thinking out loud… okay. So I love Shakra/Hornet hurt-comfort fanworks as much as the next person, it’s very sweet when Shakra scoops little Hornet up in her big strong arms, I also want Shakra to scoop me up in her big strong arms… but the more I mess around with this fic draft I have with them, and try to write dialogue, and let their characterization guide the plot… the more I’m coming to believe that they would both reinforce each other’s worst tendencies when it comes to deprioritizing their health.
Shakra comes from a merciless, strict warrior culture that emphasizes strength in battle above all, to the extent that dying of old age is considered shameful, as opposed to dying in combat. She has the strength and stamina to fight for days on end in Act III, but even before she’s defending a town against the void-filled zombie hordes and is just roaming across the map on her master’s trail, her campsites are often surrounded by slain enemies and are never tucked especially safely away. She is working on her maps right in the middle of hostile territory, constantly vigilant even as she draws and hums to herself. Some cartographers might put, like, a door between them and things trying to bite and stab them while they work? But not Shakra. Shakra thinks that’s for soft-shelled wimps. Edges sharp and senses keen!
Her campsites are so spare, too— she clearly travels very light, and sometimes has, like, a ragged piece of fabric hung up for shelter, but often doesn’t even have that. She’s so focused on her mission, and moves on from one spot so quickly, that the thought of making a campsite cozy might seem foolish and wasteful. Maybe she has like, a mat to sleep on (from which she can awake at a moment’s notice to kill something attacking her, because she’s out in the dang open), but that little bit of comfort is all she allows herself.
And Hornet’s over here with her two-red-bulls-and-an-adderall-breakfast lifestyle, but maybe Shakra’s not much better, just in a different way, like: “in my tribe, it is said a true warrior can sustain herself for a day on only flower nectar and morning dew.” She does eat to keep up her strength, but food is strictly fuel. She might be impressed by Hornet insisting she doesn’t need to eat, thinking, “wow Hornet-Wielding Needle is so disciplined,” instead of “my friend is not taking care of herself”. The red flags in her new friend’s behavior just don’t look like red flags to her, because she’s been raised in a culture that sees them as traits that demonstrate a warrior’s strength and self-discipline. Hornet constantly throwing herself into danger without rest doesn’t make her a depressed mess in need of a gentle intervention, it makes her inspirational.
Anyway, I’ve been thinking about them. 🐝 🕷️
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