#Kagome | Ask |

[hcdgepcdge-3]

[thosedamnedghouls]

love these babies very much

[cringefiend]

For the drawing requests: Always love some InuKag snuggles. Kagome wearing Inu's firerat, reason of your choosing. Youkai Inu is a hit around these parts, especially those moments when Kagome proves she's not afraid of him and goes to him anyway.

Another episode of me shamelessly using the IbisPaint auto models and backgrounds. Headcannon whatever u want about this image but pls share

My ace ass hasn’t drawn any abs since my jojo phase but ik the tumblrites wld appreciate the v line so I decided to practice my anatomy this time 😈

[shinidamachu]

Sid, why do you think people think Kagome is “so annoying” and “whiny?” How exactly did she earn this reputation among her (rather dumb) haters.

The world is not kind to 15 years old girls, and what is Kagome, if not the perfect representation of one?

People forgot they can dislike a character just because and then move on. They'd rather grasp at straws to try and justify themselves, that way they can pretend they're being rational about the constant hate they're spreading when, truthfully, they're just being miserable.

Kagome specifically is in even greater disadvantage because her critics are, mostly, people who haven't read the source material and are instead basing their takes on a biased adaptation – which they probably watched ages before developping any critical skills – or people who see her as a threat to their ship and therefore are already prone to hate her.

The first group won't ever bother going out of their way to try and get a better grasp of her character by reading a 558 chapters long manga and the second group won't change their minds either way.

That's why they call her out for using the beads of subjugation even if: it wasn't her idea in the first place, it served to balance her relationship with Inuyasha at the beginning – since he was powerful and violent while she wasn't –, the rosary became a symbol of their bond, it saved Inuyasha a couple of times and he was always more annoyed than hurt by it, not to mention Sunrise blowing it out of proportion compared to the manga.

You never see Inuyasha getting bashed for hitting Shippo every other episode or Sango getting any heat for constantly slapping Miroku, because funnily enough people seem to understand it was just dumb, outdated, slapstick comedy, a courtesy they refuse to extend to Kagome.

That's also the reason they call her “annoying” and “whiny”: Kagome’s most important lesson was that it's okay to have feelings, so naturally they twisted that into a bad thing in order to keep hating on her. It's not about how her character was written, it's about people using of bad faith and deliberately mischaracterizing Kagome to pass their internalized misogyny as valid criticism.

I know part of the issue is that audiences nowadays are under the impression that for a female character to be strong, she can't cry or be feminine, but you don't see anyone hating on Sango even though she does cry and she can be as feminine as Kagome depending on the circunstances and on her mood.

The truth is that Kagome is playing a game she can never win, because the refs have decided they want her to lose before the match even starts.

If she stands up and sets boundaries for herself, she's annoying. If she doesn't, she's a doormat. If she feels jealousy, she's a bitch. If she shows kindness, she's boring. If she fights, she's overpowered. If she doesn't, she's useless. If any other character cries, it's heartbreaking. If she cries, she's whiny.

If she goes back to her own world, she's selfish. If she leaves that world behind to live the life she wants for herself, she's a stupid girl who left her family for a boy. If she does something grand, that's only because she's someone else's reincarnation. If she messes something up, the fault is hers and hers alone. She is, somehow, simultaneously a Mary Sue and a toxic abuser.

I've personally seen people slut shaming her because she got hitted on by Koga. I've personally seen people call her a "pick me" girl. Kagome. A pick me girl. Kagome.

And none of this is fair, because she is the kind of character who does her best to see the good in others, to understand the reasons why they act the way they do and to offer them some grace, but she gets very little of that in return, be it in canon, be it in fandom.

They always hold her up to such an impossible standard, but they completely forget to ask themselves: would the characters I stan be able to match the expectations I set for Kagome? Scratch that: would the characters I stan even be able to deal with things the way Kagome managed to do? Would I? The answer is most likely no, so how about cutting her a slack?

You ask me how did she earn this reputation among her rather dumb haters, my answer is: she didn't. They're just incapable of understanding that if a particular nuanced, well written, female character is not their cup of tea, they can simply ignore her and focus their attention on the characters they do like instead of spreading their baseless, misogynistic takes on the internet.

[tropicreme]

inukag commission

[little1bird]

Happy birthday to me!! :>

Have a doodle of kagome Higurashi and boy wonder-

(Inuyasha x DC crossover)

[fuedalreesespieces]

sota's brave confession of love being that episode:

[worth noting here that in the dub the way richard says "WHAT-ever..." priceless.]

