For Anon who wanted to know more about what pro/anti-shipping is, the best source I can give you is the Fanlore wiki page about the term "anti-shipper". It has the history of the term, common incidents from both sides and a lot of sources linked for both sides' concerns as well as a few academic papers on the subject. I also recommend this translated short article aimed at Japanese fans interacting with American fandoms for an outsider point of view. This tumblr post talks about fandom history and provides good context for why being anti-censorship (especially) in fandom is so important.
I talk about it more under the cut, if you want to. The tl;dr version is that all concerns about the potential influence of "immoral fiction" can be fixed by making sure people have a solid understanding and opinion of the concepts featuring in the fiction beforehand.
In fandom spaces, currently anti-shipping means to be against ships and pairings (romantic and/or sexual) that are considered unhealthy, toxic, predatory, taboo, etc, more specifically when they are not explicitly labelled "bad" in-text. As these ships are deemed immoral, a danger to impressionable minds, and are accused of normalizing abuse, ships not meeting a subjective moral bar (which absolutely changes from person to person, sometimes in wild ways) should be shamed out of existence, and the people enjoying them are called bad, evil, immoral, abusers, predators, etc.
Pro-shipping means to be pro (support) all ships, without exception. This means you believe any fantasy can be explored through fiction. It does not mean "problematic shipping". You can be a pro-shipper without shipping anything "problematic" yourself: you just need to refuse to censor fictional character ships. You also don't need to like these ships or even tolerate looking at them. Block freely. I know I have.
I understand the fear of fiction having a damaging influence on someone who doesn't yet know better; that's why we came up with age ratings for TV, movies and games. However, if someone can't identify the problem depicted in a work of fiction, they won't be able to identify the problem in real life either. That's your red flag, not the existence of the story or its author.
What we need is education and support. Censorship is a very, very slippery slope that fails to tackle any issue at the source. Instead, spread resources on consent, bodily autonomy, internet safety, respecting your own boundaries, irl crisis resources, etc. Spread awareness about the importance of proper tagging. Stop using the word "disgusting" and explain why something is bad. You need to address the underlying issue of a real person not knowing why these relationships are dangerous.
If you find yourself hesitant on this topic, remember that, in real life, the most popular TV series for multiple years was Game of Thrones, which has "problematic" everything. People love fucked up stories. You don't get a callout post for writing character A killing character B. It's just that a lot of people get particularly queasy when it comes to sexuality and romance.
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Ao3 tags you will never catch my ass reading (Batman edition)
Abusive parent Bruce Wayne/Bad parent Bruce Wayne: I’m not saying you’re wrong per say, but the cannon does him dirty enough I ain’t reading it in fics
Barbara Gordon/Jason Todd: This is not technically incest but it does give me the ick as if it were
Slade Wilson is Dick Grayson’s parent: No. In the words of Dick Grayson himself, he already has a father. Slade also always gives me big predator vibes and I don’t like it
Talia Al Ghul/Jason Todd: Even the original writer that did this wretched storyline said it was a mistake. Let it die
Bad Sibling Dick Grayson: Blatant slander on my boys name. I will not be taking arguments
Talia Al Ghul is Jason Todd’s parent: I don’t feel as strongly about this one I personally just don’t like it. It feels OOC for her
Barbara Gordon/Bruce Wayne: It’s giving grooming.
Tim Drake and Stephanie Brown are siblings: They made out and dated for years, I just can’t
Dead Alfred Pennyworth: Feels unrealistic, we all know he’s immortal
One-sided Tim Drake/Ras Al Ghul: I would like to return to ten minutes ago when I didn’t know this was a tag
Dick Grayson is Ric Grayson: Never again
Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug and Damian Wayne Are Siblings: Ladybug??? Who are you? Why are you here??
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People still suck at writing Sonic the Hedgehog
Interpretations of Sonic outside of media made by Sonic Team often seem either unable or unwilling to reconcile the fact that Sonic is both kind-hearted and intelligent, but I think I've noticed a recent shift in the way writers try to reconcile it.
