#I got bad relationships with mainstream ships

[akibarayuri]

Yes I'm a rare shipper, no I did not choose this path, yes I despair everytime the ship I got turn out to be unpopular.

[midnightechoes]

Five years ago today, She-Ra and the Princesses of Power premiered on Netflix. I had seen a few preview articles about it, and liked what I saw. Those articles mostly focused on She-Ra’s, Adora’s, Glimmer’s, Bow’s, and Catra’s redesigns, and I thought they were fabulous. I loved Adora’s new red jacket and bouffant hair style. Glimmer’s entire redesign was inspired, and I loved that they made Bow black so we could have more diversity in the main cast.

It was She-Ra’s and Catra’s redesigns that caught my eyes the most, though. They made Catra an actual catgirl, and not just in the anime sense where she's just a cute girl with cat ears and maybe a cat tail. She was a full-on furry. It was a brilliant design choice. Honestly it’s no wonder that so many were instantly drawn to her.

And of course, She-Ra herself. I loved her new look, and her huge ass new Sword of Protection. In fact, I loved it so much that I drew this picture of her before the show even came out:

Then the show came out, and needless to say, I fell in love. And honestly, it changed my life.

I know, I know. That sounds very hyperbolic, and to an extent it is, but in a lot of ways, I’m absolutely serious.

Alright, I have to back up a little. Back when I was in college, and for a few years after, a couple of friends and I tried to make a webcomic called The Devil’s Gate. It was minorly successful but eventually floundered. Then I met some people and we tried to make a video game, which also failed. After those few years, I found myself on my own and trying to rework the concept of my webcomic. Making comics, creating stories, those have always been my dream, and I was desperately trying to figure out a story I could make work, something that I believed in. But it never truly got off the ground. By the end of 2015 I had given up on the comic, realizing that after working on it for years in different forms that I needed to step away from it.

I didn’t really know what to do after that. I was still doing my quick daily doodles, but I wasn’t writing, I wasn’t drawing anything of note. I felt emotionally and physically drained of my creativity. I was honestly getting to the point where I thought it might be time for me to give up on trying to be creative or making things all together.

She-Ra and the Princesses of Power came out on November 13, 2018, but despite looking forward to it, I didn’t actually watch it when it came out. It wasn’t until that weekend that I decided to check it out.

I was instantly hooked. I binged through the entire season in two days, and did plenty of crying and cheering. And then rewatched it immediately. I was in love. I was obsessed. It had been a long time since anything grabbed me like SPOP did. I loved the characters. I loved the colorful, sci-fi-fairy tale world of Etheria. I loved how unapologetically feminine it was. And most of all, I loved how queer it was.

I hadn’t done a ton of shipping before SPOP. I’ve been down bad for harlivy for what feels like my whole life, and I was angry when Mika and HG didn’t get together in Warehouse 13, but more often than not I had just been conditioned not to look for queer things in mainstream culture, and even barely in subculture.

That is to say, when I was smashed in the face with Catradora I was surprised how much I glommed onto it immediately. I was absolutely taken with Adora and Catra and their relationship. Both characters were so relatable, and despite not quite being text (although the subtext was so loud and obvious it might as well have been text), it was impossible to not read their feelings for each other as romantic.

It wasn’t just Catradora, even if that was a lot of it. Spinnerella and Netossa being canon from the start was wonderful. How much Glimmer and Bow screamed “BISEXUAL DISASTERS” from the start was adorable. Scorpia’s crush on Catra was as cute as it was sad in its one-sidedness.

I had never really been in a fandom. That is, yeah I’ve liked things, loved things even, but I never found other people to talk about it at length, never found discords just for that thing, never read or wrote fanfic, barely ever drew fanart. 

But, I watched SPOP, and then I watched it again. And then I drew Catra. And then I drew Adora. And then I drew them again. And suddenly I was on AO3, a site I never frequented, reading Catradora fics. And then I had an AO3 account. That December I participated in Catradora Week 2018 (I’d never heard of this kind of thing) and drew two pictures for it and wrote my first fanfic.

By the end of February I had drawn more in the three months since the show had premiered than I had in the previous year. I was working furiously on a long, multi-chapter fanfic, and writing more words than I had in the previous couple of years combined.

I was inspired again.

In the 18 months that SPOP ran for, I drew more than I had in years, I wrote hundreds of thousands of words. I felt so rejuvenated and happy about my creativity and free for the first time in years.

It’s hard to put into words exactly how it felt. I was so close to giving up my art and writing, which honestly, would have been giving up a part of myself. An important part of myself. It’s not overstating that SPOP saved me, or at least my creative spirit.

I also learned about the wonders of being in a fandom and fandom things like fan weeks, big bangs, zines. And I made some wonderful friends that I cherish to this day.

Even as I inevitably moved onto other hyperfixations, my love for She-Ra hasn’t diminished. Plushie Catra and Adora sit next to me on my desk every day. Catradora art still hangs on my wall.

The inspiration that SPOP ignited in me hasn’t died either. It’s carried me through a tremendous level of creativity that I’ve been riding since the premiere. It let me create a ton of fan art for SPOP, and then RWBY and then the Witch From Mercury, and I’ve written a ton of fanfics for RWBY and Supergirl. And perhaps the best, that inspiration has helped me create more OC stuff in the last couple years than I had in a long time.

I owe She-Ra and The Princesses of Power so much. I am so happy that it exists and that it happened when it did. I’ll always cherish it.

And for real, Netflix, SPOP spin-off movies WHEN?!

[sokkastyles]

I have a question, I know we know that shipping does not equal morality. And I get that, and I really like that. However, on my other blog, that should have been my main blog (yes I am that dumb). I have talked about Aang's non-consensual and criticized how Kataang is written, however, if you ship Kataang I won't come for your throat because that's not my style. I know the few misogynists/antis on here and on Twitter, and I don't want to let a few bad apples be my impression of a fandom, that's not fair, So now I'm side-eyeing myself over my past remarks. Likewise, I know shipping is not equal to morality, but I also want to criticize Kataang because of how flawed it is and how wrong that kiss was (and other things). I have no idea what I'm saying because at this point I'm rambling. What do you think?

Well, there is a difference between criticizing a ship and criticizing canon. I don't honestly care what people ship. I use the antikataang tag because I don't want to argue with people who do ship it, but that doesn't mean I won't be critical of what is in the show. I think expecting people not to engage critically with media is absolute nonsense. But there is a difference between engaging critically with the actual media and criticizing people's fanon or headcanons, which is where you get away from critically engaging with canon and move into the area of criticizing other people's opinions, which is how arguments start.

Like, there isn't really any actual concrete argument you can make to criticize zutara, because zutara does not exist in canon. It's all fanon and headcanons and speculation. And criticizing other people's opinions just makes you look like a dick.

You also have to take into account the intention behind something. The thing about the way Katara's relationship with Aang is presented is that we're supposed to root for Aang to get Katara, and every obstacle towards that end is just there to create dramatic tension for the male point of audience identification. That's the real problem with the noncon kiss, and people who are critical of it are right to point it out.