[also worth noting that in the dub he says "you already said that" instead of "hah! what're you saying?!" which feels more like an inuyasha response to me. then again we'll never know since this is technically anime-only, and while i tend not to like a lot of inuyasha filler, if it's in the modern day i will eat it up. every. time.]

inuyasha being stunned by the sheer amount of goods in a grocery store...gold. earlier in this episode he also seemed enamored by baked goods, and i wonder if he's ever really had anything resembling it? bread made its way to japan mid-16th century via portuguese traders, so it's likely he's never had anything like it and the smell must've been new to him - it would've been interesting if we'd seen him trying all these new foods!

i can never decide whether or not sunrise likes inukag bc they'll cut out canon scenes of them but then insert scenes like this in their filler eps...what game are ya'll playing? but flustered inuyasha is adorable so i can't complain this time.

eavesdropping...

i'm sorry WHERE is he getting these questions from i actually burst out laughing

called out by an eight year old...

i don't care whether or not this is ooc because i laughed way too hard like he really got dragged from potential sleep to deal with this LMAO

this is the cutest thing i've ever seen and it only gets better:

shortly after: sota getting kicked out of his own house after chickening out for the tenth time this episode

smol

flustered inukag my beloved...

anyway this episode is a dumb fun and i love it to an insane degree. the only part i would say is out of character (at least, more out of character than sunrise already does inuyasha) is when he literally makes this face at the thought of confessing to kagome:

coming from the guy who was pretty open about his feelings in the manga and quite literally told kagome - thinking she was hearing him - that he likes seeing her smile and feels relieved when he's by her side, i don't see him getting this flustered - but the face he makes is priceless.

[brain-rot-hour]

*barges in*

inukag F2?

They were bickering but then Inuyasha realized how closely they were standing, and mmm she goodest smell, so he went in for The Loom.

The red indignation in her cheeks turns to a soft, pining pink after he leans in with that cocky fangy smirk -

Oh whoops I started writing a fic here xD

No come back and finish that

(Not taking anymore, just finishing the inbox)

[dawnrider]

For the bodyguard au prompt, can I please request InuKag:

"You're not paid enough to die."

"Sometimes it's not about the money."

I love all of your stories by the way! You’re an incredible writer!

@somegoodcrumbs you are so sweet! Thank you!🥰

This one-shot... very much got away from me. 😅 I started it this morning and well... 😐

In The Blood || 3375 Words || CW: Injury, blood, villain death

Inuyasha groaned, cursing the way his vision blurred for a moment. He had to pull it together, and fast. Kagome was depending on him. As it was, she was fussing over him, trying to bind his shoulder so it would stop bleeding everywhere and to stabilize the joint a little. “A sword! In this day and age!” She was ranting at an inconsistent volume, sometimes mumbling, sometimes stage whispering loudly in his ear. She knew to keep quiet so as not to give away their position, but she was obviously upset.

“They’re youkai, Kagome. They don’t give… ah… a shit about modern social conventions.” He gasped as she cinched the makeshift bandage particularly tight to add compression to the wound. While grateful for her help, and that she knew what to do, he hated that she was so proficient at it. He was supposed to be strong enough not to need tending, but it had happened enough times in his tenure as her personal guard that it had become old hat to her at this point.

That didn’t mean he didn’t get an earful about it every single time.

“You really should be…” he grunted as he shifted against the wall, twisting his ears to listen for any pursuers, “making a run for it. While you can. I don’t know how long it’ll be before they recover enough to follow.”

She huffed at him. “I’m not leaving you here to die.”

“It’s my job to die for you if it means you are safe,” he reminded her. Except it was far more than his job at this point. His very being thrummed with the need to make sure she was safe. Which really made him want to move, to get her to safety, but his body just couldn’t cooperate yet.

Kagome barely restrained herself from punching him in the shoulder. “You're not paid enough to die,” she reminded him, trying to sound lighthearted. Inuyasha could hear the tremble in her voice, smell the tears collecting in her eyes. He caught her cheek, turning her toward him.

"Sometimes it's not about the money."

She sucked in a breath, swallowing a sob. He both loved and hated that she was trying so hard to be brave for his sake. It spoke to who she was, strong and kind. But it broke his heart that he was so weak that they were in this situation now. “You idiot,” she breathed.

Inuyasha froze when her lips found his unsuspecting. Her breath was soft, shaky, but he could feel the conviction behind it. Why? echoed in his brain, rattling around in his skull. So stunned by her kiss, it didn’t truly register that it was happening until it was over.

He didn’t miss the embarrassment that flickered on her face, but was quickly squashed by a serious frown. “Can you stand at least? I think I can get to a car.”

“Kagome…”

“I remember how to hotwire it and I can pull it up so you can get in.” Inuyasha growled. “Then we can get out of here and…”

“Kagome!” She jolted, turning to look at him. She was wide eyed and a little pale. Inuyasha never wanted her to look at him like that again. She was just close enough that he could tug her shirt, pulling her off balance and into his lap. He tucked her head under his chin, his good arm looping around her shoulders to hold her against him. “Just give me a little more time. I’ll be ready soon.” She nodded.

