Tuesday, February 14, 2017

Ore Monogatari: A Story of Love, Bromance, and Asexuality

WARNING:
The following does contain spoilers for Ore Monogatari! (My Love Story!). You hath been warned.
So, the other day I made a post about my favorite OTP's and mentioned at the end of that list I'd left one off that I'd go over on Valentine's Day. And here I am, fulfilling my promise. 
So today we're taking a look at the hilarious romantic comedy, Ore Monogatari! (My Love Story!). You know, the one about the really big kid (Takeo) that just graduated middle school and falls awkwardly and sweetly in love with this really small girl (Yamato).
Rather than taking the obvious route and looking at the main couple, I'm going to be talking about the obviously best character in the entire show: Takeo's best friend, Makoto Sunakawa.


At first glance, Suna doesn't seem to unique a character: he's another pretty boy uninterested in girls, and all the girls seem to for whatever reason flock to him because of it. Just so you get the gist, episode 1 starts out with the girl Takeo likes confessing to Suna, and him rejecting her. It's not anything special; we see these types of characters all the time in anime: Takumi from Kaichou wa Maid-Sama is a good example that comes to mind very quickly. Sasuke from Naruto is yet another example. So, OK: basically, anime is saying that women love assholes.
Well, not exactly.
You see, the twist with Suna is that he's actually not a bad guy at all; he gives his seat on the train to people that obviously need it more, he gives all credit to Takeo whenever people thank him for his friend's good deeds, and he tries not to get Takeo wrapped up in his personal troubles because he doesn't want his friend to worry about him. He just is genuinely disinterested in girls, especially the ones that talk about his best friend behind his back. Because those are the ones that he for whatever reason seems to attract. Ugh.
"OK," you may find yourself thinking, "Then he really does like girls, just not the ones that have confessed to him." And that's a little more difficult to prove or disprove than you may imagine.
Episode 2 features a misunderstanding in which Takeo believes that Yamato is in love with Suna, and, being the awesome guy that he is, he decides to trying setting the two of them up, despite having feelings for Yamato, himself. Part of his plan includes asking Suna about what kinds of girls he likes. The problem, however, is that Suna is very reluctant to talk about himself, particularly about girls, and what answers Takeo does force out of him seem forced.
"Suna. I know this is sudden, but what kind of girl do you like?"

"That sure is sudden."
"Let's talk AKB. Who do you like there?"
"Sorry, I'm not familiar with celebrities."
"What if you had to choose between Sayla-San and Fraw Bow?"
"We're doing anime now?"
"Okay, then what about the Song Lady or the Exercise Lady?!"
"Maybe the Exercise Lady."
"What about between Main-Chan and Sui-Chan?!?"
"Main who?"
Not too long after, we get another interrogation.
"Suna, do you have a girlfriend?"
"What's with you today, man?"
"Do you?"
"No."
"Why not?? You're popular with the ladies! You never think about dating girls?"
"... I dunno. It makes me tired."
"Huh?!"
"When I think about what I'd have to do if I dated anyone, it makes me tired."
(What?! It should make you happy!) "... Are you sure you have a pair?"
"Sure."
"Then why aren't you interested in girls?"
" I never said I wasn't."
"Then you are interested!"
"Sure. As much as any other guy."
As we learn in later episodes, Suna is usually pretty careful about how he says things, so take notice of his wording. "Sure." "Maybe." "I never said I wasn't." Also take note on how he scratches the back of his head and rubs his neck Obviously, he's saying stuff to get Takeo off of his back.

Unfortunately, we don't get much more on this subject until we hit episodes 21 and 22, when we are introduced to his love interest: Yukika Amami.

