I really need to stop disappearing for like a week at a time.
sorry, fam, I’ve got some explaining to do, I know.
I hate disappearing without prior notice, I’ve just been coping with some big time personal drama lately and, as a result, I haven’t quite been feeling like myself enough for stuff the last few days. additionally, my college semester kicks up again this monday (hooray...), so that’ll be cutting my activity back in the near future as well.
I do intend to get caught up on everything before monday, so please don’t think I’ve forgotten you guys. until I get back up to full steam, however, you can always contact me on skype if you’re looking to get in touch with me and I’m not here. I’m happy to share it with mutuals, all you have to do is ask.
honestly, I make a lot more sense when I’m talking one on one versus trying to throw everything onto a page at once and try to make sure I covered all my bases (which 200% of the time I realize later I missed a key point).
and half the time it’s just how the hell do you word things like.
aggressively shrugs.
catch me on skype for the good stuff, tbh.
I’m 70% cute otp scenarios, 30% angst, 100% puns.
did someone request a B26 breakdown?
well ask and you shall receive.
some of these details might be borrowed from my synopsis of fran’s character I did way back when before I remade this blog, because unsurprisingly, they’re still relevant. so let’s get down to business!!
one of the best ways to define bel and fran’s relationship is that it’s complicated as hell. but, that should be expected from one glance at these emotionally constipated nerdlords. and I’m gonna try to do this as best as I can without delving too much into fran’s overall characterization.
the first thing I want to point out is the common misconception that they hate each other--which I will argue that they have never stated feelings of hatred. it’s true that they agitate one another constantly, they make it a point to regularly hassle and antagonize one another, but the word hate has never been used. in fact, the closest we’ve come to anything of the sort is fran’s stating that:
“I can’t stand his type.”
and notice. that’s not even a direct attack on bel, rather guys like him. while it’s not the most clear what exactly fran means by that, it’s fairly safe to assume that he’s referring to bel’s sense of entitlement, superiority complex, and cruel, sadistic behavior. the fact that he’s known to mistreat fran for the hell of it merely serves as the icing on the proverbial cake.
now this is something I have addressed before, and something I still chock up to fran’s want of understanding. bel is impulsive and unpredictable, known to act on whims and simply do as he pleases. it’s near impossible to get an accurate read on him and what’s going on in his head--and for an illusionist (any illusionist, that is), that’s extremely frustrating. when your trade is heavily centered on your ability to read your opponent and act accordingly, it places fran at a loss. and bel’s extremely off putting personality doesn’t make him any more keen on the idea of wanting to understand him better.
a lot of times, it seems that they put up with one another because they have to, which is certainly debatable. and to this, I’d like to reference back to the instance in which levi encouraged bel to go ahead and kill fran after bel stated to squalo that, “the frog may end up getting killed.” (or something to that degree, I’m not quoting verbatim.) immediately afterwards, bel refuses because he won’t align himself with the likes of levi.
clearly, as much as he might dislike fran, he’s not the person bel harbors the most animosity towards. and the same could be said in regards to fran, too.
another point I often make is while they’re on their way towards the confrontation with rasiel (don’t worry, I’ll cover that point, too). there’s a scene where they stop, the one where fran’s pulling bel’s knives out of his back and they start arguing after bel says to polish them before returning them, and fran’s response is to bend them and drop them before “accidentally” tossing the rest. bel lights up his ring which, initially, appears as intent to attack fran. what it turns out to be is bel shielding them from a surprise attack.
you know what bel didn’t need to do? shield fran, too.
you know what bel did? he shielded fran, too.
if he wanted to be rid of fran so badly, he could’ve let him fend for himself, risked fran not activating his box in time and getting hit by the attack. but he doesn’t. all he does is chide fran for not making use of his box weapon.
and oooooh boy, then there’s one of my favorite scenes to discuss:
FRAN DISCOVERING THE BIRTHMARK.
words cannot and will not ever express the unbridled joy and amusement I get from this particular scene. you know the part I’m talking about, where fran takes it upon himself to lift bel’s shirt and confirm what rasiel’s saying. and the reason I love discussing this particular scene isn’t because fran just went ahead and did it, rather, how bel responds to him doing that.
he doesn’t get offended that fran did it, he yells at fran to, “Ask first.”
which tells us that his issue wasn’t that fran took it upon himself to check bel out, it was because he didn’t ask for permission first. and if that doesn’t say something, then I don’t know what does.
