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purplemys · 1 year

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Inuyasha Rant/Rambling

I think it would have been cool to see Izayoi outside of being sad, dead or a damsel in distress. She could have been given much better substance.

I would have loved to see what her and Inuyasha's lives were like pre-death. Wiki says she died of natural causes. It can't possibly be old age because discounting the 3rd movie, Inuyasha ages like any human would. (If anyone says otherwise, that would make him way older than not only Kagome, but Kikyou too.) He was 9 - 10 years old when she died. Then this would mean sickness? Would have been nice to see Inuyasha's last days with her or how her family treats her... Ya know...to make me care more...

Some alternative deaths I have in the back of my mind,

a) getting killed by a rival demon of Toga's to show that yes, she was always in danger by mere association, let alone having the child of a Demon General/King. At that point, getting murdered by a demon might as well be a natural cause of death at the feudal era.

b) The house/estate got stormed by a hate mob because she's "impure" or a major target by other demons. She was either disowned or her family legit just fell into ruins. Either way, nobody would protect her. Wouldn't it be so tragic if it was humans who killed Inuyasha's mom instead of just demons? There's so many ways to make all this (TogaxIzayoi story, InuKik,Inuyasha learning to trust humans again) so much more heartwrenching. Inuyasha rarely mentions her in both the manga and the anime. At least in the anime, he mentioned her to Kikyou once which was nice but that's about it. In the manga, she didn't even have a name or a face.

I think it would have been cool to see Kikyou outside of being sad, undead or a damsel in distress.

No, but seriously, there could have been better ways to write Kikyou's character than what we have been given. For all the shit I say about the characters I hate (like Kikyou and Hawks), at the end of the day, I appreciate the concept/attempt. They're like stylized bottles with little canon substance in them.

Kikyou, self-insert or not, she's integral to the plot- to Inuyasha's life. Now how would I rather the story have gone when it comes to Kikyou?

A) They should have written her relationship with Inuyasha way better.

B) She should have remained a major antagonist.

C) Let the characters (who always call one another out on their bullshits mind you) call her out on her shitty actions during her redemption.

Better yet, A + B (since her being an antagonist, getting called out should be a given) or we keep the plot as is but with a bonus C!

With Option A, it should fix the major issues I have with InuKik: a)Their dynamic and how it's inherently in Kikyou's favor. b)Their mutual distrust of each other. c)The lack of intimacy outside of being romantic/sexual partners.

a)Their dynamic and how it's inherently in Kikyou's favor.

Socially: Inuyasha was an outcast from having no family (they're either dead or hate him), being homeless, and worst of all, being a half-demon. In contrast, we have Kikyo, who is a priestess of high status, she is loved, she is legendary, she is powerful (if she killed him upon their first meeting, no one would care).

Mentally: Kikyo in canon, is not only regarded as older, she is meant to be wiser. She was educated, trained, and was (supposed to be) smart. Inuyasha by contrast was very likely homeschooled, sheltered and never had any of the social interactions Kikyo would have had. Inuyasha is said to be physically 15, if said to be 200 years old. Okay. Based on what I said about his actual aging in canon, he is 15 years old. Kikyo should have known this, yes? She met this young social outcast who was hated by both man and demon and thought "Yeah, ask him to be human. That solves both our problems and we can be happy!" But would it have worked?

But before all that, why would Kikyou specifically want the jewel gone?

"She wants to be a normal woman." Okay, but what even is normal in a world full of demons, witches, and other supernatural entities? "She doesn't want to be the guardian of a jewel that grants immeasurable power, that puts her life at stake more than usual." Fair enough, but I raise you this, her life was already at stake all the time anyway simply by being a powerful priestess (Midoriko for example). Inuyasha was even helping her guard the jewel which was barely kept safe.... at a shrine in the middle of the village... why was it just placed on an altar. I don't know. I won't touch it.

