#that's why i also tend to talk more about ''dynamics'' than ''ships'' even when the romantic love is there.

[nateriverswife]

I have never seen any author complain about this but i would totally understand if someone would be annoyed that their readers are seeing romance when they intentionally didn't include that.

[kaladinkholins]

BRB thinking thoughts about Taigen's character, the TaiMizu ship, and a big chunk of fandom's perceptions regarding both those things.

(Inspired by @farintonorth's post related to this topic that just got my brain going brrrrr)

OK so let me just... start off by saying that I think that reducing stories to their tropes is seriously detrimental to the way some people are interacting with fiction, and while that honestly warrants its own post about the subject, I wanna talk specifically about how this affects the way some people in the fandom talk about Taigen and TaiMizu.

Because yeah, tropes are useful shorthand to refer to certain dynamics or archetypes etc, and they are indeed the building blocks to any story. But in a well-written story, characters and their relationships, actions, and motivations, are much more complex than just tropes. Because in a story that has characters who are more than just cardboard cutouts, their behaviours, backgrounds, motivations and all of that, are inseparable from the context of the overall story they exist in.

So like, sure, you can say Mizu and Taigen have an enemies-to-lovers or rivals-to-lovers dynamic. I also use those terms because it's easier. But I also think this is where things start to get a bit twisted, especially from an intertextual sense. Because "enemies-to-lovers" is also commonly used to refer to other ships in other media, whereby it tends to be rooted in an imbalanced power dynamic, such as oppressor-oppressed and bully-victim.

And while that's a whole can of worms that I won't be getting into because it can quickly derail into a whole separate sort of fandom discourse, I'd just like to make it clear that Mizu and Taigen, in particular, do not have an imbalanced power dynamic. They are not bully-victim or oppressor-oppressed. The only understandable reason why someone might actually think their relationship is imbalanced is if

A) they only watched the first episode, or

B) they cannot grasp the slightest bit of nuance in a character, or

C) they're being obtuse on purpose simply because the Mizu/Taigen relationship, or Taigen's character in general, just doesn't suit their tastes.

While yes, Taigen, along with his whole gang, had bullied Mizu when they were children, that dynamic does not exist between them whatsoever in adulthood. Whatever imbalanced bully-victim power dynamic that had once existed between them was decisively ripped apart the moment Mizu beat him in that duel in the dojo, and then completely obliterated by the end of the season.

Mizu is not a defenseless victim at Taigen's mercy. Mizu can beat Taigen's ass any time she wants (and she DOES, repeatedly in fact), and could even kill him if she felt like it. She taunts him openly and without fear ("I like your hair"; "I can beat you with any weapon you choose") and all he does is bark back, because that's pretty much all Taigen ever does. Time and time again, he yaps about how much he wants to kill her, but time and time again, his actions prove that all of it is just an empty threat. Because though his words say "I hate you", his actions demonstrate the complete opposite. He's shown how protective he is of Mizu, how unhesitatingly he sacrifices himself up for her, how loyal he is in enduring days-long torture to not give up information about her, how even when near-death and in pain, he's still willing to keep standing back up so he can fight by her side and help her win against her enemies.

And Mizu is not an idiot! She sees that too. She does not see him as a threat, an enemy, or even a bully. Especially not by the end of Episode 3, and definitely not by the end of the season. When she finds him in the dungeon in Episode 6, she smiles from relief, and doesn't think twice to take him with her. Mizu finds him, at best, an annoyance, or at worst, an infuriating hindrance on her quest for vengeance. Which is why, when Taigen is about to say, "It's a shame our duel's set for tomorrow; I have to kill you before you get your revenge," Mizu whacks him on the head without a second thought before he can even finish his sentence, and leaves him lying unconscious, face-down, in the snow.

And this further emphasises how he does not hold any power over her. There is no abusive power dynamic between them. She is more powerful than him, he knows this, and all he's ever done after they've met up again in adulthood is get his ass whooped by her, get mad about it and pester her and follow her around, get his ass whooped by her some more, and put his life on the line to protect her.

"OOoooOOoooH b-but he called her a demon at the end of Episode 7 and threatened to kill her again!!!" Oh my god. He called her that because he's calling her out on her selfishness to stay silent about her knowledge of Fowler's plans to attack Edo. Because to him, loyalty and honour as a samurai is more important than anything. So in his own brash-and-immature Taigen way, he felt betrayed that Mizu did not hold the same principles. That's why he got angry. He wasn't even that mad about letting Akemi get dragged off by the Tokunobu guards. It was about saving the Shogun and the Shogunate as a whole. That's why the first thing he does in Edo is not find Akemi, but try to warn the Shogun about Fowler's attack.

Look, I'm not defending his stupid ass, of course. Because calling her a demon especially after their cute little wrestling time was obviously rude and inappropriate, especially since words like "demon", "monster" and "Onryo" have had such a deep effect on Mizu throughout her life, and continue to contribute to her self-hatred. But like? That's the fun of realistic and flawed characters, and realistic and flawed relationships. They're not perfect, and it's why we as an audience root for them, wanting to see them work through their shit and find a way to prevail despite it all.

Also, him saying that was in the heat of the moment. He was angry, he felt like his initial belief of who Mizu was—a strong and loyal samurai, just like him—was shattered, and so he lashed out. Was it rude? Definitely. Was it immature of him? Yes, incredibly. But it's also very much in line with his character, because even though he's grown a lot over the course of the season, the show isn't over yet, so obviously his character arc is just beginning, as that is also the case for the other three main characters: Mizu is beginning to accept herself, Akemi is beginning to grow into her position of power, Ringo beginning to train under Master Eiji, while Taigen is beginning to simply be a better person.

On that note, when speaking of Taigen's immaturity, I think that's also one of the main things that people tend to gloss over when it comes to his character. Because when you boil everything down to its bare essentials, Taigen is, essentially, a boy. I've talked about this before, but to reiterate, Taigen very much behaves like an unhealed child. Even as an adult, he is insecure, prone to throwing tantrums, and is desperate to latch onto some material goal in hopes that it will make him feel better—initially he was chasing status/glory/greatness, and then when Mizu tells him that "Nothing comes from being a samurai but death," he immediately decides he wants to run away with Akemi in hopes that he will be happy.

And it's a big step, acknowledging that he doesn't truly want greatness, but had always just assumed it was his only path to a good life. But it's clear he still hasn't really figured it out. Because if he did run off with Akemi to get married and live in the countryside, he still wouldn't be happy. Because he still doesn't know who he really is, or what it is he really wants. Marriage at this moment is the last thing he needs, and as he is now, he would be a pretty awful husband. A simple life would be good for him, but would he be good at a simple life, when he still has so much he needs to work through?

So anyway, what I'm getting at here, is that he's trying and he is learning and growing. So yeah, he is flawed, but honestly? So is Mizu. And the funny thing is that they're flawed in very similar ways.

Because Mizu is also an unhealed child. That's why she's so angry all the time. That's why she pushes people away. That's why she, just like Taigen, is so happy when given the chance to playfully wrestle in the forge, laughing and rolling around like children without shame or pretense.

Again, this shows there is no imbalance between them. They had grown up together as peers from the same town. And while Taigen had had the upper hand back then, because he'd had a gang of other kids with him, that is definitely not the case anymore. Today, they are equally flawed, equally strong, equally skilled swordsmen, and equally bull-headed.

However, yes, Mizu is definitely leagues more mature than Taigen. But she still holds a lot of childhood wounds that mirror Taigen's own. And we see this especially in relation to her mother. Similar to Taigen who had an abusive and alcoholic father, Mizu's Mama was an opium addict and had hit her, berated her, had shaved her head without her consent as a child, and as an adult, had constantly emotionally manipulated and guilt-tripped her. Mizu's love for her Mama was what had driven her to a path of vengeance in the very beginning. And when she'd found out Mama was still alive, she had wanted nothing more than her Mama's love, and it was this alone that pushed her to agree to the marriage with Mikio in the first place. And now, knowing from Fowler that her birth mother is someone else entirely, is what makes her agree to keep him alive and haul his ass to London to seek answers.

