#A lot of opposing-politics-ships have the dynamic

[maxdibert]

i saw that you used to read dramione fics and cool with hermione/krum

do you think that as a romantic ship ron is not a match with hermione? or any thoughts on ron weasley in general?

For me, the dynamic is everything in a ship. I have very specific preferences when it comes to the kind of dynamic that hooks me between two characters or the types of personalities I like. Enemies to Lovers has always been something I really enjoy, mainly because I’m a sucker for drama. I mean, I love the hard stuff: different worlds, countries at war, opposing political/social positions. The characters don’t necessarily need to be enemies, but there has to be some element that puts them on opposite sides and creates drama.

I also really love power couples—characters who are both A+ in the same field, complement each other to become even more brilliant, and have this push-and-pull dynamic with unresolved sexual tension.

In general, I’m very into the idea of two characters who have lived a lot, come from vastly different backgrounds, have been through a lot of crap, and then suddenly meet, and bam! It’s almost like a coincidence because they wouldn’t normally have crossed paths, but they do, and something unexpected comes out of it. That’s the kind of feeling I just don’t get from childhood friends to lovers. It’s something that bores me so much. I know it’s a trope many people enjoy, and I understand why, but to me, it feels super bland. Even more so if one of the characters doesn’t seem to deserve the other, like Ron, who, to me, acts like a jerk to Hermione several times. Plus, his family feels like some kind of cult.

Honestly, I think Hermione should’ve married someone in her 30s—maybe a politician or someone highly intellectual who could challenge her mentally. I picture her as a modern 21st-century woman, not just another Weasley baby-maker. I really can’t stand the Weasleys in general; they seem super toxic and have this traditional family dynamic that repels me. I firmly believe Hermione and Ron would have ended up divorcing before their 40s, once their two kids were at Hogwarts and they were left alone at home without them.

But to answer your question more directly: No, I think Ron is a boring match for Hermione. There’s no tension, just silly and childish arguments. There’s no passion, no je ne sais quoi. At least Viktor/Hermione is cute. I like it for that reason. Krum is this international star but super introverted, chased by all the girls, and suddenly he notices the one who doesn’t care about him and asks her out before anyone else. I think it’s adorable. A wholesome teenage romance that makes you smile. But honestly, since the fourth book, Ron has grossed me out in general. I see zero chemistry between him and Hermione. I imagine them having super mediocre sex, honestly, lol.

[goddessofroyalty]

I'm falling back into X-men: First Class stuff again thanks to the Deadpool x Wolverine movie and I had kind of forgotten how much I love the very specific dynamic of the Erik x Charles relationship where I watch Erik do some borderline supervillain stuff going "fuck yeah! Good for you!" and then watch Charles ream into Erik calling him out for said behaviour and/or the shit Erik has done to him personally going "fuck yeah! Good for you!"

Original X-men movie dynamics is much more the (normal) dynamic of wanting them to set aside their differences and find a way to progress their cause together. But First Class is all about the anger behind their actions being completely justified but also oh so very entertainingly messy.

[trekmupf]

a.k.a. Kirks evil twin needs a hug

Pro:

The Dog alien, iconic, beautiful

I know it was done to easily differenciate the two Kirks, but Kirks eyeliner slays

Bones everyday doctoring. Look I know in fic and memes people often say his bedside manner sucks, and with his friends it does yes because they're his friends and they're idiots, but his general doctor scenes are lovely

Kirk manhandling McCoy and McCoy sending Spock after him later

The way Kirk assures and takes care of Sulu / the landing party show more of his good qualities as a leader to his crew

Spocks heritage being talked about for the first time, interesting early ideas about him being stuck between both sides

The invention of the vulcan nerve pinch!

First proper „He's dead, Jim“ by McCoy!

Kirks halfs literally having to accept each other in a way in the end and hugging

Classic transporter malfunction

I like that they call evil Kirk the imposter - even though it's part of him everyone knows that he would never behave this way and that the "good" Kirk is closer to his real self

the general idea of splitting a person into opposing halves, even though the exact philosophy is muddled when analyzed deeper (yes, the message is a human being needs the good and bad, but – see cons)

Spocks speech about command underlines the kind of pressure Kirk is constantly under due to his position (something he handles well usually, and it gets adressed a few times thoughout tos)

Generally the dynamic between the trio and how trust works between them, especially in the transporter room in the end

love a classic „who is the real one“ duplicate situation

Con:

The entire violent scene between the imposter and Yeoman Rand is horrific and I personally find it to be longer than necessary to get the point across

also the way they treat her is too shitty for words. Even considering the production time it's bad, and I dislike all the scenes heavily

we're not gonna talk about Spock's last line. OOC. He would never.

The last third feels a bit streched

As said above, the split itself is very muddied philosophically and politically – I'd say is less good / evil and more base urges & survival instinct / higher developement, intelligence, which would make more sense as you do need both to function and one to control the other. Otherwise the message is you need „evil“ to function and thats just. No good.

also like. "sensitive" kirk does make decisions at the end and is also the brave one? it kinda undermines what they're trying to say

also the way it's presented goes a bit into the toxic masculinity philosophy that only a forceful / aggressive man can make proper decisions, when we know that's not at all true in Kirk (or the other men)

Sulu is us at @ every dog we encounter

Counter:

Kirk being shirtless (and posing in front of Spock with his little towel)

Transporter malfunction

A LOT of Kirk / Shatner Memes stem from this episode

Also the dog-alien is its own meme

Quote: "You're the captain of this ship. You haven't the right to be vulnerable in the eyes of the crew. You can't afford the luxury of being anything less than perfect. If you do, they lose faith and you lose command" - Spock

Moment: Kirk getting ready to beam down the reunite with himself and the almost silent conversations with his friends Summary: Interesting episode that raises a few questions about what makes a person who they are but can't fully answer them while giving further insight into the trios relationships as well as Kirks personality - beware the assault and treatment of the female character afterwards though.

Previous Episode - Next Episode - All TOS Reviews

[markantonys]

considering i've become an avid galadriel/adar shipper when they've only had a few scenes together all told, it's interesting to look at them to pick out the key ingredients of what is most likely to get me hooked on an enemies-to-lovers and specifically a hero/villain ship. yes you guessed it, i'm gearing up for a compare/contrast with mat/tuon, who had abundant screentime and yet sucked absolute ass throughout all of it in my opinion. i AM an enemies-to-lovers & hero/villain shipper at heart, so honestly a writer has to actively try pretty hard to make me dislike one, and boy did RJ put every ounce of his effort into the task lmao

anyway, some of The Key Ingredients Of Compelling Hero/Villain, To Me (many of which i remember discussing with @butterflydm during her queen of attolia read, since gen/attolia are also a well-done example of hero/villain and hit on a lot of these same ingredients, though i'll keep this post to comparing just the other 2 ships for the sake of not yapping even more than i already am)

1. equal power balance

whether it be in terms of rank, influence, physical fighting abilities, intelligence, whatever, i like it best when the Hero & Villain we're shipping can go toe-to-toe with each other, and when they take turns holding the power in a given situation. among galadriel and adar's few scenes, we've had a good mix between galadriel having the upper hand and adar having the upper hand. we've even had scenes where who has the upper hand switches mid-scene (such as galadriel holding adar captive but then adar verbally getting under her skin and unnerving her).

by contrast, tuon ALWAYS has the upper hand over mat in all their scenes. always always always. RJ had a weird aversion towards letting tuon be put in a vulnerable position or letting her be genuinely challenged, and so all the time they spend together is tuon treating mat like a pet dog and mat going along with it because he's desperate to win her favor (contrary to all his established characterization). this does not make for a compelling, narratively tense hero/villain ship buildup; it's a boring, static dynamic that gives you secondhand embarrassment for mat and his utter lack of self-respect. what makes it even worse is that the natural dynamic SHOULD be an equal one, because pre-COT mat is just as clever as tuon, just as stubborn, just as strong (physically and mentally), and because tuon holds the cards when they're on her turf in ebou dar but mat should logically hold the cards when they're on HIS turf in the roadtrip. but for whatever reason, RJ just........ignored all that and made tuon bizarrely infallible and butchered mat's characterization to make him tuon's yes-man and rob their dynamic of all its natural balance and conflict and push-and-pull tension.

