Tsuzuki/Hisoka (Yami no Matsuei)
Sep. 3rd, 2004 08:40 am![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png)
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Title: Partners: Tsuzuki and Hisoka
Author: Brigdh
Spoilers: Not really.
Email: Brigdh@yahoo.com
Personal Website: nextdooruniverse
Hisoka: Wanna hear our fortune from this morning?
Tsuzuki: Tell me! Tell me!
Hisoka: Our compatibility is...
Tsuzuki: Yeah? Yeah?
Hisoka: Positively and absolutely... zero.
Tsuzuki: How mean.
Hisoka: But I don't think things can get any worse. We've already hit rock bottom. All we can do now is climb up.
-Yami no Matsuei, episode 11

Yami no Matsuei. The title translates into the somewhat less pretty "The Descendants of Darkness". Yeah, translates. This is an anime/manga series, complete with all the big-eyed animation and occasionally confusing cultural references that entails. If you're feeling skeptical already, trust me, I know where you're coming from. A few years ago I'd never seen an anime, nor did I have any particular desire to do so. It wasn't that I had anything against them, it was just that when I went looking for angst and drama and humor and romance, I didn't go looking in Japanese cartoons.
Which was a total mistake. From the moment of my first contact with Yami no Matsuei- which was the music vid Possession by WTF- I wanted more. More of the amazingly beautiful characters, more of their funny and sad world, more of the tragic backstories and light, daily banter, more of the fascinating, complex relationships that tied one character to another. And of course, more of the ever-present subtext, which constantly seems to be trying to erase that 'sub' part.
Tsuzuki:He's cute when he's quiet. Maybe I'll kiss him.
-Volume 1, Chapter 2
It's hard to put the appeal of Tsuzuki/Hisoka into a few words. They don't fit into any of the typical categories of pairings. They're certainly not childhood sweethearts, or rivals, or archenemies. They don't quite fit the 'snarky partners' vibe of buddy-cop dramas. You could describe them as 'best friends turned lovers', but that doesn't feel right either. And they do have traces of the epic, destined type love, but... Well, Romeo would never have started an 'I need you!' speech by calling Juliet an idiot.
They are my OTP. I am completely, embarrassingly devoted to the pairing, for over two years now. I don't think it's possible to watch or read the series and not see that there's something special between them, however you might choose to interpret that. What it all comes down to, for me, is pretty simple: Tsuzuki and Hisoka fit together. Neither of them is perfect- they're both pretty far from it, actually. But they balance each other. Where one is weak, the other is strong. Where one is afraid, the other is brave. Where one despairs, the other prevails. They're both needy and crippled and broken, but together, they hold up. They become better. And there's something wonderful and beautiful in watching that.
Plus, they're both really, really pretty.
Hisoka: You're happy that I'm back to being sharp-tongued?
Tsuzuki: Yup. Happy.
-Volume 3, Chapter 4
So, how about some background? Tsuzuki Asato (that's the Japanese name order, by the way: family name first and given name last) was born in 1900. He killed himself in 1926, after spending eight years catatonic in a mental hospital, a state possibly triggered by some catastrophic event. He's the taller, dark-haired one in the picture. He's also the main character in a series that starts up seventy years later.
Yami no Matsuei, you see, is about shinigami- that's "gods of death", the Japanese equivalent to the Grim Reaper. It turns out that the Underworld is really just a giant bureaucracy, and even death isn't enough to get you out of paper work and budgets. According to the mythology, there's a special registrar to keep track of the lifespan of every person in the country, and when and how they're supposed to die. But things don't always go right. Sometimes people die when they should live, sometimes people live when they should die, and sometimes a demon or vampire or sorcerer shows up and starts really confusing things. This is why the shinigami are allowed to hang around: when things go wrong, they're sent in to investigate and fix the problem. They're like undead FBI agents.
