#anti-SessKag

[kitramune]

Don't forget for the anime-onlys that Kouga had a first too, in Ayame, who he proposed to when she was a SMALL CHILD compared to him, and then ACTUALLY dumped her like a sack of rotten potatoes. So if anyone is treating women like expendable commodities, it's Kouga. (In the anime, at least, but most KougKag shippers seem to come from there.)

Hey Cynthia! This is kind of an ask but mainly a rant because I find this INCREDIBLY annoying, because it's clear these people don't understand the story AT ALL.

I don't think all KogKag shippers are annoying, but I'm surprised that there are so many fans who say that Kagome should've ended up with Koga because Inuyasha was aLWaYS going after Kikyo or that Koga would've TrEAtED her better. I feel like people who say this are just self-inserting onto Kagome. Reason number one: KogKag has little to no substance in canon, with her just humoring him every time he flirts with her. Number two: if they were paying attention, they would know WHY and WHEN Inuyasha went after Kikyo and that for him, there was only Kagome.

TLDR; Do you think people who say "Kagome should've chosen Koga because Inuyasha bad" are self-inserting? I know the anime changes are a huge factor, is that why people say this? I like your analyses so I'd like to know what you think.

Hello! First of all thank you for the love 🥺

(I know I have mutuals & followers who love Koga & Kogkag so warning: this post is very critical of both!)

I’m going to start off by saying “self-inserting” exists in a lot of ships. There’s plenty of people who love Inuyasha and self-insert into Kagome with inukag. That’s not something I have a big issue with, we all have our favorite characters and there’s nothing wrong with self-indulgence. But if we analyze the canon story, I think you definitely need make Kagome OOC in order to ship her Koga. I mean, if canon!Kagome had any interest in him she wouldn't have wasted her time with Inuyasha, lol. I've said this before but the main reason why Kagome loves Inuyasha and not men like Koga and Sesshomaru is because Inuyasha has a good heart. He might have a harsh personality (that he is improving) due to his past trauma but he has never killed & eaten innocent people the way the other two did.

Also, the racism. Kagome's defining personality trait is that she is open and welcoming with everyone. Why would she date Koga who calls people slurs unprovoked? Why would she date Sesshomaru who bullied his half-brother for being mixed? Sure these two somewhat improved their behavior over the course of the series but 1- There's no indication that Koga and his wolves changed their diet. Koga never showed any remorse for his actions and never said he wouldn't do it again. 2- Sesshomaru tolerates/respects a few people by the end of the series but he very much still sees human life as expendable (see his “Who cares?” line when he hears his action could kill everyone in Kaede’s village). That is simply not compatible with Kagome Higurashi. 

The second anon brought up some good points about the misogyny in the fandom, and how male characters like Koga are praised while Kikyo is villainized for less. I constantly see Koga fans criticizing Inuyasha for “being nice to Kikyo despite what she’s done to Kagome” yet these people seemingly have no problems with Kagome being nice to Koga despite what he has done to Inuyasha. I think both Koga and Kikyo have poorly written “redemption arcs”, I think the inukag fandom just talk more about Kikyo/Inukik because Inuyasha did have feelings for Kikyo while Kagome never had any for Koga, so usually it isn’t worth talking about. 

As for Koga being "nicer" to her, I think a lot of it is definitely anime-only. There's that one filler episode where Inuyasha insults Kagome and Koga brings her flowers later (if I remember correctly) which is obviously meant to make Koga look like the better choice. I’ve talked about this a LOT on my blog but Sunrise went out of their way to make sure Inuyasha would almost never be kind and honest with Kagome compared to the manga, and they added a bunch of scenes where he insults her. Honestly with all the things that Sunrise changed I don’t blame anime-only fans for having issues with anime!inukag. Kagome has self-esteem issues because of Inuyasha’s ex (who is her pre-incarnation) and on top of that the boy she loves insults her himself? I know a lot of inukag shippers just see it as a joke, but since Kagome’s self-worth is a real issue in the series I don’t find it particularly funny. But if we’re focusing on the manga, Inuyasha is not mean to her, he’s only rude when he’s angry (calls her ‘bakaa’ or uses ‘temee’). 

Also, what does Koga even do for Kagome beyond giving her superficial compliments? He saved her a few times, which is what Inuyasha does on a daily basis. Koga said Kagome is “pretty” and “has guts”, which in my opinion pales in comparison to what Inuyasha said about Kagome: 

Inuyasha genuinely KNOWS Kagome. She’s his friend. He spends all his time with her. He has seen the best and worst of her. Koga is just a guy who tries to woo her when he bumps into her once in a while. Inuyasha doesn’t compliment her all the time to score points, he says these things when he can tell Kagome is feeling down and truly needs to hear it. 

Koga really is just putting on a front to look good in front of Kagome. The things he says to her are not necessarily true, as Ginta and Hakkaku point out. 

If he did manage to win over Kagome, who’s to say he would keep up this act? Would they work out in a long-term relationship? What does Koga and Kagome have in common? Like I said, he barely knows Kagome. Unlike Inuyasha, who share Kagome’s values, and share a group of friends with her. Inuyasha knows Kagome’s world, her modern friends and her family (and they love him!). Inuyasha has a demon slaying business with Miroku and lives in a human village where Kagome can thrive as a miko. Koga rarely shows respect for what Kagome wants (he claimed her as his mate and spent the entire series touching her & calling her his “mutual lover” without her consent). Even when Kagome was crying in Inuyasha’s arms after he almost died, Koga still said he “refused to give up on her”. Like the second anon said, the guy really just can’t take a hint (until the very end), and as someone who dealt with men like this in real life I think it’s a pretty big red flag.