2. mutual respect

this goes hand-in-hand with point #1. when you start with a pair of enemies who hate and oppose each other, the best ingredient to use as that first foundation layer to begin building romance off of is a grudging mutual respect. adar and galadriel may hate each other, but they take each other seriously and consider each other a force to be reckoned with, which ties back to them having an equal power balance.

and on a more personal level, adar does seem to have some true respect for galadriel, seen in moments like him greeting her formally in elvish and being surprisingly polite to her and serving her up a nice dinner (though of course he's also trying to butter her up so she'll confide her plans in him; still, there is an element of genuineness in his behavior, it's not all manipulation the way sauron's interactions with everyone are). and sam has said in interviews that adar respects her and in some ways craves her respect too since she represents his lost place among his fellow elves.

not sure if galadriel has any respect for him haha but his s1 line "i'm not the only elf who's been transformed by darkness" really hit her hard and their s2 convo about sauron added to that, so that she does see how he holds up a mirror to her, i think, and in that, there's sooome amount of, if not respect, at least recognizing common ground (more on that in point #4). she also may have gained some respect for him in this week's episode after seeing him at the orc funeral (more on that in point #3). and i'd say that to me, Villain respecting Hero early on is more important than the reverse, especially if we're gearing up for a "Hero inspires Villain to be better" version of hero/villain romance rather than a "Villain makes Hero worse" version. (for me the latter version feels better-suited to tragedies or dark romance stories or fanfic, whereas the former version is more thematically and tonally appropriate for an in-canon romance in something like ROP or WOT, stories that at their core are about hope and light triumphing over darkness. thinking more about mat/tuon on this point since obvs adar/galadriel isn't and will never be an actual in-canon romance, but mat/tuon is and thus it should feel thematically and tonally compatible with the overall canon story.)

anyway, mat and tuon do not have mutual respect. tuon considers him a joke and a toy for a looooong chunk of their acquaintance, only realizes "huh maybe he's an actual person with a brain?" when she sees that he has a big army willing to follow him, but even then, this does not change her behavior towards him in any way and she continues to treat him like her lapdog who will never even think of disobeying her. and mat IS that lapdog who will never think of disobeying her, because RJ decided to remove his spine between WH and COT. mat does "respect" tuon but only in a warped sense of "i need to appease her at all times or else she might enslave me" (and that's on his good days; on his bad days he genuinely buys into the "the empress is inherently superior to lesser mortals" bullshit). mat's "respect" is borne from fear and author contrivance and OOC writing, and tuon doesn't respect him at all. and so the power imbalance and the respect imbalance sets us up perfectly for a "Villain makes Hero worse" version of a hero/villain romance, aka the opposite of what would feel thematically and tonally appropriate with the story of WOT.

3. witnessing each other's vulnerability (especially Hero, and audience, witnessing Villain's vulnerability)

bold, star, and underline this point because it is ESSENTIAL. in order for Hero and Villain to start viewing each other differently, they MUST be allowed to see each other be vulnerable. they must be allowed to see the walls come down and gain a new understanding of the other person from it. otherwise how could they ever have a reason to second-guess their hatred and start changing their opinion of their enemy?

once again, adariel passes with flying colors in only a few brief scenes. a lot of stuff gets laid bare in their conversation about how sauron hurt both of them (even if they're both being careful in what they choose to say or keep hidden), but the moment that made me most insane was this week when galadriel is sneaking through the camp and, unbeknownst to adar, witnesses him crying over fallen orcs and partaking in a tender funeral ritual. the "unbeknownst to adar" aspect is so key, because unlike their sauron convo, adar isn't putting on any masks or curating what he wants her to see or hear. it's just his pure, unfiltered vulnerability which galadriel gets to see, and we can see that it really surprises her and gives her pause, and perhaps does a little something to change the way she sees him and orcs more broadly.

and once again, mat and tuon fail spectacularly. it comes back to RJ's aversion to letting tuon ever be placed in a position of vulnerability. mat never gets to witness her as anything but the cool, controlling empress. he never gets to see behind her mask. and the audience doesn't really either, because even in her own POV, even in her own head, tuon is constantly masked-up and rarely reveals vulnerability. so we aren't given evidence to suggest that tuon is a real person under the mask and might be worthy of loving and being loved, and we CERTAINLY don't see MAT being given any evidence to suggest that. he just randomly decides he loves her for no reason when all he's ever seen from her is arrogance and coldness and shitty treatment of all the people around her including himself.

4. some point of emotional connection/common ground that transcends the battle lines they've drawn with each other

galadriel and adar have both loved and then been hurt and used by sauron. for galadriel especially with the pain being so fresh, all season we see how hard it is for her to cope with and we see that no one around her really gets it, not even her closest friend, but the convo with adar - she's having her pain understood and validated and shared for the first time, and that's huge. as the actors have said, it's also a very depressing and fucked up point of commonality to have as the thing tying them together haha but having that initial trigger for an emotional common ground is important in making it possible for the relationship to evolve into something less hostile. (which does not happen in canon, but it's easy to see a path where it could.)

i feel like mat and tuon enjoying playing stones together and bonding with olver is RJ's attempt to do this, but considering how incredibly vast the ocean between them is and how polarly opposed each is to everything the other stands for, those points of commonality are way too shallow to create a connection meaningful enough to begin bridging that gap in a believable way. because TRUE emotional connection has to come from vulnerability, and RJ never lets tuon be vulnerable!

that's all i've got for now! thankfully, most of these problems are not hard to fix and i have faith wotshow will do so, given how good it is at characterwork and relationship development and emotional stuff. also, worth noting that a big factor in my galadriel/adar shipping is simply that the actors have amazing chemistry (it never occurred to me to ship galadriel and joseph's adar even though they acted brilliantly opposite each other - their barn scene was my favorite moment of the season - but i INSTANTLY shipped galadriel and sam's adar because they just have a different sort of spark between them), and so casting alone could do a heck of a lot of legwork for mat/tuon. donal!mat is sooooooo charming and shippable, i truly look forward to seeing a tuon who sparks really well off him!

[comradeboyhalo]

I know I've said this so many times before, but it is just so comforting to see your posts about love and other people agreeing. Because I thought I was weird for almost immediately wanting to put a fic down when the romance was there, with labels of "boyfriend, girlfriend, husband." It’s like I don’t understand how the other qsmp ships work 😭 But the fact that skephalo just seems to always be there... It was just natural that they could go against the world together without anyone pushing a label on it. All that mattered was their unfailing love for the other and their natural friendship that went above that. In the qsmp they already have a history together! They've been with each other for centuries and know they have been together in past lives. Bad adores Skeppy.

