On Thu, 17 Sep 1998, RIG NET- Grayson Towler wrote:

I shudder at the idea of having to write a fic about Belldandy and
Keiichi.  

I don't :)
 

I could sense that you were grappling with the essential quandry
which underlies the whole Ah My Goddess universe, though - 
WHAT does a goddess like Belldandy see in a geek like Keiichi?
Why is this loser worth all the trouble their relationship causes?

He's not a loser, that's why :)
He's a competent student and a fairly nice person who will eventually
graduate and make something of himself.  Despite all the chaos around him,
he manages to actually pass his classes, and getting anything done with
Urd and Skuld living in your house is a testimony to ability to deliver
under pressure :)  Now, Keiichi is not assertive, he's certainly a wimp,
but I wouldn't call him a loser.  He doesn't lose.  

Secondly, he doesn't cause the trouble; it's almost all externally caused,
and they both know it. And if trouble due to a relationship destroyed
anime relationships, most anime couples would split up in three seconds :)

Warning, psychobabble by a non-psychology major approaching in succeeding
paragraphs :)

Thirdly, their relationship has two major modes: a mother/child mode in
which she takes care of him through cooking, cleaning, etc, and an adult
partnership in which he takes the dominant role in conducting his various
motor club activities with her assistance.  Thus, each has an aspect in
which they provide a primary contribution with the other effectively in a
supporting role.  For that matter, he sometimes plays the protective role
due to her tendency to run out of power, at which point she needs someone
trustworthy to watch over her, a role he fills well, better than her
usually not too trustworthy sisters.  

Indeed, powerful people throughout history usually haven't married other
powerful people, and when they do, they usually clashed horribly.  A
relationship between someone powerful and someone not very powerful makes
sense to me.  

Most importantly, what she sees in him is a lot of compassion and ability
to love and be kind.  He's kind to his enemies, and often wins them over
in that way.  Belldandy likes kind people.


John Walter Biles :  MA-History, Ph.D Wannabe at U. Kansas         
ranma@falcon.cc.ukans.edu       
rhea@tass.org              http://www.tass.org/~rhea/falcon.html
rhea@maison-otaku.net      http://www.maison-otaku.net/~rhea/

"Logic, my dear Zoe, merely enables one to be wrong with authority."
--Dr. Who, "The Wheel in Space" (Serial 43, fifth season)