Inuyasha literally said he owes everything he has in his life to Kagome. That he was born for her. He continuously chose to live with her instead of dying with Kikyo, risked his life to protect her by giving her the fire rat robe, ditched Tessaiga to save her, jumped into the well every 3 days ready to abandon his world for her. The fact that some people think he’s not the biggest Kagome simp out there and think he’s not “worthy” of Kagome is insane to me. 

Inuyasha learned to give Kagome space when she needs to be alone so she can study. He respects her desire to finish school, respects the fact that she loves her world and didn’t pressure her to choose him over it. 

Also people argue that Koga’s redeeming quality is that he cares about his pack and getting revenge for the ones that Naraku killed. Well, funny how he completely gave up on that once he lost his shikon jewel shards uh? Koga is a FULL yokai and he abandoned his vow to avenge his friends as soon as he lost his power boost, meanwhile my boy Inuyasha stays true to his promise to protect Kagome even in his WEAKEST form! 

Rip to Koga but Inuyasha is simply built different 🤷‍♀️

Anyway, the last point is Inuyasha and his feelings for Kikyo. At this point I’m convinced some people watched/read a completely different series than I did. I mean, the other day I saw a Tik Tok that was like “When Inuyasha runs off to kiss Kikyo for the 100th time” like... what? Inuyasha initiated like 3 romantic interactions with Kikyo in the entire time he has known her. One hug when she was first revived to calm her down, one hug when he told her she could call him when she’s in danger, and the final kiss goodbye to put her soul at peace. Inuyasha is NOT a “two-timer” who “keeps going back to his ex”. He’s a 15 years old boy whose first love got brutally murdered, he started to move on and fall in love with someone else then his “ex” was revived as a vengeful revenant and guilt tripped him into thinking he should die with her. He cares for her and refused to let her get killed by her murderer again, but his real desire was to LIVE and move on and be with KAGOME. At this point anyone who doesn’t understand that probably doesn’t have the emotional maturity to understand the story. I’m not saying that Inuyasha handled the situation perfectly, because of course not, the situation is insane and the boy has no social skills from being ostracized his whole life, but the way some people think he’s a bad person for loving more than one person in his life is insane to me. And you know what sucks? Inuyasha can’t win. If he didn’t care about what happens to Kikyo because he has a new girlfriend, people would call him heartless and would criticize him for treating women like objects that can easily be replaced. And that is one of the main reasons why comparing Inuyasha to other men like Koga, Sesshomaru or even Hojo annoys me a lot: Inuyasha did NOT choose to be in the situation he’s in. He did not intend to be with both at the same time (the anime line “why can’t have a both” is NOT canon). 

I think one other issue is people projecting their personal romantic fantasies on the situation. So many people dream of being someone’s “one and only”, of having their partner tell them that they’ve “never felt like this before”, and the fact that Kagome is not the only women Inuyasha ever loved somehow makes his feelings for her less “pure” or less “intense” to them. Which never made any sense to me because 1- Why would you be less “pure” for loving many people in your life? The fact that Inuyasha fell in love & stayed with Kagome despite the fact that his “ex” was revived and wanted him should actually be proof of how much he loves Kagome 2- Kagome IS Inuyasha’s “first” in SO many ways! The first person to make him happy, the first to cry for him and to make him cry, the first to give him a home, the first person he will be intimate with, the first (and only) person he MARRIES. His past feelings for Kikyo does not take away from that. I think the worst is when people argue that Inuyasha “still thinks about Kikyo after her death” like yeah, he’s still fighting Kikyo’s murderer until the last chapter/episode and his guilt got progressively worse as he repeatedly failed to protect Kikyo, remembering her does not mean he’s still in love with her. He can’t exactly wipe out his memories. Some people even argue that he ”shows sign that he loves her” in the bonus epilogue chapter?? Never mind the fact that the epilogue chapter just kind of sucks, Inuyasha didn’t have any reaction when Kikyo was mentioned, he said he didn’t care and he was only worried that Kikyo being mentioned would hurt Kagome’s feelings. 

When both Kagome and Kikyo were gone from his life, who did he miss? Did he go to Kikyo’s grave every 3 days wishing she hadn’t died? Did Inuyasha ever think about using the shikon jewel or Tenseiga to bring her back properly so he could be with her? No he never did, because Kagome is the one he was born for and the one he wanted to spend his life with, not Kikyo. 

Tl;dr: From what I’ve seen the popularity of kogkag seems to be from people who just like Koga better than Inuyasha and are willing to ignore (or they don’t remember) all the atrocities he committed because they find him hotter and more “charming”, which is fine to me until people actually claim that Kagome should have been with Koga in canon. People who say that are usually just mad about the love triangle because 1- they only watched the anime and haven’t read the manga (and they also misremember the anime) 2- they idealize this idea of being someone’s “first and only love” and they think Inuyasha’s feelings for Kikyo “tarnish” that and 3- they usually lack the emotional maturity to understand the situation Inuyasha was forced in and don’t realize that Inuyasha did the best he could. Inuyasha is a hanyo who was alone all his life and is just starting to open up and trust others while Koga is a full yokai who never had to struggle in his life, and despite that Inuyasha consistently proved that he is a better person. Just because Koga is loud and straight forward with his advances doesn’t make him more loving than Inuyasha, who actually knows Kagome and is romantic and kind to her when it matters the most. 