Every shinigami starts out as a normal human being, one who died before they were ready. That's the only requirement for getting the job: a tie to the mortal world so strong that the soul refuses to move on. It's a great system and provides plenty of willing workers, but it doesn't exactly lead to a staff that's what you could call stable and balanced. As a safeguard, the shinigami work in pairs, to protect and keep an eye on one another.
Tsuzuki has a bit of a problem with that. He just can't keep a partner. It's not his fault, but anyone put with him always resigns or dies or moves on or demands reassignment. He's 96 at the beginning of the series, and he's never managed to stick with a partner for more than two years. Tsuzuki is an immature, lazy slob who's content to stay in the backwoods where cases are few and easy instead of doing actual work. He's a drunk, a glutton with a huge sweet tooth, and prefers to pretend that paperwork doesn't exist. He's touchy-feely and clingy and just wants to become very bestest friends with everyone he meets. He's far too sensitive. He can't stand to hurt anyone or anything and has no respect for himself. And, apparently, his bouncy, happy, scatterbrain personality covers a huge well of self-hatred and suicidal tendencies.
Kurosaki Hisoka dies in 1996, after three years of an illness that no one was able to diagnosis, let alone cure. He's 16 at the time. After accidentally overhearing that he may have been murdered rather than dying naturally, he becomes a shinigami to discover the truth and gets shunted off to serve as Tsuzuki's partner.
Hisoka is the latest heir of an ancient, noble family, and his upbringing was strict, cold and severe. It didn't help that he's an empath and his parents locked him in a cell for fear of the shame he might bring to them. He's the blond one (and don't ask why a traditional Japanese family are all blond-haired and green-eyed. It's better not to think too hard about it). He doesn't like to be touched, he doesn't like people, and he doesn't like to share feelings or really talk at all. He's very stand-offish and short-tempered. He gets his work done, is neat and tidy and avoids most extremes- except for when he's angry, which is often and scary. He's stubborn, sarcastic and rude, obsessed with being seen as mature, and is generally your average teenage brat.
They do not hit it off well, which is a huge understatement since Hisoka reacts to seeing Tsuzuki for the first time by pulling a gun on the poor man. Sure, it's only because he thought Tsuzuki was the vampire they were chasing, but it's not exactly a promising way to start a new partnership. Things get better after that.
Eventually.
Hisoka: Wha... What are you doing, ready your blade! I have to defeat you! I have to get back Tsuzuki!
-Volume 8, Chapter 2
Tsuzuki and Hisoka do have one thing in common: they desperately want you to think they are simple, one-dimensional. Neither of them is very good at keeping up the act, but they sure try hard, even though they see through each other with ease. Tsuzuki isn't stupid or lazy; he carries more guilt and remorse than one person should ever have to feel, and he will never get used to the cases that require them to take a human life. He clearly believes that he's worthless, and yet he craves acceptance and love, a dichotomy that drives him to present himself as the office idiot, someone funny and friendly and likable.
Hisoka is not nearly as cruel as he tries to be. He pushes people away to protect himself from yet another betrayal. He's angry so that he doesn't have to be afraid; misanthropic so that he doesn't have to be lonely.
But it's not all a front, either. Tsuzuki is genuinely sweet and kind, more than capable of the easy, frank affection that Hisoka can't manage. He does like sunny mornings and ice cream and puppies, and he takes joy in little things. He's gentle and patient and pretty much everything else Hisoka's not going to be if he has a hundred years to grow up. He's absolutely honest in this one area, if nowhere else: he would never betray a trust, nor hurt a loved one. Tsuzuki always cares, no matter how it hurts him. And Hisoka is brave and strong, which he might realize if he stopped trying so hard to be braver and stronger. He is straight forward; when he says something, he means it. Tsuzuki, who is forever doubting and uncertain- especially about himself- relies on that unflinching steadiness. Hisoka isn't concerned about the right thing to do. He barges in and just does something, whether it's taking on a monster head-first or dealing with Tsuzuki mid-nervous-breakdown. He's fiercely loyal and protective, and too stubborn to ever admit giving up would be a good idea, but that means he keeps fighting where Tsuzuki surrenders.