For me, I don't really know how I feel about 4halo? I liked it a lot in the beginning because Forever was one of the few people that had the same views on the eggs that Bad did. But it just doesn't feel like it’s going to work? Bad and Forever have such different goals, and especially with Bad... I don’t think either will change. I like starhalo because they're just fighters, both to attack and protect. It just seems a lot softer than 4halo, I guess, but that's only because that ship got sucked into political drama. 4halo has the AMAZING jealously that I love, but it’s just missing something; like both characters know it will end up being a fling. But Etoiles has been so kind to Bad throughout his memory loss, teaching him to fight again, being patient... Idk, it’s strange. I almost miss it when there was no other Bad ship but Skeppy, I didn’t realize how narrow of a box Bad sat in o_o

(also sorry for the long ask. Just adding that I feel like if Bad killed Forever, that might be a schism in their relationship, while Etoiles would just admire it. But I don’t know, I haven't followed 4halo very well)

thank you for the long ask :D also disclaimer: everything i talk about here is more about viability in canon rather than enjoyment of ships. two different things! obviously i enjoy all q!bad ships through both a shipper lens and an analyst lens.

unlabeled relationships resonates so strongly with q!bad, especially given both his species and his aromanticism, which makes everyone pushing him towards a "typical" romance feel off (i wrote an analysis a bit ago on how qbad's aromanticism is treated on the server opposed to cbad, even if its a bit dated).

4halo's dynamic changes a lot, and it's hard to predict where they'll end up, and that makes them fun (happy pills 4halo is my favorite). there definitely is a certain type of inevitable "doom" with them, though. they'll never end up wholeheartedly trusting each other, but they'll love each other regardless. this ask was sent before yesterday's stream, where forever took care of bad, which goes to show how unpredictable they can be. they really do have a soft side, its just that they always seem to fail to fundamentally understand each other. and when all of q!bad's relationships are "tiered" in some way, this makes a committed relationship, whether platonic or romantic, difficult. forever has such a big heart and bad is so guarded. their relationship does come off of uneven in these unbalanced values, while a relationship like aypierre/bbh does not because pierre simply doesn't mind how paranoid and distrustful bad is. (but, again: that's what makes 4halo more compelling. q!bad is sick in the head obsessed yet is still so restrained around him.)

i really enjoy starhalo, but i cant really see bad striking up a committed, trusted relationship with etoiles. they're both warriors, but they're values are different. etoiles is honorable: he defends the weak, he likes fair fight. bad is a bit more desperate, a bit more brutal. he fights to survive and he takes delight in killing. he likes to win. he needs to win. etoiles obviously enjoys seeing this side of bad come out (in a way many islanders do not, like you said) but i cant help but wonder what would happen when these interests come into conflict. etoiles is to bend his morals to save friendships, but bad won't do the same in return.

and there's the issue with q!bad ships: bad is willing to cut everyone off if it means saving those he holds closest to his heart. and so every ship with him will inevitably crumble because he will choose if they're not up there. he would choose dapper over skeppy, even. and if skeppy comes second to the eggs, then how does it feel to be third on his list? fourth? fifth? how many people can stomach being in a relationship with someone who already knows how expendable you are to them?

again i love shipping im a huge shipper, i love romantic q!bad ships a lot. but there's a reason he fits into an us-against-the-world, unshakeable, all-consuming, unlabeled love, as opposed to the more typical romance progressions you see from fitpac/bagina/spiderbit. there's a reason all q!bad ships have some level of toxicity, while many ships without him do not. he's an all or nothing person, and finding someone who will wholly give him his heart, and wholly receive his heart back, will take a lot. so far, the closest is still presumably q!skeppy (which could still change if he were ever on the island), and that is due to thousands of years and lifetimes together. to have someone else take that place...well, we would have certainly known by now.

[apotheoseity]

okay i have a few questions for eversent : ). does each species faction have its own set of core values, and do they conflict with each other on that front often? or does tension arise between them for other reasons? and for the fandom: what would you consider the general fan base to be like? is there a lot of infighting? if it were a fan base on tumblr can you think of what the like. most unhinged point of discourse would be

(via @salorade )

HI THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE QUESTIONS!!

1) YES each group has their own cultural norms and ideals that can cause conflict. For example, Drakes and Unicorns are near diametrically opposed due to the former prioritizing physical attributes and sparring as conflict resolution and the latter being focused more on being intelligent and “proper” to their own standards. The major conflicts in the first couple arcs is about their political conflicts!

2) I imagine the fandom to be.. not exactly like those of WoF and Warriors but certainly adjacent to them (and not nearly as huge, given that the setting (my friend Muffet @justabunchofpineapples ‘s Woods & Wonders) has more late 90s era technology than modern day). There’s definitely infighting and discourse but anyone not in the fandom would look at it and go “??!?? Guys you’re literally arguing over funny animals rn”

I definitely think there would be discourse about how the female main character (Thorn’Seeker) is treated by fandom (I imagine reminiscent of how people were about Mabel Pines or even Rose Quartz) in that “This girl character is annoying but I looove the boy character that acts exactly the same but is a boy” way.

The shipping drama is probably pretty present, given I accidentally recreated the same dynamic as Moonwatcher/Qibli/Winter that people loved to make a fuss about… Most popular ship is probably the 2 main male (“male”) characters, Rubedo and Jackrabbit — Though, in the actual text Thorn’Seeker and Rubedo are implied to be a couple by the end of their arcs.

Kind of a wild thing but I think people would go ape crazy discourse-wise about the fact that the setting isn’t wholly Earth-adjacent and thus doesn’t have direct parallels to human cultures or races.

[faksyan]

For the character ask thing, Decoy Octopus! No just kidding lol I'm gonna give you a Death Stranding character instead. Since you're new to the game and you might not have spent too much time thinking about the characters, choose one between these three: Fragile, Cliff Unger, Deadman.

Fragile!!!!!!!! Sorry I saw she was there and the decision was instantly made. Shame it's not Decoy Octopus though, love that guy and his many appearances (pun intended) in the game. And I do love both Deadman and Cliff. Fragile is just. I love her so much.

First impression

Being highly confused and intrigued about the world, that's what most of my attention was on during her introduction. Loved the spiky jacket!!! And I do love her umbrella, it's such a fun shape and. texture? I don't think they ever said what it's made of but it looks transparent and reflective and solid all at the same time? It's a really cool design. I like that she's a pretty mysterious character for a while and you know that she's There somewhere but not what she wants with Sam or overall.

Impression now

She seems pretty reserved and polite, but in a way that feels genuine. She respects people, even if they don't always respect her back, but she also doesn't seem the type to just take people's shit. Maybe she has been for a bit after people started labeling her as a terrorist, I feel like there was a lot of self-pity there that was well earned, she basically gave up her life for people who she thought would never know or appreciate it. I think her meeting Sam helped her a lot with processing all of that, and the fact that he let everyone know about what really went down must have been such a shock and relief, even if she didn't show it that much. I really like how happy she is about eating cryptobiots and offering them to Sam, and I love when he eventually takes one.

