Well, they're still more civil than the Tea Partier/Liberal wars

[nayami]

So, yeah, I know I shouldn't have said anything, especially not at 3 in the morning. But I dislike being told that people aren't allowed to express their disagreement toward their series. Hino EXPECTS people to fight over her triangle; it's a gimmick. It's why creators invent the triangles. They like to people on their toes guessing who will end up

Comments

[nayami]

I am a torn fan because my opinions are set by Zero, him being my favorite character. I mostly just want to see him happy, which I realize will probably never happen. But yeah, that's the main reason I got into the Zero/Yuuki pairing in the first place. Well that and I really liked how they were partners in the beginning. I'm a sucker for partners. Now, I'm undecided.

Still, I hate when people attack someone else's pairings because everyone has their own interpretation and until the creator says so themselves, nobody is wrong. And even then, it's still not set in stone. So I actually don't mind when Kaname/Yuuki fans tell me why the pairing works for them. It helps in RPing. That's why I think I should be able to say what I don't get about the pairing so they can explain their interpretation. But I'm still super against saying one pairing is better than the other because "Kaname is too obsessive" or "Zero is too cold." I'd love to see more actual discussion of both sides brought to play rather than the undecipherable love/hate fests.

[sari_15]

I adore Yuuki as well, but I do tend to see things primarily through Zero's eyes because of my fondness for him. I want to see him in a decent place emotionally by the end of the series. I would like that large bridge between them to gap, but I'm not delusional enough to think that their relationship will ever go back to what it was previously. It's a lot to ask for from both of them at this point after everything they've been though.

Comparing them at all is pointless since there are so many differences between each pairing that it would be like comparing cheese and cupcakes. Really...one isn't better than the other. They are different. I just would rather have one over the other. YMMV

RPing characters from the series can bring such a different perspective to everything because you really have to think about things through their eyes and in different settings. Especially their character faults. Who are you and where do you play?

[nayami]

Yes, that is my issue with comparing them. But that happens to be the constant default mode for fans. For me it's less one versus the other, but more why one makes me head-desk at times.

And I RP Zero, which is why his emotional issues fascinate me. I love the damaged ones. I love his internal conflict. I adored the chapter before this one because we got to see it in so many delicious sides. My Kaname loves poking said internal conflict. It's great. But my love of Zero's insanity is also why I tend to glare at fans who just want him to GET OVER IT and be nicer.

[sari_15]

LMAO You are the Zero at CFUD aren't you? I was the Zero at Poly and I play him at Marina

I know exactly what you mean. I was appalled at everyone that wished Yuuki would have bitten him. Because, you know. He wouldn't have issues with that at all. Neither would she. It's not like she doesn't know how traumatizing something like that would be for him, having never cleaned up or witnessed him being bit before. A Yuuki to Zero bite scene is going to have to be something very carefully done. Timing will be everything and I don't think it will happen for a long time. At least I hope it won't

[nayami]

Indeed I am. Though I didn't know the other RPers even know we had a cast at CFUD. We are tiiiiiiiiiiiiiny. I think I remember the Poly-cast a bit.

It's because they thought when he bit her, it was fine so her biting him would be just as fine. I just get irked at fandom's refusal to let Zero have his very real trauma and resulting rage.

I'm fascinated with his vampirism coming out through wanting to kill vampires. It's a delicious twist. And yes, he is more social now since that co-dependence is gone and he's trying to develop into his own person. I love where Zero is in canon. While I'm somewhat interested in the plot, I mostly read for him. Which is a big deal considering that I was about to drop VK when Zero seemed totally screwed at the end of the first arc. Pretty much nothing they've done with him since has left me anything other than incredibly pleased.

Aside from randomly deciding that it's ok for purebloods to drink humans and make them into vampires as long as its consensual. wtg hino.

1/2

[sari_15]

Only separating these to get the last point off first and then go back to the rest of it.

I think that rule is 'new' and a part of the recent treaty. An attempt to prevent something like what happened to Zero never happen again. Sara, the totally awesome evil that she is, just chose to prove how stupid a rule it was and throw it back in Zero's face.

That part just made me ill to my stomach at how helpless Zero had to have felt at that moment. I don't think his 'rage' had anything to do with his vampire side and more to do with the absolute horror he had to feel at being there and not being able to stop it from happening. It's only natural for him to be pleased at being able to get the revenge he's been denied for so long by transferring it to Sara at the moment.

Re: 1/2

[nayami]

Oooh, good call on the possibility of the rule being new. I like that.

As far as the vampirism manifesting through the desire to kill vampires, that is something Kaitou has explained for us. We've heard it earlier too with Zero explaining to Cross that when he doesn't get to hunt at night, his thirst becomes unbearable. And poor Zero got very vampy in the moment that he thought he could bring Sara down, which is what Kaitou chastised him for, telling him he looked like a vampire that's been denied his kill. The other stuff holds true about his helplessness and horror, but that look was so vampire eying its prey. Thus, I love that scene. Though, to be fair, most of this comes from Kaitou's dialogue, and he could well be an unreliable source.

