i am not okay. I found old screenshots of my babies from like ???? two??? years ago

josmora still gives me so much LIFE

Reasons to Ship Markus & North (Marth/Norkus) 03.1

They're Attached at the Hip

Almost from the moment Markus arrives at Jericho he and North seem to gravitate to each other. While it's true he shows affiliations and bonds with all his advisors/generals (North, Simon, Josh, and Lucy respectively), he and North share a special relationship. They spend the most time together regardless of which route you take (Pacifist, Violent, or Neutral), and almost never leave each other's side. This could be for many reasons. Such as them being selfless, natural born (made?) leaders, driven, unapologetically devoted to rights for their people, innate comfort or trust, or just plain physical attraction. Some of these I've already discussed (others I plan to), so let's delve into the moments of them together. (AKA: Strap in y'all cause this is gonna be a long one)

Let's begin at the raid on the Cyberlife warehouse, shall we? While they're running towards the building we hear North calling Markus over to her. I'm not quite sure why she wants this newcomer at her side, but she does. Of course, the player doesn't have to follow her. The fact that she insists we do says something about her want for him to be near her. We also see that she protects him from detection using her arm as a block. The devs could have easily given that role to Simon or Josh, but they did not. Proof that even then they're sowing the seeds of a relationship. Jumping ahead a bit we get to Markus having the option to steal a key to get a truckload of biocomponents and blue blood. If you choose to go through with the plan, North eagerly volunteers to join him. When he succeeds she even rides shotgun with him. Again we see this dynamic very early of them wanting to be beside each other all the time. It's interesting and pretty sweet. I do wonder why North wants to be around him this soon. Perhaps it's admiration or that she lowkey liked him already.

Next is the Stratford Tower broadcast. When Markus hatches a plan Simon and Josh hesitate, North doesn't. She's ready to roll with him whenever. Markus just needs to give the word. This goes briefly back to my last point of her probably already being into or at least in awe of him. During their break in (probably not the right word, but "heist" and "invasion" don't fit either) the first one Markus meets up with is North. He made this plan, so he could've chosen anyone else, but he wanted to work most closely with her. Even the game confirms this should you delve into the extras menu. It says Markus knew "there was only one woman for the job." He likely picks her for these reasons: she's down to ride for the sake of her people regardless of the consequences, she's another leader (see my Reasons to Ship 02 post), and maybe he admires her and likes her in the same way I think she does to him. I mean he checks on her after they scale the building before anything else, and if you as a player make any lapse in judgment she picks up the slack immediately, but I digress.

There's also the scene where they liberate androids from the Detroit Cyberlife stores. We learn from Markus that he's divided the groups into teams to get the job done. Guess who he picks to go with him? North. As the boss he could choose anyone he wants, and he wants her. During the mission they stick together like glue with North providing much needed backup. She even remarks "What would you do without me?" It's a good question. What would he do without her? Probably be lonelier and lose the person who's essentially his partner in crime. We also see North riding shotgun once again when he steals the truck to break through the glass. I'm starting to think she likes it when he drives, but that's just me. Once the androids are freed we have an option to vandalize the park. Should you be more violent there are some nice Marth/Norkus moments in here. If you choose to destroy the bus stop, Markus struggles a bit until North strolls up from nowhere and chucks a cinderblock through it with a little smirk on her face. There's them working together to push or knock over cars. We also have them scaling the wall to put the revolution symbol on the side of the building. Its a moment that I really enjoy, because I think it fits their characters and their relationship ridiculously well. The two are standing above everyone, watching their dreams of freedom come to reality. It's like they're basking in the moment. They do this mostly in silence as too, which is pretty cool. The king and queen of the revolution staring down at their subjects is a powerful image in my opinion. When all of that is done the cops show up, and the androids flee. Marth/Norkus have a brief dialogue until she leaves him to catch up with the others. Upon hearing gunshots Markus runs to see what happened. There are the bodies of his people lying on the ground, but he hardly glances at those. He makes a beeline right for North. He doesn't check on the fallen, doesn't go to the mass of where the rest of the androids are. North appears to be his first priority. Pretty impressive, since this is one of the few times Markus puts his own emotional needs first. If this doesn't validate North's statement I don't know what will. He'd be lost without his right hand woman.

We then have their iconic rooftop scene. This moment probably doesn't need much more explanation, but we're here to overanalyze (and it's precious af, how can we not spaz?) Markus clearly went there to be alone and gather his thoughts, but North shows up. She admits she was looking for him. It's really cute, especially since they've only known each other for a day or two. She likes him so much she can't stand to have him out of her sight even for a moment. I know you can be more distant with her, but I don't believe you can directly push her away (correct me if I'm wrong.) This in itself is extremely telling from a writing perspective as well. Based on everything else we've seen, you're meant to be in the camp of this couple and  totally on board with their relationship. Anyhow, Markus allows North into his space, and the two open up to one another. Markus reveals his reservations or confidence about the android rights movement and his past with Carl. We also learn that he kept his past quiet from everyone, and North is the first person he tells. It's a pretty important step, since he does so with minimal hesitation. An even bigger deal is North talking about what happened to bring her to Jericho. It's obvious from the way she talks that she's kept her previous life as well as how it affected her buried. How can anyone blame her? The woman was a sex slave who had her memories wiped every two hours until she had an epiphany that led her to kill a man. I can't pretend to know what victims of sexual assault go through, but I understand it's agonizing. The fact that she trusted Markus enough to tell him something she'd not told anyone else is huge. Especially when it's clear how hard it was for her. North is in tears and is ready to close herself off again the memories were so painful. Before I go on, let me say that if you're a victim of sexual assault, you don't have to tell anyone what happened to you to prove you trust them. You're valid in wanting to keep that part of your life secret or even regretting telling someone about it. Cope however you need to. In the context of the game I'm just saying it's a big deal in terms of North's character. Not for everyone in real life. After this, Markus goes on to comfort her by connecting their palms in a way that allows them to share memories. This is a huge moment. Imagine being comfortable enough with someone to let them see every memory you've ever had. That opens so much room not only for intimacy but to be taken advantage of. North knows this, which is why she flees after the fact.

Continuing on there's the march. From the moment the four Jericho leaders enter the scene we're greeted by Markus and North standing side by side. It makes sense, as by this point they're official. I still find it adorably amusing that they are so compelled to be beside each other. When confronted by the police they end up being next to each other again. This is the point where I'm sure I'll deviate from some of you, because anytime I play this scene I choose to fight. So if I'm missing anything from the stand your ground option or if you had a different experience, I apologize in advance. Markus leads the charge with his advisors running with him. The battle is harsh and a lot of androids fall, but guess who doesn't? North. She's right with him almost every step of the way. They're covering each other, standing back to back with guns drawn determinedly pushing back their foes until their side is victorious. I could be wrong, but Markus doesn't have this perfectly in sync battle with anyone else. Simon and John can die for him, but as far as I know they don't get a grand scene with him like North does. As a side note, I really screwed this fight up the first time, so North and Markus didn't get the chance to work together like the above. When I saw it on my most recent playthrough the energy was high. Even if you don't ship them how can you not get excited with two warrior friends fighting side by side, perfectly connected for a noble cause? While not a very eloquent way to put it, that scene is so damn cool. It's heart pounding, and we want them to succeed.

I'm sorry this is so big. I wrote an essay, and I'm sorry. That's why I'm cutting it in half. There's so much to talk about. Way more than I planned, and I don't wanna make it a pain to scroll through the tag. The other part will be out in a few days.