#hbg.asks

When the hollyberrians come back, pitaya took over again but this time trying to maintain the territory, thinking they gave them a second chance at proving themselves. Like they are sweeping the halls, picking fruit, ect.

the idea of Pitaya Dragon taking over the kingdom, not out of malice and anger, but out of love and care for both Hollyberry and her kingdom, is really fun. it would be a neat way to rewrite that storyline and reconsider how Hollyberry's return would go and how Pitaya Dragon's interactions with Royal Berry and Jungleberry would change

Pitaya Dragon absolutely brags about Hollyberry every chance they get. they definitely have the most interactions with Cookies of all the dragons, especially compared to Ananas; their Ovenbreak relationship chart Ananas -> Pitaya is literally "Mingling with Cookies? Have you no pride!?" lmao

Ananas Dragon says something either diminishing or teasing, expecting to irritate Pitaya Dragon. a dragon being close to a Cookie platonically is already unheard of, so Pitaya dating Hollyberry is even more so. Pitaya knows their intent, but they're quick to respond with Hollyberry's positive and admirable traits. Pitaya would not be with someone who is not equal to them in terms of power, or at the very least can hold their own against them. very few Cookies are even close, but they know as well as anyone how special Hollyberry is in that regard

when I saw this ask I immediately thought of this dialogue from episode 12 of Crispia, where Pitaya Dragon has taken the throne:

Pitaya Dragon sees Hollyberry as someone without equal. Pitaya Dragon immediately does not believe Jungleberry when she says someone with "passion as bright as hers" will show up. they know it's impossible because Hollyberry is simply incomparable to other Cookies in a lot of ways. I think this is what gets Pitaya Dragon so intrigued by her in the first place. dragons see Cookies as inferior, but here's this Cookie who is far from inferior in just about every way. it interests Pitaya Dragon, and it's what starts their long history of sparring and leads to the bond they eventually have

I definitely think they both notice. Hollyberry and Dark Cacao know them very well and notice when something is different with them, especially when it comes to the duties they're both usually very dedicated to

it's Hollyberry's idea to send them together as a way to help them spend time together. she proposes it to Dark Cacao, partially under the idea that they work well together (which is true), but she also thinks them spending some time together, even if they're working, will be good for them. Dark Cacao might briefly worry about them distracting one another, but he ultimately knows it'll be good for them

SHE WOULD

the more they hang out, the more she learns about him, and when Crunchy Chip comes up, Wildberry's poker face can't fool Avocado. she knows a smitten Cookie when she sees one, and she wants to interfere help

she finds out he's coming to visit, and she forges a pair of claws for him. maybe she meets him in person at least once before she decides what to make, but she knows a good pair of claws would suit him best. she's good at what she does, an expert of her craft, and they're some of the best claws Crunchy Chip could get

Crunchy Chip is surprised when she says Wildberry wanted him to have them. Wildberry wanted him to have these so badly, she insists, to have something from the Hollyberry Kingdom!! he's grateful and says he'll have to thank Wildberry later

the next time Wildberry comes by, she's like "hey! wanted to let you know I threw a bone for your little friend there! he's nice, I see why you like him so much" just laughing all the while. Wildberry is confused, and Avocado talks about the claws she made as a gift from him!! "he loved them! he'll mention it later so don't look too surprised!! hahaha"

I listened to the song again (for those who haven't listened, please do) and there are actually so many lyrics that fit Silent Salt in this most recent episode

So sweet, so easy on the eyes, but hideous on the inside Whole life spreading lies, but you can't hide, baby, nice try

these lyrics fit the falsehoods the Beasts spread (not just Shadow Milk, who obviously lies as his whole thing) to villainize the Kala Namak Knights (and Silent Salt, though less directly). to their followers, the Beasts are either looking out for them, truthful, or wanting to protect them from the horrors of the world, but Silent Salt sees right through it

'Cause I see your real face and it's ugly as sin Time to put you in your place 'cause you're rotten within When your patterns start to show It makes the hatred wanna grow outta my veins

going along with the other lyrics, these fit Silent Salt seeing the Beasts for who they really are—evil Cookies who only want to have their own ideas running rampant in Beast Yeast. his anger at their actions is so encompassing that it cannot be contained

Break you into pieces in a world of pain, 'cause you're all the same

a big lesson Silent Salt takes from the Beasts' actions is that other Cookies cannot be trusted, and standing up for Cookiekind is ultimately a waste when everyone will eventually betray each other. standing alone is better for him because he thinks allying with others will ultimately hurt him and his goals