In contrast, when I say shipping isn't morality, I'm talking about people who write, let's say, dubcon zutara fics. Fanfiction as a genre is largely female-centered fantasy. Yes, even those lurid fics you're thinking of. People write and read these fics for completely different reasons and have completely different expectations than when watching a series like ATLA. Trying to say that someone can't criticize the way the show presents Aang kissing Katara after she said she was confused as a mistake to be glossed over (that is forgotten as soon as it happens) because they also happen to like reading darkfic is nonsense. There's also a long history of women's interests being policed that informs my views here, vs the fact that consent has only fairly recently become a conversation in mainstream media. You have only to look at the way the show itself portrays Katara having interests (especially in boys) outside of Aang as dark and dangerous to see this happening in ATLA itself. Or the way the creators got away with saying that zutara shippers are doomed to end up in abusive relationships while painting Aang as a typical Nice Guy stereotype who expects Katara to magically become his girlfriend (and gets angry when she doesn't) and seeing nothing wrong with it.

The thing is that zutara, if we look at the way it's written in canon as a metaphor for a romantic relationship, follows the same tradition of how fanfiction has historically existed as an exploration of romantic and sexual dynamics. Those conversations about consent are actually happening and being explored in fanfiction, even the dark stuff, whereas relationships that are presented as "wholesome" often push us to NOT have those conversations. So when I say shipping isn't morality, what I actually mean is that noncanon shipping and darkfic actually has more of a moral leg to stand on than uncritically engaging with relationships on the grounds that Aang is the hero so his goodness and worthiness to get the girl should just be assumed. Zuko has to work for his right to be in a relationship with Katara because he didn't start out from a place of goodness, and that, on its own, is very female centered because instead of starting out from the perspective of the male hero deserving a relationship by virtue of being the hero, we see the idea that a man has to work to gain a woman's respect and affection.

So it's not so much that I hate KA, but I hate the idea that we should engage in it uncritically. And that would be true even if it really was the most wholesome relationship in the world. The same thing cannot be true of zutara because even the darkest of darkfic are about women centering themselves in the narrative and engaging with power dynamics in ways that are subverting patriarchal norms about relationships by definition.

[bubbles-is-hardcore]

Okay y’all I’ve seen multiple posts now about how “dumb” it is that Sylki has had limited to no romantic/soft moments and they’ve only been fighting this season while Lokius has had a ton of nice romantic moments and like??? Yeah??? It’s almost like if a ship is going to be endgame or canon it would make sense to build up a positive relationship.

I saw one post say it was stupid that Lokius has gotten so much attention over Sylki when “we all know it’s not going to happen”. Why do we all know it’s not going to happen? Because it’s a mainstream character in a big franchise in a gay ship? Even though that character has been confirmed bi over and over again in the source material and beyond? That’s exactly the problem.

I just think it’s very telling that the straight ship’s own shippers acknowledge that there is no real romance between them this season and they are in two completely different places in terms of character development, goals, needs, etc, and still shit on the gay ship and complain that their relationship is being focused on too much by the show because “it’s not going to happen”.

It’s a really bad case of queerbaiting and they are mad at the wrong people. The fans of Lokius aren’t what’s making Sylki bad. The studio knows Sylki was less popular after last season and leaned into Loki and Mobius. The fact that they won’t follow through is entirely on the studio, not Lokius shippers.

Now all of this to say, I’m VERY skeptical of Lokius going any sort of cannon. I honestly think the best we can hope for is the tried and true ol’ “ambiguous ending” That so many studios go for in this situation. I got my clown shoes on and I’m honking my nose but it is what it is.

[starsreminisce]

tbh even E/riels are disappointed with acosf but they don't say it to others although they talk about it among themselves lol I used to be one so I should know. acosf was Nesta's books everyone expected to see Elain more bc she was close to her and they also heard about the training so they were 100% sure they were going to see E/riel training scenes (the very one they accuse Gwynriel for being boring and they don't want Nessian 2.0 lmao) so when they didn't get that they started commenting on Gwynriel post of how they wanted Elain instead of Gwyn in those scenes (specially the shadows dancing around Gwyn and the private dagger lesson) and that's when the toxicity started and I knew this place was not for me anymore. even tho I used to be a bypass in the fandom and not actually fixated on the books I saw enough threats and bullying, it was bad. I came back on acotar fandom this summer after a very long time and even now the reek of jealousy from that side of the fandom is recognizable. the pure ignorance and delusion is quite amusing, they know E/riel won't happen but they have to make it look like they don't so their years of being obsessed with a fictional ship and bulling other fans, the author and publisher won't got to waist yk. bc when I read acosf for the first time I knew Gwynriel is endgame and even before that I wasn't a huge E/riel fan but I wanted to tolerate them for the possibility of them happening and not Elucien (after the end of acofas we weren't sure who would be endgame and I was quite sad bc I was more incline toward Elain and Lucien)

anyway if they were so confidence in their ship they wouldn't do none of that and let others enjoy their time being in the fandom.

Oop that’s some piping hot tea right there.

Honestly, why couldn't they just be as chill as Azris shippers?

Azris shippers understand that the likelihood of their ship is slim, but they can manifest and hope for the best. Through Love, all is possible!

Yes, it's quite possible! I can passionately support Gwynriel and Azris in tandem. E/riels can readily accept that Elucien is the endgame couple while finding delight in the hints and potentials of E/riel until the next book's release when perspectives may change. Although there may still be Neris shippers out there, I haven't observed any significant disrespect directed toward Nessian. It's possible that I might not be searching thoroughly, but it's heartening that it's not as prevalent as the mainstream rivalry between Elucien and Gwynriel vs. E/riel.

I perceived ACOSAF as a retcon of Elucien, as Elain's abrupt shift from suggesting Lucien move to Velaris to ignoring him lacked a clear explanation of their deteriorating relationship. More on this later.

I get why E/riel shippers held onto hope after ACOSAF, even though I viewed their connection as more platonic. Azriel's deep love for Mor was abundantly clear in the series, and the Hybern scene hinted at the endgame couples, particularly Moriel, which was reinforced by SJM's deleted Pinterest.

In my view, Gwyn embodies a blend of Mor and Elain, sharing Mor's trauma, the ability to fit in with "one of the boys," a girl-next-door quality, and an interest in combat, while also displaying Elain's quiet and reserved nature.

On a more serious note, it's entirely possible to appreciate a ship without resorting to belittling anyone, whether it's a character without proper canon context or an actual person. Doubling down and resorting to insults becomes even more embarrassing. Perhaps this is due to a reluctance to acknowledge the scarcity of E/riel content to draw from.

Ironically, my anti-E/riel posts stem from my restraint in responding to most of their takes but they aren't inclined to listen, and I lack a suitable outlet to release my frustrations.

Additionally, I take issue with the way many books romanticize red flags as desirable relationship traits. It's crucial to recognize that Azriel's hesitancy to be his true self around Elain is an unhealthy dynamic, and it's not Elain's responsibility to change that. When someone acknowledges their actions as a mistake, it's wise to believe them and move on. This situation is reminiscent of the problematic "Twin Flame" concept, which often excuses negative behavior under the guise of a deeper connection.

But, thats why I don't like E/riel in a nutshell.

Gwyn and Lucien are fictional characters written to have a lot of trauma in their backstories. While they are not real, I can easily consider what you say about them as a reflection of what you truly believe to real people who have gone through something similar.

[spaceumbredoggos]

However fucked up Alex reveals Bill and Ford’s relationship is revealed to be in The Book Of Bill, Kenz and Bill’s is a hundred times worse.