Now, Kikyo has been robbed of a regular childhood just by being born a priestess. I'll giver her that. She's way too young, even by their standards, to be burdened by a life-threatening job. Which begs the question, why does Inuyasha have to bear the consequences of that? He was already helping her, protecting her and her village. She proposed the idea of him being human, leaving himself vulnerable, leaving something he was born with, just to conform with society- and what changes with her? She already admitted she's just going to live as a priestess without the threat of the jewel. That's something so heavy to leave on him -

(I had to check what she actually said and it was just "I will be an ordinary woman." See earlier point. Wishing him to be human doesn't suddenly rid her of her powers, she'd still be a priestess regardless lest they elope which was never stated or implied. I mean, she could have dropped her position as priestess ? But it was never stated or implied what she meant. Honestly that proposal between her and Inuyasha didn't feel like a proper conversation between lovers who planned to eventually marry.)

Which now leads to my next point, it wouldn't have worked.

(Disregarding the possible implications of the jewel being destroyed had they just burned the jewel inside Midoriko's mummified corpse, or if not, just sealed the entire cave with Kikyo's powers that came next to Midoriko's.)

The jewel, at least in the anime, was finally gone due to "the right wish" - Kagome's selfless wish. The Shikon Jewel got tainted by any sort of impure, selfish desire, yes? The mere inkling of jealousy, hate, and envy was enough to taint the jewel. While I think Kikyou just wanted that jewel gone and never to see Inuyasha again. I'll entertain the idea for the sake of my argument. Kikyou's supposed wishes on the jewel were (in the first case, was going to wish)

1) "For Inuyasha to be human." - The main motivations for this wish aren't inherently awful but it's still questionable at best. Inuyasha clearly hesitated and she insisted that this wish will lead to them living normal lives. Inuyasha clearly dislikes being human - being weak, vulnerable, and essentially unreliable during an attack lest he trains to be a soldier afterwards, and even then that's not going to stop demons who just know what he looks/smells like-he'd be dead. To end this point, this clearly benefits her more than it does him. That's clearly still selfish.

(Even if Inuyasha was fully into it, that wish is still by all technicality, self-serving, - a wish tainted by possible feelings of resentment and loneliness, only to be somehow "fixed" by conforming to a world that clearly hates him.)

2) Supposedly, "Kikyo wished to see Inuyasha again" and that somehow manifested into Kagome being born with the jewel. I'll lightly entertain the idea that that wish is what caused the jewel to be recreated and brought back to the feudal era. That wish is still very much self-serving. It is what she wants, after she "killed" or sealed her supposed loved one. You really can't ask for someone back after you did that to them. (This is ignoring the fact that the narrative wasn't even sure what happened back there. She aimed to kill. Then he was sealed because "she didn't want to kill him." Then the story says "she followed him to death." Which. Was. It.

This leads me to my next point, relating to her wish. Kikyo clearly had a basis of what the right wish could have been. She wouldn't have suggested that wish to Inuyasha if she didn't know what constituted as a wrong wish, right? "She wasn't sure actually, cut her some slack!" Then why would she want to test her idea out on Inuyasha, who she supposedly cared about. She knew the jewel was dangerous and likely twisted any wish the user had based on any sign of impurity.

Why use it on Inuyasha?

What, because he was desperate enough to let her.

b) Their mutual distrust of each other.

Inuyasha didn't trust her enough to know that she wouldn't just suddenly fire arrows at him the exact day they promised to seal their fate together. He didn't even bother checking her scent- very important, mind you. It's actually evident post-resurrection that he didn't even put it past her to keep hurting him. With Kagome, he always doubted if she could ever actually hate him. I think it is also note-worthy to point out that after thinking Kikyou betrayed him with those warning arrows, he never bothered to sought her out, hurt her, confront her or anything, just snatch the jewel, sack the place then run.

Kikyou didn't even bother checking the aura of the person who she thought was Inuyasha. This man fought for you, helped protect you and your people, always made the effort to get closer to you, even agreed with your questionable plan, ready to abandon half of his identity to be with you, and you didn't once think "Hey. Something ain't right."

"They were fooled! Naraku was cunning! The disguises looked real!" Naraku can't hide scent and aura! These two "lovers" lived in an era where shapeshifting demons who want them both dead were a thing and they never thought it could happen? This lack of acknowledgement ties into another point I have.

c)The lack of intimacy outside of being romantic/sexual partners.

So they didn't trust each other enough and it was barely given proper acknowledgement and introspection. What did they have going for them outside of the kissing and being social outcasts "together"?

