#have there ever been two more shippable characters? | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

bcbdrums · 2 months

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I saw the Reddit drama. Please explain why Drakgo is a more interesting ship than KimRon.

first, thanks for the ask! second, whoaaaaaaa i wouldn't presume to label one ship more interesting than another. some people will find ships interesting, others won't.

i'll give a diff example. in my other current hyperfixation, soul eater, my friend adores Ship A while i'm all about Ship B. her ship IS interesting to me! i think those chars are the most shippable in the show, they're basically canon w/o PDA, and they are deeply complex both as individual chars and as a couple.

they're just... not the ones i'm hyperfixated on. doesn't make them uninteresting.

what makes a person's brain and heart grab onto one ship and not another? who can say.

a lack of personal interest in a ship does not make it objectively uninteresting, or worse... and a ship having way more attention than another in fandom doesn't objectively make that ship more interesting, or better.

CAN a person make canonical objective arguments for or against ships? certainly.

let's just grab characters from KP to use as example. Bonnie and Brick. canonically a couple for more than one episode! we do not get a lot of canon info onscreen for them, so most of the interest in them would have to come from fan creations. compare to Kim and Ron, who have infinitely more screentime together, infinitely more individual character development than Bonnie and Brick both as individuals and as a couple...

one could argue that Kim/Ron is more interesting than Brick/Bonnie. there's more to grab from the canon at least. but if a person wants to draw/write/talk at length about Brick/Bonnie? why not!

no reason to be hating on any ship. if it's not your ship, then just...don't engage?? especially if you're against said ship.

now me, personally, i find Drakgo more interesting than Kim/Ron. (altho recent convo with @creatorping got my Kim/Ron juices flowing again). Drakgo just appeal to me more as characters, with their gritty backgrounds, a lot more unknowns to explore, the challenge of two villains developing a mutual trusting relationship so they can have a happily ever after... that just grabs my mind and heart more than the perfect girl and her adorkable boyfriend. it doesn't mean Kim and Ron aren't interesting, cuz ohhhhh they are! mostly post-canon for me because...who ARE they, after high school?? who is Kim other than the student who saves the world? what's she gonna do with her life? and what is Ron gonna do? he absolutely can't go to the same college as her, and she can't ditch a good opportunity to go to a community college with him... my hang-up has always been that Kim wasn't given enough individual development onscreen to do anything interesting with her post-canon. but aforementioned convo with Ping changed my mind, heheh. 😏

in any case, the point... one ship isn't more or less interesting. one ship isn't better or worse than another. it's us, the viewer, who either will or won't be interested.

so as i've always said.... ship and let ship. don't like? don't interact. don't hate on someone else's ships or headcanons or POVs... (reddit...)

and, that's not the same thing as discourse. discussing characters, discussing points of view, interpretations... sharing various headcanons... with willing parties who want to enter into that conversation! THAT is a major part of fandom! but it's all in how one goes about it. and! should people come to disagree about interpretations of characters, also fine!

i think the issue arises when people start to act like... my interpretation is correct OR, my interpretation is the only valid one. when people get up on that horse, that's where the problems arise... it can be tough if you feel like you're the only person WITH a certain POV, but... again, if the folks you're chatting with aren't into it, then find other people. i'm in that boat with some soul eater headcanons, but, that's okay. i don't need to convince everyone else in the fandom in order rto enjoy my thoughts. i'll still talk about them, but, not with the idea of telling anyone my view is the only view. that's the antithesis of what fandom is about. i'll talk about them because i enjoy talking about them, to like-minded folk, and on my own blog which is what a blog is for.

and, idk why it shows up so often in the KP fandom, especially the Drakgo side, that people can't simply say "hey i have this headcanon!" and someone respond with "oh that's neat!" and just. happily co-exist. everyone creating their things, sharing their things. and people will like what they like, as they always have, in every fandom. and if they don't like someone's idea, that's fine too!

but it's not worth fighting about?? it never is! it's just not that important. it's fandom. it's fun. it's our escape. if one feels SO strongly against a concept, or ship, or whatever.... then you don't interact with it. you don't make it your mission to disprove the other person. you don't actively seek out opportunities to hate on a point of view you dislike. that's not how fandom is supposed to be. find your people, and chill with them.

let's all be positive in the various fandom spaces.

i hadn't intended that to be such a rant, but...well, there you have it. sorry it probably was not what you wanted to hear, but yeah. thanks again for the ask!!

#kim possible #drakgo #kim x ron #kimron #soul eater #drakken #shego #drakken x shego #ron stoppable #ask answer #bumping this up in queue for REASONS lol

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nerdlydelicious · 1 year

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So, I have some thoughts about Jaune’s situation and what that means for his character going forward.

First, shipping. I’ve made no secret of the fact that White Knight is hands down my favorite RWBY ship. Does his new age and the gap in years between him and Weiss, or any other character who was previously in his age range, change that for me?

For two reasons.

1: Weiss is a grown woman with a literal license to kill. If she makes the personal choice to pursue romance with Jaune despite his older age, I don’t think there’s a problem with that. If she’s old enough to be a licensed huntress and fight monsters that want to murder all of human and faunus kind, then she’s old enough choose to date Jaune, DILF status or no. The same is true for any of the other girls on team RWBY, or anyone else who was around his age when he fell in the Ever After.

Now, how Jaune might feel about that in this hypothetical situation with their ages is another matter entirely. Though with everything else he’s been through and had to deal with since V8’s finale, I imagine his current age wouldn’t be his biggest hurdle to pursuing a relationship with Weiss, or whoever else.

2: I seriously doubt Jaune’s going to stay at this age when they leave the Ever After. The Ever After is full of all kinds of magic. If there’s a way to grow and shrink people, then it’s not a stretch to think that there’s magic that can revert Jaune’s physical age to what he was when he entered the Ever After. So it’s not a big concern for me.

That and if Jaune does remain in his DILF form then that just means Weiss will have competition in the form of Willow.

Second: the possibility of Jaune dying this volume. I don’t see it happening, at least not right now. I know a lot of people are worried about that, but I don’t think that’s going to be his fate. Jaune is, at this point, a main character. He has a lot more to do in the story and they aren’t going to throw him away like that. If Jaune dies, then it’s going to be at the hands of Cinder in a climatic final battle for the fate of Remnant. Preferably while taking her with him.

Third: the theory that Jaune can’t or won’t leave the Ever After. A lot of my thoughts on this tie into my thoughts on why Jaune isn’t going to die this volume. Jaune’s clearly been in the Ever After for a long time, but it’s not because he can’t leave. It’s because he wasn’t going to leave without team RWBY. He’s stayed in the Ever After this long because he was waiting for them. Even if he didn’t know for sure that they would arrive or that he would find them, he wouldn’t take the risk of leaving and potentially abandoning them. And likewise, he isn’t going to stay in the Ever After when he had friends and family back on Remnant, which is still currently in grave danger of being destroyed by Salem.

So yeah, those are some of my thoughts on Jaune’s ‘fate’ going forward. I don’t think he’s going to die or refuse to go back to Remnant, and he’s still perfectly shippable. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. They’re just jealous that he’s a certifiable DILF now.

The DILF knight, if you will. I mean, just look at him…

Hubba hubba…

#jaune arc #rwby #rwby volume 9 #rwby vol 9 #rwby spoilers #weiss schnee #rwby white knight #white knight #rwby vol 9 spoilers #rwby volume 9 spoilers #rwby ships

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seventeenlovesthree · 1 month

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As you may have noticed through the course of the past few months, I have done a lot of shipping polls (and will probably do more, because it's just so fascinating to me to see the current status of what the fandom likes and prefers!). This won't be as big of a project as the FANDOM SHIPPING POLL ANALYSIS 2023, but I thought to at least give you a short summary of my findings at least!