Thus, integral to Mizu's self-hatred is also Mizu's intense longing for love and family. Just like Taigen, whose pompousness comes from his insecurity about being the son of a poor fisherman, Mizu's goals are also shaped by who her parents are. Remember, her vengeance is not against just anyone who's corrupt or evil, but specifically against the men who she believes had assaulted her mother, the men she believes had made her a monster, the men she believes had abandoned her to die and continue to try to kill her. Her vengeance is against a father, on behalf of a mother. In The Tale of the Ronin and the Bride, Mizu is not merely the Ronin, the Bride, or the Onryo, but also the Child.

This is also why Ringo is so good, not only for Mizu, but for Taigen as well. Ringo is wise and caring and considerate, but above all, he is in tune with his inner child in ways that Mizu and Taigen are not. He is always earnest and positive, he sees the world with childlike wonder, but is not naive or blind to its ugliness. His whole life has been a battle. Ringo brings out the best in Mizu, consistently acting as her moral compass and conscience, and Mizu's choice to save Akemi in the final episode is only because she promised Ringo that she would. Because it's the right thing to do. Ringo inspires her to be a better person, and to think outside of her narrow-minded goal of revenge. At the same time, Ringo also brings out the best in Taigen. While at first Taigen had looked down on both Mizu and Ringo ("Half-limb to a half-wit"), by the end of the season, he's proud to have Ringo as a friend and ally, he listens to Ringo's advice ("What would Master do?"), and asserts to the fucking Shogun that Ringo is a worthy warrior to have by his side.

Okay, I've gone on a bit of a tangent here, but my main point is that Mizu and Taigen are incredibly similar. They are equals. They are both flawed, unhealed children who are chasing some impossible outlandish goal in hopes that it will fill the void in their hearts. They also both have a long way to go in terms of character development if they were to ever build a healthy romantic relationship (either with each other, or even with anyone else). So while I believe things will be rocky (because duh, it's a story, we all live for the drama, etc), I think with Ringo's help, they'll get there eventually.

[linaharutaka]

gen question but isnt dedegoon or dedesuka or whatevr a proship? ive seen some ppl calling it a proship cuz its abusive but your bio says proship dni so idk if its ok to ship or what (sorry im new to this)

hiya! thank you for your ask! it isnt and heres why

first of all i am /Not/ proship. i am not anti-anti or whatever either. what drives me to ship them is the fact theyre friends who like to be in each other's company. i like their sweet moments together. they bond over scamming an innocent population and bullying children. they're partners in crime. theyre besties who talk shit about others as a hobby.

i also don't think theyre already dating. i look at their relationship and im like. you guys have some kind of weird crush on each other and you're also selfish assholes. they're in the world's worst situationship.

"but dedede whacks escargoon a lot!" not only does escargoon get physical towards him too (the dynamic starts shifting in the dentist episode) but his "punishments" are often for a reason. escargoon is often very mean to dedede. in almost every episode he calls him hopeless or stupid or ugly or anything like that. and that gets him a whack. if i were dedede i'd do that too! it'd piss me off! having my lackey who i pay and who i consider my best friend insult me so overtly over and over LOL. but does escargoon ever try and stop him his evil doing? hell no! the guy helps him and gives him advice and ideas! he is NOT a good guy either. he loves being mean! he literally says it!

of course escargoon cares a loy about him. pretty sure everyone is aware. i don't even need to compile all the times he runs after him or worries about his well being. one time he "left" after he realised he'd have to do all the waddle dee's chores and didn't want to do his job. guess who's shown tearing up when seeing what poor state dedede is in after being left all on his own. he's always protecting him and defending him (sometimes backhandedly) from other people. he holds dedede dear. it's obvious he does. he's an old man, he's not being manipulated into liking dedede. he genuinely cares about the guy.

there are episodes where they bicker a lot but end up getting along, episodes where they're the best of friends and episodes focused on their resentment against one another. the show kind of yoyos with their relationship. it's not really anything to take seriously. if you get offended from their interactions you'd get a heart attack from watching looney tunes. the back and forth of their dynamic is part of the fun!

I *highly* recommend watching the original version of the show as the dub often replaces sweet lines they share with jokes that don't really hit the mark. it's a shame. (however i will give the dub some credit on occasion)

Actually, i have a [post] that compiles a lot of sweet screenshots of them together. it doesnt include the times where they hold on to each other in the cannons or in the whispy woods episode or when esxargoon said "isnt this strange? can't you feel we're striving apart?" and dedede says "what! that's ridiculous!" in a lighthearted voice. or when escargoon makes a joke about a late night drive being romantic and dedede just? laughs in agreement? there's a scene where they call each other stupid in the most friendly way ever. i actually have a handy twitter of fun scenes where escargoon gets away with some things (doesn't include when escargoon yells at him in the fireworks episode or orders him in episode 69), like saying *he's* actually the one in power because dedede isn't competent enough to reign. or dedede understanding escargoon's concerns of him becoming dumber than he is already.

they're just villains who are attached to each other and are a team no matter what.

escargoon protects dedede a lot, and he cares about him more than what his job entails, but people tend to forget he's got a special place in dedede's heart too.

dedede keeps an album of pictures they took together. he never threatens to fire him and, as far as i know, never even cuts his salary and is the only one in the castle to even have a bonus. he shares the food he keeps from the waddle dees with him in episode 93. he clarifies he doesnt want knuckle joe's monsters to attack either of them. he's fine spending large amounts of money on him. twice? he never calls him ugly somehow. he even thanks him for having put up with him for so long and serving him well when the world is about to end. and then he clings unto him because he's scared of dying alone. his way of showing affection is not the "im crying because i think you're in danger" type of way that escargoon shows a lot but it's there.

Of course i don't think they're perfect gay rep. that's literally so stupid. you think im gonna look at two dumbasses who are bitter towards one another from what, a parodic, satirical children's anime from the early 2000s, and go "hmm yes this is what every queer couple should aspire to be this is peak lgbt rep"

If we're gonna talk about them how about we talk about some issues this show has that no one ever addresses. the colorism of the uv episode that is not put into question, not even by tiff, the moral compass. the rising sun imagery that is very much intentional as dedede is a caricature. the fatphobia? the fact kirby calls kawasaki and nagoya homos??? straight up???

people often blame episode 88, and yeah, it's not my favorite episode either. everyone's weird in that episode, not just dedede! yabui is far from empathetic, even the ebrums are disrespectful, and escargoon taunts dedede into chasing him for laughs and teases him about his old age. even at the end he teases him. i think it's one of those episodes that you just have to blame on the writers kinda like 89 (for example this one has got the right message but the execution is painful to watch. poor tiff.)

now, if 88 had changed their relationship it'd be a different matter. there are some sweet moments they share outside of their general "partners in crime" dynamic past episode 88 in my post actually! my favorite is the one where dedede has his arm around escargoon who's curled up like a cat while they're sleeping and the waddle dees are tucking them in from episode 91. it makes me so happy.

i could probably talk so, so much more about them. they're a huge comfort to me. however i don't trust just anyone with them. i am very much aware some people like them for the wrong reasons. but if you have a brain you can see where i'm coming from.

the show makes fun of them because they're evil, self-centered cowards. not because they're "gay" or anything like that. i saw someone call them queerbait one time and i had to log off for a minute.

anyway, to answer your question, people who do not recognize their genuine attachment to one another are bound to have a twisted view of them. i don't like dedegoon because they're "toxic" or awful to each other. but because they're each other's best friends. that's all. it's fine if you don't ship them, too. i just hope i can prove to people that they do matter to each other and that they're friends :)

[saltynsassy31]

Since you’re a Sonamy fan I might as well ask you this.

Why do you personally ship Sonamy? What got you into Sonamy? What’s your favorite moments between the two?

Hope you’re having a wonderful day!

OH GOODNESS I WAS SUPPOSED TO REPLY SOONER BUT I GOT SO BUSY 😭😭😭 between packing and catching my flight at 4am, it was hectic!