Disclaimer: I am not glorifying abuse in any way shape or form. I myself have had nightmares similar to this despite never being sexually abused, both Bill related and otherwise. Some of these are based on personal experience (such as the nightmares), whilst others are a device used to show how fucked up shipping Bill with pretty much anyone is. Not even the Axolotl is safe in my opinion. If Bill was real, I’d guarantee he’d probably be a massive creep and with how thirsty his fankids are (and I’m calling myself out here) he’d probably use his magic to g*oom those kids like a church pastor. The thing that scares me the most about Bill being canonically real is not that he could catastrophically end the world, it’s his oversexualization in the fandom that got so bad, Alex himself had to make him unattractive. This will be along the lines of a Yandere Bill Cipher x Reader headcanons. With that being said, here’s a few content warnings:

G*ooming, Pedoph*lia, s*xual abuse and assault, physical and psychological abuse, mind control, cult-like things, psychosis, and general paranoia. I’m not saying these things actually happened, but knowing Bill’s character and his powers and history, if he was real, I’d generally be afraid for anyone in the Gravity Falls fandom. Especially minors.

This could be my most controversial post yet, and it could jeopardize any potential of getting into some colleges. This may sound like paranoid rambling, but I know that Bill is just a cartoon character. That being said, Alex like the blur the line between our world and the world of gravity falls with Bill’s character, dicing around the fact that he’s influenced history and wrote all religion on the basis of a lie. I’m not scapegoating him as “controlling global politics on a massive scale” because that would be stupid and I’ll sound like those tin foil hat rednecks that snort moonshine and burn pride flags. My heart goes out to all those who have been impacted by all forms of abuse as an abuse survivor myself. Alex, if you see this post (or any other of my posts/ read my fanfics), just know that it’s a critique on the fandom and the canon lore, and a cautionary warning to avoid lawsuits in case The Book of Bill Cipher causes mass psychosis.

As a kid (ages 7-9) I would watch Gravity Falls casually. At that age, the only thing I consumed online content wise was Skylanders and Minecraft content (Skylanders until age nine, then it was pretty much a lot of Team Crafted, Popularmmos, DanTDM, and other Minecraft YouTubers.) I didn’t invest in the Gravity Falls fandom until I was eleven (that’s when I first started writing my fanfics. The drafts are long gone because they were on school computers that were crammed with viruses due to kids installing Minecraft mods (this was just before chromebooks became mainstream. I went to a special ed middle school specifically for autistic individuals (it was pretty ableist, gonna make a post on that.) so the rules on what was allowed in school were pretty loose content wise. It didn’t have to be educational, as long as it didn’t have blood or guns. There were no safe search filters or Go Guardian (I remember one of my friends accidentally finding Iris from Pokemon black and white vore. I also found Pacifica vore.)) Before that, the February before my tenth birthday, my dad took my TV out of my room due to behavioral issues (undiagnosed autism go brrr). Around that time, there was talk in my town that the Disney channel was “rotting kids minds” with bad attitudes and crude humor (this could be said about any child’s television network (I mean, look at Nickelodeon.) but I lived in a pretty conservative area of Southern California and had a pretty conservative dad. So naturally, Disney was the scapegoat (this was way before the “woke” era of Disney.)) All of this talk of Brainrot made me stop watching the Disney channel during the peak era of gravity falls (2015 as a whole) and I didn’t watch gravity falls again until summer of 2016 when my tv was put back in my room (with intense parental controls so that I couldn’t watch my vet shows.) That’s when I had my first gravity falls dream about Bill cipher. It had to do with getting unicorn hair to protect my house from Bill Cipher. I had an interest in dreams previously due to warrior cats. It was at that moment when Gravity Falls was added to the obsession list.

As a neurodivergent eleven year old surrounded by other neurodivergent preteens and teens, we found common ground talking about Gravity Falls at school. I also would, whenever I didn’t feel the prying eyes of the grown ups or my peers would go off outside and act out my gravity falls x pokemon x warrior cats fanfiction (I’m not sure if those are signs of maladaptive daydreaming disorder or I simply had an intense imagination that would consume my body and make me want to just act out my fanfictions outside. I don’t do this anymore, mostly because of my own embarrassment and I can just write it out.) Yes, there were times where the discussion or action played out Bill Cipher being real. A lot of my “play” as I called it back then was me being kidnapped or possessed by Bill. I even wrote some really cringey fanfics involving my friends and Bill Cipher. To this day, I still involve my family in my fanfiction, but more final drafts will have their names changed. Weirdmaggeddon was a common topic, as well as Bill Cipher possession.

As time went on, I had more dreams about Bill Cipher, fueling the obsession and the fact that Bill could be real. During my middle school years, I never had a crush on Bill Cipher, despite what my friends seem to think. My parents just took it as whatever and as long as I was happy and just working towards going to a neurotypical non-sped school. My crush on Bill Cipher didn’t start until I was in high school. I remember it specifically being Valentine’s Day 2020 when I learned that I have a crush on the triangle. My dreams of Bill would only get more frequent and worse from here (involving the typical horny teenage dream that I don’t want to elaborate because I feel weird doing so (you’ll see why later on.))

Now there’s typically nothing wrong with having a cartoon crush. Given any other cartoon character that doesn’t have a canon history of influencing this world (Bill’s history of influence is vague but it still counts) I would excuse this as another silly cartoon crush like PurpleCliffe simping for Cynthia and the like. However, given that it’s in the show’s canon that Bill could be real and he crossed over to our world, do you understand what implications this could have? Bill is trillions of years old, he’s likely seen every timeline to ever exist. Meanwhile, there are whole armies of fankids who are down bad for him (including me.)

Notice how when I first started getting into Gravity Falls that I didn’t have a crush on him. How many other fankids felt the same way? It wasn’t until years of obsessing over Gravity Falls did I develop feelings for him. And of Alex says in the Book of Bill Cipher what I think he’s going to say (that Bill probably ab*sed Ford sexually with possible g*ooming involved), notice the pattern that is being presented here? Alex, if you blur the lines between fiction and reality with a villain who may or may not have canonically g*oomed and abused someone, possibly using mind control given his powers and his role as a dream demon, could it really be so far fetched that… (I’m not going to say it because it’s leaving a sour taste in my mouth, but use your imagination.)

If we take Alex’s word that Bill has crossed over to our world, then we can only assume that there are vulnerable kids and adults being… You get the picture. I’m not explicitly saying that it is happening right now, but this is problematic because revealing that Bill ab*sed Ford in that way means that Alex would probably imply that Bill is doing the same to MINORS. I may sound paranoid and this may just be a ramble, but considering the show’s canon and how mythology is filled with cases of degenerative acts from deities, this is a really fucked up situation.

It may be funny to say “haha, evil triangle man is sexy” but at the end of the day, Alex stated that Bill has crossed over into our world. For all we know, he could be taking advantage of the fact that people thirst for him, probably not in pleasant ways.

[kravisaweeb]

okay ive just been thinking about bkdk wayy too much recently (when am i not, though, honestly?) and i just Have to dump my thoughts somewhere. these are my own personal opinions and if you don't agree 100% (or at all) that's perfectly fine!

it's kinda Long and Rambly so beware lmao

so ive been reading more bkdk meta (of course) and like, i have so many conflicting feelings cause. y'all, no amount of evidence and logic and reasoning and thematic and narrative parallels and development and arc conclusions and build-up and Everything will make a weekly shonen jump main title gay. that's My opinion as a terribly bitter cynic, and it is in no way meant to rain on other people's parades (if you think they will be canon, you are more optimistic than i and are making the world a sweeter place). I've just been burnt too many times, i don't really expect anything from mainstream media At All—only indie content gets my unfiltered hype and hopes—and whenever things do shake up differently from what i thought, it's a nice surprise! cause the alternative is, This Mountain of Evidence and Development... and then oops get hit with the straightification beam on the last second.

