#frenchie x kimiko meta

[kimikofrenchie]

screaming crying throwing up over the difference between frenchie kissing kimiko in 204 as a reflection of the imbalance in their relationship and his attempts to “save” her vs kimiko in 305, her powers gone, kissing frenchie as an expression of her happiness and freedom 

#the boys #kimiko miyashiro #frenchie x kimiko #kimiko x frenchie #the boys meta #i guess? #something something her no longer perceiving herself as a monster and instead a person worthy of love #one of the first thing she does after realising her powers are gone is kiss the man she loves !!! #my text

[whentheynameyoujoy]

Just make sure you’re a woman I guess

I was perfectly fine not delving into Kimiko's decision to re-supe up because I don't know about you but I'm not exactly a fan of my blorbos exiting stage left for something as boring as a better life, but then Kripke had to go and be smart on Twitter and I just...

Tldr, there's absolutely no meaningful difference between Kimiko and Hughie's reasoning that's borne by canon.

Now don't get me wrong, there absolutely is a metric fuckton of reasons to rail Hughie for suping and conclude it's the wrong choice for him specifically, namely because his anger, insecurity, and deep-seated desire to matter eclipse his kindness and empathy, i.e. the one thing that actually does make him valuable, in practical terms and as a person. Still, overshadowing it all is his wish to protect his loved ones, to be useful instead of a burden sitting on the sidelines and watching others deal with threats against themselves and him.

Gee, I wonder with whom he might have that in common.

The world’s cutest zombie, that’s who.

Like Hughie, Kimiko shows willingness and capacity to kill, and both of them have conflicted feelings about it. Both recognize the need to kill, kill for personal satisfaction, and at the same time hate resorting to killing. Both are used as morality pets without appreciating it in the slightest. Both of them also tend to take risks to protect those closest to them, suped or not.

And both of them conclude that they're more able to do that when supes, despite handling their shit rather OK as unenhanced civies.

I've seen people analyze Hughie as someone who only makes the correct moral choice when it's easy. First of all, good luck bringing the idea of correct moral choices into something as intentionally morally messy as this show. Second of all

Can't hear you over the sound of Hughie getting himself yoinked to bust out Kimiko, M.M, and Frenchie for no other reason than that he views it as the right thing to do.

And third of all, if you're really going to charge Hughie for making the easy choice, then as of 3.07 it can absolutely be levied against Kimiko as well.

Kimiko's arc this season has been tied to the idea that having superpowers doesn't change who you fundamentally are. At the start she considers herself to be a monster because she believes it's her powers giving her the ability to kill (not unlike Butcher who makes the comfortable decision to keep acting like it's his father and Homelander who make him who he is, conveniently ignoring how he has the option to just stahp). What the encounter with Nina teaches her, however, is that when push comes to shove, no matter how much she may hate it, she will take life. What she finds monstrous about herself remains, with or without her powers.

And by extension, by becoming a supe again she doesn't make a sacrifice by ''turning herself into a monster''. She makes it easier on herself to act like a "monster", i.e. to use lethal means to protect her loved ones and survive while doing so.

I want to stress this--none of this is meant as criticism of Kimiko's actions or character. The Boys are surprisingly good at depicting how difficult it is to navigate immoral systems as an individual, and Kimiko's decision is very much an example of that. What this is is criticism of Kripke for putting her and Hughie into opposition despite failing to differentiate their situations to any substantial degree.

There is no reason for Kimiko not to remain depowered and yeet Frenchie into Marseille, other than the inconvenient side-effect that it'd remove them from the show. Their violent pasts will haunt them, powers or no powers. What the powers do, however, is make those pasts easier to deal with.

So riddle me this: why is it morally wrong for Hughie to take the path of less resistance but not for Kimiko?

Also, let's focus on the "Frenchie welcomes Kimiko's protection" part of Kripke's twitterati masterpiece.

Visual evidence of Frenchie being ecstatic by Kimiko re-suping.

Yeah.

Frenchie does recognize it's ultimately Kimiko's choice but Kripke's framing of him as someone who appreciates it is utterly bonkers to me. Throughout the season Frenchie exhibited very conflicted feelings about Kimiko's powers, being alarmed both by her losing them and by her getting them back.

Because he's not concerned about himself and what the presence or absence of the powers mean for him. He's only concerned for Kimiko's wellbeing, first when she stops being literally unkillable and then when she decides to once again become what she hated.

Just like Annie doesn't need a savior, so Frenchie doesn't need a superpowered bodyguard. Both of them are fully capable of handling themselves. What they value about Hughie and Kimiko respectively isn't what they can do for them. It's their connection, who they are as people. Their humanity. And both of them are worried by their partners' choice to apparently give that humanity up.

Obviously, the season isn't over yet so there is still a chance that Kripke will use the last episode to illustrate a difference in how Hughie and Kimiko go about achieving their goals since both of them believe their powers have legitimacy as a tool of protection. After all, to paraphrase, if it doesn't matter whether you're suped or not, then the only thing that does matter is what you choose to do once you're suped.

