You've put a great deal more thought and effort into this than I ever have, and I think you've hit the nail on the head.
Rival slash doesn't appeal to me. Harry/Draco melts my brain unless very well-written. Kuwabara/Yuusuke... makes me snicker like a teenage boy and snort water out my nose, actually.
In the end, I don't want rivals to admit, "You're important to me in spite of our differences," but, "You're important because of them, because our rivalry makes me who I am."
That's as good a means of describing Kuwabara and Yuusuke as any. Kuwabara spends his younger years pitting himself against Yuusuke, gauging his strength based solely on how good he is against Yuusuke and despite their constant clashes, he respects Yuusuke because he's stronger. And when Yuusuke is killed, Kuwabara reacts to that not as the loss of a friend, necessarily, but as the loss of a pivotal influence in his life. He never got to beat Yuusuke, and now he never will.
And then Yuusuke comes back to life and they spend the next few years killing demons and saving the world, but I digress.
I also think Yuusuke had a similar need. He wasn't pitting his strength against Kuwabara (although he did acknowledge that Kuwabara was strong and that probably helped keep him on his toes). He was comparing himself to Kuwabara in terms of character and honor.
If a fanfic has Yuusuke and Kuwabara wake up one morning and declare that their fighting had been silly and they should get down to some serious snuggling, then a huge part of what makes those two close - their need to prove themselves to each other, and their need to excel against one another - has been completely dismissed. That need is what makes the best friend/rival relationship so appealing to me.
If that made no sense, it's probably because I'm crazy. But I'll try blaming it on the late, late hour. *grins*
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winterfish
no subject
Date: 2005-06-30 10:46 pm (UTC)Rival slash doesn't appeal to me. Harry/Draco melts my brain unless very well-written. Kuwabara/Yuusuke... makes me snicker like a teenage boy and snort water out my nose, actually.
In the end, I don't want rivals to admit, "You're important to me in spite of our differences," but, "You're important because of them, because our rivalry makes me who I am."
That's as good a means of describing Kuwabara and Yuusuke as any. Kuwabara spends his younger years pitting himself against Yuusuke, gauging his strength based solely on how good he is against Yuusuke and despite their constant clashes, he respects Yuusuke because he's stronger. And when Yuusuke is killed, Kuwabara reacts to that not as the loss of a friend, necessarily, but as the loss of a pivotal influence in his life. He never got to beat Yuusuke, and now he never will.
And then Yuusuke comes back to life and they spend the next few years killing demons and saving the world, but I digress.
I also think Yuusuke had a similar need. He wasn't pitting his strength against Kuwabara (although he did acknowledge that Kuwabara was strong and that probably helped keep him on his toes). He was comparing himself to Kuwabara in terms of character and honor.
If a fanfic has Yuusuke and Kuwabara wake up one morning and declare that their fighting had been silly and they should get down to some serious snuggling, then a huge part of what makes those two close - their need to prove themselves to each other, and their need to excel against one another - has been completely dismissed. That need is what makes the best friend/rival relationship so appealing to me.
If that made no sense, it's probably because I'm crazy. But I'll try blaming it on the late, late hour. *grins*