Now Yukika is a little... different from the other girls in this show thus far. She apparently fell in love with Suna in kindergarten, when he took a hit in the face for her in a game of dodge ball, and since she's pretty shy, she's been holding it in for about ten years now, contenting herself with literally stalking Suna (yes, stalking; she's in the background of all of Suna's photos, she knows what days he goes to the supermarket, etc.). None of which is known to Suna, so when nice-guy Takeo introduces her and tries to set them up, all he really knows is that this is the shy girl he's been going to school with and probably the chick that's been sending him chocolates and love letters anonymously every Valentine's Day.
As you can imagine, Ore Monogatari seems to be following all rom-com anime tropes. Suna agrees to go on a date with her at the zoo while Takeo and Yamato tag along, making it a double date. Things seem to be looking up for Yukika; she manages to have a conversation or two with Suna, and she pairs pairs up with him in a trivia game, in which she scores a complete victory for the two of them. He even held her hand for a moment! She feels as if she's really connected with him; it feels like she's had the best time of her entire life.
If this were just about any other anime, they would have started a relationship at the end of the episode. Takeo is cheering for him, excited that best bro is finally going to find love and get a girlfriend. Yamato is excited. A lot of the audience is excited, too. By the end of this date, Suna will no longer be forever alone!
But-
Ore Monogatari is not any other anime.
And I cheered and cheered.
Now don't get me wrong; it wasn't because I disliked Yukika; I may have found her stalking tendencies creepy, but I by no means like watching any person getting their heart broken. I wasn't happy that Suna friend-zoned her. In fact, I was happy when by the end of the episode things were resolved, he gave her a gift to repay her for all the chocolates she gave him over the years, and she seemed to more or less move on.

No, no, no. What had me so elated was Suna's obvious struggle during this episode. Here was this girl that he should have by all means liked: she was cute, a little shy but overall very nice to him, she was smart and had the same hobbies as him (like reading), and she obviously really liked him. And you could tell that he tried, and tried because he didn't want to hurt her, but in the end, there's only so much a person can do. He likes her, but he can't just force himself to like like her.
Holy Mother of God. Makoto Sunakawa is my spirit animal.
I had been suspecting that Suna was asexual from episode 2 onward, but I was hesitant to really accept it until this episode rolled around and completely flipped the table.
For anyone unaware, asexuality not just a means of cloning oneself by means of self-reproduction; it's a sexuality (or lack thereof) in which a person is not sexually attracted to anyone; like-wise, aromantics are not romantically attracted to anyone, either. Basically, this is Suna in a nutshell.
Some people may argue that Suna is actually gay based on his obvious lack of interest in girls, and if you think so, then that's good for you, though I disagree based on 1) His reaction to Takeo asking him if he liked him and 2) His similar lack of interest in boys throughout the series.
That part's up to you, but I wholeheartedly believe Suna to be asexual, and I am overwhelmingly happy to accept him as such because, as someone who once thought myself to be asexual, I loved finally having a fictional character that I could relate to.
Let me say that again: "Finally having a fictional character that I could relate to."
Meaning: I have never seen another character in any anime, cartoon, movie, book, video game, etc. that I have ever considered to be asexual.
And that-
That is beyond sad.
Now bear with me as I go on a bit of a tirade here; I will mark the following section in bold if you wish to skip it.
START
I mean, yes; asexuals are the vast minority on the spectrum (only about 1% of the population identifies as so), and we don't have it nearly as bad as a lot of other sexualities do- gays and lesbians have to deal with a lot of bigotry, and I feel extremely sorry about the amount of hate that bisexuals get (especially since bisexuality makes a hella lot more sense than homo or heterosexuality to me, but that is a whole topic for another day). But at the same time, I would like some, just SOME sort of asexual representation in the media.
We do have our struggles. Like I said, not nearly as bad as other sexualities, but I often met people (including my own parents) who believe that asexuality is not an actual thing, that it doesn't exist, or is just some virgin's excuse for being too scared to have sex. I'm just thankful that I wasn't one of those unlucky few to be subject to corrective rape- as, yes, that is an unfortunate thing that many asexuals have suffered through before. 
But it's not just an excuse, and not all asexuals are virgins. Asexuality is simply the atheism of sexuality; it is a lack of desire to be in a sexual, or sometimes even romantic, relationship with another person. And it is totally natural; it's just the way our body is wired and our hormones are balanced, just as it is with any sexuality.
Which is exactly why I feel that asexuals need a little bit of representation in the media; nothing too big, just some characters slipped in every now and then that don't end up with a love interest and don't sulk about it. Because it turns me off from a medium just a little bit when every single side character has to be paired up with someone else.
END
What makes Suna being asexual really great to me, though, is that the author of Ore Monogatari doesn't make that define him: he's not heartless by any meaning of the word, and in fact has a much bigger heart than you would initially expect. He's a fantastic friend to Takeo, always tagging along on his and Yamato's dates- he's kind of the reason that they asked each other out in the first place- and always gives them the best relationship advice. He also helps all kinds of other people, going as far as to comfort Saijou, who had her heart broken after finally confessing her feelings to Takeo despite knowing she would be turned down. He even cares so much about other people that he doesn't tell Takeo about his anxiety about his father's surgery because he didn't want to bother him with it, too.
Which is yet another thing that I can identify with Suna for.