Well, they went out on a boat ride together. Sat nearby each other whenever they were barely talking. Didn't talk about much and it was about loneliness and about the jewel. (minus the one time they had brief mention of Inuyasha's parents and Kikyou even apologized for damaging his robe.) She asked him to bathe with her once. Don't know the rest.

They could have literally talked about anything else of substance. Inuyasha's Mom, Kikyo's parents, Kaede, the villagers, places they've been,Favorite Food, people they've faced, Onigumo, The looming threat of being ambushed by shapeshifters, nasty bandits, their hobbies outside of what they do, their education, the topic of how their marriage would be, what their life would be like, where would they go- literally anything else?

"That's the point! It's tragic and sad and they didn't have enough time! It was cut short because of Naraku-"

Tragic implies inevitability of the awful thing that will happen. e.g. A forbidden relationship being found out, put to the test and despite doing their damndest, one or both of them die.

Kikyou for some fucking reason, never bothered to tell Inuyasha of this Onigumo (who lusts for her mind you). Inuyasha never bothered to be more open about not liking being human. The both of them not even bothering to try giving the other benefit of the doubt.

"That's the point! They're immature! They were desperate and needed each other's company!" That's not love. That's infatuation at best and unhealthy at worst. I wouldn't mind you know, if they (the narrative and characters) just treated it as such. Say so, they were lonely and just needed someone and it happened to be each other. Now why would you want to marry someone you're not emotionally intimate with, let alone you barely trust?

How Can All These Be Fixed:

1) Have Inuyasha and Kikyou have simple scenes of bonding outside of being angsty teenagers. Kikyou was capable of playing with kids, so she's probably somewhat fun. Apply that to Inuyasha then. Yeah, "but that's childish!" Let the young people have fun- eat together, play board games, stargaze, talk gossip, literally anything lighthearted, please. The atmosphere around Inuyasha and Kikyou always felt so heavy. Not even in a somber, melancholic way. More of "Do these people even really enjoy each other's company?"

So there was one scene that wasn't shown enough of and when I read it, I really like it: The origin of the subjugation beads. Kikyou decided not to kill him after finding out he was after the jewel. Made the beads and was about to trick him to wear them as a present but decided not to give them to him when he suddenly gave her his late mother's shell of rouge, which she likely felt touched by. Questionable, even she admitted it. If she gave it, she should have confessed to it and never use it- kept it as a necklace gift. Either way, that, that kind of moment is honestly cute. Plus, the mention of his parents I stated earlier. :)

Should have had them courting each other with presents and late night talks instead of whatever the anime gave us.

2) Have Kikyou try any other way of making Inuyasha welcome in society instead aiming for what honestly should have been a final, desperate attempt.

Inuyasha did not like being human. Simple. Kikyou should have known this, yes? Nope. Because Inuyasha never showed himself to her as a human. Never told her about. He was never around long enough for her to even come close to seeing him human. Because he didn't like being vulnerable around her or anyone for that matter. Come to think of it, their "relationship" properly "developed" because Inuyasha for once felt compassion towards her. Kikyou started the entire meeting thing because she felt confident, arrogant even, that's he's just a half demon she doesn't need to kill. Alright, fine. Standard "They didn't like each other at first because of obvious reasons." Then she felt some sympathy when she found out that Inuyasha's parents were interracial and both deceased. Okay, nice development. Then it ends there. That's the best they could do with them. Basic remorse and sympathy. For all the months that Inuyasha stayed at that village, Kikyou didn't even invite him to stay inside with her and Kaede. The attempt. The mere offer would have been nice. Kikyou should have at least made more of an effort to integrate Inuyasha into the villages (she had influence over them). Inuyasha only seemed to matter to the villagers when he's needed for a fight or when he's feared.

I would understand if Kikyou and Inuyasha wanted to be rid of their respective powers if they actually tried to be normal and the villagers just did not like them being together. But no, Kikyou tried being normal for a day, playing with kids which for some reason, she only started doing when Inuyasha was around because "she felt more human with him" or something. Yeah but why though? What's the difference with Inuyasha around and him gone, in regards to her duties at the village? Fine, say Kikyou did feel softer and kinder when Inuyasha came because it's the first time she had to actually feel sympathy for someone who isn't human. Why hammer in that Kikyou pre-Inuyasha was kind, caring, and loved by all? Wouldn't it have made sense to write her being colder to everyone except Kaede, at the beginning, feared even but she started changing with Inuyasha which could lead to the people being more accepting of half demons?