"Pick a ship dynamic": I do realize that I already put a bit of a bias in this one, because I already mentioned the dynamic/tropes that the respective ship was mainly associated with! Back then, it was still common to have my polls circulate in more Taishirou centric spheres, so I am not surprised that they won this one by a landslide! (Only Takari and Daiken reached more significant numbers, with Taiora at least crossing the 10% mark!)

Digimon Adventure Rarepair: Again, this one has a bit of an inherent bias, because there are obviously a lot more rarepairs out there, but I wanted to mention mainly those I actually had seen tumblr fandom content about through the course of the years! There haven't been that many participants, so the results are a bit more balanced and thus, of course, not really representative - so it was more surprising to see Kenkeru be the ship to come out on top!

Favourite 02 Ship: Since DigiFes was around the corner and the hype for the "Digimon Adventure 02 The Beginning" movie was speeding up slowly, I wanted to do some 02-centric polls, starting with the most obvious one. It should come to nobody's surprise that Daiken - and basically Takari too - won by a huge margin here. All Jogress combinations aside, these two have always been and probably always will be the most popular 02 ships around the globe!

Favourite Adventure/02 ("Senpai/Kouhai") relationship: I chose this poll with a similar intention as the previous one, wanting to see which of the "generational relationships" were the most popular. Seeing how much emphasis the series had put on the lesbianism sisterhood of Mimi/Miyako, this was an interesting result! They were also closely followed by Taichi/Daisuke, which can be seen as a male counterpart, seeing how much these two are being paralleled.

Most "Shippable" Chosen Child: This was one of the more recent polls and, to at least some degree, it mirrors the popularity the characters had in last year's shipping polls. Seeing Taichi on top of this list shouldn't really surprise anybody, as he had already been one of the most voted on polls last year as well (with his most popular shipping choices having been Koushirou, Yamato and Sora). Mimi had also been among the most popular in last year's ship polls (with her most popular shipping choices having been Jyou, Koushirou, Sora and Taichi). But this time, she only finished third in the poll and was surpassed by Yamato, who did not have as many votes last year (with his most popular shipping choices having been Taichi, Sora and Jyou). It would be really interesting to see how the overall results would change this year.

"Which Chosen Child could you see yourself only ever shipping with ONE other character": Or how I put it up there: "Who is the least multi-shippable?" I do realize that the question may have been a bit confusing here and there, but in the end, the polls did mirror the poll results of last year to at least some degree; Ken is mainly being shipped with Daisuke (or Miyako), whereas Koushirou is mainly being shipping with Taichi (or Mimi), so people prefer being very selective with them! Surprisingly enough, Taichi and Sora also received more than 10% of the votes - whereas the former is usually considered pretty multi-shippable (as seen above), the latter is usually also part of shipping debates. So my interpretation here is that people who voted on this poll may not have voted on the previous poll and actually do prefer these two to be shipped with only a selective number of characters!

Favourite OT3: This poll has only ended today and while Taichi/Koushirou/Sora had led it for the majority of the time, it's not too outlandish that Taichi/Yamato/Sora surpassed it in the end, as it had always been one of the most popular OT3s since the very beginning (due to both fandom popularity/division and canon handling). Daisuke/Takeru/Hikari coming in third is also an interesting result, which has also always been part of fandom discussions (and each ship combination, as with Taiorato, can be found in their respective shipping polls from last year as well!). Again, I do realize that there are always more OT3 combinations out there to focus on, so the poll was somewhat limited.

The OT4 poll is still going on and I'm really curious what this one will bring... I also left a "Others" option in there, so feel free to mention your own favourite group dynamics!

#my edit #my two cents #meta #digimon shipping #shipping polls #personal #digimon #fandom polls

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utilitycaster · 7 months

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Something that’s struck me lately is how the fanbase for Marisha specifically seems to have shrunk dramatically as of late, and so I wanted to talk through it. Noting this up front but: I’m making this rebloggable to start, but will not hesitate to lock it down if people can’t behave. It's an observation, not an accusation per se and definitely not any judgment on Marisha herself; in fact, I think it really sucks for her that this is what's happened.

I can expand on any of this but in the briefest of terms: the intense misogyny in the fandom in Campaign 1 and particular hatred towards Keyleth, culminating in death threats, led, among other things, to a fanbase that was extremely protective. However, by the time I joined the fandom with Campaign 2, the misogyny, while never gone, had significantly reduced (and in general the dudebro portion of the fanbase, while again never fully gone, has been on a decline as the cast became more open about their politics and the world of Exandria became more diverse.) This protectiveness became extreme - completely reasonable in-game conflict between Beau and other characters were perceived as acts of hostility, neutral remarks about Beau in comparison to other characters were interpreted as criticism, and so on. A party line solidified as time went on, of Marisha's characters being tough leaders and hard to kill.

Throughout all of this, something that was true is that Marisha had a fanbase that followed her - obviously to the various cast one shots, but also to the G&S content during Campaign 1 (Dread, Signal Boost, etc) and scattered other things (GM-ing for the Descent Into Avernus D&D live). Her role as creative director was rightfully discussed and lauded.

Things started to shift first with the return from hiatus, and then, not quite a year later, the end of Campaign 2. People who had shipped Beau with Jester quit either when the relationships of C2 began to solidify, or following the finale. This did a pretty significant number on her fanbase, but there were a decent number of people still there; largely people who were more invested in "tough leaders, hard to kill" than her character necessarily being shipped with Laura's characters.

Enter Laudna: zero interest in leadership; extremely killable. Now, people hung on for a while; they had her back during the gnarlrock fight. But as the Bassuras arc wore on and the clear central woman of the campaign was Imogen, they grew quieter, and by the time Laudna died (extremely killable), she was little more than ship fodder. Two things ten happened: The original crowd began to fade away, but a fairly significant influx of new people came in, intrigued by the potential for a relationship...and if she'd been little more than ship fodder to start, she was, more than ever, half of a whole now.

The defensiveness about Marisha's characters shifted now to Laura's character, and while Laudna was vocally beloved, she wasn't defended in the same way. It's started up again, slightly, but notably only after she entered a relationship, and compared to C2? It's incredibly lazy and sluggish, often appearing days or weeks after the criticism, and the appeals to stop all critical analysis based on misogynist hate, never a valid argument to begin with (and rarely accompanied by one either), are even weaker 6+ years down the line.

But the most notable thing I've noticed is that people don't follow Marisha to things outside the main campaign anymore. I noticed it first with Candela Chapter 2, and then this week with the Mortal Kombat one-shot. It used to be that if Marisha GM-ed something, particularly in a cool wig and a crop top, her fans showed up in force. Even with Calamity, while the numbers weren't what they once were, there was something, but Aunt Beatrix isn't young and hot and shippable and so there's no one watching for her.

I've seen virtually no conversation other than my posts about the Candela SDCC panel, which very much showcases her creative direction; while I get that Midst is a whole other thing to get into and podcasts aren't everyone's thing, it is very much her and Sam's involvement, and her discussion during that panel was great, and there's nothing. It feels both ironic and deeply sad that someone who was dismissed both as no more than the DM's girlfriend out of game and Vax's annoying love interest in it, and who's talked about the pressure towards youth and beauty as likely informing her D&D characters, is reduced to "can we ship it"; it makes a lot of sense there's little discussion of that creative direction, because, well, you cannot ship it.

Because the hard "no criticism allowed stance" present specifically within Marisha's fanbase at least as early as the beginning of Campaign 2, it meant that a single unpopular choice from her has cost her large swathes of her fans. And for what it's worth, I don't think she necessarily knows, or cares, but it does make me wonder: if Laudna hadn't said yes to Imogen...would there be anyone left watching who would name her as their favorite cast member?

