Send me a ship and I will explain why I do or don't ship it
Simply put, it’s the red string of fate effect. End post. I love them for the dramatic, but entirely natural character growth. Circumstances keep bringing them back together, and they learn to live alongside each other and truly, truly appreciate each other. It was a very rocky start, though! Even just the road they took to being friends was long and hard. But that’s why this ship is one of my favourites-- they’ve already put an immense amount of effort to understand each other’s points of view, and they’re in a really good place as is. This is the secret to harmony in any relationship-- whether familial, platonic, romantic, or anything else. You listen, you learn, you understand, and you keep reaching for one another, even when times seem good. (Especially when times seem good, dear reader! Keep checking in on one another and you’ll avoid the worst of all disagreements.)
tl;dr They’ve put a lot of time and effort into working through their disagreements, and while they may never see eye to eye on every issue, they have a close, friendly dynamic that is, above all else, healthy in its current state, with plenty of room for forward movement.
WHERE DO I EVEN BEGIN... At the start, I guess! I think one of the most important things to note about Souma is that he’s incredibly emotion-driven and will simply react according to what he feels. For the most part, this works about the same as it does for most people. He’s a very proud person, and while that usually translates into elegant speech and a certain degree of noble composure, it does also mean that he can heat up very quickly when his sense of pride is threatened. More than that, he came onto the scene with an incredibly rigid, black and white view of the world, and he wasn’t always the most graceful at having his worldview challenged.
One of the first really big obstacles here was Kaoru. I think it’s important to note that Kaoru was not in a very good place when they met, and he wasn’t dealing with it very well. Their first meeting consisted of Kaoru approaching Souma, thinking he was a girl, then repeatedly blowing off Souma’s earnest attempts to speak with him when he realized he wasn’t, in fact, a girl. For the most part, Souma was more patient with this encounter than most people would be! But he did lose his patience by the end of it, and it set the mood for their relationship from then on.
Which is to say, things were tense-- and even violent-- between them moving forward. The thing is, Souma does explain his reasoning for how deeply irritated he is with Kaoru, and it’s not as simple as a grudge over that first meeting. What bothers him so much about Kaoru is that he’s actually a really good person, but Souma finds it difficult to trust him because he’s not genuine. He remarks that it’s beyond frustrating to deal with him because he refuses to engage in any form of serious or meaningful conversation, and that the fact that Souma can tell that he’s actually not a bad person makes it all the more infuriating to see him behave like that.
Well. If you think that’s a really flimsy reason to threaten someone, you’re right. But they’re both dealing with very, very different circumstances, and in very, very different ways. This confession comes around the time when things start to really turn around for them, because they have something in common that keeps drawing them back together: their love for the sea. In the same vein, they’re both very, very fond of Kanata, and so even at the least comfortable of times, they remain members of the Marine Biology Club together. When they focus on the things that they both enjoy, they start to find common ground in other ways. They grow to tolerate each other, and from there, to enjoy each other.
They make their introduction in !! together, where an annoyed (but markedly very calm!) Souma chastises Kaoru for stealing food without asking. Once Kaoru leaves, Souma tells the newcomers that whatever other impression they may have gotten, Kaoru is a good and reliable person, and that they shouldn’t let his antics get in the way of seeing that.
UM. WOW.
What a change from the man whose hand used to hover near the hilt of his blade when dealing with Kaoru. The biggest reason for this is because both of them improve themselves. I said multiple times already that they were both struggling with certain experiences. By this time, they’ve sorted through the worst of that, mostly separately. However, if you pay attention, there’s more than a little leadup to this. It’s not out of nowhere. If you read all of the stories where they interact, back to back, you can see a gradual but organic change where they come to appreciate one another’s company. You can imagine that there’s plenty of this that you don’t get to see, as well. Little moments off screen, and maybe some big ones, too.
I highly recommend reading Repayment Festival, wherein Kaoru spends the entire event with Souma, who is otherwise working alone. He’s supportive, and their communication is on the same page the entire time. Souma, in turn, is thankful.
The point is. They’ve worked really hard to get through to each other, and that sets the stage for a lasting and healthy relationship, where neither person is afraid to communicate their wants, needs, or feelings. There are a few stories in !! where you can see this, where any contention that crops up between them is simply a matter of difference of opinion-- and they talk it out until they reach a conclusion both of them are satisfied with.
"My, Kaoru-kun! To think we'll be spending a whole day by ourselves... why, I believe the last time we spent time alone was during the little vacation fine and UNDEAD had together, no?" He distinctly remembers that Kaoru wasn't all that comfortable with the situation, so he hopes that at the very least things can change this time around. He does very much wish to get to know someone that Rei holds so dear.