Fine- if you don't like that option and that Kikyou had always been an open-minded, kind, smart person, why not use that influence to make Inuyasha an equal. A hero. "Oh she didn't trust him enough for that." or "The society will never like Inuyasha even if she said anything."

Currently, Inuyasha's respected in the world by doing what he does best and it was helping people, slaying demons and protecting the weak. Something he was already doing pre-seal anyways. It's baffling that there wasn't even an attempt to take him everywhere as her bodyguard and to spread that positive message to all the villages that not all demons were evil.

Could they have thought she was bewitched? Probably. But it seems Kikyou's word was gospel to the lot of them. The attempt would have been good.

3) Kikyou should have died any other way, caused by Naraku.

The only way this whole ordeal felt "tragic" was because of the curse Tsubaki placed on Kikyou (weird plot-convenient curse she had there). What was her fucking plan really? Just hope that Kikyou was gonna eventually fall in love? What if she didn't? What then? Kill her? Why not do that to begin with? Kikyou knew all this actually and just vowed to never fall in love but later in the anime she managed to deflect a curse and turn it on Tsubaki? Is there no way to counter the initial curse? She's much more powerful! But the reason why this was never properly dealt with was because it would be convenient for the plot for Kikyou to just die because of Inuyasha. And he didn't even know about all this until later on , if I recall correctly.

If we took that whole thing with Tsubaki out, we would have been left with Naraku's scheme. (Which is what I grew up knowing about, I only knew of the curse now. I was just told her power would diminish when she fell in love, which is bullshit because Kagome never had that problem and Kikyo's powers didn't weaken by that much. So apparently ist was a curse. Huh.)

"But Naraku's whole M.O is manipulating and tricking people!" It's one of them sure, but Naraku is also ruthless when it came to his attacks. Should have went with that route instead of them falling for an obvious trap that pretty much proved how shallow their "love" for each other was.

In this new version, since Inuyasha and Kikyou are an actual couple, they wouldn't have been fooled by obvious trickery and Inuyasha would have known about Onigumo- this leaves the options of possession/puppetry, trapping them both in an illusion, and or just straight up killing Kikyou while Inuyasha was lured elsewhere. But if we insist that she had to have been killed while he was transformed as Inuyasha, just to fuck with her, then at least have her know that it wasn't him but someone she isn't sure of (condition being she's not aware Onigumo has a thing for her) , wishing that Inuyasha would avenge her. Inuyasha, upon finding out that he's been lured to somewhere else (something that can happen, like with Mt. Hakurei) or tricked, and Kikyou had been killed, yeah, he's out for vengeance. The way he could be sealed was if Naraku then uses Kikyou as a disguise to attack him then get Tsubaki to do the seal. With the first one, since Inuyasha knows Kikyou is well, dead, it leaves who could possibly be out for the both of them (not immediately thinking it's Onigumo since last he checked, the man was a critically injured human who has no relationship connection to either of them). With the second, Tsubaki gets to fuck with them both because she's always hated Kikyou and wanted to one-up her. There, you have your tragic lovers who deserve to be together and get revenge for what happened to them.

Option A + B

This is the one where Kikyou doesn't get redeemed. Fast forward to Kikyou being resurrected because the hag thought she could do something with that. She's bones, gravel, spite and hatred incarnate. And she should have stayed that way. I adore the idea that had Kikyou been written to be good and then upon being dug up, turned into this awful husk of a person who just resented the living.

You can't have both the likeable, kind, sympathetic Kikyou while she goes around hurting people, stealing souls, scaring kids, helping Naraku, killing someone with her powers-an innocent human at that.