but of course, I’ve saved one of (what I find to be) the most important context clues for last, and that is the inevitable frog hat.
fran has proven time and time again that he has no respect for his authority figures. he talks back to all of them with little to no regard for his own safety or well being. he has no qualms with insulting them directly to their face, regardless of their position as his superior officers, or the fact that they could easily skewer him. so why wear the damn thing? it’s not glued to his head, and bel’s going to throw the knives at him anyway. there’s physically nothing stopping him from removing it.
so why does he keep it on, despite stating in multiple instances that it inconveniences him and even hinders his ability to fight?
a lot of the answer to this falls under my headcanons for fran, so I won’t go heavily into detail, but I think it stems from lowkey abandonment issues (I’m talking lowkey to the point that he doesn’t even realize he has them) and the hat giving him this sense of belonging. it means he has enough value that bel’s essentially claiming fran as his personal property.
hey, I never said their relationship was healthy.
their relationship is extremely problematic, honestly. I won’t deny that, I’ve never tried to deny it and I never will. because I think it makes it all the more interesting to look into. because when you look at them, they’re both elite assassins, both apparent geniuses. fran is someone who can stand on equal footing with bel when he takes matters seriously. and they both have their own share of issues that stem back to their childhood. despite being relative polar opposites, they have more in common than they realize because they both lack that ability to communicate efficiently.
there’s really a lot that can be said about these two and the relationship that they share on any level. they’re capable of reaching points where they can awkwardly converse with one another, but still able to go right back to fighting and harassing one another. but you know what, that’s never going to change.
that’s their safety zone. that’s the place where they go to keep other people at bay, to keep themselves from asking questions they don’t want answers to. to keep from remembering that they might still be human somewhere deep down.
and frankly, I love that aspect of their relationship. because they’re not traditional. they can be attracted to one another and it won’t take the aggressiveness out of their relationship. they’re never going to call one another their boyfriend and tell everybody that they’re dating. hell, they won’t even consider it dating.
what I always see those two having is this sort of unspoken relationship, it’s something that can’t be defined and they don’t ever try to. they know what’s there and they don’t need a label on it--not to mention that a title like boyfriend can’t even begin to cover that bond after everything they’ve overcome and dealt with together.
to bel, fran’s his frog.
to fran, bel’s his insignificant other.
and that’s enough. they don’t need to define the relationship, or even necessarily acknowledge there’s one to begin with, to know it’s there. because they both know, but they speak through their actions. and that’s not to say conventional actions of affection.
it’s to say that maybe bel will throw half a dozen knives at fran, rather than the usual dozen. and fran will call bel a fake prince mildly less frequently than he generally does. they’re small actions that don’t speak loudly to the outside eye, but say far more to either of them, fully aware that they’ll both deny it to their dying breath were anyone to comment on it. they could spend the night together and nobody outside the Varia would be none the wiser to it, because they don’t let the relationship define them; they stay true to who they are.
they share an unspoken degree of acceptance between them, and that’s exactly how they keep it--between them.
(even though the rest of the officers are probably well onto them and have been for ages. specifically lussuria and squalo...)
tldr; right down to their respective flame attributes (construction and destruction), they basically have the potential to be the most problematic soulmates you can imagine.
stares wistfully out the window.
I’ve been in B26 hell for about seven years now...
dissecting the crap out of their relationship is easily one of my favorite pastimes.
Glaring past his bangs at the sight of his precious knife being tossed like garbage past the idiot’s shoulder, Bel had every right to attack him further, but restrained himself. It wasn’t worth it. It was just one out of the thousands he owned, so there wasn’t any need for it. It as just the reaction he expected out of Fran, anyway.
A long sigh escaped the Prince, shifting slightly to sit up once again as the younger went to sit at the edge of his bed. “You make it sound like the idiot shark can actually kill me.”
Not that he minded his partner’s company, if he could really calm him that. Even Bel was mutual on their dislike for one another. Even if it was kind of unfair and not really rooted.
“Besides, it’s just a dumb report. It’ll get done eventually.” He shrugged, fixing the short strands of his hair that he knew were sticking up. He didn’t need a damn lecture about what he was meant to do. He’s been doing this job a lot longer than him. He didn’t need this.
It wasn’t that Bel was lazy, well, that was added onto his case. He just hated the paperwork. It was a tedious chore that he didn’t initially care for, but the blond always did manage to get it done eventually. “How did you get it done so quickly, anyway? Are you that excited to be done?” He huffed, his legs crossed. Okay, maybe Fran was a little more productive than the Prince, but that didn’t necessarily mean he was better.