"but it would be so unsatisfying! and completely out of nowhere! and just plain out of character! and ignore so much development! and it wouldn't make any sense at all with what has been established in the story!" Yeah. i know! im as angry and annoyed and disappointed about it as anyone. and yet, so many fucking times, that's how it goes. it would be terrible, and weird, and completely against everything that's been set up, and yet it would happen anyway. this is true even for things that are not shipping-related—ask game of thrones how it ended. cause executives are Executives everywhere, including the "west", which is """"supposedly"""" more liberal (lol, lmao). people with money that make all the decisions force creatives to comply, or fight with tooth and nail and blood and sweat and tears into allowing them to make the story they DO want to make. so it's really hard for me to see it in any other light, when i have seen it happen so many times before.

and yet.

And Yet. i cant help but think, but wonder—what is it all for then, anyway??

i can honestly say, taking off my shipping goggles for a moment, bkdks platonic relationship has ended. it really ended two years ago, culminating when bkg took a bullet for him, and then was cemented when he apologised, you know, to trample down any doubts. there we go, narrative concluded! from rival to best friend. all loose threads tied in terms of their relationship. if that's how it had ended, how it had stagnated, remained in stasis, with this New Dynamic the new canon going into the final battle then show over. yeah. typical shonen bestie stuff. it would have ended and i would have gone "oh they were in LOVE fr" forever, but knowing that people who were like "this is what besties are like! this is what siblings are like!" also had as much of a claim to their interpretation as mine (even if i didn't personally agree w it lmao)

BUT IT DIDN'T STOP THERE and i have to ask why???? WHY is it more central i Don't Get It. i dont understand? i really dont get it cause.... why? bkg is important to deku, yes. other people are also important to deku (all might, his mom, his other friends, civilians, any lost pet he has to kill himself over cause he is a Good Caring Shonen Protag). that has been established for forever. so i don't rly understand the necessity to further highlight that One part of his personality (caring about kacchan) to motivate him into fighting the Big Bad Villain, when 1. he would've fought the villain anyway cause that's what heroes do, and 2. it could have been a generic "you hurt my friends!!" and like lump in more people there, like in the first war arc where several people got hurt (aizawa, gran torino, etc).

but No! you hurt that guy. that guy, that while he was dying, the villain, textually, explicitly says, "i am hurting you because it will make deku angry and sad, since you are his most important person" (that's almost a fucking quote im basically QUOTING here). and it's like, what? lmao wait. what?? why???

what is it building up towards?? i dont get it. it's not going to build up to the apology/their relationship being mended (what we thought would be the climax of the whole thing), cause that already happened. there's no "oh my god if kacchan dies he'll never get to say sorry!" stakes, or "oh my god if deku fails he'll never be able to be friends with kacchan again!" stakes, cause like, that already did happen though. i mean i know obviously in real life, you do things for people just for their sake, not because of what it will mean for your narrative arc. but this is a made up story and thus needs storytelling reasons for shit to happen. so what is the reason for deku needing to be pushed, needing to be backed into a corner, over kacchan dying? why did bakugo have to die (had to get FRIDGED, it's a trope and everything), if not so that his death would fuel dekus rage (which we were told explicitly was the reason why)? why, out of everyone on the battlefield, out of everyone in the CAST, did it have to be bakugo, the one to make deku Lose It?

i mean we know why, but still. what? is it really, textually, canonically That?

i just don't get it. and secretly, deep deep inside, i really hope we get to find out soon

[themushroomgoesyeet]

POV: you're an ace author writing typical romance tropes

Mainstream romance: the meet cute must be iconic! It's the moment where two star-crossed lovers, soulmates even, will meet for the first time! People must know that the love interest is the most gorgeous person on the planet to the MC and not like other girls™

Me: oh yeah, the meet cute will happen, but these two won't be at all romantically inclined towards each other until they are somewhat friends at least

Mainstream romance: they're obviously in love with each other, so of course they have to kiss 5 seconds into their relationship, no matter what it is!

Me: what is this, Disney? Nah, you ain't getting a kiss until they both confirm that they at least have mutual feelings for each other

Mainstream romance: even though they just kissed, they must bandy about each other in a careful dance without ever admitting that they actually love each other until the fans are ready to kill something!

Me: actually, since they've been friends for a few weeks and have been spending that time getting to know each other, there's enough trust between them to cause a cute & tender scene where one or both of them admits their feelings and immediately get reciprocated for their troubles

Mainstream romance: oh, but if course we also have to have the endearing best friends who interrupt everything, or get confused and try to ship the MCs with the wrong person! Like the romantic rival, for example, who's such a dashing bad boy that we spend an entire section of the story with the MC questioning if they have feelings for the rival instead & the LI being pouty and jealous until our star-crossed lovers feel practically betrayed by each other!

Me: or we could just not do that lol. Hell, make the rival fall in love with the best friend or someone else entirely, wouldn't that be interesting

Mainstream romance: and the sex! They have to be all over each other at every single moment they have, with plenty of accidental (or not so accidental) nudity and steamy bedroom scenes

Me: ......first of all, ew

I'll do you one better though; how about instead of sex we have cute little dates that both further and boost the relationship, with plenty of scenarios that give the MCs safe spaces to open up more and more to each other and build their trust and love for each other. Bonus points if they work through trauma together

Mainstream romance: but now that they're definitely together, we still need some drama so let's break them up in the next installment of the story! (This is definitely not because we don't know how to write romance after establishing a relationship)

Me: wow, that's horrible! I vote that actually, they don't suddenly have a terrible break up when the curtains close, because that's not how IRL relationships work! What's actually going to happen is that now that the MCs are in the relationship, they get to navigate the next part of their journey as a couple, and learn how to communicate properly and deal with things as a team like civilized adults

Mainstream romance: we definitely don't need to care about their married life, if they even get married at all! God forbid they be happy and start growing a family

Me: why not? Marriage is a natural progression in a loving relationship, and can be an amazing thing to explore with your fictional couple. Not to mention all the trials and joys that can come with parenthood. Think of the potential that has for a story! Plus, half the time the fandoms will marry them & invent children for them anyway, so why not make it canon?

Mainstream romance: it doesn't matter what the genre is, even if they're trying to stop doomsday or survive a zombie apocalypse the romance always comes first!

Me: that's so impractical, why? They've got 24 hours to stop a death ray, what on earth makes you think they have time to smooch? Sure they can still have soft, quiet moments, but they're trying to survive/save the world damnit, love is not the first thing they're thinking about

Mainstream romance: love triangles! Love triangles everywhere!

Me: I would literally rather die than write a love triangle. It's either one couple, or they end up being polyamorus. There is no in between

Mainstream romance: our stories are mostly heteronormative, but we'll sprinkle in some gay side characters or a gay sub-ship to fill our representation quota

Me: ah, now that is what I like to call "the token gay person/token representation", and I hate it. Sure, statistically people from the LGTBQ+ community are still a minority, but that's not gonna stop you from seeing them everywhere. Make it natural! Have more than one "gay" background character/ship, have the more important side characters be part of the community, do more LGTBQ+ romance! Same goes for ethnic groups, religious denominations, and people with disabilities (mental or physical). & Don't make them all underdog sob stories either, because while fighting for acceptance & understanding for these groups is very important, it doesn't have to be the only story you tell

Idk what the point of this post was I'm just tired of all these stupid romance tropes

[onewomancitadel]

I also heard recently that apparently Reylos made up all of their harrassment as a cover for their racism in not shipping Finn/Rey, and to be perfectly honest with you I think racism is not a fandom-specific issue but kind of a social issue where you aren't insulated from it based on what you do or don't ship? And shipping isn't political activism? I wouldn't be granted rhetorical immunity if I did, in fact, ship Finn/Rey, because I could equally be responsible for perpetuating racism in writing their dynamic (and in addition to that, romantic relationships are not free of sexism or racism; how does this immunity hold coherently at all?) and in fact, I don't like Finn/Rey because I don't like enjoy how it services their characters. If Boyega were cast as the main villain we'd be having a different conversation.

