idiot

[fumblebatch]

I think it’s interesting that I’ve never seen a Gon fan that dislikes Killua but I’ve seen Killua fans that hate Gon

[fumblebatch]

oh god this is a long one

Overall Gon has been consistently not very confrontational about Killua’s feelings, which is something I’m not sure is good or bad. He’s never pushed Killua to talk about anything, and for Killua that’s good, because he’s a private person, but that also means that there’s underlying major miscommunication and conflict that never gets properly resolved. As far as we know, Gon had no idea about any of Killua’s character arc regarding Illumi — not the trauma Illumi was causing Killua, not the needle, not Killua’s fear of losing Gon, nothing. Killua just doesn’t talk about that stuff. I actually even noticed that since the beginning of the series Gon always lets Killua run the conversation when it comes to personal topics, and never pushes for more. That IS a good thing, he’s careful not to overstep, but that also comes off as uncaring when there’s a very clear issue such as during the Nobunaga confrontation during Yorknew where Killua was Freaking Out and Gon never tries to get to the bottom of what was going on that was causing Killua to attempt to kill himself to get Gon out (all Gon said was that he’s “not allowed to do that,” and that Gon is “supposed to be the one pulling moves like that while Killua is supposed to be the one to keep him under control,” paraphrasing of course. so clearly Gon registered Killua wasn’t acting like he normally would + that can of worms with making Killua play cleanup but that’s a whole other ordeal).

I really do think Gon prior to Chimera Ant was trying to give Killua the space he seemed to need, but that unfortunately is fundamentally incompatible in the long run with someone like Killua who bottles everything (good and bad) up. During Chimera Ant though, I'm not so sure that was the reason for Gon's emotional distance. I feel like, most likely, Gon just didn't want any distractions at the time. There was enough already going on in his head, and so he chose to pretend like he didn't see what was going on. It's not that he didn't care about what Killua was going through, but given the nature of how their relationship works, he probably figured it'd sort itself out anyway. Except, Gon got more distant and less emotionally available, which resulted in closing off the option for Killua to talk to him. That was an important part of their dynamic, Gon never pried, but he was still there to confide in if Killua needed. So as the issues started piling up, there was no way to deal with them. Killua has almost always taken the backseat for the sake of Gon, so he just sucked it up. During the invasion, he was prioritizing the mission over his feelings and worries, which we saw made him hold himself back several times from speaking to Gon/asking Gon questions. The only time he spoke up against Gon during that arc was when Gon had a risk of jeopardizing the mission, and even then he was holding things back.

In that scene, Killua’s way of coping actually bothered Gon, even though he was definitely aware of how Killua operated. Gon is a person prone to emotion and impulse, while Killua tries to keep his emotions hidden. That whole “you have it easy. you’re completely calm, since it has nothing to do with you” thing is Gon playing Killua’s coping strategies against him knowing damn well it’s not that Killua doesn’t care, trying to make Killua to break just like him because Gon had no outlet for his anger. I don’t really blame him for acting that way, It's normal to feel frustrated when someone isn't outwardly as emotional about something as you are, but it was definitely a comment made with the intent to hurt.

The thing with Gon and Killua’s relationship is that at the beginning it works so well, but over time molds into something irreparably damaged, because the cracks just keep adding without filling them. It may seem like their relationship only started crumbling because of Chimera Ant, but problems have always been present, such as Killua bending to Gon's will and putting him on a pedestal. Gon does show he cares greatly about Killua throughout the series, but he was perfectly content to keep that uneven dynamic (which we know he was aware of, through him telling Meleoron during CA that "killua won't like it" but he can "insist on having it his way and killua will give in"). Gon obviously doesn't want Killua to do anything like die for his sake, that's explicitly clear from their argument about the Nobunaga situation, but he is willingly to let/push Killua to do things that are physically (i.e. destroying his hands in dodgeball, which Gon had known Killua was doing before it was revealed to the rest of the room, or asking Killua to go longer with his hands injured so that he could heal Genthru and his two stooges) or mentally (too many examples lol) uncomfortable.