Inuyasha wasn’t sure how long they sat there in silence, the cold concrete of the parking garage pillar against his back. His ears were constantly on a swivel, listening for any sign that they’d been found by the youkai out to destroy the one geneticist who could finally make it so youkai didn’t outlive their human partners by centuries. Or lose them to illness or injury. A discovery that harmed no one had become the source of a spattering of rallies and attempts to get her lab shut down.

Inuyasha didn’t understand why it infuriated them so much. It would benefit so many. Even other youkai who were not as long-lived! It was rare, but hanyou with youkai partners could stay with their mates as well. There were too many youkai that had withered away after the loss of their mates to ignore the benefit to youkai. Their numbers weren’t exactly growing exponentially… 

A few of the more vocal rabble rousers had been screaming about human vampires stealing their blood, but he had discounted them as anti-science misanthropes. The kinds of people who refused to actually read what the science said, or even attempt to understand it.

Today they learned the hard way that some were willing to take it further than yelling…

In hindsight, the press conference to try to clear up misunderstandings had been a mistake. It had given the enemy a chance to corner them out in public with advanced notice of when and where she would be. The lab had organized a relatively small crowd of journalists, not wanting to overwhelm Kagome. She was a scientist, not a public figure. She was a better speaker than one might have guessed, and she handled all the questions accurately and gracefully. It wasn’t until the end when they were leaving that disaster struck.

Fortunately, the attackers hadn’t expected a hanyou bodyguard.

Unfortunately for Inuyasha, one of them carried a sword and knew how to use it.

He managed to beat them off, incapacitate them just enough that he’d been able to scoop Kagome up and make a run for it. After leaping several tall buildings in more than a few bounds, he’d lost too much blood to keep going, forcing him to find a place to hide them until he could recoup some strength.

The itchiness woke him, startling him when he couldn’t recall having drifted off. The soft hands against his chest soothed him enough to keep from jumping up, looking around wildly. “It’s ok. We’re ok,” she whispered. She was still in his lap, still curled against his chest, whispering soothingly to calm his racing heart. “There’s an access door over there. I think I can get it open.”

“How long have you been thinking about that?” He took in a sharp breath as the itching became nearly unbearable. Good, it’s healing. “How long have I been out?”

“Only about twenty minutes, really.” He frowned. That was a lie, but he wasn’t going to call her on it. “Are you alright if I…”

“I can move now, I think,” he murmured, gently shifting her off his lap and taking a minute to press his fingers to the wound to try to lessen the itch. There was only minor discomfort instead of pain now, a dramatic improvement, but he could tell that if he tried to use the arm too much, it would reopen the stab wound. His next goal was to get on his feet at least, a feat in itself, but he managed it without swaying. Mostly.

“Are you sure?” Kagome asked, her lower lip caught anxiously in her teeth. He nodded, then took several steps, making sure they didn’t echo on the concrete. “This way,” she breathed, hesitating before taking hold of his good hand. Inuyasha winced that she was suddenly so wary of him, but he understood.

He realized that she’d taken her heels off and stuffed them in her purse, now walking in her bare feet to make her steps as silent as possible. He wanted to lift her, keep her from potentially hurting herself… but he just couldn’t trust that shoulder yet. 

The door was old, but it was clearly a security access. Which meant a phone.

Benefit of concrete structure: sturdy, blocked scents, muffled youki.

Drawback: Really, really, bad cell service.

Kagome found a small section of pipe near the stairwell and handed it over, Inuyasha using the leverage to pry open the door. There was an ungodly screech of rusted metal bending, but the lock popped in response to Inuyasha's inhuman strength. Grimacing at the racket, he ushered Kagome into the relatively small room, pulling the door shut behind them. It was dark and the lights didn’t work. Inuyasha was beginning to fear any phone they might find might not either.

He covered his eyes reflexively when a light popped up. “Phone’s good for something at least,” Kagome murmured. Shining it around the space, she made a small sound of triumph when she spotted a phone handset in the corner. She was quick to pick it up, sighing in relief when the distinct sound of a dial tone filled their ears. The line ringing was like music and Miroku’s voice on the other end sounded heavenly. “Yes, we’re ok. Mostly. Well…” She glanced at him. Inuyasha gave her a look, wiggling his ears at her. Can hear every word. She sighed, then told him the building address where they were, going off of the information on the dusty old business cards on the desk. “We don’t know where they are, but they haven’t found us yet.” Miroku was silent for a long moment before conveying that the team would be there to pick them up within ten minutes. “We’re on the fourth level down. Can you… Yes I know but… Miroku, we’re lucky he’s standing.”

