#also if u had the patience to read this entire thing I commend u and I would die for u

[royalboybun]

here are my aaa/chadley headcanons because I’m a nightmare shipping monster and I’m in hell

1) chadley and aaa are similar opposites when it comes to their perceptions of themselves and the world, if that makes sense. aaa internalizes everything and thinks he knows himself (he totally doesn’t), whereas chadley externalizes everything (he tries to hide everything with a cool front but fails miserably) but is surprisingly in-touch with his own emotions once he actually thinks about them

2) that means aaa doesn’t quite realize what drives him to be the best gamer in neopia. generally people play for the love of the game, but he’s gone past that to a need to be above everyone else. he was naturally talented at games and spent a lot of his time in the game room because he never really had any friends (being the quiet nerd that I imagine he was in early childhood) and the arcade kept him occupied and made him feel a little less lonely. but he garnered attention with his scores as he got better and better and now there are people that look up to him??? people expect things from him???? so he wants to keep getting better to a. not let those people down and b. prove that he really IS special in some way by being the best at something...so at this point it’s what keeps him confident in himself and feeling like he’s worthwhile

3) aaa is a repressed nerd and loves the control he feels when he knows exactly what he’s doing and exactly how to move forward, a feeling he doesn’t have in other aspects of life like social interactions. games allow him that control which is something he generally doesn’t have?? not physically strong, not popular, and being a social recluse can make you feel pretty dang powerless/insecure so games help him with that because games are logical and make sense and don’t change wildly out of nowhere like real life tends to

4) chadley’s main beef with aaa isn’t that aaa is better than him??? it’s that aaa doesn’t like him AND that aaa doesn’t care about the people around him. chadley tries SO HARD to get people to like him and aaa just gets popularity and loved ones handed to him on a plate (being the games master and whatnot and having a wonderful little sister), and he doesn’t show appreciation for any of them??? it infuriates chadley tbh

5) aaa’s beef with chadley is that he thinks chadley is full of himself and arrogant and an oblivious idiot. ironic coming from aaa who is literally all of those things and doesn’t think he is ANY of those things…..

6) if we’re diverging from canon here tho aaa’s big beef with chadley is more along the lines of chadley being a huge dick to aaa in school. chadley couldn’t win aaa over and turned to being an asshole instead, and aaa was prime material for being picked on.

7) because…while aaa is a nerd, not all nerds get good grades…..aaa has difficulties focusing on studying and classwork when it doesn’t directly relate to his interests. video games are quick enough to keep him interested and engaged and so he excels in that field, but paper is another story. he just doesn’t care about stuff that he doesn’t feel a need to know??? he’s one of those “smart but doesn’t apply himself” types that teachers despise lmao.... somewhat poor grades combined with being generally reclusive and non-social and scrawny and a lil bit Greasy makes aaa Prime Bullying Material

8) but going back to source material and going to a lighter topic. chadley is the Combination Jock And Nerd. perfect in every aspect!!!! he's the type who aces his algebra test, then wins the dodgeball game in gym, then helps u with chemistry, then plays his solo perfectly in band, then recites his lines with Incredible Emotion in theater after school, and still finds the time to keep his hair looking flawless throughout the day......a jack of all trades!!

9) however I feel like that perfection doesn't come as easily or naturally as he likes to lead people to believe. he stays up late to study and wakes up early to get himself looking Perfect, and he tries his hardest not to let anyone know that he actually REALLY tries hard to be as Perfect as he is. I also get a feeling aaa can see right through it? as unaware as aaa is of himself he can absolutely tell how hard chadley tries bc aaa does the exact same thing when he has to be in games master mode

10) which is another thing. aaa probably has mixed feelings about being games master. on one hand, huge ego boost!! popularity!! doing nothing but playing games, which he loves!!! on the other hand, pressure...publicity...social obligations. so he has this overly arrogant persona to kind of boost his confidence and shield himself from that pressure, at least In My Headcanon

11) but yeah aaa can see right through chadley’s bullshit and it makes him mad that this Total Douche gets to win at life even though everything about him is super fake and super cheesy and this dude totally gets away with it

12) and so diverging from canon once more, I feel like it would take some Realizations And Character Development for them to actually get along. one option is for chadley to see that aaa...does care a lot about the people around him?? and that he feels a pretty heavy amount of stress as games master......like if chadley saw aaa freak out after losing a game I feel like he’d lighten up on aaa a lot and apologize for being a dick when he realizes that aaa absolutely DOES care about his fans and keeping up appearances and he worries about letting everyone down and being...not good at the one thing he should be good at. aaa would be upset about losing a game because he’d feel worthless, and if chadley saw that side of him, at that point they may start getting along. basically chadley needs to realize that being a petty jerk to aaa is Actually Really Terrible, and he needs to apologize and prove that he’s grown bc I imagine it would take a fair amount of time before aaa would be willing to consider chadley his friend

13) I love this ship

14) I honestly don’t see them getting along until they’ve both grown and headed to college though tbh. they meet by chance later and think back on all the Bullshit and they’ve both changed a little (for the better. they’re less insecure now and have found themselves a bit more so they don’t have all those Teen Issues) and chadley apologizes for the past. he’d still have to prove to aaa that he really HAS gotten better but I think in the end they’d get along a lot better after growing up some

15) their first date would totally be a night out at the arcade trying to beat each other’s high scores (obviously aaa beats all of chadley’s scores in the end but chadley can always dream) and then that night they head back to aaa’s house and play smash bros meepit vs feepit until like 5 AM and then crash with the tv still on and the game still running

16) I’m wildly diverged from canon now so I will end this but that’s what I got rn. thank u for reading and I Love You???????? I have a lot of unironic and genuine feelings for these gay furry boys and I apologize for being such a Dweeb