#as always I ❤ complicated sibling relationships in fiction

[chisatowo]

The random card au udagawas make me feel like breaking shit I love them sm I want them to scream at eachother and I want it to be so so painful for the both of them

[sailorstarr-chan4]

Vampire Knight for the Fandom Ask, please!

YASSSSSS, you speak the language of my people! Warning: spoilers for the manga and a LOT of rambling ahead: 

The first character I first fell in love with: ZEROOOOOOO!!!! *SQUEEEEEEEEEE* My first manga/anime crush ❤❤❤ He is such an angsty boy lol but he is the kind of Brooding Angsty Boi that I am absolutely WEAK for in fiction. He has major baggage, acts like a brooding grump, but ultimately always does the right thing and is kind and caring towards Yuki. He may hide his inner demons, but he never hides his motives; his desire for vengeance is clear from the start and is an arc he slowly is forced to compromise. But his true nature, determination, endurance, and silent suffering continues on... I adore honest boys who hide their pain but also never deceive anyone. He feels guilty for thirsting for Yuki’s blood, and for their complicated relationship in the second half of the series, but he continues working hard as a Vampire Hunter while fighting his vampire instincts. And even in Memories, he deals with Yuki’s lingering feelings and baggage over Kaname, patiently being the partner she deserves and I just djfhgfesbfkesdbvjdhsfjbfhkdghf I have a lot of feelings! 😭😭😭

The character I never expected to love as much as I do now: Probably Hanabusa Aido...? Lol he started out as the gay bi comic relief, but over time, his intelligence and compassion really won me over. Even his major crush on Kaname has a really sweet backstory lol 

The character everyone else loves that I don’t: Kaname Kuran. Granted, this is a divisive answer (Team Zero vs Team Kaname, amirite? 🙄), but considering how beloved of a character he is.... this is my best answer. I .... really, really despise manipulative characters. Not liars, because you can justify a character’s lies. No, Kaname is the King of Manipulation, Gaslighting, and Spin Doctoring, and he pisses me off! >.< But... he’s also fascinating. He’s definitely one of the more complicated characters in the series, and one who intrigues me every time I reread the manga. I hate his guts, but also love dissecting him. He’s like a sympathetic villain or anti-hero: morally repugnant while still remaining understandable, but still needs to be stopped. 

The character I love that everyone else hates: Yuki Cross. Poor, poor sweet Yuki.... She really gets way too much flack from the fans. And it alllllll comes down to the love triangle. Look, I get it: some people REALLY hate love triangles, but like... you went into a shoujo manga romance titled “Vampire Knight,” with two hot boys flanking the sides of the heroine on the front cover?? WTF else were you expecting??? XD Joking aside, I’m gonna take this opportunity to Defend Yuki Cross’s Love Dilemma because I really think people really just... forget how fucking complicated love is. First of all: when she wakes up as a human child with no memories, Kaname shows up (from her perspective) and saves her life. That’s an instant bond, regardless. Then he proceeds to watch over her, being extra tender and borderline.... romantically affectionate with her for the next decade, while maintaining a distance that she feels she cannot breach. Then, a few years before the main series, Zero bursts into her life, wounded and traumatized with the death of his parents and his own descent into a vampiric state. She has a crush on Kaname like a “senpai,” but she’s BEST FRIENDS with Zero and develops a bond with him much more naturally. But then.... we find out that Yuki was born a vampire, born to be Kaname’s sister and betrothed (long story short, no they’re NOT siblings, but Yuki thinks they are upon waking up and for a long time afterward.... this series is fuuuuuuucked lmao #welcometoVK), and things get even MORE complicated! Now, not only is she Kaname’s betrothed, but she is the very thing Zero despises: a Pureblood vampire. So, on top of her human memories and childhood vampire memories, Yuki carries the weight of guilt: guilt over her feelings, guilt over “making” Kaname wait for ten years, guilt for unintentionally leading Zero on and feeding her blood to him, guilt for her very existence. ON TOP OF THAT, she has to deal with the crushing weight of her immortality, a fate she did not choose but was temporarily robbed of and suddenly thrust back into. ON TOP OF ALL OF THAT, she moves in Kaname, but is forced to be a prisoner in her own home for her safety from the aftermath of Rido’s damage, to learn how to be a vampire princess, all while wondering how her human friends are doing.... Girl’s gone through a LOT in the span of one year! So is it any wonder that her feelings are incredibly complicated for the two boys who’ve been a significant part of life?! #DefendYukiCrossSquad

The character I used to love but don’t any longer: ??? Honestly I have no idea XD

The character I would totally smooch: ZERO LMAO 🤣😘

The character I’d want to be like: ???? Honestly, everyone is so Angsty™, idk if I want any part of that lol my life is stressful enough XD

The character I’d slap: Sara. Ugh. I may hate Kaname, but at least he has SOME redeeming qualities (albeit through a Tragic Backstory and being oddly fascinating). Sara is just a grade-A bitch who I cannot stand. Even Shizuka was to be pitied, and she literally destroyed Zero’s life! Sara is just.... ugh. 

A pairing that I love: ZEKI!!!! ORIGINAL MANGA OTP!!!!!! Where do I begin??? It comes to one major thing: power dynamics. Zero and Yuki are equals, starting off in the series as the only members of the Disciplinary Squad to keep humans and vampires from illegally interacting on campus. When Zero awakens as a vampire, Yuki offers her blood to him, time and time again in order to help him stave off inevitable insanity. Yuki is Zero’s sunshine, but he also helps her, too. Supporting her in her crush on Kaname, and never once guilt-tripping her (other than the whole “he’s a vampire, fuck all vampires” attitude lol). His biggest immaturity is acting like his life doesn’t matter even after Yuki makes it clear it does, and even then, it’s more of a severe self-esteem issue with actual merit. Even as they grow estranged in the second half, their bond remains strong and they slowly rekindled what could have been, and it’s the MOST ANGSTY SLOW BURN EVER AHHHHHHHHH GKFHILHCGVCHGVHVBBHBH! But if I had to pinpoint one moment as to why I ship Zero with Yuki over Kaname, it’s this exchange from volume 18, during a battle against Kaname: 

Kaname, pinning down Yuki and noticing her familiar materializing: “So your familiar is a butterfly. You chose a creature who instinctively seeks the light. That’s so like you, Yuki.”

Zero, pointing his gun to Kaname’s head: “But these butterflies live off blood, not flowers. She can fight. Don’t underestimate her.” 

A pairing that I despise: Kaname/Yuki. For.... obvious reasons lmao. Also, controversial opinion but.... his love for Yuki is 1000% true, as is Yuki’s love for him. I despise the ship but I also understand it. Yuki has deep ties with Kaname, the kind that can never truly go away, and Kaname literally took one for the team, being the sole cause of most of the story’s problems all for the sake of protecting Yuki. But even if his love is true, it doesn’t make him right for Yuki. The amount of emotional abuse he inflicts on her... the gaslighting.... the manipulation... the twisted act of using his love to accuse her of “making him cruel” is just sickening. They are a toxic pair as there ever was one, because the power dynamic is simply too large a gulf. Yuki is never able to fight back, never really, because Kaname constantly talks her down, telling her she is helpless and delicate. Meanwhile, Zero knows what Yuki is capable of, and that is why I will go down with the Zeki ship. But I’ll be fair and also say I hate Ichijo/Sara because holy shit GTFO of that toxic shit, Ichijo!!!!

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