Inuyasha snarled at that. “I can get us to street level.”

“Inuyasha…”

“I can do that. I wouldn’t risk it if I couldn’t do it.”

Kagome sighed. “Alright. I’m trusting you.”

His golden eyes flashed. “Better be.”

She stayed on with Miroku as long as they could to make sure everything was going to plan until they needed to make their way up. The garage was still silent aside from the occasional drip of condensation from a ventilation unit and the small amount of outside noise that drifted down through the central spiral. Inuyasha insisted on going first, keeping her close at his back so she was behind him.

The warmer air from outside was just barely tangible once they reached the second floor down, the humidity feeling a little sickly. Inuyasha slowed his steps at the sound of something moving, as if shifting through paper. Kagome grabbed the back of his shirt and he lightly gripped her arm to pull her around to his front.

Not a moment too soon as a tail the size of a firehose came flying at them from over the sidewall of the ramp above.

Biting back a yelp, Inuyasha hauled Kagome off her feet into his arms and leapt out of the way. There wasn’t much room to move, and they weren’t high enough in the structure for there to be openings for him to escape through. Damned underground garage!

“You are trapped. Give usss the woman and you live, hanyou.” The sound of what they now knew to be scales over concrete made Kagome shiver in fear. “Ssshe will bleed usss all dry. Even you.” Inuyasha only held her closer.

“The fact that you refuse to understand the science is only part of why you’re stupid!” The snake didn’t take kindly to that, rearing up and hissing at them, baring its fangs. Inuyasha just barely tucked them out of the way as it lunged at them, ready to strike. He needed to get further up the ramp, get them closer to the team coming for them so he could at least pass Kagome off to friendly hands. He got them halfway to the spiral before the stomping of feet stopped him in his tracks. The distinct sound of metal scraping against the concrete made his ears flip back in discomfort.

The damned sword again… Kagome whimpered, turning toward him and instinctively covering his injured shoulder with her hand. “Got off light the first time, dog. Won’t make that mistake twice.” This youkai was more human in appearance and Inuyasha got the feeling he was some form of cursed-human-turned-youkai. Perhaps a warrior who went too far and was overtaken. It was a lot more common in centuries past but, as Kagome said before, in this day and age?

“Keh. You’re just pissed I got the best of both of you.”

The youkai grinned, baring sharpened teeth. “I considered letting you live to wallow in your failure after killing the scientist bitch, but now… I don’t care.” The change in his tone was all the warning Inuyasha got before the youkai was in motion, faster than expected, and his leap to the side went awry. Kagome tumbled from his hold, yelping in surprise as much as pain. Inuyasha felt the heat of blood bloom on his chest. His shoulder screamed as he scrambled to get up, tried to get to Kagome. But the youkai was there, slicing at him so that he had to dance out of the way, putting more distance between he and Kagome. Inuyasha snarled.

“Behind!” Kagome’s call gave him just enough warning to elude the snake trying to lunge for his back, leaping up and catching hold of a pipe and swinging out of the way. The snake couldn’t stop its momentum, sending it headfirst into the blade of its comrade who seemed to hold no regard for his compatriot.

“Stupid,” the blade-wielding youkai spat, flicking the blood onto the concrete and stepping over the snake now still on the ground. Inuyasha used his swing to his advantage, piking himself over the youkai’s head as he tried to take a swipe at him and took off toward Kagome.

“Move!” he commanded her, yanking her into his side as he continued up the ramp. The other youkai was not all that far behind, his heavy breathing and deranged laughter ringing in the echoey space. He wasn’t as fast over longer distances, the strategic part of Inuyasha’s mind noted. “No wonder you lost us before. Stupid and slow!” Part of him hoped the rage would cause the youkai to make a mistake. One he could take advantage of…

“Maybe don’t antagonize the asshole getting ready to swing a sword at you, Moron,” came a voice from above. Inuyasha didn’t believe in angels, and definitely not in the form of mangy wolves, but Kouga’s voice was a godsend.

“Take her, Dipshit!” Despite their banter, Kouga didn’t hesitate to leap down, landing lightly and scooping up Kagome on the fly. She squealed at the sudden change of pace, her eyes wide and face pale over Kouga’s shoulder as the distance between them increased. Inuyasha forced his eyes away from her and increased his speed just enough to outrun the youkai at his heels. He needed a better way to disarm his opponent. He couldn't move fast enough to knock him out the way he had before. Certainly not without getting another hole in his person for his trouble. As it was, his right arm was practically useless.

The blood isn't, the thought came unbidden. 

Inuyasha glanced around, wondering if he was beginning to lose it from blood loss. 

Blades of Blood. It was a command and one he seemed inclined to obey. 

