Spah!Verse Relationship Meta
So. This is embarrassing. I wrote Meta and I don’t even know how accurate it is.
But it exists, so…
Yeah.
This is very, very interesting. There are some points I really agree with, and some points I very much disagree.
Okay, first off, if it says climbingshoes17 reblogged that, that was an error, I was logged into the wrong accoung.
Second of all: your meta was made up of SO MUCH WIN…
AND THE META CONTINUES…
First of all, Kapashima.
First of all WITHIN the first of all, their strange sort of telepathy. I would totally agree with you about this being entirely platonic, if the telepathy were a case of them accidentally communicating to the exclusion of others. But Kapashima very much purposefully keep their conversations in their own little world. A good example is when Harry first introduces Ben to Team/Blu as a group; when he asks if Ben can stay to listen in, Jim makes a comment about how attractive Ben is, a comment that only those who know him will understand as permission, but even those on the outside can understand as communication. Lee flat-out says Ben can stay. Then, last in line, Pratik plays “Anyway You Want It.” On its own, this still might be the sort of communication anyone could understand… in theory. But Harry’s response to Pratik, not to Jim’s wink or Lee’s gruffness, is “You must think you’re hilarious.” Even to the reader, this comment seems to come out of left field. Why is Pratik’s guitar-playing the response that is called out? Why not Jim’s inappropriate winking? Harry’s response implies a whole second layer to the dialogue that neither the other characters in the scene (who ignore it) or the readers (who are given no other information) can understand. This is despite the question being asked for the benefit of Ben in the first place. Even with other people participating in the conversation, the Kapashima dialogue remains entirely purposefully private. These boys don’t just have a secret language; they strive to use it at even the exclusion of their closest friends.
This scene is good also in discussing your other Kapashima-related point. I can definitely see where you come from on the whole could-definitely-return-to-being-friends-after-a-relationship thing. And, if neither of them had romantic interest in one another, I would definitely see them as being just-friends forever (although admittedly incredibly intimate ones). However, they do not exist in such a vacuum. Harry, as has been stated, has his crush. Taking the above scene into account, one can see that Pratik, too, has feelings for Harry that are possibly more-than-platonic. Pratik’s response to Ben complimenting Team/Blu as a whole is to play a sting from “Wouldn’t It Be Nice.” This song selection seems decidedly passive-aggressive to me. Harry has known this boy for less than half an afternoon, and Pratik, his “best friend” who is seemingly uninterested in anyone’s relationships at all, is playing him one of the sappiest love songs known to man, pretending he didn’t play anything at all when Harry calls him out on it, instead of grinning or otherwise treating the song as a joke. Furthermore, when Harry reveals that Ben can play the keyboards, Pratik’s response is a hesitant and “doubtful” one; this coming from the boy who loves all music, everywhere. One could possibly argue that Pratik is simply scared of losing his best friend; however, all of his musical comments have decidedly overly-romantic overtones (especially Accidentally in Love), and there is clearly something more than friendship Pratik is scared to lose. Basically, Pratik is just as much crushing on Harry as vice versa. When this shared emotional attachment is combined with their purposeful construction of a world just for them, a domestically romantic twist to their friendship becomes apparent before they even date at all. While I agree with you that they could definitely continue to be friends and could, indeed, simply be friends forever, I do not think either of them would, consciously or not, allow the other to date, and that them remaining friends forever would block both of them from making romantic connections with anyone else at all.
With respect to Pratik’s family: I definitely do know the issues at stake here. One of my Indian friends came out to his parents during high school and was threatened with being sent to a school back in India; they eventually “compromised” by sending him to live with relatives who lived on the other side of America. But Pratik does have a certain degree of freedom with his family and, even more than freedom, a total disregard for what they want. Pratik is supposed to work for his family business; instead, he dedicates himself almost entirely to his music. In fact, it often seems as though Pratik studies more for the sake of Harry than for the sake of his family. I honestly don’t think Pratik would take his family into account long enough for them to affect his forming of emotional attachments.
As to the high school relationships not lasting: the same statistics would haunt EVERY couple in the Spah verse; there’s nothing keeping Kapashima from being the exception. And as to your prognosis that Harry will soon outgrow his crush; what I remember from the drabbles implies that this crush has been a factor in Harry’s life for at least a year by now. I don’t see the evidence of it leaving any time soon.
Re:Paisley, I agree that the Game group probably wouldn’t care. However, there’s always the stereotype/stigma of The Dungeonmaster’s Girlfriend in gaming circles, so the relationship, if not forbidden, would at very least be a constant source of humor, and, possibly, bitterness. Just a thought of mine, though perhaps without any real bearing on the likelihood of the relationship happening.
On to Lim…
I very much disagree with how you see Jim. I think he knows exactly what he does to Lee, all of the time. I also disagree with how much of a role fear plays in how he treats Lee. While I will agree that he is scared to lose Lee, I don’t think that this is a fear commonly on his mind; Lee just does whatever Jim wants so well most of the time that Jim doesn’t usually consider the alternative. When the topic of a relationship with Lee is brought up, however, and only then, Jim is confronted with the possibility of screwing up the balance, and, being afraid of losing that balance, refuses to consider the relationship at all.
I also disagree that something has to give. If something did give, I agree, it would be an explosion. However, both of them appear, if not happy with their current relationship, then entirely unwilling to change it. Lee refuses to admit his love outloud, though he is aware of it, and cannot, as he is currently characterized, offer an ultimatum or do anything else that might wind up losing him Jim. Jim, therefore, sees no benefit in making a move, actually preferring the status quo as it currently is. I see this relationship continuing indefinitely, possibly until character development forces a change. I also disagree with the statement that a Lee v. Jim fight would destroy Dalton. After all, most of the Warblers (being Keirans), if they don’t hate Jim and Lee, at very least don’t like them. What’s it matter to them if they fight? The major issue would be Team/Blu. But, again, I cannot see such a fight happening at all for a very, very long time, if ever.
Now, on to The Super Special Ship of Awesome (or Pond, I suppose, if you want to be less exciting). Katie, having published the list of Jim’s boyfriends, has revealed that the end of Pond was entirely due to distance and a slow growing apart, no real drama or horror on either side, leading to the current amicability and even friendship between the parties involved. The list of boyfriends is also very telling in that, except in the cases where Jim was being abused, the boyfriend normally ended the relationship first. More than a statement on Jim’s ability to hold onto a relationship, I see this as an eloquent speech on Jim’s abilities of character judgment. To put it another way, the boy sure can pick ‘em. He is absolutely terrible at finding, let alone dating, good people and is, as the saying goes, looking for love in all the wrong places. This goes back to my major problem with Lim; Jim views love as something very fleeting, physical, and material, and he needs someone to show him an alternative, not an option he will currently be able to find with Lee. Essentially, Jim just needs to date a GOOD person right now, not necessarily Gary, although Gary is definitely a possibility.
And hooray for meta!
(Source: dormilonaluna, via dormilonaluna)