In general, there seems to be this belief that smart people are inherently more pessimistic toward the world and that kind people are inherently more naive towards it. So, when writing for a character who's both smart and kind, less knowledgeable writers end up flanderizing them in one of two ways:
The first way, which is how Sonic was interpreted in Sonic Boom and prior, is making the character act like a jerk who knows best. At worst, they'll be outright rude towards their closest friends, but any criticism they get for it will be ignored because their opinions are always correct in the eyes of the narrative. At best, they'll sometimes make mistakes and learn lessons about being nicer to other people, which is something their non-flandarized self wouldn't have struggled with.
The second way, which is how Sonic is interpreted now, is making the character a saint who solves everything with friendship. At worst, they'll give absolute tyrants a million chances, but any criticism they get for it will be ignored because their opinions are always correct in the eyes of the narrative. At best, they'll sometimes make mistakes and learn lessons about certain people being unwilling to change, which is something their non-flandarized self wouldn't have struggled with.
You may have noticed I straight up copy/pasted a couple bits of those last two paragraphs. Well, that's because those bits reveal a bit of truth in how Sonic is portrayed by Sonic Team. Sonic's opinions are always correct in the eyes of the narrative, because of the lessons he no longer struggles with. Sonic already learned to balance his desire to give people a second chance with the fact that some people just have to be stopped. When? Since the very beginning. Sonic has always been trying to defeat Eggman for good while also giving second chances to people who he thinks deserve it.
But how do you deal with people who are causing so much harm when you still think they deserve a second chance? Guess what? Sonic answered that straight up in Sonic Adventure 1.
Do me a quick favor and if you can listen to Open Your Heart, specifically the Sonic Adventure 1 version (Click here). You may notice that there're two distinct sets of vocals; One clean and high pitched, and one distorted and low pitched. (And if you're wearing headphones the audio will even pan during the chorus.) For context, this is the song that plays while Sonic is fighting Chaos.
You can figure it out yourself from there, but if you want me to really dig into the topic, feel free to keep reading.
So like, I shouldn't have to say this, but the dark negative voice is Chaos' view and the light positive voice is Sonic's. But notably, they sing together during key points, specifically those related to the anger, sadness, and hopelessness that Chaos has been feeling for ages. Sonic has recognized that 1. imprisoning Chaos as suggested by Tikal wouldn't solve anything because, 2. Chaos is only acting this way due to being blinded by hatred for those he perceives as selfish monsters, and 3. he's still very much currently destroying the world and won't change his mind because he's lost hope that there's anything worth holding on to.
What does Sonic do then? Sonic may be an unstoppable force but Chaos is a seemingly immovable object. Well, he literally uses the positive energy from his friends and within himself to stop Chaos' rampage and prove that there are still good people in the world that want to maintain peace. After he loses the fight, Chaos is able to calm down and see that the cute defenseless chao he'd been protecting ages ago had survived, living among the very people he had assumed could only be power hungry monsters. He's able to let go of his hatred and live a peaceful life understanding that good people still exist and the world is still worth protecting.
And that's where the question is answered. How do you deal with people who are causing so much harm when you still think they deserve a second chance? You do everything you can to stop them, and if they're still around afterward, show them that they didn't need to fight in the first place. But that only works if they had a good reason behind why they were fighting, and would have chosen peace otherwise.
Sonic wanted to give Chaos a second chance because he knew that violence was not truly in his nature. Had he not been forced into those specific circumstances, Chaos would have chosen peace.
And that's what separates characters who have done a lot of harm but Sonic still gave a second chance to like Chaos and Merlina, from those who have done a lot of harm but Sonic wouldn't give a second chance to, like Eggman and Erazor Djinn. The former wanted peace but became convinced that it was impossible, and the latter only wanted power and were willing to hurt others to obtain it. The characters who Sonic won't give another chance to have proven that when dealt a better hand, they'll still chose to hurt others solely for their own gain, because that's what they want. To stop them peacefully, Sonic would have to convince them to give up their true dreams.
