For Richer and poorer: Zhante
Ok, So Iâve already done this rant but Iâve done this on my previous blog which I had deleted and people HAD REBLOGGED this but in link which now doesnât work because wellâŚurl doesnât exist. So here it is again my little rant as to why I ship Zhante. (also this might take long).
Anyhow, I find Zhante to be one of most beautiful and most healthy types of relationship out there in fiction, especially now that a lot of series and movies go for âabusive boyfriend will be cured by pure heroineâs loveâ.
Firstly letâs talk about Zhalia.Â
She is one of most three dimensional characters on the show. She is wrong, she is right, she gets angry, she gets unsure but at the same time she knows her own worth. Sheâs the strongest seeker of whole team too. She is equal to Dante or even stronger than him when it comes to the attack
see? Which makes them good partners, because they can match up and they are stronger there where the other is weaker.Â
Dante and Zhalia have also a lot of other similarities.Â
They both treat their jobs and mission as serious business. They never abandon then until there isnât any other choice. see episode 7 of series one.
Zhalia actually says that running away is abandoning the mission. She also supports Dante when he breaks into a church in episode 6 of series one, telling Sophie that he âdoes what it takes to complete the missionâ. Â
Both Dante and Zhalia have a father figure and mentor, who means a world to them and for whom they are ready to do anything, and although Metz is a good guy weâd seen that Klaus cares about Zhalia to some extent too. Zhalia shows understanding towards Dante in this aspect in ep.17 s.1 telling him she has such a person as well, when he explains about Metz; which makes Dante confess to her(altho he fails due to a suit).Â
What is endearing about Zhante is that it doesnât start as love at first sight. They start out as partners on a mission. Zhalia saves the team and Dante notices her potential so he asks her for help. He simply sees a talented and competent seeker, another adult and his equal who will be an asset in a dangerous mission. Someone he can let onto his plans, unlike Lok and Sophie who are novices. And Zhalia proves him right, so he asks her for another mission and then for another. Because she is good and he respects her for that. In episode six he even lets her in on his plan, and in this episode we see him coming to save her and we see that there might be something; which is proved further in episode 8 when Zhalia worries over Dante being chased by Fenris. In episode 9, we see that Dante feels the same, when he defends her against Sophie and later helps her walk and catches her when she faints, helping her walk later.Â
In episode 10 we have even more explicit statement of Danteâs feelings when he saysÂ
âDespite what Sophie says, in the end of the day I know I can trust youâ
to which Zhalia has strong reaction by saying that nobody has told her that before.Â
Next in episode 12 we have Zhalia worrying over Dante as she dives in, now itâs even stronger point than the one in episode 8 because in episode 8 she was saying the words out loud when Sophie was nearby, and seeing how Zhalia is a spy at the moment someone could dismiss it as an act. But in episode 12 when she dives in she is ALONE, she THINKS this thing. She has no audience to play for. Itâs genuine concern.Â
Now next we have our big reveal. Zhalia is a spy! We see her talking with Klaus and getting her mission to kill Dante. But she is distracted, probably because she already has the seeds of doubt in her mind due to previous events. Dante asks her whatâs wrong, again because he is responsible and he cares. Later when they go to the vault she tries to kill him but she canât. Because he trusts her, she has flashback of their talk in episode 10 and SHE CANNOT DO IT. She later even uses the device on the magical door so Dante can go and help Lok. Dante then tells her that he knew he could trust her and smiles at her, and she smiles back. I think this is the first time she smiles for real. Afterwards we see even more of Zhaliaâs internal struggle between her loyalty to her father and her feelings for Dante, she gets more distracted, she tries to even push him away couple of times(episode 14 and episode 16). Dante at this point is probably in love with her because he comes back to her and shows concern for her in a lot of situations and wishing sheâd tell him whatâs on her mind. Still he doesnât push her. He respects her privacy and keeps his distance.In episode 16 we also have Zhalia reacting strongly to Sophie accusing her of âhanging on Danteâs every wordâ In the end of episode she is clearly not willing to do her job, she sighs when Klaus yells at her and tells her to do it.Â