Also about Kojima's writing of women and in general, I think they are like fine wine, as in is better each year (the writing of women was a pretty shitty wine to start with though. magically got good in ds, and I genuinely wonder why, it hasn't been that long since v). She doesn't fall into the mother/sister/love interest pitfall a lot of his female characters do. I do love Amelie!! I do love Mama!!! Motherhood and family are very important themes of ds, but with the context of his previous games Fragile feels like breaking the pattern, which is great!! Decpite the running in her underwear in the rain bit, the way she's is written is kind of the polar opposite of Quiet. In terms of how society perceives bodies of older women its considered unsexy and whatnot, and the aftermath of what happened to her makes her hide her body as opposed to wearing a bikini. But it doesn't exactly feel like it's out of shame, even though it was definitely meant to be a humiliation when Higgs did it, it feels like Fragile still has so much dignity to her. I like that she is conflicted about her sacrifice and wishes she hadn't done it. Makes her feel very raw and real. It made me happy that the state of her body wasn't treated weirdly by anyone around her, and I get that it's because of the nature of the universe and that a lot of people must be affected by timefall all the time, but it still made me happy!!

Favorite moment

The forehead touch and conversation as she sent Sam to rescue Amelie, and the talk near the lake after she and Sam get rid of the bomb. When her and Sam are on the ship too, it was a quiet nice moment. I like when she pronounces fragile weirdly.

Idea for a story

I had a silly thing in mind where a bunch of characters ask Sam on a date to shoot their shot, and he ends up rejecting all of them, Fragile included albeit with the implications that it's sort of reciprocated but also things are complicated, and they both are fine with where they stand. I'll be honest, I thought I didn't really like any ships with Sam, but I really like his dynamic with Fragile, romantic or not.

I would've loved to think up something cool about the time she and Higgs worked together. We get a glimpse of Higgs' perspective on their relationship during that time, but very little of hers, only the stuff that's already clouded with her desire for revenge and not how she really felt at the time.

Unpopular opinion

Oh man, I haven't really seen enough ds takes to know what's considered unpopular.

Favorite relationship

Her and Sam. I really liked how respectful she was about his phobia, with everyone else there were points where they obviously forgot about it or used it for intimidation, and I kind of hated that since I do share it to some extent. She also kind of seemed to do that a few times, like when she was telling him about her history with Higgs, but even then she still kept her distance in a way that didn't feel the same as with other characters. I really liked that about her. Her and Higgs also. And I do think she's at least sort of friends with the rest of the main guys, the scenes of them sending Sam off and then rescuing him are so, so good.

Favorite headcanon

Ahh I don't think I have anything. I've read very few death stranding fics but there was this short one I really like where Fragile travels with Sam on bikes for a bit and they race. She also uses his shower a bunch and leaves or takes stuff around his rooms in it, I liked that idea a lot. It's the casual intimacy of something small, I feel like they understand each other in their love for solitude, so they can be alone together and be content with it.

[bramblewhisker]

Thoughts on FireTiger?

I love FireTiger. Among all the cats, Firestar is one of my favorites to ship, and among Firestar ships this is one of the best! Enemies-to-lovers is of course a tried and true shipping trope, and Firestar and Tigerstar complement each other especially well. The fact that they have so much in common (e.g. ambition, political savvy, a willingness to break the rules if it gets them what they want) but are otherwise so ideologically opposed makes for a great pairing.

I think there's three main ways this ship can go, and all of them are great:

A Boyfriend Soothes the Savage Beast: Falling for & getting with Fireheart stops Tigerstar somewhere short of his evil plans and he mellows out, ending up somewhere from grumpy but loyal warrior (more realistic) to docile and pliant malewife (fun silly time). I'm a big fan of these situations especially where Fireheart ends up being the more "dominant" one in the relationship (at least in private); fun little role reversal where he tamed the beast.

Got My Claws In You: In order to both maintain some semblance of peace within the clans while also keeping himself close to the big handsome tabby he fell for. There's interesting routes here for both a healthy relationship (Fireheart and Tigerstar compromise, mitigating a lot of the damage) and toxic yaoi (Fireheart is Tigerstar's "fixer" and is constantly covering for increasingly morally bereft stuff he does).

Fire Heartless: Evil Fireheart AU. Tfw the hot tabby you pulled corrupts your moral compass entirely.

Those are like the three points of the FireTiger alignment triangle and every point therein is something good. And there's just so many good possible interpersonal dynamics between the two of them as a couple.

[notmoreflippingelves]

@saemi-the-dreamer asked: Esteban: 2, 7, 18, 19 and 21? :D

As I mentioned in my initial reply to the ask, I made a separate post for Esteban, since--as will surprise no one--I really rambled on A LOT about him. And it wasn't fair to shove all my EsteRamblings into the same, much shorter post with Gabe.

2. Favorite canon thing about this character?

Honestly, pretty much everything about Esteban's character journey in S3 makes me absolutely INSANE (in the best way). But I think the thing that makes me most feral of all is the moment when he falls into the crystal well. His sparkly new outfit and stupid hairdo. The fact that the narrative has visibly and thematically linked him via this shared experience with Elena for the entire rest of the show. The symbolism of him being given the power to run away (literally and metaphorically) from the problems that he has caused. The fact that the show will ultimately end with him not running away but instead running towards something (Elena, specifically to save her from the problem Esteban himself caused). It's just... they did all this to me, an English major, and expected me to be normal about it. The audacity.

7. What's something the fandom does when it comes to this character that you like?

I like it when Esteban is *included* in things. While I wouldn't say he gets as much focus as the four amigos or Isabel, he still does get a good bit of art and a reasonable amount of fic. And its honestly nice to have a blorbo who isn't just shamelessly ignored (*cough Jean Innocent *cough) or vilified to the point of OOC-ness (*cough Kristoph Gavin cough*) , or used almost exclusively as a plot device to facilitate the fandom preferred ship of which they are not part of (both of the others).

18. How about a relationship they have in canon with another character that you admire?

"Admire" is a weird way to put it as it makes it sound as though the dynamic is or should be aspirational/healthy. And I'm honestly having trouble coming up with one that fits that particularly description. I guess either Isabel or Francisco would be closest to meeting that description. But I don't really have too much to say about them right now.

So I am just going to go ahead and treat this question as "relationship that I find interesting and enjoy watching." And honestly, there is a LOT of them. Obviously his relationship with Elena is arguably the building block of the entire show and naturally, I love and cherish it with my entire heart. But I already ramble too much about it so I won't do so here.

I also find his history and complicated relationship with Victor fascinating. The two are clear foils of each other and very shippable ones too, and so my little English major brain/rare pair loving self gets a lot of mileage over the little that we see of them together. But we really only get a single episode of the two of them interacting. (Apart from a few moments in "The Magic Within" and Esteban being mentioned a few times in "The Lightning Warrior") so there's really only so much that I can say about them. And a lot of what I love about them is really just head canons/parts of my fic, so it could be totally ooc.)

Similarly, I think his dynamic with Dona Paloma is fun to watch and has a lot of interesting potential, but we really only scratch the surface of it. The narrative lets them be temporary allies or business rivals for the sake of a given episode's plot, but its rarely done in a way that adds something new or interesting to their relationship. (When Esteban + Paloma political shenanigans happen, its rarely used to advance either of their character developments and when it is, it's usually just Paloma's..as Esteban gets most of his development in other episodes).

So, I feel like I have to say that the most-interesting-and engaging Esteban relationship (apart from Elena) has to be Naomi. The two of them have a really interesting dynamic to watch and their relationship specifically (as opposed to just the two of them as individual characters) gets a good amount of direct focus. Whether Esteban is sniping at Naomi from across the Grand Council table, begrudgingly accepting her as a capable colleague by the end of "Finders Leapers," teaching her to waltz (in order to show up Paloma) in "My Fair Naomi" or clinging to her when Valentina's carriage goes out of control, the two of them don't just steal the scene but positively abscond with it in the most delightful way. Plus, I love the parallels of Naomi ending the show in Esteban's former position as Chancellor. (I like to headcanon that she's gonna end up seeking a lot of advice from him for her new role and may even recruit him as her number two. He has 41 years of valuable experience that it would be shame to waste).