Oh, you're the master of illusion 나를 속이려 하지 마 [Don't try to fool me] Look at all the masses that you're foolin' But they'll turn on you soon, so how? How can you sleep or live with yourself? A broken soul trapped in the nastiest shell 영혼 없는 네 목숨을 끊으러 [End your soulless life] and watch you die You can try but you can't hide

this bridge is literally the epitome of Silent Salt's feelings, I think. he knows the Beasts are lying to their followers and even those who are not, all trying to help their own twisted Virtues thrive. he recognizes that they're fooling sooooo many people, but he knows (or hopes) they'll eventually realize how wrong they are. he's questioning why they would want to do something like this or how they can even live with themselves because he is still good and cannot fathom it. when he's talking to Elder Faerie about the Beasts, Silent Salt says, "there is not a speck of Divinity left in your souls. twisted demons, cursed Beasts! I will tear your dough to shreds with my own hands! for every tear you spilled, you shall spill jam tenfold!" so he is very clearly thinking about their deaths and thinks they're better off dead because of what they did. he also point-blank calls them demons, which obviously fits the song's lyrics. they can only hide for so long before he and Elder Faerie seal them in the tree to try and reduce their influence

There is no denying his noble mindset and heroic actions, of course. He was probably the most benevolent of the virtues, taking the values and power he was bestowed with to heart. He welcomed the "downtrodden" into his open arms regardless of who they were, and gave them a space to reside while the Kala Namak knights did everything they could to provide for them. He made sure his knights protected his fellow Virtues and their lands, he worked with Elder Faerie to ready the world for when new Virtues could serve cookiekind, and he never used the position of authority he had with only himself in mind. He and his knights were, in an informal sense, the custodians to the inevitable tensions that are bound to arise within societies.

But that's the issue in itself. They fixed things, but they couldn't prevent them. There was no system put in place to give the people of The Great Barren consistent resources (food, medicine, even undamaged clothing), there was nothing done to permanently stop the power grabs in the other Virtues' domains (such as ending the bloodlust in the spice lands, giving the hungry a free source of food in Shadow Milk's domain, etc), hell there wasn't even a system in place to make sure the other Virtues weren't having any issues with their duties before their corruption. And I'm not saying that all these chores are solely Silent Salt's responsibility, but he and his knights were the only cookies that cared enough to do anything. They were the only ones to address the issues of Beast-Yeast, but you can't fix gaping wounds with a new band-aid every time the blood flow quickens.

Not to mention that the knights of Kala Namak were already stretched thin enough as is. Was anyone other than the calm knight (the one who did the trials) guarding the Great Barren, or could they only spare for one knight to consistently guard the poor cookies they took in? One of the first cutscenes we see with the happy and cheery knights are them bemoaning about how much time they barely spend in their own lands before they're off on another mission. Was it just a nap and then duty once more? They were stretched so thin, going across an entire continent to help all the downtrodden, coming back with only just enough resources to get by for themselves and their people (and not even replenishing resources, this was a never-ending task of survival), of course they were going to slip up. Of course they couldn't protect everyone from a destructive hand, or untwist a lie to find a truth, or prevent every bandit from invading the Ivory Pagoda, or stop cookies from being immortalized in a statue. The task was too high of a demand for a limited team with a growingly absent leader.

This system Silent Salt operated under was unsustainable, much like how Mystic Flour's wish giving was eventually going to deplete her of everything she had to give. Much like how Burning Spice could only watch so many civilizations fall to poverty or war or disease or whathaveyou, before he became the single death for all of them. Much like how Shadow Milk can only be so honest, until lies and misinformation tainted his words enough that he might as well partake himself. Much like how Eternal Sugar couldn't keep up the happiness of every cookie forever, no matter what she did to fix their heartache and grief and rage. They all worked as temporary solutions and never as systematic changes, they were doomed to fail from the start no matter how noble their intentions or actions were.

It's just even more tragic that, when he couldn't fall alongside them, the Beasts dragged Silent Salt down to their level until he was forced to share the same punishment and scorn as them. Silent Salt you deserve the world :(

-🐤 anon

Silent Salt + the Kala Namak Knights wanted so badly to spread the good of their Virtue. I think as the other Beasts were corrupted, that's when it started getting more difficult. Silent Salt mentioned to Elder Faerie that the Beasts had always worked together for the good of Cookiekind, no matter how different their priorities were. combined with what seemed to be really sudden opposition to the Kala Namak Knights' efforts, the Beasts probably worked alongside them until they were corrupted, and because all of Beast Yeast had to be covered by a single group of Cookies instead of five, it made it immensely more difficult for the knights to do their job. Silent Salt refused to let it stop him, and he still tried to encourage the knights to work hard. they believed in him and his cause and kept working, even when food was scarce and they were exhausted. to keep the Virtue strong, they had to spread themselves thin, inadvertently making it easier for Silent Salt to be corrupted and for the Beasts to slow him down

not necessarily!! I think they're the dragon who has the most interactions with Cookies (and definitely the most positive ones), but there are definitely positive interactions between Cookies and the other dragons

