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mania-sama · 6 months ago

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Hello,@mania-sama ... How are you?

"What do you think are x and y’s greatest personality strengths and weaknesses? Why? What do you love about their dynamic?"

So, just found this kinda ask for various ships, I was thinking to ask you, if you don't mind and have free time, of course.

For your fav ships: Shin Soukoku, ItaFushi, IwaOi, Klance or KevNeil (feel free to pick whichever you want to answer). 🌻🌷

thank you so much for the ask! glad to see you back; i know this is going to be a fun one! so sorry it took me so long to respond. i wanted to treat this with care, and i've been a bit busy as of late.

I'm doing very well, especially since you sent in an ask! I love answering these. You say to pick one, but I am extra. I am going to pick them ALL. Spending time breaking down my favorite ships will be a fun mental challenge for me. Because I did them all, I only really did one strength and weakness. And "what I love about them" is pretty much covered in my responses; I spare no details, I think.

So, proceeding in the order that you listed:

Shin Soukoku (Akutagawa Ryuunosuke/Nakajima Atsushi)

Strengths: They make each other better because they understand each other so well. Now, this may sound very general and very basic, as you can say this about most ships, but let me explain. Shin Soukoku's whole thing is how they violently push each other to be the best version of themselves that they can be, and they do this through the very unconventional methods of fighting and screaming harsh truths about each other in the middle of fighting. They claim that they do not understand the other's actions, but that is always, consistently, inherently untrue. Their actions prove otherwise. When Atsushi makes the suggestion that Akutagawa should not kill for 6 months, he does so under the impression that Akutagawa will follow through because he knows the kind of person Akutagawa is. When Akutagawa hands off his coat to create the Beast Beneath The Moonlight-Rashoumon singularity, he does so because he trusts Atsushi in this moment to take care of them both. Previously, he might have let them both drown, if to just take down his sword enemy.

What makes the ship so attractive to me is their clear yin-and-yang reflection: The good within the evil, and the evil within the good. SSKK is quite literally the same character, but one is flipped upside-down and pulled inside-out. That is also why they understand each other, and why they can grow so much despite always fighting and screaming insults; they each have a bit of the other in their soul. Akutagawa does know what it means to be good. He has goodness over his heart. Do you not understand his protection of his sister? His love for her, his inherent need to do something to give her a better life? Then there is Atsushi, who understands cruelty more than anyone else may. Who has a blood-red hand over his own heart, that wants to give in to the Beast, that wants to end it all where he stands. That maybe, for just a moment, wants to die. When I think of Shin Soukoku, I think of this quote Atsushi told Akutagawa, on Akutagawa's manipulation of Kyouka:

“People need to be told they’re worthy of being alive by someone else or they can’t go on.”

Read Bungou Stray Dogs: BEAST, and you'll get a much clearer picture of what I'm talking about.

Weaknesses: ... These guys are. Uh. Awful. To each other. I do not think it is healthy to be constantly trying to kill and/or maim your partner. I think it is very possible for them to become friends, as seen in the BEAST where they share sugar-filled tea together. I have latched onto this scene as it is proof that they CAN be friends, if it weren't for DAZAI. But I digress. A relationship built on constant assault and mistrust (in the beginning, and even now I think that they still tread close to each on the tips of their toes) does not make for a healthy one. As friends, they could probably arrange something. As a true romantic relationship? Absolutely not. Listen, I can pretend all I want that they grow old together, adopt five cats, have weekly water schedules for all of their plants, and do not bite and scrape at each other every ten minutes, but canonically, canonically, that is not the case. Neither of them function like that. They don't work like that. Akutagawa has PERSONALLY torn off Atsushi's leg TWICE. Atsushi LITERALLY blew Akutagawa up. With every encounter, they fight. And I fear fighting is all they will ever know.

Love comes in many forms. They can love each other, and respect each other, even, and maybe grow into the twisted form of trust and reliance that enemies tend to have, but their relationship should never stray into romantic. Neither of them deserve that. So, maybe, in an ideal world, they do have that happy ending. But Asagiri has decided he no longer believes in idealization, and I understand that. I do think there is a universe out there where they adopt those cats and water those plants, but that is not the current BSD timeline.

Maybe it's the BEAST timeline.

ItaFushi (Fushiguro Megumi/Itadori Yuuji)

Strengths: This is going to be cheesy as hell, but it's true: their greatest strength, in terms of their relationship, are that they have each other. In the beginning, their ideologies were quite different. Itadori believed, and still believes, that everyone should be saved and should be given a second. Megumi.... not so much. He believes whole-heartedly in the consequences of actions, that when someone shows signs of wrong-doing, they should be cut off like a strangling weed. Do not save those that should not be saved, and do not take risks where the risks aren't necessary. His issue with Mahoraga was never about taking risks; he was entirely willing to throw away his life for the win. That wasn't a risk, because winning is not a risk. Then, they meet each other. Megumi goes against his usual convictions and asks Gojo to save someone that should not be saved, someone who is going to, undoubtedly, cause irreparable damage to the world as he knows it. Itadori kills something for the first time. His eyes are opened to the nuances that plague the Jujutsu world. However, they are still strong where they stand, which is why they butt heads and have that argument in the detention center.