If you wanted to reckon specifically with the ST's racism, we can start with TFA where TFA refuses to expand upon Finn's psychological evolution and turns him into a sanitation worker as a fucking dramatic punchline at the end of the film, or is unceremoniously knocked out by Kylo so he can't do anything narratively? Or just being there for bathos-esque quips? No matter what you say about TLJ, Finn's epic confrontation with Phasma and the potential of a Stormtrooper rebellion is there, and instead in TROS it's turned into... some people are just born right and others deserve to be Stormtroopers. *shrug*

That is not a fucking Reylo problem. That is, in the first place, teasing Finn as the 'main' character and then doing a reversal with Rey, and choosing to focus a new Star Wars series on the Skywalkers again. A Black Jedi with his own original story not contingent upon white legacy characters could've worked but by design it was not made so, and then they erased his character from Chinese marketing anyway. That should tell you were D/isney's priorities lie. If they actually had any gumption that is what they would've done following the ST to mop up what they did with Finn and actually got onboard original storytellers who were not looking to rehash nostalgiabait.

I'm particularly sore about this because I don't enjoy the implication that racism is a fandom-specific issue or that fandom is where the conversation starts and ends, or not that on some level these commercial productions with millions of dollars behind them influence the conversation. Or that there is a competition of socially-minded interests. Or that if we got rid of the Bad Shipping fandoms we would only have the Good Ones left with no problems forever. That's not how it works.

But inventing harrassment is an interesting accusation. We're just outright accusing each other of making up our experiences now? We're allowed to do that? I've never been 'in' the mainstream Reylo fandom enough and if there were evidence of Reylos behaving badly or, in the case of this context, being racist, I'd take it seriously as much as I can and challenge it, but I'm not sure what other authority I do have in intercommunity politics. Fandom doesn't work like that. There is only so much you can do. But accusing us of making up our experiences when I know that I personally keep to myself because of it is a new one.

I don't want to tell you the things I've seen or experienced myself in the Reylo fandom. Sure, the ceaseless crossfandom stuff is bullshit, but anti-Reylos are probably people I wouldn't get along with anyway and people can draw boundaries as they see fit. There are a bunch of ships and fandoms I don't want much to do with. I don't even think that anti-Reylos themselves are uniquely -ist in whatever given way; they probably just enjoy the opportunity to be sexist or racist or anti-Semitic against someone they think deserves it (and it always comes out when the opponent is sufficiently Of the Wrong Sort).

I think it is extremely dangerous to treat activism as a performative endeavour where I ship the right ships and interact with the text in the way I have been mandated to. Because it doesn't actually insulate me from racist behaviour or beliefs. I think it is true that there are times this notably happens, but equally, is shipping Finn/Poe alongside Rey/Kylo a way to mitigate this? How do we square it out?

I think this conversation with Reylo is probably over. Reylo's online legacy is always going to be mixed at best. But I don't think the anti-racist conversation begins or ends with it.

[karnakthegreat]

Right. Here’s your karnak lore

Before we get into it this is me and my kids

And this is my petition to be the tumblr sexyman of 2023

We also have a company (not real) called RTC RP CO™️. @brunos-rat is second in command, @anony-knifey is head of fanfics and @justexistinghere122 is the lore master and Foreigner relationships Minister. I am the Bossnak. If you want a position send in what you want to be in the asks and we can go from there

I have two mothers. They both raised me in England in the north. I lived in a small cottage in the middle of no where with a farm behind it. It was about a 30 minute walk from the closest village. There was also a forest close to my back yard

Threw out my childhood I was homeschooled by my mothers (one of which was very into the occult while the other was very ‘cottagecore’)

I joined mainstream schooling when I was 11. By the time I was 13 I realised I wasn’t straight OR cis by any means. So I went from cis straight female to genderfluid polyamorous bisexual in a matter of a few months. I was also in a band for a short period of time but that was very short lived

On my first day of school I became good friends with a girl called Elizabeth. She collected haunted dolls and we bonded over my doodles werewolf and vampire erotica

In my teen years I began to enjoy the occult so I began doing tarot card reading with my friends. That was when I also found myself enjoying metal and ‘emo’ music

I then became friends with a student from Ukraine who moved to the UK for a bit called Tamara. She later moved to Canada and then back to Ukraine

Towards the end of my schooling my friends and I decided to play a prank on some of my teachers. We got puppy’s,kittens and bunny’s and let them out in the middle of lessons to distract everyone

After this I moved back in with my two mothers

I then began dating Elizabeth (we broke up later on because she shipped me and Virgil and called us Kargil)

Then came the first whipped cream incident. This was when myself, Elizabeth and Tamara tried to fill a swimming pool with it when we were 16. We were unsuccessful

We soon went on a family trip to Canada to a small town called Uranium to meet up with some family friends. We went to the Blackwood Cafe and there I met Virgil

I was sitting alone while my parents were shopping. I eventually got hungry so I went to buy myself some cake. He offered to buy it and I denied however they insisted that they buy me it.

Shortly after I got back to my original seat and he joined me with a shortbread cookie that they had bought for me. He then began asking me about the book I was reading (Pride and Prejudice) and we had a very good conversation over it

We saw each other again at the ‘fall fair’ and he suggested we ride the cyclone. I said no because it gave a bad vibe so instead we went on the Ferris Wheel and then played some games. Virgil won me a teddie bear

Eventually I had to leave so he gave me his email and address so I could contact them either way

We would email every day and they told me how they were very impulsive and had a very big family. I told him that I always wanted to go to Ukrainian, Amsterdam or France.

After a while we met up again in Canada. We planned it in advance and when we met we realised we were in love. I spent the entirety of my visit with him. He showed me his home, his family and even his bass guitar.

On our 4th date he played the bass and sang some songs to me. They were country songs. That was when my mild country faze started. I learned some songs and sang him Dolly Parton to try impress him

When I went back to England they planned on coming back over to see me very soon. He took a liking to England and asked if he could move in with me. Of course I said yes and soon we both lived together in our own English farm

Then there was ‘The Great Ah Fuck’. This was when Elizabeth accidentally let slip that Virgil wanted to propose. Tamara then made the first ever version of my emergency knockout drink, gave me it and then I forgot the past 24 hours so the proposal would be a surprise. It was called ‘The Great Ah Fuck’ because when Elizabeth let it slip both her and Tamara said ‘Ah fuck’.

Virgil proposed to me on Halloween.

The night before my wedding was the second whipped cream incident. This was when they covered me in whipped cream and rolled me down a hill. Virgil had to catch me at the bottom to stop me from getting concussed

Then got married. It was a quiet wedding on our farm with our close friends and family.