And that, is why Sonic's opinions get to always be treated as right in the games, because they are right. He has an absolutely kind heart, a nuanced understanding of morality, and the integrity to never give in to selfish desires.
None of this means Sonic is always right, though. Most people already know of his impulsiveness, which is his greatest weakest, but also one of his greatest strengths. Sonic never waits to act, which is great when innocent people are seconds from mortal danger... but not so great when a situation looks to be one way but is actually another. He teases Eggman for pleading for a second chance in Unleashed and he kicks the Cacophonous Conch from Eggman's hand in Lost World, and both of those were massive mistakes.
But, despite making those mistakes, his mindset wasn't the problem. How was he supposed to know Eggman was a shockingly good actor leading him into a trap? How was he supposed to know the people Eggman was controlling with the conch were equally as evil? (Yes Tails tried to warn him but literally if he didn't Sonic wouldn't have looked stupid and it just shows how poorly written Lost World was overall.) Had Eggman actually been pleading and the Zeti good people, Sonic's actions would've been justified.
Still, those were mistakes, and Sonic always wants to do what's right, so he does what he can to fix his own messes. He restores the planet Eggman broke apart. He stops the Zeti from sucking the life out of the planet. Sonic always makes things right in the end, and so he has the right to be so confidant in his beliefs. So confidant in fact that he doesn't care about looking like the bad guy if it means doing the right thing. Oh look, there's a song about that too. From Sonic's fight with Merlina in Sonic and the Black Knight. (Click Here.) Don't be fooled by the feminine vocals, if you paid attention to the themes of the game, the song is clearly from Sonic's perspective.
So yeah, Sonic is kind but he's also smart. He won't let anyone change his mind on anything, but he doesn't need to change his mind because he follows his kind heart and compassionate soul. He doesn't worry about looking like the bad guy because he and his friends know his true nature. When he gets angry he lets his rage fuel his desire to save the day. He'll never shed tears of despair because he knows that if he keeps fighting he'll make things right in the end. Sometimes his impulsiveness gets him into trouble, but it also helps get him back out. No matter what happens to him, he'll always make it out in the end either through sheer determination or the help of his friends.
Sonic is absolutely silly; He makes dumb jokes about his enemies and talks to himself when there's nobody around. Sonic is completely serious; He's willing to kill someone if it means saving the world and has felt multiple friends die before his eyes and in his arms.
Sonic is literally just some blue hedgehog who can run really fast.
Sonic is a god, and could kill god, and there is not a difference!
But most importantly, Sonic is all of those things at once. He is a wonderfully balanced character who's been right from the very beginning and has spent all his games sharing his wisdom with others simply by being himself. He isn't perfect, but that's not due to some personality flaw he needs to correct, but because nobody can always have all the answers and know how to avoid all potential mistakes.
The problem is, writing a character like this is hard. Writing conflicts for a character like this is hard. Most writers rely on making their protagonists work through relatable flaws to create an emotionally compelling story... but you don't need to do that. Sonic's conflicts are mostly external, but we care about him succeeding anyway because he's a good person who's just trying to live his life.
So really, if you wanna write Sonic well, you have to just let him speak for himself.
...By the way I mean that literally. Dude listen to his character theme it's all right there! (Click here.) Even when his theme was altered in Sonic Adventure 2 the only thing that changed was how confidently the same ideas were delivered. (Click here.) But seriously listen to literally any of the game themes, final boss themes, and ending themes. (I'm not linking all that.) No matter the quality of the games, if Sonic wanted to teach you something he was gonna teach it... through the power of having a music department detached from the nightmare that is game development time crunch.
And that's why Sonic Lost World is the worst Sonic game. Because it was so pointless that Sonic didn't have anything to sing about!
Wait... what was the point of this post again?
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