A relationship between them isn't going to fix all their problems. Because, boy, do these two have problems. I haven't mentioned most of them, because they tend to constitute spoilers, but they're bad enough that I'm incapable of watching the anime without yelling at the screen, "Therapy! You NEED to be in therapy!" Tsuzuki/Hisoka doesn't provide a fix-it for the darkness in both characters' pasts, nor will it instantly heal all their wounds. But it does give them the opportunity to try again, to make something better out of what life has given them. And by the end of the series, I wanted that badly, wanted them to be happy after all they'd been through. When written well, Tsuzuki/Hisoka is needy and messy and hard and rough and trying, but ultimately uplifting (Most of the time. Dark fics can be pretty freakin' depressing). They've got a fun dynamic. They're nearly constantly arguing over little things, or annoying each other. They'll do something so sweet for each other, and then try to hide it or pretend that they don't care. And in little things, you can see their confidence and devotion to each other- the way Tsuzuki is always finding excuses to touch Hisoka, and the way Hisoka watches Tsuzuki when he thinks he's not looking, and how, when it's important, when things matter, all the stupid frustrating stuff falls away and they would do anything for each other.
They just go together. They trust each other, depend on each other, and irritate the hell out of each other. They risk their lives to rescue each other- and throw away life to be together, and reclaim life because of each other. They're steadier, happier people together- sexual relationship or no- than they are apart. To me, this pairing is the hope that no one is broken past repair, that you get another chance, and that love sometimes actually does save the day.
There's this moment at the end of the Kyoto Arc, where Hisoka's wrapped around Tsuzuki and they're both crying, and Tsuzuki finally, finally, brings his arms up around Hisoka, and everything is destruction and terror on all sides, everything is a roaring black inferno, and the building is crashing down all around them, and then Tsuzuki just... relaxes into Hisoka's hold with this little noise of happiness and contentment. Yeah. That's my OTP. In the midst of hell, but together. And surviving.
Hisoka: Why do that for me? Why? I... I don't deserve...
Tsuzuki: Because you're my partner.
Hisoka: Stupid.
-Yami no Matsuei, Episode 3
Recs:
Karmic Ocean Dried Up by
ranalore
Long Way Down by
yasminm
Stupidity by
threewalls
Learning the Ropes by
rackhamrose
The City of Lost Causes by Dorian Gray
Monsters Under the Bed by Katalyst
Hatsuyuki by fuu
Little Things, by
ciceqi
The series by
beeblebabe and
geekerypokery:
Wall
Good Enough
Breakfast of Champions
Sodomy of Errors
Traditions by
beeblebabe alone
Twice as Hard by
geekerypokery alone
The Sleep To Dream AU series by
amet (incomplete)
The Price of Falling series by
sephyelysian (incomplete)
Vids:
Momentum by
boniblithe
Translations from the manga are from theria.net, minus the excess line breaks and exclamation points. Translations from the episodes are from my fansubs.
Author: Brigdh
Spoilers: Not really.
Email: Brigdh@yahoo.com
Personal Website: nextdooruniverse
Hisoka: Wanna hear our fortune from this morning?
Tsuzuki: Tell me! Tell me!
Hisoka: Our compatibility is...
Tsuzuki: Yeah? Yeah?
Hisoka: Positively and absolutely... zero.
Tsuzuki: How mean.
Hisoka: But I don't think things can get any worse. We've already hit rock bottom. All we can do now is climb up.
-Yami no Matsuei, episode 11

Yami no Matsuei. The title translates into the somewhat less pretty "The Descendants of Darkness". Yeah, translates. This is an anime/manga series, complete with all the big-eyed animation and occasionally confusing cultural references that entails. If you're feeling skeptical already, trust me, I know where you're coming from. A few years ago I'd never seen an anime, nor did I have any particular desire to do so. It wasn't that I had anything against them, it was just that when I went looking for angst and drama and humor and romance, I didn't go looking in Japanese cartoons.