This has been sitting in my drafts for so long man fkskaka I am so sorry 😅

But, oh buddy, i don't....I don't know, or, more accurately, probably don't remember XD

I've shipped them for so long, i can't remember when or why I started doing so. But I do have some guesses. And I think the culprit to my obsession would have to be...Sonic Boom!

Growing up, I didn't have a lot of access to Internet stuff aside from YouTube, in my home, the only channel I knew to have access to was Discovery Kids and Gloob. BUT, my grandma did have access to other channels like Disney XD, Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network!

Which is where I discovered Sonic Boom 😌 and I'm pretty sure it was where my love for Sonic began. And because that show hammered in Sonamy so much, I guess I just became inclined to like it? I remember an episode talking about fanfiction and I went to look up what "Sonamy" was and stumbled across an artist (who is still active to this day! To my relief) who did a lot of Sonic Boom sonamy and it just became a comfort ship!

No why do I personally ship them is hard to answer. Probably just for comfort? No, no, I think it goes a little deeper than that. One ship from another franchise that I can compare it too is Zelink! (Zelda x Link).

They are the "practically canon straight ship" and sort of the "obvious" pick, which sorts ends up making them the less popular to the fandom? Lol which is also a shame. But there is so much more to them just being the "practically canon straight couple"! There is obviously a lot of thought put into their dynamic and relationship that reflects in the games and other media.

I tend to look at the smaller details and all the hints the creators drops between them!

Which leads to my favourite sonamy moments, which is when Sonic is the one showing the affection, albeit subtle, towards Amy. I don't have one moment, it's all the times he's like that, but one I can pull up right now and the only one I can remember after only 2 hours of sleep is I Prime, when Sonic is describing his friends and when he reaches Amy he just sighs this love strucken sigh and says "Sweet Amy".

Thay practically sent me rolling!

Another one in Prime is when he is talking to the forest guardian Amy I forgot the name, and she asks about his Amy and he describes her and she says "she sounds pretty cool" or something and, again, with that sigh of admiration says "you are" and--

GAH I JUST LOVE THEM TOO MUCH!!!!

I could talk about them all day man, I want to, I want to have more people to talk about them. Even if I'm not well versed in the Sonic franchise just yet, I love them so much I wanna just- talk about them!

[lilyginnyblackv2]

Overlooked Gabriel & Annalise Moment - TBSATDH Spoilers

A scene I don't really see people talk about in regards to Annalise and Gabriel's relationship in The Bastard Son and The Devil Himself is the one in Ep. 8 when the boys reunite with her. Gabriel gets to her first, she looks to him first, and she seeks comfort from him first.

Gabriel and Annalise's bond tends to be overlooked and downplayed a bit within the fandom space, and I can understand why. Their bond is probably the most subtle of the three and also the only one that hasn't included any kissing. It’s also the least developed and it's closer to a deep platonic or queerplatonic dynamic.

But in this moment they both look at each other so intensely. The screenshots I took can't really capture it, but Annalise was practically clawing at Gabriel for physical comfort in that scene. And that makes sense to me, given the dynamic we've seen between the three before.

Annalise comforts Nathan:

Nathan comforts Gabriel:

Gabriel comforts Annalise:

Of course, there has also been times when all three of them drew comfort from each other:

And Gabriel did comfort Nathan in this scene, though it was more akin to “snapping Nathan out of his guilt and trauma response to the situation,” since there wasn’t really time for comfort.

But the most common dynamic we’ve seen, and when looking at their one-on-one interactions, Annalise comforts Nathan, but rarely vice versa. So it makes sense that she looked to Gabriel for comfort first, then turned to Nathan. 

I really feel like that Episode 5 scene, when Gabriel and Annalise held hands and gave each other comfort during the Ceremony, is when their dynamic started to shift and change a bit. In the sense of getting more intimate and intense, though not necessarily romantic or sexual. 

If the series wanted to pursue that route in a (hopeful) second season, I wouldn’t necessarily object to it. Granted it is handled well, especially because I can see how it could potentially tie into the implied trauma Gabriel experienced from Mercury (she had no qualms with kissing Nathan when she was possessing his gran’s body, and her words and actions to and with Gabriel imply possible sexual trauma and abuse, in the below image she says, “So hard to say no to such perfection” while looking at him and touching him in a very sexualized way). 

The set up that Season 1 left off with seems to heavily imply that Jessica and Mercury will be the big bad duo of a potential Season 2, which would work perfectly with the hanging plotline of the boy Gabriel promised he would come back for at Mercury’s. And all of that would tie in nicely with a deeper exploration of Gabriel, his sexuality, his past and traumas, and his bonds with both Nathan and Annalise.

As someone who is aroace though, I would also be perfectly fine with Gabriel and Annalise’s relationship continuing to deepen but still staying in this space of deeply platonic and/or queerplatonic, since I feel we could always do with more representation like that, especially for poly ships.

Anyway, wrapping all of this up: That Ep. 8 scene speaks volumes about Annalise and Gabriel’s bond and I love it! It shows how they’ve grown a lot closer to each other than a lot of the fandom thinks they have, and possibly even more than either of them had fully realized in-series until that moment.

[justenjoythegossip]

MEAN GIRLS, CONTROLLED OPPOSITION, “USEFUL FOOLS” & THE STREISAND EFFECT

There has been some controversy regarding my post about the Middle Voice and some misunderstandings that I feel I should clear. I never intended to cause any harm to anyone, that is why I never use mods’ name (not when I talk about Team Real or Team PR or the Middle Voice either) as my goal is never to attack an individual or a group of people. I just try to share my observations, to look past the picture that is being sold, question narratives, try to show the dynamics at hand and the responses that could result from it.  

Mean girls recognizing themselves…

Certain mods felt attacked by this article when I never had them in mind in the first place when I actually wrote it (which, I guess, is quite telling). But also, some rightfully recognized themselves, managed to gather around with their friends for a senseless blocking spree to boot me off the island. They have twisted my words, tried to discredit and ridicule them, which is a classic manipulation technique by the way. 

It has been fascinating to see that all that I wrote (and I wrote plenty) has been reduced to the very silly notion of… plants. And yet, the picture is so much more complex than that. And I have been very careful anytime I have written about Team Real/PR Blogs or the Middle voice to define those groups very specifically and with as much accuracy as I could. And as you probably noticed, I always use the expression “plants/trolls”. Why? Because, those groups encompass a wide range of different profiles. Plants are actually the small minority of the bunch while trolls represent the largest majority. But since trolls consist of so much more than trolling, I guess it is rather important to define who they are and what they do. 

Controlled opposition: a powerful strategy & a psychological weapon… 

* “Controlled opposition is any person or organization which appears to be on one side, but is secretly working against the interests of that movement… With controlled opposition, one organization can play both sides. Controlled opposition can also act as spies, feeding information back to opposition organizations, feeding disinformation to those they pretend to ally with, and deliberately instigating infighting to ensure activist work does not get done”. https://www.hegemonmedia.com/p/what-is-controlled-opposition

PR strategies tend to mirror the games we find in Politics, so we can often use the same concepts to explain what is going on. Lenin once famously said that: “The best way to control the opposition is to lead it ourselves”. Middle Voice mods, Team PR mods and even Team Real mods work according to those very same basic principles. Some might find it strange that I include Team Real blogs to the controlled opposition. And yet it makes a lot of sense because some key players from that faction of the fandom used to debunk the stunts Chris, Abba and their teams were “trying” to pull, and they also used to criticize Chris very vehemently, even calling him disgusting names such as groomer or pedophile. And yet, some of those mods made a very “(non)sensical” U-turn and started to ship the very controversial couple. Obviously it only appeared to be nonsensical, but the reality is very different. Those mods were meant to pave the way for the fandom to embrace them as a Hollywood power couple after initially rejecting them vigorously. If such extreme voices could come to “accept” them, then the casual fan might just do the same. A classic manipulation technique in PR games that include so many of it. 