#would you believe this isn't the only analysis of the fandom itself i'm drafting. probably you would actually.#you would also probably believe the og version of this was 2 pages single spaced #anyway. it's frustrating and sad bc like. I like her a lot! I've clashed with the fanbase for all the reasons above but like #she deserves better! people who haven't kept up with C3 have dropped in for Candela or Calamity for other cast members and guests!#but like. there's still the defensive fanbase but it keeps getting narrower and more homogeneous #it's like cultivated bananas. one unpopular choice and it will die. There's no...generosity or openness #like...it feels like fans of eg: Ashley or Travis or Taliesin in comparison are like you're doing a great job sweetie no matter what #cr tag

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italianpersonwithashippersheart · 11 months

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This post (link) by @respectthepetty (hope you don't mind the tagging) made me think back at all the missed poly oppurtunities BL has given us and I decided to make a list.

First Shout Out to the Only Confirmed Poly So Far (Both F/M/M): 3 Will Be Free and Me, My Husband and My Husband's Boyfriend (the last one I have not watch so be cautious I do not know the ending)

There is two BLs that hint at a poly solution (M/M/M): My Mate Match & Tinted With You.

It's only a hint but if you are starving for it it will do.

NOW ONTO THE MISSED OPPURTUNITIES:

CHOCO MILK SHAKE: The title is in all caps because I am still so bitter about it, the second couple came out of nowhere for me and I am bitter as hell!!!!

Light On Me: The only good love triangle I ever saw and one of the only ones that actually made me believe that a poly ending could work in canon.

Happy Ending Romance: I am not as emotional about this one, but I do remember watching and thinking why can't he just date both?

Oh My Assistent: Same as above

Gen Y: Mark-Kit-Wayo: LAST BUT NOT LEAST! I am so mad about this, it was right there. All the peaces laid out, Wayo deserved it. And so did I Damn It!! I have been wanting to see the actors that play Wayo and Mark play a ship together since I watched the first 2 Moons and thought that they had super great chemistry.

Regarding the La Pluie one, the one in the linked post, I did thought about it, but I think it's not the right drama for it.

Not just because I want Tien to be happy. Even though I really do!! But also because I feel like this would go against what the show is trying to say with the soulmate plot.

If there was another character that had scene with Tien and that could filled the role of a secondary love interest then maybe it could work but as it, I don't really want it, even though I do see it, don't get me wrong.

Anyway suggestiongs of more dramas are welcomed. I for one have a few that are less missed oppurtunities and more like "There's An Idea" poly ships. If you guys want to read that list is:

Not Me: Gram-Black-Todd (I love this one - but Black is also really shippable, I am following a Black-Yok fic with great pleasure)

Until We Meet Again: Read two fics about the two couples dating each other or having a "one night stand" of sorts and thought the idea was neat.

Bad Buddy: I never went there but I know there are fics with a poly relationship between Pat/Pran and either Wai or Korn (or both). Not too mention the fics the Our Skyy 2 crossover most certantly brought about.

History 4 Clost To You: When I first watched it I had a moment during the first scene where I imagined the plot of the drama to be Ten and Li Cheng competing for Xing Si affection with a poly ending and I fell in love with the idea.

#bl poly #bl missed oppurtunities #bl tropes #bl lists

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we-pay-for-everything · 9 months

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And to add to insult, it was already a bit surprised the show be renew, so the odds of getting yet another season were really low. So or the Nancy drew writes didn't even really wanted to go there but to please the fans went there the most superficial way just to get over or they thought not giving the fans a really nice last season of them together would maybe have the fans do a #savenancydrew, which it was a bet that they lost, because the show was never a super hit, also the state of cw and tv as a whole. Sucks when writes just don't care enough to end on a high because somehow most of them think angst, separations, other LI, will they won't they, will sell more that. As audience I think all that just water down what supposed to be great love history. Like you said does Nance even love him? They mess up the golden rule of televison, don't tell me something, show me

Yes, the last season should've been more impactful and a homage to the fans and to what the show did best. We love the show because of the characters and their relationships. We didn't need a last season that completely undermined some of these dynamics and was so heavy on new relationships and characters we don't care about. It's bad enough that we lost The Claw lmao.

Nancy and Ace absolutely had the chance to be an epic love story but their relationship is so underdeveloped that it will only ever be a very shippable ship with potential and outlines of greatness. The way Ace and Nancy's friendship developed in seasons 1 and 2, especially in late season 1 and early season 2, was beautiful, but even season 3 was a misstep imo. Park's introduction and the lack of good Nace content in some ways brought their relationship to a halt, especially after Nancy's big revelation in the season 2 finale. The writers also needed to develop their relationship in other fronts. Romance isn't just about jealousy, insecurity, and the revealing and confessing of feelings, and Nace's relationship should've deepened in other ways. More than Nancy relying on Ace, we should've seen Ace rely on Nancy - and Ace actually reaching out for help, or learning how to -, or Nancy being more in tune with Ace. But Ace's insecurities weren't really solved then and certainly won't be solved now, and Nancy was just as distracted by other stuff in season 3 as usual, and we even had an episode of Ace being in trouble and Nancy being clueless about it (because Ace didn't ask for help and she ignored his random request to solve a riddle that in the end took only two seconds to solve). Ace establishing a connection with Nancy by tapping on her shoulder in Morse code was not proof of the strength of their bond lmao. We needed their relationship, both romantic and otherwise, to be developed, so it was less unbalanced and limited to solving cases.

We also deserved an actual relationship between them, which now we won't ever get because the writers wasted the final season on bullshit love triangles and forbidden love stories. We deserved to see how badass Nace really are together, how they can manage their differences and make each other better (since we haven't seen much of that lately), and how Ace can overcome his insecurities and Nancy her fear of commitment and intimacy. A healthy, loving, supportive, equal romantic partnership between is what would elevate their relationship to legendary status - not this forbidden love, possible literal soulmates whatever, angle.

Nace could've been something so beautiful, but the writers are clearly stubborn and uninterested in maturing Nancy. She's forever the girl who can't see past her need to solve cases, or been on a real relationship where she has to compromise, let someone else in, and not just do everything her way. She's the cliché detective type... Usually shows care too much about romance, but in this case it's less about romance and more about how a real romantic relationship would be great for Nancy's growth and character development, but sadly that won't happen.

Nancy may love Ace but truly her immaturity and poor writing make it seem like she doesn't, or like Ace isn't really a priority most of the time - not unless he's in danger and especially not when she feels rejected. *Sigh*

Thanks for the ask!

#ask #nancy drew cw #cw nancy drew #nancy drew #ace [redacted]#ace nancy drew #ace x nancy #nancy #nace #thanks for the ask!

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constant-merlin-torture · 1 year

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Merlin Rants Pt. Something

okay so I’m always going to be on my “Arthur and Gwen didn’t have chemistry and they weren’t the cutest domestic little married couple 🥺🥺 they were just boring and a guy and a girl” shit but I was just rewatching The Darkest Hour (1&2) and I came upon an astounding realization:

Arthur and Merlin would’ve gotten together if one was a girl (duh I feel like everyone in the fandom knows this)

Gwen pisses me off (not because of her drama with the boys but because of how her character is just so….bland? In season 4 that is)

the main one I want to talk about is number 2

The issue with Gwen is that they got it right early (ie season 1) and got it wrong later, which means we as viewers have the ill-fortune of knowing that Gwen was better before. So, what changed?

for starters, Gwen and Arthur. I’m not even going to pretend that I liked this plot line ever. When they kissed in season 2, it’s so forced and just ugghhhh. Gwen is an objectively better person in seasons 1 and 2, and as far as her character has been built, she has no reason to want to kiss Arthur after he’s been a terrible and ungrateful person™️. Then when Lancelot leaves and she really starts to reciprocate, instead of having Arthur have some solid and strong character growth, the show runners say “fuck that let’s make Gwen bland so that we can put her with anyone” and then proceed to fill her scenes with forced foreshadowing for her future queenhood and Arthur lovey eyes. So

Another part is that she’s made bland to fit with Arthur perfectly. But that’s the issue: it’s too perfect a fit. There’s outside drama, such as their positions as king and servant, but then there’s no real friction between the two of them. A lot of people like to say that this is because they are a healthy relationship. But there’s a difference between healthy and boring. And there’s a difference between unhealthy and romantic. I firmly believe that if Arthur as a character has been allowed to progress naturally (with some setbacks but with an overarching improvement) and if Gwen had been given at least some real flaws, they could’ve been shippable. And still healthy. Instead, we get this “one-size fits all” Gwen that has 0 flaws and is just the most fantastic perfect human being on planet earth. But it makes her an uninteresting character.

this was cathartic and I have more coming on this

#merlin #i hate bbc #merlin emrys #arthur x merlin #arthur pendragon #arthur #merlin x arthur #bbc merlin #guinevere #gwaine #merthur #gwen

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sherifftillman · 2 years

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An Unambiguous Love [2/10]: Meeting Munson

1 :: 2 :: 3 :: 4 :: 5 :: 6 :: 7 :: 8 :: 9 :: 10 ::

alternate AO3 link

Pairing: Steve Harrington x Eddie Munson x f!Reader

Genre: fluff

Summary: Your favourite customers really make it easier returning to the town you never went to school in. If only your friends at work would stop trying to play matchmaker between you.