Which was a total mistake. From the moment of my first contact with Yami no Matsuei- which was the music vid Possession by WTF- I wanted more. More of the amazingly beautiful characters, more of their funny and sad world, more of the tragic backstories and light, daily banter, more of the fascinating, complex relationships that tied one character to another. And of course, more of the ever-present subtext, which constantly seems to be trying to erase that 'sub' part.
Tsuzuki:He's cute when he's quiet. Maybe I'll kiss him.
-Volume 1, Chapter 2
It's hard to put the appeal of Tsuzuki/Hisoka into a few words. They don't fit into any of the typical categories of pairings. They're certainly not childhood sweethearts, or rivals, or archenemies. They don't quite fit the 'snarky partners' vibe of buddy-cop dramas. You could describe them as 'best friends turned lovers', but that doesn't feel right either. And they do have traces of the epic, destined type love, but... Well, Romeo would never have started an 'I need you!' speech by calling Juliet an idiot.
They are my OTP. I am completely, embarrassingly devoted to the pairing, for over two years now. I don't think it's possible to watch or read the series and not see that there's something special between them, however you might choose to interpret that. What it all comes down to, for me, is pretty simple: Tsuzuki and Hisoka fit together. Neither of them is perfect- they're both pretty far from it, actually. But they balance each other. Where one is weak, the other is strong. Where one is afraid, the other is brave. Where one despairs, the other prevails. They're both needy and crippled and broken, but together, they hold up. They become better. And there's something wonderful and beautiful in watching that.
Plus, they're both really, really pretty.
Hisoka: You're happy that I'm back to being sharp-tongued?
Tsuzuki: Yup. Happy.
-Volume 3, Chapter 4
So, how about some background? Tsuzuki Asato (that's the Japanese name order, by the way: family name first and given name last) was born in 1900. He killed himself in 1926, after spending eight years catatonic in a mental hospital, a state possibly triggered by some catastrophic event. He's the taller, dark-haired one in the picture. He's also the main character in a series that starts up seventy years later.
Yami no Matsuei, you see, is about shinigami- that's "gods of death", the Japanese equivalent to the Grim Reaper. It turns out that the Underworld is really just a giant bureaucracy, and even death isn't enough to get you out of paper work and budgets. According to the mythology, there's a special registrar to keep track of the lifespan of every person in the country, and when and how they're supposed to die. But things don't always go right. Sometimes people die when they should live, sometimes people live when they should die, and sometimes a demon or vampire or sorcerer shows up and starts really confusing things. This is why the shinigami are allowed to hang around: when things go wrong, they're sent in to investigate and fix the problem. They're like undead FBI agents.
Every shinigami starts out as a normal human being, one who died before they were ready. That's the only requirement for getting the job: a tie to the mortal world so strong that the soul refuses to move on. It's a great system and provides plenty of willing workers, but it doesn't exactly lead to a staff that's what you could call stable and balanced. As a safeguard, the shinigami work in pairs, to protect and keep an eye on one another.
Tsuzuki has a bit of a problem with that. He just can't keep a partner. It's not his fault, but anyone put with him always resigns or dies or moves on or demands reassignment. He's 96 at the beginning of the series, and he's never managed to stick with a partner for more than two years. Tsuzuki is an immature, lazy slob who's content to stay in the backwoods where cases are few and easy instead of doing actual work. He's a drunk, a glutton with a huge sweet tooth, and prefers to pretend that paperwork doesn't exist. He's touchy-feely and clingy and just wants to become very bestest friends with everyone he meets. He's far too sensitive. He can't stand to hurt anyone or anything and has no respect for himself. And, apparently, his bouncy, happy, scatterbrain personality covers a huge well of self-hatred and suicidal tendencies.
