welcome to the party barge

this is truly the dark souls of video game shipping questions

it feels like a super cop out to say this but my overall interpretation of the series is heavily colored by the fact that i think of Kaz and Ocelot as being thematic foils for each other, and my true answer is "both." each pairing is more interesting to me because i think of the other as equally real, so in that way my favorite is kinda the triangle?

i just wrote and deleted like 3-4 paragraphs of grand word salad about my reading on the two relationships that can be summarized as: i'm a sucker for romance in the traditional/literary sense, and they're both incredibly romantic to me in totally different ways. Bbkaz is the hot and fast-burning doomed summer romance to Bosselot's story of like, one man's twisted take on chivalrous loyalty and lifelong dedication. it's more compelling because Kaz and Ocelot also meet and have this rivalry that feels defined subliminally by the things that shape each of their relationships to Snake- the fact that Ocelot is Snake's right hand man in the end because he is unencumbered by notions of pride and willing to do ANYTHING for Snake, whereas Kaz's relationship with Snake was doomed because Kaz has limits, and his pride was the one thing he could never compromise on.