Chapter 2 word count: 2288

A/N: Thanks for the love on chapter 1! This chapter also introduces my favourite non-shippable character to write, see if you can guess who that is lmao. I'll be updating these daily, thank y'all for sticking with it! <3

It’s the morning after your first shift on the shop floor, and you’re getting yourself ready for your next one this afternoon. You’re really being thrown in at the deep end with a triple threat: new issue day, D&D supply launch day, and your first ever closing shift out on the floor. Thankfully, as long as your schedule still aligns, you’re paired with Ralph, who certainly wouldn’t abandon you no matter how quiet the day may be. You consider getting to the strip mall a little early so that you can perhaps get some extra encouragement from your new friend(? Can you call him that already?) Steve, but you realise that perhaps food is more important. Besides, when you do finally park up, you don’t see him directly in the window anyway. Perhaps he isn’t even working.

You head on in and see an already-exhausted Ralph tidying the comic crates. As you cause the doorbell to chime, Ralph looks at you with a resigned smile. You grit your teeth. “It’s been that bad, huh?”

Ralph shakes his head. “Ahh, it’s helped the time go quicker. Thankfully, we’ve got a little calm period now before the next storm… The after-school rush. Now, I’ll take the register for that, if you could just try and keep on top of keeping things as organised as possible.” You nod and take a deep breath in. Ralph notices and calls, “Hey.” You look up at him and he smiles reassuringly at you. “We’re gonna do great today, alright?” You nod again, more relaxed than your first. Ralph continues, “And I promise I won’t get a random migraine as soon as it’s convenient for me.”

Your eyes widen. “How did - Did Jesse get in trouble? I swear, I didn’t want that to happen, I didn’t mean to squeal -”

Ralph laughs, “Relax, kid.” Bold words from someone only three years older than you. “It didn’t come from the top. Not that Cam would risk having to punish his friend. Word travels fast amongst us here, just a heads up…” He walks over to you to bend down to your ear level and murmur, “Future Mrs Harrington.”

“Okay,” you step aside and hold up a finger while Ralph laughs. “That one, I am nipping in the bud. If a man being nice to someone one time means they’re bound romantically, then I feel sorry for all the women of Hawkins.” Ralph’s laughter intensifies.

The next couple of hours are an absolute flurry of teenage chaos. Comics are being thrown around, as are tantrums over the lack of issue 200. One kid, with curls falling out of his baseball cap, is instead parading around the brand new D&D section proudly, while loudly reassuring his friends that they can read his copy when he is done with it. A red-haired girl asks through stone-cold eyes how he could have possibly gotten a copy early, to which he simply shrugs and says, “I got connections. What can I say? I’ve been telling you all, I basically run this joint.”

The group surrounding him scoffs in disbelief. Remembering the names Steve used yesterday, and putting two and two together, you decide to have a little fun amongst the madness. You tap him on the shoulder, “Sorry, Dustin Henderson?”

He whips around and looks at you like a deer in headlights, swallowing hard. “Y-yes?”

“I take it that our exclusive deal for our most prestiged customer yesterday was to your liking?” you ask, raising your eyebrows slowly, silently willing him to play along.

He shows silent understanding by copying your expression. “Yes! Very much so. You’ll continue to have my patronage for a long time yet. Especially with this new section! I can’t wait to make new characters to use these dice on.” He takes handfuls of them and holds them up gleefully.

You interlock your fingers and place your hands on your heart. “Everyone here is thrilled to hear that you’re satisfied, Mr Henderson. Please, do not be afraid to call on me for any of your needs. I promise, I will deliver to you myself if that is what's needed.” You look around at all the flabbergasted faces of Dustin’s group, then once more at him to catch him mouthing a ‘thank you’ before he turns to face his friends again.

As you walk away, you hear him gloat, “You see? I am the nerd king! Bow down, bitches!” You take extra care in making sure the rest of the kids don’t see you accidentally laughing at the crack in his voice at that last part.

Eventually, things die down a little again, around the time most of the kids are going back home to their parents for dinner. Ralph looks almost completely wiped out, and you frown, “When was the last time you ate?”

Ralph shakes his head. “It’s fine, I told you I’d stay, I’m a man of my wor-”

You interrupt him, “You can’t teach me if you’re passed out. Just go grab a burger and some fries from the diner, as long as you’re back to teach me how to close up, I’ll be fine for a while yet.”

Ralph thanks you profusely as he leaves to go eat. Having to switch between tidying and ringing up really isn’t as bad as you were anticipating. A few angry people demanding certain issues that have already sold out don’t even phase you too much.

As if by fate, you have a split second where it is just you and the stock out on the shop floor. You bask in the silence, the sheer amount of space without so many people crammed in every aisle… And then, in he walks. Grungy style, long dark hair, rings adorning every finger. He makes a beeline for the D&D section, immediately picking up a Player’s Handbook and skimming the pages delightedly. You watch him gleefully explore the store before eventually emptying his arms onto your checkout counter. His vibe is somehow nothing you’d expect from someone with his aesthetic, but also it all seems to… Fit him, somehow. He’s got the book, several dice sets, and a tray. “Just a few things, then,” you muse.

He chuckles, “Yeah, well. My old tray has not been holding well over my last campaign. The Hellfire club sure know how to cause total destructive mayhem even in this realm.”

“Ooh, Hellfire. Sounds official. You guys play for like, any special reason, or…?” You ask, but he shakes his head.

“Nope, I’ve just had waaaaay too much time to run my little old high school campaign. Being held back a couple years sure has its perks!” He takes a long, lingering look at you, and the tip of his tongue pokes out to lick his lips. “Sorry, uh, should probably introduce myself since you’ll probably be seeing me a lot around here now. I'm -”

You cock your head in curiosity, narrowing your eyes and smirking smugly as you figure out who he must be. “Eddie Munson?”

Eddie’s face falls. “Uh-oh. You don't know of Hellfire but you know of me? That can’t be good.”

Your eyes widen, “Oh, no, no, no! I promise it’s nothing bad, I - You helped Steve Harrington create a D&D character here the other day, right?”

The corners of Eddie’s lips twist into a smile, “I don’t think you could quite say that. I certainly tried to, but with little success.”

“Oh, well, yeah, but I - I found the sheet and I got bored so I…” You pull out your sketchbook you’d left tucked in the drawer beneath the counter and show Eddie your drawing.

He takes the book from your hands and starts running around the store, basically pressing his face into it. “Oh my god! This is incredible! And you did that based on what Stevie gave you? Oh, wait until we talk about my current party - Would you do commissions? Could you draw my current party’s characters and then also every one of my NPCs? I need your art to bring this campaign to life, now!”

Your cheeks flush a dark pink. “Oh, well… I’ve never been paid for my work before, and even then, this was just a bit of fun… I even had to get him to pose to get the hair just right since he wanted that in the drawing, too.”

