(no subject)
So what does it take for him to take someone seriously? I'm not quite sure of the specific criteria, myself--frankly, the individuals Ikkaku does acknowledge are all very different. But primarily, one has to make some kind of impression on Ikkaku, which would also mean being able to make him doubt himself--and it's surprisingly difficult to pull that one off because Ikkaku is one self-assured son of a bitch. Let's examine the individuals who have made the cut--who are basically to Ikkaku more "real" than anyone else at camp.
- Cho Hakkai
Hakkai...unnerves Ikkaku. Really, really unnerves Ikkaku. And makes him feel kind of awkward. He really has no idea how to deal with Hakkai. No idea. None. Ikkaku can't tell what he's thinking. Every one of Ikkaku's attempts at patronization are brutally rebuffed. Ikkaku can't rely on knee-jerk reactions when he's interacting with Hakkai. Some part of Ikkaku's consciousness translates this to "well, if the man won't be patronized, then the man won't be patronized," but at the same time he's not close enough to Hakkai for Hakkai to warrant anything but those knee-jerk reactions. It's a very awkward gray area Ikkaku finds himself in when it comes to Hakkai. Try as he might to simply lump Hakkai in with everyone else, he just can't because if Hakkai truly belonged in that sort of category then he would know how to deal with the man by now.
- Death
...do I have to even go on about this one? Ikkaku, in a nutshell, wants to die. Forget what I said about Ikkaku not being naturally drawn to anyone in camp--Ikkaku loves Death more than anyone and anything in the known universe. She's a mother figure for him in camp, not that he's conscious of that, and, yes, going with that analogy he's also more than a little Oedipal. It wouldn't cross his mind to explain to anyone why he loves her, he just does. He's fixated, and also a little frustrated that he's seen her so many times and still hasn't actually died himself, but he can't be angry with her because she's Death. She can make him feel better about almost anything, both because of her personality and also because of what she is.
Ikkaku has issues.
Actually, he has been angry with her before--when she made Ishida invincible. But I'll talk about that some other time. Because Ikkaku has more issues than Entertainment Weekly.
- Ishida Ryuuken
Well. Yeah. It's been awhile since Ikkaku first outright said to Ryuuken "hey, man, let's be friends," but since then they've been...buddies. And, well, Ikkaku is vaguely aware of the fact that he's only extended that sort of offer or request to Ryuuken. This is probably the most real friendship Ikkaku has with someone who isn't a shinigami in camp, and probably the most functional one as well, and the fact that it's so normal despite Ikkaku being so very fucked up and Ryuuken being himself probably assisted in Ryuuken's individualization in Ikkaku's head. It didn't take long, since, like Hakkai, Ikkaku's thoughts ran something like "if the man won't be patronized, then the man won't be patronized," and around Ryuuken, Ikkaku is too damn lazy to speak anything but what's on his mind.
- Rey Za Burrel
...right. In a nutshell: Ikkaku's feelings about Rey have undergone a number of convolutions and evolutions and developments and twists and turns and it's all been wacky fun, and if Ikkaku thought of Rey the same way he thought of everyone else then he wouldn't be in so much damn trouble these days.
Wait till the damn Ikkaku/Rey essay. God.
- Roxas
Roxas...made the list extremely quickly. Extremely. Within an hour of Ikkaku learning his name.
When Ikkaku met him, Ikkaku was depressed about his situation with Rey. Rey had recently asked him to look after Shinn and Lunamaria should they require looking after, and when Rey made that request he basically thought: Oh, so that's why. He was in a pretty bad place not long after he and Rey began their affair--he was depressed and emotionally drained, and he didn't have the patience to deal with anyone, really. Up until very, very recently Ikkaku was ninety-nine percent certain Rey was using him for such practical purposes alongside physical gratification, and he felt like crap. He cared quite a bit, and, well, it didn't seem to be getting him anywhere.
Roxas lobbed a few choice phrases at Ikkaku, something about how he wouldn't stick around simply for anyone's entertainment and how he would very much like to be taken seriously.
Roxas's words were essentially Ikkaku's raw feelings in regards to his situation with Rey. Of course, Ikkaku didn't actually confront Rey about these concerns until a good month or more later, but he didn't forget. Roxas was a random pokey-headed kid with the sort of convictions Ikkaku knew he himself lacked and might always lack. Ikkaku holds Roxas in an indefinable kind of regard, and will protect Roxas if the need arises without ever really knowing why.
- Sha Gojyo
...aw, Christ.
Gojyo is...a special case. A very special case. Ask Ikkaku whether or not he dislikes Gojyo and the answer will change on an hourly basis, but the answer, more often than not, will be "yes".
The thing about Gojyo is that when he does attempt to understand Ikkaku, he does it far, far better than Ikkaku is comfortable with anybody understanding him. Gojyo is at the end of it all very in-tune with people's emotions where Ikkaku's understanding of people's emotions is actually very analytical and calculated, limited to things he's observed and limited by his rationale and his narrow perception of the world. Gojyo is empathetic where Ikkaku is sympathetic. When Gojyo attempted to clobber him over lying to George, Ikkaku was just...surprised, really. Ikkaku knew that it wasn't in him to be upset over anything the way Gojyo was upset over how he lied to George. And Gojyo and Ikkaku once talked about death, and dying, and the Moogles, and Ikkaku expressed his explicit disapproval of their usage, and Gojyo's responses were almost incomprehensible to Ikkaku. Because Ikkaku is a man who wants to die, really wants to die, gets angry when he walks away from a loss alive, and Gojyo is a man who won't gamble his life, and--
Basically, they're only alike on a very superficial level. Ikkaku believes he isn't capable of understanding Gojyo, or what makes him tick. Gojyo represents to Ikkaku every aspect of humanity that Ikkaku was fairly certain he'd turned his back on for good.
- Simon Tam
I'm not sure how Simon made it on here, but, lo and behold, here he is. It probably had something to do with the circumstances under which Ikkaku met Simon--Simon was de-aged at the time and Ryuuken's birthday was being celebrated. Simon was a quirky kid, and made Ikkaku laugh, and I think that if there's ever a time when Ikkaku fails on all subconscious levels to make the distinction between himself and the rest of humanity (because his making that distinction at all is subconscious) it's when he's interacting with quirky children. He messed around with de-aged Simon, and then Simon grew up and he messed around with Simon then, too. It's not that he still sees Simon as a brat, and it's not that he treats Simon like a brat, either--but he doesn't treat Simon like just an adult or even just a human, either. Simon is Simon in his head, and that's pretty much the healthiest, sanest way for Ikkaku to think about someone. That way of thinking applies to Ryuuken on this list as well, probably.
Ikkaku is pretty fond of Simon, though--Simon's awkwardness is a bit funny to Ikkaku, but not in a bad way, and their personalities clash pleasantly well. Most prominently, though, Simon trusted Ikkaku to protect River on a few occasions, and I think that struck a chord with Ikkaku somewhere--Ikkaku's affection for both Tams is pretty solidly human, yeah, and he's adopted them in a sense, and would protect them both without having to be asked to or having to decide to.