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Fandom Cliches Meme
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doggieearlover: Name 5 cliches - from canon or fandom - that you'd like to see disappear.
In no particular order:
*The villainization of Kikyo (from the anime, carried into far too many fanfics). She's not the ultimate bitch from hell whose sole purpose in life (death?) is to screw with the Inu/Kag pairing. She's probably one of the most interesting characters in the whole series because she's so complex and layered.
*The age-old "Kagome sees Inuyasha with Kikyo and runs to Sesshoumaru" scenario. YES, IT IS STILL BEING WRITTEN, IN NEW STORIES. It was stupid the first go-around, but now it's just lazy and ridiculous. We know the end of the canon manga, and that presents far more interesting challenges to getting this couple together than this tired old bag.
*Fanon!Sesshoumaru. There's nothing more telling about the level of an author's knowledge of canon, especially if you are of the Sess/Kag persuasion. If you've read more than one of the preceding stories, you know what I'm talking about. Nothing gets under my skin faster than making Sesshoumaru OOC unless there is extensive, believable, realistic explanation for it (within the fic, not the author's notes).
*Mating marks (biting). OMG I do not understand this *at all* - never have, never will. I actively seek out stories that don't use this fanon trope, coming up with a more clever - or logical - way to show a couple is officially together. I used scent-marking in Every Heart, which I thought I made clear was my "mate marking of choice", but I still got people reviewing or asking me when Inuyasha was going to bite Kagome and make her his "real" mate. *sigh* Didn't happen in that piece, and won't happen in the sequel - and guess what? I still consider them mated.
*Perverted-hentai-Miroku. Yes, he's a flirt, but he is much more than that. In a lot of ways, he keeps the Inutachi grounded and serves as their voice of reason and strategic planning. He is sold far too short in the vast majority of fics which even bother to mention him.
doggieearlover: Name 5 cliches - from canon or fandom - that you'd like to see disappear.In no particular order:
*The villainization of Kikyo (from the anime, carried into far too many fanfics). She's not the ultimate bitch from hell whose sole purpose in life (death?) is to screw with the Inu/Kag pairing. She's probably one of the most interesting characters in the whole series because she's so complex and layered.
*The age-old "Kagome sees Inuyasha with Kikyo and runs to Sesshoumaru" scenario. YES, IT IS STILL BEING WRITTEN, IN NEW STORIES. It was stupid the first go-around, but now it's just lazy and ridiculous. We know the end of the canon manga, and that presents far more interesting challenges to getting this couple together than this tired old bag.
*Fanon!Sesshoumaru. There's nothing more telling about the level of an author's knowledge of canon, especially if you are of the Sess/Kag persuasion. If you've read more than one of the preceding stories, you know what I'm talking about. Nothing gets under my skin faster than making Sesshoumaru OOC unless there is extensive, believable, realistic explanation for it (within the fic, not the author's notes).
*Mating marks (biting). OMG I do not understand this *at all* - never have, never will. I actively seek out stories that don't use this fanon trope, coming up with a more clever - or logical - way to show a couple is officially together. I used scent-marking in Every Heart, which I thought I made clear was my "mate marking of choice", but I still got people reviewing or asking me when Inuyasha was going to bite Kagome and make her his "real" mate. *sigh* Didn't happen in that piece, and won't happen in the sequel - and guess what? I still consider them mated.
*Perverted-hentai-Miroku. Yes, he's a flirt, but he is much more than that. In a lot of ways, he keeps the Inutachi grounded and serves as their voice of reason and strategic planning. He is sold far too short in the vast majority of fics which even bother to mention him.
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I have my own reservations about why she was resurrected, and I do agree that the whole death thing got out of hand, but mostly what I dislike most about it is that after her final death, the Inu/Kag relationship didn't noticeably progress that much further. It was like her ghost always lingered between them, even after she was actually gone.
But I find her quite the fascinating character nonetheless. Female antiheroes are rather rare as far as I know, and she is the perfect example of one (even in her more sympathetic manga portrayal - she's never totally good nor totally evil, and you're always questioning her motives).
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This, right here, is what bugged me the most. Especially after the crying-tears-of-blood thing... I'm like "Okay, you're mourning, understandable... but c'moooon..."