Eddie stops his pacing and returns to you at the counter. He slides the sketchbook back over to you, rests his elbows on the counter and his chin on his fists as he looks to you. “And how much would it cost to have you draw me, then, huh?”

You finally get to talk to him undistracted long enough to get a proper look at his face. His eyes are dark brown, almost black, but not in a cold and uninviting way. His smile is infectious, crinkling the corners of his eyes as he does so. You eventually snap out of your daydream, clear your throat and say, “It wouldn’t be fair to charge you and not Steve… But then technically I didn’t draw Steve himself, just basically him as a half-orc, based on a few things he wrote.”

Stil resting his head on his fists, Eddie gently rocks his head from side to side, “So what’s my D&D alternative?”

“Hmm… You take your pencil out and tap it on your lower lip in thought. “I wanna say… Half-elf fighter who eventually becomes a bard. You got that sort of energy.”

Eddie grins. “Are you sure you haven’t done your research on me? You can’t have just guessed that I’m a musician.”

You gesture up and down in front of you, “I mean, look at you, dude.”

“Touche,” Eddie nods, moving to hold onto the counter with both hands and lean on it. “Yeah, I’ve got a band. Corroded Coffin. We’ve rocked the hell out of venues such as Gareth’s garage…” His tone suggests he’s about to list a number of venues, as does the way he taps one finger with the other, but he trails off after the first while pulling a face to show there’s no more. You laugh, and that goddamn smile of his returns. “Nah, we also have a regular spot, I shouldn’t complain. Suppose I should probably pay for all this, huh…” Eddie squints to read your nametag out loud.

You slap your palm to your face. “I've got to stop forgetting to introduce myself.”

“Hey now, I didn’t even get to, so now we're even!” Eddie points out. He looks at the dice towers situated next to you and lets out a low whistle. “Man, I’ve always wanted a tower, just for like… Real dramatic rolls. But I don’t know if I can justify paying that much in one go.”

A smirk creeps along our face as you come up with an idea, “How about a little bet?” You take out a random d20 from one of the jars on the other side of the counter, and pull a dice tower up in front of you, between you and Eddie. You hold the die between your finger and thumb, hovering it over the tower. “If this crits, you have to buy it right now.”

Eddie’s smile returns, “And what if it’s a natural one?”

“Then I pay for it for you,” you shrug. “Anything else, we leave it here.”

“I like those odds,” Eddie nods. “Let’s do it.”

You drop the die. It clatters between tiers of wood until…

“20?! No way.”

Your eyes widen. “Oh no, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to put you out of pocket! Let’s just forget the whole thing, it was just a joke -”

Eddie shakes his head. “I’m a man of my word. Guess I’m finally upping my game today.” He gives you a reassuring smile as he takes his wallet out. “So, uh, the party’s kinda full now, but if you ever wanted to just come watch a Hellfire game, we’d be more than happy to have you. We could even put you down as a reserve in case someone can’t make it, if you ever wanted to play!”

“We’ll see,” you give him a small smile. While this Eddie guy does seem sweet, you're still a little apprehensive from the last campaign you were in.

“I’ll just keep coming by every day, as long as it takes to convince you,” Eddie singsongs, in a tone you’re comfortable enough with believing that it’s got friendlier intentions rather than insistent.

“That’ll be a waste then, since I’m not in every day,” you point out.

“Eh, then I just get to visit my good pal Stevie at the video store instead, I’m still good,” Eddie smiles before handing you an entire wad of cash. Your eyes widen, but you don’t ask any questions. You simply ring him up, give him his change and bag up his items for him. He grabs the bag and lifts it up in a farewell greeting. “See you ’round!”

You sigh wistfully to yourself, and hear a familiar voice pipe up next to you. “Alright, I believe you, perhaps Harrington’s not your man, after all.”

You jump at the sound of Ralph’s presence being so close before shaking your head, your face turning a deep shade of pink. “Shut up, so I’ve made conversation with two separate guys. That doesn’t mean anything.”

“Uh-huh. Sure. I’ll remember that one at your wedding,” he smirks.

“What is it with all of you and assuming I’ll find my future husband while working here?!” you ask exasperatedly before noticing some comics that had fallen behind a shelf that clearly need your full and urgent attention.

#steve harrington x eddie munson x reader #steddie x reader #steve harrington x eddie munson x you #steddie x you #steddie imagine #stranger things fanfic #stranger things fic #stranger things imagine #stranger things x reader #fluff #aul #*myfics

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roostertuftart · 1 year

Note

Obligatory green hat kid ask

GOTTA do kyle yes ofc.

Ask meme

Sexuality Headcanon: I'm so divided on this for Kyle! Really love him being gay, but also I love making like. Every character bisexual for maximum shipping potential- Plus like!! Kyle being a biromantic demisexual makes me so happy :)) He's definitely demi for me no matter what!!! And I think he has a male preference if he is bisexual. I have the headcanon that he actually thought he was gay for a long time because he only really had crushes on his close friends, all of them being guys, until he becomes friends with like, Wendy or someone and realizes "oh shit, I like girls too???"

Gender Headcanon: Another thing I'm mixed on. But I think I'm leaning a binary man (I can see him as both cis or trans) and he doesn't really care about it that much. He seems extremely comfortable with his masculinity which has always been one of my favorites traits he has! Overall I just see him being mostly masculine presenting but not minding being gender nonconforming and not really being super troubled by the thought of gender or gender presentation. Like, oh, his friends are all cross dressing for fun? Sure, he'll join in just for the heck of it. But it's not something he thinks deeply about at the same time, if that makes sense. I like agender Kyle too :)

A ship I have with said character: My favorite favorite favorite ship with Kyle is Stendylenny but to go for more of the popular ones, style and K2 both are pretty good and I think about them often. I love Kyle's dynamic with those two! K2 is always really wholesome and loving and I really like how spicy and complicated style can be! I could go for like an hour listing off rairpairs and crackships I like for Kyle because he's so shippable, but some of my other favorites for him are cryle, kyndy, and one sided kyman

A BROTP I have with said character: Kyndy probably? When I'm not shipping Kyle and Wendy, I love them as best friends. There's this popular trend of them hating each other in the fandom and that's fine but I just cannot see it, they're so alike and they've only ever gotten along, you know? I think they'd be even closer as they got older, especially with how they've both shed a lot of their more toxic traits with time. Idk if it counts but Kyle and his relationship with Ike is also iconic and deserves way more attention.

A NOTP I have with said character: Kymannnnnn I'm sorry lol. Really love it one sided and I have had AUs and stuff where I've been able to stomach them both being romantically involved but overall something about the ship just tends to make me extremely uncomfortable. I can see the appeal but as I've said before, I just cannot fathom Kyle having returned feelings for Eric Cartman unless it was from some sort of fucked up trauma response, which is interesting for plot but if that's as far as it can go for me, I don't think I count as a shipper.

A random headcanon: Kyle has freckles supremacy!!! Also he's autistic and has cPTSD. And he gets a cat at some point even though he's lightly allergic.