Then we have probably the most important episode, especially in regards to Zhaliaâs arc. She is about to betray the team and kill them. She walks out on the bridge of the train to think. Dante, comes out after her and asks her whatâs wrong and is concerned about her. Zhalia then points out heâs been acting distracted as well. Dante tells her about Metz and how he means so much to him and that heâs dying. Zhaliaâs mask and coldness melts then and she even reaches out to Dante and tries to comfort him about it, telling hims he understands.Because she does. Then we have 100% proof that Dante is in love with her, because he turns to her and says
âThere is something Iâve been meaning to sayâŚâ
and during this scene the screen fades away and we get those flashy white dots floating about which is indicating that this is a moment where both of them are in their own world, the outside one doesnât matter to them. But Dante gets distracted by a suits attack and he never tells Zhalia how he feels. They donât talk at all or meet until the moment of her betreyal. Now Dante is down but he could get up, he could fight Zhalia. He doesnât, he is clearly shocked and he stares at her and whispers her name. We see Zhalia breaking at this point, her hands are glowing with spell but she has a sad look in her eyes. Her resolve is breaking. She attacks, and then she remembers her life, and Klaus and Dante andâŚshe slams her fist into the roof. She chooses Dante, and she defends him. They fight side by side and Zhalia tells Dante who Klaus is for her. And Dante understands. Because he has Metz, and because he sees sheâs chosen her sides. He understands and fights Klaus. Because he knows she cannot fight her father, someone who saved her in some way. But he falls, so she is forced to do this. and she does, once more she chooses Dante and this time she is more sure about it. She knows that Dante cares about her, understands her and that she has a place she truly belongs to. Place where she can be herself. In the end of this episode Zhalia leaves, and Dante lets her. He doesnât argue he doesnât try to stop her. He lets her go because he understands she needs time, he knows her life is in ruins and that she is this kind of woman who needs alone time, instead of being nagged. He lets her go but he misses her. He says so in episode 19. Now in episode 19 the team is ejected by amazons, they have to leave without Behemoth. But then Zhalia appears and fights for the ring. She then saves Dante by tossing it to him which allows him to defeat Rassimov. This episode shows us even more of Danteâs understanding of Zhalia. When Metz offers her a place at Foundation, Zhalia breaks down and Dante puts his arm around her. He understands that now she needs support, that now she needs closeness and she leans against him accepting it.Â
Now many may disagree with me but for me the moment Zhante became canon is episode 20. Zhalia blows up her own flat and goes to Dante. He shows concern and worry for her, and gives her his coat and a cup of tea, In this moment she comes up to him on her own will. She says sheâs sorry, and she comes into his arms OUT OF HER OWN NEED AND OWN FREE WILL. She WANTS the physical contact. Dante comforts her then and hugs her and tells her everything will be alright. Because that is what she needs. and then we have the almost kiss. Now they BOTH LEAN IT AT THE SAME MOMENT. THEY BOTH SMILE AND THEY BOTH UNDERSTAND THAT THE OTHER WANTS IT. THERE IS NOÂ âWILL HE WILL SHEâ in this. Thatâs why I think they know what the other feels, because they donât hesitate. They do it at the same moment. They are sure. Later in that episode we have them fighting together and Dante geting upset over her getting hurt and in episode 21 we see him catching her and they share a smile.Â
Next episode in line is episode 22, or rather the last moments of it. The team gets separated and Zhalia is missing. Dante is clearly worries about her, itâs evident in his voice, he asks about her straight away and then calls her. and thenâŚthen we have the moment when Zhalia is caught by Professor and he uses his powers on her. She screams and Dante hears it and he turns around and is HORRIFIED. Now, Dante is NOT a man to show his fear. Not at all. He is a team leader and as such he usually is the support of his team. He is always cool, but he looses it when Zhalia goes missing and later when he hears her scream. In next episode, we have a proof of what I call âtelepathic bondâ because Zhalia makes just one wave of hand and Dante at once catches that sheÂ
-sheâs going to distract the Organization and cover the escape
Later on when she explains how she wriggled her way out of being put under control, and Zhalia says sheâd told Professor that sheâs a double agent he defends her again when Sophie asks if Zhalia betrayed them. He says she didnât have a choice.Â
Next we have episode 24. The team goes out to find out about the last titan and they find out truth about Organization and Professor. The Professor attacks them and a fight breaks out. and again Dante informs Zhalia of his plan and she takes the team away to Sophieâs house. When Dante comes in later, Lok and Sophie worry that he might be under control but he reveals that he isnât and Zhalia cheers because their plan worked. Once more, he had somehow managed to tell her about this. They later head for the safe house and are attacked by Rassimov, Dante gets hurt and Zhalia at once jumps to defend him, she gets protective and later she helps him walk.Â
