My (unsolicited) thoughts on Auraki
Disclaimer: I am by no means an expert on Jeanne-Marie, and am going solely by what I've been able to glean from her Wiki and what comics I have read
So, let's start with the obvious: these two as a couple were shoehorned into a comic that was filled with ableist, biphobic, and racist rhetoric and done so in a way that was unnatural for both characters, arguably because the writer didn't understand the characters she was writing (other members of the cast were touted as being ooc by their fans, and I trust the fans over most comic writers). For this reason, as well as reasoning regarding Akihiro's "redemption" through a romantic relationship (esp. a het-passing relationship with a white woman), I can understand why fans may not like the couple, or may be wary of the ship as a whole. I was one of them, but the more I learn and the more I think about it, I feel like they do have potential.
Regarding the two as separate characters, they have a lot of similarities that would build up the relationship in a more natural way than the (unoriginal) "I find you attractive" route or the "I find you attractive and I'm going to show you I'm dedicated by becoming an accomplice in murder on your behalf" (Which is a much more Daken thing to do, but clashes with his characterization through the rest of the series).
Both Aurora and Akihiro have struggled through abuse, parental neglect/absence, loss or skewing of a sense of "self" due to their upbringing, attachment insecurities, and a strong, if sometimes rocky relationship with their sibling(s). While I would much rather have a relationship borne of an interesting dynamic between two people, I do feel like these shared experiences would help the two of them relate to each other on a deeper level than what you might get otherwise.
In x-faqtor, their relationship read as very surface-level, which wasn't aided by the short duration of the title. Looking at a cast of people with a lot of trauma in their lives, the overall tone of interaction between the characters was one of apathy if not outright hostility--something I'm seeing repeated in other X-titles by Williams. By all accounts, the two shouldn't have ended up together at all, except that both have been known to make uninformed or hasty decisions in their other relationships, but even with that acknowledgement, there really wasn't any lead up into it at all. Through his time on the team, Daken was largely distrusted, teased, and unvalued up until the last third of the series. Aurora hardly had any characterization at all; we got no sense of who she is as a person, what sort of role she fills on the team, or what her role within Krakoa is outside of the team. Outside of physical attraction and the fact they were on a team together, there was no reason at all for the two to even talk to each other; Daken had more on-panel interaction with Jean-Paul and David, who were both openly hostile to him through the first several issues.
Williams shows glimpses of understanding how abuse changes a person--referenced by the sequence of the other team members talking about the isolating mental and emotional abuse Siryn was experiencing at the hands of the Morrigan while showing the mental and physical abuse the Morrigan was dishing out on Akihiro. As sympathetic as Aurora has been written recently by writers like Orlando, I have a hard time believing that she wouldn't be drawn to him, or at least be one of the members of the team to treat him like a person and not a collection of problems to be solved.
I feel like it's also worth mentioning that these two characters have been repeatedly and extensively ostracized and shamed for their sexuality, and have even (at the very least canonically in Jeanne-Marie's case) had people completely ignore their desires and dignity by being seen as hardly more than sexual objects. Seeing both of them in a (semi-) healthy, happy, consensual relationship with someone who understands their vulnerabilities and respects their autonomy is a bit of a breath of fresh air. I enjoy how they're being written recently quite a bit better; you get a better sense of their dynamic with each other and how much they care about each other.
Which brings me to another point: Akihiro being written as ignoring his sisters in favor of Aurora.
Not only do I think this is a huge misinterpretation of his character; he went to Manhattan with a defective healing factor to support Laura during her fight with the Kinney Virus and gave a part of his soul for Laura to have protection against the Muramasa blade. That does not, in any way, read as a man who would sacrifice his relationship with his sisters for anyone, lover included.
Not only do I see that as a misinterpretation of Akihiro, I also see it as a misinterpretation of Aurora. I realize that she and Jean-Paul have had their share of problems, even in relatively recent comics, but I don't see Aurora allowing Akihiro to ignore his sisters in favor of her. She, of all people, has to realize how important having family is, and as I understand, would probably be Akihiro's biggest champion in spending more time with them (not in seeing him as a bad influence on them, but more in seeing them as a positive influence on him).
In short, while the relationship between these two has it's issues and continues to grow from the practically non-existent roots it had in x-faqtor, I enjoy seeing them together, and think they have potential to be a power couple in their own rights. There is something inherently romantic in the recognition of the self through a partner, and learning to be gentle with yourself through them.