General Opinion over said character: Favorite boy love him so much. I want to pick him up and throw him as far as I can

#kyle broflovski #ask #not siri #anti kyman #< tagging for mutuals to avoid #south park

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sparatus · 5 months

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For the character headcanons, gimme Avi and Macen pls?

my BOYS

send me a character

Avitus

Sexuality Headcanon: gay, not xeno

Gender Headcanon: cis, hasn't really considered it beyond generally being comfortable with his assigned-at-birth gender

A ship I have with said character: barrix obviously, do i even have to say it. also you motherfucker you got me into AviTis, plus ngl the more i dabble in it for exdiff and rabbitverse the more avitus/saren and avi/nihnih are appealing, the three coyotes are just very shippable together tbh they're already besties and what's a little on-off dating between friends

A BROTP I have with said character: saren & avitus & nihlus, obvi, it's important to my soul for the coyotes to have a grand old time being best buds and maybe a platonic polypile. for fun. also i do enjoy the potential he and ryder have as friends, and if we dance over to bad end. avitus & quentius man i really fucking love their big bad + dragon dynamic over there

A NOTP I have with said character: mmmm it's not a definite notp as much as i just can't get into him and ryder, setting aside my own hc that he's not xeno in the slightest he's a lot older and been through a lot of shit ryder can't even imagine, they're just in very different places in their lives and i just don't think it'll work. also it's been a few years but i remember once somebody asked me on my mea blog about shipping him with the head of the roekaar and?? no?? are you all insane. no to avi/kaetus too just nobody can make ships with him that aren't garbo except us really

A random headcanon: he has dyslexia. like, when he's joking about how he can't read so he can't possibly do paperwork, it's not entirely a joke, he does have trouble making the words go correctly. he assumed this would be an issue in spectre training, because he'd caught shit from his superiors in the army about it, but saren, being autistic and also having shit eyesight from albinism to begin with, was just like "yeah cheers m8 me too let's get you a screen reader and some decent dictation software" and it was fine. fucker still didn't accept spelling mistakes tho

General Opinion over said character: [squeezes him like teddy bear] i love this garbage creature so much im so glad rabbitverse lets me play with him more im sorry for what i did to your mommy dude (i am not it's good character growth)

Macen

Sexuality Headcanon: bisexual!! he's equal opportunity in how appealing to every turian ever he is

Gender Headcanon: cis, he's considered it before but generally decided he's fine with his agab

A ship I have with said character: barrix, do i have to mention it, also ngl i kinda sometimes wonder about maybe a bit of macen/nihlus, i think maybe in a verse where avi got more into saren and grew past his old crush mace might click with nihnih instead

A BROTP I have with said character: on a similar note to above part of why i think he and nihnih could work as a ship is i feel like they'd get along really well as friends!! they're both (somehow) the calmer more reasonable one to their respective chaos goblins, i feel like when the whole gang gets together he and nihlus cheerfully discuss what's going on while saren and avi roll around trying to bite each other (and then, y'know, mace and saren catch up while nih takes a turn scuffling and mace patches saren up). in general i also just love the four of them as best bros okay. also in exdiff he ends up under valis's command and the two of them get along really well

A NOTP I have with said character: i haven't really seen any ships with him other than barrix which tbh is probably for the best this fandom doesn't deserve him

A random headcanon: he actually wanted to be a spectre when he grew up as a kid, or at least, the glamorous space hollywood version of them that goes on cool adventures all the time. baby macen read a lot of books and watched a lot of adventure vids and wanted to be a cool storybook hero. as he got older, he gradually accepted he wasn't cut out for that kind of career, but his curiosity and thirst for adventure never left

General Opinion over said character: :plsplspls: babyboy, baby. i love him your honor

#press conference

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revvethasmythh · 1 year

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I've just read through your FCG meta/response from yesterday and I love it. With regards to the popularity of Sam's characters (and I agree with a lot of what you said on why), how much of that do you think is connected to how shippable his characters are from a fandom POV? In campaign 1, Pikelan is so much less popular than the other 2 canon ships. In campaign 2, anything other than Veth/Yeza (almost no fandom engagement) is treated as a crackship (fjeth) or most people insist it's familial (widobrave). Then obviously there is very little shipping for FCG in general. Is it because he's a funnyman? Is it what you were talking about with flawed characters and how they wouldn't consistently serve a fave enough to be shipped with them? Is it just that he tends not to create conventionally attractive characters? I'd say the gulf in ship popularity for the canon ships of campaign 1 followed the lines of conventional attractiveness a little strictly for me to write it off as coincidence, even if there were other extending circumstances like Pike being away a lot of the time. And the fact that one of Sam's most popularly shipped characters (Loquatius) happens to be one of the more conventionally attractive ones. Although it's pretty clear from watching calamity that those two would've been a very popular couple regardless.

That became a vent but the main question is do you think that one feeds the other? Are Sam's characters less popular because they're less shippable by fandom standards? Or are they less shipped because they're less popular? Or do those two things feed one another? I'm sorry that was a lot thrown at you but since your recent analysis was so good that I was curious to hear your thoughts on this.

Okay, there's enough to unpack here that I could probably write a few essays in response, but I'm going to try to keep this as concise as I can, so I'll answer the TL;DR as best I can keeping the rest in mind. I do think the two things feed each other to some extent, though I find myself leaning toward thinking his characters are less popular because they're less shippable, and less shippable because of their unconventionality. This might be the cynic in me, but I've been in fandom long enough to know that shipping tends to be a huge motivator for folks, though I'm also sure the fact that Sam's characters tend to have BIG personalities affects if people want to engage with them or not as well.

Like, I have caught myself on many occasions considering how balls to the walls popular Widobrave would have been if Nott wasn't a goblin and therefore very unconventionally attractive (lots of monsterfuckers in the fandom do be fakes, as it turns out), or considering how Veth gets overlooked as a shipping option or even just as a character who is attractive because, well. She's short, she's fat, she's brown, she's loud, and she takes up space. Like, we all know that's the reason even if we don't say it out loud very often. It's why it's easier for people to relegate her as a wife and a mother, heavy emphasis on mother, and not have to engage much deeper with her character and complexities than that, and certainly not her shipping viability (hence the "Veth is Caleb's mom" thing that will never ever go away)

And with FCG, I have seen with my own eyes people say that he's not shippable because he's a robot. Like, I don't think it's a secret that a fair few folk think that way. I find it interesting that when Sam said on 4sd, "Fresh Cut Grass is desperate to do things like be able to taste, be able to smell, be able to feel love, the things that you all can do that I can't" I saw people say in response: "but he CAN feel love. The love of his friends," but I've also not seen a single interpretation that this may be a desire to feel love in a romantic sense on his part. Now, I'm not saying that's what Sam meant--it could be much more general than that, as FCG is still struggling with understanding their personhood and what it even means to feel love at all, platonic or otherwise--but the absence of the interpretation is not, uh, lost on me.

So, I suppose the point to make here is that a huge amount of fandom prioritizes shipping over just about anything else. Sam's characters rarely take the spotlight in shipping situations (though he does do a huge amount of delicious, subtle pining. it's his speciality), with the exception of Quay, who is probably his most conventionally attractive character apart from Tary, who didn't actively get a big romantic plot in VM the way Quay did in Calamity (he got the Sam Riegel classic--quiet pining). So if Sam comes out swinging with these non-traditionally attractive characters, as he basically always does, who tend to make a lot of jokes, because he's Sam, fandom seems to write them off as jokes and/or unattractive and not viable for shipping, therefore less interesting or having less worth engaging with entirely.

And here's the thing--it's not just Sam this is affecting right now, either! Look at Chetney. Chetney is the fucking spiritual successor of Veth Brenatto, like all croaky and horny and hilarious and A LOT. He's also old, which immediately took him out of the shipping pool for a lot of people, and it feeds into the way people think of him as just a joke. like "lmao look there's an OLD guy in the party this time, what a racket." Which is ridiculous, but definitely an opinion you're going to find floating around, both said and unsaid. And I think all you need to do is look at the stark absence of Chetney on AO3, the fact that there are all of 22 Fearne/Chetney fics (a ship that gets seriously played up in canon, just like Pikelan did during VM), and the absence of serious discussion about him to see a correlation between a character being traditionally shippable and one that the fandom deems worthwhile to talk about.