[shipper88]

I always thought and will continue to do so

Kagome's ancestors were from the line of Kohaku and Rin and a bad fanfiction is not going to change me

I will die on this hill

[eyeball-freak]

‘Tis hard being both a Kataang shipper and a Inukag shipper in these trying times.

Like here we have a relationship with a whole series of build up, in fact you could even go so far to say their relationship was the whole point of the show. And it’s so beautifully done seeing them grow together and fall for each other throughout the show like, it’s perfect!!!

And then for some reason the more popular ship is between the main female lead and the “hotter, cooler guy”, despite the fact that they don’t even have much chemistry, or even much interaction compared to the canon ship-

And then of course you later find out the only real reason they became such a popular ship is because the shippers thought the broody older guy was hotter than the male lead.

Honestly if I had a nickel…

[loveyou-x3000]

I've had a sesskag fic on my mind, but it's very fucked up, so I'm putting it below the cut. I don't know where this nonsense comes from. I don't know if I'll ever do anything with it. But I do know I should probably book an appointment with a therapist.

Setting: Post-Shikon Jewel, main series canon, with ideas and characters cherry picked out of Yashahime. That's all Yashahime is good for, anyway.

Pairings: InuKag (to start), SessKag (to end), KohRin (is that their shipname?), and the tried-and-true MirSan. Plus your standard InuParents lore.

Tropes: InuYasha got GOT, sorry not sorry. Is it really a believable SessKag fic if InuYasha survives? Barely-friend to Lovers for SessKag.

Rin and Kohaku would be very grown (20s), which means Moroha is born much much later on.

Please remember that I said this shit is fucked. Do not continue if you cannot read violence, assualt, non-con, etc.

-

On the night of the new moon, many years after the end of the main series, a creature slips undetected into the village.

InuYasha cannot sense the danger on the new moon, but he also isn't in the village. He and Miroku were meant to be back from their job days ago, but haven't made it back.

Kagome, newly pregnant, barely three months along, senses the danger once it is already too late.

She investigates.

Her stomach bottoms out when she feels the awful flood of yoki coming from Rin and Kohaku's home.

When she bursts in, unafraid, arrow drawn, it is to the sight of Kohaku's body on the floor. His blade is bloodied, but the light is gone from his eyes. (Again.)

There is a man upon Rin, with her in her bed, and she is scratching and clawing and kicking and fighting. There is a dagger sticking at an awkward angle from the villain's eye as he assults her, enjoying it too much, reveling in something.

Kagome cannot process the terror because she must act. And act she does.

In all her years in the feudal era, only one other man has caught her arrow between his fingers in the same way this man does now.

And just as her arrow had melted away between Sesshomaru's fingers, so too does it in this man's hand. But his fingers are blackened from the strain. Either her power is stronger than it was, or this man is weaker than Sesshomaru is.

But he does not feel weaker. He feels worse and awful and black-and-purple, like the miasma Naraku used to weep, like the darkness of the corrupted jewel. As he abandons Rin—with promises to return, because he has plans for her—he towers at a height that brings back memories of Naraku's sneers and taunts.

But this man is not Naraku. He is red-haired and wild-eyed, with an aura that feels like a storm. Crushing. Powerful.

It reminds her of when she saw Sesshomaru transform in the belly of his own father, when she was just a child.

He says something to her about carrying the blood of a demon lord within her. Distantly, she knows the reference—but in the moment, she cannot dwell on it, because Rin needs her help.

The man clearly does not expect his entire hand to catch on fire when he touches Kagome. The flames are purifying and pink, leaving a blackened mass behind, but he laughs like he enjoys the pain.

Rin is muttering something as the man steps closer to Kagome. A wind catches through the red mat on the door. There is a roar in the distance.

Kohaku's blood on the wind. Kirara.

Kagome ends up on the ground with Rin. Her ankle smarts. Her body protests. The man is saying something about the great dog lords, about how they will make a pretty sight, and then there is a rusted blade sticking out the front of his chest.

InuYasha, black haired and furious.

Tessaiga, slumbering but sharp.

There is no fight to be had. InuYasha is human and Tessaiga sleeps. There is only clawed hands around his throat, his feet off the ground, a smirk in the intruder's eyes.

(Tessaiga on the ground—suddenly at her own feet, as though summoned.)

Kagome can only watch as he dies.

Kagome can only watch as his still-beating heart stops in the palm of the demon's hand, wrenched from his own chest.

InuYasha says something, even still. Stubborn even to the end.

There is suddenly nothing.

Then there is something.

Rin and Kagome are in the forest. Transported.

Tessaiga is in Kagome's hand.

Rin is in tatters.

The village is alight with flame.

They cannot return. There was nothing to return to, as far as they knew.

So instead, they must go.

Kagome knows very few people they can turn to.

Rin knows only one.

Where Sesshomaru goes, these days, is known only to Jaken. But Rin is grown and not as stupid as Jaken thinks—she's pieced it together. And Sesshomaru has told her, besides.

There is a realm of yokai hidden in this world. She'd even been to it, once: his mother's lonely castle, filled with hollow soldiers.

