#if i speak... on the fandoms kr characterization....

[aloera]

Aloera thank you for still being here you're one of the only few who gets krbk and kiri these days :') dudjf i've left the fandom years ago but sometimes i come back and check out the manga and fics bc of kirishima my beloved he's just such a good boy

:( miss him so much wish he returned from war i mean i know him and his friendship with bkg is not essencial to the plot anymore but i miss their bond so much :c and you get him so well so many people make him so 1 dimensional like a giant clueless himbo or without a spine and an enabler to bkg declawing him like :/ no i wanna see his anger and attitude etc, anyways love your writing thank you keep going if in the future you wanna write a book etc you'll do great!! bye

i will actually cry shut up

thank you sm :))) i have... so many opinions on krs characterization and krbk dynamics in general and i so appreciate that you get it!!!!!!!! he is so so important to me... THEIR FRIENDSHIP is so important to me like they are literally such big parts of each others hero journey.... HORIKOSHI BRING HIM BACK QUESTION MARK like i just dont get it WHERE IS HE. whatever. maybe im biased. rolls eyes

the point is i completely get u. his character is so important just like on his own.. yk?? if he was just another groupie like some people make him out to be then krbk wouldnt even WORK bc he wouldnt be a challenge...... rolls eyes. whatever. at least we get it. we r in this together.

anyway to conclude you r so sweet <33 hope you have a great day!!!

[pockysquirrel]

You have in fact been saved from having to think about our beloved nemesis Inoue because I just remembered something older:

Hongo/Ichimonji, OG and Shin versions, compare and contrast? (And any other versions you happen to have encountered)

(Also totally agree Kaguragi-shipping contains unexplored possibilities, as much as I love his backstabbing games with Racles. Himeno, Rita and Jeramie would all be very strong dynamics)

(I'm glad you're doing this ask thing because it's fun chatting to you, disabled replies etc (which to be clear--very sensible in this hell world) would normally mean bombarding you with more asks would be the only way of directly replying haha)

OH MAN I AM FAILING AT TUMBLR

I read this and couldn't figure out why you couldn't reply...the problem was, evidently, we weren't mutuals. Do I know why? Nope. 🤦 Anyway, fixed that and adjusted my settings, because I do like replies, just not from randos.

ANYWAY!

All forms of Hongo/Ichimonji are valid and good! It makes sense and I am compelled by it! I am QUITE compelled by it. But you asked for more analysis and I can't do that while actively drooling, so let's mop up and proceed.

The KR71 version of the pairing, true originators of love in the 1970s, are one of those ships (and these are among my favorite kinds) that gives you a lot to think about in relatively little content. It's not often you get both Riders in the same place at the same time, but when you do, it instantly feels like a big deal. Obviously because it signals that the stakes are rising in the story, but also because, IMO, of the chemistry they have with each other. I point out the coin flip scene in the Sakurajima arc as an obvious example, but there are more.

Then I found out they have a canonical telepathic bond and basically catapulted into full fandom mode. There really are few things more intimate than the ability to touch minds.

And speaking of the types of weird intimacy you can only find in genre fiction, I must of course mention the manga, and one page thereof that has lived rent-free in my brain since the day I read it. The characterization is different here - for Ichimonji in particular - and it affects how they relate to each other in a way I don't care for as much. But come on. These guys got to share a body! Their minds joined together, all of their senses experienced as one! And that's incredibly sexy! (I wrote fic about that. And it takes A Lot for me to be into something enough to surpass my hangups and write smut.)

Which brings me to Shin, and the literal flailing meltdown I had in the movie theater when I saw my favorite manga page replicated in exact detail. These poor guys. They both wear their emotional wounds much more openly than their 71 counterparts, but they are also much more visibly healed by each other. This version I think offers the best example of how much of a relief it can be to find someone who shares your experiences, your pain, and to realize you aren't alone.

I love Shin KR dearly, wouldn't change a thing, so this is much more me lamenting the constraints of a feature film format than it is an actual complaint. I wish we had more time to see the Double Riders getting to know each other. But hey, that leaves plenty of room for fic, and I am more than good with that.

I've seen First/Next twice now and my brain still tries to pretend those movies don't exist most of the time. We'll leave it at that.