People who really like shuake also seem to write themselves into a corner wrt Akechi and his relationship to Akiras team. Contrary to popular belief, the team, including Haru, does not hate Akechi. At worst, they tolerate him and deal with his attitude. Hes a good teammate and respectable fighter and the team recognizes that at the end of the day, he was a teenager who was manipulated and abused by a man who saw him as disposable. Just about every thief understands this intimately. They have the same mindset wrt adults who take advantage of the people beneath them. Under different circumstances they wouldve been friends. And if u approach it from that angle, it becomes less about Akechi being the sole person who ‘gets’ Akira, and more about the thieves being the only people in the world who ‘get’ Akechi.
When you expand your thoughts to include the thieves as members of his Team and not roadblocks that get in the way of your ideal shipping dynamic, you allow urself to give Akechi and Akira more depth and nuance to their own relationship.
Akira and Akechi are wildcards; both of them struggle with the face they choose to display to the world. Its the first time Akira interacts with someone who is, at a literal, technical level, his ‘equal’. But Akechi is one of many firsts for Akira yeah? Every thief has their bond with Akira thats completely unique and personal. Akechi will never be the person who witnesses Akiras Awakening, hes never the person who watches Akira have his restless nights alone in the attic, and hes never the person who realizes in real time that the teenager hes housing is just Some Kid, not the delinquent hes been warned about. Hes not Ann or Yusuke, or any of the thieves; he doesnt have the time or experience that they have with Akira, and I think its interesting to explore that part of their relationship, shippy or not.
Akechi is someone who is incredibly lonely and self depreciating despite his cockiness and attitude. He has no positive bonds to speak of save for his connection with Sae. To have him see a team that works together and cares for each other, how do you think he would feel? Out of place? Inferior in some way? Angry about how hes been alone for so long in this single minded quest for revenge? Wouldnt that be a point of struggle between the two of them? I think what makes shuake good for me is knowing that Akechi needs alot of time to heal, and the thieves would want to help with that process. They do it bc they care, bc Akira cares, and bc they trust Akiras opinion (and he trusts theirs in return); if Akira feels like Akechi is someone who can be trusted Now after everything thats happened, then the thieves would do their best to help. And how would Akechi feel about that? Angry about the show of pity? That even now, he has no real say in what happens to him? Or begrudgingly grateful that they are cordial with him? Because they do care, he KNOWS they care, they care TOO MUCH actually; but the one thing he values over brawn and wits is honesty- fighting for what you believe in without having to use soft words to justify it.
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I've been thinking about him for some time already (YOU KNOW WHO...) and I think. he's just Like That ™. the gentleman killer. Haskillcore boring old man stuff enjoyer that spends weekends reading newspapers and philosophy books. looks down on people that lack manners. DOES want to serve for the best of his abilities and be appreciated. But ALSO I get the vibes... that he's the way he is because he's a shitty wizard.
HEAR ME OUT... It was just a joke at first but his fiasco with messing the most basic spell and being thrown out of the train..... I feel like he, in fact, can be incompetent wizard and that can fuck him up SO BADLY... like inferiority complex... I can imagine him being young & dreaming of becoming a great wizard & failing painfully. So now he compensates it with self-taught magic and dark arts (his necromancy interest). “dark magic is just misunderstood, not evil"...
I also get vibes from him of being bullied? I would take away his lunch yk. And now he allows people to walk over him and it's not just a job thing he's just like that. Until the moment he snaps. And murder may be the way for him to feel being in-control, which he usually lacks. Feel like he hass power. He doesn't feel nor act like purple guy jeff the killer (he's too old for that) but. Sometimes he thinks “It would be nice to kill someone right now. I also need cash. Hmm.” and that's now it happens. Maybe he feels alive when he does that, but it's only in-moment feeling that doesn't stay. I feel like he's pretty sensitive and can say when he feels bad(offended) or good(proud), but doesn't really have emotional intelligence? The feelings are there, what to do with them? who knows. not him. he goes out on the streets at night. depreesion)
I think he knows a lot about magic and artifacts (found out about the relic by private investigation or smth) but he can't use that intformation himself! what a shame! I get the vibes that he can be almost . cursed . to be a bad wizard. he's probably not but it just feels that way. so many potential in such cringefail loser (/affectionate). and he knows that and mourns that! what does he do with his life!
I rotate him in my mind he's so interesting what is wrong with him . . .
NODS VIGOROUSLY ALONG WITH YOUR POINTS im sitting here taking notes for my fic fr!! i actually hit on a lot of the same conclusions you did which makes me so happy, but one of the main differences was i thought he might actually be a good wizard, BUT i think your reading that he's ACTUALLY just a shitty wizard is more interesting character-wise....
like you said "he knows a lot about magic and artifacts but he can't use that intformation himself" <- YESSS. i think the exact way that he's shitty is that he definitely has the theoretical knowledge, but he can't apply it for shit. <3 like at the end of rockport limited he clearly knew the flame spell he was going to use, he just... fucking misses by a country mile LMFAO, even the meat monsters seem a little cobbled-together, like he knows the the theory but there's little finesse in the execution.
"he's the way he is because he's a shitty wizard." <- OK BC THIS BASIS IS SO GOOD. hes got so much ambition but no talent, and that informs everything about him!! - it's my headcanon that he grew up lower-middle class, and i think combining that with being bullied and being bad at magic contributed to an inferiority complex. and he likes refined things precisely because he likes the image of himself as this powerful refined (rich) person when he's really just grasping at it desperately :)))
aaand i think the dark arts provide shortcuts to power for the price of sacrificing another living thing, SO FOR JENKINS, who was a shitty wizard and an asshole who's totally willing to sacrifice people for power, it suited him perfectly :)))))))
not to mention all the points u brought up abt why he kills are so good. i think it's firstly a practicality thing (he needs the money, like u said), but then secondarily an outlet for his anger (he's a bit emotionally unintelligent like u also said lol). i think he learned how to deal with this simmering hatred in the exact wrong way, where he bottles it up during the day when ppl push him around and then lets it out during his murders. instead of yknow... learning to not let ppl push him around, and manage his anger and deal with it less destructively SDFLSDFKJ. and it became a cycle. so now he's a serial murderer cos he's into this repress-release pattern, someone get this man into therapy or get him a boyfriend who can fix him !!