Sesshomaru had told her she would never step foot in his true home—and, if she did, it would be at the cost of her freedom. Her safety. Her livelihood. It was not his mother's vacant castle he called home; he had a castle of his home. Far away from here, in a place where humans weren't meant to reach.

The problem? Rin doesn't know how to reach it. Neither does she know when Sesshomaru meant to visit her next.

But Kagome has a thought.

The trek to Koga's den is long and arduous. They have little food and water, tatters for clothes, and are constantly on alert for the man's return.

Sometimes, in the dead of night, Kagome swears she can feel Tessaiga trying to soothe her.

They come across a shrine. In it, they find food and new clothes, given freely by the preistesses. The don't linger. They don't reveal their wounds.

At the base of a mountain Kagome cannot dream to climb, she opens her mouth and screams for him. Her friend. Her idiot, love-stricken wolf.

She hopes it isn't a fool's errand. The wind seems to spin up arpund them when she does, as though the universe itself meant to help carry her voice.

And it works.

Kagome knew Rin was wary of wolves, but she hadn't known how deep the fear went.

Though Koga offers them a den to sleep in, warm and safe, she and Rin find themselves laying out in the open. Gazing up at the stars.

Rin says it reminds her of her traveling days, as a child. Of feeling safe with Sesshomaru.

It reminds Kagome of better times, too.

Whether it be the exhaustion or the pain, Rin falls asleep. Koga sits with Kagome. They speak, for a time.

The invader that had haunted them this whole time had no hope of tracking them. Koga tells her that with Tessaiga, they're concealed. The barrier hides them. He'd only known they were there because she'd screamed.

"You're always welcome here. If you want. By my side or not. You can call this home."

"I have a home, Koga."

"I know."

Its driver seems less than pleased. He refuses passage to Kagome and Rin, doubly so when they say they have a message for Sesshomaru.

In the morning, a cart has come. Koga sent for it.

Its a ferry to the true realm of his people. He says there aren't many wolves in the realm of yokai. Too uppity, too stuffy. But he's still a pack leader, so the ferry still answers.

But the ferryman is suddenly more ameniable when Tessaiga explodes with a burst of yoki so powerful it knocks him into the rocks.

Sesshomaru, who would never humor humankind.

Sesshomaru, who hates mankind. Womankind even more so, or so the man claims.

And so, the two women fly.

The Gates of the House of the Moon do not have guards. They have but one scout, who stares at them oddly when they approach. Just like everyone else has.

And he, just like everyone else, refrains from doing whatever was in his mind when he sees the sword at Kagome's waist.

The sword pulses.

The Gates open.

There are guards within. Guards who do not recognize Tessaiga. They laugh at them when they say they have business with Sesshomaru.

And so they walk through.

(Tessaiga is home.)

They err towards violence, daring to take Kagome by the hair and threaten a thousand awful things that could happen to a pretty human woman.

So it's no surprise when he explodes in a burst of pink light.

His partner flees.

So they walk on.

No one stops them again. Whether they know the sword or not, Tessaiga is seething, and even Kagome can feel the dangerous roil of yoki coming from it.

Through the palace they walk.

Through the palace they wander.

Until a silent voice tells Kagome to stop, and they stand before two painted shoji. Three great dog-beasts are painted across it: two with crescent moons and the largest without.

But the door will not open when Kagome tries it. Not until Tessaiga pulses—as though the sword has a mind of its own—and an unseen lock clicks open.

The doors part and before them is an audience chamber, where Sesshomaru, still as stone, stares back at them.

(For a moment, Kagome thinks he might look surprised.)

Every demon in the large space between them is pale as a sheet, staring at her too. She realizes that the pulse of energy must have been felt by them.

Tessaiga's energy.

The yoki of InuYasha's Father.

They'd expected to see a ghost where she now stands.

But the ghost isn't here. There is only Kagome and Rin, with an audience of more daiyokai than either of them had ever seen in their lives.

She falls into the lowest bow she can manage, forehead to the floor.

"Rin," Sesshomaru says, in his flat way. Expectant. Patient.

Never angry. Not with her.

Kagome stands even so.

(The weight of their days is suddenly catching up to her. Up to the baby.

The baby.

Their baby.

Now just hers.)

Not a soul has moved. No one is speaking. There is only Rin, trying to hold back her sobs of relief. Sobs of shame. Her shoulders are shaking.

"Lord Sesshomaru, I—"

He is suddenly before them. Kagome doesn't know when he moved. But he's there, tall and cold and impassive, slowly getting on his knee—

—on his knee, in front of his court, his gentry, his people; on his knee to be closer to a human, his head below a preistess', even by accident—

—to bring Rin's face from the ground.

"What happened to you?"

She cannot say, so he does not ask again. He means to wait until she can find the words. But Kagome speaks first.

"Sesshomaru."

Just Sesshomaru. She can feel the tension in his audience.

"InuYasha is dead."

Impossibly, she holds Tessaiga out to him. He has the gall to look at her like he hadn't known she was there in the first place.

"We were... attacked."

Sesshomaru does not speak. He watches. His eyes fixate on the sword between them.

"He saved us."

Why doesn't he speak?

"We have to avenge him."

[sereia1313]

It's the Thought That Counts

This is for anyone who looks at February 14th and rolls their eyes. To those who do celebrate, I hope your person showers you in love every day of the year as well!