[sari_15]

I agree that it was someone eying their prey but I tend to think it was more him transferring that strong desire for revenge onto her. I don't take Kaito as a very reliable narrator and neither is Zero in regards to his own vampirism. He's going to think the worst of himself. Kaito is going to think the worst of Zero. The entire conversation with Ichiru in chapter 59 was about there being no real difference between being a vampire or being a human.

I can't see him hunting to kill for the blood. I don't think he's drinking from them after realizing that you absorb powers from the person you drink from. He's living proof of how your life can be screwed up by doing that. If anything I think he's getting blood absorbed from Bloody Rose from his kills, but I'm not sure. It could just be the rush from the hunt that helps soothe him.

[nayami]

Oh no, I don't mean he wants their blood. And he still wants actual blood too. It's just that killing them is also a temporary means of sating his thirst, perhaps because it calms him down and reminds him of the differences between them or something (this coming before his internal monologue with Ichiru) or yes, the rush from the hunt. There's no way he drinks from them (though the Bloody Rose as a conduit is a nifty concept). But I also do see that drive to kill them as a hunger in of itself and when he's high on it, he does get that predator look, so I've always seen it as part of that manifestation.

But yes, with Sara, particularly there's the helplessness to stop it from happening again, as well as the deep general dislike and distrust toward her from the party.

[sari_15]

He definitely gets a high from killing at this point, which is a great dark trait of his at this time. I love his transformation into an anti-hero and how Hino has magnified his faults from the first arc into something even darker and more believable now. Maybe I don't see them as 'vampiric' because I tend to think in a way similar to Yuuki and Ichiru that vampires are good and bad, just like humans.

The hunger I see as something different from his drive. He hunts to soothe the hunger, the vampire in him. Sara was something different. She was a part of his drive to kill purebloods.The opportunity and reason came up to take out someone he hates, there's no reason for him not to get pleased by that since this is what he's been waiting for. Someone to screw up...except she didn't. I think he might even be confused because at that time, the drive was different from the hunger. Bigger, more adrenaline, rare...there's no reason for him NOT to get excited since that's what he's been working toward.

That's just my thoughts though. should

[nayami]

I love different takes on characterization. I think I trend toward the darker side of vampires (the beast) rather than the evil sides or the sensual ones. I just like exploring the links between the vampires and the Hunters and how the one is most definitely the descendant of the other, hence why Hunters get their rush from doing their job. I remember Zero used to deeply dislike it when he had to actually hunt, and now he has to restrain himself into only hunting when told. I wonder if it's not some side affect of the massive amount of pureblood blood in him at this point, making him almost a pureblood himself when it comes to some aspects. Though, there is also the increased feelings of vengeance toward vampires now, tempered only by the need to keep them civil enough that they don't endanger others. I'm curious to find out how this calculation on Zero's part plays out, as far as his cooperation. It seems for now, this is an effective way to manage things without a bloodbath, even though Zero dislikes the pacing. I also want to see

[sari_15]

There. Added. And I have more to say, I just have to get ready for work and won't be able to say it until later.

;_; Forgive me. This was MEANT to only be a paragraph or two...

[sari_15]

I love different takes on it too. Depending on who you are talking to though, some people just don't seem to 'get' the character. They usually aren't the ones playing that character though. Characterization can be slightly different from player to player, but neither is wrong. Just brings them from a different perspective

and I just kept going...and going....

[sari_15]

It's pretty safe to say because of this and the fact that we know he used to be this idealic child that thought that vampires could be 'saved' that he genuinely had bad feelings associated with hunting. After everything he experienced, even when at the Academy years later, when asked to go hunting he was less than thrilled about the prospect. At that time we have a Zero who is...extremely...unmotivated. Okay fine, that might be sugar-coating it a little and it's bordering the no drive to live. He literally is going through the motions in life. His only true goal is killing and dying with Shizuka. Yet there was no real ambition to actually DO that or anything else for that matter. Shizuka had to come to him for Zero to even attempt to get revenge. Honestly, how much lazier can someone get? He literally was just going through the motions of life and waiting to die

Re: and I just kept going...and going....

[nayami]

As far as his new take on the situation, I see it, yes, as Zero taking a more active role rather than just backing up Yuuki as he once did, when he didn't care what happened to him. That said, should push come to shove, I still can see him completely willing to risk his life to fulfill his role as a Hunter, which he views in its protector role. I think the protector, the agency to prevent others from being hurt like him, is much more active in him now that he's lost so much. So while the fury toward vampires and the want to destroy them in vengeance still exists, it takes a back seat to this more important role. The protective aspect is the one I explore the most when I RP him, although some characters mistake it as Zero using it as an excuse to retaliate against vampires. When, in fact, it is about doing something with the warped life he has been given and not throwing away the chance Ichiru has given him to make a difference

[sari_15]

*keyboard smashing*Yes! A THOUSAND TIMES THIS. This is the part I tend to focus on as well. He keeps a close eye on the vampires in game and when something happens, is often one of the first there taking control and making sure everyone is safe, vampire related or not. People often call him out on his prejudices but he'd much rather have them safe than in his position. I think Aidou referred to him as insane after discovering he'd sat in a chair outside his and Yuuki's hospital rooms for two days during a recent plot to ensure that everyone was safe and no one entered their rooms without supervision because of the risks. Only taking small naps after not sleeping the two nights before that due to events that had happened those nights that kept him busy