#(they're platonic sorry shipping them makes me hella uncomfortable)

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Hi! Just want to say that I enjoy you and your writing and art!

I have a genuine question though, and please don’t take any of what I say the wrong way; I really mean no hate here. But, why do you ship Vander and Silco? I understand that they aren’t technically real blood brothers or anything, but for me personally it just feels weird because they refer to each other as genuine brothers and see each other as such. So shipping them feels off…but I’d like to know your thought process with that. Again, I’m sorry if I sound rude and I really don’t mean any hate here!

Heya Anon,

Don't worry, you do sound earnest, I'll answer your question! There's no shame in asking.

I'm going to make several arguments to give you a general picture.

First off, language.

Just checking, but are you aware of the term "Brother in arms"? I'm asking because I've met one fan who didn't know the term at all while trying to upbraid me about shipping them, months ago.

This is what we (meaning many viewers and most Vanco shippers) understand the term as. It's a well used expression in media. Vander and Silco fought together, they shared a political cause.

Silco also tells Finn that they used to fight "brothers and sisters" having each others backs against the oppressors. Silco is clearly not talking about him and his 12 unnamed siblings here. He's referring to everyone who fought for that cause as brothers and sisters (in arms).

Then, other languages. If you watch the show in Japanese for example, you'll see that Silco doesn't use a term that correlates with brother, but with comrade. It's the case in other languages too, I couldn't tell you how many since I don't have access to all languages on Netflix.

So imagine if I were a Japanese artist shipping Vanco and you came at me saying "they're brothers, it's wrong!" — I'd be hella confused, because I'd have watched all of Arcane without a hint of them being "brothers".

If they were truly brothers and not just very close partners, then certainly this would be carried across in other languages. It isn't. They use more suiting local expressions, that happen to not have the word brother in it.

Most Vanco shippers came to the ship never even thinking about them as "brothers", or have a very different understanding of the term. It helps too that Silco uses it with so much spite it's basically an insult, because Vander isn't his "bro" any more, hasn't been for years...

Secondly, character.

Speaking of that spite : they were very close once, yes, and maybe that sounds uncomfortable to ship to you, but they clearly haven't been for a very long time? They're canonically mortal enemies? Surely I don't need to point to the enemies—to—lovers tag?

They 100% don't see each other as close any more. Vander seemed surprised to see Silco at all, and Silco came out swinging with the intention to either recrute or kill. Hardly "brotherly" behaviour.

Silco and Vander are the way they are because of each other. Vander carries shame. Silco is on a war path. Vander taught Silco "how to overcome a more powerful enemy". He's made him into the ruthless man we meet. If there's no Vander, then there's no Silco. They're integral to each other's character.

That's extremely intense. Extremely intense relationships are hot. Period. They're acting like bitter exes. Like over the top divorcees. They have sooo much tension, literally nose to nose and forehead to forehead while choking and stabbing each other? Please.

Some may think that making them a couple cheapens that intense relationship.

And they're perfectly right to think so if that's how they feel.

There's no right or wrong about these characters, and everyone has a unique perception. I think that them being once together heightens their relationship, but I'm a gen writer at my core and can completely see the argument in favour of keeping them platonic.

That leads me into the next point : the Queer trope.

I'll let the images speak for themselves.

A lot of Vanco shippers are queer people who look at them and go "Ahahaha ooooh they were so married".

And really, that's enough? If you see the tension, recognise it has lots of erotic or emotional potential and want to explore it in fic or art… And the semantics of the "brother in arms" thing is meaningless to you or an actual bonus… then there is literally nothing stopping you from shipping them. And there shouldn't be.

Also, there are plenty of works, from game of thrones to fanfics, that cover actual incestuous relationships. These fics have a right to exist, AO3 agrees, certainly all mainline publishers agree, and people can find it hot simply because it's down their alley. I definitely know Vanco shippers who, seeing your question, would just shrug and say "And what if they were brothers? It's be even better." So that's also an argument.

There's a point where you have to look at a ship, see it has hundreds of devoted fans, and realise that you may never "get it", and that's perfectly fine. You find it uncomfortable, while to others it's a perfect OTP they have an incredible time interacting with. I can't explain why that is. We're all just different, with different pasts, different books we've read and media that shaped us, different levels of media literacy... So we all end up taking something different from the shows we watch.

Final point : Double Standards.

This is not an accusation, since you're anon and I don't know you. This is aimed at anyone reading with the same mindset as you.

Have you stopped to look at Jayce x Viktor with the same standards?

Jayce is literally the only character in a canon straight relationship, with a sex scene no less, and says to Mel that Viktor "is like his brother".

Somehow these two don't get the "omg ew, why would you ship them they are brothers" treatment. I wonder why…

Oh, I know : because we see them meet. So it's very textual that Jayce and Viktor met as adults, and fans can easily dismiss the "brother" line and remain assured they aren't "incestuous brothers".

Meanwhile, because we don't know Vander and Silco's past lives and don't know how they met, fans who are prone to very hardcore textual readings of the show, without diving into subtext, references, etc. tend to just instantly label them as "brothers" and not look back.

But Vander and Silco could meet at 18 as perfect strangers, have an intense relationship, drown each other, not see each other for 20 years, and then go on to sarcastically call each other brothers and you would change *nothing* from canon. Except if we KNEW that for sure, then no one would be out there saying "they were like brothers".

Instead, I think, they'd be saying "but they hate each other!" and I'd be here pointing to the sign...

Personally :

I like this ship because they're hot DILFs with a shit ton of angst between them. Literally stabbing and choking each other over grief that's DECADES OLD. They're obsessed. Can you imagine the amount of closeness they must have had, to spark so much resentment?

And Silco still trying to get Vander to his side, just in case he could be swayed and he could have his brother back? Ough— chef's kiss.

It's dark, it's painful, it's angsty, they're hot, they're dads and dad shaped, there's a stupidly sexy size difference, Silco has Vander strapped into that chair… Ahaha… It's perfect.

I actually like how much of their past is left up for the imagination. It has become the focus of many of my fics, and I'm so comfortable in my headcanons that I borderline don't want season 2 to burst my bubble lol

But yeah. The bottom line is that Vanco shippers don't see anything wrong with a good angsty ship between old men, and are generally a little exasperated to have a technicality used to dismiss the ship, but we mostly don't care and keep about our business. Our old men need love and they won't ship themselves!

Hope that clarified things. Again, if you still don't get it : it's fine. Nobody really cares, so long as you don't use your dislike of the ship to bully anyone. You're free to never get it, or free to try out fics of them until it *clicks* and you join our ranks.

I'll happily provide you with recommendations if you want!