#whatever :p

couriberg is a reflection of the failure of a hero/villain relationship, but hbg doesn't know that. they were aware of couri dating fein, but couri, still not entirely sure how to deal with the situation, decides against telling them fein's true identity. to hbg, it's a sign that hero/civilian relationships aren't meant to be. the first real one they've seen didn't go well, so that discourages most of them from even trying. it's especially rough when they see how couri acts, clearly more confused and conflicted than ever before. the way he hesitates with missions he wouldn't before. the way he spaces out in ways he never did before, even when he was dating fein. it's a cautionary tale written all over it, and they don't want to be involved.

now, when this breakup happens, I imagine the mores are finally starting to pop up a bit more publicly. nothing crazy, but hax has probably been seen doing some dumb local crimes or whatever. feinberg, reveling in his guilt, watches the local crime report. sees some guy named frostbite on the TV committing some crime. he scoffs at first, but then he takes a closer look. that's when it hits him.

that's hax.

that's the guy he was with when he was getting experimented on.

he hadn't seen the guy personally, but from the description nerdi gave and what he overheard from hax himself, he was sure of it, especially with the powers on display.

to get his mind off everything he attempts to track down hax and talk to him. he does it with relative ease, and he goes to talk. their initial conversation is one of suspicion, but soon enough they establish trust and feinberg is roped into the mores.

the mores are a completely different support system to hbg. I'm sure that couri gets support from friends outside of hbg, but within his hero work, his relationship with feinberg suffocates him. it feels like all anyone can think about with him for a bit is the failure of couriberg. meanwhile, the mores offer an escape. I'm not exactly sure when feinberg confides in the mores about his relationship struggles, but before that, it's about the only way he can get his mind of couri. it endears him to them. their stupidity and whatnot. and when he finally does confide, he has support. maybe not the best advice ("let's kill him and freeze his body under a lake" is not exactly what I'd call great advice) but support nonetheless. where couriway finds that his relationship is holding him back, feinberg finds a way to move on, even if it involves falling back into villainy.

even if it's what couri wouldn't want.

NOW let's move to the haxfume era because this post was supposed to be about them as well 😭

infume joins a fair bit after the couriberg incident, and most people have learned to ignore it at least. that gives infume a new perspective, as the new hbg member, not at all influenced by whatever happened with couri and fein. im sure somebody told infume about the incident, but infume probably wouldn't care much. he was hired for one reason alone: dealing with frostbite. he knows that. he looks forward to it, if nothing else. something exciting in his life!

infume, in some sense, is kind of like an opposite to couriway. where couri does what he does for the betterment of everyone, infume does it for the betterment of himself. he fights to help himself; the saving of others is just a side effect to him. couri always tries to end fights as soon as possible, causing as little damage as needed, while infume prolongs them. he doesn't ever go all out (unless with frostbite, occasionally), hoping to seek the thrill just a little more. to continue that high.

meanwhile, the mores have increased their villain game and are now known as pretty large threat. in terms of a singular group they're probably highest threat level? feinberg goes occasionally, but doesn't participate as often. he tells himself it's because he's getting better, but it's really just so that he does't have to ever confront couri.

hax is someone shaped more by the experiments than feinberg. I don't think it should explain his actions fully (he's always just been destructive and whimsical in my eyes), but it does explain the extent to which he got here. I don't think fein and hax differ from each other in the same way couri and infume do, but I think their ideologies as villains were very much different. hax does it more off instinct. for most of his life, he's been asked by nerdi to be destructive during experiments, and the times he is make him feel alive, so it all comes naturally to him. for fein, it's more of a choice. his entire life, he's been methodical about his choices. what gets him where. nerdi's experiments started when he was later, so instead of shaping traits, they amplified what was already there. that sense of control he desires. it's why he thread such a large web of lies; to have control of his life, his relationships. where fein prioritizes control, hax represents spontaneity.

however, to be opposites, you often have to have much in similar. fein notices. it starts when hax starts talking about his new roommate, infume. the little details hax throws in that fein knows he wouldn't say, because he did the exact same with couri. little signs of admiration that fein knows all too well. then, he comes over to hax's place to meet infume, and he notices infume's eyes flash with recognition. he notices how infume tries to place just a little distance between the two. fein gets suspcious. however, he also doesn't fail to recognize how much hax and infume enjoy each other's company. how close they get. the way they match each other in ways fein hasn't seen anyone else do. not before long, he figures out that infume is the hero that's been fighting with frostbite. and all at once, it comes back to him.

the double life he fought for so hard.

the double life he failed to protect.

the double life that brought him to his lowest.

and instead of feeling anger or happiness/achievement or sadness, he worries. he worries about the what ifs. seeing his mistakes played in front of him again, knowing that he could've done something. but should he be the one who controls his friends' lives? is that his choice to make?

for their happiness and his own, he decides it is.