Without realizing, his left hand plunged his claws into his own wound. He rotated, continuing his backward momentum while flinging the blood coating his fingers toward the gnashing face of his pursuer. The youkai howled in pain, slowing to a stop and dropping the sword to the ground with a clatter. Inuyasha was stunned… But not as stunned as when he slammed backward into the sidewall of the ramp and knocked the wind out of himself.

He almost went over too, and would have had a hand not shot out to catch his torn and bloodied shirt. “Miss Kagome will be very upset if you fall, you know.”

“Y-Yea,” he rasped. Pretty sure there’s a broken rib or four in there… “Thanks, Jinenji.” The much larger hanyou nodded his head, hefting Inuyasha up and onto the next level of the ramp one handed. The youkai who had been chasing them was still screaming his rage, but Inuyasha saw the tail end of a black coat disappear around the corner.

A moment later and the youkai was silent.

Miroku wouldn’t kill him… probably. Tempting as it might be when he had ambushed them, tried to kill them both, and even killed his own partner. They needed information, and Miroku was very, very, good at getting it.

Sniffling sobs met his ears when he was able to focus again, grimacing when a soft weight collided with his side. “Inuyasha!” Her eyes were scrunched closed and she had a reddened scrape across her cheek and forehead. But she was one of the most beautiful sights he had ever seen. She was alive, and mostly unharmed. “Now I have to wrap you up all over again!”

Inuyasha let out a weak laugh. Definitely a few broken ribs. “You can wrap me up as many times as you want.” He fought back a grin at the annoyed look on her face. “I know, I know, you wouldn’t have to if I was more careful.”

“Can you move?” Miroku’s voice asked distractedly. His eyes were on the bound youkai being carried out of the parking structure by Jinenji and Kouga, the wolf bitching the whole way about having to deal with a lowlife like this.

“Give me a few minutes?” The monk nodded, peeling off his coat and tossing it to Kagome. She rolled it up and put it under his head, pulling the last of her button down shirt from her purse to rip into skinny strips. “There’s a kit in the van, you know.”

“I’m worried you’re gonna leak out all over the floor before I can get to it,” she sucked in a sharp breath, trying admirably to pull herself together.

“Kagome?” She bit her lips, focusing on her task. “Hey, Kagome,” he said a little more softly.

Finally she let her eyes meet his. He winced as he reached across with his left hand to cup her cheek, bringing her face toward his as he stretched up as much as his position would allow. It was soft, and only a moment, but the press of their lips was exactly the reassurance they both needed. “Oh…”

“Hm. Next time, let’s try it without the near-death experiences, ok?”

She blinked at him, then rolled her eyes, laughing softly.

“Only if you promise to quit trying to die on me,” she scolded. Inuyasha smirked as he opened his mouth to tease her about liking him in this position because it meant she got to baby him, but was cut off by the clearing of a very large throat.

“The perpetrator is under control and the others are ready to leave.”

“Oh. Yes. We’re coming, Jinenji.”

“Miroku has requested that I ‘carry his ass like a baby’ if I have to.” He looked distinctly uncomfortable at the obvious order to repeat what the monk had said exactly. “I really do not want to…”

“Nah. I might need help to my feet, but after that, I’m good,” he confessed. Had the wolf been there, there was no way he would have admitted to that, but current company wouldn’t give him a hard time about it. Jinenji waited for Kagome to finish wrapping his shoulder before offering him a hand up. He had to swallow a yelp when his ribs and shoulder both protested. Loudly. But at least he was upright again. The three made their way the rest of the way up the ramp and to the waiting van, Inuyasha accepting a little more help to get in than he would have liked. Fortunately, Kouga kept his trap shut.

“First stop, holding cell, second stop, hospital!” Miroku called jovially from the driver’s seat. Inuyasha rolled his eyes and groaned, but didn’t argue. Kagome would lecture him about the risks he would be taking for misaligned bone growth or bacterial infections or punctured lungs… He’d happily listen to all of it for the sound of her voice, but he’d rather she do it after she was seen to at the hospital.

Then he could relax and listen to her all day.

Or forever. That’d be fine too.

[moonkissedart]

Hi! idk if you've already done this but......Could you please do a role reversal of inukag please.

Hanyō kagome vs ayame over human Inuyasha.

Hello Anon!

Thank you for your ask! 🥰

Here’s the first part.

And this is the second:

Ayame surprises Inuyasha with a kiss. (Not welcomed) 🤫

Half demon Kagome is very possessive over her boyfriend. 🫣💪

And her possessiveness is rewarded by mentioned boyfriend. 🤭

[otpadsis]

crispy bad quality inuyasha scetches cus i was drawing on small canvas 💪💪💪

[askponyinuyasha]

Seems you're quite popular with the mares. don't let Kagome find out. *smirk*

@drakowulf36579:Seems you're quite popular with the mares. don't let Kagome find out. *smirk*

Inuyasha: What are you talking about? Kagome?

