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branchandroot) wrote2006-02-16 01:10 pm
branchandroot) wrote2006-02-16 01:10 pm
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...as Tezuka is to Ryouma
Some musings on the relationship between Tezuka and Ryouma, because Lynn got me thinking.
See, one of the things I find rather obnoxious about the Pillar Pair frenzy is that way too many of those stories take it for granted that Tezuka and Ryouma are already together or, at least, in love.
And I think that's totally unrealistic.
Aside from the fact that Ryouma gives no indications whatsoever of being romatically cognizant of anyone at all, yet, his relationship to Tezuka is not inflected romantically. At all.
He's obsessed with Tezuka. Tezuka is his lifeline, his living example that there's another way to be strong than Nanjirou's. His avatar of possibility--both his own possibilities for real growth and the possibilities of meeting other strong and interesting players if he progresses in tennis.
As for Tezuka, I think Hal got it in one. Tezuka also sees Ryouma as an avatar--Tennis Incarnate. And Tezuka is suffuciently obsessed with the game itself that he will do anything it takes to let/make Ryouma advance and fulfill his potential. If there's love, it's an utterly aesthetic thing, not romantic at all.
Tezuka and Ryouma are not in love. It would be (and, in fact, was for me) extremely difficult to get them to be in love. Their absolute focus on each other is a wonderful thing to play with, but it IS NOT ROMANCE.
See, one of the things I find rather obnoxious about the Pillar Pair frenzy is that way too many of those stories take it for granted that Tezuka and Ryouma are already together or, at least, in love.
And I think that's totally unrealistic.
Aside from the fact that Ryouma gives no indications whatsoever of being romatically cognizant of anyone at all, yet, his relationship to Tezuka is not inflected romantically. At all.
He's obsessed with Tezuka. Tezuka is his lifeline, his living example that there's another way to be strong than Nanjirou's. His avatar of possibility--both his own possibilities for real growth and the possibilities of meeting other strong and interesting players if he progresses in tennis.
As for Tezuka, I think Hal got it in one. Tezuka also sees Ryouma as an avatar--Tennis Incarnate. And Tezuka is suffuciently obsessed with the game itself that he will do anything it takes to let/make Ryouma advance and fulfill his potential. If there's love, it's an utterly aesthetic thing, not romantic at all.
Tezuka and Ryouma are not in love. It would be (and, in fact, was for me) extremely difficult to get them to be in love. Their absolute focus on each other is a wonderful thing to play with, but it IS NOT ROMANCE.
no subject
a lotanything else to add)It doesn't interest me a lot in fic. As far as I've seen (and I tend to skim those stories rather than read them, so my position's pretty unsupported), most of the better thought-out TezuRyo stories tend to tread pretty much the same canonical ground and trot out a fairly narrow range of conclusions. And to be honest, I think that's fairly inevitable given the dynamic of those two as presented in canon. Which is not to say that innovative stuff hasn't been produced, because it has.
Those 'already in love' stories seem fairly endemic to whatever pairing is overly popular in a given season? I mean, there sure are lots of those TezuFuji ones around. (although slightly less obnoxious in a canon context due to the dynamics of the characters. But still.)
no subject
The MomoRyo arc worked /much/ better.