At our wedding I walked down the isle to La Vie en Rose and Uranium suite was our first dance song (there was a version we made that was mainly the melody and riding the rollercoaster was a metaphor for our love)

Quite a bit of our time was spent with my telling them about my hyperfixations. They were Rammstein, the occult, Romeo and Juliet, A midsummers nights dream, Ukrainian history and culture, German history and culture, knitting and Phantom of the Opera

Yes I had a musical faze Phantom of the opera will never die fight me my favourite songs were masquerade and think of me they are beautiful

A few years later we had our first child Ophelia. Soon after came sister Nancy and then their brother Jacob. Ophelia was very kind and always wished the best for people, Nancy always wanted to stand up for what she thought was right and Jacob always wanted to be involved in everything I did. Their birthdays (in name order) were October 25th, January 15th and February the 26th. And between you and me Ocean is also one of my biological kids. She was about 1 when I got turned into a machine so I had to adopt her to re-get her as a child now.

They all loved me and their father very much and life was perfect.

I regained my interest with the occult and began doing research. I learnt lots but I wanted to know more and more

To feed my hunger for knowledge I summoned a demon to teach me the secrets of the world. The demon taught me THE LANGUAGE OF THE ANCIENTS

The demon then thought I was getting too power hungry so as punishment it wanted to turn me into a machine. The commotion caused Virgil to hear as he ran upstairs and got caught in the crossfire and became a rat. I never learnt what happened to my children…

I lost all of my memories and eventually found myself meeting Virgil for what I thought was the first time but was actually the second behind a Tesco express. Eventually we began to fall in love again. And so we traveled to Uranium with a circus

We stuck threw it all together and after the Cyclone Accident we got transported to limbo. There we regained our memories of our past life.

While in limbo we adopted Noel Jane and Ocean (and recently Ava) as they reminded us of our children.

When Mischa first came to Canada I payed for all of his medical bills and tied a welcome home balloon to his bed. This is because when I was close with his mother her and I promised that should anything happen to us the other would look after our children.

Noel taught me more about French culture (something that I wasn’t that fond of as I found it too complicated) however afterwards I soon began to love it.

I’ve adopted Mischa. He’s my son and I love him

I found out Ophelia is alive and well…very happy

At 00:21 on the 31st of October 2022 UK time I became human once again

Turning me human wiped ocean of any memories of me. Oh and just found Nancy she doesn’t trust me or believe that I’m her dad. Working on that

I agreed to turn back into a robot to save Nancy and oceans memory’s

Then I became a robot again. Stefan was being a total bitch until one of my kiddos made him change me back

And now I’m human…again

Then I had an uwu faze yeah that was weird

And now I’m going full dilf mode

Ștefan is now in love with me and profusely flirting

I have also met the cyclone they’re very nice and part of the family now

We found Jacob and now I’m so happy

Oh and the demon is moving in

And now I’m here. Adopting more and more children. I will pin this post and add things as and when (I’ll let you all know when I add things) Any questions?

[eelfuneral]

I’ve noticed that things are getting rather tense in the TBB fandom with regards to shipping and Tech as of late, and I’m seeing a lot of really common autism-related sex and romance myths getting parroted as arguments. I figure that it’s high time I (an autistic person myself) created a myth-busting master post to debunk and challenge these assumptions.

Disclaimer: I am not trying to tell anybody what they should or should not ship. I don’t care who (if anyone) you want to see with Tech. This post is 100% about debunking stereotypes, nothing more.

Myth: Autistic adults are basically children who should be shielded from sex and romance. Tech is “too neurodivergent” to be in a relationship.

Fact: Autistic adults are adults, and many of us date, fall in love, and get married. In fact, autism is thought to be at least partially genetic, and the fact that autistic people keep turning up is proof that autistic people are reproducing. It’s not uncommon for parents to take their children in for an autism evaluation and find out that they are autistic themselves!

The suggestion that autistic people are too innocent and child-like to experience romance is one rooted in infantilization, which is a rampant and dehumanizing problem that IRL autistic adults have to contend with. Tech is a grown man with a receding hairline and lines on his face. He has seen war and likes to get drinks at the bar. He is very much an adult who is capable of making his own decisions.

Myth: All autistic people are aromantic an/or asexual.

Fact: There are plenty of ace, aro, and aroace autistics, but there are also plenty of allistic (non-autistic) people who are one or all of the above as well. Autistic people have a wide variety of sexual and romantic orientations just like everyone else!

Headcanoning Tech as aroace is not a bad thing and can be a very wonderful and validating experience for aroace fans, but him being autistic does not mean that this is the only romantic/sexual orientation that people are “allowed” to give him via headcanon. He could potentially be given any number of romantic and sexual orientations by fans, and him being autistic doesn’t take anything off of the table! You’ve still got a whole buffet to select from!

Myth: Autistic people can only date other autistics, therefore you shouldn’t ship Tech with [insert character here].

Fact: Autistic people can and do have relationships with allistic people. I’ve dated allistic people and know autistics who are married to them, so it certainly happens IRL. It isn’t “creepy” to pair Tech up with a character that may not be autistic, you’re fine.

Related Reading:

Note: blanket trigger warning for some discussion of sexual violence, particularly in the last linked article.

The infantilization of autistic people on TikTok needs to stop

Infantilizing Autism

Opposing Forces?: Autism and Dating, Romance, and Sexuality in the Mainstream Media

‘We are seen as big children’ :People with disabilities are sexually active too

[kkkkkafka]

Ayo bluey capsules rant since they got cancelled, i would like to hear your general thoughts about them since i feel like im the only one in the fnaf fandom who disliked them

Yeah lol I would love to. The greatest thing in 2022 is BlueyCapsules being cancelled. Technically I hate the popular artists of FNAF twitter lmao I hope for their downfall after BC got yeeted

1. Bad storyline + bad writing. They took too long to execute the idea of The Bite of 87. Also the artstyle is ugly. They hired people who cannot draw. Be for real

2. Character designs? Bad too. I can't take William seriously, even though I like the archetype of a bubbly and flamboyant person being a ruthless killer. Also the prototype of robot Charlie and the current version of her now is ew. They slapped sideburn and that weird cowlicks on any characters and call it a day. Their Elizabeth design looks like a Walmart bimbo version of Amane Misa

3. The main story is about two white boys and they thought adding side characters who are POC = representations. Nah you can fool anyone but not me I'm so used to this tatics on mainstream medias, a webcomic can't trick me on this. Also as I previously mentioned, the bad writing but the factor of shipping Michael and Jeremy was the only thing holding their fans back. To add on this the shippers are also jackasses too

4. The team are just big hypocrites. They come after people who ship William with Henry to harass them, but then they shipping and hinted at two characters who are deemed to have a toxic relationship. I don't dislike toxic relationship and shit, but this is a huge bullshit from them. On Twitter they are called out for abusive behaviors towards other people of team members, the leader was accused for being racist too. They do not own the characters but only designed them, and make a fuss when someone draws nsfw content of William. BlueyCapsules being a bunch of horrible pricks together with their fans is actually a truth to some people on Twitter but they cannot speak up cause they will be bullied by the team's fans. Honestly, I don't trust people who idolized BlueyCapsules and only stopped when the receipts dropped

And I'mma end this here with a funny comparision. I actually bursted out laughing when I see this

(Reese is the leader of BC team, and the right is a post about Dream's face reveal)

[tabby-shieldmaiden]

While I’m Transformers-posting, honestly the concept of Strongarm as a character is kind of fascinating to me, because she’s like. One of those characters where I can see all the processes behind her creation and the fan reactions and why people were the way they around her.

