Fatin Jadmani/Leah Rilke
| Pairing | |
|---|---|
| Pairing: | Fatin Jadmani/Leah Rilke |
| Alternative name(s): | Leatin |
| Gender category: | Femslash |
| Fandom: | The Wilds |
| Canonical?: | No (...probably) |
| Prevalence: | Popular |
| Archives: | |
| Other: | |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Fatin Jadmani/Leah Rilke, also known as Leatin, is a popular non-canonical femslash pairing in The Wilds fandom.
During the first season of The Wilds, the pairing was smaller in popularity, but a number of scenes between Fatin and Leah in season two boosted the popularity of the pairing and this was reflected in the increase in fan works and discussions online about the pair. Some fans felt that the third season, had it gone ahead, may have explored a developing relationship between the two based on dialogue from season two.
Canon
Two of the original eight girls put through Gretchen Klein's social experiment, Fatin and Leah were from the same school, though knew little about one another before the island. Their relationship arc was bumpy in the beginning of season one, with a lot of tension between the pair escalating over the early episodes. Following a heated argument between the two when the girls were building shelters, Fatin disappears and the girls go out in search of her, with Leah blaming herself for driving Fatin away from the group and worrying that she may have come to harm. When they reconcile, they resolve some of their issues and a slow-growing friendship begins to form.
Throughout the rest of season one and throughout season two, Fatin and Leah become closer. As the stress of their situation worsens, particularly after the rescue that was thwarted – unknown to the girls — by Gretchen, Fatin shows increasing concern for Leah's mental health and wellbeing, and regularly reaches out to check in on Leah and make sure she's not isolating herself.
The show was cancelled with the girls, Leah and Fatin included, learning that their "rescue" was just another aspect of Gretchen's plan. Instead, they and a group of boys who had been subject to a similar experimentation have all just been transported to a new island for the next phase of the experiment.
Fandom
Fatin/Leah is the second largest pairing in The Wilds fandom, with 802 works as of January 2024. While there was a modest fanbase around the pair throughout season one, largely fueled by the tension and arguments between the two leading to a canonical enemies-to-friends type relationship arc, the pairing grew even more in popularity through season two.
There is one particular line of dialogue – which takes place after Fatin and Shelby find evidence that the island may be more than it seems – that directly compared Fatin/Leah to the canonical Shelby/Toni pairing.
Shelby: Toni... If this has any chance of getting us out and making up for what I... It's for her... because I never won't love her. Never.
Fatin: Ditto, bitch. Different her. Same sort of idea.
Some fans of the Fatin/Leah pairing felt this was a strong indication that the pairing may be being set up for a canonical story-line through season three:
[Consistent-Low-1892]
NO BC CAN WE TALK ABOUT HOW FATIN IS LITERALLY IN LOVE WITH LEAH HELLO?!?!?! is not even a joke anymore cause she knows damn well shelby was talking about romantic love and she said she feels the same for another HER
[alrightishh]
and they held hands when the chopper came 😭
listen to me. listen. there’s simply no reason for bi leah and “different her, same sorta idea” unless canon leatin in s3 and i swear i will flip every table i ever pass for the rest of my life if they don’t
The canonical enemies-to-friends story-line arc that had already been developed felt easy to extend into an enemies-to-friends-to-lovers arc and this went onto be an arc that was explored in a number of fan works which were canon compliant or compatible.
Common Tropes & Storylines
| Examples Wanted: Editors are encouraged to add more examples or a wider variety of examples. |
Fanworks
| Examples Wanted: Editors are encouraged to add more examples or a wider variety of examples. |
Fanfiction
- Ditto Bitch, Different Her by EmilyWritesStuff - A Season 3 and 4 continuation work with story-arcs throughout the second island, post-island, and five years later.
- If it's all in my head, tell me now by DAgron01 - A High School AU. Leah's parents assume she's gay and Leah doesn't correct them, and now she's friends with Toni Shalifoe and they are starting a GSA club and she wonders if maybe her parents were right all along.
Fanart
Fanvids
- Stand by You by Leri5
- Arrows by cam
Meta
- The importance of touch in Leah and Fatin's relationship by random-french-girl
- fatin definitely speed ran the enemies to friends to lovers with leah by damniamgay
Other
- The Story of Leah and Fatin - Gif set storyboard of clips from the show, telling the story of the pairing.
Archives & Fannish Links
- Fatin Jadmani/Leah Rilke works on Ao3
- Leatin tag at Tumblr