They grow from that, though. We see that they start to see each other's points of views without necessarily losing their main convictions. They grow, in essence. The second segment of why I believe each other to be their greatest strength comes from this: both of their lives are built around their strong relationships with their loved ones. They live for their loved ones. Nobara does not have this same issue; Megumi and Itadori, on the other hand, have much stronger ties to their respective family members. Itadori, with his deceased grandfather, and Megumi, with his sister. When those people are far out of view, it is each other that they begin to live for. It is each other that they strive to be better for. When Itadori is fighting Sukuna at the very end, it is not to save Jujutsu society. It is to save Megumi. He has lost all will to fight, except to follow through on his promise to save him. And Megumi sets his will to live on Itadori, in turn. He latches on and says, "I will try, if only for him."

Weaknesses: Man, their mental health fucking sucks. I am personally a non-believer in the last chapter of Jujutsu Kaisen, if only for the fact that we all know that that is not how mental health works. I have always been true in my belief that it is very hard to give well-received love if you cannot love yourself. To start with Megumi: he never really grew from his previous place. His mental health is still garbage. Living only for one person is diabolical work, and we can see how well it worked out for him when that one person was taken away from him the first time around. That is going to not only stress himself out, but stress Itadori out, who he's meant to be in a relationship with. Then, Itadori: why Gege decided to end the manga with Itadori smiling in sunshine and rainbows is crazy, because that is simply not true. Itadori ends up laying in the same exact boat Megumi is in: he fights only for Megumi. He doesn't care about living or dying or fixing anything. He just wants to save Megumi, and that is also diabolical work that will equally stress both of them out.

Yes, the manga ended with that issue not addressed, with Itadori seemingly content with the way he leaves. But that is simply not true when compared to two chapters before, where he was corroding himself with self-blame, for all the damage he has wrought for not being strong enough, for not being convicted enough, for not doing and doing and doing. And Megumi, like I said, circled back to the place he was in the beginning. As they are now in the manga, I don't think it'd be that bad. But according to my correct analysis, they have a whole lot of internal work to do before a romantic relationship would be completely healthy and fruitful.

IwaOi (Iwaizumi Hajime/Oikawa Tooru)

Strengths: This one is pretty obvious to me. Their greatest strength is, easily, that they are both strong, convicted characters. They believe in each other's strength; they believe in each other's abilities to pick himself up and carry on. And when one is struggling to do so, the other will waste no time in putting on a brave face and yanking him up. When I think about IwaOi, I don't think of the fist-bump scene like most people do. Instead, I think of the scene where Iwaizumi is falling apart after Karasuno defeats Aoba Johsai. He's standing there, stock still, replaying all of his screw-ups as if everything was his fault, that their loss is solely on his shoulders. That this is the end - there is no more high school volleyball, and he blew it. Then, a hard slap comes to his back, shocking his entire system. Pan to Oikawa, the KING of insecurity and self-blame, a boy who loves volleyball more than himself, enough that he is leaving the entire continent for a chance to play, who is hitting as hard and quick as he can. His face is pulled into an intense, mutated form of mutation. He is being strong, in this moment, because he knows he can when Iwaizumi is falling. And he doesn't let Iwaizumi fall - he's slapping his back and saying, "You are strong, too."

The best example of the vice versa is the scene where Oikawa is moving to slap Kageyama, and Iwaizumi blocks it. He grabs his wrist and proceeds to head-butt Oikawa in the nose (likely breaking it). He tells Oikawa, in not so few words: "You are better than this. You are stronger than this." Because he saw Oikawa, who is stronger than strong, falter. And he's saying that there is no use in faltering when you can just as easily keep going. That is what defines IwaOi.

Weaknesses: And here we get the double-edged sword: their strong convictions are exactly what drives them apart. Yes, canon IwaOi makes me want to want to commit very violent atrocities against the general public. They believe in each other too much, but they also believe in their own dreams and aspirations just as hard. While Oikawa may be an absolute king in self-hatred and doubt, he never once gave up in his dreams. He never once backed down. He always ran, and ran, and ran, even when he had no gas left in the tank. And Iwaizumi was right there with him, following his own dreams and goals. They are among the most highly successful people in the Haikyuu timeskip, and for good reason. Their dreams, their convictions, took them far. But it took them far from each other. Never once did they live in the same continent as each other again after graduation. Oikawa went to Argentina to pursue his dream, his conviction, and Iwaizumi went to the United States to pursue his dream, his conviction. They believe in each other enough to let each other go. And they believe in their own dreams enough to risk everything to obtain them. That is what kills them.