Inuyasha: *sighs*

Inuyasha: Look. I meant what I said when I told you she wasn't here. Kagome's been gone for a while, and... and I don't think she's coming back.

(More high-res transparent PNGs below the cut)

We always need more Drako! He can be such a devious guy!

[cringefiend]

Could you do a mini comic of angry hanyou Kagome and sweet (short-tempered) human Inuyasha about to kiss but gets interrupted.

(I think we all know that scene)

I had alot of fun making this especially using the ibispaint manga features. I also fw drawing animal features. I could not be fucked to track down the entire original exchange this is mostly from memory, I fear. I think I'm anatomy blocked bc it took way too long to get right. anyways I hope u guys like it :3

Also drawing request asks are still open 😛

[shinidamachu]

I think you or someone else discussed how Inuyasha is most likely demisexual because of his lack of interest in nudity until he formed an emotional bond. I was just thinking how the anti’s claimed Inuyasha settled for Kagome, but all evidence points to him loving her *despite* her resemblance to Kikyo. Not hating on Kikyo, just pointing out how Inuyasha kept saying it’s his fault she died because he didn’t trust her, even though trust has to go both ways but whatever, so if he was settling then Kagome would be a daily reminder that he failed Kikyo. Which would sound like hell considering his repeated claims of his fault.

But clearly in the past discussion of Inuyasha being demisexual, we all know he isn’t shallow or ”settling”.

I might have mentioned Inuyasha being demisexual once or twice, but I don't remember posting something that specific. Maybe someone else did and I reblogged it?

I'm glad you brought up the "Inuyasha settled for Kagome" terrible take, though, because you make great points and boy do I have something to say about it.

First, I love that you mentioned trust has to go both ways despite Inuyasha blaming Kikyo's death solely on his lack of trust on her. It always bothered me how quickily and sincerely he owned up to the role he played on her fate when there was zero reciprocity from Kikyo.

He went as far as taking responsability for things that have never really happened and that would be completely out of his control if they had, such as Kikyo "dying to follow after him" even though he didn't ask for it and never would.

The irony is that, between the two of them, Kikyo was actually the one more equipped to realize they were being played and yet, not only she falls for the same trap, but never really acknowledges that her lack of trust on Inuyasha was just as detrimental to their downfall.

Naraku's entire plan was based on both of them doubting each other. If either one had been more trusting, it'd have failed. Inuyasha recognizes this and regrets not trusting Kikyo, immediately treating her like the victim that she is and never once blaming her.

But he is a victim himself and she never extends the same courtesy to him, still thinking her actions were justified because he should have trusted her — not the other way around — and so she never bothers easing his guilt. On the contrary, she purposely adds to it.

The thing about the love triangle — for lack of a better term — is that Inuyasha and Kagome are constantly pushing their feelings aside to empathize with each other's and Kikyo's pain, while Kikyo acts like she's the only one who's hurting.

Which is to be expected at first because she is the one who died and was brought back against her will, but as the story progressed, I kept waiting for Kikyo to see a little bit of herself on the ordinary girl who was entrusted the weight of the world upon her shoulders, had her shoes to fill and the mess she left behind to clean up.

I kept waiting for her to show some sympathy for the boy who lost fifty years of his life because she misjudged him and was willing to die for a debt she manipulated and guilt-tripped him into thinking he had, a boy she supposedly loves.

None of it came, at least not in a way that felt organic or satisfying. That's my main issue with how Kikyo was written. You can't paint her as a complex character and then gloss over her flaws. You can't sell her as gray character and then pretend the bad things she did never happened.

Takahashi wanted her to reap all of the rewards that come with a redemption arc without really bothering to make her go through one, because that would mean having Kikyo face her mistakes for what they were — including her distrust on Inuyasha — and then apologizing or making up for it, a feat that rarely happened in canon, if at all.

Instead, she abruptly stops acting as vicious, so everything can be conveniently forgiven and forgotten because "she isn't like that anymore." The lack of explanation about what motivated this change makes harder for the audience to connect with her and results in many plot inconsistencies.

And the lack of accountability regarding Kikyo's actions keeps her from growing and reaching her full potential as a character, indirectly regressing or preventing the development of the characters around her as well, which I believe is a huge part of why the story feels repetitive and stagnant at times.

Now, you're definitely onto something when you argue that all evidence actually points to Inuyasha falling in love with Kagome despite her resemblance to Kikyo. I've actually talked about it here and here.

While it's true that Inuyasha mistook Kagome for Kikyo when they first met, it would've been unreasonable to expect anything different. Their looks and scents are similar, he had just woken up from a fifty years long spell and up until then he had no reason to believe otherwise, but Inuyasha actually caught up in a decent amount of time.