She goes on resenting Kagome, who is an unwilling participant in this love triangle, a 15 y.o who actively helps Kikyou and Inuyasha. (The manga is littered with Kikyou pointing out that Inuyasha was hers to heal and keep. I'm not against the idea of Kikyou coming back as this vindictive spirit but they should have acknowledged that. Not even her sister acknowledged it. Kikyou legit went "Inuyasha's gentler now. When he wasn't with me. She's healing his heart. I should have been the one to do that." and Kaede just went "Kagome is a strange child." Maybe tell her to not be so possessive? Yeah I know she looks a tiny bit like Kikyou but damn, she was willing to murder a child.) She goes around hurting the people she used to care about (Kaede, Inuyasha), hurting the people Inuyasha cares about (Kagome, the gang) and this creates heavy impactful angst! Because if they were an actually happy couple and this happened with Kikyou, then it comes down to Inuyasha's "She's no longer the woman I loved. She's a danger to the people around her and herself. Her soul needs to be put to rest." And then you have her die once, at the end to finally give her closure with Naraku and Inuyasha. I would have cried if that was the case.

and Option C, the one where she gets redemption.

I hate the love triangle because of how convoluted it is. Inuyasha looks like a fickle cheater at times, Kikyou clearly hates Kagome, and Kagome is just in it, trying to be the bigger person for the both of them and not fucking die.

If we kept the entire story as is, the least they could have done was acknowledged how awful Kikyou was to Kagome, Kohaku, Kaede, and a lot more people.

Her bullshit plan using the jewels to give Naraku a new body and then destroying him, along with the jewel was so ridiculous, not even counting the lives ruined in the process.

Would that arc have been solved if the characters just acknowledged that she was being shitty? No. Because that also needs to be coupled with her owning up to her mistakes.

She never owned or admitted to trying to kill Kagome, Inuyasha, and Kohaku. She never took accountability for being such a liability in during battle. She never owned up to the fact that she was absolute trash to her boyfriend, trying to drag him to hell, making him for guilty for even finding happiness with another woman, nevermind not even sure if they were dating, just chalking her up to "her replacement". She always had to be right and pitied on and that was so infuriating.

I think I'm getting a headache. Lets move on.

Now to fix the redemption, with Writing A + a bit of B.

Rewind back to Kikyou being resurrected, she's spiteful and bitter and the resentment is now personal, focused on Inuyasha, Kaede and most of all, Kagome, who she views as her replacement.

Since in this version, Kikyou knew Inuyasha didn't murder her, the hurt now comes from the fact that it seems like he moved on, with her reincarnation, and he hasn't avenged her yet. Of course she would be upset, she has every single right to be. To be a memory. To be stuck in the past. I'm gonna tear up just thinking about it.

Now where does Kagome come in all this. Nothing changes. She already actively helped Kikyou and Inuyasha in canon. She had always been understanding, the only condition being Inuyasha tells her beforehand that they will meet.

Kikyou and Kagome's relationship wasn't always just about their romance with Inuyasha. There were other things to be petty and or insecure of, like their roles as priestess, rivals of Midoriko's legacy, all that.

So here we know that Kikyou lost everything, not just her life, her beloved, she lost her position, her life's hard work, and all that went to a woman from a different time period- clearly she didn't belong here.

So there, we have the angst and drama on both sides. Kagome's insecurities trying to measure up to an amazing priestess and person, and Kikyou's insecurity of being replaced by "another her".

"But that's already canon! Kagome is an extension of Kikyou! She's her reincarnation! Wouldn't that make them the same person!"

No. I hate it when people disregard the message said and told by the narrative that Kikyou and Kagome were never and will never be interchangeable. Kagome is not Kikyou's 2nd Chance to be with Inuyasha. She's Inuyasha's 2nd Chance at Happiness. Kikyou is not Kagome from the Feudal Era. Kagome and Kikyou are two very different people.

You can make Kikyou and Kagome opposites without making the other ridiculously unlikable. (With Kikyou being so unkind and unsympathetic and Kagome being "bratty and spoiled" -according to InuKik shippers.) I don't have to put Kikyou down to prop Kagome up. The writing did that all on its own.

I'm trying to put them on an equal bar while trying to keep them with their individual personality and quirks.

Pre-Death Kikyou can be the calm, collected, intelligent, fearless one. She was mature for her age, probably overworked and never got to experience all the joys of being a teenager. (One might even add some level of paranoia that adds in to Inuyasha's protectiveness towards her and why he's so special to her. )

Kagome is the impulsive, temperamental, resourceful, brave one. She's emotional, sassy, and all around a social buttefly that got all the experience Inuyasha and Kikyou never had.

