#i don't know. sometimes people want to girlbossify hera so bad

[commsroom]

i think to really understand hera (and, by extension, her relationship with eiffel) you have to recognize that she values the same things he does. hera works harder than eiffel does because she has to, because more is riding on her doing her job, because the bare minimum she's allowed to get away with and not have everyone die horribly is... still kind of a lot of work, all of the time. and even then, she does the bare minimum when she can. she cuts corners she probably shouldn't. she hates drudge work. and she really hates being told what to do.

eiffel and hera are both prisoners on the hephaestus - and that they're the only two who really know they weren't given a choice is central to their bond as well - but, at the same time. eiffel both embodies and extends to hera a kind of freedom she wants very much. no one else has ever made room for her to goof off or wanted to talk to her about nothing, just wanted to hear her voice, just wanted to make her laugh. wanted to hang out with her and talk, just for a little while, even as he's falling asleep after days without rest.

that's what draws her to eiffel. "you hate rules as much as i do, don't you, doug?" because the first time she ever speaks to him, it's while he's clamoring around in the dark, clearly no idea what he's doing, not having paid attention to anything about the station or the mission or, of course, the rules. because she tells him about the contraband cigarettes floating out of his pocket and makes a point of keeping it a shared secret. she likes those things about him.

#wolf 359 #w359 #doug eiffel #hera wolf 359 #eiffera #i don't know. sometimes people want to girlbossify hera so bad #and she is very smart. and capable of so much. #but it's like. what cutter mistakes for ambition in hera is mostly just a desire to survive and be treated with basic respect #and she has to work a lot harder for that than other people do. and she shouldn't have to #and eiffel really does. create that space. in small ways but also #because he values her as a person and wants to be around her and her productivity could not be less important to him #this is why they need minkowski btw #in spirit eiffel and hera are minkowski's slacker roommates and she is begging both of them to get real jobs #also: #i still think a lot about hera only ever calling eiffel 'doug' when he can't hear her. and how #unlike with a lot of other characters. there's never a later moment where she calls him by his first name in a Meaningful Way #i have. some thoughts about that maybe. #i just. think about this a lot. how much eiffel and hera are a refuge for each other and how lucky that is #because i'm really not sure either of them would've made it without the comfort they offer each other and the faith they have in each other #nothing new but. they love each other very much and i love them