19. How about a relationship they have in canon that you don't like?

This is hardly a surprising answer, but...I do not particularly care for his relationship with Luisa. Esteban was orphaned when he was 9 at most, so he barely remembers his mother. The closest thing to a mother that he does remember is the grandmother who raised him. He needed lots of love and validation and attention, and based on what we see in canon, Luisa didn't give him nearly enough. It took years for her to realize they'd left him out of her "favorite" family painting, the flashbacks in "Dias de las Madres" suggest that she was unaware of just how lonely and vulnerable baby!Esteban was even knowing that he had just lost his parents, she gives a pretty clear impression of Elena being her favorite grandchild ( even before Esteban's secret comes out) which I am sure did *wonders* on baby!Esteban's already fragile self-esteem, and in "Coronation Day," even after she knows that Esteban helped save the kingdom (including both her and Elena), she still side-eyes Elena when Elena says that she has forgiven Esteban. tfw you sacrifice your life for your cousin's (who is also your grandma's fave) and risk it again to banish the evil time spirit, but it's still not enough to earn a long-overdue hug from your granny.

21. If you're a fic writer and have written for this character, what's your favorite thing to do when you're writing for this character? What's something you don't like?

Give him very specific and sexual Shuriki-related trauma. I mean to be fair, it's not that I enjoy it so much. It's just there in my head and it happens even when I try to make fluffy and silly little plot bunnies. I would say my favorite thing that I actually enjoy doing and make an effort to do is just aggressively validate him and his feelings since he doesn't really get much of that in canon. I like having characters tell him how much he means to them, and I like for them to genuinely mean it. I like to tell him that he is capable of being loved (romantically and/or platonically ) and has the right to be loved. I like for people to recognize that he has been through so damn much and is still living with the scars that the Dark Times have left on his mind, heart, and soul. I like for other characters to come out and tell him that he's important to them, that he's fundamentally a good and worthy person even if a flawed one who lost his way for awhile, I like having characters tells him that they enjoy his company. And perhaps, most of all, I like having characters (especially Elena. but also Victor, Naomi, and probably anyone else) feel protective of him. To have them promise to take care of him and make sure that he never has to feel alone, forgotten, unloved, or helpless ever again. So basically, my favorite thing to do is aggressively project onto him and give him all the sorts of things I would want for myself as wish-fulfillment.

My least favorite thing that I sometimes see done in fic is when past (or present) Shuriki/Esteban is genuinely romanticized (as opposed to treated as inherently abusive/dubiously consensual). When their feelings are assumed to be mutual, genuine, healthy (if admittedly unconventional/unexpected), and redemptive. Particularly when Esteban tries to "save" Shuriki from Elena and/or "redeem" her from her prison cell, because he loves Shuriki/knows that she isn't really "all bad." Because no, in my view, Shuriki is far beyond any hope of redemption, and no one in Avalor would know that more than Esteban, who was forced to stay by her side and serve her for 41 years.

Now, I do think it's possible that Esteban may have developed a little bit of Stockholm syndrome towards Shuriki, based on the length of time they worked closely together, how utterly dependent on her that he had to be just in order to survive, and how desperate he's always been for just a little bit of attention/affection. But again this wouldn't be real, genuine love. At most, it would be physical attraction, and a conditioned learned dependency on her as a survival mechanism. And given the huge power imbalance between them, there's also this inevitable question of any physical and/or emotional relationship being built on a foundation of dubious consent and sexual harassment (at best).

Given that Shuriki does seem shocked and genuinely hurt when Esteban finally stands up to her in "Secret of Avalor," I think it's also possible that she did grow to care for him as much as she could possibly care for anyone. But I also think that the closest to "love" that it's possible for her to feel is casual affection (similar to what one might feel for a favorite toy) or possessive lust.

And um... so no, I do not think Shuriki is capable of love and even if she was, I don't think it would be possible for her to be rehabilitated by/through love. And even if she was, Esteban is the absolute last person I would want to do said rehabilitation work.

Shuriki personally murdered multiple members of Esteban's family, conquered and terrorized his country, and then made him do all the work of managing Avalor while giving him none of the credit. He was a stupid teenager when they met (and from what we can tell, she seems to have been at least 5-10 years older than him...possibly a lot more if she'd already started magically de-aging herself), . As such, she easily manipulated him by preying on his youth, insecurity, and naivety. (Honestly, they give me BIG "Edmund Pevensie and Jadis the White Witch" energy. Baby!Esteban was a bit older and presumably *a bit* smarter than Edmund, but still very naive and very vulnerable and therefore very susceptible to the corruptive powers of someone significantly older, crueler, and more powerful than he. )

So, it makes me super sad and uncomfy to think about Esteban wanting to be and being responsible for personally saving the life/ soul of the person who has corrupted and controlled every aspect of his life since he was 17-18. He deserves better than that. Even if I still like giving him extra trauma and having him wrestle with it.

[echo-bleu]

WIP Ask game. I am wildly curious about werewolf-Finrod. Yes please, I am sold, please tell me all the things. I also feel this way about the X-Men AU, so take your pick!

Both? Both is good.

Werewolf!Finrod is what it says on the tin, Finrod is re-embodied in Aman as a werewolf. I think I said before that some of it was inspired by your Host of the West. He Returns not long before Elwing's arrival, and of course if the Valar weren't going to forbid him from going back to Middle-Earth to fight, the fact that he turns into a clawed monster every time he has a strong emotion surely does it.

He's having a really hard time. It does get better, and I want to keep writing until he makes his peace with it (the whole thing sprung from an image I had of Finrod pouncing on a very confused just-Returned Celegorm) and even perhaps gets a couple of tiny wolf cubs to raise...

Here's a snippet:

Was the werewolf that ate him an elf once? Is that what Finrod is destined to become? “Why did you let me out?” he murmurs at the wall – at Mandos in his Halls. “If I’m a monster, if I’m a danger to everyone – why let me out? There long shall ye abide, you promised us, and yet here I am. Little pity shall they find –is this your version of little pity? That living again should be worse even than being dead?” “Oh, Findaráto,” someone murmurs behind him. Arafinwë doesn’t flinch when Finrod turns around on his bed, still naked and covered in scratches. Their eyes meet, and there is no fear in his father’s gaze. He comes to sit close to Finrod, on the edge of the mattress, and holds out his hand, not quite touching him. Even as he turns back to the wall, finding the world too overwhelming still to face, Finrod grabs that hand in a bruising grip.

The X-Men AU that I started yesterday is (presumably) more light-hearted! I've been sick with Covid all week and mostly unable to write, but had a lot of time for vaguely feverish daydreaming, some of which somehow coalesced into this:

Dynamics-wise (shipping aside), Fëanor and Fingolfin make wonderful Magneto and Prof X

Mutation-wise, Fëanor has something like energy manipulation, Fingolfin something to do with ice, while Arafinwë is a ProfX-level telepath (he gets the disability as well because I can)

Finwë built a school for mutants with his sons, but Fëanor broke off from them because of ahem political differences and made his own faction

Now Fingolfin is head of the school slash vigilante headquarters, with his adult children as the men, uh, F-Men? (I haven't actually settled on a name lmao)

I am very fond of mutant AUs, and I'm specifically fond of mutation-as-disability takes

Fingon is Cyclops. But Cyclops before anyone figured out how to block his blasts, so he's also functionally blind.

