Hello there! I've been wondering about something for a really long time. Why are some people really good at spacially orienting themselves and navigating, while some people can't tell you which way North is to save their lives? Thank you in advance!
It’s an ability! And like any other abilities, it can be practiced and perfected.
It all comes down to having a mental representation of where you are and where you have been, and where is the place that you need to go. Sounds dumb, but it’s really simple once you study the actual places. (And as any type of studying, different methods are better for different people.)
Hey so I was just reading Ch. 80 of CyB and was it just me or was Rin confessing to Kei? At that part at the Tanabata festival when Rin tells Kei that she loves Kakashi, and she has feelings for Obito, she also says she sometimes loves Kei?
Beta: Sorry about the wall of text. I’m not mad at you, and don’t mean to yell at you. This was just a good chance to explain a lot of things to a lot of people. So, thanks for asking the question.)
Yes. Rin definitely was confessing to Kei in that scene. (Although the number of people who did not get it/realize it means Lang probably needs to make it clearer when she gets around to editing this fic whenever that happens.) It’s also why Kei wasn’t confused about the conversation in 104 where Rin was talking about her feelings and relationships in relation to Kei.
In that scene though, it wasn’t a confession that came with any expected reciprocity from Kei. It was more a “I’m dealing with Kakashi shooting me down and trying to figure out how to get over my first teenage crush. And I know Obito likes me, but I don’t know if I like him enough. And then I think I might also like you.” She was kind of just trying to figure things out.
She was also kind of reeling from an earlier confession that night. Since before that specific scene, she’s told Kakashi about her feelings for him, and then got shot down. (Although Kakashi did it politely. It’s just hard not to feel crushed when your crush doesn’t return your feelings and tells you there’s no chance for it.) And because Kakashi and Kei had told Rin about Obito’s feelings when he “died” (which doesn’t count as a confession to the person), Rin knew about Obito’s feelings for her. So, Obito’s feelings, and then her not-quite-sure-about-him feelings for him were also a thing weighing on her in the scene. Since she was already talking to Kei about her feelings and the possibility of various relationships, confessing that she liked Kei (without expecting Kei to return them) seemed like a good idea.
Rin was fourteen and thus prone to having the emotional maturity of a teenager, which meant easily getting overwhelmed by a situation. However, she was still mature enough to know she felt something for Kei and that if the other two characters/people she liked knew about her feelings, having Kei know (and getting Kei’s reaction) could potentially help her figure things out better.
Rin’s “And sometimes I love you, but that can’t all be true, right?” line was the part where she actually confessed. She was also questioning it though, because she didn’t think it was possible to like three people at once. Which she did. Canon Naruto didn't exactly give us the impression it was friendly for the LGBT community (which we took to mean it probably wasn’t super good for the community) and in CYB there’s the kind of atmosphere where Genma and Raido don’t exactly have their relationship public. So another aspect of Rin’s thinking was liking Kei in terms of both of them being girls, AND with Rin liking both boys and girls, and of course ninja world being the kind of place to say that’s not a thing. And if there’s one thing that can make someone question what they’re feeling, is being told by society at large that their feelings are childish and invalid. (They weren’t, and they aren’t.)
Also rereading chapter 81, Rin’s confession was pretty clear. Like Kei and Rin had the second half of the conversation about Rin’s confession and Kei’s own experiences with stuff.
Also, the amount of shipping of male/female characters is just mind boggling. Kei has been shipped with every single male character she has interacted with (including pairings that ignore the fact she’s physically a kid). EVERYTHING Kakashi does in regards to Kei gets a wave of “omg shipping” responses (including his decision to back off seen as a confession so much we had to TRY IT AGAIN in a later chapter). Considering all of that that while Rin’s confession was pretty much ignored by the readers, actual shipping-related stuff with Rin is not even noticed, and the fact people only noticed Genma and Raido were together once Kei interrupted them after they’d had sex, I’m thinking the problem is with the anti-gay filter on the readers’ shipping goggles, not Lang’s unclear writing. Rin’s bi. Rin’s got a thing for Kei. This shit’s canon. (Although as of 104, she’s come to terms with the fact Kei wouldn’t return her feelings, and is happy with Obito.)
