#i could get into it more but tags are a pain to write in
ive been thinking lately abt the treatment of akagi’s ocd in canon vs in the fandom…i think the problem with these kinds of conditions in fandom content is that it only exists when it’s convenient for it to do so, even if the source content takes care to portray it well (or if it doesn’t)
i saw this issue in another fandom as well, where it becomes solely the source of gags or plot.
(this isn’t an attack on anyone in the fandom, for the record, i just think more care should be taken when discussing ocd.)
Like, a lot of ship content with him and Akagi show affection in traditional ways, such as hand holding, physical closeness, etc…but I don’t think Akagi would do that. While Kaede’s flames do soothe the paranoia of life-related germs, there’s also large spans of day-to-day life where Kaede’s notusing flames, and we see Akagi respond in the same way he responds to other people. It doesn’t mean Akagi doesn’t love him, though. It just means Kaede’s presence doesn’t magically “fix” Akagi’s condition.
It’s the same with the shower scene; a lot of people are like zomg gay rights, and I won’t deny that everything the two of them do has some homosexualitieto it, but it’s also really obvious that his demands are how he copes with the new situation of bringing someone into his home. He’s scared and stepping out of his comfort zone, and I think it’s weird and maybe even ableist to write it off as him wanting to see Kaede naked.
tldr I think KaeAka is more compelling and full when you take Akagi’s OCD into account because his fondness of Kaede is never considered lesser because of his condition but his disorder also doesn’t magically vanish because of that fondness and I wish more people would take into account how that changes his life and interactions without it changing the fact he’s not emotionally dead