Neither one of them are necessarily the problem here, I know it’s common to blame Gon for everything but for the most part he was just acting self-centered as kids often are. He was quite selfish, but that doesn’t mean he’s evil or that he didn’t value Killua. It’s just that barely anyone ever put their foot down to try and explain how that was a problem (outside of like, Tsezguerra in GI telling Gon he was being selfish and putting Killua in danger by trying to pick a fight with Genthru while Killua was injured — which, I should add, made Gon feel really guilty after it was explained to him). This was the first time either of them had a friend like this, so they were both learning and trying to adapt to each other’s rhythms. With the codependency they had going on though, they ended up creating a pretty nasty mixture of issues.

[fumblebatch]

we always talk about killua getting flustered by gon, but platonically or not, we know that killua keeps the extent of his affections to himself

I think, because of that, if killua were to tell gon some of the things he’s thought, gon would struggle with how to respond

[fumblebatch]

The idea of Gon joining the troupe

I want to preface this by saying I don't think Gon would actually ever join the troupe, I just think it's an idea that has been extremely underutilized by the community considering it was presented as a potential in canon back in Yorknew.

I do think Yorknew is the path that makes the most sense for a scenario Gon joins, as he had Nobunaga strongly vying for him (and Killua by extension) to join. Plus, although Gon definitely didn't favor them, he had been emotionally impacted by their grief over Uvogin, which I think could have possibly developed further if he was made to interact with them for a longer period of time. I also think there's a lot that could be explored with Yorknew as an entry point, as I can see an outcome of their capture in which Killua is unable to get over his mental block and leaves Gon behind for his own survival (or worse, he gets himself killed as he was trying to do in canon as a last resort— although, in that case, I doubt Gon would ever warm up to the troupe). I could see that turmoil developing into an early chimera ant for Killua, while on the flip side Gon would likely just be glad Killua managed to get away which might reduce some resentment towards the spiders. I'm sure Kurapika wouldn't take that news well, either.

Another entry point I've thought about is post-succession arc, after Gon has lost his nen. Realistically, Gon's nen loss after Alluka had healed him isn't due to the cursed state him body was in, but an idea that could be explored is if it was. Chrollo had his nen returned to him by the nen exorcist the spiders found on Greed Island, and we don't know what happened to that guy, but it's not unreasonable to think that the spiders would still have access to his location or his powers (potentially through Chrollo taking them, but I weirdly feel like the troupe would have a strong enough sense of gratitude/respect not to do that). I could see Gon telling the spiders outright he has no plans of joining and that he's only there for fixing his nen, but maybe he'd get worn down over time. There's the question of if the spiders would even want him at that point though, with known chain user affiliation (although they weren't terribly unfriendly post-Yorknew at the auction) and no guaranteed payoff for helping or keeping him around.

The main issue I've encountered with that hypothetical scenario is how Gon would encounter the spiders again, since he's isolated on Whale Island. Hisoka would seem like the most likely person to seek out Gon to restore his nen given that he has the most to gain from it, but there's not a whole lot of time that could be pulled off in with the events of the manga (not going to go into further detail on that in case of spoiling). If somehow that fit into the timeline, Hisoka could maybe phrase it to the troupe as a debt, I guess. Gon wouldn’t be desperate enough to turn to the troupe for help that shortly after losing his nen anyway, though. Kalluto is also an option, with his quest to bring Killua back home. I could picture him seeking out Gon for information on Killua's whereabouts, especially after Killua took Alluka and went dark entirely. I'm not sure I can see Kalluto taking Gon back to the spiders though, as his position in the group is new and still fragile.

So outside of the unlikely chance of a member pursuing Gon, the only option that really leaves is for Gon to go out himself. There is a possibility Gon goes stir crazy after being home on Whale Island following his years of action, and he could go out thrill-seeking or chasing adventure. It's improbable that he would randomly come across the spiders, since the only known location they have any attachment to is Meteor City, but the chance isn't 0 I suppose. I don't really see him visiting Metoer City, but that's not entirely out of the question either. That situation relies heavily on what the troupe decides to do with him, though.