There. Complete opposites without the other being so unbearable.

Now how would Kikyou and Kagome's relationship go?

Well, only in the anime, I appreciate the attempt to make Kikyou respect Kagome. The episode was called "Kikyou and Kagome Alone in a Cave."

I would have liked this more if this wasn't one episode among multiple episodes with attempts on Kagome's life, Inuyasha's life, Kohaku's... Ugh.

For this version, she can probably try killing Kagome once because she was newly resurrected and "there can only be one of us." Kagome immediately tells Inuyasha this and this obviously angers Inuyasha which Kikyou then accuses him of actually replacing her. This drama causes a rift between the two that has nothing to do with Naraku or them being gullible or selfish because that was absolutely infuriating. Kikyou then keeps looking for ways to send Kagome back to her time (which she did in the first movie, she quoted "You don't belong here. Never return." )

Kagome clearly bottling up resentment at this point, because this undead woman whose name she has to live up to hates her, wants her boyfriend back, and just sent her back to her time. We have that scene of her realizing she loves Inuyasha but wanting to be supportive. The same goes as follows until Kagome finds her again, injured and filled with miasma after her last encounter with Naraku.

Kikyou, still bitter at this point, wandering around, stealing souls to stay "alive", looking for Naraku, just sees this girl and gets defensive. Kagome, having decided to be the bigger person and be sympathetic, offers to help Kikyou. Kikyou obviously taken aback, begrudgingly accepts this.

Kagome leaves the situation with more pity and sympathy for this woman she barely knows, and maybe some perspective. Kikyou isn't immune to mistakes and getting injured. It's okay to not live up to her right away. Kikyou leaves the situation with newfound respect because if it was the other way around, would she have helped? Would she have set aside her resentment to help someone again? If she didn't, what would that make her? Was she always this vindictive beneath the surface? Without the expectations of being the mature older sister/priestess, would she be selfish? Kikyou should have pondered stuff like that in that state.

Because Kikyou is supposed to be smart and self-aware.

Maybe have Kikyou want to get to know Kagome personally-? Maybe earn her trust back?

Now what happens to their relationship with Inuyasha involved? Kikyou now having more respect for her reincarnation, should actually stick around to see her and Inuyasha in action, maybe even try to help out, see what their dynamic is like, maybe kinda see if Kagome's better than her or not. This drama is better than the constant Inuyasha running off to see Kikyou and Kagome being jealous even though Kagome stated outright that them seeing each other was not the issue, it was them going behind her back.

Okay, so I love Kagome and InuKag but this needs to be stated, they were all did dirty. Kagome and Kikyou's potentially complex relationship was boiled down to relationship drama.

How Do We Fix The Love Triangle?

Easy. It ceases to exist. Let Inuyasha, Kikyou, and Kagome have a proper friendship and talk about their situation. The common argument neutral parties have about the love triangle is that "Inuyasha cares about them both equally!" I'd believe you if it didn't feel like InuKag + Kikyou attempting to homewreck an already good relationship.

"The Love Triangle was integral to the plot!"

It was a fucking parasite is what it was.

"But what is the drama of these three if not the romance?"

Insecurities, Duties, Mortality, Regrets, Expectations, Trauma, Loss, and Competition, among other things. The feudal era is a goldmine of drama and angst and you want to settle for this weird trite?

Inuyasha's main conflict in the series was avenging Kikyou and getting a happy ending for himself and Kagome. Great. Cool. But that damn love triangle made it seem like it was a 'who did he love more' then proceeded to show that Kikyou was awful and Kagome really just was the better choice.

Now, with this version, what is the main conflict, if he and Kikyou were indeed happy and Kagome is there, the new girlfriend... well, it is letting go of the past and moving forward.

Kikyou is quite literally dead. Kaede, Inuyasha, her village mourned her 50 years ago. Next thing she knew, she was conscious- made from clay and bones. The world move on without her and that, she never had a say or fault in any of what happened- to her, it was like days ago (since Inuyasha did not age) You can't even fault Inuyasha for this if they were happy. The tragedy lies now in what they never got to and never will finish.

