SPOILERS - episode discussions (start:26)

SUPER LONG POST WARNING
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So while Yuuri definitely loves Conrad for Conrad, does Conrad love Yuuri for Yuuri ?

Conrad has been nothing but a self-sacrificing "Mr Perfect" to Yuuri, going to the extent of giving up his ALL for him. Literally, his ALL. It's like this guy has no life of his own. He's so selfless it's scary. He doesn't hesitate to hurt himself, FOR Yuuri. Yuuri. Yuuri. Yuuri. That is all he lives for. oR IS IT really ?

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With sincere apologies to WolfYuu fans, I am merely stating an opinion, not bashing the WolfYuu pairing.
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*SPOILERS for the anime*

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Does Conrad love Yuuri for Julia ?
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This is a question in every ConYuu fan's mind.

When it was discovered that Yuri had Julia's soul, and that Julia was a very, very "important" person to Conrad, I felt VERY... dissapointed.
Suddenly it seemed like, all those moments where Conrad had shouted Yuri's name passionately, jumped in front of him to shield him, and gave him all those meaningful looks had been.. false. Because Julia is in Yuri. If it wasn't Julia, would the feeling be the same ? Would Yuuri still be the one in Conrad's eyes? Would he feel this passionate about him ? So everytime Conrad risked his life, it would be for JULIA, not Yuuri ?

This is my theory.

Julia and Conrad were a strange couple. They seemed so in love with each other, YET, Julia was engaged to Adelbert, and Conrad claimed that they aren't lovers. But you can't deny the vibe between them. At least, I can't.

I do sincerely believe, that while Conrad denies it, he WAS, in LOVE. With Julia. Julia was his everything. Julia was his important person. And Julia probably.. loved him more than Adelbert, her fiance. She entrusted her SOUL with him. Now this is not something you do to an everyday buddy. A good friend, maybe. But your soul ? Surely, a little bit of love has to be involved in it.

Conrad wore the pendant Julia gave him, untill the day he met Yuuri. He gave it to Yuuri almost instantly. He vowed to protect Yuuri with his life. He was willing to KILL himself for Yuuri.

Now, you don't JUST do things like that for people, unless deep feelings are involved to a certain extent. And there was no one he loved as much as Julia.. back then. Julia soul is within Yuuri, and he knew. And somehow, he felt that Yuuri was someone he had to protect, because of Julia.

INITIALLY, that is.

While I believe that Julia is the reason why Conrad is so passionate about Yuuri, it slowly, VERY slowly, began to chip away, and it began to become more and MORE about Yuuri. And only Yuuri.

Julia died for a reason. And Conrad had feelings for Julia for a reason. In other words, Julia paved the path for Conrad find someone else, and that someone else being Yuuri.

While Yuuri and Julia are similiar in some ways, Yuuri is still very much Yuuri, and Julia very much Julia. Yuuri is NOT a carbon copy of Julia despite having her soul. And Yuuri is loved by so many for being Yuuri, not Julia. So why not in Conrad 's eyes ?

Yuuri is a lovely boy, very likable, and while he is a silly goofup at times, he is still someone very easy to fall for. He is as selfless as Conrad is... ( and he is hawt in his powerup version hahaha ) Time and time again Yuuri has proven himself to be very capable of protecting others and himself in front of Conrad.... And Conrad might be thinking he's being all heroic by protecting Yuuri, because Julia is everything for him, but Conrad has confessed himself that he sometimes doesn't know what he wants and he doesn't know quite what he's feeling himself. ( Conrad admits it is Yuuri who protects him sometimes, rather than he protecting Yuuri)

Just like humans, he makes wrong assumptions and makes mistakes. Perhaps Conrad is slowly letting go of Julia, and finally finding someone new. Someone who could be JUST as important to him. Someone like Yuuri. And he's slowly adapting to that fact.

OK. You aren't convinced ? Fine. Let's look at canon evidence.

EPISODE 49... I believe. The Lion and the Wolf. ALL ConYuu MUST watch this.

Remember Yuuri's forlorn expression when Adelbert told him that Julia's soul is within him ? And Yuuri knows how important Julia is to Conrad. Suddenly. Suddenly something flashed through his mind.

"So... Conrad protected me all this while because of Julia...", was his thought.

Yuuri looked positvely crushed. My heart almost broke, I felt so sorry for him.

THEN. Something happened.