Kurosaki Hisoka dies in 1996, after three years of an illness that no one was able to diagnosis, let alone cure. He's 16 at the time. After accidentally overhearing that he may have been murdered rather than dying naturally, he becomes a shinigami to discover the truth and gets shunted off to serve as Tsuzuki's partner.
Hisoka is the latest heir of an ancient, noble family, and his upbringing was strict, cold and severe. It didn't help that he's an empath and his parents locked him in a cell for fear of the shame he might bring to them. He's the blond one (and don't ask why a traditional Japanese family are all blond-haired and green-eyed. It's better not to think too hard about it). He doesn't like to be touched, he doesn't like people, and he doesn't like to share feelings or really talk at all. He's very stand-offish and short-tempered. He gets his work done, is neat and tidy and avoids most extremes- except for when he's angry, which is often and scary. He's stubborn, sarcastic and rude, obsessed with being seen as mature, and is generally your average teenage brat.
They do not hit it off well, which is a huge understatement since Hisoka reacts to seeing Tsuzuki for the first time by pulling a gun on the poor man. Sure, it's only because he thought Tsuzuki was the vampire they were chasing, but it's not exactly a promising way to start a new partnership. Things get better after that.
Eventually.
Hisoka: Wha... What are you doing, ready your blade! I have to defeat you! I have to get back Tsuzuki!
-Volume 8, Chapter 2
Tsuzuki and Hisoka do have one thing in common: they desperately want you to think they are simple, one-dimensional. Neither of them is very good at keeping up the act, but they sure try hard, even though they see through each other with ease. Tsuzuki isn't stupid or lazy; he carries more guilt and remorse than one person should ever have to feel, and he will never get used to the cases that require them to take a human life. He clearly believes that he's worthless, and yet he craves acceptance and love, a dichotomy that drives him to present himself as the office idiot, someone funny and friendly and likable.
Hisoka is not nearly as cruel as he tries to be. He pushes people away to protect himself from yet another betrayal. He's angry so that he doesn't have to be afraid; misanthropic so that he doesn't have to be lonely.
But it's not all a front, either. Tsuzuki is genuinely sweet and kind, more than capable of the easy, frank affection that Hisoka can't manage. He does like sunny mornings and ice cream and puppies, and he takes joy in little things. He's gentle and patient and pretty much everything else Hisoka's not going to be if he has a hundred years to grow up. He's absolutely honest in this one area, if nowhere else: he would never betray a trust, nor hurt a loved one. Tsuzuki always cares, no matter how it hurts him. And Hisoka is brave and strong, which he might realize if he stopped trying so hard to be braver and stronger. He is straight forward; when he says something, he means it. Tsuzuki, who is forever doubting and uncertain- especially about himself- relies on that unflinching steadiness. Hisoka isn't concerned about the right thing to do. He barges in and just does something, whether it's taking on a monster head-first or dealing with Tsuzuki mid-nervous-breakdown. He's fiercely loyal and protective, and too stubborn to ever admit giving up would be a good idea, but that means he keeps fighting where Tsuzuki surrenders.
A relationship between them isn't going to fix all their problems. Because, boy, do these two have problems. I haven't mentioned most of them, because they tend to constitute spoilers, but they're bad enough that I'm incapable of watching the anime without yelling at the screen, "Therapy! You NEED to be in therapy!" Tsuzuki/Hisoka doesn't provide a fix-it for the darkness in both characters' pasts, nor will it instantly heal all their wounds. But it does give them the opportunity to try again, to make something better out of what life has given them. And by the end of the series, I wanted that badly, wanted them to be happy after all they'd been through. When written well, Tsuzuki/Hisoka is needy and messy and hard and rough and trying, but ultimately uplifting (Most of the time. Dark fics can be pretty freakin' depressing). They've got a fun dynamic. They're nearly constantly arguing over little things, or annoying each other. They'll do something so sweet for each other, and then try to hide it or pretend that they don't care. And in little things, you can see their confidence and devotion to each other- the way Tsuzuki is always finding excuses to touch Hisoka, and the way Hisoka watches Tsuzuki when he thinks he's not looking, and how, when it's important, when things matter, all the stupid frustrating stuff falls away and they would do anything for each other.
