Why I think Nastasia and O'Chunks work the best as a potential ship in canon
There are many ships to be made in any fandom. Some are canon, some aren't but people think they're cool. Some are made with internal biases in mind. Some are... weird. And then some aren't exactly canon, but have small hints in certain places. Me personally? I'm what would be called a "multishipper" by the average internet folks. But I still have my favorites. And my opinions on what would be the best to happen canonically.
One of such is the ship between Nastasia and O'Chunks. They're quite different on the surface, right? A big loud brawny musclehead and a smaller, stoic brainy administrator. They couldn't POSSIBLY be compatible... However, if you look at them deeper, they're much more similar than you'd think. There's so much room for mutual growth and love and angst between them if their relationship was ever explored. Which I'm going to talk about! Messily...
I'm telling you now, this romance has the potential to be a second Blupani. Chemistry, narrative importance, messaging...
So how did they meet? Presumably, Nastasia was with Bleck when O'Chunks was recruited into the team. Boy, the whole " watching as the Count prays on a man's depression" thing must've been a real meet hideous. (Like- like meet cute? Geddit? h a h a h a)
From there, it was mostly just business. As the designated "executive assistant" (That doesn't really make sense if you think too hard, Count Bleck is a noble, not a company...) of Count Bleck's operation, Nastasia was in charge of keeping everything in place and motivating the minions not to screw up their tasks. It can only be assumed this was the role the prophecy assigned her too. Like Bleck, she fulfilled it. This included punishing people in very weird out of pocket ways, coming off almost like a EEEEEEVIL petty school teacher honestly. (1000 word essays about what you did wrong?????? Girl)
Anyways, O'Chunks was the one most shown to undergo these penalties due to his more headstrong impulsive nature making him fail. It probably didn't happen this much before the game, but it did inside it. I wouldn't be surprised (or blame him) if he got really freaking frustrated by all these. There's also a theory going around that Nastasia did this the most to him because she was worried he'd kill himself warrior style in battle. Can't say I'm fully on board but I guess that could be part of it.
I do think she cared about her subordinate coworkers before the ending, enough to probably not want them to die. Enough to internalize their opinions. I still don't think they were that close though. Girl was kind of numb and disassociating every day following her schedule IMO. ("Oh, yeah, um, congratulations, Count..." so out of it bro) That'd create a certain amount of distance, don't you think?
Despite that, there's a line possibly clueing the player in on a possible CRUSH O'Chunks has? A "sweet lass" he failed to confess to. Sometimes, I tend to wave this off as a random gal from his homeland rather than anyone in particular. Most of the fandom, however, thinks this line hints to a *early crush on Nastasia. Which... confuses me, actually. Why would he call HER of all people a sweet lass? Yeah, I do actually think she has the capacity in her heart to be quite moral and sweet and caring, but wouldn't he only see her with her aloof prophecy work persona? What would he see that nobody else does? Would that side of her he hypothetically sees be the reason he likes her? Does he have some sort of innate emotional wisdom that allows him to pick straight through the monotonous shit? Perhaps. Dunno. How big would this crush be?
Whatever the case might be, shit happens man. Nassy dies and is then revived, Blumiere and Timpani might have died (I interpret they did because it's thematic and bittersweet and Blumiere should really have consequences for his actions.)
While once again I stress the lack of strong emotional reaction to Nastasia's death specifically (Only admiration for taking the bullet is expressed in Japanese), it is to be noted that a much stronger reaction comes when she wakes up. O'Chunks must've been happy not to have lost her at the very least what with the crazy events that just unfolded, Blumiere being gone, etc.
He, like Mimi, tells her not to cry and smile through the pain... while I don't like that they did this and think it's a terrible, tonedeaf thing to tell anyone who's just started grieving, I forgive him more than Mimi. Why? I think he had better intentions. He's grieving too, really. Not QUITE as hard as Nassy clearly, but... He wouldn't understand her. (Not completely) Not at this stage.
And you know how the post game stuff goes by heart if you're a shipper. Nastasia's feeling the mega moody blues (+depression+other unknown illnesses of the psychological region+she died, wishes she stayed that way tbh+loneliness meter+butterfly+ratio). And O'Chunks? Well if you go over to him, he seems like he's dealing with things better than pretty much anyone?? (Once again gigachadchunks) It seems he's taken notice of Nastasia's behavior, too, and wants to take her out to eat at Sweet Smiles. Because it makes him weepy to see her like this. He just can't seem to find her anywhere yet.
Them not really being "chums" before this like he claims would make O'Chunk's words here all the more heartwarming. For one, he might see all his allies as comrades by default considering his past. Two, He was a good guy all along, acting as a thug for people much less moral than he was while thinking he stood for a improved, warless world. With a little more reflection and adjustment, that attitude would serve him well as a hero.
There's the possibility of some romantic feelings here, but I believe regardless he's being compassionate above anything else.
I'm sure the day O'Chunks does find her, that would be a turning point in both their lives as budding friends. This could be the first step to live beyond Blumiere or Bleck. Finding love... in eachother.
Nastasia most of all loved the idea of Blumiere. The gentleman. The savior. The infallibly kind figure who cared for everything as well as his wife. Through him, she grew to see something good in the world too. (My version of her backstory would add to why she felt this way for him.) Something to reach for, even in the depths of despair. He was her everything while she was void of purpose and self esteem on her own. But this devotion, this loyalty, the endless service to him, never gave her anything in return. And never would. That's all she thought she really deserved, so of course making a decision in favor of her real feelings felt impossible. Ergo, she stayed in her literal dead end job that only brought misery.
O'Chunks never knew Blumiere. He only knew Count Bleck. The broken. The far less kind. He isn't THAT dumb. He knows that he was goaded into this because of his own depression at the time. It seemed he had no home. No army left. He was betrayed in the highest form. Technically, that scar of betrayal never did fade. It only got lashed on again and again with those lies of what the Count was really doing. What really kept him going was unfading shame for his perceived failure, broken pride as a war general, both of which he felt would be fixed if he got the job right. And then the blind loyalty... It's no wonder he felt suicidal sometimes. Anyone would in his shoes. He's strong though. He's really strong. Not just in his body, but in his heart. Even if he doesn't know that yet. No matter what happened to O'Chunks, his values would never change. Not his honor or his whimsy or his bravery. O'Chunks has always remained O'Chunks. Always will be. That's why I think he adjusted the best to losing the Count, though he misses him.
Nastasia's pillar of direction has went god knows where, left her behind in the darkness. Who better to lean on now than someone who could possibly truly "get it"?
As others have said, O'Chunks is ABSOLUTELY what she needs. Lighthearted, silly, friendly just a great dude all around. He could be what she always wished Blumiere was, deep inside. The best part? Her love would finally be mutual. Nastasia could finally be given something back for her troubles. Same for him. O'Chunks would be able to know more about himself. Refine his mind a little more, understand that he isn't all muscle. Nor is he fodder.
All brain and all brawn, completing eachother, helping eachother on a long journey of true self love...
Not going to get into all the theoretically cutesy romantic slice of life stuff that would happen. Or the bumps in the road. (There would definitely be troubles. Relapses. Things left unsaid that should be, lingering unhealthy behavior that would surface again, angsty stuff like that.)
In my fan sequel to SPM I've been cooking up for a while, inspired by this art, they're both new Light Prognosticus heroes along with Mimi, who fully redeems herself. Their relationship and feelings would be a slow burn across the whole story, though it gets off on a... let's say dark start. But I'm not gonna dump that here either. This has been long enough
And that, reader, is my reasons why I like them as the "canon" ship. I wonder what other people's thoughts are.