Ananas Dragon also has a good bond with Cookies, most notably Mango and the rest of the Mango Tribe. Ananas is frequently offered fruit and crafts by the tribe, and they don't mind visitors or tourists on Pineapple Island, where they live, as long as they don't disrespect the island itself. Ananas seems fond of the Cookies who worship them and is angry that Longan Dragon wants to get rid of them completely. they work well with other Cookies in the stories they appear in and are even motivated by Mango's love for the island, which encourages them to keep fighting when Longan is making things difficult. Ananas isn't particularly open about their fondness for Cookies, but it's not hard to tell that they like them a lot more than they will admit

Lotus Dragon also has a good relationship with Cookies. they've been alone for a long time since they're the last of the Flower Dragons, which has made them pretty lonely. the Lotus Paradise, where they live, is regularly upkept by Cookies. there's even the Wish Festival, which allows Cookies to make wishes with lotus lanterns and potentially get them granted by Lotus Dragon themself. they don't have any mutually friendly relationships in their Relationship Chart with Cookies, except for Hydrangea, which doesn't surprise me since she is very loyal to Lotus, and also Pond Dino, which I feel like is much different than most Cookie + dragon relationships. speaking of, Lotus describes Pond Dino in their Relationship Chart as "the symbol of the new world's beginning," which I think is cute

Lychee Dragon doesn't seem interested in forming bonds with other Cookies, and the only Cookie we even kind of see that with is Rambutan. Lychee takes the form of Mangosteen and blends in with the Rambutan Village, which is on Lychee's island and is where Rambutan herself lives, and eventually reveals their true form as a dragon. Rambutan struggles to separate Lychee from Mangosteen and is still very fond of Lychee, no matter how much she tells herself they can't be trusted. Lychee also doesn't want to be attached to Rambutan because it's in a dragon's nature to dislike Cookies. as of the recent updates, Lychee's relationship with Rambutan is the only mutually Friendly relationship on their Relationship Chart. they have some great moments in the most recent update, but they are with heavy spoilers, so I don't want to necessarily go into detail about them in this reply. but they do exist, even if Lychee is hesitant about forming bonds with Cookies

oooooh interesting

Wildberry is quiet by nature, but he was still supported by Hollyberry, which has made him into the warrior he is today. she is vocal in her support of him, and it gives him the motivation and passion to do what he does now. with her in his corner, he feels like he can do anything!! which is really important for him

Pure Vanilla would absolutely raise him with a similar kind of support. he is very encouraging and does his best to make sure all his friends and loved ones feel supported. Wildberry would have that same support growing up with him. I don't know if he would have the same warrior's spirit he does when raised by Hollyberry, since her kingdom has a lot of established knights and guards for him to learn from. I can see him growing close to Black Raisin and wanting to help her find food and fight off intruders, which she (and Pure Vanilla, when he was still known as Healer) would allow. it's not quite being a knight, but it's still protecting his home

Dark Cacao would absolutely lean into his strength, and he would be one hell of a Dark Cacao Warrior as a result. since Dark Cacao saved his life, I imagine him as one of his closest allies, remaining by his side however he can, especially as a bodyguard (similar to Crunchy Chip and even Wildberry's role with Hollyberry). he would want to repay the favor. seeing the conflict between Dark Cacao and Dark Choco firsthand when he's been raised by Dark Cacao would be difficult (even if he didn't have a father/son relationship with Cacao or a brotherly relationship with Choco). I think he would find that support, but it would look a lot different. he would also have the other Dark Cacao Warriors and the Watchers in his corner too

Golden Cheese could never leave him behind. if she stumbled home from the war and found a Cookie, the sole survivor in this hellish landscape, she would take him in without hesitation. I think his humble start as an orphan would make the Golden City, once it's founded, very overwhelming and jarring for him. similar to his disinterest in partying and drinking in the Hollyberry Kingdom, he would be uninterested in being greedy and having many possessions. however, he would value his companions similarly to Golden Cheese. I can see him and Burnt Cheese being close because of their stoic personalities and dedication to their jobs

(I also think about a scenario in which she finds Wildberry before the Dark Flour War and then he dies protecting her kingdom with the others. it wouldn't change too much about his role in the kingdom, except maybe he's closer in age to Burnt Cheese, depending, but obviously it would be very sad)

I have no idea how Wildberry would get to Beast Yeast where White Lily can find him, but she would take him to the Faerie Kingdom. he would probably become one of the first non-fairy Cookies, if not the first, to join the Silver Tree Knights. I imagine him feeling that sense of duty and purpose, especially if he had faeries like Mercurial Knight and Silverbell (and even Elder Faerie) to look up to. we don't know a lot about his childhood (other than what's said in canon), so he may not have a strong sense of identity that he's attached to. perhaps he would be willing to trade his name and flavor in the name of being a knight? who can say. it would be difficult when White Lily doesn't return from the banquet since she's the one who saved him, which would then encourage a close bond with the other faeries (closer than what they already had) and a strong duty to protect her