Suna is just full of love, it just so happens that his love comes in a much more platonic form than a romantic one, which is just wonderful and beautiful.

So, once again, if you still want Suna to find love some time down the road, good for you! Feel free to ship him with whoever you want! I don't think he would particularly mind either way. But for now, personally, my biggest OTP will be Suna x Nobody.

That's all for now, you beautiful people, you! I hope you have a fantastic Valentine's Day, whether you're in a relationship or not! And just remember: there are lots of more relationships that you can celebrate than a romantic kind, so don't beat yourself up over it if you're single! Celebrate with friends and family, show people you care!
Love y'all! Bye!

"Suna! I hope you find someone you like!"
"Well, I'm having a great enough time as it is."

Friday, February 10, 2017

An Early Valentines Day Special: My OTP's

If you know me well, you would know that I used to identify as asexual, meaning that I wasn't attracted to other people for the longest time. Though now, I think I'm finding myself falling more along the lines of demisexual, which is a whole other can of worms I'll touch on another day. Bottom line: that’s just who I am. But just because I used cringe at the thought of myself being in a relationship does not necessarily mean that I don’t enjoy a good romance between other people every once in a while. What can I say? Love can be beautiful. So in honor of Valentine’s Day, I’m going to be listing off thirty of my OTP’s, cannon or not, in just about anything: anime, cartoons, games, movies, books, etc. And none of this is in any particular order. Enjoy.
Also, as you may expect, there's likely to be spoilers in quite a few of these. Just, you know, so you know.

1:
The Legend of Zelda
Link and Zelda
These two are an obvious pair, of course, having Link rescue Zelda almost every single game (at least in the ones I’ve played). What really appeals to me about these two, however, is how, despite how many times they are reborn into another life to face the evil of Ganon/Demise, they always managed to find each other and keep that strong bond between Goddess and Hero.


2:
Kill La Kill
Ira Gamagoori and Mako Mankanshoku
This is a silly pairing with a not quite-so-silly reason for liking them. When you really think about it, Mako and Gamagoori, despite being complete opposites in appearance, are almost exactly alike. They are both extremely loyal to their friends and have completely over-the-top intense personalities. The only real difference is that one happens to be a giant, intimidating behemoth of a human, and the other one is... well, Mako.

3:
Codename: Kids Next Door
Wally and Kuki
Here’s one from my childhood. Wally and Kuki, to me, were always the unspoken official couple in Kids Next Door, what with Wally’s way-too-obvious crush and Kuki’s constant attention-whore-ing, especially when Wally is involved. Wally is the dumb kid that likes to act tough and Kuki is the bossy upbeat girly-girl, and those kinds of pairings were always charming to me. Not to mention, Codename Kids Next Door was one of my favorite childhood shows, and for that, these two will always hold a special place in my heart.

4:
Fate Series
Almost Everyone with Saber
Frankly, I thought that there was a lot of wasted potential in the Fate series for romance with Arturia, especially considering the fact that in one version, she ends up in a relationship with the one person I wish she hadn’t. I had been under the impression that Arturia was aromantic due to wasted opportunities until I got half-way through the Fate route of Fate/Stay Night and bashed my head against walls because the romance in Fate/Stay Night was total crap.
That said, here are some of the better options. Your welcome.

Diarmuid. Lancer. Honey. We all know you were in love with her. Hell, you admitted to it in the Einzbern Consultation Room.We all know that your battle banter was really flirting. And who can blame you? First woman that isn't totally enamored by the mole under your eye. I get it. But, please, you should have spoken up before it was too late! D':
Their relationship in a nutshell: Like a knight and his king. Only gayer.
Wait.
Gilgamesh. Where do I even begin with you? You're an egotistical maniac, and god knows Arturia deserved leagues better than you, but you at the very least understand her and have no qualms with letting her know how you feel the desire to own her: mind, body, and soul. You've got that going for you at the very least.
Their relationship in a nutshell: He proposed to her. She basically told him to screw off.