Such tactics include plants (as discussed previously), who work directly for their teams and are meant to drive/sell certain narratives to the fandom. But what is particularly interesting is that you don’t need a whole bunch of them. You might only need one or a couple in each groups. That’s the beauty of it. The rest of those groups will consist of “useful fools”… 

By the way, important sidenote, some people (or groups of people) likely use different accounts to add more weight and credibility to what they are selling. Certain Team (Real/PR/Middle Voice) mods share such similar tones, voices and rhetoric that it seems quite suspicious. It might be coincidental of course. But again probably not. 

The “useful idiots” are very useful tools…

Plants are the original agitators and lead the way while trolls follow in their path. If we use the same concepts as earlier, they are the equivalent of the “useful idiots” in a controlled opposition. 

“A useful idiot or useful fool is a person perceived as propagandizing for a cause without fully comprehending the cause's goals, and who is cynically being used by the cause's leaders.”

So obviously you don’t need to be a paid plant to play the exact same role in those PR strategies. All you need is to be susceptible and respond to a certain narrative, not question it and then amplify it yourself. So anyone can be an unwilling “useful” idiot” without even being aware of it, that is what it so pernicious about it. 

And when it comes to trolls, they will respond to very specific narratives that involve any kinds of controversy or that will trigger heated discussion because they tend to crave the attention and the drama. 

The “Streisand effect” or how not to draw attention to an issue…

*”The Streisand effect is an unintended consequence of attempts to hide, remove, or censor information, where the effort instead backfires by increasing public awareness of the information. The effect is named for American singer and actress Barbra Streisand, whose attempt in 2003 to suppress a photographer's publication of a photograph drew far greater attention to the obscure photograph”.

From a PR perspective, it’s very often smart not to respond to a rumor (true or false) or to a controversy so that you don’t draw more attention to it. Especially since it can be quite dangerous, if your response to a PR crisis is deemed inadequate, it can have even more lasting damage. Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher’s recent apology is a good example of that. They didn’t grasp the severity of their situation and their frivolous response got them cancelled. Pure and simple.

It's true for Chris’ shitshow with this very problematic woman as well. No acknowledgement, no problem! But it’s also true for all these mods who made such a ridiculous (and stupid?) fuzz about being called out plants/trolls when they were never even mentioned by names. Good job on planting this seed inside the minds of their followers. Although I am sure some of them are very much aware of their tactics at this point. 

[evelhak]

Feeling daring today - Haizaki for the character and ship bingo ;)

Your takes are much more interesting, so there may not be anything illuminating here but I tried. xD

*Non-sarcastically normal. Haizaki is a pretty neutral character when I think about him by myself, I just don't have that special connection to him.

*However I love him when you talk about him and I'm sure I would love him more if I just had an incentive to write about him. But I don't feel anything like that because you're already giving him justice. My brain doesn't really work unless I feel like I have something substantial to contribute, which I don't.

*Haizaki definitely still gets a lot of unjustified hate, because he was framed as a villain and people then interpreted his every action as coming from the worst place imaginable, while other characters' actions get understanding just because they can see those characters' sides but can't see Haizaki's since he wasn't written in a sympathetic way. On one hand, that's fair to me, if your fic needs a villain it makes sense to pick a character whose motivations were not discussed deeply, so you can turn him into as much of a villain as you want, because you have no need to think about that particular character so deeply. However, the rate at which this happens to Haizaki perfectly exemplifies how the same dynamic happens in real life, especially at schools. He has the outward characteristics of the person who is always the easiest to blame. Not that there isn't stuff to blame him for, it's just that when he gets blamed for more than his share, it becomes a vicious cycle. Not to say it would affect his likability to me even if he never grew less violent or got his shit together, because my like and dislike for fictional characters is not based on morality or whether or not I would like that character in real life. 😂 I didn't pay that much attention to him solely because I just overlooked his story as pretty been there done that. Any character depth he has is implied at best, because he's a side character. I would much rather see an actual depiction of the dynamics that get projected onto him. And you are doing that, so, I'm not complaining.

*I do think Haizaki is pretty silly, he's so macho but he's also kind of wishy-washy about it. Like, one minute he can be thundering on like any of the other macho characters but then his line for changing his mind and going like "you know what, not worth it, actually" is much lower. And somehow he gets depicted as pathetic for that, even though it may actually just be common sense and self-preservation.

*Honestly I need to remind myself that Haizaki exists, sometimes. I'm sorry. He just wasn't that compelling to me initially. I didn't demonise him (I'd like to think that I don't demonise anyone) I just wasn't interested enough. I knew there were reasons he acts the way he does but I didn't make actual effort to find out. You've done some good to me, reminding me that my perception is more limited than I would like, because I tend to pride myself for considering everyone's viewpoints. (Not 100% possible, but I try.)

*Well you said it, Haizadick is not an inaccurate term, no matter what way you look at it.

I didn't ship anyone with Haizaki because I didn't think about his life much before talking to you, so...

*Congrats, your Haizaki and his relationships are now basically canon to me. : D

*I just put that second tier text there because I imagine it's where the relationships that last a bit longer would go, and I think Haizaki just has many short relationships before maybe ending up with his end game.

*I mean I assume he has had fun short relationships with many girls.

*And probably many one-night stands.

*I literally just got it in my head that maybe he experimented with a guy once, while I was making this. He seems like a curious type even though I'm kind of assuming he's straight.

*Yeah, I theoretically get why these are ships but no I don't really get it, I would be lying if I said I truly deeply understood it.

I know my shipping tiers are a mix of "I actually root for it" and "I just sort of think it would happen" but that's what you get from me. : D

[fala-alfredo-pasta]

What are you thoughts on Soumaeda ? Personally , it’s one of my favorite rarepairs . I like the thought of Komaeda constantly being blunt with anything and everything . Just saying shit to say it and half the time Kazuichi is like okay babe lets get you back to the mental hospital and the other half bro is just a flustered mess . Love them .

Yknow I coulda sworn I’ve written about my thoughts on these two before but I think I’m confusing it for all the times I just….thought about them extensively in my head lololol as you can guess I love them so very very much.

Soumaeda is one of those ships where you’re like: “yeah this is going to become unbalanced real fast” and you wouldn’t really be wrong honestly (but I feel that applies to most Nagito ships tbh. My boi really be out here manipulating everyone aye). But I do think the honesty aspect is their strong point—though Kaz would be the one to be the most blunt when they’re talking to each other if their interaction in Dangan S is anything to go by haha. Which is actually very refreshing because it’s evident that Kazuichi feels comfortable enough to just straight up tell Nagito his unfiltered thoughts about him:

I feel like if Kazuichi truly was scared or intimidated of Nagito, there aint no damn way he would have just been that honest to a guy he’s alone with. And while that interaction seems counterintuitive to Soumaeda, I actually really like it because 1. Kazuichi corrects himself from saying it’s not Nagito he dislikes, it’s his ideology he can’t get behind which shows he’s thought about it enough to make that clear distinction. 2. Despite how miscommunicated they are Kaz still tries to make it clear to Nagito at the end that he DOESN’T want Nagito to not talk to him. Rather he wants Nagito to talk to him more but just as a regular person rather than an Ultimate. And 3. Kazuichi has evidently thought about Nagito quite a bit considering he’s had enough time to also see how similar they are and perhaps is part of the reason why he wants to understand Nagito and be actual friends.

If anything, it really just shows how much Kazuichi has grown in his opinion on Nagito and how much he really wants to give Nagito another chance. Now, all that’s left is for Nagito to be slightly less self-depreciating enough to realize how much Kazuichi wants to be on good terms with him.

And hey look, I talk a lot of smack about the anime but if there was anything truly wonderful that came out of it, it was Nagito’s OVA and how it basically showed how much he really really wanted to be besties with Kazuichi. Or even in the regular anime itself, Kaz states he always gets hurt by Nagito’s luck when he’s around (and just him specifically) and given that Nagito’s luck tends to target those he’s close too/really cares about, one could then imply that Kaz is someone Nagito thinks fondly of to often be on the receiving end of his luck cycles. Dr3 didn’t give us much but it did give us inklings of Soumaeda and for that I am grateful.

And you know me, I’m always hung up on those friendships that develop towards romance type of ships. Its the slow burn, the build up to the pining, to the confession—and god have I’ve imagined Soumaeda going through all that a lot hahaha!

