>> I was always fascinated by kismesissitude when I first read Homestuck. <<
It's an intricate and riveting concept, and I think it resonates with a lot of people.
>> 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.<<
I would say that hatesex, when performed between committed rivals or nemeses, is kismesissitude -- but there is much more to kismesissitude than just hatesex.
>> Personally I think my favorite usage of it is the "The Only One Allowed to Defeat You" trope as you mentioned.<<
The sheer, unbridled jealousy of that is what qualifies it as a type of romance, as negative passion.
>> 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.<<
Well, they're both deeply fucked-up people, and the fucked-up-ness is an essential part of kismeissitude.
>> 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! <<
Now this, I think, is very common in anime and manga. Many canons there derive much of their tension from rivalries, because status is so important in Japanese culture. If you've seen Ranma 1/2 it's especially dramatic because of the gender-shifting, such that Ranma has quite different relationships with some people in male vs. female mode.
>>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.<<
Vacillation is another aspect of troll romance, where a relationship may flip back and forth between different quadrants. Think about "on and off again" relationships, and yeah, that fits.
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dancing_serpent
Thoughts
Date: 2024-01-11 09:50 am (UTC)Thank you!
>> I was always fascinated by kismesissitude when I first read Homestuck. <<
It's an intricate and riveting concept, and I think it resonates with a lot of people.
>> 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.<<
I would say that hatesex, when performed between committed rivals or nemeses, is kismesissitude -- but there is much more to kismesissitude than just hatesex.
>> Personally I think my favorite usage of it is the "The Only One Allowed to Defeat You" trope as you mentioned.<<
The sheer, unbridled jealousy of that is what qualifies it as a type of romance, as negative passion.
>> 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.<<
Well, they're both deeply fucked-up people, and the fucked-up-ness is an essential part of kismeissitude.
>> 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! <<
Now this, I think, is very common in anime and manga. Many canons there derive much of their tension from rivalries, because status is so important in Japanese culture. If you've seen Ranma 1/2 it's especially dramatic because of the gender-shifting, such that Ranma has quite different relationships with some people in male vs. female mode.
>>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.<<
Vacillation is another aspect of troll romance, where a relationship may flip back and forth between different quadrants. Think about "on and off again" relationships, and yeah, that fits.