God so much I wanna just scream when it comes to Garthe with KARR. I'm honestly shocked no one sees it working bc I get that invested in them. Sorta my meta to it here. So some of it is kinda repeated here I guess?
They lit were abused by the same man, that's not even just a joke. That's canon. We KNOW the Knight family is more than messed up. Elizabeth was using Garthe. Tsombe was using Garthe. Arieanne was using Garthe. Again not like Garthe wasn't using them, but when you come from a family that just uses, followed by people continuing that cycle--I don't blame Garthe for being a monster they made him out to be.
And guess what? The perfect side of the coin is KARR. It lit blows my mind people in this Fandom really look at KARR and demonize him and say he is so bad. He doesn't even have a kill count. He never killed anyone. Garthe killed ONE chara who lowkey was asking for his death snooping on a secluded private property. Ron lit had Scooby Doo logic and it kills me. (Maybe some casualties at Red Bluff, but). KARR is so naive and new, and he is OLDER than KITT. He sees a decorative speaker and perceives it as a threat. He lacks the concept of slang, something even S1 KITT was learning well in advance of his older brother. When KITT came online, he was surrounded by care and Michael. He showed off just for Michael. And he continued to show off, and he is so vain but always ALWAYS needs SOLELY Michael to validate his vanity. To prove he is worth all he says he is.
KARR doesn't have that. He agrees to trust two thieves bc they said he could. Because he never got partnered, opposite of his younger brother. When Rev and Tony feel threatened, KARR responds to their needs. He canonically offers to meet their needs, whether this is comical to us that he grasps reproductive needs but not a voice over a speaker, or fleeing the law or aiding in their mass thefts. So S1 KARR is in fact a loaded gun in a child's hands. But it's like some people miss the concept of any of that and just heard he's a gun and that's it. Not a sentient being who may be dangerous if mishandled. Even Michael went to bat for him in the beginning, Devon had to pressure him to view KARR as a threat after the whole burger joint debacle. So when KARR comes back in S3, lo and behold, he becomes the very monster FLAG harped about. It's as if you push and push and push and push, a person will break and be the concept you forcibly molded him into. Wow. Bc maybe KARR imprinting on criminals helped shape his personality....In much the same way we know KITT imprints on Michael. Huh, funny that.
Okay so what does this have to do with Garthe?
Both Garthe and KARR are seen as monsters. Adrienne even insinuated a view of how poorly Garthe was looked down upon with her little haughty speech. "Poor Garthe...people say such nasty things about him...But such good things about Michael Knight." Funnily, KITT gets nothing but praise and affection, awhile KARR gets nothing but caution and mistrust. Huh. And honestly Garthe was just a more aggro version of Michael until the whole grand reveal. Even Michael jokes this as Rita relates the story of flowers he got her, how all of that sounds wonderful "except for the whole allergies" bit. Rita relays Garthe believes in buying love. Well gee. I wonder fucking why. If you never got any healthy love maybe you won't know what it is.
Oh look, KARR doesn't have that either. And so the only way he knows how to connect with humans is through manipulation and lies, just as he was treated the moment he came online and had freedom. Wow....who would have thought.
Michael and KITT complete each other. This is Canon. Michael has his wits at times, but he can be jokingly the brawn of the operation and the guy who gets close. KITT is observant and methodical to Michael's recklessness. Oh. Hey. If they are copies of the originals (Michael to Garthe, KITT to KARR) I wonder if that makes a good parallel. It's why I'm shocked the writers never did a story with them bc it felt like a perf setup.
But, for me, Garthe and KARR work so perfectly bc of all the bad dealt their way. They were both abused and became the monsters everyone made them out to be. And if all you know is bad traits and to be demonized, you start to have a hard time connecting and being around others, esp those who don't grasp what you went through. But Garthe and KARR would get each other. They would come from the same place. And together they could soothe each other's mental scars.
Yes you can run the toxic route, and I do believe they start out this way--trying to use each other to get revenge on their twins. But eventually, revenge means nothing if you don't get to keep your freedom you both clearly value the most. But then the two start to understand one another, share in the same scars, bond over it. They would both slowly reveal more intimate and vulnerable sides of themselves to each other bc only THEY would understand it. They would respect the gesture.
This ship lit answers the Zeno's Paradox! When KITT queries in Trust Doesn't Rust: "What happens when an irresistible force meets an immovable object."
They would complete each other, bc they are two extremes, able to meet each other head on and stand together. What happens to two broken souls who refuse to bow to others and are stubborn to the core, face each other's unshaken resolve, and both seeking affection denied to them? You get two beings who learn to meld and fit each other and their needs, adjust to one another to become whole.
(I am technically sick so I apologize for sounding so unhinged and feverish, I am that rabid about Garthe/KARR. This ship means a lot to me. I have shipped them since I got into KR in 2019, I am p sure I was the first person to post the ship on here, and I Know I was the creator of the ship tag on Archive, even tho that fic is shit and I never shared my whole other full catalogue of Garthe/KARR fics I wrote. So I think I lit started it in some capacity. I might have to clean up some fics and post them for you guys if you want.)
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