I mean, here's the thing--this is a limited discussion that I'm able to do right now. This could be an entire dissertation and there are complexities I'm not hitting on, I'm absolutely sure of it. But I would generally agree that the more unconventional a character is, particularly one who is unconventionally attractive, the less shippable fandom will view them and then they would be less popular in general, and I think that's something Sam runs aground of often, yeah. Like I said, I'm sure there are complexities I'm not hitting right now, but I do think, generally speaking, this is often true. Even though I think it's really unfortunate that fandom bends so heavily toward prioritizing shipping like that. But, like, they do

#I've reserved some discussion on scanlan because I was not in the fandom while VM was still airing #and I don't think I have the best scope of understanding to dig into what was going on with him or even pikelan is general #also like. I could do a separate long post about how fandom treats EACH of these characters like there is A LOT to unpack #so I hope I've managed to articulate a decent response to your question! I may have just talked a lot I'm not sure #long post #anon #asks #fresh cut grass #chetney pock o'pea #veth brenatto #i wish I could just beam my thoughts directly at you anon because idk if I said this well I have to many thoughts to get it all out clean

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starfiretruther · 1 year

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I’m thinking about your post again (or someone else’s) that talks about Roy and Kory being like these people who Dick can’t really change or something like that and falling into the same category of like being people who challenge Dick at times. Like I love the idea of RoyxDickxKory in a fun fandom way. But honestly Kory is just as shippable as Dick is.

Dick as a character is someone with a very strict moral code and defined values so of course all of his most interesting relationships are with those people who challenge him and confront him to change and grow as a person. While we did see the positive effects of Kory's influence on him, I will always wish the writers had approached their different views on violence and heroism with more nuance and equality. Dick's pov was always framed as the right or better approach and Kory's perspective was always be dismissed or scrutinized without any convincing rational reasoning. Even if they didn't want the two to change their stances, they should've at least had Dick seriously reflect and understand where Kory was coming from and vice versa.

I don't know if Roy and Dick ever have the same moral differences that would lead to a serious rift in their relationship. From what i can recall it's always been centered on their interpersonal disputes like how dick would treat the team or would act too much like batman etc. Though i'd love to see some more examples of their conflicts.

Kory is just so special to me like she cares very deeply for the people she loves and goes above and beyond for them, and she isn't stuck on a narrow monogamous idea of love like dick. so yeah she's very shippable lol.

#ask #dick and kory #dick and roy #titans #titans polycule i will never give up on you

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lunawings · 2 years

Text

Waccha PriMagi 51

OH COME ON

REALLY

how DARE they

How dare they tease the Waccha PriMagi Over the Rainbow and not follow through.

They’re even... FFF hold on

THEY ARE EVEN AT THE PLACE

COME ON

Was this just a tease/reference or are they really planning on some kind of spin off.

Funny though about how I was right with my prediction about Tohma being actually important in a good way at the beginning of the series. (And all I had to go on was his eyelashes BUT--)

So.

At the beginning of the series I also predicted that the big main friendship would be Matsuri/Myamu. I did think I was wrong for a minute when Auru was introduced, but in the end I was right, and I was disappointed in that because it wasn’t something I was personally interested in seeing. It’s just a weird pairing to me because of the age gap or maturity level difference. They are not shippable (or rather SHOULDN’T be...), but they aren’t portrayed like sisters either. They are partners. IDK, maybe if you had some kind of close friendship with a neighborhood kid who was younger than you, then you could relate to it? But I couldn’t.

But, even though I personally wasn’t into it, I thought it was a pretty satisfying ending for those who were. I thought the writing for their climax was quite good.

And I actually love Matsuri’s ultimate coord (her love elemental one?). It was the only coord this season where I was like WOOAH about the design. The floaty heart ruffles are so cool.

Wait they were ALL girls!? ALL of them!? Haaaaaah. When you get so used to mascot characters being nonbinary and then suddenly THIS it’s jarring. Well, I guess they could still technically be nonbinary but IDK.

So the mystery silhouette in the arcade teaser was Chimumu eh.

Wait did we ever see what Ryume looks like in her mascot form, in a flashback or something, or do we just never see it!? (Not fair if so.)

But yeah anyway.

Pretty good ending. I liked how this would be satisfying as a final end, but the door is wide open for a season 2 in the magic world or various spinoffs, whichever direction they decide to go.

I’m still super annoyed though at how this series both started off as Mahoutsukai Precure with idol elements, and then ended as a watered down Rainbow Live (borrowing a lot of the same beats, but without the same emotion/level of drama).

I mean...

(Do you feel the same looking at these two images knowing the fates of both sets of characters?)

So, it still feels like a mish mashed mess to me. But... if I hadn’t been overexposed to all the things it’s borrowing from, I probably would have liked it more?

#the end?

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bi4bihankking · 1 year

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12, 18, 27

Is there an unpopular arc that you like that the fandom doesn’t? Why?

Oh boy the two issues of the mini that reveals Alan has Hank forcibly institutionalized in the worst mental hospital ever built. It's like yeah it's a story that really makes Alan, Kyle and Todd look fucking awful, and it's only used to steal Jen's powers so that she can be a good submissive girlfriend to Kyle, and then he can later give her back her powers so of course her powers come from Kyle and Kyle is the most important and-

But it's also like... interesting, Hank getting hurt by people he trusts in ways that society at large is just gonna be "well you were crazy and crazy people deserve to be locked up for the rest of their life" about, like how does that effect someone.

And not to ever recommend JSA All-Stars to anyone, but it does effect him in that, his character development to "yes these people are awful criminals but they're also people" feels so in character for someone who has been through the things he has and 🔪🔪🔪🔪 sorry I need to threaten Geoff Johns because I know he'll write Hank as 'cold telepath dude', I think that characterization is what we should continue with.

Does not shipping something ‘popular’ mean you’re in denial and/or biased?

I think this is stupid lol. Like sorry to fandom but a lot of the times they pick their popular ships based on who the two white men in the same room are. Also a lot of the time, for me personally, the most popular ships in a fandom have a bad mouthfeel.

Like if you like the most popular ship in the fandom you're gonna hit a lot of fics where the bottom is the main character of the relationship and the top is not allowed to have any of his own emotions or problems and he's only there to support his lover, and also most of this has no basis in canon whatsoever.

As someone who has an unfortunate habit of liking the fandom assigned top more I can't deal with that I cannot I cannot deal with one more fic like that.

Least shippable character?

Unfortunately Henry, I have spent two years trying to find him a fandom ship of his own that people like but all of them have been rejected.

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blindedguilt · 1 year

Note

|[ Leonard and Caim. Because reasons. ]|

YOU ALREADY KNOW MY ANSWER TO THIS, BRI.

Alright so to note before anything I had a literal essay typed out and ready to go at about,,, 1???? AM???? The night this was sent

but then I forgot mobile Tumblr hates me right now so I hit post and lost it forever 😔

Then I wrote this but fell asleep in the process at about 4AM and woke up the following morning, and after days of working on NOTHING else on Tumblr but this, finished it after a lot of on and off work (I was still resentful and petty about losing my first one), and am praying the gods won't get in the way of my thoughts on this because good LORD

I've tried to include everything my original post did (albeit a lot less messy) but....

So to start, whoever came up with the idea that a ship is "good" based off of how pleasantly compatible and not toxic/problematic the people involved are is a fucking liar

I don't talk a LOT about shipping given the nature of this blog and that the topic doesn't come up very much??? At least on Tumblr lmao

But what some people might not know is that while I'm someone who believes that literally everything and everyone is inherently,,, "pairable" (It feels better to say than shippable), no matter how little they've interacted or how unconventional/potentially problematic may be, I am also VERY picky about shipping to where there's only been a handful I've ever really been invested in (2 OC pairings, 2 pairings involving canon characters) and the rest I usually bump off either for taking up feed space and not really caring or not being slightly moved at because my brain is picking at it too much.

