#(and yeah completely agree too about the victim-perpetrator factor being most of the characters in this show)

[pynkhues]

In response to the post on ship popularity, as a devils minion fan who isn’t into a lot of the fandom takes and fanfic (not hating, it’s just not for me) I 100% agree these characters are constantly being defanged. The irony, for me, is the reason I like DM in the first place is the horror. It’s messy and problematic and, when all of that is leaned into, it’s so much fun. Armand is so engaging in the 70s flashback because he’s simultaneously incredibly powerful and incredibly insecure and he is very much making it everyone’s problem (but mostly Daniel’s haha). It’s just not as effective if he isn’t actually threatening when torturing this rando over whether or not he’s boring.

I think sometimes it’s hard for fandom to balance the idea that a character can be both a victim and an abuser across different relationships. Which is rough for this show because that’s at least half the characters lol.

I also have a private theory that Louis ships are just not super popular for some reason which kills me because I also love Loumand (extra toxic edition where everyone makes each other miserable but no one will ever leave) and DanLou (or whatever the ship name is), both past and present, because it’s entertaining as hell and low key kind of chill relative to other dynamics? Like it’s not a great big love affair or anything but they get each other, you know? Like it’s the same weird brand of humor.

(x)

I totally agree with you on all counts, especially the horror elements of Armand and Daniel being what makes them so appealing, haha.

And yeah, I mean, @hypermania actually touched on it in her reblog of my post, but I agree with her take that there's a racist sentiment in fandom that Blackness is harder for fan creators to ignore in both writing fic and meta than other races are (I mean, god, look at a cultural juggernaut like Bridgerton where there is almost five times as many Anthony x Kate fics as there are Daphne x Simon - - I think there are other elements at play there too [like, I've written Anthony x Kate, but probably wouldn't ever write Daphne x Simon], but the sheer difference in quantity especially given Daphne x Simon's initial popularity is....telling to me). I think that contributes to (white) people feeling Armand's easier to write (or even that they have more quote-unquote 'permission' to write him in whatever way they want to).