Yuuri gave the pendant Conrad gave him ( which Julia gave Conrad initially ) to Adelbert, Julia's fiance.

Yuuri was then literally flung down a cliff by Adelbert, because he trusted Conrad enough to catch him, and Conrad DID, with Yuuri lying on top of Conrad.. ( somewhere fangirls are crying of joy)

...only THIS TIME, Yuuri pulls away very quickly. Yuuri was trying to accept the fact that Conrad is only protecting him because of Julia, and he gave Conrad a somewhat distant reaction when Conrad smiled at him.

Conrad noticed Yuuri's different reaction instantly.
It hit him. Something was wrong.

As Yuuri turned to face Conrad, Conrad noticed that the pendant was missing from Yuuri's neck, and Yuuri instantly realized that it was the pendant Conrad was looking for on him. ( This, I dub the "I-look-at-you-and-I-understand" interaction )

He immediately tries to rush back to the danger-zone JUST for the sake of getting the pendant back for Conrad... ( being the sweetheart he is ) because...

" The pendant is full of Conrad's memories of Julia..."

and Yuuri was READY to accept that fact, that Conrad sees Julia in him when Conrad says..

"The pendant means nothing to me now. I thought it would protect Yuuri, but I realize that it is ME who would protect you. I have no need for pendants".

I.literally.shrieked.

As all crazy fangirls do, I analyzed the situation, trying to be as fair as possible, and what I think it methaphorically meant is THIS:

Conrad is letting go of Julia.
Why ? The necklace is his ONLY solid reminder of Julia, and now he can say it straight to Yuuri's face, that it means NOTHING to him. Now, this may seem like overeacting, but think about it. Let's say, you have someone you strongly felt for, and that someone isn't here right now. She/he gave you a rose. Other than that, you have VIRTUALLY nothing but memories of her/him within your head to indicate that there was once this special person in your life. And Conrad doesn't have many special people, yet he is ready to let this pendant go. This beloved pendant he wore to his wars, when he was hurt and happy... all the time, all this while. This beloved pendant Julia handed to HIM, Julia clasped AROUND him, he was willing... to let it go. Why ? Because.... there is Yuuri in front of him.
And all he needs is himself to offer to Yuuri. Which also indicates that NOW, Yuuri is the one who is important to Conrad. Yuuri is a person to Conrad. Yuuri may have Julia's soul, but Conrad is protecting Yuuri, not Julia.

What about all those times when Conrad was alone, and he is looking out into the sky.. who does he call ?

"Yuuri". NOT "Julia".
yes. It's Yuuri in his heart right now.

Now, this is how it works for manga. You cannot make anything too obvious. You take something and leave something to make ALL fans happy.

For WolfYuu fans, the mangaka makes Wolfram ENGAGED to Yuuri.
But he/she also makes Yuuri very oblivious to Wolfram's... "charms". Most of the time, Yuuri is trying to escape from Wolfram, and Yuuri pulls away when Wolfram tries to hug him, and Yuuri only manages a look of "whaa??" when Wolfram confesses his love to him. Now, this MAY change, but that is what it is like for now.

For ConYuu fans, it is pretty obvious that the mangaka had intended Conrad to be a BIG part of Yuuri's life. That is why Conrad's character is so, VERY, VERY developed. It gives a solid enough background for the relationship to have dimension to it. And Julia, I feel is something of a prop ( I do not mean to cheapen her character ), to get Conrad involved with Yuuri. From that stage, how Conrad develops feelings for Yuuri is left entirely to subtext. ( LOADS of "wet eyes", the silent.. "Yuuri...", the big necklace symbolism thing). So sadly, for ConYuu fans, we are only left with things and subtext the mangaka has dropped around to interpret. But the fact that she/he even brought up the necklace issue is an indication, I think, of Conrad's growing feelings for Yuuri.

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CONCLUSION
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So. I think, to sum it all up, that, while I don't deny the fact that Julia is a STARTING factor of why Conrad committed himself to Yuuri, I also can't help but feel that Julia is beginning to step behind into the background, and allow space for Yuuri in Conrad's heart.

In other words. While Julia is important, and always will be, so is Yuuri.

Yuuri is important for Yuuri to Conrad.

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END RANT
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WOW. that was.. long. I don't think anybody'll read this stuff, but if there are any ConYuu fans, let me know what you think ! And if you don't know what the hell i've been ranting about .. . leave a smiley !

teehee.