I don't think it would take down their friendship. It doesn't, in canon, not really; but I don't know how likely a romantic relationship between them could work. They would have to strain for even their friendship, in reality; they would have periods of drifting, weeks where they don't talk. They make their way back to each other eventually, of course, but that is how life goes, how it is growing up when the people around you are gone. Everything that they love, everything that they own and desire, is away from each other. And I do not believe either of them would be willing to give their lives up, when they know the other is doing just fine on their own with their own dreams.

Klance (Keith Kogane/Lance McClain)

Strengths: Functionally, Klance works very similarly to SSKK, only less... violent... which makes them much more palatable and much less toxic. They are rivals-to-lovers; their greatest strength undoubtedly comes from the fact that they have seen each other at their worst, have torn into each other at their worst, yet care regardless. If you can love someone when they are mentally at their lowest, then that makes for a very strong, very fruitful relationship. Additionally, this would make them very aware when they've crossed a line and truly made each other upset. At the point of true friendship and relationship, their boundaries would be quite clear to each other. Even when they piss each other off, they can make it up just as fast. They've learned how to let bygones be bygones. They know what toxicity looks like, and they know what love looks like. They balance each other out very well, additionally. Literally fire to heat the ice-cold water, and water to cool the raging fire. The show truly robbed us of captain right-hand-man relationship between Keith and Lance (because Keith was terrible at being the Black Paladin, and the show hates us). The scenes we did get weren't really about their leadership. It could've been a wonderful opportunity, but, you know, whatever. Nobody said Voltron was any good, anyway.

Weaknesses: Communication HATES to see these bitches coming. Even though I said their boundaries would be quite clear, that's not from any sort of good communication. It takes them crossing the boundaries and pushing those buttons for those lines to be defined. They have such trouble listening and communicating their true wants and desires that it's actually migraine-inducing. When they do say what they want, it's laced in the wrong tone. When the other hears what the other wants, it's like it gets filed into the wrong compartment of the brain. No, they do not get into screaming matches everyday. It's the slight irritations that get them. They love each other, yes, but god are they shit at showing it.

KevNeil (Kevin Day/Neil Josten)

Strengths: Well, this is a little hard to word, so forgive me if I am not clear in what I am trying to say. But I will try my best. Neil is brazen. When he is faced with Riko, or with anyone mocking himself or his friends, he blows up like fuse. He literally can't stop himself. When he's on the court, however, or when he is subdued into a corner to talk about his traumas or his family, he isn't as brazen. He is far more willing to take abuse on court then he is in any other situation. When a question pops about his father or his scars, his mind shuts down and all he wants to do is run. Enter Kevin Day, who may claim media training as the reason he's able to keep his cool. But that's not the case, not really. When faced with Riko, or someone threatening him, he wants to run. He sits there, his hands shaking and his face paling. He can take that abuse; he'll let it absorb and he'll say nothing. But when he's on the court, or when he's asked a question by his friends about his family and scars, he takes it with stride. Court, he's a menace. When Seth dies, he does not care much, not really. Neil self-blames, while Kevin can only think about how this would affect the lineup. He shouts orders and demands the best and beyond of everyone. He's braze, in those situations. When someone questions him on his family, he doesn't mind much. It may sting, and it may hurt, but that is something he can handle with ease. He knows who he is and what he's worth when it comes to his past and his position on court.

You can see, then, why they fit so well for each other. They exude their strong, brazen personality traits onto the other. Out of all these ships, they have the most evidence to prove my point and show how well they work for each other. They grow so much in All for the Game because they rubbed off on each other, like colors bleeding into one another.

Weaknesses: They both are extremely one-track minded. Lord, I fear they would never try out anything new if it weren't for their friends pushing them to, I don't know, get a hobby. But this also means that they may push each other to extreme limits, beyond those limits, on accident. They would blow up on each other, because neither of them have the grace nor ruthlessness that Andrew has to solve problems. When Neil attempts to get Kevin sober, it falls through miserably, I would think. They like to go beyond their comfort zone, but when it comes to these problems, they have to realize that the subtle approach is better. In reference to my first point on their strengths, they truly bring out the best in each other. Neil's inability to shut his mouth makes Kevin finally stand up for himself in the ways that matter. He changes his tattoo because he sees how Neil brazenly tackles his abusers by hurling abuse in return. He sees how Neil embodies controversy and decides, fuck it, it shouldn't be so bad. Let's change my tattoo. So, when they try to actively tackle issues that the other may have, it simply wouldn't work. They would go at it until it falls through, and the needle more until they are literally forced into an alternative route.

Again, thanks so much for the ask! Hopefully this was satisfactory.

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