#Tbh I'm kind of in the demisexual TJ camp

[crowroboros]

would sydney be the boyest of failures if the echo lake incident never happened? (btw personally his pirate and boxing interests were his hyperfixations and also about kicking the fuck out of his dad- pirates dont follow the law and boxers-kick- punch the fuck outta people so he probs fixated on those because he wanted to teach and change his father.)

Alive Sydney AUs are always interesting to think about but a common pitfall I see people take is just not thinking about the full extend of what changes occur and the circumstances surrounding the change. I think we need to first figure out when the timeline splits for our hypothetical scenario. Are we following a timeline in which Sydney just didn't go with the rest of the group to Lake Emma? Are we following a scenario in which Mr. Bronson didn't die the way he did and thus Sydney didn't get possessed by the Samulation? Or is it that in this timeline Mr. Bronson never accidentally killed Sam Ayers? And thus he was never possessed? Cause I think that this will end up greatly impacting how Sydney turns out.

Cause if we're going under the idea that everything up until the Lake Emma incident is the same then I do not see things going well at all for Sydney. It's noted that ever since his father died and during the months leading up to his own death that Sydney would switch between his typical normal self and extreme aggression — implied to be due to the Samulation. If this kept up through his teenage years then I could see Sydney getting into serious trouble because of this. He was said to have caused some physical injuries to his friends during this time period by getting too violent with them when playing around and getting into these aggressive episodes. If this is like Chase's experience with the Samulation then I expect this to end up being thought of as a mental health issue which won't end up getting addressed due to its paranormal origin. And if that happens I wonder if the Samulation's hold on Sydney would worsen and if his aggression and violent tendencies would increase in severity and frequency. And if that happens then I fully expect it to cause issues for Sydney. Flynn's Samulation-induced hallucination at the end of his route is probably the closest thing we have seen to what Sydney would go through if he didn't die then, but even that was based on Flynn's own personal thoughts on what Sydney was like and how he'd turn out.

If we're saying that Mr. Bronson doesn't die on that hunting trip and Sydney never gets possessed then I think that this timeline is more akin to what a lot of Alive Sydney AUs depict, with a generally happier and more healthy dynamic between the group. I think that there is a solid chance that this timeline's Sydney is a goofy boyfailure, yes. Like a Reyn Xenoblade-esque kind of guy. A rambunctious, fun-loving, boyfailure who loves wrestling, ninjas, pirates, who hates his dad and maybe possibly gets into Situations with Flynn and Leo depending on the AU and headcanon about Sydney. I don't think he'll be as happy and as healthy as some depict him, especially with how his father was, but I do think he'd probably be better off than if he was possessed.

Now that last possibility is arguably the most interesting. What happens if Mr. Bronson never accidentally kills Sam? If that happens then it is likely, if not guaranteed, that Mr. Bronson doesn't get possessed by the Samulation. And if that's the case then maybe he doesn't turn out to be such a shitty father. And if what you say about Sydney's interests are true, then would Sydney in this timeline still enjoy those things? Would Sydney even exist at all in this timeline? Cause Sam's death strained Mr. Bronson and Janice's relationship and is part of the reason they split so maybe in this timeline Mr. Bronson and Janice never break up and so Mr. Bronson and Eliza wouldn't get together and have Sydney.

There are so many possibilities with Alive Sydney timelines depending on when things split from the main Echo timeline. I think it'd be cool to see specific instances of what makes these AUs differ from the canon timelines utilized to explore Sydney's character and dynamic with Flynn and the others rather than a vague "Sydney is alive!" sort of AU. Especially with Chase, cause if Chase doesn't get possessed then he never has that more subdued "rock-like" personality that he has in the main game. I wonder how Chase and Sydney would interact if Chase still had his more judgmental and snarky traits like he does as a kid and when the Samulation stops possessing him in Flynn's route.