That makes Maedhros Jean Grey, though his power is fire-based. They also have Cherik vibes, being on competing/opposing sides. (Artanis is kind of the other side of Jean Grey, with the uncontrollable psychic powers)

About two years ago, Maedhros was captured by Morgoth Corp's Head of R&D Mairon, and experimented on for months until Fingon broke into their headquarters and blasted them to smithereens to free him (he also blasted Maedhros's hand off in the process)

I have powers figured out for most of the Finwëans but it would be too long to go into details here, so i'll only share the fun ones: Lalwen is Mystique, Ambarussa have super-speed, Irissë is Havok. Finrod is Rogue. Kinda.

I shared a little snippet last night, I don't have a lot more writing than that at this point but it's very fun so far.

Thank you for the ask!!

From this WIP ask game.

[iamnmbr3]

Some Dramione shippers claim Draco and Hermione are like Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth in Pride and prejudice. though i heard even some Drarry shippers say so —ofcourse pride and prejudice is foundation of every enemies to lovers lol— what's your honest opinion? Do you think their dynamics is the same as Draco and Hermione's?!

So first a disclaimer that I think everyone should be free to ship what they like and interpret things how they want. This is just me giving my personal opinion here, not trying to attack anyone else or say people are wrong for engaging with the canon in a different way than I do.

Now that's out of the way, personally I don't see it. Hermione and Draco's relationship is very different from Elizabeth and Darcy's. A lot of the reasons for Elizabeth's dislike of Darcy are rooted in misunderstandings and misinformation. For example Wickham straight up lies to her about Darcy's supposedly dastardly actions and some instances that she interprets as Darcy being cold and aloof are just him being kind of awkward and shy. That said, he does also behave towards her in an arrogant, entitled and at times belittling manner which makes her more inclined to believe other bad things about him.

However, though he displays some prejudice towards her and her family and also is just kinda rude to her at times, he certainly doesn't go around calling her slurs or supporting the politics of an extremist group apparently dedicated to wiping people like her out. And a lot of the really bad things he gets accused of turn out to be things he didn't actually do. That's a VERY different relationship dynamic than what Hermione and Draco have.

I feel like a lot of dramione fic kind of turns the two characters into OCs. Draco is a misunderstood Darcy-esque badboy with a cold exterior and a heart of gold and Hermione is a perfect Mary Sue who would be improved by being an Elizabeth clone because while she still wouldn't be Hermione at least she might have some character depth. That's fine. You do you but at that point it's just a fic about two entirely different characters.

This is not to say that I think dramione couldn't be interesting. But I don't think the vibe is that similar to Pride & Prejudice as the context and personalities of the two characters is very different. I'm also personally not as interested in the ship because I don't see as much narrative richness or compatibility as with drarry. But that's just me. I wouldn't be opposed to reading it if I saw a fic that caught my interest.

(Also I love Pride & Prejudice but enemies to lover was definitely already a thing - for example Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing...not to mention Coriolanus).

[lampochkaart]

I know this is unrelated to Danganronpa, I apologize in advance. I only ask this with respect and hopes to understand. As an aroace person such as yourself, do you find romance (particularly with shipping) to be appealing as long as it isn't in your own personal life? I'm sorry my hetero ass is struggling to understand, I just want to be a better ally.

Hi, anon! You don't have to apologize, I don't mind talking about something other than Danganronpa X)

I'm rambling here for quite a while, maybe a got a little carried away, because the subject of ramance is quite complex

Every aromantic and/or asexual person is different. Everyone has different experiences so there's no universal rule. I'd suggest, if you want to be supportive to your aromantic friends, you should ask them how do they personaly feel about romance and shipping. Are they comfortable with this topic in general? Are they fine with it as long as it doesn't involve them, or would they rather avoid romace completety whenever they can? Everyone feels differently about that, so it's better to ask people's opinion on that topic rather than trying to find one universal rule.

If you're not asking that because of some specific people that you know, but because you want to support aro people in general, I think a good idea might be to look at some aromantic themed blogs, or read some of people's personal experiences for a better understanding of the topic.

I think it's posible explain aromaticism with an analogy. Let's say, romance is some kind of food, like an apple for example. A lot of people like apples and eat them often. However, there are people who dont. Some people can't stand the sight of apples. Some people can eat apples sometimes even though they don't like them very much. Some people don't want to eat apples themselves, but are completely fine with other people eating them. And so on, and so on.

Romantic attraction (and romance as a concept) is as different for everyone as food preferences. Some people just don't like some things. Everyone is different.

As for my personal experiences... I don't necessary hate the idea of a partner, but I think I'm very picky so I would be hard for me to find ideal option. I'm not opposed to the idea of having a partner, but I don't feel the need to have one. The moment when I realised that I'm actually aromantic was when I realised that people are not just being overdramatic when they complain about not wanting to be single. A lot of people genuinely feel upset when they don't have a partner/partners. It's not just a joke that people make. For a lot of people romantic relationships are very important. Never in my life I felt like I need to be in a romantic relationship and I never really questioned this. It took some time for realisation that not everyone feels like that to actually sink in.

When it comes to shipping, well. I like romance, but I don't really like plain romance. I like when characters have something else in their relationship aside from romance. They could be friends, enemies, rivals, collegues, allies, etc. Anything really. I just want something else going on with them aside from being romantic partners. I think it might even be better to put it this way. I like when romace is secondary to the primary character dynamic. Like, they're best friends first or they're rivals first, before they're romantic partners. It's some primary dynamic to which romance is added, instead of it being the other way around and this dynamic being just the flavor to romance. When the relationship borders between platonic and romantic, but perhaps gravitates more toward the romantic. I hope this makes sense.

I am not saying this is the only right way for interesting relationships, but it's just the way I prefer it.

So, in short, I do find romance appealing, but with some requirements.

Thank you for your question! You were very respectful an polite. Hope I explainded it alright. If you have more questions or don't exactly understand something here feel free to ask. Have a great day!💜💫

[iniziare]

Bronya/Seele. I just get so opinionated about things, it's ridiculous, but consider this a fair warning for some salt relating to what I consider to be an absolutely infuriating ship to have to deal with. It should be prefaced that I'm not against the ship in theory, even if I find the concept of 'one returns to the light, while the other returns to the dark', a bit boring, but I digress. My issue with this blasted dynamic, is how Seele's character is reigned in, time and time again as to make it happen in any capacity.

How is Hoyo able to write such great dynamics way more often than not (yes, of course including ones between female characters, whether done through a lot or little screen-time; ie. Clorinde/Navia, and Beidou/Ningguang), but then looked at Bronya and Seele in HSR and not only absolutely miss the mark, but also actively undo Seele's character as to replicate... HI3's famous F/F ship? And then, what has this caused within the fandom? That anyone who doesn't ship it, is ignoring an F/F ship and therefore should be condemned for social political and representation reasons, while honestly, it simply comes down to the fact that it's not well written from from at least one perspective.