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But we're talking about a culture that didn't have a polite word for kiss until after they had contact with the west in the 19th century...and kissing is still not done nearly as much as is in America, and a language where words like darling and sweetheart had to be imported and still aren't used that much. You shouldn't expect the same type of demonstrative signaling that would happen in an American story -- particularly in a Shonen story.
Shoot, it gets worse in the anime...they even weakened what was in the manga to make it even less demonstrative.
As far as RT is concerned, I think in her opinion, they worked all the bugs out of who they were to each other in chapter 494. That's absolutely the last time Kagome showed any angst about her relationship in Inu.
Definitely easier to do romance in English. The signals are much clearer.
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THIS. So hard. That bugs me to no end! I realize its a shounen series, but don't sap out what little romance you have already!
I know things are subtle in Japanese culture, but even in the subtleties, the progression was not enough for my liking. Just a personal preference, of course, and it doesn't really explain the rushing of the ending, either.
Definitely easier to do romance in English. The signals are much clearer.
No kidding. No wonder lemons and angst are such popular subgenres! :P
neat!
we're talking about a culture that didn't have a polite word for kiss until after they had contact with the west in the 19th century
I actually didn't know that... thank you! I feel educated!
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Yes, definitely. Kikyou was the constant wedge between them which is part of why I think it was necessary (and admirable) that RT gave him 3 years to "think about it" so to speak. You can bet when Kagome returned through the well it wasn't Kikyou he was missing, but Kagome - just for being Kagome.
Honestly, I felt sorry for the poor girl (Kagome). All throughout the series she was being compared to Kikyou in a way that's unfair by anyone's standards. There was no possible way for Kagome to live up to the standard that had been set by her predecessor - Kikyou was the all powerful perfect miko. Kikyou was the only one who had the power to take down Naraku. Kikyou was supremely beautiful by everyone's standards. Kikyou was the woman who held onto Inuyasha's heart....
Especially where Inuyasha was concerned - he put Kikyou on a pedestal. Kikyou could do no wrong even when she quite obviously DID do wrong. Even when she operated under her own solitary self gratifying motives she was still 'Kikyou' so in Inuyasha's eyes everything she did was forgivable. Eugh. I just found it all so nauseating. I'm all for hero worship when it's warranted but I didn't think anything she did up until she died, giving up her life for Kohaku, warranted the level of admiration she received from the Inuyasha cast of characters.
I realize there are about a billion arguments that could be made along the lines of - "but they were in love and when you're in love you see things differently" to justify Inuyasha's actions when it comes to Kikyou. I'm sure a lot of people see it that way, actually. Unfortunately I'm one of those sort who think people do a lot of stupid things and make a lot of bad decisions using 'love' as an excuse for their indiscretion. :)
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People forget that they were killed on what was to be their wedding day. (Romeo and Juliet) Each of them thought that the other had betrayed them. It is no wonder that when Inuyasha was revived and Kikyou was resurrected they were still angry at their betrayers.
One of the most interesting lines in the entire manga is in Jealousy. Kikyou is trying to explain why Onigumo wanted Inuyasha dead. Kikyou explains that Onigumo was jealous of Inuyasha. This baffles Inuyasha who cannot understand why anyone would be jealous of what he had with Kikyou and she agrees that the jealousy was ridiculous but so very human of Onigumo.
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Wait, what?
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Again, with the differences in marriage between then and now. That certainly feels like a stretch in my understanding, but WTF. Learn something new everyday, I suppose!
With Inu/Kik I still feel so much distrust and uncertainty, even in their original relationship. I guess that's why I'm ...? about the idea of them being married.
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The Inu/Kag/Kik dynamic is interesting and I can see the sympathies on all sides, but ultimately I fall into the Inu/Kag camp, unquestionably. I was very much disappointed when, after Kikyo was finally written out for the last time, there was no movement at all onscreen to make Inuyasha and Kagome closer or more "open" about their feelings.
I see why the ending was necessary, but it felt rushed. There was no sense that 3 years had passed, that they thought about each other and made such a serious decision (especially on Kagome's part - to give up her modern life completely for her beloved still leaves a sour taste in my mouth). I wish she'd devoted more time to the final chapter, maybe broken it up a bit more, but *shrug* what can you do?