But, OK. OK. Let's say that maybe she's just gay. After all, Artuaia did marry a woman in life.Well, there's Irisviel. I mean, yeah, she's technically married, but so is Arturia. Iri is cute, she's nice, she seems to have a really good relationship with 'Turia. They just kind of got each other, you know?
Damn you, Kirei!
Their relationship in a nutshell: Like a princess and her knight and shining armor. Precious and must be protected at all costs.
 This may throw you off a bit, since Lancelot did sleep with her wife, but, really, I imagine that he was one of the very few people in her court that knew Arthur was really Arturia. I propose that he may have been in love with her at one point or another, but felt guilty about it since she was his king. Just a thought.
Their relationship in a nutshell: Really, really bad. Like, she basically drove him to the brink of insanity, their friendship went so far south.
 And Sasaki Kojiro. We all know you were flirting. I don't think even you tried to hide it, you handsome bastard, you.
Their relationship in a nutshell: He just wanted some of that kingly booty.



5:
Puella Magi Madoka Magica
Kyoko Sakura and Sayaka Miki
It’s a little harder for me to describe just why this pairing appeals to me, although it probably has to do with Kyoko’s understanding exactly what it is that Sayaka is going through, and how that understanding makes her care for Sayaka and change back from the ruthless person she became after losing her family to an ill-chosen wish. I also love how, in Rebellion, we see that Sayaka also realizes what she had done to Kyoko and regrets going out the way she did because of how it affected Kyoko. And they’re just so gosh-darn cute!! I mean, look at this hand-holding!!

6:
Fullmetal Alchemist
Roy Mustang and Riza Hawkeye
I’m still not sure if Roy and Riza are considered cannon or not, but it is pretty obvious that they care very deeply for one another, perhaps a little too much, considering their rankings and positions in the military. I think the best part about these two’s relationship, however, is how much they trust one another. I mean, when he goes blind at the end of the series, Roy trusts Riza enough to be his eyes for him. You have to admit that between the sniping and fiery explosions, these two make a pretty bad ass combination.

7:
Baccano!
Claire Stanfield and Chane Laforet
These two just kind of jumped out at me out of the blue towards the end of the anime, but I suppose that's what was aimed for; Claire proposed to Chane the first day they met because he's simply an impulsive person and was infatuated with her from the beginning. Normally, I wouldn't like this sort of couple, but they seem to handle it very maturely, mentioning that, yes, Claire did kind of jump the gun, and he worried so much about his proposal methods that it lead to my absolute favorite scene in the entire anime, in which he finds a girl he almost killed and sits down at a cafe with her to ask for relationship advice. There's just something so charming about this awful self-centered psychopath putting this much time and effort into wooing over the girl of his dreams. And his overall giving and concerned nature (at least towards her) is exactly what Chane needs after living a life being used by the one man she ever loved: her father. As Jacuzzi noted on the last episode, "She looks happy." And I suppose that's all that really matters in the end.

8

Teen Titans:
Beast Boy and Raven
Teen Titans always was different and special to me as a kid, and it still is. There were a lot of dark themes for a kids' show, like obsession, loss, acceptance. And as a kid I was able to really identify with Raven. She wasn't like the other kids on her team: she liked to simply sit to the side and read a book, but you could tell that, although she tried to hide it, she really did care about what her friends thought of her. And I really think that Beast Boy, her opposite in a lot of senses, was the perfect person to help bring her out of her shell. Sure, he may have been a bit insensitive at times (joking at inappropriate times, getting understandably frustrated and snapping), but that's because, just as Raven is learning to be a part of a team, BB is learning how to treat people with the level of respect that they need. They both care about one another. They just don't know how to express it.

9:
Sky High
Warren and Layla
Will, I have nothing against you. Really. You're a nice guy. But Warren is such an unexpected sweetheart. I'm tired of the childhood-friends-falling-in-love story. Maybe for once, just once, I wanted the girl to try and find a way to attract her guy's attention only to find out that, yeah, maybe she didn't need to. Maybe, if Will was stupid enough to go about chasing secret-villain booty, Layla deserved someone better, someone that was nice enough to try pretending to be her boyfriend so that she could get the boy of her dreams. Maybe, JUST MAYBE, THEY could have fallen in love along the way, and they could have made it into the yearbook as "Oddest, Most Unexpectedly Cute Couple."
Was Sky High a great movie? Hell yeah!
Am I still a little salty about Warren Peace not getting the girl? Damn right I am.