After that, as much as he still refused to call Kagome by name, he was also very aware she wasn't Kikyo, to the point that it took seeing her with complete priestess attire on for him to even make that correlation again.

And yet, Inuyasha still doesn't go back into thinking they're the same person, but rather that Kagome's a girl who resembles Kikyo. Only eventually, even this starts to change the more time they spend together and suddenly, when Inuyasha has a nightmare about Kikyo, is Kagome he sees first.

Mind you, he has only seen Kagome in priestess clothes once. Kikyo wore those her entire life. It'd be understandable for him to confuse Kagome for Kikyo and yet Kagome was his first thought here when, by logic, she shouldn't have been. From them on, he doesn't even see any resemblance between the two girls at all anymore.

Which makes sense, because even if Inuyasha had tried to use Kagome as a replacement — something he never did — he couldn't possibly have succeded, since both girls are polar opposites — a creative choice that was done completely on purpose — and Kagome wasn't slightly interested on being anyone but herself, making her into the worst Kikyo replacement ever.

That's why it got easier for Inuyasha to distinguish one girl from the other with time. Their distinct personalities make up for completely different dynamics and bring completely different feelings out of Inuyasha, because they represent completely different things to him and, again: this is done absolutely on purpose.

In the manga, this is better illustrated by two very specific panels. In the first one, Kikyo is smiling sadly but genuinely at Inuyasha — which we don't see her do often — and he admitted later on that the exchange made him feel guilty, like he had done something wrong, since he had just been rude to her.

In the second one, Kagome is smiling brightly at Inuyasha, which she does constantly, then we immediately see him blush and think to himself how relieved he is to see that smile

Of course those are very different contexts, but they pretty much set the tone for both relationships and if the arrangement of those panels wasn't a conscious choice — which I doubt — then Takahashi is insanely lucky. It's also worth noting that Inuyasha felt relieved to see Kagome smiling because it was further confirmation that even after Kikyo's resurrection, she was still Kagome.

So I think it's safe to say the physical resemblance actually slowed the romantic process down, considering that the staged betrayal made Inuyasha build his walls even taller than they were when he met Kikyo. This becomes even more clear when you compare their respective first "amicable" conversations.

With Kikyo, even though he was reluctant about her approach and suspicious of her intentions, there was still a part of him that obviously wanted it to be true, so he was at least open to what she had to say.

With Kagome, he was visibly more aggressive and closed off because he has been burned before and she was the reincarnation of the woman who did the burning, which makes her managing to get his trust so quickly that much more remarkable, since she apparently did in less time and in worse circumstances, what Kikyo couldn't.

And Kagome did it precisely because she never acted like Kikyo. She actually took the time to know Inuyasha, to give him her trust and to earn his, to build a solid relationship, based on honesty and real acceptance.

I like to think that, while Kikyo found a crack on Inuyasha's defense she could slip in, Kagome slowly smashed his walls to the ground, therefore leaving an ever lasting impact on him that she couldn't have made by being anyone but herself.

When Inuyasha starts to pursue Kagome romantically, he does so after concluding that there's absolutely no resemblance between the two girls at all and after going through an entire arc where Kagome cried for his sake and trusted him blindly, none of which has anything to do with Kikyo.

People argue that Inuyasha was actually trying to kiss Kikyo here, but why would he do that when he still thinks she betrayed him? And if this was really the case, then why has he never willingly kissed or tried to kiss Kikyo until their final goodbye, Sunrise additions excluded?

At this point, it makes more sense to me that he was avoiding to look at Kagome not because she looks like Kikyo — he has been looking at her just fine before —, but because he has started to catch feelings for her despite his efforts not to and doesn't know how to act. In fact, when he had the chance to kiss Kikyo soon after, this is what we got instead:

And then he hugs her — something the anime cut out — but the important thing is that Inuyasha had this and many other opportunities to rekindle his relationship with Kikyo and simply didn't.

In this particular occasion, he even go as far as to ask Kikyo to return the piece of soul that keeps her "alive" to Kagome knowing full well what the consequences were.

Why would Inuyasha settle for a "replacement" when he could have the real thing instead? Even if you believe resurrected Kikyo to be nothing more than a malicious replica of the original, she's still more Kikyo than Kagome could or would ever be.

I dislike this notion because if it's true and there's not an ounce of Kikyo there, why should the audience or the characters care if she "lives" or "dies"? If she gets a redemption arc or not? It feels like a cop out to only consider her the real Kikyo when she does good things.

That being said, save for maybe one scene at the beginning where Inuyasha shoved a bow and some arrows at Kagome because Kikyo was a master archer, he never expected her to behave like Kikyo, never tried to change her so she would and never acted frustrated or disappointed at the fact that she was her own person.

