vore_and_peace | Relationship Meme

vore_and_peace

Over 1000 comments, so... relationship meme, Jinana only. Go!

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From:

originalsinner.livejournal.com

DIBS \o/

From:

vore_and_peace

~~Jinana thinks Kira is a fine young spoiler, even without having met him -- wait, no~~

SHORT VERSION: Jinana loves Argilla.

But if I left it at that you'd kill me! So:

In canon, Jinana had been very ...strong and silent, bearing up alone under her grief and her personal resolutions. One of the things I find an interesting challenge in camp is the fact that in canon, after her shell cracked she talks pretty openly about her feelings and what she's thinking about, but before that, she's close-mouthed about personal things a lot of the time -- Argilla crosses that line several times and gets her to talk about her feelings, which she does, although of course she always brings it back to business in the end. It's not that "meeting Argilla changed all her silent tendencies", but that "meeting Argilla drew out her feelings because she felt she could talk about them in a way that was understood". When she's talking about power and Argilla steps forward and asks if she's sad, it cuts through all her cover-ups of her suffering and she can bluntly and openly define sadness for herself because Argilla is there knowing what it feels like.

I harp on the sadness point because it comes up over and over for them, Jinana's realization that Argilla understands; Argilla's been there herself and had to suffer through the same feelings and the same choices (even if Argilla makes different decisions, the difficulty of the choice is the same). When the two tribes ally and Argilla thanks Jinana, Jinana's sort of blown away by that response -- that the decision to align themselves, their goals, their lives and deaths, based on the decision that the Embryon won't kill indiscriminately... that that is something worth gratitude stuns and warms her. (Idly, it's also where I, at least, start picking up sexual tension pouring off the screen, though I blame a lot of that on Jinana's voice actor's delievery of the "What beautiful words...").

It's all this similarity and understanding that really comes out when Jinana's dying. Well, and before, after Argilla gathers her up when Mick's been beating on her. It becomes suddenly urgent for Jinana to communicate it back -- yes, I understand, I'm like you, I understand. She doesn't ask for a mercy killing when she starts to transform; the only thought in her mind as she goes crazy is that Argilla should get away so she doesn't hurt her. And then, dying, when Argilla cries for her, she -- well, recognizes Argilla's grief. (I am so taken by the fact that the rain's falling down on her face and she still feels the tear that hits her; I imagine the cold rain and a sudden spot of warmth).

It's a full cicle moment ("many of us have died due to this unexplained power. If my reaction is sad, then yes, I am sad"), and Jinana hates (though in a mild, Jinana-like way) the fact that Argilla is feeling that, because she's been there and knows what an awful feeling it is to live with. She tells Argilla not to be sad because through all this, they have become comrades -- she doesn't have the words to say it, but it is the closest relationship that it is possible to have in the Junkyard, and impossible under normal circumstances across tribe boundaries, let alone with the leader of another tribe, as Karma Temple law dictates the unending war between them. The thought of this closeness, this connection, is enough to awaken her.

Of course, in camp, it's moving on from there, because it has time to. She's taking a great deal of emotional pleasure, sheer enjoyment from normal activities like... hugging or holding hands. Touch and connection with Argilla. It moves her; it hurts her heart and makes it feel like it's swelling. She's clinging to Argilla a little, honestly, as a point of understanding in a world that she doesn't understand, but is trying simultaneously not to either be dependant on Argilla nor to come across as a burden to her, and is exploring on her own; still, when she comes home, she is always full of questions for Argilla because she can trust Argilla's responses to things in a way like she can't trust anyone else's.

From:

vore_and_peace

I won't say there isn't a sexual element, but it's negligable; like msot of them, she's not an overly sexual person, and is mostly relegated to the fact that physical contact with Argilla, because she loves her, is deeply enjoyable to her; it's not a visceral sexual thing but an emotionally sensual thing, if that makes sense. She touches Argilla a lot in canon (given the contexts, at least -- touching her cheek, etc); in camp she has more opportunity for casual touching, which she finds comforting and enjoyable and undemanding. "Sex" as a concept explained by various people (Brook, Roland, Kuhn) seems as though it would be an enjoyable activity to share with someone, but all the associated complexes and counterpoints and cultural addendums leave her confused and a little bit put off.

The fact she has time to just live her life... may survive from week to week and be able to live alongside Argilla, who understands her and who she loves, is a concept she still can't quite... fully understand; it's too big. She can see it and be amazed by it but nto really ...describe it.