I of course can't touch on Bronya's side of things, but Seele's complete 180 following the revelation that Bronya, too, was an orphan, is absolutely ill-fitting. Would this possibly soften Seele's argumentative nature (that then also was nurtured endlessly throughout the years) a little bit? Sure, but considering how intensely ingrained it is into her character for understandable reasons; it would go excruciatingly slowly. Seele doesn't and wouldn't blush at a thank you, she's likely received enough of them considering her work within Wildfire, and honestly, Bronya isn't exactly someone that Seele would hold in immense admiration so soon (without active evidence)— which if she did at the moment it happens, could explain being lightly taken aback, but alas. Seele and Bronya represent two opposite sides, and as the end of the Trailblazing mission shows, they still argue, and Seele still opposes her. Before yet again, her character is reigned in as to fit into this shipping narrative, instead of having her fiercely defend (and stand up for) what she's very obviously felt strongest about throughout her life, which is the primary reason as to why she's back up in the Overworld to begin with. Let me just present a bit of Seele's second character story:

Before leaving that evening, they sat on a bench in the Executive Plaza as Seele stared at the restaurant opposite them. "Was the Overworld fun, Seele? Wanna come back again later?" "Can I ask you something?" "...What's up? Ask away." "Those Overworlders are only eating half their meal, and threw the rest away." "..." "Do they know that people down below haven't got enough food to eat?" "..." Oleg saw how a look of gloom passed over her tender face. "Let's go back, Oleg. I don't want to come back here again."

And then let me remind you of a cutscene at the end of Belobog's Trailblazing mission, and don't mind me ending the transcript where I'm positive that Seele would have left if it hadn't been for the Astral Express, no matter what Bronya would've said. 'Empty words', after all:

Seele: ...Priorities? What do you mean? Are you saying rebuilding the Underworld isn't one of your "priorities"? Bronya: Of course not! I'm just saying we have limited assets, and we need new parameters. Seele: Assets... parameters... You sure love your fancy words. Seele: Ugh, forget it. Leave it to me. I'll go down myself... Bronya: ...Come on, Seele! I won't leave you to—

[kayoticmusings]

𝓁𝒶𝓉𝑒 𝓃𝒾𝑔𝒽𝓉𝓈 𝒾𝓃 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓂𝒾𝒹𝒹𝓁𝑒 ♡𝒻 𝒿𝓊𝓃𝑒…

hey, roleplayers—it's summertime, and i have a little time for a few new discord plots! some basics about me: 30+, us based, highly experienced writer and roleplayer. i try to be as communicative as possible, and i like when i can find partners who can do the same; whether it be about chatting on how we see the thread going, or giving a heads-up before prolonged absences - communication makes for the best writing experience imo. 𝔂𝓮𝓼 𝓹𝓵𝓼: -•» collaborative and active plotting before and during diving into some fun -plots, regular sharing of headcanons, inspo, playlists, and all that fun stuff. -•» semi-consistent activity (this does not mean daily or even weekly activity, just a general standard expectation range.) -•» mumus!! -•» well-plotted dynamics with a good heaping of smut (for ships, specifically) that adds to the plot instead of becoming the sole purpose. 𝓷𝓸 𝓹𝓵𝓼: -•» muns or muses under 20 years old - sorry! -•» lack of engagement in plotting, complete radio silence ooc, ghosting after deciding on a plot -•» rudeness ooc -•» mary sues/gary stus + overly self-insert plots 𝓸𝓽𝓱𝓮𝓻 𝓭𝓮𝓽𝓪𝓲𝓵𝓼: pls check out my rules, wanted opposites etc, but there will be some things under the read more as well! just know i will ask a lot of clarifying questions on the regular, and it is less that i'm not understanding you, and more so that i want to make sure we are both on the same page! before exchanging discords i would like to see a writing sample (either on your blog or from somewhere else) just to make sure we are compatible before making a server and all that! if interested, feel free to message me directly or ♡ this post, but please have a specific idea (from listed or your own) in mind! 𝓼𝓮𝓮 𝓫𝓮𝓵𝓸𝔀 𝓯𝓸𝓻 𝓼𝓹𝓮𝓬𝓲𝓯𝓲𝓬 𝓽𝓸𝓹 𝔀𝓪𝓷𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓭𝔂𝓷𝓪𝓶𝓲𝓬𝓼!

first and foremost, i'm not strictly looking for ships! while i would like a primary ship or two (love a good mumu) i also adore friend dynamics, family dynamics, and all that shit

environmentalist who regularly gets arrested x their public defender

terrible rich people and the chaos they cause in their inner lives (really would prioritize a mumu here) with a quick example being s.uccession

small town where everyone knows each other + add on some sort of event or trial in which some characters get to see new sides of each other (loosely panic (2021)) inspired) + can easily add southern gothic themes here

hot summer gothic summer vibes! especially with a newcomer in town

university plots (especially any rival dynamics in these settings)

camp counselors (all college-aged and up)

spooky stuff! (hauntings, true crime, paranormal cults)

supernatural SOL •» vampires (vibe wise: blade, trueblood, interview with a vampire) •» witches (not hp related, but definitely darker magical elements) •» fae (with borrowed lore from pagan stuff +the author h.olly b.lack)

on again/off again toxic couple dynamics (bonus points for reality tv vibes)

bright young (inexperienced) political newcomer x jaded grumpy experienced city councilperson [possibly some p.arks & recs vibes]

teachers that have been flirting all year and happen to see each other around during the summertime at a local dive bar (think abbott elementary)

teacher x adult brother/uncle of a student 1x1 meeting that develops into mutual interest

criminal + police chief's daughter (no actual cop characters as direct roleplayable characters tho <3)

crime plots! security guard x rich patron, dealer x opposing dealer, factions with a faction trying to usurp each other - truly endless ideas here

[yuukei-yikes]

What’s your opinion on Harushin (Haruka and Shintaro)? Can be either platonic or romantic

i love that u had to clarify who they are LMAOOO

hmm well i don't like them romantically. when it comes to the yuukei quartet ships I'd put them at the bottom 💔 mostly cuz i just dont ship haruka with anyone other than takane (but for some reason i pass takane around like a blunt) and also it means a lot to me that the reason haruka recognizes he loves takane is bc he defines shintaro as a friend but feels sad putting takane in the same category bc of the different feelings she entails.

and I HAVE THIS PET PEEVE that is a bit silly and nuanced. and it implies a lil bit of jin bashing so TOTAL AND COMPLETE DISCLAIMER i love jin's work and his characters and i immensely respect everything he's done for this franchise he shares with us and clearly loves. that said fuck his misogynistic fucking writing

i could go on and on and on abt that but to answer this ask specifically, i just HATE that shintaro is so nice to haruka and he's just a total ass to ayano and takane for no goddamn reason. takane was SO nice to him at first, could u imagine the good buddies they would've been if shintaro was fucking normal. and shintaro LITERALLY stands in a 2 hour line at the festival just to insult her😭😭😭 he didn't even KNOW her. he's like "u act like this big shot bc all these ppl fawn over you" as if takane hadn't been literally sobbing miserably the whole afternoon precisely bc people were fawning over her and she found it mortifying. bc ofc he didnt know that!! LIKE WHAT WAS THE DAMN REASON HE DID THIS HES CRAZY i will never know what was going thru jin's mind writing that bit but ig all i can do is imagine shintaro was like GIRLS CANT PLAY GAMES *SHAKING* i know im always talking abt shintaro and takane's friendship and how much i love them but god the writing in the hs days is just inexcusable like shintaro is so damn unlikable. i hate when they put him and takane in the same level of irrational arguers bc truly takane is just fucking defending herself. how would u treat a person who didnt even give u a damn chance and just says all that shit to u first meeting. and she's also speaking for ayano too cuz her ass wont defend herself. and also haruka wont say anything. like takanes fighting for her life in here i 10000% support her actions as ene cuz man fuck that guy i find it insane she still cared for him anyway