They just go together. They trust each other, depend on each other, and irritate the hell out of each other. They risk their lives to rescue each other- and throw away life to be together, and reclaim life because of each other. They're steadier, happier people together- sexual relationship or no- than they are apart. To me, this pairing is the hope that no one is broken past repair, that you get another chance, and that love sometimes actually does save the day.
There's this moment at the end of the Kyoto Arc, where Hisoka's wrapped around Tsuzuki and they're both crying, and Tsuzuki finally, finally, brings his arms up around Hisoka, and everything is destruction and terror on all sides, everything is a roaring black inferno, and the building is crashing down all around them, and then Tsuzuki just... relaxes into Hisoka's hold with this little noise of happiness and contentment. Yeah. That's my OTP. In the midst of hell, but together. And surviving.
Hisoka: Why do that for me? Why? I... I don't deserve...
Tsuzuki: Because you're my partner.
Hisoka: Stupid.
-Yami no Matsuei, Episode 3
Recs:
Karmic Ocean Dried Up by
![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
Long Way Down by
![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
Stupidity by
![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
Learning the Ropes by
![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
The City of Lost Causes by Dorian Gray
Monsters Under the Bed by Katalyst
Hatsuyuki by fuu
Little Things, by
![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
The series by
![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
Wall
Good Enough
Breakfast of Champions
Sodomy of Errors
Traditions by
![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
Twice as Hard by
![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
The Sleep To Dream AU series by
![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
The Price of Falling series by
![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
Vids:
Momentum by
![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
Translations from the manga are from theria.net, minus the excess line breaks and exclamation points. Translations from the episodes are from my fansubs.
no subject
Date: 2004-09-03 06:27 am (UTC)YnM is my second favourite anime - I have lots of them, but even in the long list of Favourite Series, YnM is usually at the top, albeit second at the top --but whatever lol-- and I think you did a wonderful job at describing those two particular characters and this really interesting pairing, indeed.
My only 'problem' with this pairing is that I'm a firm believer in uke!Tsuzuki and the dynamic I usually find is TsuzukixHisoka instead of the other way around... which usually makes me sulk lol Another reason is that I usually root for TatsumixTsuzuki with some MurakixTsuzuki thrown in the midst because I love angst and twisted relationships lol
no subject
Date: 2004-09-03 06:40 am (UTC)And I agree with you about the uke thing, but that's more of a problem with the fandom than the characters themselves. And you can find Hisoka/Tsuzuki when you want to; nearly all of the smut I rec'd is that way, as are my own fics. And heh. If you like Muraki/Tsuzuki, just wait. That essay's coming on Sunday, and I know the girl writing will do a wonderful job. I don't know if anyone's got Tatsumi/Tsuzuki, though.
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Date: 2004-09-03 06:49 am (UTC)My first contact with Yami was, too, trough a vid, but my immediate reaction was 'I want more of that fuda guy kicking ass! Oh, and more of that pretty boy with eyes so big they correspond to half his head.'
And ohmigod, woman, you rule. *loves*
no subject
Date: 2004-09-03 07:02 am (UTC)And awwww. #^^# Thanks.
no subject
Date: 2004-09-03 07:29 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-09-03 07:32 am (UTC)(no subject)
From:no subject
Date: 2004-09-03 07:39 am (UTC)I had to give away that Tsuzuki killed himself, though, because it's hard to talk about him with being aware of that, and in retrospect it's so obvious. I'd guessed it long before I actually got up to the scene where Muraki confirms it.
