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smile-files · 2 years

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teardrop for the win!

of course i have a bias for teardrop, but for several reasons i believe that they really are one of the best object show characters of all time - teardrop by definition changes the game while also changing as a person.

for one thing, if given a list of all of teardrop's areas of expertise, one would assume that she was a guaranteed winner - she is incredibly intelligent and cunning, knows how to author, draw, and code, can easily operate regular tools as well as firearms, can walk up walls, is quick on her feet with good balance, has an amazing throwing arm, can work under pressure, can shoot lasers out of her finger, and is astoundingly ambitious and laser-focused on winning. if ignoring the social aspect of challenges, teardrop would've easily won every season they participated in - which is all of them.

however, one can't ignore the social aspect of challenge-based shows like bfdi - and, whether they're in her control or not, that's where most of her shortcomings lie. the fact that teardrop doesn't speak affects how a lot of their fellow contestants treat them, often causing them to take advantage of teardrop in challenges or otherwise harass them. for that reason alone it can be incredibly difficult for teardrop to make friends, in teams or alliances, as most other contestants refuse to see her as anything but "the quiet one" (even well-meaning contestants refer to her with similarly reductive epithets).

aside from this, teardrop frequently has had little to no regard for the wellbeing of others, perfectly willing to hurt them if they bother her or if their pain gives her the upper hand. most of the time this has been in response to how others treat them, in that nobody cared about their feelings, so they weren't going to care about anyone else's; similarly, teardrop's ambition might've stemmed from a notion that since nobody cared what they wanted, they were going to take what they wanted. even so, teardrop's hostility has often affected people who have done nothing specific to hurt her, such as gelatin, leafy, or flower - out of an unadultarated drive for victory for all three cases, but for the last case also out of impulse. teardrop is notably very impulsive, frequently jumping into actions or decisions without considering all of the options or really thinking about how they might affect those around her. it's clear that teardrop has been here to win, not to make friends - or at least that's what she thought at first.

this initial picture of teardrop provides a fascinating dichotomy between her immense technical skills and meager social skills - both of which being essential to really succeeding in a competition (aside from helping in the team/alliance setting, social skills are important in making the viewer want you to stick around). and, sadly, because so few really accepted them as a person, nevermind a fellow contestant, teardrop's opportunities to utilize her skills and really help her team had been few and far between, meaning that for a significant portion of the series teardrop had been left to languish and be eliminated for no good reason.

i can't say that teardrop didn't get along with anyone before bfb's split; not everyone was actively hostile towards her, for one thing, and a select few were actually reasonably nice to her and actively engaged her in and out of challenges - like leafy, bubble, and especially needle. unfortunately, though, it's hard to find a needle in a haystack (pun intended)...

at the start of bfb, most people were treating teardrop like they always had - why, the first episode is titled "getting teardrop to talk", as even newbies were keen on harassing them about their lack of speech. right from the beginning of that season it was cemented in our minds that people still saw teardrop as a "silent type" with whom understanding is impossible. it was their trying to force teardrop to speak. it was their ignoring teardrop's nonverbal cues. everything seemed the same as always...

but if the first episode's title being named after her tells us anything, it's that bfb was the beginning of teardrop's ascension. into a winner.

before the split, teardrop did what they could to help their team, as they normally would; it was after the split, though, which marked their prime opportunity not only to make friends but also shine as a teammate.

her new team consisted of balloony, bubble, gelatin, leafy, lollipop, ruby, and herself - two people who were already nice to her, three who had never harassed her, and one with whom she was acquainted but who hadn't accepted her yet. i believe this group of people presented teardrop with the ultimate opportunity to not only succeed in the competition, but also grow as a person and get better at making friends.

throughout this new era teardrop got to help immensely in nearly every challenge while simultaneously having fun - they seemed to be a lot more comfortable with this team than with prior ones.

most importantly, she came face-to-face with how her actions affect others. a continuous victim of teardrop's impulsive violence was gelatin; this reasonably made him upset and uncomfortable. however, instead of fearing teardrop and treating them like a monster, he openly told them how he was feeling - actually treating them like a person with feelings themselves. and so teardrop could actually take a step back and think about how she made him feel, and then apologize the best way she could - she might not've been able to say she was sorry, but with her party for gelatin she definitely showed it. and gelatin recognized that.

