#c!foolish analysis

Foolish is the one, gleaming exemption from the cycle of violence that’s taken hold of the server. In fact, when he first joined, he specifically stated that he wouldn’t kill any players (this no longer holds 100% true, but it’s important to note that every “death” at his hands has been purely for comedy. Foolish has yet to actually take lives in the present lore and expresses reservations about it.) This may have been from the lasting guilt of his past actions, but it was still something incredibly unique about Foolish. For a server that is built on blood and death, Foolish has refused both of those things, and this is noted specifically as something odd about him (or something to be insulted on, in the Egg’s case).

Another way Foolish stands out from the rest is that he actually found a healthy way to cope. He’s stated several times, both after getting killed by the Egg and confronting Quackity (Foolish doesn’t have a VOD channel so excuse my use of clip channels), that he uses building as a way to cope with his need for control. He recognized that his past affinity for violence did nothing but hurt people and couldn’t get him what he wanted. So Foolish turned to happy, healthy strategies to manage that need. He started building, which still allows him control over his actions and his areas, but also serves as a huge creative and emotional outlet for him. (This is most obvious back when he was working on the mansion. Foolish would get really worked up over things, but he also got incredibly excited to share his work.) In fact, he makes these points a big part of why he refuses to believe that the Egg is right.

So what role does Quackity play in all of this? Well. Quackity let him die in the Red Banquet.

Foolish woke up in his temple, scared and confused with his entire perception of his life shattered. He’s immortal. He’s not supposed to die. He is supposed to be strong. He doesn’t remember what happened for a hot second, still trying to grasp the concept of death and limbo when those never should’ve applied to him. He’s scared of death and what happened to him. The Egg actually gets into his head and challenges his ideologies-- something Quackity does later on, too. It was Quackity’s conscious choice to put Foolish through that. It was Quackity’s decision to inflict that upon Foolish, to destroy Foolish’s perception of who he is and what he stands for, just for a chance to get Foolish to join his country. It was Quackity who chose to inflict Foolish with that trauma, which we clearly see him struggling with when Quackity drops by to try to recruit Foolish to Las Nevadas.

I’m not sure Quackity knew what the Egg was going to tell Foolish, but it worked pretty damn well to make him emotionally vulnerable and susceptible to whatever the hell Quackity had to say.

Not to mention how Quackity talks down to Foolish. Quackity insults Foolish’s home, the place he’d spent months on, claiming that it was empty and hollow, despite it feeling more like a home than anything Quackity was ever a part of. An empty shell, he called it. He comes into Foolish’s home, after putting him through all of that, to insult him. To challenge his ideologies (“you need to go back to the old ways”), to dig into the past Foolish is so obviously trying to distance himself from, to dig into everything Foolish doesn’t want to be anymore, and for all intents and purposes calls Foolish pathetic for finding a better way to live his life. Foolish is audibly disturbed when Quackity brings up his past. It’s not something he wants to go back to or something he wants to talk about.

Quackity reduced the value of Foolish’s life to nothing more than a recruit for Las Nevadas. He smiles and nearly laughs as he tells Foolish he watched him die. Quackity tells him that he’s worth nothing. That he’s an empty shell of a person, that even though he’s to be feared on the outside, he’s really just a builder. He places Foolish’s value as a person as only something valid through his perspective. (Notice how Quackity says, “I did it for you” and then immediately jumps to “... because I wanted a better version of you.” It doesn’t matter to him that Foolish was happy with the life he was living.) He reduces Foolish to nothing and tells him that he’ll only be something with Las Nevadas. And Foolish, now insecure and traumatized, buys into it. After everything Quackity did and said, Foolish is left wondering was Quackity right? (Honestly, that clip is so Huge. Those seconds of unsure silence before Foolish finally voices what’s been weighing on his mind… chef kiss.)

He belittles Foolish and antagonizes him once he becomes rightfully upset. He intentionally puts Foolish in a situation that goes against his beliefs for his own personal gain. He smiles when Foolish snaps at him but throws his trident to the side. He isn’t listening to what Foolish has to say. He doesn't care because he’s gotten the answer he wants.

Honestly, just rewatch Quackity’s entire visit to Foolish. The way Quackity addresses Foolish is so fascinating. The way he disregards everything Foolish says until he gets the answers he wants is such a power move. It’s really not that long, but it’s such a good character study on Quackity and Foolish. C!Quackity, my absolute beloathed you are so good at what you do.

So Foolish, ultimately, joins Las Nevadas. He signs the contract. He falls into what Quackity wants for him. Bloodshed, fear, power. He drags Foolish back into the cycle of violence because he dares to break away from it. Because he dares rebel from the thing keeping Las Nevadas afloat. Conflict. Fear. Torture. Without Quackity’s influence, he never would’ve bought into it again.

(I do a bit more thematic analysis and theorizing after this)

Foolish was a threat to the cycle of violence, so he needed to be dragged back in, kicking and screaming. The only thing you need for a cycle to break is for enough people to decide they’ve suffered enough and decided to end it with themselves. (Small side note, but this is why I love Technoblade and the Syndicate so much. They’re all victims of this cycle. They’ve all suffered, and they’re all hurting, but they’ve decided that they’ve had enough. They strive to break this cycle for themselves and for others, too. I love them, and I’m so happy for them.) Foolish was the first exception to this rule and is notably one of the only open exceptions. (It’s not that Techno isn’t open about his current ideologies, but he lives in the arctic and rarely talks to people outside the Syndicate, so most people don’t know about his change of heart.)

Sure there are a few people who haven’t killed on the SMP, but there are even fewer that express an active avoidance of it. Overall, it made Foolish a threat because he was the first person to break away from these things. He was the first who dared to find a better outlet for his pain. It’s a very uncommon thing that made Foolish stand out, and even more so as the vastness of his power is slowly revealed, along with his past.