But, um, thanks!
no subject
Date: 2004-09-03 08:38 am (UTC)Wonderful essay, lady. *g*
no subject
Date: 2004-09-03 08:46 am (UTC)And thank you for asking me to do this. It was really fun, once I got over being nervous about it. *laughs*
no subject
Date: 2004-09-03 12:01 pm (UTC)Particularly this: He's touchy-feely and clingy and just wants to become very bestest friends with everyone he meets. He's far too sensitive. He can't stand to hurt anyone or anything and has no respect for himself. - just, yes, that's my Tsuzuki.
no subject
Date: 2004-09-03 01:56 pm (UTC)Sometimes I get a little flattened by fandom
I know exactly what you mean. It seems strange to me, coming out of a fandom like Buffy, which has seven years of canon, over 150 episodes, plus five years of Angel- to end up here, where there's just 13 episodes or a little over 11 books. I mean, you can watch the entire series in less than six hours. And considering how much time I spend online, of course the fandom starts to outweigh the canon. Sometimes it seems weird- there's so many people who see radically different interpretations of the characters than I do, particularly if I go on ff.net, that I start to reconsider things. You know: Am I wrong? Did I miss something? Why do so many people see things I didn't? I mean, Hisoka isn't weepy and helpless, but surely if so many people write him that way, there has to be something to it...
But I'm glad you liked this; I'm glad it worked for you.
no subject
Date: 2004-09-03 01:07 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-09-03 01:47 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-09-03 06:13 pm (UTC)I'm incapable of watching the anime without yelling at the screen, "Therapy! You NEED to be in therapy!"
Hee hee hee!
no subject
Date: 2004-09-04 09:16 am (UTC)And see, you think I'm kidding about that. Because I would never actually lecture fictional characters on my TV about their need to see psychiatrists, nope, not me...
(no subject)
From:no subject
Date: 2004-09-04 06:16 am (UTC)That describes me right now, but I'm sure I'll get there one day! Probably soon, too. Really enjoyed reading your essay
no subject
Date: 2004-09-04 09:23 am (UTC)And if you're at all interested, I'd really recommened watching the Possession vid. It's an amazing vid, beautiful and angsty and a great introduction to the series. And besides, if you don't like it, how long does it take to watch a vid, anyways? I realize you can't download it unless you have an account at animemusicvids, but if you IM me I can send a copy to you. I'm on AIM as theBrigdh
And if you don't want to, no big. Just trying to pimp out my fandom. *grins*
(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:no subject
Date: 2004-09-04 11:20 am (UTC)*mocks you thoroughly*
wonderful introduction to tsuzuki/hisoka *otp squee*, rushed or not. you'd brought up things i'd barely thought about, particularly in terms of tsuzuki's characterisation. i connect better with hisoka, but now i think i must write tsuzuki. someday.
and thank you for reccing my fic.
no subject
Date: 2004-09-04 12:44 pm (UTC)Of course I recced it! It's so wonderfully characterized and poetic, and it's got those images in it that just last, even when the entire rest of the fic is forgotten. I am never going to get the dirty hotel room scene out of my head, I will have Alzheimer’s and still remember it. It's that perfect.
But thanks. I'm really glad you liked it, especially the Tsuzuki parts, since I just get Hisoka better, too. I didn't really understand him at all until I wrote him a few times, but I do love him.
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Date: 2004-09-23 01:51 pm (UTC)I've been sort of hovering on the edges of this fandom for awhile, and recently read the giant comprehensive summary on
Anywho, this was really great as a primer for why an actual fan loves the pairing [and it didn't have spoilers! Joy!] Although I suppose now I have to track the canon down. Oy.
Wonderful job! :)
Everyone keeps raving about this 'Possession' vid, but I can't watch it. Woe. Do you know if it's available anywhere else?
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Date: 2004-09-23 05:17 pm (UTC)But thank you for your comments. I'm glad you liked it. ^^
Alas, no. That is the only place. However, if you'd like me to, I'd be more than happy to send you the vid over yousendit.com. I just need an email address.