In other news, a recent therad with Kuhn (here) has helped her realize that she does "love" Argilla (where before the terms were all... affection, comrade, because those were the terms she had); she's also starting to suspect Roland and Argilla's attraction to each other. (...Which she'll probably ask about at some point). She doesn't intend to change how things are between them, despite Kuhn's insistence that this naturally leads into a relationship, because 'relationship' seems like such a confusing and highly ...filtered? weighted? concept, from the 'earth' cultures people come from. She's deeply satisfied with how things are; if it started to change or grow distant as a result, she'd be alarmed and would try to discuss it, but as things are, she's sort of content to just... bask in this constant feeling of closeness, love, understanding, connection.

tl;dr o/

From:

toppedbyzaworld.livejournal.com

I'll never use this icon IC!

From:

vore_and_peace

I'M GOING TO DO THIS IN TWO PARTS

Tomonari Kasumi

The fact they met when Kasumi was a kid -- an older kid, to be sure, but one who seemed younger to her -- made a huge impact on how their relationship's developing. While she's viewing most of camp as potential ... man, if I say equals, it comes out wrong, but ... people who know more than her, essentially, because of the situation where just about right after introductions, he asked her to teach him something, she shifted into a mentor role, and honestly, it was something that she felt very comfortable with. I doubt she's used to teaching skills (as DDS AIs come pretty damn prepared; at one point we see Serph... fly a jet plane ok), but she is very used to being a leader, and it felt very... comfortable to take him out and teach him to fire a gun. She's aware, sort of, of an irony in that; she really likes camp, where she doesn't have to kill and where firing her own gun is largely unnecessary and where she is, in fact, no longer a leader; still, it was something very familiar in an unfamiliar place, and in a warmer way thatn she's used to.

The fact that Kasumi listened the way he did, really seemed to get what she was saying about the cost of harming others... moved her. As you could probably see from my reply to Argilla (and, well, canon XD) Jinana is someone who feels things very instinctively and strongly, especially triggered by other people undersatnding her stance on things. She felt, during that time, protective of the fact that he hadn't been there and didn't have to kill before, and proud; I'd say 'motherly', but that's not a concept that exists to her.

And then, of course, Kasumi vanished and was replaced by...

Kuhn

At first, they weren't exactly hitting it off. Kuhn clearly thought of her as sub-human, and she wasn't overly impressed with Kuhn either; it's not to say she disliked him, but more that she just didn't feel anything to tip the balance positive, and she couldn't figure out his connection to Kasumi -- only that he had one (slightly triggering her protective instincts towards Kasumi). The fact that he was very obviously approaching her with a "they're not LIKE us" attitude also put her on alert, though she assumed it was about the whole DEMON CANNIBAL thing rather than the AI thing. Her wariness did trigger the occasional moment where she aws sharper with him than normal (not...sharp-toned but with comments that were less gentle/leading and more flat, like the responses quickly here, where she felt he was dehumanizing her sadness and didn't like that). And then this moment happened and she decided to... well, give him a second chance, because there's no way understanding of that horrible feeling comes without feeling it yourself.

It colored the next bit of their interaction, honestly, because it shifted the paradigm she was thinking about him with: he was no longer this potentially-dangerous user interested in her in reasons she couldn't define but was instead, well, someone sad who was covering it up. She grew interested in that herself, and began viewing him with more... depth? Than she originally had.

The resulting walk and conversation has pretty much sealed the deal. She thinks his situation is, in its own way, rather tragic, because he's caught between two extremes of selves and doesn't feel happy with either, as far as she can tell. She feels a lot of sympathy for him, and wants to make him feel better. She feels friendship for him, and ... well, empathy.

As for the flirting side, she's wondering if he's flirting with HER, or has been, based on his description, and what that means if so. I HAVEN'T DECIDED YET IF SHE'LL ASK HIM OUTRIGHT. o/

Also, on a total tangent note, I'm totally looking forward to this getting explained to Pi. Or getting introduced to Pi. Because you know it's gonna be an interesting situation.

From:

silent-crown.livejournal.com

:Db?

From:

vore_and_peace

Fellow leader!

While Jinana doesn't know Serph well personally, she respects you a lot. It's hard to say, in canon, her overall opinion of the Embryon since time and time again she'd talk to Argilla instead of the others (which probably suited Serph and Heat fine, I imagine but XD). But she chooses an alliance with the Embryon based on Serph's decision not to eat Bat; she can trust Serph as a leader who would take care of her tribe, not turn on them.

From talking with him in camp, she fully believes he did everything he could for them before the destruction of the Junkyard, and is deeply glad of that. She suspects he, too, is deeply grieved at the loss of everyone who got deleted in that, and sympathizes/empathizes with him for that.

Beyond that, they haven't got to know each other well yet personally, so she's a bit distantly polite, but a lot of that is just awkwardness in not yet knowing where they fit together -- she's well aware that the fact that the Embryon killed her makes the Maribel into the Embryon, but as a leader she can't really form a separate identity FROM the Maribel with anything resembling ease or comfort. She was relieved when he said he didn't mind her not viewing him as her leader, and at the same time, still isn't sure how to react around him. They get along pretty well, so I imagine those... nerves? Will smooth out with time.