I think there are a few things in the way of Nasir getting the love he deserves... One is, within the niche of A Hot Guy Who Betrayed Us, he's overshadowed by Naesala, who does it with a lot more, idk, swag? (And more narrative attention to his internal conflict, and more on-screen development of his relationships with characters like the herons, Tibarn, Nealuchi, Sanaki...) Which I think makes him a more appealing subject for fanwork and fannish attention. None of which is a criticism of Naesala, I adore the motherfucker - but Nasir's sitch is more understated. He's your politely enigmatic ship's captain, and then he kinda jeopardizes the whole continent because his grandkid asked him to, and then if you don't take out the Black Knight in the time allotted you don't talk to him again until RD. If you do, Mist's like, "hey man, I'm not even mad at you." The dramatic potential isn't really played out in the same way.
But GOD THERE'S SO MUCH GOING ON UNDER THE SURFACE. Like here's a guy who believed in his ideals of a less racist, less isolationist future enough to leave Goldoa and start trying to walk the walk... but if it's a choice between a worthy cause or helping Ena, fuck it, Ena wins. Ena's parents are dead, and he regrets that he wasn't able to help her at the time - plus that means his kid is dead! Ena is all that remains of a dead child of his and she's about to be widowed! In that light, it's totally understandable he'd make sacrifices for her. But, while he's lost some of his optimism from being out and about in the world, his belief is still genuine, and burning up all the goodwill he's built with his allies for Ena's sake really is a sacrifice. And then he goes back to Goldoa for RD and conducts himself with a general subtext of "I fucked up so bad I shouldn't do independent thought anymore, I'm going back to being an obedient member of the dragon hivemind." Fuck! It's so good!
I made a couple of abortive attempts at writing fic about this dude back in the day but - his story is such an adult one, and he's so self-contained, it's unsurprising a then-high school kid couldn't really get a handle on him. XD But I've always thought he was rad.
wow hi sorry for accidental Nasir meta
But GOD THERE'S SO MUCH GOING ON UNDER THE SURFACE. Like here's a guy who believed in his ideals of a less racist, less isolationist future enough to leave Goldoa and start trying to walk the walk... but if it's a choice between a worthy cause or helping Ena, fuck it, Ena wins. Ena's parents are dead, and he regrets that he wasn't able to help her at the time - plus that means his kid is dead! Ena is all that remains of a dead child of his and she's about to be widowed! In that light, it's totally understandable he'd make sacrifices for her. But, while he's lost some of his optimism from being out and about in the world, his belief is still genuine, and burning up all the goodwill he's built with his allies for Ena's sake really is a sacrifice. And then he goes back to Goldoa for RD and conducts himself with a general subtext of "I fucked up so bad I shouldn't do independent thought anymore, I'm going back to being an obedient member of the dragon hivemind." Fuck! It's so good!
I made a couple of abortive attempts at writing fic about this dude back in the day but - his story is such an adult one, and he's so self-contained, it's unsurprising a then-high school kid couldn't really get a handle on him. XD But I've always thought he was rad.