Summary: Kagome loathes Valentine's Day above all else, but a surprise visit might be the thing that changes her mind.

Read it on Ao3 and FFnet.

Sneak Peek

Today was the worst day. No one else knew, especially with the hustle and bustle of handing out cards, flowers, and chocolates, but Kagome Higurashi loathed this day more than anyone else.

Her students were on the verge of becoming adults, so she couldn't fault them for spending their hard-earned money on ways to impress their most recent crush or long-time partners. The school had been buzzing with excitement all week, culminating in a flurry of red and pink as everyone tried to make it to their chosen person before the final bell.

Hiding her look of disgust behind her coffee cup, Kagome pretended to check an email. Teaching history enabled her to focus more on the events that led to the modern-day holiday, but she couldn't force her students to focus any more than a group of kindergartens on a sugar high.

She'd always assumed that becoming a teacher would land her in a primary classroom, greeting little faces and toothless smiles every day, but while running around to different schools as a substitute, she found she had a better time with the higher grades. So, she'd added a bunch of history classes onto her degree, figuring it was the most appropriate subject to teach, and managed to impress the principal at her first high school of choice.

Teaching seniors meant less time cleaning up construction paper and glitter, but it also meant explaining why no flowers or cards decorated her desk on February 14th.

[eternalpassions]

Kagome is attractive in her own way. But I feel like much of her light which I saw in the initial episodes got dimmed out because of the love affair with Inu Yasha. Seeshomaru is so hot. But Kagome and Sesshomaru didn't have any time together. When I saw him around rin, it made him hotter in my eyes. Like he could be a good father and protector despite that cold fearsome hard exterior? who would have thunk they are gonna ruin that and turn it into something else altogether lmao

Hey,

Yea honestly much of my love comes from extracting who she is independent of Inuyasha. I really wish she was given more time and space to just shine on her own but unfortunately her character is so dependent on her love affair with Inuyasha in canon. She did have her annoying moments due to how glued she was to Inuyasha in canon lol

For me that episode where Kagome and Sesshoumaru stayed stuck in my head so I basically go off their little interactions lol. It’s one of the few moments where she gets something for herself. Haha that’s interesting you mention the relationship between Sess and Rin changed it all for you and made him hotter. It was kind of the opposite for me haha 💀

I enjoyed how stubborn and almost villainous he was prior to meeting Rin. I mean I still think it’s nice and cute he was a father and protector to Rin but idk. I think it’s because the way I found out about his character was unfortunately already tainted by the weird romantic lense some of his fans see their relationship through lol. So I can’t help but wonder if he never met Rin then people wouldn’t have such strange views of his character that he would actually be attracted to a child he protected and looked after like a parent for 200 episodes and 500 chapters 💀

and honestly now looking back at it I hate that the anime added extra fillers in order to put the idea of that ship romantically into peoples heads. The manga was perfect the way it was cuz their relationship was literally parental and platonic. If I were rumiko I would be so pissed at that company Lmaoo. Bunch of weirdos in that studio who don’t truly care about her work and just had some weird agenda. Idk I felt they should’ve just left his character alone and let everyone just have their own interpretations and ideas of his character. I‘ve basically moved on from Inuyasha at this point lol but yea this is where my view of him left off.

[go-angelk1]

So Basically Kagome doesn't remember her past in Inuyasha's time. She ends up going further back in time and meets younger Seshomaru. There was a story I read that was like that, a long time ago 😅

[tobiostangerine]

Man SessKag irks me so much. Like Kagome LOVES Inuyasha and Sesshomaru has no interest in her.

It's a nonsense ship.

People can ship them whatever they want, but my opinion still stays.

The only one I see Sessho working is with Kagura.

[ka-go-me]

Outoftomorrow: I'ma just say this for any who follow me: I DO NOT SHIP SESSHKAG. So, if anyone followed me hoping to see that coupling from my feed; you will be sorely disappointed. If you followed me for the Inuyasha shiz in general~then Never mind. Have at it! lol.

. Btw, this is Not telling you to not ship Sesshoumaru and Kagome, ship who you want...Just saying I will not post any SesshKag stuff on here ever. xD

[feudalconnection]

Term 2 2023 Winners!!

As always, us mods here at FeudalConnection want to give a huge thank you to everyone who participated in the Second Term 2023 Inuyasha Fandom Awards! Your participation and support for this fandom is simply incredible!

As a reminder, the winners have evolved into First, Second, and Third place awards. We are allowing ties for first place winners, rather than go into a run off period.

- For categories with up to four nominations, a First place banner will be awarded to the winner.

- For categories which received five to six nominations, First and Second place banners will be awarded to the winners.

- For categories which received up to seven to ten nominations, First, Second, and Third place banners will be awarded to the winners.

We also want to give a shoutout to the beautiful and wonderful @elevenharbor for gifting us her time and talent with creating banners for the fandom. They are absolutely breathtaking!

And now, without further delay, here we are!

Winners for Term 2 2023 Inuyasha Fandom Awards, hosted by FeudalConnection!