“Besides,” His Cheshire grin returned, leaning over to press a his index finger into the other’s cheek. “We both know you’d miss me if something were to happen to me.~” He teased, knowing that it was just a ploy, trying to get a reaction out of the dumb Frog. Though, it kind of got him thinking.
Would he be missed at all if that were the case? Probably not. They were cruel human beings, after all.
{✘} » — It’s these awkward transition periods that always
seem to baffle the mist most of all. These moments
where they seem to have crossed the threshold of
constant arguing, and entered a state of almost
neutrality. Such territory is generally uncharted,
the primary exception being while out on the
battlefield.
But experiencing it while there’s no imminent threat?
No enemy on their tails, or so much as a sign of
danger looming over the horizon?
It only further enforces Fran’s inability to understand
the prince and his motives.
He turns his focus towards the ceiling, allowing his
eyes to drag along the tiles whilst processing the
uncharacteristically civil words being directed at
him. Initially, they’re met by a hum.
“I don’t know, I think there’s a difference between
can’t and wouldn’t,” he comments without facing
Belphegor. “The boss wouldn’t have made him
our captain if he wasn’t able to strike down an
unruly subordinate. Even another officer.”
Despite the gravity of his words, however, he
has little trouble shifting the topic--as if they had
been casually discussing the weather. And it’s
then that his attention shifts from the ceiling to
his peer. His expression reads a fairly blank
canvas, allowing for a note of interest in regards
to the vague indication of “eventually.”
“Uh huh...and what exactly is your definition of
eventually, then?”
Personally, he always found it easier to just get
his tasks done and over with. The sooner he could
get it out of the way, the better. But then again, he
also wasn’t the living embodiment of Sloth...
The inquiry is given a barely audible sigh in response.
“Easy, I sat down and actually did it when we got
back from said mission.” A foreign concept to the other,
he’s sure.
And suddenly there’s a finger prodding his cheek,
prompting Fran’s brow to furrow before brushing the
offending hand aside.
“Oya?” he comments in evident mimicry of his master.
“Don’t tell me you’re starting to become aware of your
mortality all of a sudden, Bel-senpai.”
He’ll settle for neither confirming nor denying the latter
accusation for the time being. Is he even capable of
missing someone? Who’s to say?
“That’s no way to treat your senpai. I’m done being gone, I’m here now, no sense in leaving again. Not so soon.”
Shit frog. You can’t just leave when ever you please; you’re in the presence of royalty. It’s been some time, sure, but have some decency.
Oh wait, this is Fran. This is decent. This is just how he is. Not that the ever full of himself, Prince Belphegor, has any more manors than him. The blond has no right to complain as he follows, but the knife was already cast- already lodged in the younger’s shoulder. Some things never change.
{✘} » — “It is when your senpai is a delusional fallen prince
with a superiority complex.”
Of course making his getaway wouldn’t be so simple.
There was no such thing as simple whenever it involved
the like of the raging storm--particularly not when it got
in the way of something he wanted.
Only upon feeling the familiar pressure of his partner’s
infamous knife meeting his shoulder does Fran finally
halt in his tracks. Already picking up exactly where they
left off, huh?
“Stupid thing...” he mutters, removing the offensive
object with minimal effort. Who knows how many of
these damn things he’s unwillingly answered to since
joining the Varia.
And so as not to abstain from tradition, the rookie
bends the weapon before carelessly dropping it to
the floor. He doesn’t bother looking back at Bel,
either, instead inspecting the traces of crimson that
stand out vibrant against pale fingers.
“Of course, but here you are. The first one to come see me, instead of hopping off to tell the commander the prince returns from his leave.”
And let us be thankful of that. If they could say they missed each other, it could lead to all sorts of shit that would really get in the way of existence in general. Can’t have them being nice to each other. they might hold hands or something. That’s disgusting.
“I guess you really don’t want to see me croak, now do you. I’d be stealing your spotlight.”
{✘} » — “You know what, I changed my mind. You can
go away again...”
Not even five minutes and the frog puns have already
begun. Should he have expected anything less? No.
And yet here they stand, the illusionist’s lips pursed,
his face reading unimpressed with a minute tinge of
disgust. So he’ll take that as his cue to promptly
turn and head directly towards the nearest place
that is anywhere but here.
romaincrisis
annaxmalina
origamiaround
baratheonpilled
titsay
blakekathryn
