#bekudoru

Personality wise, I feel like they’re ironically very similar despite having incredibly different roles/connotations in their character design

Durbe at the surface is everything good and respectable: loyal to a fault, holding genuine kindness for others, with obvious holy/saintly connotations in his deck and mannerisms. But he also has a very bad case of tunnel vision when it comes to emotional situations, has no issue doing whatever it takes to achieve his ends (even if he recognizes that it’s wrong and feels bad about doing it, he still decides that the goals of the ‘overall good’ matters far more than personal morals), will manipulate and lie to the ones he holds dear for what he thinks is their best interest, and following that same line of thought, will ignore the wishes of the ones he loves if he thinks it’s not the best course of action. He also holds unity very dearly, which caused like half of the Barians issues. If only he had listened to Misael and kept Vector on a shorter leash. 

Vector shares the mindset of justifying the ends, only he doesn’t even try to bother justifications or regrets so long as he gets what he wants. Ironically I feel like he can also share Durbe’s trait of undying loyalty-- tho he absolutely HATES IT-- how dare Yuma make him want to throw everything he’s dreamed of away for an attempt at bettering himself, how darre he feel such strong connections to his fellow lords who he would just as quickly kill for as he would kill them himself. In Durbe he might see his life before this curse of madness set in-- the possibility of a benevolent and fair leader he might of been and could possibly be-- and hates every second of it. Better do his best to break Durbe to get rid of those negative feelings. 

In every life I feel like Vector finds a particular joy in amplifying Durbe’s bad traits and watching as Durbe feels miserable about his willing path into the darkest parts of himself-- Durbe sticking around because of self hatred and loneliness along with the ability to express his worst traits to open arms-- traits he’d rather hide from the ones who look up to him but still needs to get out.  

Past life: Oh boooooooy I have a whole thing on Durbes life before becoming a knight and how it affects his relationships up to his death but that's a whole other topic. The most damaging dynamic of the three lives, Vector sees Durbe as a useful and pretty little plaything who won’t stop getting in his way, while Durbe see’s Vector as an enigma he’d like to dissect but should probably focus more on eradicating (that changes to straight up ‘I’m gonna kill a bitch’ after Merag’s sacrifice). In the AU where Durbe is taken as a hostage, I prefer that Vector plays a game of mind tricks before he jumps straight to torture because Durbe can hold his interest in a conversation far longer than the others under his command-- why not own his loyalty completely, no matter what it takes. 

In their Barian life, I really enjoy the sort of clash of power they have going on-- Vector does seem to have some sort of grudging respect for Durbe’s role as leader (or at least fear of his abilities? I still wanna know what exactly Durbe has done that makes the others jump to attention every time he does the eye-flash-- it’s not like he's physically imposing compared to literally everyone else. Such a soft boy) But he’s certainly going to have fun antagonizing him to try to find each and every weakness and take advantage of it. Durbe also has obvious need and want for Vectors presence-- he’s not pleasant but he’s powerful, effective and creative in his methods. They 100% are in a constant powers struggle-- even though the other lords would much rather follow Durbe before ever listening complacently to Vector, it’s pretty clear Durbe is not the one who’s spearheading the war efforts (being generally more occupied trying to hold the world together). I particularly looove the idea of Durbe turning/succumbing to Vector for carnal comforts along with advice when Nasch disappears, and absolutely shattering once he figures out what really happened that night, knowing that he’s been literally sleeping with the enemy. ALSO the whole issue that brings up between Shark and Durbe when Shark finds out. The Drama. The Betrayal👌🏼 Mizael quipping ‘I told you so’ when it comes back to bite Durbe in the ass

Rebirth: Durbe would be among one of the last to forgive Vector simply because he does not want to forgive until Rio and Shark speak with him about where they stand. After that, tho, Durbe would be incredibly involved and supportive of his recovery.  

This is the only life where I can see any potential for a healthy romance between these two-- but it would take a looot of time and a lot of work. Vector is def going to have a lot of issues transitioning into a life where he does not hold much power, and most of all, has the capacity to feel legitimate guilt. Durbe has already established himself a pillar of support, emotionally and logically (albeit a lil awkward at it in this new environment), and unlike the others who might be willing to help him, there is no real expectation for him to necessarily better himself immediately. They’ve both seen each other at their worst, there’s not much that can be hidden any more, nothing that can really be judged. Most importantly, Durbe does not pity Vector the way the others do. He expects him to do something with himself, preferably for the better, but if he needs to be controlled it’s not like Durbe hasn’t done it before. Shark probably hates it but Durbe lets Vector cuddle with him to destress or to fight off panic attacks. In public. That Traitor. 

Romantic feelings might be able to develop once Vector has found stable ground to walk on and Durbe has come clean with the entirety of his past. Not clean slates, but ones that are not quite as chipped. Even then I’m not sure I can see it as a monogamous relationship-- Vector doesn’t really have the full capacity for softer emotions that Durbe needs, and Durbe is still much to moral (or anal) to let Vector get away with what he’d like to. It’d still be very rocky, as they both have graves of dirt to hold over one another