Best Action/Adventure Fiction

First Place: “Anti-Hero” by @lavendertwilight89 Second place: “Legacy” by @fandomobsessions016

Best AU/AR Fiction

First place: “The Unfortunate Queen” by @elkonigin Second place: “Demons and DJs” by @thisdumbbitchcantspell / MenacingMenace (AO3) Third place: “All in the Gang” by @moon-ion / thetroll (AO3)

Best Canon Universe Fiction

First place: “Mercury’s in Gatorade” by @clearwillow / BrigidTheFae (AO3) Second place: “Zephyr” by @mrfeenysmustache / AshMish111 (AO3)

Best Angst Fiction

First place: “Lethe” by @elkonigin Second place: “Made to Order” by @chiaztolite

Best Dark Fiction

First place - “The Progenitor” by @moon-ion / thetroll (AO3)

Best Drama Fiction

First place: “Soulless” by @witchygirl99 Second place: “Letters Through Time” by @cat-zchen Third place (tie): “Crave” by Latenightdevilx (AO3) Third place (tie): "Higurashiton” by @theladymagnolia / LadyMagnolia (AO3)

Best Humor/Parody Fiction

First place: “Code Hanyou” by @shikonstar / BitterNovember (AO3) Second place - “Glowing in the Dark” by @cat-zchen

Best NSFW Fiction

First place: “Uncharted Territory” by @chiaztolite Second place: “My Brother’s Bestfriend” by @keichanz Third place: “Atelier” by CloudsCloudlet (AO3)

Best Oneshot Fiction

First place: “Sometimes a Snuggle is Exactly What We Need” by @neutronstarchild Second place: “The Last Time” by @goshinote

Best Character Portrayal Fiction

First place: “Mail Tampering” (Inuyasha) by @shikonstar / BitterNovember (AO3) Second place: “Fragments” (Sesshoumaru) by @sereia1313 / Sereia13 (AO3) Third place: “In Too Deep” (Kagome) by @sagemcmae

Best InuKag Romance Fiction

First place: “The Half-Breed’s Wife” by @gypsin / Gypsyn (AO3) Second place: “Paint Me a Picture” by @neutronstarchild & @ruddcatha

Best SessKag Romance Fiction

First place: “For Your Attention” by @witchygirl99

Best Romance Fiction

First place: “Only You, Sango” by @skyelara

Best Fluff Fiction

First place: “First Impressions” by @mamabearcat Second place (tie): “Potpourri” by @uissuteffu Second place (tie): “Sick of This S@*%” by @fawn-eyed-girl

Best Serial Fiction

First place: “No Other Way” (InuKag chapters) by @somekndofnature

Best Ficlet

First place (tie): “Hold Me Dear Into the Night” by @hyylia First place (tie):  “Tranquility” by @cherisenae

Best Antagonist Portrayal Fiction

First place: “Guardian” (Ryuukotsusei) by @ruddcatha

Best Completed Fiction

First place: “Swimming in Jade” by @lavendertwilight89 Second place - “Demons and DJs” by @thisdumbbitchcantspell / MenacingMenace (AO3)

Best Action/Adventure Fanart

First place: “Unnamed” by @amlli

Best AU/AR Fanart

First place: “Phantom of the Opera” by @kalcia

Best Canon Fanart

First place: “Three years separation” by @len-barboza

Best Angst Fanart

First place: “✨ Brothers ✨” by @xtaisanax

Best Dark Fanart

First place: “He’s angery” by @brain-rot-hour

Best Humor/Parody Fanart

First place: “Magic in Bed” by @mamabearcat

Best Kiss Fanart

First place: “Welcome Home” by @katballesteros

Best Character Fanart

First place: “Kagura” by @rhapeseuhans Second place: “Naraku” by @soluryn

Best Duo/Pairing Fanart

First place: “Under the Moon” by @thepadawanartist

Best NSFW Fanart

First place: “A Bit of Naked Inuyasha” by @kalcia Second place: “Mermaid Service” by @sayuri-liu

Best InuKag Romance Fanart

First place: “記念日おめでとう” by @len-barboza

Best SessKag Romance Fanart

First place: “You and Me After All” by @thepadawanartist

Best Romance Fanart

First place: “Gift Exchange” by @izakimi Second place: “Leap of Faith” by @ashleys-canvas

Best Group Depiction Fanart

First place: “Happy Mother’s Day!” by @eliza-faust-diary Second place: “Oh Brother (Part 2)” by @mama-ino

Best Doujinshi

First place: “The Last Days” by @liquidashesart

Best Redraw

First place: “Live” by @thunderpot

Best Lineart

First place: “Did I watch Inuyasha when i was 8” by @il---re

Best Overall Fanart

First place: “Under the Moon” by @thepadawanartist Second place: “Kikyo” by @purilly

Congratulations to all the winners! Your awards will be sent out soon, so please send one of the mods or this blog your preferred email address so we can send them to you!

Please note, the winner ban only applies to the first place winner(s) in each division; second and third place winners will be eligible to be nominated again in the next term.

As this term comes to a close, FeudalConnection will be taking a short hiatus. This time is always spent reviewing the process and seeing what can be revamped for next term.

In addition, by popular request, moving forward we will be announcing next term's Roulette Categories so that everyone will have plenty of time to find something for those categories. And an immense thank you to everyone who voted on the categories! Roulette Fanfiction Category for Term 3 2023 will be Best Original Plot. This is defined as: A story that utilizes the Inuyasha characters in a story that is wholly separate and unique from the original series and sequel.