10:
Angel Beats
Hinata and Yui
Episode 10 of Angel Beats hit me really hard, maybe not as hard as episode 3 did for me, but it still hit. Nowadays I may have a slight issue with the “Every girl wants to get married” statement that Yui makes, but the ending to her arc was heartwarming and it was really satisfying and sweet to see how much Hinata cared for her, even though they bickered constantly throughout the show.

11:
Pokemon
Ferisswheelshipping
Though it was a close call with the recent arrival of Sun and Moon, Black and White are still my favorite Pokemon games. I mean, yeah, part of it is that I absolutely love the Pokemon in that generation (fite me), and another huge part is the story, but another part that I found truly fascinating was N's relationship with the protagonist. And, since I am and therefore play as the female character (White/Hilda/Touko/ whateveryouwannacallher), I've always projected Hilda in my mind as being the person interacting with him. He's slightly older than Hilda, tall and lanky, very intense and passionate about his ideals, and socially inept. On the other side of the coin, there's Hilda, who I imagine to be short as all hell, spunky, probably a pretty social gal (since up until that point, literally none of the other protagonists started out with more than one friend, if any at all), and probably just as idealistic. 
They butt heads all the time because of the fact that they both love Pokemon so much, and because as much as he trusts her Pokemon's words, N finds it hard to believe that there's really such thing as a human that is that kind to their Pokemon. But he sees it, really sees all that love in her eyes, and as hard as it is for him to see through his narrow mindset and his awful, traumatizing childhood, he eventually accepts it. He accepts the truth that there are humans that care so much about Pokemon that they are willing to fight for the right to stay with them.
Ah... Black and White... What good times...

12:
Lovely Complex
Otani and Risa
Are you sick and tired of every single hero in every single anime being at least a foot taller that his heroine? Well, look for further than Lovely Complex, the anime that shoves a tall girl and short guy together for all our viewing (and shipping) pleasure. Yeah, they don't always get along, and they may, themselves, admit that there's a reason guys don't typically like dating girls taller than them and vice versa, but Otani and Risa are still pretty darn cute.

13:
My Little Monster
Haru and Shizuku
Shizuku obviously wanted nothing to do with Haru at first, and for very understandable reasons. He's a weird, clingy guy who truly adores her, and she feels very uncomfortable because of it. Still, she cares about him and sticks up for him when Haru's "friends" start talking bad about him. She knows he's a good kid at heart, and though his feeling are unreciprocated for a long while, she eventually falls for him. 
Plus, Haru's confession scene is just full of lolz.

14:
Hyouka
Houtarou and Chitanda
Houtarou is really good at solving mysteries and putting puzzles together. Like, really good. His only problem is that he lacks motivation in almost everything, which is where Chitanda comes in. She's overbearingly curious about everything, dragging Houtarou along for the ride whenever she wants to figure something out, and he can't exactly say no, since she gives him no room to. It's like he's enchanted by the sheer amount of curiosity held inside this one girl, and who can blame him? It's kind of incredible how infuriatingly curious she is. And I guess that this is what makes them work so well: Houtarou's like a lightbulb. He has all the components to shine a light but won't until someone flips the switch. Chitanda is the one who always flips the switch, and Houtarou is absolutely amazed by the fact that she's able to give him enough forced motivation to get stuff done.

15:
Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki Kun
Nozaki and Mikorin
This is more of a crack ship of mine, but I’ll be 100% with you: I was absolutely convinced throughout the entire show that Nozaki was gay and that he was in love with Mikorin. I mean, have you seen how the guy dotes over him? He even bases the heroine from his manga after Mikorin!
I was a little disappointed at the end of the show when it was hinted he had feelings for Sakura. They could’ve been cute, just playing dating sims and cuddling all day.

16:
Once Upon a Time
Graham and Emma
I'm not exactly up-to-date on Once Upon a Time, but I know that Emma is with Captain Hook now, apparently. Not that that's bad or anything. I'm happy she was able to find someone again. But I really miss Graham. From what I can remember, he wasn't a 100% good guy, but he really did care for Emma, and I found the idea of the Huntsman and Snow White's daughter together to be a kind of cute irony.