Honestly @austajunk has some great thoughts on their dynamics that I didn’t even think about until we started talking about them at length. I wish I could find some direct links to their old Soumaeda text posts but alas tumblr does not make finding them easy. But I know they’re there! If anything you can probs send Austa an ask too I’m sure they won’t mind talkin’ bout Soumaeda haha.

[eriexplosion]

Cut and Run time

Early intro to Hunter and Echo's co-leading style where Hunter makes the calls but Echo tends to be the one he uses as a soundboard. No wonder he absolutely cannot function even more than before when Echo leaves.

I swear the Omega Discovers Dirt scene was just to flex with the dirt cloud animations.

I REALLY want to know how the batch met Cut. But also, Tech's SMILE and very very slight laughter undertone when saying "Why not? We're all deserters now." is giving me life. As is Echo's FACE OF REALIZATION here.

"Ma'am" Echo is the most polite and CUTEST PERSON ALIVE.

Okay I can never get over Cut's face falling into worried and then asking about Crosshair and he is SO sincere about it. The quiet subtle way that this informs Aftermath, even if you didn't see him in TCW it DOES tell you that Crosshair wasn't Always like that, and that Cut at least has a positive enough relationship with him to be concerned about him.

Also he absolutely is worried at first that Crosshair has been killed, you know he is, like, that is always going to be a risk with clones. Hearing that it's complicated and getting into mind control discussions isn't like GREAT but at least it's better than him having been killed during the war right

Omega though, just. Casually. OH HE MUST MEAN THE INHIBITOR CHIP :D She's so chipper about it. Like it was just a thing surely everyone knew. And then Tech backing her up with HOW ELSE DID YOU THINK IT WORKED? Ridiculous squad.

Honestly the expressions in this episode are fucking gold because the knowing smiles when Hunter nods for Omega to go ahead outside and Hunter's bewildered double take. He is not a parent. He swears.

He JUST MET THAT KID he's NOT a parent.

Anyway Cut's onto his bullshit.

OMEGA NOT KNOWING WHAT FUN IS THOUGH. BABY GIRL. Learning about dirt AND fun in one day.

Cut's single grey streak in his hair is gorgeous too, what a handsome man. He also looks like he's got a bit of dad bod going too.

Rampart is doing his very best customer service voice about chain codes. But even a glimpse at his face has me going BOO HISS BOO.

Now Omega gets to learn about mortal danger, it's a very busy day for this child. Cut's soft dadding has me Emotional. He's SO GENTLE.

"Tech do you think you can forge some chain codes?" "I only learned of them moments ago, but yes!" The way I adore him your honor.

The moment with Omega taking off her headpiece is so underrated, like despite how much she wants to be with the batch, Kamino was her home and this was a piece of her life that she already knows doesn't fit anymore. But even if it doesn't fit, it's still a lot to take it off and officially leave that behind her.

It's SENDING ME that Tech doesn't even actually say they should impound the ship he just sideways implies it and Echo picks it up IMMEDIATELY and then goes 'yeah okay' like we say that Echo carries the brain cell but when put into range of Tech that brain cell goes pinging off into the fucking distance like it was set next to an opposite charged magnet.

"YOU DID WHAT? T E E E E C H."

Hunter is just. YELLING INTO THAT COMM. HE IS SO MAD.

Full Of Rage

I love the Tech & Echo dynamic so fucking much, honestly, Tech being so chill and then Echo just. WE CAN'T GET CAUGHT AT ALL WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT??????

Like Echo, bby, you knew exactly what you were doing when you went along with this plan.

"Found her." The pointing really sells it.

"Well... We didn't let her go!" Followed up by Tech and Echo squabbling over removing the boot is so funny, this episode is SO fucking funny and I feel like we don't talk about how hilarious it is enough.

I admit part of why I want season 3 to have a portion where Echo and Tech are on their own together is because I adore the squabbling they're so fucking funny. When Echo asks if he wants to give it a try apparently he did because he was already outside to stun the guy that catches them.

Wrecker is so sweet and gentle with Omega I'm <3 The Boy.

Okay though the fact that Hunter literally did not tell Omega anything at all, just straight up said Nothing because it was going to be a hard conversation and Hunter will physically leap off a building before willingly having a hard conversation. And they do this to her REPEATEDLY because they didn't tell her about Echo leaving either in season two. No need to have hard discussions when you can just spring something on the child with no warning, right? Anyway, his avoidance is established so early and there's no way he gets through the whole of season 3 without being forced to confront it and willingly undertake a Difficult Thing without being forced into it.

THE FACT THAT HE DIDN'T EVEN HAVE THIS CONVERSATION WITH WRECKER presumably because Wrecker would have tried to talk him out of it because he's the first one that engages with Omega as an Individual and not like, the vague concept of a child.

Hoist your local Gonky for enrichment purposes

This is just such a sweet and sincere episode that also happens to be hilarious, I just really adore it.

[crystallinestars]

Hello! I'm back for another rant :)

I was still thinking about Mihoyo's tendency to pair characters and play the ambiguity game to make more money and something I've noticed is that people will jump through sooo many hoops to defend the company. ''oh they can't be explicit because of censorship'', ''oh it's China, their culture is different!'' or even ''stupid entitled westerners always complaining about things they don't even try to understand smh 🙄''

Now, while I can agree that censorship and culture should be taken into account when talking about these games, I also feel like it's a bit disingenuous and lowkey patronising to chalk it all up to ''the Chinese are just all like that lol''

Like, why are we so vehemently defending a company that makes millions (if not billions) through ship teasing, as you've put before? Censorship does not change the fact that the development that characters get in these games (especially Genshin) goes out the window every other event or as soon as the main story is finished. And whenever I hear someone talk about censorship, I always think about Mo Dao Zu Shi (granted, the situation was different in its case so we should take it with a grain of salt) where its donghua and drama adaptations where indeed censored (but they were much more explicit than whatever's going on in Hoyoverse), yet the novel (the source material) had many MANY chapters with its two male leads going at it

I admit that I've been feeling a bit salty recently (because I feel like people only care about coding when it comes to the 'great' questions of ''OK but do these two men FUCK? How many times a day do they go at it and who's the woman in this ship??'' Meanwhile nobody ever talks about different dynamics, asexuality and aromanticism are seen as boring, and oh lord does bisexuality seem to be often treated as a trump card to say ''ok but this character is at least 50% gay'') and I also don't know that much about how everything works in China, but idk, I guess my point is that if they wanted to make ships canon, they WOULD (or could) find a way to do so

Anyway, your recent posts and asks also got me thinking and I guess I wanted to show you some support! I've seen your bio and I think it's a really smart move on your part to be clear on what you don't feel comfortable with from the get go. It can definitely be awkward when you have to tell someone that's just really excited to share their thoughts on something they enjoy that you're not interested and you'd rather not talk about this AT ALL. And it really does not help that popular ships tend to attract a lot of unhinged behaviour 😑 It's really refreshing to come across content creators like you, who are very clear in their boundaries and write such thoughtful fics

Once again, I hope you will be left to do your own thing in peace and that you'll keep finding ways and solutions for you to enjoy your favourite works without feeling alienated 💜

(And hopefully one day I will learn how to type short rants 😅)

Haha, short rants don't exist, Anon! It's perfectly okay to type long rants to me, I don't mind. If anything, I relish in them. As someone who rants and complains a lot myself, I welcome it when someone else does it. 😊 (I mean, just look at the length of my reply. I am not any better than you, dear Anon)

Lord, the "Mihoyo can't show explicit gay ships because of the CCP censorship" excuse grates on my nerves, as well. Censorship of homosexuality is definitely a thing in China, and it can sometimes be very horrible, but that's not what's stopping Mihoyo from making certain ships canon. They got way with a lot of lesbian ships in Honkai 3rd (though admittedly they had to tone it down once new laws were implemented, but the fact remains that at some point they were able to be blatant about their ships), and if we're talking actual coding, then Jeht being lesbian-coded is a thing that exists! If it was such a huge deal, I feel like Mihoyo would have either been way more subtle about it or not included these things at all.

