Hi Leaf! May I ask for cegan headcanons 👀 and 💕? 😘😘😘
For the Ship Ask Game:
👀 Who gets jealous more easily & how obvious are they about it?
💕 How did they both realize “oh wait, this is actually love”?
Who gets jealous more easily & how obvious are they about it?
This could definitely go both ways with these two, but over all, I see Carl being more jealous than Negan when it comes to their relationship and who they are fucking. Negan is definitely the most possessive in the relationship (this is the guy that owns wives and won't really let them interact with their former partners lol). But that isn't out of jealously; Negan does that to make a statement which is "I'm the leader, I'm showing off power by doing this."
If Carl decides he wants to fuck someone else, Negan isn't going to act like the ol' ball and chain. He isn't going to fucking like it, but he'd rather take the gut punch than risk pushing Carl away or worse; having a visible weakness.
Carl on the other hand... He tolerates the wives because he knows their actual purpose. It's all a massive power play where Negan acts like he has the biggest set of balls in existence. That's fine. But if he gets even the slightest inclination that Negan is flirting with someone, his insides start boiling up with anger. Carl doesn't fuck other people, despite sometimes having the option to. There's hardly anyone his age to fuck and every adult in his group (and most others) wouldn't touch him because he's Rick's kid. (Plus I head canon Carl as gay so his options dwindle even more).
But the point is, Carl only has Negan. He only wants Negan. And deep down, he's scared that he's replaceable and someone younger and more impressive (and probably a woman) will take his place by Negan's side. He's very obvious about it too which is the only reason Negan provokes him to jealousy to begin with. He doesn't want to play nice with some random- He want's Carl to be jealous and turn that anger into very hot sex.
How did they both realize "oh wait, this is actually love"?
This one depends on the AU, I think, but I'll give a general answer of the canon television timeline with my head canons involved. I think that it takes a very vulnerable moment for a man like Negan (who only learned to appreciate Lucille after her death) to give his entire heart to Carl.
I see cegan as having a very physical relationship before emotions are ever heavily involved. There's lots of admiration, banter, heated arguments, and the heated moments that come during them with little actual resolution to a problem. And it's sort of cynical to say this, but I don't think Negan truly appreciated Carl and the peace he was trying to achieve until after he was gone.
But for Carl, I think he knew that he was falling for Negan long before he died. "Sing Me a Song" is the cegan episode for a reason; It's full of Negan making 'moves' toward Carl, yes. But it's also Carl's unlikely understanding of Negan's way of life in the Sanctuary (especially more relative to the comics). He certainly didn't like Negan in the episode(although he trusted him enough to hold baby Judith), but it was the catalyst for later understanding (again more relative to the comics and Carl's cell visits). I think Carl would have fell for Negan when he started to break under the pressure of the communities rising against him. Negan's understanding that things would have to change in some form- I think his ability to change and be better would hit Carl like a train. Because he wouldn't be an enemy anymore; he'd be a person. Carl grew up watching people die because they refused to change or adapt. It would mean a lot for Carl, whose already physically invested, to see an emotional side of Negan.
And when Carl is bitten and he writes his letters, the letter he writes to Negan is a lot longer and he makes sure to give it to him at the gate before the escape and bombing. And Negan wouldn't read it then- He's so fucking mad and betrayed. But when the dust settled and Rick contacts him to say Carl is dead and to read the letter Carl left for his father about Negan... Later that night, Negan would read the one Carl gave him. And he'll regret; After all, it's the cycle of his meaningful relationships.