17:
Nana
Nana Osaki and Nana Komatsu (Hachi)
I-
I have no excuse.
They’re cute.
That’s it.
           





18:
Assassination Classroom
Karma Akabane and Nagisa Shiota
I think this one is my first ever yaoi pair. Interesting, since I seem pretty big on shipping yuri, and Nagisa already has a clear love interest in a girl. Maybe it has to do with the fact that Nagisa looks like a girl? *Shrug* Either way, I love the dynamic that these two have going for them. Nagisa is calm and composed and can slide his way into a crowd with ease while Karma is, well, Karma. He speaks his mind and looks down on everyone, and he knows how to be in command. I don’t use this word very often, but Karma is, quite frankly, just a little shit. And yet these two respect each other better than probably anybody else. I think that the two of them can definitely bring out the best in each other.

19:
Yuri on Ice
Yuri and Vicktor
Karma and Nagisa and Nozaki and Mikorin were my only yoai OTPs for a long while. 
Then I watched Yaoi on Ice.





20: 
Gurren Lagann
Yoko and Kamina
I loved the dynamic between these two from the very beginning. Kamina, the embodiment of manliness itself, had a thing for Yoko from the first episode; even when his and Simon's village was under attack from a giant robot, he decided to hit on this badass chick that dropped down from the surface as they fought. Now, Yoko is obviously Best Girl in Gurren Lagann (fite me, Nia fans), and Kamina is undoubtedly Best Guy, so putting them together was just obviously the right choice.
If only Yoko were able to keep her lips to herself.

21:
Book of Life
Xibalba and La Muerte
Good God, I love these two! I’ve always loved it when two great opposing forces- opposites in every sense of the word- find themselves attracted to one another, and these two are most certainly opposites. La Muerte’s constant teasing doesn’t help lessen my love for these two, either.

22:
Steven Universe
Garnet
Ah, Garnet. The literal walking, talking, bad-ass ship. Garnet is the fusion of two very small lesbian space rocks, Ruby and Sapphire, who have such extreme personalities that it’s a wonder that they would even get along, let alone fall in love. And yet they did, and I’m glad they did because their relationship is just adorable and I relish every moment that Garnet is unfused so that I can see these two cuties flirt.
Tl;dr
Garnet is made of love.

23:
The Lunar Chronicles
Wolf (Ze’ev Kesley) and Scarlet Benoit
Little Red Riding Hood has always been one of my favorite fairytales, though I’m not exactly sure why. Maybe it has to do with the fact that, aside from our local psychopaths of the sea (dolphins), wolves are my favorite animals? Whatever it is, it’s probably not the original story that gets me excited so much as seeing more modern renditions of this classic tale. Which is why I was extremely excited when I finished Cinder, a really cool dystopian sci-fi Cinderella story and moved on to the next book in the Lunar Chronicles, Scarlet. I guess I’m a sap from romances that start out with well-placed mistrust and ulterior motives but later quickly spiral out of control into a very genuine and sweet relationship, because after going through only a quarter of the book, I knew these two would be my Lunar Chronicles OTP.


 24:
The Legend of Korra
Korra and Asami Sato
I'll admit that I didn't see this couple coming when the series finale for Korra came out, but holy hell, when I looked back from season two onwards, their relationship was so well constructed and thought out. They spend so much time together, building up a close friendship (not something you'd expect from two girls that dated the same guy), and even when Korra leaves for a while to see Katara, Asami is the only person she feels comfortable writing with. Not to mention, Asami is the one taking care of Korra when she's depressed and in a wheelchair.
I heard there's a Korra comic featuring these two cuties and their adventures in the spirit world, and if it's true, then I seriously need to track that thing down because they are a seriously unexpected OTP that I just can't get enough of now.

25:
Durarara!!
Aoba and Mairu and Kururi
Now, I don’t really like these three in that typical OT3 fashion; in fact, they’re not what I call an OT3, really, since I don’t ship Mairu and Kururi together. That’d just be kinda… gross. They’re twins. That’s incest. That’s not what I want. Ew. But I do ship Aoba with Mairu at the same time that I ship him with Kururi. Which seems a little strange to me if not for the fact that I think all three of them seem like they’d be pretty straightforward, both with each other and themselves in terms of their relationships. Both of the girls have kissed Aoba, and he seems to have a bit of a soft spot for them, going as far as to tell his groupies not to mess with them when he’s clearly out to kill their older brother. Which probably isn't a problem to them, anyway, since their brother Izaya is kind of sociopathic, and they don't seem to have too good a relationship with him.