It's just my personal opinion, but I'm certain that the reason Mihoyo doesn't make any ship canon is for the sake of making money. They need to sell characters, and the best way to do that is to allow players to enjoy characters the way they want. Assigning a specific sexuality or canon ship will crush the interpretations some players have about a character, and make that character unappealing. It would negatively impact their sales. Keeping things vague and only giving teases of the most popular ships seems to be the ideal marketing tactic for them. It panders to a lot more people this way and keeps most of them happy (however, the fact remains that they ignore a particular demographic of women, though that's a story for another time).

Regarding your reasons why people whip out the "coding" card... YOU ARE SO RIGHT! People only use sexuality coding as a way to "prove" their gay ship is canon and discredit any BG pairing. And they focus on things like one guy being muscular and the other more slender, and then assigning traditionally masculine and feminine traits to them, respectively. I could go on a whole separate rant about this topic, but I'll spare you the wall of text. Feminizing one of the guys in a gay ship is one of my biggest pet peeves, especially when it's OOC for the character.

One thing I noticed is that sexuality often gets used as a convenient tool to suit the needs of certain shippers instead of being used for actual diversity.

I can't tell you the amount of times I saw a sexuality tier list where the aromantic and asexual rows were treated as trash bins where people tossed the characters they didn't care about. There's no actual thought put into the sorting, and that's very unfair to actual aro and ace persons.

As for bisexuality... it's such a polarizing topic in fandoms. It's seen as a good thing when you have a canonical BG pairing, because then you can claim one or both are bi and therefore are also attracted to the same sex (as you said, they're "at last 50% gay" and can be shipped in gay pairings). However, if you have a non-canon BL or GL ship, saying one or both characters are bi is tantamount to treason. How dare you suggest they can be attracted to the opposite sex? That's erasing the gay representation!

Basically, bisexuality, much like the term "coding", gets treated like a tool that's allowed to exist only when it's convenient to a person, instead of as an actual sexuality real people have. I feel like bi, aroace, and pansexual people get shafted hard in fandoms in general.

Anyways, thank you for your support, Anon! I mentioned it in another post, but putting your likes and dislikes in the bio is a common practice in the Eastern part of the world, and I chose to copy that. I think it's a good way to meet people with similar interests while also letting those who have opposite interests avoid you. If the BL Anon had checked my bio first before following me, he could have spared himself some trouble haha. Sadly, it seems that many don't look at bios 😢

Thank you for your nice sentiments! I'm fairly confident that I won't be harassed, especially not in the reader-insert community, but I appreciate the thought! And hopefully I can find a way to combat the alienation... If not, then I'll simply uninstall both HSR and Genshin and find games that actually pander to me 😅

May you stay happy and free of harassment as well, dear Anon! 💚

[markersmadness]

OTP PROMPTS ೄྀ

If you're brainrotting, here are some situations & scenarios that can help with writer's block, or just are fun to imagine!

A = Typically the character struggling in angsty prompts, perhaps the stubborn person in the relationship. Usually the main focus in a 3rd person POV!

B = Typically a stoic character. May be better at hiding their feelings, or have a complex psyche especially. Usually the perspective in a 1st person POV!

[ Whatever characters you envision never have to fit these tropes, they're just a general outline as to what these prompts work best for! The roles reverse occasionally for ships with other dynamics or dynamics where both characters share the descriptors listed. You're more than welcome to use a prompt here without credit, but I'd love to see anything made based off these prompts! ]

❀•°•═════ஓ๑♡๑ஓ═════•°•❀

A comes out as [identity/sexuality]. This idea can be elaborated upon in many ways! Perhaps it makes B realize they actually have a chance, or that they don't know A as well as A knows them. Did A not have a choice? Perhaps B could be comforting A after being distraught that they had been outed. Was it a drunk confession? One that only happened after a series of very 🌈 things, and/or is very overdue? The possibilities are endless! If you're more of a hurt/no comfort person, consider if B didn't like them that way or was discriminative. Or A was murdered or hate crimed for it, bullied, etc. Think about how A would handle it, and how would B react to A's reaction?

The gold ol' sickfic in which A falls ill. A great fluff, angst, hurt/comfort or even a hurt/no comfort. Fuck it, a smut fic in some cases! Consider what reasons your character probably got sick; Overworking, laziness (not being hygienic), staying out in the rain too long, just getting sick during that time of the year, having a weak immune system, mental problems that had/have physical symptoms, was unlucky and got a chronic illness, eating habits, family genetics, perhaps even faking being sick for B's attention! Consider how B would react to this information- or if they'd even know this information about the other, and if A would tell them. Would B pick up on the clues, or be oblivious to the other's sickness? How would B care for them? Would B be more soft, or be angry with them for getting sick? What stage of their relationship are they in? If you struggle to write a sick character, I suggest scrolling through the sickfic tag!

Note: While most sickfics show a dynamic where B is a caretaker and only listening and tending to A, there are lots of other possibilities! B could get into an argument with A because A refuses to rest, or argue because B doesn't know how to explain that they're in love with A and that's why it's important to them that A is happy and healthy without confessing. A could feel burdensome and force themself to get better (which could backfire), or B could be absolute dogshit at caretaking (babe I made you soup but I burnt the everything) (shit this ice pack is warm as fuck) (I'm sorry dude I fucked up your assignments while you were resting), etc.

Jealousy. While it's a overused trope, it is still a good one! Typically portrayed as B being protective over A, I find it is more fun to write when both are jealous for each other. Or when the jealous character hasn't come to terms with their feelings ("I'm not in love but when my "friend" flirts with someone else I feel really mad for no reason at all hahaha what"). Did A make B jealous on purpose, or by mistake? Maybe A is the emotional hotheaded one, or the jokester, whilst B is more reclusive and gentle, making their uncharacteristic anger (read; jealous) that much more evident. Or it could be A whose jealous, as B is simply chilling and talking to someone, and now it isn't a joke when A comments that "don't get too friendly I might get jealous!" They could also be rivals if you like ETL, making their jealousy even more confusing for them because why would I ever feel jealous about them..?! That's so weird whattt...

Jealousy is used a lot in every aspect of fanfiction. I find it best enjoyed as angst, but wholesome reassurance fluff is also a huge fan favorite of a lot of people I know- ("I only like you, so don't worry", etc.) Smut, of course, plays on jealousy as well. But make sure to keep in mind jealousy isn't the same as possessiveness! Protective characters can be more prone to jealousy, using B as an example, who wants to protect their loved ones, but then why does it hurt when someone is protecting A, and it isn't them? Humor is also used in jealousy, as watching a character slowly get hotheaded or act stupidly or comedically from their jealousy is also fun to read. Do consider when writing (if you want to!) if B comes off as overbearing or jealous, or both? Write them the way you want them to come off, as readers can feel uncomfortable if possessiveness or other toxic traits are passed off as jealousy. And it's also interesting to read about a character who thinks it's just jealousy! However, make sure to properly tag your works if on ao3, or add TWs on other platforms so they know what they're reading :)

❀•°•═════ஓ๑♡๑ஓ═════•°•❀

That's all I have right now! If this gets a lot of likes or if anyone wants more tropes / ideas like this I'd be happy to make a part 2. I've been brainrotting so much I've run through these scenarios like 30 times over, so I'm making this guide for myself as well so I can stop repeating the same fanfic in my head (>_<)

[violetlunette]

Do you still like Erasermic? Is there anything you dislike about this ship?

Oh, I still adore Erasermic! I love the dynamic in canon when they’re together, and I think there’s a lot of potential and fun fanon-wise.

Notes: *Very slight Shinsou critical and Eri Critical (very slight) *A bit lengthy *All opinion based

Erasermic is my favorite pairing of BNHA (with Erasernight as a close second). I love how on the surface they’re opposites but when you look at them they have a lot in common;

They both value their loved ones more than anything and are protective of them, are more intelligent than others give them credit for, and both like cats. They are both passive (Mic more than Aizawa, as the latter will take the lead if placed in a position where he has to), and both wear black. (They also have similar smiles.)

