please share your post canon au thoughts abt sigpei 👀
I have so many post-canon au thoughts and they weave together between each character so much that i think i would be here all day if i tried explained it all in one post, but im happy to give the “”brief”” about Sigma and Junpei’s relationship in particular :) thanks for asking !!
(spoiler warning for the series obvs)
Most of my post-canon thoughts revolve around each character trying to regain their footing and find their place in this new future they’ve worked so hard to create, especially Akane and Sigma.
Sigma spent so long alone and stuck on the Rhizome 9 base, working day in and day out, knowing that there is always a chance this timeline won’t be the one and that he had his life ripped out from under him all for nothing, knowing that his best friend here is locked away in cryo-sleep, and having to cope with the loss of Diana. I think this all takes a severe mental toll on him. I think he stops feeling like he's even a person, he is just a termite working towards a greater picture, following the plan laid out before him, devaluing his own existence just to get through each day.
How does somebody go through all that, and then just suddenly be okay after being dropped back into normal life? Sigma certainly can’t. As much as he puts on a level, rational appearance in ZTD I think that being back in a normal safe situation is overwhelming. How is he supposed to go back to things were when he had gotten so used to living with a clear path and purpose? How is he supposed to explain to his friends and family why he is so different now? What is he meant to do with himself? Things he knows he once loved or enjoyed feel so distant now. When he steps into his old room he feels like an imposter, like none of this is truly his, not even this body. I have a lot more to say about this, but I could probably go on forever so let me finally talk about Sigma and Junpei.
I think that Sigma and Junpei aren’t on very good terms initially, they have kind of a petty bickering/rivalry thing going on, mostly centering around Akane. They both love her, but I think they have complex feelings to work through since neither of them had a relationship with her that could be completely considered healthy (this is another topic I have some thoughts about). Junpei has some lingering fears and insecurity towards how little it feels like he knows Akane at times and has to grapple with how she isn’t just the sweet girl he once knew. He worries about her hiding things from him and has some misplaced anger towards Sigma since Sigma knew Akane longer than Junpei did. I don’t think Sigma is usually the one to initiate/bring up this topic, but I think there are times when he can’t help but roll his eyes a little bit and make some comment implying there's still a part of her that Junpei can’t see which only serves to fuel his anxieties, and I think that their arguments would spiral out from there.
Still, despite these arguments I think Sigma and Junpei would still hang out together, usually at a bar or something. Sigma doesn’t feel like he can talk to any of his old friends, and in the time between 999 and ZTD I think Junpei ended up burning a lot of bridges in his search for Akane after all the traumatic things he saw during his time investigating, so these two idiots are stuck together now. However, I think that as much as they would refuse to admit it at first, they do appreciate the other’s company. I feel like they can relate to and understand the things each went through, especially when it comes to their feelings of loneliness and isolation from others. Junpei can’t help but see a part of himself in Sigma, and Sigma in Junpei.
Eventually, I think Sigma would start to open up a bit more about his experiences as he began to process them and unpack just how fucked up of a place he was in mentally. It’s a level of emotional vulnerability Junpei never expected to see from him, and it’s when his insecurity and anger towards Sigma begins to melt away and their friendship grows into something really important to them both. They start joking around together and having a lot more fun. I think they get into lots of dumb shenanigans together as well. Akane walks into the kitchen at like 1am one night to get some water and sees Junpei stuck trying to squeeze through the window because he forgot his keys at home while Sigma is loudly whispering at him to not move so she won’t see them while they are visibly making eye contact with her.
I think that as Sigma spends more time with Junpei he starts to feel almost normal again, there is something about being with Junpei that lets Sigma reconnect with a part of himself that he felt like he had lost. They still bicker and get into petty fights, but it’s more so out of fun. It’s difficult for them to express out loud how much they appreciate each other, they are still emotionally repressed losers, but I think that actions speak louder than words in their case, and they understand each other well enough to where that’s all they need. Sigma knows that if he just needs to get out of the house for a bit and distract himself or get away from everything, that Junpei will always show up for him no matter how awkwardly he texts him. Despite everything, I think they are really positive figures in each other’s lives.
(This is how I interpret their relationship playing out regardless of any romantic feelings, but surely those start to develop in more than a few timelines so let me talk about those finally lol)
I think that initially they mostly just hang out at bars, but as their friendship develops they start going other places sometimes too. Another piece of their relationship is Junpei helping Sigma reconnect and rediscover his tastes and interests, particularly I think over music. I like to imagine them going out to a book/music store and Junpei chatting about all the different music while Sigma flips through the CDs trying to remember what bands he used to listen to. Eventually they find something and they put it into one of the CD player displays and as they both put on some headphones and listen together, I think Sigma can’t help but glance over at Junpei and notice how soft his features look in the afternoon light, or the way his messy hair falls over his face and frames his features. I think there are lots of small moments like that between them, secret glances when the other isn’t looking or brief moments when their eyes can’t help but linger on the other just a second longer. They are out getting coffee and Junpei makes a dumb joke and Sigma laughs and Junpei can’t help but feel a part of himself light up with pride at having caused it. These small gestures and moments that only last a second but still feel like winning the lottery.
Like I’ve mentioned I think they typically go out and get drinks together regularly, and I think it’s thanks to that alcohol that they are a bit more willing to admit to themselves that they find the other kinda attractive lol. In their heads they are mentally trying to justify it as just some bro respect thing while still subtly trying to find excuses to get closer to each other.
There are more specific events that play out, like Akane and Junpei’s relationship being put on pause while Akane tries to figure out what she truly wants in life and grapples with her own struggles, Sigma and Junpei living together, and Sigma and Junpei unofficially starting a relationship w/ the knowledge that it can’t last forever, but maybe that’s something I can ramble about a different time if people are interested :) thank you if you read all this, i hope it was interesting ^^ enjoy some misc doodles as your reward
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