ʜsʜ٭

on the surface it can look like pierrot and harlequin hate each other, or that harlequin only messes with pierrot for the fun of it, but i can't help but feel like there’s something more complex between them. there’s a lot of reasons why so um idk how i’m gonna organize this but i’ll start with jester’s story, which of course is likely his own interpretation of what happened on that night (and also embellished for the audience), so it’s not the absolute truth but i'm assuming it's accurate for the most part:

harlequin watched the lovers, pierrot and columbina, and felt envy

but what was he envious of? whose attention did he want? it’s not clear. was he envious of what the two had (genuine and tender love)? was it columbina’s attention? or was it pierrot’s?

what was it that he wanted but couldn't have? again, i believe there could be multiple interpretations. it's possible that it could have been pierrot’s affection that he wanted, but pierrot’s eyes were on columbina instead. so he wanted to steal her away from him so the two couldn't be happy together.

maybe he even wanted to be involved in their happy relationship in some way because it's something he's never had, but didn't realize it or know how to communicate that properly, and so he attempts to ruin their relationship instead.

but in the end, harlequin never got what he wanted from either columbina or pierrot.

on that night, pierrot is barely conscious, and when he wakes, he sees harlequin tearing his beloved apart while smiling and laughing:

pierrot was probably….very furious with harlequin that night (i wouldn't be surprised if pierrot had wanted to kill him in that moment) and was still upset for a long while after that. even if harlequin tried to explain his reasons for what he did, would pierrot even listen to harlequin after he betrayed him like that?

i think that harlequin understood that pierrot couldn't forgive him or look at him the same way again after that (and maybe harlequin couldn't forgive himself either).

so harlequin got used to pierrot’s anger towards him, accepted that pierrot could only hate him after what he did. and harlequin has leaned into that, turning into the one who teases and antagonizes pierrot.

if harlequin truly only hated pierrot, why would he care so much about what pierrot does or who he is interested in? if harlequin only hated him and didn't care about him, wouldn't it make more sense to ignore him completely?

yet he doesn't leave pierrot alone. he pays attention to who pierrot is or isn't interested in in the pink tent. he always steals one of pierrot’s sweets, even though they're too sweet for him. he loves to mess with pierrot specifically, because he loves to see his angry reactions.

harlequin calls pierrot ‘irritating’ and says he ‘disgusts’ him, yet harlequin still cares for his attention enough to pursue someone (mc) specifically and (initially) only because pierrot is interested in them and harlequin wants to see pierrot ‘lose.’

whether he's aware of it or not, it seems like harlequin craves pierrot’s attention in any way he can get it, even if it’s his anger and disdain. harlequin has accepted that pierrot can only look at him in that way.

by now, harlequin has probably convinced himself that he doesn't need love, not tender love like the kind pierrot and columbina shared, because he believes it’s something he can never have (and especially not with pierrot).

but if pierrot looks at him with anger? it’s better than nothing, because pierrot’s eyes are still on him.

some other things i felt like mentioning:

apparently he followed pierrot at least once when pierrot came to “visit” mc at night, because he knows that pierrot “whispers passion” to them when they're asleep (stalking the stalker?? ok….)

he acts as if he and pierrot never got along and calls the idea “insignificant”:

by acting like it never happened, this could be him rejecting the idea that he ever felt any vulnerable emotions regarding pierrot or was involved with him in a friendly way. he acts like it doesn't matter, but if he cares enough to hide the fact that they used to get along (and saying it in such a seemingly bitter way), ironically it could imply that their friendship had meant something to him (and he's resentful of the fact)

if harlequin had ever craved pierrot’s love, such as when he watched pierrot and columbina and felt envious of their relationship, by now he’s probably so emotionally guarded that he’s convinced himself that he doesn't, that he only likes to tease pierrot for fun and to hurt him. harlequin might act like he doesn't really care about him, that he thinks pierrot is pitiful and disgusting, but still, he pretty clearly has some sort of fixation on him and being on the receiving end of his anger.

also not to mention the way harlequin touches pierrot’s clothes and looks at him  it seems kind of uhh a bit Sus (case in point below) (what is he doing):

could the ship work/could pierrot like him back?

ok this is where the reaching/delusion has to happen because so far pierrot does seem to hate his ass most of the time (understandable for him honestly), not enough to kill harlequin of course, but enough to stab him 5 times without hesitation and get annoyed just saying his name/thinking about him. though there is the Fabled ending with both of them so that implies they’ll at least tolerate each other eventually. it could be more like pierrot > mc < harlequin, but honestly i hope that maybe mc could help pierrot and harlequin reconcile with each other and understand what happened between them and columbina, and then maybe eventually all three of them could be a triad AJAHSHDGKDJ  it may not be very realistic but a queer can dream ok. i want them to be happy.

maybe one day pierrot would be able to see past harlequin’s Very Annoying surface and realize that there's a lonely, emotionally-starved creature beneath…? (but it would probably take a very long time.)