retribution | [OOC] Thoughts on Tybalt

Tybalt: There are times I cursed my life, wondering why I was born. But in time, I found my answer. I was born to kill you.

It's worth noting that it's not so much as a "war" happening in Neo Verona, but subjugation by Montague over the populace. Leontes was a Capulet bastard and his mother became a prostitute on the streets. Leontes was abused and his mother died in pain, which brought his extreme hatred against the Capulets.

That's where Tybalt's mother comes in. At some point, Leontes was adopted by the Montagues and he found his way into the Capulet inner circle by seducing his mother, Volumnia Capulet. This went on for a while until Leontes discovered Escalus and made a coup of power. Then he became the ruler of Neo Verona

(Mind you, this part of RXJ is shittily explained, but I think the way it went does is: Escalus wants Capulet girls to survive -> the current Capulet Head refused -> Ophelia works with Leontes to overthrow the House but Leontes takes it too far and Escalus starts to die -> Ophelia takes shit into her own hands)

At any rate, Tybalt's mother managed to escape the purge and lived with Camillo. So technically, things should be okay right?

lulz wrong.

The anime never addressed this part, but the manga states that Tybalt's mother went insane, blaming Leontes for everything that ever happened. Not to mention, Tybalt grew up with Camillo, who is a double-crosser, switching loyalties whenever it suited him. The points of Tybalt's childhood are never fully addressed but he was fully aware of what he was; the son of the man who drove his mother mad and a Capulet, someone who would be put to death the minute anyone found out. As a result, Tybalt grew up with a single purpose, which is to destroy the Montague family completely. His hatred is directed at Leontes, but Tybalt is willing to attack anything that has had contact with Leontes if he feels it's necessary.

This is interesting because Tybalt is more Leontes' son than Romeo ever was. Like Leontes, Tybalt has no clear understanding of love or any other emotion beyond hatred. Hatred is his definable emotion and the only one he has any experience in. Tybalt uses his hatred to drive himself, becoming stronger when he's more enraged. He's out of breath, he can't think beyond his hatred of his father, it physically captures him completely. Otherwise, he doesn't feel anything at all! Juliet cries and while he holds her, he doesn't do anything else! Juliet is lost in her purpose and he abandons her. While Tybalt doesn't have Leontes' fear of being loved, he's never had any concept of it either. It's not even a self-esteem issue, it's simply ... not included in his world view! Which is why when Juliet confesses to loving Juliet and having no more hatred, Tybalt stops. He can't process it at all and then avoids addressing that issue altogether despite the fact that Juliet is the person he is using for his own ends! For Tybalt, to see a person existing without hatred is a huge eye-opener and he starts looking at Juliet for answers rather than his personal revenge.

So what does that say about his life in Aather?

Like I said, Tybalt is all about purpose and right now in Aather, he doesn't feel he has one, even as a Knight. Still, if the Personae told him, "Hey Tybalt, jump!" he would, because that is the action that makes the most sense. Work for the Personae, get whatever he needs out of it, bide his time and then leave. He has zero interest or concern for the people he works with or the normals, but if he is needed and told to do a job specifically, he'll do it. Emotionally, he knows that being invested in people here would make it difficult for him to leave, so he keeps his distance. The way he sees it, the less he owes someone, the easier it'll be for him to cut ties. So he deliberately does things harshly and shrugs off all criticism. And emotionally, he's gone totally numb. Tybalt's driving force is his hatred and none of those memories have revealed that, so he's fine with taking things slowly.

So is Tybalt purposefully a dick? Yes and no. Tybalt simply does things which get him results. For him, the ends always justify the means and that logic isn't going to go away anytime soon.