Relationship Between Chip and Gillion Tidestrider

> "Fish and Chips, baby!" *-Grizzlyplays, Dungeon Master.*
>
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## Relationship Summary

Chip and Gillion are two of three co-captains of the Riptide Pirates. As such, they consider each other to be best friends and, after their subsequent duel in Episode 15, have even named themselves as the dynamic duo, *Fish and Chips.*

While initially having a rough and strained relationship, the two are nonetheless very close friends as of the current episodes of the campaign.

## History

About a month prior to the beginning of the Riptide campaign, Chip and Jay found Gillion floating aimlessly in the open sea. Thinking he would likely need help, Chip invited Gillion aboard the Big Chipper, to which he obliged.

In the beginning of the campaign, Chip initially played many tricks and pranks on Gillion. As Gillion had never been to the surface before prior to the events of the campaign, Chip took advantage of this obliviousness to oversea culture in order to pull these jokes. Chip's pranks on Gillion ranged from saying beetles were a type of dangerous and deadly monster to convincing him of a fake custom (slapping a bald person's head) as a sign of respect.

While these antics were entertaining and meant only as a joke to Chip, the constant trickery and manipulation greatly angered Gillion. As such, Gillion challenged Chip to a deadly duel in Episode 15 in order to regain his lost honour from the events of Zero arc and Loffinlot arc. Waking up to an arena made of ice surrounding their boat, Chip felt no choice but to participate in the fight, getting greatly hurt in the process. Regardless, however, the duel itself did not resolve their issues and the two bickered even further before engaging in an intense, cold shoulder stand-off for the next couple days (admittedly, this cold shoulder primarily came from Chip's side of the relationship).

With the help of Jay forcing some sense into them, they reconnect over a hot-sauce/orange juice prank, reminiscent of Chip's times on the Midnight Rose. The two are able make up in Episode 16 and coin their titular duo name, Fish and Chips. Chip promises in this episode to never lie to Gillion again.

   From this point onward, their relationship betters and the two become quite close. In Episode 21, Gillion and Chip share a genuine, true love's kiss in order open a magic door. The kiss was described to be the "single best kiss in Chip's life" by DM Grizzly. Any time this moment is mentioned, however, Chip shuts down the conversation.

As they continue to travel, Chip, on his end of things, develops an intense trust in his friends and comrades, regardless of whether the feeling was mutual or not. In a conversation with Elizabeth during the Paramount Tournament Arc, Chip makes a comment about how he would undoubtedly sacrifice himself for Jay and Gillion, but is unsure if they would do the same.

However, throughout their adventures, Gillion and Chip begin to open up to one another about their inner conflicts and issues, implicitly quelling the previous conflicts Chip had.

Chip confides in both Gillion and Jay during the Edison Kingdom arc about his insecurities over being a captain and finding Arlin James, to which Jay and Gillion no doubt rebut that he is in fact a capable person and that with or without the Black Rose Pirates, he was a fit pirate on his own to pick his own choices.

Gillion, furthermore, tends to show great concern over Chip's mental state and physical well being, often discussing with Jay what they can do to reassure Chip of his skill and status as a Riptide Co-Captain (most notably, Jay and Gillion agree to be Chip's compass in the event that he starts to lose his way), and attempting to shield him when possible:

* When in The B.L.O.C.K Gillion casts a warding bond on both him and Chip in order to take some of the damage Chip goes through. This spell is sealed with matching platinum rings they wear on their middle finger.
* When Chip wakes up from a nightmare in Episode 63, Gillion is quick to rip open his shirt to check for any wounds he may have gotten during the All-Port arc.

Chip, to his credit, reciprocates the care that Gillion has for him. When Gillion begins to open up during the All-Port arc, Chip takes a serious attitude and listens to his friend's concerns for the future. It is also worthy to note that Gillion seemingly inspired Chip during their time together and made him feel as if he was finally on the right path in his otherwise meaningless life. In his own words, Chip "didn't believe in destiny until [he] met [Gillion]."

All in all, the two are no doubt one of the closest relationships in the campaign and will only continue to further develop.

## Reception

Currently within the campaign, the relationship of Chip and Gillion is purely platonic. This has not stopped many fans from interpreting their relationship as queer romantic; especially following Episode 21: An Act of Love and their kiss of genuine, true love. The romantic relationship, often referred to as Fish and Chips or FNC, is one of the more popular ships within the online community, garnering the creation of countless fanart and fanfiction posted on several platforms such as Twitter and Archive of our Own.

The players of Just Roll With It will often tease audience members who root for its canon title but never in a way that is either demeaning or harsh.

## Trivia

* During the Ep. 52: Death March, Gillion gifts Chip a matching silver ring in order to cast the spell, Warding Bond, which would halve and share the damage done to Chip between the two of them. The spell was sealed with a bro-fist.
* In the Just Rolled With It for Episode 61: Super Savvy Sleuthing Slugs, Slimecicle refers to Chip and Gillion's interactions as an 'Old Married Couple' that sometimes takes him a moment to remember what's real and what's not. This fact does not make the pair canonically romantic, but it is funny to note.
* Despite their breakup, Gillion still considers Chip married to Amanda Rinn from Loffinlot and regularly reminds him of his "wife" and status as a married man. While he seems a little uncomfortable with it at times, Chip does nothing to correct Gillion on this.
* In a SPITTAKE! stream, Bizly says to Milo that he didn't even know "Fish and Chips" was a ship name when he said it as Chip and that he just thought it sounded cool.

## References

1. ↑ Episode 52: Death March Timestamp 48:35
2. ↑ Just Rolled with It Episode 61 at 7:15.
3. ↑ SHOUTOUT GRANDPA | Pokémon Emerald #5 Timestamp 2:09:20

## Art References

1. ↑ Gillion and Chip in the official Episode 9 thumbnail by tishalmey.
2. ↑ Chip and Gillion in the official thumbnail for Episode 21 by yuranegg.