The ShuShi Collective
Dedicated to ren amamiya and shiho suzui
This is dedicated to all my headcanons of Ren and Shiho as individuals, as well as them as a romantic ship. Each piece of information is vital in knowing how I see them and how I intepret them.The ship name "ShuShi" comes from SHUjinko and SHIho.All of these are merely headcanons, so please treat my love and adoration with this ship with respect. If you cannot abide by this simple rule, then you're at the wrong place.
My Intepretations of Shiho and Ren
Shiho Suzui is defined by her kindness towards everyone else by herself, as mentioned various times by Ann Takamaki.That altruism extends to Ren Amamiya (to some, Akira Kurusu), the transfer student with a criminal history. She does not believe the rumours, having recognised the situation to be identical to when Ann's situation back in middle school.In a way, this also shows that she has a clear sense of what is right and wrong and does not let her own troubles stop her from being kind and doing what is right.
Ren Amamiya is defined by his rebellious heart, which I personally feel was born as a result of his unjust treatment of being called criminal despite doing the right thing: to help people in need, which eventually extends to his friends.How I intepret him is strongly based off the anime and in Mementos Mission: he's adaptable, resourceful and fairly confident in his own abilities to pull off the impossible.I prefer the Ren that isn't comfortable standing out... but when he does, he isn't afraid to shine.
Why ShuShi?
One thing I've noticed is that they're more similar than I expected:
- Both of them know exactly what it feels like to get physically hurt while protecting someone... or rather, to take the fall: Shiho took the fall for Ann while Ren took the fall as the Thieves' leader.
- Shiho is faced with the fact that in order to smile again, she is left with little choice but to separate from Ann; no doubt that it's a difficult decision for her, but she promised to remain in contact with her best friend. Ren goes through a similar experience: when Maruki laid out the cards by revealing that Goro's no more in their reality, it puts him in a difficult spot. He still makes the difficult choice of taking it back, out of respect for Goro and out of love for his friends.
- Just like everyone else, their lives were ruined by people they thought they could trust: in Shiho's case, it was her coach. In Ren's case, it was the police.Why I think that Ren and Shiho are really good for each other: I think Shiho would be incredly supportive without asking for much in return. If anything, she's more of a giver, something that Ren would appreciate in the long run. Ren would also treat her right: respectfully and he would take his time with her, since he bore the brunt of a similar kind of pain... and it feels that only Shiho would truly understand this.Shiho's first interaction with Ren would be impactful because she's the only other person who didn't treat him like the rest, showcasing that she does have her own set of moral values... and Ren respects her for that. I feel like when it comes to Shiho, Ren would let her take the lead rather than he lead her; Shiho would probably do the same so that he doesn't have to worry about her, because they're both givers in their own way.There's a lot more that I feel I could elaborate on, but I haven't had the chance to really explore so this is all I can say for now. If you've read up till this point, thank you for reading through my lengthy explanation!