Inuyasha has his flaws — as any good main character should — but he always respected the inviduality of both girls, which is more than I can say about the people who insist on this baseless take.

To wrongly paint Inuyasha as someone who settled for Kagome because she looks like Kikyo gets especially icky when even Naraku, the villain who was obsessed with her, never redirected said obsession to Kagome.

It's such a common trope that I was actually expecting it, but I'm glad it didn't happen because it's a subtle and yet effective way of sedimenting both girls as separate individuals instead of going for the cheapest option.

And ironically, the only character who treated Kagome as if she was Kikyo was Kikyo herself, but even that was very early on and she only seemed to do it as a way of belittling Kagome, because while mentioning her to other people — or by the end of the story — Kikyo had no trouble referring to Kagome as a different being.

Sunrise's adaptation made very questionable choices but something they were pretty consistent on was making clear Kagome and Kikyo aren't the same.

Besides, something fundamentally wrong with this argument is that Inuyasha comes off as shallow and Kikyo as disposeable. Shallow because it suggests physical appearance is all that matters — which goes against everything his character stands for in canon — and the soul is just a seal of approval.

Disposeable because it hints Kikyo's personality is so forgettable and unimportant that it played absolutely no part on sparkling Inuyasha's interest. She's so easily replaceable that even someone who had opposite world views, thoughts, feelings, temperament and mannerisms could do the trick. The memories they made are so generic that it wouldn't have make a difference if any other character was in her place.

Why do people even like those characters, why do they even ship them together if they truly believe that? That's why I don't buy that they actually do.

You see, considering how huge Kagome's soul is, Kikyo technically has got to be someone else's reincarnation too, but I've never seen anyone making the case that she is anyone but herself or that her predecessor is also the love of Inuyasha's life.

The reason they try to do this with Kagome is so that they can pretend Inuyasha and Kikyo somehow ended up together to cope with the fact that they didn't. And that's the exact same reason they pretend he setled for Kagome as well.

Which is funny because what exactly was Inuyasha settling for? Like, in the great scheem of things, what was Kikyo able to give him that he couldn't get a thousand times better from Kagome with no strings attached and just had to make his peace with it?

It seems to me like it was the other way around: Kagome managed to accomplish everything Kikyo failed to do, so if anything Inuyasha was settling, it was for Kikyo, resigned to spend the rest of his life as human — something he hated to be — just to get "accepted" or to die for something he didn't do just to appease her.

Finally, to say inuyasha settled implies he had no other choice but to marry Kagome. He had: staying single, because now that he has friends and wasn't alone anymore, he doesn't need a lover to fill that empty space in his life if he doesn't want one.

Plus, Kagome wasn't entitled to his love. She jumped trought that well knowing that three years is a long time, that people and feelings change and that what waited for her on the other side was a mystery, but she did it anyway because all she ever wanted from him was to stay by his side and for him to be honest with her.

Kagome would've been fine with a platonic relationship because even though she obviously wanted more, she was ready to accept whatever Inuyasha was willing to give her, but he wanted her to return so he could give her everything, which he couldn't before because he felt in debt with Kikyo. That's the whole point.

Inuyasha was the one who iniciated every romantic moment they had early on: the first hug, both almost kisses, etc. And it was clear that the things Kagome made him feel, such as that sense of peace, of belonging, of unadultered happiness, were very new to him, so the idea that Inuyasha was settling for her is laughable when this is the character in question:

I know a lot of those scenes were deleted or changed by Sunrise but I watched the anime without reading the manga beforehand and reached the exact same conclusions, so I'm still of the opinion that the people who convinced themselves Kagome was a consolation prize either didn't pay attention or have an agenda of their own to push, that won't change by reading the original material.

TLDR; one does not simply "settle" for their soulmate. They come home to them.

[inukag]

I think calling sesshomaru a racist is a bit of a stretch. Yes that applies to koga but I’d say sesshomaru is classist not racist

Calling people of a certain race “vile creatures” is, in fact, racist.

“But he changed! He developed compassion for humans!” he learned that there’s some humans & hanyo that he can tolerate/respect, and he cares for Rin, but he still sees human lives in general as worthless even at the very end of the series.

(Mind you Rin had already spent some time in that village at that point and Kaede took care of her. The thought that she might care about Kaede and the other people in the village doesn’t even cross his mind so even his care for Rin doesn’t extend very far)

But you’re right he’s classist too, and generally completely incompatible with someone like Kagome Higurashi.

[little1bird]

"Kagome Higurashi in my crossovers (pretty bird)"

-🌸Little_bird🌸

(I will bite your hand if I hear a single hate about pretty bird-)