here-i-am-again-god

[here-i-am-again-god]

Most Popular*** Descendants Ships

I love me some statistics so I did some number crunching so I could add an update to OP's July post for 12/22/2024 :D My apologies in advance for the wack-ass colors. I'm a statistician, not a graphic designer.

*** "Most Popular" is a label that's difficult to claim for data collection reasons. More on that below.

Total fics at time of study: 9421

Anyway, no changes too drastic from OP's July data except for the notable rise in the Chloe/Red pairing (for obvi reasons).

*I did not include any platonic ships in the charts, but they were in the top relationships. I also did not filter them out in my searches so as not to confound the results by filtering out side friendships also tagged. 

For anyone who isn't familiar with the ao3 filter system, filtering out a ship will remove all fics with that ship--including something tagged in the background. For example, say you've got a Harry/Uma fic that also tags Ben/Mal in the background though they're not the focus of the story. By filtering out Ben/Mal, that fic gets taken out too.

Now, with this in mind, I also ran the same numbers minus Ben/Mal, just to see how the rankings shifted.

Total fics at time of study: 7817

As you can see, excluding Ben/Mal doesn't just affect Ben/Mal, but also changes the proportion for other pairings that often include/tag Ben/Mal in their fics and vice versa.

The side pairings filter process I explained above is my guess as to why Doug/Evie is 5 overall but drops down to 8th place (with Ben/Mal as the invisible #1 in the second chart) and Jane/Carlos disappears entirely from the top contenders: because they're often tagged as a background pairing for Ben/Mal. Certain ships that move together will always be most heavily affected by my taking out their "anchor." When I removed Evie/Mal AND Ben/Mal, Jay/Carlos dropped significantly too because it's often paired with Evie/Mal.

With this ALSO in mind (and if I haven't bored you already), I pulled the data on fics with only one pairing tagged for the fic.

Total fics at time of study: 3767

When I looked at the fics with only one relationship listed, these were the results. Yet I have another caveat--this also does not reflect the true number of fics centered on these pairings, because there are plenty of fics that center on one of the pairings from the original list but also list side pairings that won't be reflected here. 

Once again, I'll emphasize that Ben/Mal, Doug/Evie, and Jane/Carlos are more likely to be listed together, as are Evie/Mal and Jay/Carlos, so they will be disadvantaged here. Chloe/Red will be disproportionately high in this chart because (as I understand it) there aren't many prominent side pairings from the new franchise compared to the originals (though someone who has seen the new series or involved in the fandom is welcome to contradict me, I really know next to nothing about it). 

So what's the most popular ship then???

The (perhaps disappointing) answer is there's no way of knowing the true proportion of fics dedicated to which pairing, since pulling that data would require reading every fic (or at the very least, its summary) to ascertain which pairing it centers on and, guys, I have a real job and this is for funsies. 

That being said, if you have any questions about this or other data you're curious about or just generally feel that all statistics are made up and I'm full of shit, feel free to lmk :D

Happy writing and happy reading <3

[here-i-am-again-god]

Fandom: The Descendants

Sample Size: 6,614 stories

Source: AO3

[here-i-am-again-god]

[here-i-am-again-god]

[here-i-am-again-god]

They invent you and accuse you.

Descendants 1 (2015) Kenny Ortega // Selected Plays of Hélène Cixous // Might be Elektra by Sophocles? // Stop Me- Natalia Kills // Chemtrails Over the Country Club - Lana Del Ray // Poplar Street- Chen Chen // A Hymn to Childhood (Edited differently) - LiYoung Lee // Take you down - Amanda Fagan // Queen of Shadows - Sarah J. Maas //

This was focusing on all four and their journey, it was lots of fun!!

[here-i-am-again-god]

All this arguing over Mals best hairstyle and I never see my fave :(

I love the curls and the straight bangs, she looks so cute with them <3

[here-i-am-again-god]

yes I should be writing yes I should be writing yes I should be writing yes I should be--

[here-i-am-again-god]

[here-i-am-again-god]

[here-i-am-again-god]

Background Carlos is the star of these actually. You can always count on him to be making A Face.

[here-i-am-again-god]

Jay should have been Mal's closest friend

The movies REALLY lean into the idea of Evie being Mal's best friend, even though in the first film they don't even act that close. They say they have a "sister" relationship, and ignore the potential of a sibling like relationship for Jay and Mal.

The books tell us that Jay and Mal have stuck by each others sides, but in the movies they don't have many moments. Jay and Carlos are paired off, and Evie and Mal are paired off.

I mean, just look at the differences in their relationships. Sure, in the first film the girls build a friendship, but in the second? Evie ignores Mal's cries for help. Her friends is DROWNING, and she just adds to the pressure. She's more concerned about Mal's DRESS, and even then she ignores when Mal says that she can't breathe. She's trying to get her to stop using magic, despite knowing that Mal isn't just a fae but also Hades daughter (in other words, no human in her at ALL), which is something I have issues with as well but that's a different post. She's even the one who pulls Mal away from Carlos and Jay, who have arguably known Mal (friends for Jay's case) much longer than her, and even seemed upset when Carlos called them back. That's a red flag, right?

(Also, what was that thing about pulling her away from Ben?? Twice?? At times when Ben and Mal are saying goodbye, no less. It's not like they're going off somewhere or anything.)

And the third film... just didn't sit right? I don't know how to explain it.

As for Jay, and more of this is from the second movie but the third does have its moments, he seems to care more. He's protective of Mal, he's always right there. He's the one that says he'll take her back to the Isle (and I'm certain he'd stay, I can't see him leaving her there). He's been her friend since they were little. Why didn't we get to see them more? Is Disney against male-female friendships or something?

I'm not saying there's anything wrong with Evie as a character, I just don't think the girls work as best friends.

[here-i-am-again-god]

on some bal specific bullshit

[here-i-am-again-god]

Hey- you ever seen the Docks without the green screen?

LOOK AT IT, ALL THOSE LITTLE DETAILS

It’s all so detailed and seeing it all up close is just !!!!!!!!

I’m sorry, I’m just a massive movie nerd and love seeing how things like these are made so I think these photos are SO COOL

And hey, maybe these can help you find some cool details to add in your fanfics

[here-i-am-again-god]

[here-i-am-again-god]

Literally, who stands up for Ben in the Descendants movies?

Chip who could have been a big brother was not used. Left out the movies completely.

Emir and Ahkio his best friends are background characters and aren't given any lines or interactions with Ben.

His PARENTS are UNFIT DNA DONORS who LET him get talked down to and ripped into!

The movies did not give Ben ONE person from Auradon that supported him and was in his corner, no questions asked. No one told Ben he was doing the right thing, giving the VK's a chance. No one had his back or was willing to see if the idea rose or fell. No one believed in Ben

When Ben finally does get one person who was/is willing to support him and believe in him, (Mal) she's called EVIL AND TOXIC and everyone is trying to pull/get him away from her!

I just...how did Ben NOT have a BREAKDOWN?

[here-i-am-again-god]

listen, i love harry as much as the next girl right? but i am done pretending that ben wasn't an absolute catch, like look at this cutie

i get audrey cause if this was my boyfriend and the daughter of the woman who tried to kill my mother stole him from me by giving him a love potion i'd be bitter and angry too. anyway, this is my official coming out as a ben girlie.

[here-i-am-again-god]