rant in a disc server I did!! This is me talking about how james loves & appreciated his friends. Just thought how he is to them is just so fucking cute
With Ryan it proves he pays attentions and knows things about them. EVEN THOUGH Ryan (in canon) barely talks, is described as an observer, james still knows things about him despite his lack of words. He cares about even the small details. He doesn’t dumb them down to just soldiers, he looks at them like people. Ryan is what shows him that you can appreciate someone without needing to talk to them.
With Nadia he’s able to let loose because 1) that’s how Nadia copes. She’s been canontically shown to shove everything serious out of the way and joke about it because that’s the only way she knows how to get through it. He understands that and plays into it because he knows it’ll make her happy. He has fun doing it too. Nadia is his way of letting loose and living life for what it’s worth.
With Leifsdottir he knows to be patient with her and knows that SHE knows what she’s doing. In times of doubt HE is her backbone. He depends on her because she is simply just that fucking smart. He still has cute and funny moments with her and that’s his calm to the storm. Ina shows heavy signs of being neurodivergent (her voice actor discusses it in an interview with the rest of the MFE cast, minus Ryan’s.) and it’s shown that he’s adjusted & accommodates. Math or statistics may be her special interest, or something she’s highly educated in and it benefits everyone, her, and not just james and the war effort.
He’s such a good leader, and friend. It’s these small things that make him so cool and such a good character to look up too as a figure. He utilizes everyone’s strengths (plus his own) can take harsh authority when need be and make something good come out of it, and I will always hate how people constantly think of him being any less then that. His information, his personality isn’t fed to you on a silver platter. His team is so symbolic of, “if you look a little closer.” And they’re just so well built. I love them so dearly.