(my favorite image ever ^)

and so the rest of the contestants began to recognize teardrop as well... there was a subsequent ripple effect from gelatin's open discomfort to teardrop's apology to him to a friendship with him to a friendship with lollipop, which in itself resulted in a willingness to risk their immunity for the sake of their friendship and alliance... which is completely unprecedented! teardrop is so driven to win that her willingness to potentially lose is shocking.

before this, teardrop only ever fought for herself; after all, there was really nobody else for her to fight for. teardrop had had amicable acquaintances, but they didn't really have friends who actually got on their level and put the effort into understanding them. and no, gelatin and lollipop hadn't always been that understanding, but via gelatin's kindness the two of them could now see teardrop in a new light - she wasn't mysterious and scary, but rather just fiercely determined... and misunderstood. they could now see that not only was teardrop a worthy competitor, but a worthy alliance member as well - all because gelatin extended that olive branch.

the newbie alliance, which teardrop was now welcomed into, flourished; the three began to understand each other like siblings; even if they weren't always successful in challenges, they cheered each other on through every loss, every elimination, not even letting a spot in the final divide them. teardrop came in third while gelatin was allowed to advance, but she wasn't angry at him - she was upset with the circumstance, of course, but was also able to move on quickly due to how proud she was of him.

and in the finale, the three worked together beautifully in the group's pursuit of four... and to gelatin and lollipop, their best friends, their siblings, teardrop was no longer "the quiet one". teardrop was the smart one. the perceptive one. the determined one. the one who can inexplicably walk up walls. gelatin and lollipop saw in teardrop what most people refused to, and so teardrop realized that not everyone will refuse to see the good in them. by the end of bfb, teardrop's strengths - all of those incredible technical skills mentioned before - are truly realized, now that they have the strength of their loved ones supporting them. bfb might've been the happy ending for gelatin and flower, but it was also teardrop's beginning.

teardrop abruptly left the scene of bfb for what we now know to be tpot - and her level of confidence is skyrocketing! they're incredibly bold now in a way that they never could've been before - as, even though they're away from their friends, teardrop still has their strength from afar. teardrop still is that ambitious little droplet we know and love; she never stopped aiming for the top, even after being eliminated in bfb. teardrop stuck around until the end, but once things settled down for everyone else, things just picked up once again for them.

it's notable that after a season of finally being able to thrive in a team/alliance setting, teardrop should now be competing on her own; i think this is incredibly interesting, as now she relies entirely on her raw power and talent. after all, not only does teardrop not have teammates to cooperate with, but they also lack the luxury of the chance to be saved from elimination by the viewers - as their team's loss is an automatic elimination for them. we can see that teardrop is struggling on her own, but at the same time her gun-slinging swagger is making her out as a worthy opponent to her fellow competitors. i wouldn't be surprised if somewhere down the line multiple teams want to alliance with them, as to harness this dark horse's power...

in addition, teardrop has really made a name for herself in the eyes of both the viewers and the other characters by joining tpot... the focus was put on them with their disappearance at the end of bfb; then that suspense culminated in their arriving at the setting of tpot; then two made an exception to let them join; then they were put on a solo team bearing their own name; then they somehow pulled through despite being solo. back in bfdi's days teardrop was easy to miss due to her early elimination and lack of screentime - but now the screen is hers. tpot doesn't stand for 'the power of two', no, but rather 'the power of teardrop'... because they're owning it.

teardrop really is coming into her own now, which is so amazing - with every step she comes closer to being the ultimate challenge, and i believe she has it in her to go far in tpot, even if she's at a major disadvantage. but then, teardrop has always been fighting the odds; they're a breakthrough character and a real paragon for the strength of communication, understanding, and friendship, all of which being central themes of bfdi as a whole.

teardrop is a guaranteed winner. i know she's going to do well and have a blast while doing it - and all the power to her! teardrop's already winning and nothing can stop her. come get your crown, teedster...