each other bc of their similarities, theyre both openly rude and ace is very insolent at times, which would absolutely set off jackie bc theyre So Easy To Get Angry. and theyre both fucking STUBBORN. but then??? theyre besties. they share the braincell, when they're not being a powerduo calling out everyone, theyre being awful enablers for each other. they argue with each other FOR FUN AS BUDDIES because they know better than to take their insults at heart or at face value.

jackie is ace's bisexual awakening and his weird puppy crush is the most casual thing, they dont take it seriously or allow it to fuck up their friendship, they both respect it and joke about it bc they know theyre too close as friends for anything serious. its still some weird gay thing they have going on. they would absolutely give each other open mouth kisses as a casual thing or as a bit, but ace still needs to get over himself and all the weird heteronormative shit in his brain. they also cant kiss bc it would change their friendship in a very subtle way, something super imperceptible that would make it a bit awkward. they call each other shithead on the daily and dont trust the other to be left unsupervised for 5 minutes, but theyre still one of the very few ppl they'd talk abt deep issues and philosophical shit with.

essentially, they see each other as a "better" version of themselves - jackie is what ace would like to be, minus the emotional baggage, someone who REALLY plays by their own rules. ace is what jackie would like to be, minus the hubris, someone who can actually stay cool when provoked. and they would never say any of this shit to each other's faces

and then there's deuce and jackie, who are supposed to be similar bc theyre both struggling students and former delinquents, but then theyre just opposites. and theyre both smart enough to recognize the hidden aspects of each other - deuce's strength of character and jackie's understanding nature - all covered with this weird role they force upon themselves due their situations.

but they're both also fucking dumb and believe theyre THE role model for the other. jackie is standing there like "i need to be a good enough influence on deuce's impressionable mind so he doesnt obsess over changing himself entirely just because he used to be a shitty guy or whatever", while deuce is over there like "i need to be a good enough influence on jackie's jaded mind so they realize that people are allowed to change and become better, even if theyre deadset on remaining the same".