Again, I came in late, so I can only talk about this as someone who was an outsider to the whole phenomenon, but it was fascinating seeing all those 2014-2015 era posts where people seemed like, really excited about her as a character. And a lot of it was very much in a very ‘checklist representation’ style tone. You know, you had a girlbot who wasn’t pink and who wasn’t slender and who was in a line of work women didn’t typically do (policing, rip). And I feel like that style of really liberal fandom feminism writing - going through a checklist of ‘not-often-done’ traits - was at least somewhat influential on the conceptualisation of her as a character, even if it obviously wasn’t the only influence it had on her character, along with being a part of her initial appeal*.

It also made subsequent backlashes in her writing interesting. Because I did see the pushback her episode with Windblade got. And I think at least a part of that pushback was like, okay, a part of it was because the writing of the series was far from The Best Ever lmao. And I know that a part of it was at least due to fandom shipping war bullshit. But I feel like, a little part of it maaaaay also be because at the time, a lot of normie liberal fandom feminist spaces were very insistent on the idea that women being represented as rivals was Bad and girls being friends was Good. So a lot of people tended to read media through that lens.

And while it is true that particular framings of such relationships and the way the trope get often presented in certain media does have roots in misogynistic ideas (women are all catty and bitchy and irrational about their dislike for each other, blah blah blah). I also recall listening to a podcast where the writer of the episode did actually talk about how she wrote it based on her own feelings and experience. And the way she and all the other normie liberal fandom feminist hosts were talking about it on the podcast, she seemed really proud of herself for writing that episode too! 

And it’s this thing where I realise it’s an episode written by a woman, in a very typically male-dominated industry and a historically male-dominated franchise. And it was like. It got a certain amount of backlash from normie fandom feminist types too, due to it falling into kind of unfortunate implications.

It’s these kinds of moments, which like, I find kind of fascinating! As someone who could be considered a ‘fandom feminist’ by some metrics, and as someone who thinks ‘more women creating’ should be the prioritised goal wrt feminism and art.I don’t necessarily think I have a conclusion for this that isn’t something I kind of already said. But like, yeah! It’s one of those things where I feel like so much about it is more indicative of the type of system the show was conceptualised in. Wherein it is a franchise where historically speaking most of the creators were men, some of whom were adamant on there being no girlbots, and how all that baggage does make it a lot harder for women to write their own stories. As well as like, what sort of stories and what sort of girls get approved and are acceptable for mainstream media appealing to this particular demographic.

It’s also interesting looking at it in hindsight. Because she was very much a Smurfette, even if she didn’t fall into the conventional tropes and image of a Smurfette. And I know those Rescue Bots cartoons also had a Smurfette principle thing going on too. So it’s like. Interesting seeing it now, when the role of The Girl has become kind of... not a thing anymore in quite a lot of Transformers media.

*It’s not completely absent now, but I feel like this style of like, repbaiting(?) has less power over people these days.

[wakeupthemembersofbylernation]

Reddit dudebros also don't understand media. If a queer ship, especially if it's between two main characters, were to happen for real then it actually makes sense from a media perspective to make that ship canon in the last season so the show can keep the homophobes going until the end. Because what are they going to do when it becomes canon? Quit the show? Well, the show is already over and they cannot do anything about it.

That's the same for Vickie and Robin romance as well. They have only been hinted at but not explicitly got together and made canon in this season. It's going to happen in S5 for the same reason. Is it bad that these two queer relationships can only happen in the last season? Yes, because queer ships are treated differently than the straight relationships in media and that's because of homophobia and fear of viewership loss. And it's very sad and bad but unfortunately it is a thing in media. It makes, sadly, perfect sense for the writers to wait to make RobinxVickie and WillxMike actually fully canon in the last season.

These are all good points! You’re right that it does make sense from a media perspective to save a queer ship for the end of a show, especially if a show is this popular/mainstream, and it involves main characters and not characters designated as “the gay ones.” However, I’m not sure to what extent this is the reason for Byler being saved for the end. I actually think the Duffers likely always planned to make this a slow burn romance and build it out over the seasons. It just fits the aesthetic of the ship. I feel like a lot of the nuances of Byler would change if Will and Mike didn’t have to go thru all of this development to get there. This is especially true because Stranger Things is very much a coming of age show, and it is set in the 80s, which makes it more complex. And Robin was only introduced in season 3 (though I do wish they would’ve fleshed out her relationship with Vickie more in Season 4). But I think one of the things that makes Byler so groundbreaking is the way it’s been slowly teased and built up over the course of the seasons right under everyone’s noses when no one was expecting it. We in Byler Nation are in tune with these queer themes and we’ve simply picked up on them way earlier than mainstream audiences, who are convinced Mandalorian is endgame because they interpret things in a surface-level, straightforward, what you see is what you get way. MGK is floating on the surface. Byler is under the surface so you have to swim below.

Dying at “Because what are they going to do when it becomes canon? Quit the show? Well, the show is already over and they cannot do anything about it” because you’re so right. I’ve seen lots of people say stuff like, “If they make Mike queer in season 5 and stranger things goes woke, I’m quitting the show!” and I’m like… broski, you’ve already watched the entire show at that point. There’s nothing to quit. I suppose it could make some of them leave the fanbase and never rewatch any of the seasons again, sort of how the Star Wars sequel trilogy was so controversial that it caused many former SW diehards to leave the fandom? Or perhaps they’ll never watch any of the spin-offs, whatever they may be? Or maybe some of them won’t watch the final season because Will’s sexuality will be front and center? But let’s be honest, most of them will most likely watch the final season through gritted teeth, complain about it “going gay” on Twitter for a few days, and move to something else to be outraged about soon after. Most of the Reddit dudebros aren’t diehard Melvins, they just don’t wanna see “that gay crap” on their TV programs. It’ll be interesting to see how the diehard Macaronis who genuinely are still invested in their ship react after season 5 because I think that’s a very different situation. (Side note: one example of a show that is starting out with a young queer ship is the new Chucky series, which I’d recommend. Season 2 is starting soon! Since by definition it’s not a slow burn, it will be interesting to see where it goes).

[thetaekookcloset]

I hope you feel better! I wanted to share some non-shippers takes on tkks relationship.

I’ve heard some say that taehyung is jealous of jungkook getting more lines in a song, and that was the reason their relationship becAme strenuous, and therefore distant. They concluded that that was why taehyung was singing with jungkook when he wasnt on the song. Ive gotta say… i dont think i have ever seen taehyung jealous of jungkook’s talents and abilities (and vice versa). One thing that sticks out like a sore thumb to me is whenever, literally whenever, jungkook does something, taehyung has the most fond look on his face. Take for example chris martin telling kook his voice is beautiful, or when jungkook threw the baseball. If he were actually jealous, he wouldnt have that “deeply fond” look on his face. Thats the kind of look i have on my fave when im proud of someone i love.

Others say the reason they’ve drifted apart is because v stole kooks girlfriend. 😭 i have no words for that one. If that were the case, i dont think a 5 minute convo would have solved the problem, but thats just my take. I mean.. if my so-called “friend” stole my partner, i wouldnt be cuddling them the next day or punching their abs😭. Its funny how everyone comes to a different conclusion based on the same content we watch because i never had to watch anything other than bighit content to feel like their relationship was different. It wasnt one specific moment or video for me, i just had this feeling that something was different between them.