Kikyou's clay body maintains itself from souls of dead women. Wether she takes them or her body's just a magnet for them, up for debate. Either way that is not sustainable and she's taking souls from strangers, not letting their souls to move on and rest.

"But the relationship was supposed to be flawed and exploitable and that's tragic!"

You're asking people to care about two people who barely care about each other beyond the bare minimum.

If the goal was to make them flawed but believable why did they have to crank up the problems to 20?! If Inuyasha and Kikyou were meant to be individuals with serious deep-seated issues, why not bring that up, lets talk about that. Address it. But nah, the story kept flip-flopping between calling it an undying tragic romance and a betrayal that somehow stemed from a lack of trust. Feeling betrayed ≠ Not having any trust in that person.

"It's like enemies to lovers where they don't trust each other completely!"

First off, there's no ideology/authority that makes a human dating a demon illegal. The exception is priests and monks because they're spiritual heads who are tasked to killing demons so yeah it would be highly questionable. For the demons, having intercourse with a human isn't really unheard of because they already see humans as lesser, be it entertainment or ya know, food. They raise eyebrows when the demon in question falls in love and makes an offspring. The point I'm trying to make is that they were never actual enemies and the story never painted them as such. Their description in canon is "tragic lovers". Also, the proper taboo here is it being interracial.

Inuyasha himself has no personal grudge against Kikyou at the start because why would he? He never had the intention of hurting or killing her because Inuyasha never harmed humans out of fun or spite. Kikyou, it's just business. Her job was to protect the jewel. She did so.

End of this segment, just brought it up in case someone tries to justify why two "lovers" didn't trust each other to not get attacked by the other.

Now for my final thoughts, there was a point in time that I was a fan of Kikyou's design, her aura, all that. I even drew her nonstop at that period. Same goes for Hawks actually. But why inflate what actually happened in canon? For all the fun what-ifs, could-bes, this is what we have. This is what is shown and told to us. I'm more of a show and tell person and but if I had to choose, it should be Show. Kikyou's pretty design doesn't really mask the fact that she's underdeveloped and written like scribbles on cardboard.

Miscellaneous things to mention before someone brings it up:

1) Kagome's final wish on the jewel was selfless because of her very personal motivations at the beginning and at the end of the story. Kagome stayed to help collect the shikon shards because she felt personally resposible for it shattering. Kagome didn't have to, really. She didn't know these people, even worse, they were 500 years ago. They'd still be long gone when she returns home to her normal life. But no, she selflessly stayed to help fix the mess she accidentally made trying to fulfill Kikyou's shoes. Now, at the middle of the story, friends and all. What did Kagome specifically have to lose if she walked away from the fight, with Kikyou back to do her job? Her pride? Her job of filling in for Kikyou? Inuyasha? Yeah, true. But those are still things she started without. What did Kagome have at the start of the story that she never would have lost if she walked away- her family, and her life at the modern era. She personally had nothing to lose at the end of the day by wishing for the jewel to disappear. (The wish was anime only. The manga states Kagome will fight in Midoriko's place eventually which yikes...)

"Kagome wished for the jewel so she could stop fighting because the jewel hurt her friends and so many more people!"

Yeah. Other people. Not her, specifically. She chose to fight. She didn't have to. She had no obligation to. "She didn't belong in that era." Kagome had nothing to gain from the jewel's power- no personal vengeance, no lifelong grudge to speak of. The wish benefited everyone else the most. Which is why it was the right wish to make and why Kagome was the right one to make it.

2) InuKik would not be cute or romantically tragic if Inuyasha was a girl and Kikyou was a man- it would be way too obvious it's unhealthy at best and abusive at worse.

See my points about the disparity between social status and maturity. Side tangent: Now the rich person x poor person is a common trope and the implications of abuse of power is usually sidestepped by having the poor person secretly being rich, becoming rich or the rich person losing those riches and power to be with the other. Now Kikyou and Inuyasha don't have a class problem but it's more of a position/status in society issue. Kikyou is a priestess, someone with the authority and "pass", if you will, to exterminate demons people deem dangerous. No one would care if she killed Inuyasha on first sight because who would protect this man's right to live? He had no support system, no family, friends, nothing. That itself isn't the main issue because she spared him for vague reasons. The issue now lies with her attempt to ask him to use the dangerous jewel to make a wish. If something goes array and he hurt her or anyone else, she'd have "good reason" to hurt/kill him in self-defense. Just a thought.

