OH this is a good post! I was always fascinated by kismesissitude when I first read Homestuck. At first I understood it as "oh hey its hatesex", aka the easy interpretation of it, but over the years I've come to realise that it can be a bit complicated than that.
Personally I think my favorite usage of it is the "The Only One Allowed to Defeat You" trope as you mentioned. It feels like it should be such a commonplace trope, but the best example of it really is Batman and the Joker, and its hard to bring to mind another....hate-filled, passionate to the point it's classified as romantic by many relationship? And in the end, the best way to describe it definitely is kismeissitude more so than loving.
A healthy rivalry that makes eachother grow....that one is an interpretation my childhood brain never quite thought of, and I can definitely see it in different relationships, especially in shonen anime!
Heck, take Naruto + Sasuke with Sakura as an auspitice (did I get that word correct?), for example, where it took a LOT of effort to fix that tentative rivalry turned brief friendship turned unhealthy rivals again. I can see that happening.
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dancing_serpent
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Date: 2024-01-11 04:38 am (UTC)Personally I think my favorite usage of it is the "The Only One Allowed to Defeat You" trope as you mentioned. It feels like it should be such a commonplace trope, but the best example of it really is Batman and the Joker, and its hard to bring to mind another....hate-filled, passionate to the point it's classified as romantic by many relationship? And in the end, the best way to describe it definitely is kismeissitude more so than loving.
A healthy rivalry that makes eachother grow....that one is an interpretation my childhood brain never quite thought of, and I can definitely see it in different relationships, especially in shonen anime!
Heck, take Naruto + Sasuke with Sakura as an auspitice (did I get that word correct?), for example, where it took a LOT of effort to fix that tentative rivalry turned brief friendship turned unhealthy rivals again. I can see that happening.