really good ruetho analysis, it's so rare for ptutu fans to actually care about the dynamic between them because they'd rather just say 'awww, look perfect fairytale couple' (we can ignore all rue's abuse and the rape allegory because mytho wasn't a real person when it happened so it's fine don't worry about it :) ) in the end i still really like ruetho but i like it *because* of all the troubling aspects everyone wants to sweep under the rug... two victims of abuse finding deeply imperfect solace in each other because they're the only two people in the world who can truly understand what it's like. you get why they want to run away into a literal storybook together, but is that really alright for them?
i think about them choosing to live inside the story a lot..
I'm glad you sent this ask, I expected the previous post to ruffle more feathers, aha, so it's nice to see someone who agrees. ^^
You get it! Honestly, if more Ruetho fans actually liked it for what it was, I wouldn't be so averse to the ship, but because of the fairy tale ending seemingly ignoring what became before (aside from Mytho's line making it clear his loving her is a choice--the fans also like to ignore the post-series little play epilogue of dubious canonicity [because it was for a small audience of fans] that made it clear Mytho still loved Tutu, it felt to them like he was "settling" for Rue in many's eyes, but Mytho getting to CHOOSE who he wants to love is still important!!!) and the fandom doubling down on fairy tale ending, everything is fine now, shhh, brush everything before under a rug of "they were villains then and not themselves,"it leaves a bad taste in my mouth--but if more people would acknowledge how messed up it really was, I could definitely respect that more. I love many messed-up ships, but I need that part to be acknowledged, not ignored!
It is beautiful that they can bond over the way the Raven's Blood had affected them and continues to linger, deep in their hearts, feeding on any insecurities or pain...
Love as a "choice" may not be as romantic, but for Mytho, who spent much of the story incapable of making any choices of his own, this was some agency... this was meaningful for him, even if I do prefer Duck's more "selfless" love that purely wanted to see him happy. I think they would've been healthier for each other, but Mytho made his choice, and he wanted to be with the only one who understood his pain... even if it's also a little messed-up because he never would have experienced this pain if not for her in the first place.
Perhaps they need more time to grow. Maybe hiding in a fairy tale world is their version of healing, of carving out a safe childhood for themselves, which they were denied by the Raven's evil (even moreso if you believe the theory that Rue was Fakir's sister, similarly orphaned by the Raven), before they might face the world ahead of them. Or maybe they never wish to return to the real world, too scarred by what they experienced there, and to live in dreams is their solace.
Remember how Fakir described the final heart shard, Hope?
"The final heart shard was shaped like a pair of fluttering wings. Wings for the people who had spent a comfortable time inside the story to leave the nest with. Wings for the Prince to return to himself with!"
That fairy tale world is a nest for them to dream and grow up in, perhaps... perhaps they never wish to wake up.
In that sense, it's more like Dreaming Auroa...
If we compare to Enchanted, Giselle choosing to stay in the real world Robert, while Nancy follows Edward into Andalasia, are both treated as equally valid...
