back to the topic of ulysses and wenona because i'm thinking about them: i think their relationship greatly differs between a killing game and no killing game situation. because, you know, they aren't trapped together in a death game in one of them. none of the nuances about them needing each other apply outside of a killing game because they aren't backed into a corner and stressed to an extreme point. wenona just wants a professional connection, and ulysses just wants a friend. i think that's how they START in any situation, including the killing game, but it's changed by their circumstances. because, like, in a life or death situation, wenona suddenly needs insurance. she needs to come out on top. she figures ulysses is the best person for it because she already respects him, but also knows she can exploit his weaknesses like his loneliness and the fact he likes her. she suddenly needs a tool and she makes one out of ulysses. and ulysses also needs insurance. he needs protection and comfort. he struggles on his own and likely knows he's an easy target and an outcast. it changes from just wanting a friend to needing a friend, and he's willing to do everything he does because he's so desperate and scared. they're both powerful allies to each other, but they see it in different ways.
and when they aren't put in those positions they develop a lot more healthily, if you know what i mean.
like, wenona still isn't seeing ulysses as a friend and is pretty detached from him. he's just the best person in the class for her to talk to because he isn't stupid. she doesn't need or want friends, but ulysses is a pretty good acquaintance. he's passionate and serious and deserves to be an ultimate in her eyes, so they're alike like that. she wants his company because she could genuinely use someone to talk to that doesn't just want to push and shove her around for their own good or brag about her. he's actually respectable and nice to be around.
ulysses absolutely still sees wenona as a friend, though, and is much more into her than she is to him. and he thinks that they're seeing each other in the same way because she's actually bothering to spend time with him, and talk to him, and whatnot. he wants a friend and she seems to be that for him. and she's a good person to be friends with! she's confident, and extremely hard working, and just all around amazing. he wants to impress her and prove to her he deserves to be her friend, because he's desperate to not be alone anymore. she's great and actually gave him a chance to be her friend and he doesn't want to let that go.
i think that they end up teaching each other different things depending on the situation, too.
in the killing game, wenona teaches ulysses that he's also powerful, and that he doesn't need to let everyone walk all over him and he can make them respect him. outside of it, i think she teaches him that he's very smart and capable, and if that's not enough for people, that they aren't worth his time. and that he doesn't deserve to be treated like shit either. I think the first comes from her genuinely believing in him, but also wanting to mold him into the perfect lackey for her, cause what use is a doormat? but it would actually help him to stand up for himself and recognize his worth. and the second comes from her realizing that he's really trying hard to impress her when it's not necessary. she knows he's a good person and other people should see that too, rather than only his faults. they should give him the time of day and he shouldn't tolerate them if they only use it to mistreat him.
in the killing game, i think ulysses teaches her that she needs to treat people more like people and less like pawns. and that she ultimately doesn't benefit from doing it no matter how good she thinks it is for her. whereas outside of it, i think he teaches her to slow down and appreciate the people around her, to make connections outside of just business. the first is really through her realizing that she fucked up with him. that she's been frightened and hurt by losing him and realizing that it was partially her fault. and that she's not going to get any chance to mend that with him and go back and say hey, wait, i like you as a person too. i wouldn't mind being your friend too. it makes her more careful and considerate of others that she still has. the second is kind of her realizing through him that she doesn't mind having friends and they aren't stopping her from her own goals in any way. there are actual genuine people out there who will appreciate her beyond just her accomplishments and money, who want to live and laugh with her. who she cares for and who care back. so she does eventually accept ulysses as being a friend, and takes on more friends in their class.
without them being in a killing game, their relationship and them as individuals are given more a chance to grow and thrive. they're under so, so much less stress, and are able to be apart from each other when things aren't all that healthy. they have other people to guide them, whereas in the killing game, they're quite isolated from everyone but each other. they could have been incredibly good friends with each other! and i think this goes for a lot of people in the killing game, things could have been so much different! but there isn't any allowance for it in that situation. there's no room for it unless you get lucky, and most people don't. even if ulysses hadn't died when he did, i don't think there's any definitive saying that they wouldn't have just spiralled in their toxicity or if they would have fixed things up. because the conditions don't magically disappear and you don't get magically fixed right away. it's not a good situation so expecting good things to come in it is kind of foolish, even if it is possible.
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