While not often seen, the two share respect and admiration for one another. Mic admires Aizawa’s underdog tendencies and how he overcomes his weaknesses. Mic, on other hand, is the only Aizawa actively reaches out to for help, such as watching over his kids at the hospital and getting the doctor to help Oboro. (He also has a fair knowledge of Hizashi’s skills.) And the opposite traits are a good contrast like how gold stands out against black and vice versa which can be fun for conflict and whatnot.

What I don’t like? Well, petty things out of the way first;

I don’t like how, in fanon, Shinsou and Eri are always the Erasemic kids. In fact, I hate it. Shinsou is too much like Aizawa to be interesting, and I just don’t like him personality-wise. Eri is a character that I don’t like for meta reasons (she just has too many writing tropes that I hate). And on top of that, there's nothing character-wise to build on. I can buy Aizawa as an uncle to Eri, but that’s it. (Plus, big brother Mirio is superior and one of the few good things that came of the Overhaul Arc.)

The reason I like the Class 1-A kids as the Erasermic children (with a few exceptions) is they all have their own personalities and can offer far more interesting interactions with both parties. (Again, in my opinion. This is clearly a matter of different tastes.)

I also dislike how fanon seems to play up Hizashi as being a pure-hearted beam of sunshine, who is always happy and just a saint. Don’t get me wrong Mic has a good heart and is caring toward others but he’s not a saint. He plays favorites, he’s petty at times, he holds grudges, he gets bitter, and he’s willing to kill to protect the ones he loves.

And while we’re on the subject, Aizawa isn’t a saint either. Again, he has a good heart, but he’s more than willing to torture someone and—in his own words-- “deal with things quietly.” Don’t get me wrong, those things are a last resort but they are willing to do what they have to.

I also dislike it when they overpower Mic. Yes, he has a powerful quirk and can throw a mean punch, but in hand-to-hand combat, Aizawa can take him. (Also, fanfic writers screw this up, but Mic’s quirk is VOICE. This means that it’s always active, so when Aizawa uses erasure it MUTES him. It doesn't turn the volume down or force him to talk normally. A minor annoyance, but still.)

But I’m getting way off topic.

The major problem I have with the pair is that’s in canon is that Mic has to do all the legwork in their relationship. Mic is the one always reaching out, offering comfort, offering support that’s physical, emotional, and mental. Yet on the few occasions, he reaches out and wants the same support, he’s shot down. And don’t misunderstand, I’m not saying that Aizawa is a bad friend and I get why he tends to shoot Mic down at times. Mic can take care of himself most of the time, and the times he reaches out are times when Aizawa isn’t able to deal with his own pain, so he’s not able to offer the comfort Hizashi needs. I just wish we got to see more of Aizawa reaching out and being a friend to Hizashi, showing he cares. Right now we get snippets that he appreciates him, but even then Mic is lumped in with Oboro.

When he thinks about what he wants to protect he thinks of a young Hizashi with Oboro. Then the one time he reaches out to Mic he turns it to saving Oboro. Then later, when Aizawa’s talking to Mic and requests that Mic help Koda and Shoji, he’s also requesting he protect Oboro as well.

And I get it with all three, I do;

In the first scene, he’s thinking back to the time he was happiest and in the second, they had just come back from seeing Kurogiri and were talking about the hospital raid (and he makes sure to say that if Mic goes, he’ll go too). And with the third, again, it was the situation.

However, what I want is to see Aizawa caring about Mic and Mic alone, like we see Mic caring about Aizawa. Right now, he seems to be lumped with Oboro in Aizawa’s mind.

And again, Mic does more for Aizawa than the latter does for him. Seriously, if you think about it the scale is very unbalanced.

So, to sum it up;

Fanon things I don’t like about Erasermic:

*Shinsou and Eri as their kids (they don’t appeal to me as characters, and the interactions they, in canon or can have potentially, are meh with both.)

*Hizashi and Aizawa are too out of character or too saintified (or bastardized in some cases)

“Canon” things I don’t like about Erasermic:

*Mic does all the lifting in the relationship

*At times it looks like Aizawa is always mentally lumping Hizashi with Oboro. (Very minor and overthinking.)

[paperandhis-paper]

Arc-V Day 6 and 7

I'm a bit behind. Please @arcvmonth, spare me. Don't turn me into a card.

Anyway, for Understudy Spotlight I wanna briefly talk about Roger. I say briefly, because I'll save most of my thoughts for the Villains Prompt. For now, I gotta say, he's my vote for most underrated Yugioh bad guy. I LOVE villains who think they're hot shit, but turn out to be nothing but smug snakes. Plus, his voice actor NAILS his breakdowns. I was surprised to see so many people disliked him (probably Shōnen fans who can't accept a villain that isn't super-duper powerful). Finally, I love me some Disney Villain Deaths.

Anyway, Day 7: Of Amores, Per the Prophecy

Oh boy, does Arc-V have some banger ships. Some of my faves:

Fruitshipping:

Main-guy with Main-girl ships in most Shōnen anime tend to hit with the force of a wet fart, with Yugioh being no different. This is because they fall under the trap of making the girl be the only one who constantly thinks of protagonist-kun, whereas the MC is usually only thinking about fighting, eating, and their male rival who they're totally-not-gay-with.

Therefore, it's wild that these two idiots enamored the Arc-V so much as they, and it was via the use of a very simple trick: have both parties be clearly interested in one another. Seriously, Arc-V turns into an epic, interdimensional romantic drama from Season 2, and it's so strange for a franchise like Yugioh (even if it already happened in GX). Yuya spends as much time thinking about Yuzu as she does about him, and that's so refreshing.

One thing I love about this ship is how much they emphasize that the distance between them doesn't diminish their bond. In fact, it's the opposite, when they're separated that their feelings are most in display. Yuzu's duel with Chojiro is one such example: despite not being allowed near one another, Yuzu still had her feelings reach him.

Them being enemies in their past lives but lovers in this one also adds an extra element of brainrot for me.

Appleshipping and Fallenangelshipping:

I wanna re-emphasize this: we NEED more F/M ships where the guy is completely, stupidly in love with the girl. This applies more to appleshipping admittedly; seeing Yugo explode with joy from seeing Rin will never stop melting my heart. Male characters in anime are often shy of showing physical affection toward their love interests, but not Banana-boy. Plus, imagining how they grew up in poverty is interesting.

Serenadeshipping:

OMG THIS SHIP IS SO GOOD. LIKE I KNOW I HAVE MASSIVE YURI BIAS BECAUSE LOVE LIVE FAN BUT STILL. Ok so you obviously got badass and serious Serena with ray-of-sunshine Yuzu, so the dynamic is fun from the get-go. But we also have the fact that Yuzu became one of, if not the, first friends Serena's ever had. Plus there's the "changing clothes" scene and I'm sure you could do some gay awakening shit.

Also Yuzu is so happy upon seeing Serena late in the series. Just look at her!

And then when Serena betrays them she's so sad. DAMN IT ARC-V, THIS IS FROM THE FREAKING CAPTAIN SOLO EPISODE, WHY IS MY HEART IN PIECES?!

(Extra angst when you consider this is the last time they spoke before getting thrown into Arc-V)

Finally, I imagine she'd be happy to forever be with Yuzu at the end of the series

Lustershipping:

similar dynamic as Serenade, but with a rival-to-lovers tint. It's just cute, mmkay? Aesthetically, this is one of my favorites, Masumi's design is great

Genesishipping:

Sometimes, ships are more interesting for what they don't tell you than for what they do. The showrunners left the nature of Zarc and Ray's relationship ambiguous, which means there's a lot of possible avenues to take it. Enemies to Lovers? Sure, go ahead. Enemies that become lovers because of their new incarnations' unique souls? Works too.

Plus Zarcray fans make some Fire content.

Honorable Mentions: Guiltshipping, Candyshipping, Emblemshipping, Braceletshipping,

[rockybloo]

Something interesting about Jack and Nana and the Red Beans ship in general is how their kids jump between being canon and being a "what if" compared to my other couples.