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Date: 2004-10-12 08:50 pm (UTC)I've been reading Yami no Matsuei (<-- has never seen the anime, except for - you guessed it! - the Possession vid) in one form or another for over a year now and have only just started tipping my toes into the fandom. So, for a variety of reasons, I am secretly in love with this essay: one, TSUZUKI/HISOKA ; two, wonderfully done, comprehensive without spoilers (so it didn't go into quite as much specific detail, but man, you managed to not spoil anything! dude! XD); three, fic recs! FIC RECS. <3
That's my OTP. In the midst of hell, but together. And surviving.
The perfect nutshell. :D
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Date: 2004-10-13 04:02 pm (UTC)If you'd like it, I could put the fansubs of the anime back up for you. If not, that's cool too, but I am all about spreading the joy.
only just started tipping my toes into the fandom.
Come in, come in! It's a lot of fun. I really reccommend
And mwahahaha. Glad you liked the fics. I'm sure I've forgotten some good ones, but it was nice to get to point out my favorite stories.
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Date: 2005-07-01 08:00 pm (UTC)no subject
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Date: 2005-08-30 07:39 am (UTC)I've been slooooowly sucked into anime by several incredibly persistant friends/relatives, but this is the first I've heard of this fandom (to tell you the truth I have no idea how I stumbled on this, but hey, I'm glad I did).
Kinda like Jerry Maguire's chick (I forget her name), you had me at "Therapy! You NEED to be in therapy!". I do the same thing to shows I love, although I'm not as forgiving as you (I just go straight for the "OMG You are CRAZY").
Thanks for being a really good, coherent, and unrabid-like introduction to the series (Crazy fangirls are part of the reason I avoided anime for as long as I have). I'm horribly poor so I have no idea how I'm going to actually see any of it, but, you know, one step at a time...
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Date: 2005-09-24 02:39 am (UTC)Thank for the great feedback! I love that this essay is still getting comments- I was so worried about writing it that every new person who happens to wander across it and leave a note really makes my day.
I'm horribly poor so I have no idea how I'm going to actually see any of it, but, you know, one step at a time...
*cough* The DVDs are on a great sale: the set of all four for less than $22, plus free shipping (http://www.deepdiscountdvd.com/dvd.cfm?itemID=CPM002220) (I paid more than that for one of them! *weeps*), which is where I'd reccommend starting. The manga is great for extra stories and expanded backstory and additional characters, and I love its slightly different characterzation of Hisoka, but it is kinda on crack. The first seven (of 11. It's unfinished, but the mangaka seems to have lost interest, unfortunately; it's been about a year since anything new was published, and that was just a short side story) volumes have been published by Tokyopop. I totally understand not be able to buy them at $10 a pop, but most bookstores don't seem to mind if you go in and sit on the floor to read them (my local Barnes & Nobles is so kind to me having spent many hours doing just that).
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Date: 2006-11-21 09:31 am (UTC)Ugh, GAWD, SO MUCH LOVE.
This is a beautifully written, well thought-out, masterfully crafted manifesto ♥♥♥♥♥ It makes me want to cry with joy, BECAUSE IT'S SO TRUE ;_;
And I hope you'll forgive me for going through your own fic and loving every moment of it :D;
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Date: 2006-11-23 01:44 am (UTC)And no worries; I always love feedback.
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Date: 2007-01-22 01:32 am (UTC)This manifesto is love.
cyra
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Date: 2007-01-23 01:50 am (UTC)(no subject)
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Date: 2010-10-07 02:49 pm (UTC)Have devoured many Tsuzuki/Hisoka fics since then, but the pairing I remain curious about (a morbid curiosity) is Muraki/Hisoka. Tsuzuki/Hisoka will always be my safe harbour, but there's always the what-if Muraki/Hisoka dynamic too, and how it plays into their relationship.
Wonder if you have more recs, by any chance? ^^