Kikyou has been really nasty towards Inuyasha despite him always being the one to get closer despite getting hurt. She was possessive, making him feel guilty for her death, asking him to die for her, to abandon the happiness he got from Kagome and his friends.

Now all the issues I've mentioned here and paragraphs beforehand and then genderbend that. You'd call him controlling, manipulative, selfish, abusive, yes? Because that's what she was like.

"You're reading too much into it!"

And why shouldn't I? If their relationship was so important, why shouldn't we look at it and scrutinize it?

"You're overreacting. She did reassure him that it was all Naraku's fault! He tricked them!"

- By exploiting an already weak relationship.

"InuKik was supposed to be endgame but the author of the manga was pressured to make it InuKag."

You as the author, have the power to make your story any way you want. If you're gonna upset a bunch of fans for a pairing you've written well for, better back it up with an equally well-written pairing. Leave no room to argue. No one will give you shit if it was done right. If you can somehow make a good way to write Kikyou back in and give Kagome a satisfying ending then yeah, it would be fine. Not happy for everyobe but it would have been serviceable. I'd say, if you're gonna piss the fandom off, at least do it well.

3) I'm not a mysogynist. I'm a girl and I would like to not see someone go "Ew. You're too hard on Kikyou but give Inuyasha a pass. You're just pitting two women against each other!"

I just said how Inuyasha's character was tainted by the love triangle, along with how we can have two powerful likable women and not reduce them to romantic rivals Inuyasha just had to choose from. I appreciate the "what Kagome and Kikyou offered him if he chose them" but I can totally understand how that would come off as unfair to the other party.

4) I have enjoyed fanfics with Kikyou before.

The first one. Can't remember the title but it was a ficlet about Kikyou being a narcissist. She kissed Kagome in that one because she was so entranced about Kagome being pretty. It was so weird because I don't think it was meant to be romantic. Kikyou was supposed to be self-absorbed and unsettling. This was the same woman who thought so highly to herself and told the 15 y.o stranger that she was an extension of her. Damn.

The second. It was what I suggested, maybe have Kikyou actually want to get to know Kagome. In this fic, Kikyou, after having been saved, wanted to befriend Kagome, earn her trust back. Kagome, already nice to her by default agreed to hang out and they even had friendship necklaces! :D It was a cute ending when they finally set aside the thing with Inuyasha and just talked about being girls, school, teen stuff- because Kikyou never had that so Kagome brought her presents from the modern era and I should stop rambling omg.

The third. Kikyou post-resurrection, having been rid of her duties and mortality decided that she should be more chill and carefree. The fic was half serious, half Kikyou just flirting with guys, sleeping with everyone who wasn't taken, ugly, or a minor. The fic was just fun, because it wasn't weighed by the characters not talking about the very suffocating relationship drama. Inuyasha, Kagome and Kikyou talked, remained friends, and she was over all being friendly now that yeah, she doesn't have to be crushed by the weight of responsibilities and it wasn't like she was leaving Kagome to do the work since she decided to stay with them to help out. Also, SessKik. It was just interesting.

5) The easier and more dramatic way Inuyasha could have betrayed Kikyou was to take the jewel when she handed it to him and he secretly wishes to become a full demon and then mauling her (still fulfilling thay violent death curse Tsubaki set on her). Just a thought.

6) KagKik is so fucking odd to me because Kikyou first thought Kagome to be an extension of her and then she flat out hates her. The the story thinks Kagome was Kikyou's second chance to be with Inuyasha. I don't need to tell you why it's a tad bit weird. I swear.

7) A polycule is a weird way to solve this. That takes out the tragic part of Kikyou being dead. To each their own I suppose but this should come with the condition of Kikyou being a well-written partner to begin with and Kagome being somehow okay with a three-way with her boyfriend and his undead ex girlfriend. ' - '

#salt #rant #anti kikyou #anti inukik #inukag

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