Roulette Fanart Category for Term 3 2023 will be Best Traditional. This is defined as: A piece created using traditional media such as paints, pencils, pens, ink, markers, pastels, crayons, chalks, etc. Computer programs are used to create minor adjustments only or not at all.

We will officially be back in full swing September 1st! Remember, we will now only be hosting three times per year, and thus the time between terms has extended. We will still be around in case you have questions or concerns, but feel free to take this time to read new fanfiction and find new fanart. We strongly encourage everyone to review/comment/reblog so to spread the love of this fandom around. 

Want to stay immersed in the Inuyasha fandom? Head on over and join our Discord server! Or follow @inuyasha-events​ to stay up-to-date on all the current and upcoming fandom events!

As the day gets closer to the start of the second term of 2023, we will be keeping everyone in the loop when it comes to changes and updates. Thank you all again for making this such a wonderful experience! See you soon!

- FeudalConnection

[jafndaegur]

20 Questions for Writers

My beloved @chierafied tagged me in this so obvi I had to do <3

AO3 username: Jafndaegur

1. How many works do you have on AO3? 24 (most of my works are here on Tumblr ^^")

2. What’s your total AO3 word count? 244,262

3. What fandoms do you write for? Sesskag (Inuyasha), Mystic Messenger, Wangxian & various Mo Dao Zu Shi ships, Genshin Impact, Thunderbolt Fantasy, and the Hobbit.

4. What are your top five fics by kudos?

Blood Runs Thicker (The Hobbit) - Kudos: 791

Shatter Me (The Hobbit) - Kudos: 383

The Seventh Wonder (WangXian / MDZS) - Kudos: 347

Of Jade and Claw (ZhongItto / Genshin Impact) - Kudos: 247

Gravitational Fairytale (WangXian / MDZS) - Kudos: 209

5. Do you respond to comments? I really do try to. But I have a Goldfish Brain™, and typically forget that I've read a comment and never respond. 🙈

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? The angstiest ending??? I'm going to say it's tied between Blood Runs Thicker (The Hobbit) since it ends with Bilbo completely abandoning a Dwarven-given identity under the pretense that he was never loved and has to move on - and then a time when I'm without you (WangXian / MDZS), where Lan Wangji must deal with the fact that Wei Wuxian is actually dead and there's nothing he can do but grieve alone.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? My happiest ending for a story is probablyyyy where's my angel (Mystic Messenger) or The Seventh Wonder (WangXian / MDZS). Granted if this was my Tumblr fics, there'd be WAY more fluff to pick from - my favorite being Fragile Duetto (Mystic Messenger).

8. Do you get hate on fics? Not really. If I do, any hate is on my old Hobbit fics which were basically abandoned after a serious bout of online bullying back when I was 14. It was a good time lol. I don't really go back to those fics.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind? Not often, and certainly only on special occasion. Any M-rated smut has never been published, though - and I certainly didn't put any on AO3. Only degenerate papapapapapa stuff here on the hellhole Tumblr platform uwu

10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written? Oh absolutely! I started off fanfiction as a crossover writer on FFnet. My first fic was a very tame How to Train Your Dragon x Rise of the Guardians that got really popular. Since then tho, I think my craziest xover was a Mystic Messenger x Style Savvy crossover? The 2 universes together just make so much sense tho in my head lol.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen? Not that I know of rofl I'm neither that good or that wellknown - although I wouldn't be surprised if any of my abandoned stuff got stolen.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated? Again, not that I've known of.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before? Back in the old days on FFnet, I co-wrote a couple Hobbit stories, and a How to Train Your Dragon x Percy Jackson story. Idk what happened to them, they're in the abyss somewhere.

14. What’s your all time favorite ship? All time favorite ship? Objectively WangXian (Wei Wuxian / Lan Wangji). Subjectively? Bagginshield. I just go back to them when I'm depressed - they are a comfort ship for sure.

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? As I am retired from fanfic writing, I doubt a lot of my fics will ever actually get finished. But Noise of Rain (Sesskag) is a story I dream of finishing - it's my female rage, villain arc redemption, true anti-hero love child. Maybe one day I'll come back to it.

16. What are your writing strengths? Long ago, I'd say exposition. Now it's definitely transformed into vignette romanticism, and dialogue (this has come from my recent influx of script writing though).

17. What are your writing weaknesses? Actually sitting down and writing. It's such a slow process for me and my brain runs too fast sometimes to be able to write something out coherently or the way I want to.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic? Oh I absolutely adore it! It's a very fantasy trope to have different languages actually written in a story, but I'm HERE for it. I didn't take two years of linguistics to not include bits and pieces in a story.

19. First fandom you wrote for? As I mentioned earlier, it was for How to Train Your Dragon x Rise of the Guardians.

20. Favourite fic you’ve written? Oh I ABSOLUTELY have a favorite child. It's not popular (or finished, RIP), but I love it most by far - Shattered Euphony (ReZhong / Genshin Impact). I consider it one of my greatest works, both in original and fanfic writing. One day I will finish it.

Tagging @anon-drabble @reifromrfa (no pressure tho) and anyone else who'd like to join <3

[hereticallyeverafter]

Ever since Sessrin became canon, the antis have just lost the plot- like, literally- and are copium spamming Sesskag on r/Yashahime and r/Inuyasha and, because the best opinions are unsolicited, here's mine: no.

more below, longish ♡

The thing with Literature and canon is, if you didn't see it, it didn't happen. That logic obv doesn't work in real life, but we're in Imagination Land rn. Canonically, Sess discovered the magic of empathy and, after roughly a year of travelling together, left Rin with Kaede's village. His whole thing was giving her a sense of agency and human companionship. But not once do we, the audience, see him do or say anything lascivious towards her.

