#cardinux

[fridayincarnate]

Tell me about Hux and Cardinal?

HUX AND CARDINAL

I'm so glad you asked. I suspect that the only reason they're not a bigger ship is that Cardinal is a book character who hasn't shown up onscreen. (Yet.)

The dynamic Brendol creates between Hux and Cardinal echoes the one Snoke later creates between Hux and Kylo, and it goes back WAY further. I'm convinced this is deliberate both on the author's part and in-universe on Snoke's part.

Cardinal is one of the first stormtroopers recruited into the First Order when he and Hux are both children. Hux's father gives Cardinal all the praise he denies Hux, which is a really sore spot for Hux because Cardinal embodies the idealized physical masculinity that Brendol constantly berates Hux for lacking (too weak, too skinny). But Cardinal is trained to obey Hux's orders even though Hux is younger and Cardinal sees him as "spoiled" and "soft." Despite all the praise Brendol showers upon Cardinal, Hux gets the real power. It's a real brains/brawn dichotomy that makes each feel inferior to the other's strengths. But this works out great for Brendol, for a while - better that they're both focused on earning his approval than realizing how well they complement each other.

Sound familiar?

I also think it's very likely Cardinal was Hux's first crush. I have no evidence for this whatsoever. But their closeness and enmity could be the start of a pattern that Hux later repeats with Kylo. Plus, a side effect of Brendol criticizing Hux's physique and praising Cardinal is that Hux would have been... very aware of Cardinal's physique. Prime gay awakening "do I want to be him, or do I just want him?" material.

The fraught power dynamics between them are interesting in a way that's quite different from Kylux, though.

By the time of the Phasma novel, Hux outranks Cardinal significantly. Also consider this unsettling passage that shows the effect of Cardinal's conditioning on his opinion of Hux:

He's clearly reciting propaganda here, but how deeply ingrained is it? Is he just repeating lines back to himself or does he fully believe all of this? Depending on how literally you take this passage, this pairing could get quite twisted and dark.

Yet even here, Cardinal displays an undercurrent of resentment towards Hux. And while Hux sees Cardinal as an obedient subordinate, I don't think he's outgrown his envy and the sense that he didn't measure up to Cardinal. This in no way neutralizes the power Hux holds over him, but the duality of their relationship is fertile ground for exploration. Their history and present are inextricably intertwined. No one knows Hux quite like Cardinal does.

By the way, that's from the infamous robe scene, in which Hux drapes himself across his furniture in a robe and gives off a vaguely slutty vibe. For an audience of one. Cardinal. I'm just saying.

I could go on, lol, but I'll cap it here for now.

Thanks so much for asking! It's such a rarepair (fewer than twenty fics on AO3! what!) and I'm determined to change that lmfao. Literally ask any time and I will keep going, hahaha, and it'd absolutely make my day to see other people talking about these two.

[fridayincarnate]

it is genuinely a CRIME how little Cardinal/Hux content there is, like

??????????

HOW are there not even 20 fics on ao3?! Don't get me wrong, I am a kylux guy at heart, but there is so much untapped potential here. The robe scene ALONE! Not to mention the twisted psychological depths to explore around Cardinal's devotion to Hux... and to Brendol. And as @jaynesilver cleverly pointed out, the way that Brendol sets Hux and Cardinal against each other mirrors how Snoke later sets Hux and Kylo against each other.

I will build this ship with my own two hands if I have to

[fridayincarnate]

Here it is! I promised Hux/Cardinal and after much sweat and toil, it's finally up. Come enjoy this rarepair with me!

By Any Other Name (20521 words) by FridayIncarnate

Chapters: 1/1

Fandom: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy, Star Wars: Phasma - Delilah S. Dawson

Rating: Explicit

Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Relationships: Cardinal | Archex/Armitage Hux

Characters: Cardinal | Archex (Star Wars), Armitage Hux, Brendol Hux

Additional Tags: Minor Character Death, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Brendol Hux's A+ Parenting, First Time, Virgin Armitage Hux, Virgin Cardinal | Archex, Light Angst, Power Dynamics, Past Brainwashing, Grief/Mourning, Top Cardinal | Archex, Bottom Armitage Hux, Blow Jobs, First Time Blow Jobs, Anal Sex

Summary:

Cardinal was trained to be loyal to Brendol Hux. When he senses that Armitage Hux requires protection after Grand Admiral Sloane's untimely death, Cardinal is honor-bound to stand guard.

He'll just have to try not to think too hard about who Armitage needs protection from… or anything else that Armitage might want from him. Even if he might want the same thing.