and it pisses me off that then we see him in novel 6 being totally capable of being a decent fucking person to haruka. like seriously what's his damage. also idk japanese but i THINK shintaro speaks in a polite manner to haruka and not to ayano and takane. obligatory joke im gay not bc i like men but bc i hate women etc etc etc

i could rly go on abt how much it annoys me haruka and shintaro's friendship is super developed opposed to ayano and takane's pathetic dynamic that doesnt pass the already stupid bechdel test (i actually ranted a lil bit abt it on my side twitter a few days ago if you wanna read it LMAO) (it starts as a thread abt harutaka but then i get sidetracked cuz...yeah) BUT THIS IS ABT HARUKA AND SHINTARO SO. yeah u could excuse it with shintaro being the protag and ofc getting a lot more focus on his relationships but still. i kinda resent this aspect of their dynamic so i don't like the ship teehee i just... i think haruka is way too good for him sorry shintaro my man. i say this while shipping shinaya i know but to be fair i make them go through hell in my mind before they can properly be happy together if at all. bc when i start going off abt all this stuff i also start resenting shinaya LMAOOO sometimes i say i like it out of nostalgia but then their whole story together and how theyre literally always destined to find each other (holds head) ok. thats aside the point. i have a complicated relationship to shinaya. it's all abt drawing the line between author and creation and how much u can say augh author is being annoying and augh character is just an ass on purpose. and compared to the pov of all the other kagepro characters, u can indeed see that sexism shit in all of it (i could whip out examples in a second)but on shintaro it is noticeably worse LOL

and again im not blaming fictional characters for author's misogyny, like someone is writing this duuuh which is why haruka never points it out but FROM MY insane perspective i interpret it as haruka recognizing the pattern but he's so damn spineless he can't bring himself to stand up for ayano and takane. he probably makes some comments that shintaro just dimisses and haruka is too nervous to bring them up again *me going off abt the internalized misogyny of fictional characters headcanoned based on the author being misogynistic*

ERM. ANOTHER REMINDER I LOVE KAGEPRO AND I RESPECT JIN FOREVER BC HE IS THE CREATOR OF ALL MY FAVORITE CHARACTERS. but also lol. doesn't mean i cant point out some of this stuff yknooooow

uhhh soooo platonic wise i love them. but its also not my favorite dynamic to explore, id repeat some of the stuff ive already written, it does bother me shintaro is Normal to haruka and not to ayano and takane and haruka acts like nothing. it's just a big thing that annoys me generally abt them lol and i find it tough to separate from author like i normally would with these weird things he includes because this bit is just a whole dynamic you know?? i could.... go on abt this but um. sorry ive been talking for a while. its definitely something im kinda bitter about in the writing.

but still they're definitely sweet, and i understand the appeal completely!!! these are just My thoughts i think its 2023 and i wont get death threats for not liking a ship anymore but also haruka is shintaro's bisexual awakening that is for damn sure. i like entertaining the onesided concept. shintaro being like hahahaha what if we kisssed like ayano and takane apparently did and haruka is like No thanks.

[stardustdiiving]

From the ship ask! What's a pairing most people seem to like in Genshin that you don't?

(ship asks prompt)

MAN OKAY I honestly could answer this with a good third of popular Genshin ships…but none of these are really solid dislikes, it’s just me feeling specific about how I like to see it executed & finding the way the fandom handles it is either unsatisfying, or generates an environment that kinda stresses me out NJDNCNC

To narrow it down to one I feel matches the question best I think I’m gonna go with Kokomi/Sara. It’s not really an active dislike or anything I promise I’m genuinely chilling. *insane person voice* but see I am just very stressed out with the in universe geo-politics happening in the background of this Genshin impact ship

I MEAN THAT IN A VERY SILLY WAY. but also I do have a genuine elaboration on what i mean which is like…how do I say this.

I really like Watasumi Island and find their existence + circumstances as a nation really interesting, especially regarding their dynamic with the Shogunate—it’s like the one part of inazuman politics that really catches my interest. But see the way I took the way the Shogunate + Watasumi dynamic was being written was specifically that Watasumi is/was suffering from colonization/imperialism at the hands of the Shogunate. I don’t see them as equal enemies on opposing sides of a conflict I’m just kind of like. Oh my god the Shogunate tries to control their primary food sources + military and after the war u see like, Gorou helping smuggle medicine and food supplies to treat their wounded war veterans bc the Shogunate is imposing high taxes on them they can’t afford to pay. The Raiden Shogun slaughtered their deity who was kind of backed into a corner on trying to secure vital resources for his people and to this day his corpse is just sitting on her territory getting ravaged and mined for weapons !! That’s crazy! I like thinking Abt that!

While I think Inazuma suffered from the writers dropping the ball with a lot of things I am generally happy this dynamic is explored/acknowledged repeatedly and Watasumi at least to me doesn’t feel like it’s constantly written in a really meanspirited and shitty way you know. Like, in the medicine supply smuggling thing i mentioned — that’s a route in Heizhou’s hangout that ends in a conclusion that something may have severely hurt the vitality of Watasumi’s land and it’s ability to provide, but that doesn’t mean they won’t survive or all hope is lost, because theres people within Watasumi who care and embody that hope and vitality within themselves and are working hard to build stability and provide for everyone. Like idk that’s really cool and I genuinely found it a really nice narrative that really makes me root for Watasumi

But then we get to Sara & Kokomi and ppl just do not talk about this dynamic between both nations at all from what I see, despite it being really relevant to the characters and in theory the appeal of the ship? And I jusurjfucn I guess it confuses me a lot bc I remember, most recently for example on the TCG event, I was so confused seeing everyone post about their interactions for days about how it was cute they were engaging in card matches together and Sara wanted to be friends…and then I played the event myself and we get this scene where Kokomi is standing off starring out at sea alone, and she talks about how she doesn’t like how she can’t see Watasumi from here, and how that was especially agonizing to experience during the war, and then gets caught up in her memories of the war and talks about how a lot of her people are still recovering from the trauma of it, and how she’s participating in this event bc she’s anxious about wanting to build good relations between the Shogunate and Watasumi so her nation doesn’t suffer more in the future AND IM JUST…MAN

Like I do think I can see Sara & Kokomi being friends, Sara’s character feels like it’s the concept of “individual with genuinely good morals working in an oppressive system doesnt stop the damage the system causes” kind of deal BUT IDK…I get fandom experiences can very anecdotal and I’m sure there are shippers who handle this aspect of the ship but when at large it just feels like it’s filed down to a vague enemies to lovers + contrasting aesthetic girlfriends ship I guess it def leans more towards being one I’m not really into. I think it doesn’t help it strikes the specific fandom pet peeve I have where I sometimes feel ppl water down a lot of wlw ships down to just being surface level cute and I am a lesbian who likes very nuanced and complicated character dynamic exploration so I’m personally just like. Yeah idk I guess this seems rlly widely accepted fanon wise but I don’t rlly click with it at all djjcnfj while I could be interested in this dynamic being explored, just if I were doing my own take on it ik adding romantic tones wouldnt feel super necessary to make it feel more interesting to me personally yk x__x

I just feel very excitable about a lot of genshin things and Watasumi vs Shogunate related things hits that mark of interest for me…definitely not implying the shippers r doing something wrong by making silly lighthearted posts and being less interested in types of analysis I enjoy but I guess that’s the most popular ship I feel the least interested in I can think of?