What if I said, "I can't believe you guys would support a bank robber! Inuyasha prob wiped out someone's life savings!" you guys would be like, bitch, where?! Exactly. Honestly, it says something about a fan or audience member that they can stir themselves into a froth over a headcanon.

I think it reflects a lot of American Calvinist-inherited purity culture versus the total not-that of feudal era Japan too. There's only so deep you can compare sexual mores before you start realizing you're comparing apples to oranges. If you'd like a baby-level intro, YouTuber Linfamy does super entertaining breakdowns of life in early Japan.

Idk. I've been a fan since my childhood, and while Yashahime isn't perfect to me, that's ok, and I *am* super happy that Sess gets a more in-depth redemption arc.

[eternalpassionedits]

Sesskag Manips : DO NOT REPOST WITHOUT PERMISSION

@sesskagweek

[mythicamagic]

They at it again

Lmao so a Sessrinner on twitter took my old Kagome in Sesshoumaru's clothes edit and pasted Rin's head over it while claiming it's their own manip:

nice use of a watermark there

[drosselmeyerwrites]

Random SessKag thoughts for the day...

One of those things those of us who sit on the SessKag side of the Inuyasha fandom constantly see is the following: "I just don't get SessKag! The pairing doesn't make any sense!"

What if I told you that a chunk of us SessKaggers would agree?

I'm serious. Looking at the true canon material (not Yashahime), there is arguably nothing there to attest to any sort of romantic relationship interest. And I'm the SessKagger who would argue that if another SessKagger is saying otherwise? Yeah, those are shipper goggles. To each their own - but shipper goggles.

So, if this is the case, what makes people flip over to SessKag?

In short, it's the stories themselves. Not just any stories. But the ones that don't pretend there was something there before when there wasn't. It's the stories that take two unlikely characters and make them experience something that flips their known world on its head and changes the path of their lives. And this is a necessary story component because what existed canonically before isn't enough to make the case for the pair.

But, in the end, these are the stories that manage to do just that and give people pause, making them go, wait a minute, that works. Why does that work?

Briefly? Good plots and character development. Never underestimate the power of character development. Giving one of our canon characters an arc that is done well enough to justify a change in themselves or a change of heart is needed. And when it's done right? It's not OOC because the argument for why this was a reasonable outcome is tied right into the process of developing the story.

While there are always exceptions, we commonly see a recurring mention of particular stories among SessKag fans that brought them over to the ship. Resmiranda's Tales from the House of the Moon and RosieB's Beside You in Time are two such examples.

More often than not, these ship-changing works are stories that would fall into the category of epic fanfiction - 200K+ word undertakings that span conflict, adventure, and then the eventual romance built through the experiences they bear together. They are huge creative works and make the case for the pairing by taking the time to do it thoroughly.

And in the end, esp. given the plethora of issues that are intrinsic to Inuyasha's canonical pairings, new SessKaggers make the flip because these stories just did relationships better. That's not to say that other pairings don't have stories that do similarly. In fact, given the problems with the canonical relationships, I truly hope they do - because they all need a starting point for making things make better sense.

But I spent years as an InuKag fan. Die-hard. Wrote and everything, though that's a penname I now leave to the wind and hope doesn't resurface because I was younger then and cringe at the writing. But the second I was exposed to an epic SessKag piece? The moment it sucked me in? I flipped sides. And it was because SessKag simply did it better. And overall, as an "older" Inuyasha fan now? I've found SessKag to also typically account for matters that are more mature and more pertinent to where I am in my stage of life. There's all kinds of fanfiction out there to enjoy, and it should be enjoyed. And because this is not a dissertation, there are going to be more generalizations in this post about fanfiction and the ships than I'd like, so consider that, please. But the one thing about SessKag that has always stood out to me is the ability of some authors to make a case for what truly is an unlikely, non-canon pairing. And they do it so well that it opens up an entire new world.

There's so much more to be said involving character analysis, psychology, and how these things mash together to further make a case for the pairing when it's done right. But if you're one of those who sits back asking why? I would suggest starting with and epic SessKag fic. Yes, it's a time investment. And even among those, not all are the same.

But in the end, even if you do not jump ship, it might help you understand the why a little better.

Maybe not. And if that's the case, don't yuck other people's yum and whine about it on social (barring shit like S*ssR*n, but that's another topic of conversation with different implications). Enjoy your ships, and stop being concerned about why other people enjoy theirs.

Unfortunately, I'm going to include yet again the all assholes, pedo-apologists, and child abuse apologists will be immediately blocked warning as standard anymore because one side of the fandom can't bothered to act like adults anymore.

[eternalpassions]

It’s just hard for me to see se*srin as a ship personally cuz besides the age controversy aside, I can’t see Rin as anything other than a child under Sesshouamru’s care for 100 + episodes and 500 chapters in the manga. Canonically she was shown as a child the whole time so it baffles me that people ship her with an adult. Canonically she was never shown as an adult or even a teen. Cuz no Yashahime doesn’t count for me because Rumiko didn’t write it and it was such a fail. I just can’t see this ship romantically but that’s just me