Now, the next most important moments are in the series final episodes. When team reaches the castle Dante tells Cherit to âproect Zhalia, no matter what the costâ and later when Dante gets tricked and Sophie attacks him, Zhalia fights her to defend him again and says that Dante is most important in the world for her. She says it out loud to another person. She is frigging sure of it, and later she stays to defend him still. She defends him to last titan, ready to die for him. She later confesses her love to him but he interrupts her by coming back. He says heâs sorry and they fight side by side, defeating their enemies and later he walks in with her, and puts his coat over her. Now this is my personal thought but I think that at this point they are in a relationship or get together. In season two we get a lot of their usual antics, saving each other, protecting each other, Zhalia playfully saying she can handle herself. We have her sleeping in his coat on the plane and him letting her in on his plans and working with her. And then she leaves, she goes to spy on the Blood Spirals. Now, Dante could try and stop her but once again despite worry he shows understanding and trust in her, by letting her go. In next episodes we have more proof of it, he even tells Lin he worries about Zhalia. and thenâŚwe have his vision. He is upset, but why? He isnât a man to worry often. So many of us had thought at the time that wellâŚhe saw Zhalia die. But no, he sees himself dead and her crying over his grave, which leads me to episode 52. Dante sacrifices himself in episode 50. In episode 51 Zhalia finds out about it and is naturally crushed. She then drops her disguise and goes out to fight the Betrayer after Lok and Sophie get knocked out. This is an act of despair, similar to when Eowin threw herself at Nazgul after Theodens death. Zhalia is broken but sheâs going to fight and die for her friends. Sheâs going to try and defeat the guy who is responsible for this. In episode 52, the last one of the series we have Dante coming back and once more he tells Zhalia ahead, he sends her a text message on her Logosbook âyou canât get rid of me that easilyâ he PREPARES HER FOR HIS RETURN. Which makes me think that he came back because of her. He had faith in team after all, but he saw her crying in his vision and he didnât want to leave her behind because he knew she cares and itâs going to break her. HE COMES BACK TO LIFE FOR HER, PEOPLE HE COMES BACK TO LIFE FOR HER AND INFORMS HER AHEAD SO SHEâ DOESNâT WORRY. HOLD ME PLEASE.
I also love them and am so invested in them and ship them so hard, apart from the friendship and trust angleâŚbecause they actually have some conflict to them. In first series itâs building their friendship and Zhalia fighting with herself, and her internal struggle and her reveal. They are getting there but there is a barrier between them because she keeps secrets. But they conquer it. They defeat this and the air clears and they can now go further. Then we have her leaving, and they miss each other but survive and then she comes to their rescue, she sort of comes to terms with it and decides to do something about it and redeem herself. Say sorry for sure. And sheâs back for sure. And we see that they have more open relationship. She no longer pushes him away, they hug, they are more open. Then we have another obstacle with her leaving again but they manage it. They talk to each other through their Logosbooks and they talk about more than just a mission because Tantras comments on Zhali caring for Dante. SO THERE WAS MORE IN THE LOGOSBOOK THAN JUST REPORTS. But the point is, they are faces with long period(almost a year) of being apart, of long distance relationship and they pull through it. and then we have the last thing Iâve mentioned. Danteâs death and return. So we can add loss to the obstacles they had before them. Now I know people donât come back from dead but think of someone going missing or someone getting into an accident and ending up in a coma. Dante and Zhalia went through something like that. They got thrown into a deep water of REALLY LOOSING SOMEONE, OF SOMEONE NOT REALLY BEING THERE THROUGH ALL THIS EMOTIONAL STRAIN AND THEY CAME OUT VICTORIOUS. IâM SORRY IâM SHOUTING BUT THIS IS JUST SUCH A STRONG LOVE AND SUCH A STRONG RELATIONSHIP AND TRUST AND FRIENDSHIP AND CONFLICT AND MATURITY AND THEY ARE REALLY LIKE IN THE WEDDING VOWS. THEY ARE THERE FOR EACH OTHER THROUGH THICK AND THIN, THEY SUPPORT EACH OTHER, KEEP THE SAME LINE, THEY LOVE EACH OTHER TO DEATH BUT AT THE SAME TIME THEY ARE THEIR OWN PEOPLE AND THEY CAN BE WITHOUT EACH OTHER FOR A YEAR WITHOUT STOPPING CARING ABOUT THIS PERSON AND I HAVE SO MANY FEELSÂ
@the-stray-liger, @pakiramdaman @sarkazmwherbacie @lilium-heart @emyy250 @s-nero @askhuntik @secretsandseekers @fablewolf44
because I need more people in my pit.Â
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