I really didnt want to think so because i wasnt big on shipping or anything. Maybe its because i started by watching old content because new bighit content is definitely not the same. Idk, i just notice that new armys are different from old armys. In general, new bts content isnt the same as the old one. The old ones feel more spontaneous, less monitored, and NO im not referring to solely taekook content, but the content *in general*. If you watch the first run episodes or old bangtan bombs, you will understand what i mean. Idk why bighit thinks following the typical idol image, when BTS has literally been the ANTITHESIS of being an “idol” from the very beginning, almost as soon as they achieved mainstream success. If you ever say you miss their old music or if you miss their old content, you would be shamed into oblivion… but like isnt that what bts implied in festa? They werent too keen on their new releases. Lots of old armys got into bts because not only were they really talented despite coming from a small company (back then), but they felt a lot more open with their audience compared to other idols, so it was sad to see how more and more controlled content became.

Lol yeah there are a few non-shipper perspectives that I could see as being real possibilities, but I don’t think there’s any evidence to suggest that Taehyung is jealous of Jungkook’s ability, talent, or limelight, and even less to suggest that one or the other of them stole the other’s girlfriend lmao that’s hilarious to me.  And people say we make things up!

I do agree that there seems to be quite a big difference, across the board, between much older Big Hit content and the content since they started to gain a lot more popularity.  Unfortunately, I think that’s sort of bound to happen in pretty much any situation like that.  The bigger something is, the more profitable it is, the greater the need (or at least, the perceived need) to keep it squeaky clean and as appealing as possible en masse, which means the less real it can be.  It’s like the Mickey Mouse-ification of BTS lol.

It’s too bad, but it’s probably inevitable when something reaches that scale of popularity.

[blackberry-gingham]

Logan, Toad, and Kurt bby for the ask game >;))

Alright PHEW finally doing these, sorry lol. Someone else also requested toad so I'll do Kurt and Logan for now but toad will be up next ;)

Gotta use a cut bc you know me and my long ass speeches lol

Logan/Wolverine

Favorite thing about them

Hard to say tbh, but I think it's a mixture of his aesthetic with his tough guy look and cowboy/lumberjack outfits as well as his personality

I love any character with a deeper/inner animalistic nature, especially if it's a masculine character. Lots of room to explore the metaphors behind masculine energy and it's extremes clashing against a civilized society. That's kind of it tbh lol

Least favorite thing

THE FACT THAT HE CANT TAKE AN L IN THE DATING REALM AAAAAAAAAA

He dates around so much as a coping mechanism to deal with his own feelings of insufficiency, so in that sense it makes sense- but still, it's a little annoying when he's C O N S T A N T L Y pushed up against Jean, who can be just as bad sometimes considering she has cyk already. Like smh, at least let wolverine pursue a relationship he can actually ACHIEVE instead of this like "I'm so sad nooooo" plot snsksksk

Favorite line

Anytime in the cartoon when he says something along the lines of "oh yeah, well do you have THESE" and then pops his claws like he's insecure and trying to prove himself. That's always hilarious and definitely doesn't happen literally every other episode hahaha

BrOTP

Another oof, lol. I always picture him more as a loner, but if I had to assign him a best bro- it's pretty close between either colossus or nightcrawler, maybe with some favoritism towards colossus. Just two strong asf, indestructible asf dudes being bros

OTP

Well, I've moved away from my wolverine obsession now lol, so I can let him have an in-universe otp. Gosh, I want to say Storm the most. I love their dynamic of calming feminine energy soothing the masculine SO so much 😭

The only thing that keeps me from raving and screaming over this ship is that I really dislike how their relationship makes Storm out to be his PAAAAAINFULLY obvious B plan, second to Jean sksksk. If their relationship was the first stop instead of the love triangle, I would never shut up lmao

nOTP

Dnsksksksk there's not a lot of ships I don't support, but him and sabretooth, him and jubilee (I've never seen this thank God, so hopefully it's not a thing), and him and nightcrawler (Kurt is MINE 👹👹)

Random HC

He can purr, but not in a cat way. It's kind of like chuffing or soft growling

Unpopular opinion

I honestly think the only opinion I could consider as unpopular would be that I don't like shipping him with Jean or Kurt lol.

On a real note tho, uuuuuh I wish we got to see some actual character behind him instead of him being regulated to "Angry Little Dude Who Stabs Things" all the time. That has its place, sure, but a well done character arc in mainstream media would be cool too

Song I associate with him

The one I love - REM

The concept of using romantic "love" solely as a means of distraction from your problems in life is very him. In fact, this is possibly the only song I can comfortably associate with wolverine, bc anything else I can think of just doesn't fit his personal style sound wise

Favorite picture

These ones lol. Any of the rare, goofy art is PEAK quality, but the really emotional stuff is great too

Kurt/Nightcrawler

Favorite thing

I like him when he's faithfully and accurately portrayed as a Catholic, that's pretty great! I also like him for his introverted and empathetic personality of course. I would marry that man irl, no option for divorce in a HEARTBEAT 😩🤞🏻

I would say same as wolverine in that I like exploring the potential animalistic nature behind him, but he doesn't really have that tbh, so if I do that at all it's more like in my head and for fun. Sometimes tho.

Least favorite thing

Fjejskskks when his current writer gets disrespectful with portraying him according to his faith. I hate that shit man, like FR.

Aside from that, I REALLY don't like his early days in the comics where he was like this creepy as fuck flirt like ?!?! Idk how to describe it other than he somehow managed to make WOLVERINE look like a nice, polite guy

Favorite line

Any of his theological stuff from the animated series, bc I can't lie, that stuff was SHOCKINGLY accurate on the theology

Although, if I could just copy and paste all his dialogue from the animated series point blank period, I'd do that too lol. He has surprisingly interesting things to say about mutant existence and his own experiences and his interactions with other characters- I just wish he had more episodes 🥲

brOTP

This has no basis in the comics, but I imagine him and Toad as like unlikely, but solid bros. Toad is like "hey, another guy who looks like a freak, we could bond over our misery" and Kurt would take the opportunity to try and lift mort's spirits, maybe see a bright side instead of getting so downtrodden about being physically mutated

Healthy and supportive friendships 👍🏻👍🏻

Although, also him and rogue tbh. I like their psudeo siblings dynamic plus the difference in cultures adds some entertainment

OTP

Me, obviously lol. My ride or die f/o, to be completely honest

nOTP

Basically everyone, bc I'm a bitter ass bitch. Sorry 😪

Random HC

Kurt can also purr, but that's boring so I'll also add that I think he gets more mutated as he ages. Like thicker fur, slightly longer ears, slightly harsher facial features, that stuff. He won't let on, but it gets to him a little

Also one more for free: he is the younger one between him and rogue. She will introduce him as her little brother at every opportunity possible, just cause lol

Unpopular opinion

Probably that I like him best when he's a staunch catholic, to be honest

Song I associate with him

TAKE MY HAND BY CHIEF GHOUL WHICH YOU SHOULD STREAM. GO. DO IT. STREAM IT NOW FOR MOODY FALL AND SOUTHERN GOTHIC VIBES.

Favorite picture

I'm ngl, anything that makes his face nice and dynamic and pointy is pretty good. I like seeing artists not afraid to make him look non human as possible without getting too crazy, but of course you can always get me with any of the particularly goofy art too.

Come ask me again after I get my God Loves, Man Kills comic tho- that's the one that inspired X2 and I'm told it's a banger. This panel alone got me losing my shit lmao