could you talk aout violetshipping for the fandom ask,since you said you like it?
Totally!
When I started shipping them: Oh gosh, Jounouchi/Kaiba goes back a long way with me – I shipped them while the show was still on the air, which was from 2001-2002, so yeah, I would’ve been 11-12 years old.
My thoughts: When I was younger, violetshipping (or, as it was more commonly called then, “puppyshipping”) was incredibly popular in the fanfiction circles I frequented, largely because of the supposed “intense sexual tension” between Kaiba and Jounouchi (or Joey) in the show. A lot of the fandom for this ship resulted in very OOC characterization for both Jounouchi and especially Kaiba in order to make it work, but even with that, I enjoyed fanon!puppyshipping for what it was, largely because it reminded me of other “opposite ships” I liked at the time like Ron/Hermione. Fanon!puppyshipping from that time often took a lot of cues from Pride and Prejudice or Beauty and the Beast-type stories, making Jounouchi a little more forgiving, patient, and/or victimized by his abusive father and Kaiba a little more romantic, lonely, and/or damaged in order to more smoothly fit them together, and although I look back now and think that a lot of those stories kind of glossed over the interesting character development Jounouchi and Kaiba could respectively go through in order to get to the good stuff, I can’t be too cynical about it. A lot of that sort of fanfiction – including the stuff I wrote – were written by young authors who were still exploring plot, characterization, and sometimes even their own sexuality through their work, and as much as an author should learn to examine and critique their own writing so as to improve, there is nothing wrong with stepping stones. The same can likewise be said for the people who read and enjoyed those OOC stories too.
But okay, so that’s my past with Jounouchi/Kaiba, what about the present? Now I look at these two and think, “Wow – the original series dropped so much potential development for these two and their relationship, didn’t they?” We were so focused on playing card games and saving the world that a lot of characters and relationships didn’t grow as much as they could or even should have. We had so much time for Atem and Kaiba to duel alongside each other more than once, and for Jounouchi and Atem to duel alongside each other more than once, but when we had the chance for Jounouchi and Kaiba to team up (with Atem too, as luck would have it) in season 4, they got no substantive time to tag-team and work out how to win even with their opposing styles. Even though Jounouchi and Kaiba were both such strong characters and talented duelists, and even though Jounouchi grew so much both as a person and as a competitor, Kaiba’s opinion of him barely budges an inch even after five seasons of interactions. And instead of acknowledging Kaiba’s stubbornness – instead of showing how much Jounouchi has improved and lampshading how truly foolish Kaiba is for underestimating him at every turn – we have all of this build-up with these two antagonizing each other and not seeing eye-to-eye that leads up to nothing by the time the series finale rolls around, because everyone is so busy focusing on Atem getting his memory back and going to the after-life. Even if in the Atlantis arc, we’d gotten some pay-off where Kaiba acknowledges Jounouchi as a competitor and finally awards him begrudging respect or, contrariwise, Jounouchi singlehandedly saves the day, Kaiba is left on the sidelines stubbornly refusing to award him the respect due, and Jounouchi just basically decides “f*** you, then – I know my worth and that’s all that matters,” that would’ve been a great pay-off for what was set up.
But yeah, basically, I see Jounouchi/Kaiba as the culmination of two character arcs that the show didn’t deliver on. Both of them could learn something from each other, if they both learned to surmount their own pride. They have a lot in common – both having traumatic pasts with less-than-stellar father figures, both having a younger sibling that they would do anything for, both loving games and competition, both being determined, stubborn, proud, and passionate – but they also have contrasts that could encourage growth in both parties. So, in essence, Jounouchi/Kaiba as a love story would be about the beauty of potential.
What makes me happy about them: Their different types of intelligence – Kaiba being much more conventionally “smart” with his academic, logical-mathematical intelligence, and Jounouchi having a lot more interpersonal and bodily-kinesthetic intelligence. Also, the way they constantly butt heads – yes, I know, I just emphasized that the “sexual tension” isn’t exactly what makes me ship these two, and it’s not, but it doesn’t mean that their arguing doesn’t still make me laugh! I love good old-fashioned bantering. *eyes Han/Leia and Dimitri/Anya out the side of her eye*
What makes me sad about them: Again, how much more growth they could have gone through! I am glad that some post-series fics do actually take those roads not taken, though.
Things done in fanfic that annoys me: Although most of the OOC fandom depictions of Jounouchi and Kaiba don’t bother me that much overall, there are a few characterization choices I don’t like as much, and the big one is turning Jounouchi into a victim that needs to be “saved” by Kaiba. Yes, Jounouchi’s father is an alcoholic and a pretty awful parent, but Jounouchi has never been the sort to just sit around and passively wait for someone else to save him, even when he was in over his head. He’s a proud, resilient character, and making him a poor, helpless damsel in need of a rescue romance I just feel does him a bad service.
Things I look for in fanfic: ORGANIC CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT! I love Kaiba and Jounouchi learning from each other and evolving into better people. I love them clashing on things, awkwardly trying to patch things up, coming to grips with who they are as individuals and how they relate to each other – I love them facing their inner demons both on their own and together.
My wishlist: …Can Yu-Gi-Oh: Duel Monsters get one of those shiny reboots like Sailor Moon and Fruits Basket got, one that follows the manga a little closer, but still gives us the chance to maybe give these characters more dimension and development that they didn’t get in the original series or even in the manga? I love the new animation style they used for Dark Side of Dimensions!
Who I’d be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other: LOL, ironically it’s the same person, as I also ship both Yugi/Jounouchi and Yugi/Kaiba! XD
My happily ever after for them: Jounouchi and Kaiba dueling each other with confident smiles on their faces, as romantic partners and true equals – Red Eyes and Blue Eyes – both not knowing who is going to win today, but being thrilled to find out.