Wataru starts the car— humming as the engine comes to life, and soon enough he's driving the car out of the parking lot. For someone as Eccentric as him, he handles driving in such an ordinary way that one might find it odd.
"So~ Have you decided on where our first stop might be?"
SEND IN “ 🎵 “ FOR A SONG / SONGS THAT I THINK FITS OUR MUSES & AN EXPLAINATION AS TO WHY !
If you want to
I can save you
I can take you away from here
So lonely inside
So busy out there
And all you wanted was somebody who cares
Thank you for the excuse to talk about these two losers. As if I needed it.
Where do I even start? Superficially, neither Rei nor Kaoru seem entirely like the kind of people who are all that lonely, especially when they first meet. It’s Rei working up a crowd on a stage managed by Kaoru, both of them giving off the air that they’ve got plenty of other places to be but here. But they are, and we know that, and I think they noticed that about each other straightaway.
You have to figure that there’s a reason Rei keeps reaching out. Even in that point in his life where he starts shutting out everyone and everything, he continues extending his hand to Kaoru, if only to keep just one door open for him. And you have to figure there’s a reason Kaoru keeps standing by, despite his best efforts to distance himself as well. Even at those difficult points, they entertain each other in special, subtle ways. They seem to just understand this one very crucial thing about each other on a deeply spiritual level. They don’t put words to it-- but then, they don’t need to.
It is so, so significant that their relationship moves from considering each other to be untouchable entities, beyond each other’s ability to grasp or stand side by side with, to calling each other partners. They see that one very hurt part inside each other, and most importantly, they give each other the space to begin healing it. And I do want to stress that: it’s not an offer of medicine to cure something. There’s no goal to “fix” anything. It’s a cozy bed to rest, it’s an unassuming shelter to regrow naturally and with time.
So that’s why I chose this song, lyrically an invitation to be heard and understood-- which is sometimes all that you need.
" would you like me to braid it? " kaoru says, rather absent-mindedly. and it's all very innocent, to say the least, seeing as souma's hair tie has broken with long wear, and without it, his long purple tresses simply catch within the breeze.
" my sister used to let me braid her hair when i was a little ... so i know how. " kaoru adds, feeling that this somehow brought more validity to his cause. of course, he's looking off to the side now, awkwardly running his fingers through his sunny blonde hair all the while. (kaoru to souma obviously).
(@hakazeyo)
Somehow, gazing down at the frayed white ribbon in his hand, its other half blown beyond his reach, Souma is just a little sad about it. There’s hardly any reason for it; hair ties break, and that’s simply a fact of life. This isn’t the first, and will not be the last. It hadn’t come out of nowhere, either-- he’d known it was coming for a while now. Typically, he’d have already swapped it out for a new one by now to prevent this very scenario.
His odd sense of wistfulness must have shown on his face-- that, or Kaoru’s just offering to be helpful, or just because he can. Souma’s gaze snaps up to meet those warm, light brown eyes, a slight tilt of his head a sure sign that he’s more confused than offended. Before he can ask any of the questions that spring to mind, however, the taller man speaks up again.
(It’s just as well-- Souma realizes he likely would have declined on principle alone without those few extra moments of consideration.)
❝I am capable of braiding my own hair,❞ he answers coolly, as though it’s a matter of pride. But even he notices that Kaoru seems a bit embarrassed, and so his tone manages not to be too sharp. He’s offered a little bit of himself, and Souma can’t help but be charmed by it, despite himself.
❝..Yet, I would not mind the help,❞ he concedes, tucking the little scrap of ribbon into his pocket. He can recognize an olive branch when it’s offered, and it can’t do any harm to let him try.
There were a lot of should we do this and is this okay running through Kanata’s mind, but he felt Kaoru’s lips on his skin and that was enough for him not to care too much about the shoulds and shouldn’ts. He gasped, a high pitched mewling sound as Kaoru’s lips found purchase on his neck. He shuddered a little when they traced lightly over the scar he had there, it felt somehow extra... Nice. And extra forbidden. Like that place on him shouldn’t be allowed to feel this good. “Kaoru... My legs feel so weak...”
❰❰ TACKLE ❱❱ sender hugs the receiver so hard they almost fall over / do fall over
“That was a very good surf... Thing...” Trust Kanata not to know the proper terms when it came to surfing. But he hoped Kaoru didn’t mind it too much, and it didn’t seem like he did because he came running over after getting out of the surf, and he excitedly threw his arms around Kanata, hugging him with so much enthusiasm that Kanata could feel his balance - poor to begin with - slipping and he quickly wrapped his arms around Kaoru as well just as they fell down against the sand. “Ah...!”