Whether I like a ship or not ultimately comes down to two things:

1. Is the dynamic THERE? or are the two characters just trope fodder

When it comes to the happy couple, power couple, sunshine/grumpy, etc. etc. I DO enjoy these tropes, but more often than not they end up being boring for that being next to everything about the characters themselves. I'm always eager to know stuff like what drew them to each other and continues to draw them to each other, what caused/how their previously established dynamic was able to evolve to where it is now, what fuels their particular dynamic, and ofc their own established characters outside of it. I don't often indulge in romance-type things outside of those campy us romcoms from the 00's but I've seen a few very forgettable couples in media (I won't blame Disney for being targeted more towards children, but you'd expect more out of couples like Cent and Two ESPECIALLY for that's more or less just "They're in love!" And I'm just,,,, yeah. that's been established 😭

2. The actual portrayal of the ship. My autism brain is VERY stringent about this, literally you could have everything what was just discussed and if it doesn't stack up in a way that really makes sense, it will stick in my mind like an itch I can't reach and I likely won't shut up about it for the next month.

I dunno how to explain it, when you have a certain pair/set of characters (Who are made of differentiating backgrounds, circumstances, etc. which may affect them in different ways), and they gradually get to understand/learn more about each other as time passes and in turn grow some semblance of a bond/care as humans do to the point it could be deemed a romantic(?)/intense enough "bond" that could manifest itself in any which way depending on what's been established in those characters backgrounds, how they already and HAVE interacted with each other, their current circumstances, etc. etc.

Sometimes, especially in a darker piece of media like Drakengard, the way they manifest as a "ship" or "pair" isn't always a conventional or even healthy so much as it is a result/consequence of those raised emotions and their bond. When I see something that should stack up to be toxic or potentially even twisted and problematic be written as something undeservingly sweet and "cute" it gets under my skin like nothing else. Like differentiating Nabokov's Lolita, which is an absolutely GUT-WRENCHING book about CSA and the effect it has on the victim later on in life, and lolisho circles, which are.... Yeah. It's also why the all too popular good girl/bad boy trope gets under my skin for how often it's just putting up with a guy's shitty behaviour and then him magically changing at the end to "justify" it and ughhhhhh you know the spiel

ANYWAYS, WITH ALL THAT ESTABLISHED. THEM.

I think what really strikes me most about Leonard and Caim's whole relationship without even considering shipping is just how much there is to compare/contrast, like...

As far as differences go, they're nearly polar opposites in just about fucking everything, resulting in the all too well-known clash in personality we like to write lmao. There's a lot to be said in these two different aspects of their characters, like the spontaneity/suppression, deflection/guilt, revenge/recompense, fighting to live/fighting to die, sadism/masochism, reckless bravery/reckless cowardice, and it's goes into their backgrounds as well, with Caim's upbringing in royalty and Leonard's likely in peasantry/coming from the general lowerclass before even his life as a hermit, and even in design (the blond/brunet contrast is a VERY popular design choice in a lot of fiction, usually with the blond being established as the "good conscience"/more naive/comic relief/etc. of the two and brunet, ironically, usually being an established lead or main character with more of an idea/maturity/so on in contrast.)

And while it's easy enough to just say opposites attract and use that as argument enough, what I think really would pull them together as far as shipping is concerned is much more in what they share in common (what little they fullheartedly understand of each other) in contrast

The biggest points I think are definitely sharing the role of older brother, which Caim (at least, I think, you'll have to tell me) kinda carries more subconsciously and/or at the back of his mind while consciously going "Older brother? Oh yeah... That thing. That's the thing I am" and Leonard eventually carries both consciously and subconsciously down to his very mannerisms (And of course, mainly in my Leonard's case where these smaller scenes are more relevant), often adopts that role of caretaker to just about anyone and anything whether he knows it or not — Seere, Arioch, Caim, etc...)

What REALLY interests me between them is their shared background, though. The thing Caim and Leonard both (possibly?) really know or at least have a hunch about is that both of their family was lost to the Empire. And THIS, whether it's actual knowledge or just a hunch, I think is not just the general basis for the two of their characters, but is largely the stem for the friction between the two.

To explain, it's mostly their role/perceived role in the tragedies of Caim's parents/Leonard's brother's that makes for their character schism — The difference between action, in Leonard's case where he's thinking "If only I hadn't done that" and inaction, in what I'm guessing is Caim's case, where he (may) be thinking "If only I had done something". Whether either would have actually changed anything aside, I think that whole action/inaction perception being what led to their families' deaths in this occasion is largely what leads into the people they are by the time they meet, of course, but also like

It's the reason they're so tense with each other in the sense that, at either's core, they see in the other exactly what led to their losing everything to begin with. And being near that is terrifying for them, whether it's Leonard's apparent indifference towards life or the prospect of wanting to live digging up that sense of "There's a threat and I need to do something about it" or possibly some insecurity about the lengths he takes that "Fight" between the fight or flight response for him, or if it's Caim's apparent insensitivity that brings up a sort of reminder not only of what he did as far as involvement in his brothers deaths, but a terrifying glimpse at the callousness and harm he could cause by just... Not caring for anything but himself.

So naturally, seeing a far much worse version both of what they could be and in a way, what they were stemmed from just about the same circumstances nonetheless is a major contributor to their issue with one another. A giant case of seeing their own insecurity/fears reflected in the actions the other's taking specifically to avoid their own past "fault" and going "How can you be as foolish as I was at what was more or less the only point of similarity in our lives?"

So this is where it gets into actual shipping talks, and MAN

im so sorry it took so long lmao

But explaining it in the case of shipping, on top of the growing fondness for people who are placed in these kinds of survival and/or traumatic situations being a thing that humans tend to do, like... It's what I just explained as that mutual fear/agitation with each other is even somewhat based in a vague fondness (perhaps not as personal) in not wanting to see their tragedy reappear again.

I typically believe that when developing attractions beyond anything platonic, the more you see of people and their humanity beforehand, especially in stressful and/or potentially lightening situations, the quicker you end up getting closer to each other (or at least, from one side you might) ESPECIALLY when you can play a part in helping and aiding another's life yourself for both ends. I kinda mentioned it earlier ofc to but I also think that ESPECIALLY when it comes to fictional ships, the way those feelings grow is (or maybe, should) be like growth of their pre-existing feelings of what's been established already — Growing more intense and/or obsessive with perception of a person of interest, and changing with understanding — that is, assuming they want to change/understand.

A looooong long time ago you mentioned the idea of Caim's growing violence towards Leonard the more he realises he might care (gods forbid), and honestly, that's exactly it — it comes together PERFECTLY for all the points mentioned earlier. There's not much I can say given it's mostly been throwing darts at a board for ideas and seeing what's just "neat" and what looks like the headlights of the train that may or may not be approaching to run us over but the other thing I can really pick at is the "unrequited" aspect which is where things get messy but veeeeeery interesting

I mostly see this on Leonard's part, given he has not only a few ✨pre-existing conditions✨ (to put it mildly) and what he feels for Caim I think may be a platonic/familial fondness at best, or downright terror and resentment at worst. It was briefly mentioned a while ago, once again, the idea that Caim, who generally grazes as he pleases and is ever the conniving little lad, may try and approach him out of convenience (I imagine both as a quick and easy way to dodge anything serious while also, of course, getting that a vague sense of satisfaction/fulfilment from it?) And generally depending on exactly how this is done, Leonard's full-hearted involvement is spotty at best

The chance of him actually returning or even understanding that he's an increasingly obsessed-over object of "affections" (however you may like to call them) is very low compared to him just,,, going along with it as most shit that happens, either citing the whole "fix him" bit himself and taking anything that happens afterwards as "punishment" fodder into his ever-evolving guilt complex. Where it could go from there is generally a mystery, but there's one thing I'll say: I don't think the general thing will be pleasant lmao and im not saying that negatively, mind, just the opposite

SO.

Would it be unrequited? Most likely.

Would it be toxic? Definitely.

Would it look a little like this cursed-ass video I stumbled across on YouTube that hasn't left my mind for three days? We'll have to see.

But most importantly — It's INTERESTING, the dynamics are there and always have been, and it goes without saying I don't have to worry about your portrayal skills in the least. 20/10.

I am begging for a Caionard sweep this summer please you don't understand 😭

#voicelesshatred #||Reply||:Bri #{/listen; that thing you mentioned about ao3....}

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