There totally is a likelihood of Kimiko proving Butcher wrong and Hughie proving him right. But for that to happen we'll finally have to see the moral price Hughie is paying for suping. So far, the only thing we've seen is him leaking his brains due to shooting up an untested drug. Which doesn't prove Hughie is morally in the wrong. It only proves that he's a complete moron.

#the boys #spoilers #kimiko miyashiro #frenchie #hughie campbell #annie january #kimichie #kimchie #kimiko x frenchie #hannie #meta

[fandammit]

Frenchie, Kimiko and communication

I don't know if this is an ~unpopular opinion or anything, but I'm actually quite fond of Cherie as a character.

First off, she poses absolutely no threat to Kimiko and Frenchie as a relationship. Frenchie is such a casually affectionate person -- he kisses Hughie in excitement and as a congratulations twice in the series -- that I am unbothered by their liasons in the slightest. The emotional intimacy and soul-baring honesty is something he only shares with Kimiko.

Secondly, she not only seems rather cool in general, she's also provided a great way for the writers to explore the relationship (and the issues therein) between Frenchie and Kimiko.

(incredibly long and meandering meta following the cut) 

Cherie’s long friendship with Frenchie allows her to ask questions that no one else within the show could -- or even would -- ask about the nature of Frenchie and Kimiko's relationship.

The deleted scene from the first episode not only has her voice a few things in favour of our little ship -- that Frenchie has deep feelings for Kimiko ("I've seen the way you look at her") and refutes, IMO, the platonic read to their relationship (he shows disdain when she describes Kimiko as a little sister or a daughter).

But that scene also brings up the issue that has begun to crop up in Frenchie and Kimiko's relationship: the lack of communication. Frenchie is adamant that he and Kimiko are the same, that they read each other’s thoughts, to which Cherie asks -- How do you know?

And the thing is -- Frenchie doesn't know, not really. He can't. And therein lies a real problem for the two of them that must be addressed (and that, as someone who has seen the whole season, does get addressed).

Because as much as Frenchie and Kimiko are connected -- and their connection is genuine and does run deep and only deepens because of what's happened in the season so far -- it can only go so far. There is a real barrier to their intimacy because of their inability to communicate freely and easily (and sometimes even at all). 

So I do think that Frenchie has done -- at least a little bit -- exactly what Cherie accuses him of doing: made Kimiko into “all the shit he wants her to be.” 

I don’t mean that Frenchie doesn’t truly see Kimiko -- he does -- or that he’s made her to be something completely different than who she is -- he hasn’t. 

But because they aren’t able to truly communicate, I think there’s a part of Frenchie that has had to fill in the blanks a little bit. And in filling in those blanks, he’s turned her into a symbol of what he needs her to be for him: his own salvation. 

Cherie brings that up in episode 4 after the two of them have slept together. First of all, I love the set up of this scene. Frenchie is literally naked in Cherie’s bed, but the real intimacy of that moment still exists between Frenchie and Kimiko. The entire conversation between Cherie and Frenchie is about Kimiko. Like I said, Frenchie is casual with his physical intimacy; it is real emotional intimacy that is a rarity for him, and a bond he only really has with Kimiko. 

Secondly, going back to Kimiko turning into a symbol of salvation for Frenchie, Cherie brings up the she believes that Frenchie has turned Kimiko into a symbol of his own salvation -- that ‘saving’ her will allow him to assuage his own guilt from all the people he’s hurt, specifically the children that Lamplighter killed. 

Frenchie balks at this assertion, and let it be known that I absolutely think that Cherie is oversimplifying it by A LOT.

HOWEVER, I do also think there’s a kernel of truth to this. As I mentioned earlier, in the absence of in-depth communication between Frenchie and Kimiko, Frenchie has inadvertently made Kimiko into what he needs her to be because he does not -- and cannot, at this moment  -- know who she is for herself. 

I want to stress that this isn’t because Frenchie is a bad person, nor is it because he isn’t trying. What he’s doing, even if in just some small measure, isn’t even an uncommon thing in relationships, romantic and otherwise; we are constantly turning people into symbols of what we need for us, rather than seeing them for who they are. 

But this problem is made worse because they are, at the moment, literally incapable of knowing one another the way they need to in order for their relationship to grow and progress. And not just because of their inability to communicate freely, although that’s a huge part of it. But because they themselves cannot really articulate who they are or what they need. 

Frenchie has buried his trauma deep down within himself and has misplaced the road to work through it, while Kimiko doesn’t know how to even begin to deal with her grief and trauma. And rather than having this shared trauma bring them together, it has driven them further apart -- all of this made worse because the two of them don’t have the ability to communicate with one another. 

So I think that the real progress in their relationship (and what we should feel most excited about) isn’t necessarily about any sort of physical intimacy -- again, we see how easily Frenchie gives that away and how little importance he places on it -- but on the emotional intimacy between the two of them, which is something that both Frenchie and Kimiko struggle with, yet something they only have with one another. 