26:
Wadanohara and the Great Blue Sea
Tatsumiya and Idate
Screw me. Screw this pairing. Screw freaking Mogeko for making me love this pairing so freaking much. Don’t even ask me why. Something about the cute-goody-two-shoes-girl-has-a-crush-on-the-bad-boy/serial-killer/whatever-the-hell-you-consider-the-orca thing is just really, really charming and cute to me. Hell, I think I’ll throw Rocma in there and make it an OT3, because Idate likes moms that could kick his ass, Rocma is probably bisexual with a big preference towards women- if not just a lesbian-, and Tatsumiya is the glue that holds the relationship together.


EDIT:
Wadanohara and the Great Blue Sea/Ice Scream
Tatsumiya, Rocma, and Idate
Yes, they are the only OT3 I ever had, and the only actual OT3 I am ever likely to have. I blame the fact that orcas are polygamists, which only consecrated this head cannon of mine. Just imagine: Normal End 2 of Wadanohara. Heart-broken, Tatsumiya follows Idate back up north to live with him on Iceberg Isle, where she catches the eye of Rocma. Together, shirokuma-chan and mister orca must assist one another in making Tatsumiya a less sad person, and in the process, Rocma sees a better side to Idate, too.
... Yeah, I may already be writing a fanfiction on this. And?



27:
A Song of Ice and Fire
Daenerys Targaryen and Khal Drogo
OK, first: I HAVE ONLY READ THE FIRST TWO BOOKS AND WATCHED THE FIRST SEASON OF THE TV SHOW PLEASE DON’T SPOIL ANYTHING FOR ME.
Dany’s relationship with Drogo was nearly perfect from a writing perspective, as it gave her character room to grow and develop. Dany could have been royalty at one point or another if not for Robert Baratheon taking the throne from Aerys and effectively running the Targaryens out of Westeros, during which flee she was born on a ship sailing across a storming ocean, thus her name: Daenerys Stormborn of House Targaryen. Because of this, despite being royalty, she never really knew what power tasted like, and she was constantly put down and belittled by her brother Viserys.  After her brother arranges a marriage for her with a Dothraki warlord (who pretty much everyone in their society viewed as being savages), she thinks that her life is just about over.
Being Khaleesi, however, granted her a much greater power than anyone could have ever imagined. While I liked the relationship between her and Drogo better in the book because he was rapey at the beginning of the TV series, both versions ended up the same: this tiny little girl made the man who never lost a single battle in his entire life her bitch, and they became so incredibly passionate about each other that Dany braided his hair for him, and they called each other pet names, and Dany named her favorite dragon after him, and Drogo declared a goddamn war across the seas that his people feared so much because some asshole decided to try killing his waifu.
If that isn’t a power couple, then I don’t know what is.

28:
Zootopia
Nick and Jody
Call me a weirdo for shipping two animals together. I don't care. If you think I'm weird for this, then you obviously haven't watched the movie.


29:
Lost
Charlie and Claire
These two are super charming to me for a couple of reasons, one of which being that you can tell just how much Charlie absolutely adores Claire from the first episode. After their plane crashes, he sees this very obviously very pregnant woman and instantly jumps in to help her out. The sheer amount of crap he's willing to go through to get her a simple jar of peanut butter is amazing. And keep in mind that Charlie is a rock star currently going through heroine addiction, but he still does so much for her out of simple care and adoration, like watching her baby and treating "turnip-head" like his own kid. Even more believable is that Charlie's feelings are one-sided for quite a while. I'm pretty sure Claire knew he had a crush on her for a while but it took her time to love him as anything more than just a supportive friend. 

30:
The Gray Garden
Etihw and Kcalb
…It’s God and the Devil. Instant power couple. Instant OTP. They win.











            The End.

And, hey, that’s my list! But I made sure to leave one thing off that I’m going to post in a few more days, on Valentine’s Day. It’s a bit more of a personal topic but one that I think is important, nonetheless, and I would really appreciate it if the kind people reading this right now would check it out.

And that's all for today! For now, feel free to share some of your OTP's with me down in the comments! I’ll see you beautiful people later!