#kaishincest

I think the reveal sucked. The way it happened, where it happened, when it happened, it all sucked. Gosho said he planned this from the start, but I don't believe it, for various reasons that I won't get into in this post. Even if he had plan this, it still sucked, the execution was cheap, and waiting for this long to reveal it also sucks.

It's completely understandable that most people (at least in the western fandom) who continue to ship kaishin are doing so by ignoring the reveal. The ship's community is doing fine, at least on tumblr, save for the occasional mockery and shaming, and that can also be reduced if we block liberally. I'm happy that kaishin has such a loyal and passionate fanbase that we can survive something like this.

That being said, I also talk a lot about kaishin with the added perspective of them being cousins. Yes, I'm incorporating this aspect into my headcanon by choice. No, this doesn't mean I think the reveal was good, or even decent. And no, this doesn't mean I'm ignoring the harm of incest in real life. I think this specific fictional case is interesting to write about, that's all there is to it. But I know this isn't everyone's cup of tea, so to make it easy to filter out, I tag my cousins kaishin posts with #kaishincest. Please curate your own online experience when the platform allows you to.

The damage this reveal has done to the kaishin community is devastating and permanent, and it was entirely unnecessary. It should've happened way earlier, within the first few years of the series' production, or not at all. And I'm worried that the canon portrayal of Kaito and Shinichi's relationship is going to get way worse due to Gosho forcing sibling-esque banters between them, because he sucks at that. Going by the assumption that them being cousins was decided during the production of movie 27, it makes sense why Conan was acting cruel and out of character in Azure Throne (ch1119-1122), which is the first time Kaito appeared since this change was decided. Their relationship as rivals was perfect, but now they're being written as siblings instead, and it's clearly for the worst. I might elaborate on this in a later post.

In conclusion: I think the reveal sucked, but I'm adding the cousins thing into my personal headcanon anyway, although I completely understand people who choose to reject it.