And that can only come when they are honest about who they are and what they need, and find a way to communicate both of those things with one another. 

On a last note -- I think that Cherie has it wrong when she says that Frenchie just needs to leave Kimiko alone. One of my favorite lines of the episode is Frenchie saying, “What good does grieving alone ever do?” 

My second favorite line is when Annie tells Hughie that we’re all alone, and Hughie replies with, “But it doesn’t have to be like that.” 

And it doesn’t. 

Frenchie can’t take away the pain that Kimiko’s feeling and he can’t live her life for her, but he can be there for her, even if she’s too angry and grief-stricken to recognize what he’s doing or why, and he’s too confused and traumatized to understand how exactly he needs to be there for her. 

That to me is deeply romantic and intimate, even if the two of them didn’t end up well in this episode. 

Anyway, I absolutely love these two and really appreciate the way the writers have been handling their individual arcs and their relationship arc. Next week is a real low point for the two of them this season, where the simmering problems bubble over, but I love the show for taking it and them seriously. 

#the boys #frenchie x kimiko #frenchie x kimiko meta

[damaskino-26320]

I like the idea of Noir and Anika having a face-off with Kimiko and Frenchie in a future season of The Boys. If you think about it, they kind of function like inverse genderbent versions of each other. Noir and Kimiko are super durable supes with extremely brutal killing methods (both of them are also quiet types), and Frenchie and Anika are the regular people whose expertise lies in other areas (although I think both of them are capable of at least putting up a decent struggle). But really, I think it would be funny if in the course of the fight Anika mentions his skill with chemistry and weapons, and he starts candidly talking about his expertise until they’re just having a regular conversation while Noir and Kimiko are trying to tear each other apart in the background. Eventually they have to drag their respective partners away from each other and agree to a draw.

#Haven’t done any Anika and Noir meta in a while #All the S3 updates are getting me pumped up #Noirposting #The Boys #Anika #Black Noir #Anoir? #Idk #Kimiko x Frenchie #Kimichie

[fandammit]

Necessary growing pains

Or why that conflict in the church between Kimiko and Frenchie is a good (if painful) thing to witness 

This episode was a real low point for Kimiko and Frenchie in that it forced the low simmering issues between the two to boil over. 

And while that was very difficult to watch, I’m also glad that their issues are now out in the open -- because only by acknowledging them can the show and the characters begin to address them.

(I'd also say that having the two come into this kind of conflict also shows how important the show considers their relationship -- however the show wants to define that right now -- and how it privileges their own individual journeys as well)

More meandering meta under the cut 

Kimiko is carrying around this huge weight of guilt and shame that she doesn't know how quite to deal with, so she's effectively not dealing with it and instead channeling her grief and hurt into hurting other people.

Frenchie sees this and it hurts him -- not just because he cares about Kimiko and recognizes that it's, as he says, poison for her soul but because he himself understands what she's going through in a way no one else does.

Which is why this is extra hurtful for him. What makes their relationship so special for Frenchie is that he's never had one like it in terms of non-physical intimacy, so to see Kimiko hurting like this and not sharing that hurt with him when he feels like he's shared so much with her just hurts in a whole new and deeper way.

That hurt goes past frustration and bubbles over into anger when Kimiko signs to him that she doesn't want his help, but he can't know what she's saying because she hasn't opened herself up enough to teach him that. And that lack of openness and intimacy is the real thing that breaks him wide open and causes him to lash out against her. 

And though it can be frustrating that she hasn't shared that language with him, I think that we have to see it from the point of view that this shared, created language is one of the most sacred and special parts of herself. And even though she and Frenchie are close, it isn’t easy to share everything about yourself. Kimiko has been so traumatized that she’s literally lost her ability to speak, so opening herself up to communicating again isn’t going to happen quickly or easily. 

There’s also the added facet that this is the language that she made with her brother, who is now lost to her forever. It’s hard to share something so special with someone new, and I bet there’s a part of Kimiko that feels like she’s honoring her brother by keeping that language just between the two of them. 

I mentioned in my last meta that there’s a real barrier to any further growth or intimacy between the two of them because of their inability to communicate freely and easily. But whereas that issue was lingering just beneath the surface, this episode brings it all out into the open in the most painful way possible. 

But it’s necessary pain, because only in bringing their issues to light can either of them ever hope to address them. 

In order to move forward, Kimiko needs to find a way to heal in a way that isn’t destructive, Frenchie needs to recognize Kimiko’s autonomy AND address his own trauma, and both these things must be communicated with the other person. 

Luckily, the show not only recognizes this, it works to address them -- which is why I’ve constantly said that someone on the staff has to be a Kimiko x Frenchie shipper, lol. 

I know this episode was really hard to watch for our little ship, but as someone who has seen the whole season (I got press screeners), I have to say that I absolutely LOVED the last three episodes, and that the show doesn’t let us shippers suffer for long. 

#frenchie x kimiko #the boys #kimiko miyashiro #frenchie x kimiko meta