Jack and Nana don't have children on their "plans for the future" list and are perfectly satisfied just being together by themselves. Both are great with kids but they've never had it as a thing they are like "WE GOTTA HAVE THEM".

Originally, the concept of them having kids was actually an AU. And sometimes it still is while other times it's a peek into the way distant future of their lives. It really depends on my mood. But it's also because of how detached it is from Beanstalked-like it doesn't even happen within the course of the story like with Pluto and Nova. And it isn't even a "future thing that if they time traveled, they'll meet their kids" thing either.

It's jumping between the thing line of a "what if" and "eventually"

Hell, even Sweetheart and Bitterbat's kids are a distant "eventually" that I don't necessarily plan on touching on in comic really except maybe a few very specific circumstances. But it's so far down the line-not as far as Jack and Nana's what if kids but it's off the course of the main story where its focus is just on Bitterbat and Sweetheart.

Pluto and Nova are honestly the only ship I have where their kid happens IN story. Not in the distant future-it is literally a key plot point. And that's because of how important Comet is which is def based on their weird af conception because Nova never actually gives traditional birth. Pluto and Nova have to basically science project him together after discovering there's left overs of the alien goop that made Pluto. And rather than lock it away where it couple possibly fall into the wrong hands-they decided to just use it so they never have to worry about someone making a bigger and badder Pluto.

I think a big factor of why the whole kids timeline is so inconsistent for the other two ships, especially Red Beans, is because I myself have zero plans of having kids. So I tend to write characters who want them in a way that makes sense to me.

Sweetheart and Bittertbat want them because they love each other and they'd love to have a family together because of how much they love each other. It's basically the result of their adoration for each other. And it's not even a "WE HAVE TO HAVE KIDS" thing, they do have a talk about it first and when they both realize the other is ok with having them-it all takes off from their with the entire "oh yeah we're having 12 kids in the future" which winds up being 13 because...well this is Sweetheart and Bitterbat we're talking about.

Pluto and Nova have Comet because, as I explain, he's a good solution to a problem that could have dangerous results if unsolved. And the kid don't even behave like a traditional kid. Like-he is very smart and can mimic voices. He's more like a little chibi fusion of his parents than a baby compared to the other ship kids.

Jack and Nana don't have a goal of having kids nor are they a solution to anything. They are just kids that could happen. They also could not happen. It once again is up to them...and me. So for me, that often translates to "yeah these kids are basically a What If for them" because once again, I write these parent dynamics in a way I can understand. And if a ship is neutral about their stance on having kids-then I also am so it makes sense that their is a future with them and a future without.

[sapphosewrites]

7, 9, 13, 17, 23 for violence asks

Woohoo, here we go! (Choose violence ask game here)

7. what character did you begin to hate not because of canon but because how how the fandom acts about them?

I answered here about Kelas Parmak, who barely exists in canon, yet an active fandom has appeared for him. I thought about saying Ziyal, but really canon is the foundation of my antipathy towards her, and my issue with fandom is that sometimes I feel like everyone else watched a different tv show than I did in terms of how interesting they find her.

9. worst part of canon

...Oh I have SO many possible answers here. Is it Jadzia's romance in Meridian? Is it the death of women to serve men's stories? Is it Section 31 and Julian becoming a torturer in ways that are never sufficiently addressed? The inconsistency? Kira/Odo?

I'm going to take this moment to complain about Kira/Odo, I think. Because I'm an asexual aromantic person and my worst nightmare is my friends having crushes on me. It's inevitably awkward and uncomfortable and unpleasant because they want something I fundamentally can't give, and I feel like the rug has been pulled out from under me because a friendship I enjoyed and valued wasn't what I thought it was. So I don't love the situation to begin with, and then I just never felt like they had their best scenes, interactions, or even versions-of-self while they were involved with each other.

13. worst blorboficiation

I feel like this question is just asking "who tends to get characterized in a way you disagree with," unless there's nuance I'm missing? If that's the case, I talked about a characterization of Garak that baffles me here. If it just means character that everyone is turning into a little pet and I don't know why, Weyoun. Or Damar/Weyoun specifically in combination with each other. I find a surprising number of those posts are nigh on incomprehensible, and seem less informed by canon and more informed by some kind of collective fever dream that occurred while under the influence of psychoactive substances. I know we all like the defector Weyoun, but there are people who have a deep and abiding love for all iterations of him that I will never understand. Probably this is the same group of people who find Jeffrey Combs attractive, which is a subset of humanity I also do not belong to.

17. there should be more of this type of fic/art

I think I'd like to see more fic that explores the question "what if Garak lied about that". I'm definitely guilty of accepting a certain set of things as fact- such as Mila being Garak's mom, which isn't even from canon- and then never deviating, but fandom as a whole is more dynamic and interesting when we explore different interpretations, and Garak in particular is at his best when we don't take anything for granted and allow him to be a thorny question.

ALSO, art and fic about religion in Trek! A hundred years ago I said I'd do a challenge for it and I'd still like to. Fuck Gene Roddenberry on this point specifically.

23. ship you've unwillingly come around to

heavy sigh Quark and Odo. They really are just weirdly meant for each other.

Also a good part of the-last-dillpickle's oeuvre feels at times deliberately devoted to getting me to ship things against my will. (I say this as a form of affectionate and respectful praise.)

[bluesadansey]

🔥 + anything tvdu!

this turned more originals centered since Ik I talk about it the least so less of my opinions are recorded/known so that tracks.

I generally enjoy (the girls) no humanity arcs despite their messiness

my ranking of Klaus popular ships that are some level of canon at this point is probably Klayley>Klaurora>Klaroline>>Klamille, I ship the former 3 to different degrees although none is necessarily otp levels.

I’m really neutral on Camille overall I think she’s unfairly hated but I also couldn’t get properly interested in her, she and Davina are probably the two major female TVDu chars that interest me the least even though I don’t have anything against them but I connected to Rebekah Hayley Freya and Aurora all a lot more (even if I find some of the changes to characterization re: the former two from TVD to TO less compelling esp Rebekah I think we agree on this).

I do think Aurora x Camille served a little

Freya and Klaus had at least top 2 most interesting Mikaelson’s relationships to me (Klaus and Rebekah’s best hits are more insane but I probably liked the arc for him and Freya better).

I sort of bounced around on how I felt about MG x Lizzie while legacies aired I liked them most in late s2 when they had some scenes I thought served but everything before and after was meh and the get together in s4 was embarrassing.

Josie x Rafael was underrated and could’ve been good… they’re like Margo x Quentin for me in that it’s not a ship I’m mad about but it was good and compelling esp compared to canon ships and I think it could have saved us from worse things had it been considered seriously. Anyway that siphon kiss moment goes hard 

This is barely about TVDu but reading the locked tomb has given me ideas for how insanely good the merge storyline could have been if the writers knew what they were doing and (I love the Saltzman twins dynamic this is well documented) how great the Saltzman twins dynamic could be if it was more like Ianthe and Coronabeth…. Like society one of the twins had siphoned the other twins love interest or someone they cared about deeply and ended the merge that way and then the other twin was jealous of not being siphoned from/killed. The s2 not merge is like even more boring to me now that I have this comparison point

I enjoy Elena and Caroline about equally when I’m watching the show or who I gravitate towards more depends on the storyline or part of the show but I tend to find Elena more interesting to dissect when I’m just thinking about the show and also Caroline’s fandom can be… yeah so I think that leads me to gravitate towards Elena more recently/currently.

maybe less unpopular now based on that poll but s2 is the best TVD season. I love a lot of things in s3 and s6 but both also have more issues s2 is when there was a good balance.

TO s3 was definitely the most engaging TO season for me it’s no secret that I actually struggle to be engaged by TO the most out of the shows, at different points I’ve definitely mused in the tags about why that is but ultimately I think it might just be a me thing without deeper reasoning lolz. But s3 was where I was most entertained. (less sure how popular or unpopular this is since I don’t see a lot of ‘season’ discussions like I do for TVD)

thank you for the ask! might come back and add to this when I’m in a more *yapping about tvdu* mood than I’m in rn.