AND... okok final point bc its getting a bit long. "so many potential in such cringefail loser (/affectionate). and he knows that and mourns that! what does he do with his life!" <- YES. perhaps even. he is not cut out to be a wizard..... he clearly has ambition, and good taste, and a flair for the dramatic, and mental problems, which means. of course. he is perfectly suited for the theater--//SHOT
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when the deed was done
Well, ask and ye shall receive @captainderyn xD Relevant to interests, the all of 5 minute goodbye Cipher Nine should have gotten with their best Watcher-turned-Keeper. And yet it still hurts, its still bittersweet, there’s never enough time - let along a good time - for them. </3 I warn for nothing except that they needed more hugs and I might need more tissues. ;_;
And if anyone asks, I hate timelines. Send help. xD
Intelligence dismantled. The Star Cabal crumbling. It’s time to say goodbye.
“Keeper.”
She turned around, a smile already reaching across her lips before her brilliant brown eyes had even landed on him. The familiar brush of eye shadow wasn’t enough to hide the darkness around them from him, but then they’d both looked a hell of a lot better than this.
Whatever greeting she was going to return was lost as Nine quickly covered the few final feet between them and she was enveloped against his chest, carefully cradled in his arms gripping around her as tight as they could without hurting her - as if he was somewhere between cautiously terrified she’d vanish if he didn’t hold her down and worried that any further pressure might break her where she stood.
Shara smiled as she buried her face against his chest and allowed her fingers to twist into his jacket. “Well, it’s good to see you, too, Cipher Nine.”
One hand carded carefully through her hair. His breaths were stuttered and measured. Shara nestled against him a bit more and simply waited.
“I couldn’t very well leave without saying goodbye to my Keeper, could I?” Slowly, he extricated himself from the embrace, drawing back to gently frame her face.
“I’m not that fragile, Cipher,” she said, gently brushing her fingers over his knuckles. The marks of Corellia had faded - no doubt Doctor Lokin's insistence paying off. He'd been restless during their final preparations.
Twice in a matter of weeks had she sent him into the fires, then. Time really should have only made it easier.
She didn’t have qualms with mission parameters. It wasn’t a part of her programming - who she was, and surely she had suggested worse than potentially sacrificing a single officer to avert a galaxy consuming war. And there had certainly been enough pressure, given the circumstances. Loathe as she was to admit it, her recovery was taking its toll and was slower than she would have liked.
It’s what she’d tried to tell herself, anyway. But this was Nine. Her Cipher Nine.
Concern deepened the knit of his brow. “Are you alright?” His eyes narrowed. “And don’t give me any of that scripted nonsense. I know you’re capable, Keeper. But I-”
She allowed him to see a tired smile, tapping a finger lightly against his lips to silence him. “I’ll manage, Nine,” she said. “I’ll just need time.”
“Of course.” A faint breath left him that might have been a chuckle, had it been given more space. “I won’t take too much. Minister says I need to get out of here. Back to work, I’m sure.”
“As will we all.” Shara breathed a quiet sigh, letting her gaze drop with his. A free hand toyed lightly with the neck of his jacket, feigning at straightening it. It’d look different for all of them. Even she found herself hard pressed to imagine just how, exactly, the future was going to look without Intelligence. They’d seen their better days.
It was hard to imagine it’d only been some three years ago that the Minister had properly introduced her to her latest agent - even harder to picture her doubts of him at the time, not that they’d ever been personal, exactly.
But here he was, despite it all.
“We’ll see each other again.”
She smiled weakly. “You’ll be fine,” she said. She patted a hand against his chest and looked back up, catching those pale gray eyes one more time. “You’ve always been a resourceful one, Cipher Nine.”
“Shara-”
She shook her head and pressed a finger over his lips again. It was something, wasn’t it? To see him so earnest before her - a strain across his brow over widened crystal eyes she’d seen so swiftly deceive so many times. It’d be easy to say she’d lost count of the hours she’d spent monitoring his work, guarding his every movement, though it’d almost certainly be a lie.
That was okay, though. It was a part of them. Always had been. Probably always would be.
But she could not let him break their one shared silence. Not like this. Not at such an uncertain end.
“You’ve done enough, Tyr. I promise.”
His eyes searched hers for a moment longer before they dropped to the thumb he caressed along her jaw. It was better this way. Whatever happened next, she doubted the Empire was finished with either of them. This way, at least, there wasn’t anything to hold them back.
They’d sold worse lies before.
“You should go,” she said. “But-” She tucked a few fingers under his chin.
And he understood the rest. He ducked to linger in a slow kiss, trailing after her, along her lips like a slow rain on the windows back on Dromund Kaas. For only a minute longer, they chased the few elusive nights that had grounded the last three years.
And all too soon, time was up yet again.
“Take care of yourself, Shara. Please. For me?” He framed her face gently one final time, eyes closed as his forehead rested against hers.
“Stay alive.” She pushed against his chest, coaxing him to step away. “The job’s not finished, Cipher.”
“It never is, is it?” A faint smile flickered across his lips before Cipher Nine gave her a final salute. “I’ll damn well try just about anything for you, Keeper.”
“See that you do. Dismissed, agent.”
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