Venji

Venji is the slash ship between Victor Salazar and Benji Campbell from the Simonverse fandom.

Season 1
Victor is a new student at Creekwood High School and becomes classmates with Benji. The first time Victor sees Benji, he is a bit starstruck, clearly attracted to him. Victor quickly develops a crush on Benji, but is still confused about his sexuality and is not sure how to process his new feelings.

Needing money, Victor applies to a job as a barista at Brasstown Coffee Company. Benji works for the same company and shows him how to brew coffee. Victor struggles to pay attention, and leaves in a haste, saying it was a bad idea. Despite this, he is offered the job and Victor has a change of heart and accepts the job.

The pair become good friends and spend lots of time together. At the end of one shift, they connect Victor's phone to the speakers. Benji teases Victor about his music taste, and he plays Carly Rae Jepsen's "Call Me Maybe". They dance to the song together. Benji invites him to see his band perform live, but Victor denies the invitation, not wanting him to ruin his relationship with Mia. Despite this, Mia and Victor end up turning up to the performance. Benji performs "Call Me Maybe", and once again Victor is enamored and starstruck by Benji. At the performance, Victor finds out Benji has a boyfriend, Derek. At first, he is disappointed but decides to focus on Mia instead, believing it to be a good thing that happened.

Days after, Benji and his boyfriend Derek attend Victor's birthday party. However, problems arise since Victor's grandfather is homophobic. Instead of calling the pair boyfriends, Victor introduces them as bandmates. This upsets Benji, but goes along with it, pretending not to be dating. That is, until the end of the party, where Benji kisses Derek. Victor's grandfather notices and is unhappy. Victor has a moment of hesitation, before deciding to stand up against his grandfather, defending his friends. Later, Victor apologizes for his behavior, saying he's pretty great.

At Brasstown Coffee Company, Benji talks about his anniversary with Derek, and Victor suggests he could recreate his first date. Victor also gives him support about Mia. Late at night, after their respective dates, Victor enters the coffeeshop and finds Benji. They make latte art of a meatball together.

Victor and Benji's relationship takes a new turn when the pair are forced to go on a sudden road trip. At the coffeeshop, the expresso machine has broke, and so the pair travel to Willacoochee to get it fixed. Victor drives, since Benji can't. Benji talks about his interests, namely being a fan of Dolly Parton, then his relationship with his father. They meet Wally, a mechanic who promises to fix the machine. To pass the time, the pair go shopping at a thrift shop. Wally calls saying the repair is finished. Instead of telling Benji the truth, he lies saying they'll have to stay overnight. They book a motel room. However, there is only one bed, so they are forced to share. Benji opens up about his struggles with coming out. They decide to sleep, but Victor reaches over and kisses Benji. They kiss, but Benji breaks the kiss and Victor runs out of the room, embarrassed. They have an awkward and quiet trip back home.

After the kiss, Benji makes the decision to transfer to a different store. He doesn't want to jeopardize his relationship with Derek, and feels guilty about the kiss. Victor apologies, explaining it wasn't his fault, but nevertheless, Benji wants space away from Victor. After visiting Simon in New York and coming to terms with his sexuality, Victor decides to write a letter to Benji explaining everything. At the Spring Fling, Benji approaches Victor, and says that he's read the letter, and forgives him. But despite this, he believes they should stay apart. Things start unraveling, and Derek finds out about Victor and Benji's kiss. Derek is initially angry, but Victor stands up for Benji, saying he's a good guy, and that they are awesome together and to not blame him. "I wanna be someone who doesn't make me feel anxious all that time; someone who makes me feel like I can just be myself. And that's enough. That's how you make me feel, Victor."

- Benji to Victor before their kiss

Despite all this, Benji breaks up with Derek, explaining to Victor that something has been off for a while. He tells Victor that he makes him feel like himself, and vice versa Victor says the same. They kiss on the park bench.

Fanon
It is the central relationship of the Love, Victor television show, and of course, the most popular ship of the show. As of 2021, the ship ranks as the fourth most popular ship in the Simonverse tag on Archive of Our Own, below Spierfeld and Bursuso.

After the release of Season 2, this ship started to rival Vahim. The show created a love triangle between this ship and Vahim (Victor/Rahim), and there were many fan debates on which ship should be endgame. There were more fans for Venji, though Vahim still had some following.

Fandom
FAN FICTION

TUMBLR