When I walked into this post, I had it in my head that I liked rivalslash, at least the kind that had genuine friendship underneath the layers of genuine irritation and snarling at each other. The difference between rivalslash and enemyslash, for me, is that I can believe there's real caring between the two, that no matter how crazy they drive you, you'll still help drag their ass out of the line of fire when they need it. Then taunt them horribly about it. With enemyslash, I can't just buy the idea that it's simply attraction funnelled into snarking, because I have people that I genuinely hate and will frequently argue with. I really, really don't want to sleep with them.
But the more I read the most, the more I started to rethink my position. Not my definitions of rivalslash vs enemyslash, but that I'm not quite the rivalslash fan that I thought I was. I suppose I tend more towards relationships that have many of the same elements (I like the snark, the driving each other crazy with irritation, the definitive impact of that person on your life), not necessarily the rivalslash itself. Like, Dragonball Z is a great example of that. The relationship between Vejiita and Goku is what defines Vejiita in so many ways, it's so much of what he pieced himself back together with after the whole thing with Freeza ended, even when he moved on, got married, had kids, he still defined himself so much by his rivalry with Goku.
Yet, I couldn't 'ship it ever, I don't think. The idea of romance between them just doesn't compute, even aside from that I'm a devout fan of both Goku/Chichi and Vejiita/Bulma. And, at the same time, I think Vejiita/Bulma is just the best thing ever, the way they snark and fight and neither gives an inch without a fight. I go for those pairings, I'm often times fascinated by those relationships even more than the defining rivalslashes. (It's the same with Ranma 1/2, the way Ranma/Akane fascinates me and I don't think I could 'ship Ranma/Ryouga.)
So, I think, well, maybe I just don't like rivalslash itself, I like pairings that simply have elements of it. But for every instance like the above, there's a ZoSan or a SasuNaru or Ryuhou/Kazuma, a relationship that I do see as romantic. (Maybe it's the difference between a canon romance for one of the characters that is very close to the rivalship that makes the difference. With Ranma/Akane, I'd almost argue that Akane makes up more of Ranma's world than anyone else, Bulma is a strong presence in Vejiita's life, the whole Majin Buu thing really brought that home, etc. Would I not care for ZoSan as much if, say, Zoro and Nami's snarking and fighting was intended to be canon-esque romance?)
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
winterfish
no subject
Date: 2005-07-01 02:58 am (UTC)But the more I read the most, the more I started to rethink my position. Not my definitions of rivalslash vs enemyslash, but that I'm not quite the rivalslash fan that I thought I was. I suppose I tend more towards relationships that have many of the same elements (I like the snark, the driving each other crazy with irritation, the definitive impact of that person on your life), not necessarily the rivalslash itself. Like, Dragonball Z is a great example of that. The relationship between Vejiita and Goku is what defines Vejiita in so many ways, it's so much of what he pieced himself back together with after the whole thing with Freeza ended, even when he moved on, got married, had kids, he still defined himself so much by his rivalry with Goku.
Yet, I couldn't 'ship it ever, I don't think. The idea of romance between them just doesn't compute, even aside from that I'm a devout fan of both Goku/Chichi and Vejiita/Bulma. And, at the same time, I think Vejiita/Bulma is just the best thing ever, the way they snark and fight and neither gives an inch without a fight. I go for those pairings, I'm often times fascinated by those relationships even more than the defining rivalslashes. (It's the same with Ranma 1/2, the way Ranma/Akane fascinates me and I don't think I could 'ship Ranma/Ryouga.)
So, I think, well, maybe I just don't like rivalslash itself, I like pairings that simply have elements of it. But for every instance like the above, there's a ZoSan or a SasuNaru or Ryuhou/Kazuma, a relationship that I do see as romantic. (Maybe it's the difference between a canon romance for one of the characters that is very close to the rivalship that makes the difference. With Ranma/Akane, I'd almost argue that Akane makes up more of Ranma's world than anyone else, Bulma is a strong presence in Vejiita's life, the whole Majin Buu thing really brought that home, etc. Would I not care for ZoSan as much if, say, Zoro and Nami's snarking and fighting was intended to be canon-esque romance?)