“it might come across as if saxon feeds on lochlan's validation instead of love, but i can debunk that. let me know if you need me to”
Yes yes if you can I am all ears!
Also, was Saxon keeping Lochy around was all love and attention. He was keeping him around like people keep a puppy to look cute while picking girls/ come across as more human and less creepy. Like, I think it’s both.
i apologize in advance if this argument isn't to your taste because i'm going to be using a psychological typology out of the long list of typologies that aren't scientifically proven nor universally accepted. most of them are products of lifelong research of one or two passionate psychologists that i find interesting. so, keep that in mind. i use typologies as tools to accelerate character analysis.
there's a hypothesis called psychosophy (also known as attitudinal psyche). it theorizes that everything one can possibly interact with can be classified as associated with one of the four "aspects" of life. those aspects are emotion, logic, physics, and volition. humans tend to behave the same towards the components of the same aspect (which is why AP is good for creating consistent and believable characters).
one's AP type is determined by their potential to succeed in each aspect, arranged from highest to lowest. so like, default settings.
behold, saxon's typing, calculated by yours truly:
volition > physics > emotion > logic
volition, as described by the man that came up with this stuff, is the aspect society values most. it regulates decision-making, willpower, goals and desires, self-acceptance, the courage to present yourself, separation of responsibility, the relationship with the social hierarchy, power, control, et cetera. the reason i'm bringing this mess up is that it would be a logical fallacy for saxon to rely on external validation to feel confident when he's confident in his right to make decisions already. those arise from the same source. if we assume he keeps lochlan around because he's unable to carry out his intentions without somebody cheering him on, it would contradict the fact that saxon's perfectly self-assured on his own, too. he's not afraid to say what he truly thinks, even if it makes people dislike him. he's comfortable living in a world that is based on power and success; it excites him to climb the ladder, and it's easy for him to make an effort. ("i love work. i love working.")
while saxon has trouble figuring out what he really likes and what he feels like, he has no trouble committing to what he's convincing himself to think he wants. those are different particulars. people who have their emotion positioned high (first or second) and their volition positioned low (third or fourth) at the same time experience the opposite. they're conscious of what would feel better for them and what they want to be choosing, but often lack courage to make a decision favourable to themselves. saxon, on the other hand, is actively pursuing the goals and desires that he doesn't realize don't satisfy him. to sum it up, saxon's volition 1) comes naturally to him, 2) does not require confirmation to be applied.
saxon's emotion is where things get funner. bonds, relationships, morals, preferences, identity and passion all fall under the umbrella of emotion, while the third aspect of one's AP type is considered the biggest insecurity. afanasyev, the creator, compares engaging with it to torture and claims that everybody is bound to battle the suffering that it brings until they die. the wielder views it as vital, yet lacks the internal power to properly put it into effect. the third aspect is so insecure it's completely dependent on feedback. that part is very clear in saxon. he's hurt by chelsea's words expressing what he had subconsciously been doubting all his life, and he seeks lochlan's soothing reassurance that he's nice to be around and has a likable personality. lochlan is the only person really that he can get such a response from without investing in becoming a better person (which would be agonizing. developing the third aspect is always agonizing). it's an unhealthy coping mechanism of saxon's.
it's not, obviously, that strict, high volition users do enjoy being admired; what makes the difference is that they're fine surviving without it, as they, well, admire themselves. i think the ratio of love to validation that saxon seeks from lochlan is pretty huge, though.
sorry for a convoluted response lol. i'll pin some AP resources down below and will answer all the clarifying questions if you have any. out of all the typologies i've studied, AP is the most worthy of investing time in. it's helped me improve my self-perception and media literacy. most of my analysis goes through its lens.
thank you for trusting me to explain things!
a test to find out your typing
