#I actually feel like this about a couple fandoms ngl

[threadtalks]

Literally just crying because I'm so overwhelmed, not knowing how the fuck to keep up with fandom news because nothing seems to work the way it used to and I don't know how to cope with it. I feel so disconnected from something that still gets occasional post-series content because and brought me so much joy for years. I deeply love it but feel like there's no way to connect with other people. I feel like I might as well still be offline.

[beloveds-embrace]

Tbh I'm starting to suspect that most of my asks for you are just going to be me affectionately yelling at you.

Because you've given me so many ideas???? And now I'm faced with the constant "LEMME GIVE THIS READER A FRIEND PLEASE LET ME BE HER FRIEND"

Dukedom AU? Congrats, Reader now has a friend who's father was Riley's and Price's general and while she has no doubts about Reader's husband, they haven't seen each other since Reader's parents practically forbid it in their teens and- actually, isn't Duke Riley still friends with Duke Price? And unmarried? ... She has a letter to write. Short and simple should do it. (And maybe her and Reader resume their queerplatonic relationship- the Friend is devoted to the Reader like a cat returns to the same home that lets it chase the rats)

Shifter AU? Here, Reader's friend is a demigod (Zeus' kid who begged for Hera's forgiveness and bound herself to the goddess in blood and ink) who works nights and lets it known exactly how she feels about her friend being taken without letting her know first via lightening storm over the whole fucking city until she knows Reader is safe. (And maybe she's slowly becoming a minor deity herself. Maybe Soap gets a whiff of hair bleach when she's pissed, or tattoo ink when she's cackling, or antiseptic when she's offering comfort).

Fertility God AU? The deity of death visits sometimes, calm and quiet and peaceful- a reminder that it is dying that's painful, while death itself is nothingness. She never picks the plants herself, merely grabs the flowers Reader picked already and uses that to tap noses. Okay I might actually just take the idea of 141 serving their war god and the war god being slowly brought to his knees and going a whole other direction with it.

Just. Let me give these soft Readers Fierce Friends who'll take one look at these military men and be like "Bitch you still have an Achilles tendon, I will cut you down if you hurt them." And maybe that's a turn-on for a couple of them, idk it could happen.

So. Many. Ideas. And I'm like, buzzing with insecurity about writing them because they weren't mine to start with and tbh Tumblr is really the only way I know these characters? And also I appreciate it if you made it this far through my word vomit thank you for your time and have a good day!

As long as the yelling comes from a place of love who am I to complain? 😌💕

Also omg yes every reader needs a friend. A good, dependable friend that lessens the angst just a little.

Also omg yes?? If Friend manages to even convince Simon to marry her, with the promise that she wants nothing romantic with him just a way to be close to you again, then she’d also solve the rumors that still spread about Simon’s unmarried status even with the general fear of him. And you get your darling Friend close again! Win-win, and the 141 get to see you exceptionally happy and excited.

Friend looked away for just a short while and then returns to learn your shitty boyfriend has cheated on you with your other shitty friend she never liked, you aren’t anywhere in your home and you haven’t gone to work and you have been kidnapped by some pack of shifters- personally, anyone would be fucking pissed too ngl. Friend probably smells the loveliest when she’s with you, though, when she sees you happy at last.

Now the Fertility god au I’m gonna need more from you babes you can’t just leave me hanging here 👁️👁️ /nf

And yes. Like I said all readers deserve a fierce friend it’s not a law but it should be and yes to that too i need them to blur the lines between friends and lovers just a lil too. Life’s more that way, me thinks.

Also no please don’t worry, fandom spaces are shared and new writings are always welcome 😭🫶🏻 i haven’t laid a single finger on any of the games im just rawdogging it too dw so you should absolutely write if you want to without fear!! Thank you for this wonderful ask I loved reading it!

[magpiefngrl]

halfway through 2024 book review

June isn't over yet but I'm looking at a couple of very busy weeks so it's unlikely I'll read a gazillion new books or something by end of month. So we do this now!

books I enjoyed so far

Aliette de Bodard's Dominion of the Fallen series, set in a post-apocalyptic Paris with fallen angels and magic and dragons in the Seine. I didn't quite love the three main novels, but I enjoyed how unique the world-building was. However, I REALLY loved the last two novellas about Asmodeus and his husband Thuan, who are a delicious pairing. The novellas are: Of Charms, Ghosts and Grievances and Of Dragons, Feasts and Murders.

Pacat's Dark Heir, which I enjoyed so much that I went back to reread Dark Rise and then again, Dark Heir. I liked the second novel a lot more than the first (and I actually ended up appreciating the first novel more on my reread). Needless to say, I am very, very impatient about the end of the series.

A Nobleman's Guide to Seducing a Scoundrel. KJC has done it again. The sequel to her Doomsday Books series is fantastic, with a vivid cast, an excellent main pairing, and superb pacing. Couldn't put it down. A great historical m/m romance.

The Warrior's Apprentice by Lois McMaster Bujold. I'd heard a lot about Miles and it was fun seeing him bullshit his way across the galaxy.

The Mountains of Mourning by Lois McMaster Bujold. A novella in the Vorkosigan saga. Very touching and emotional and a great character study of Miles. Really loved this.

Newcomer by Keigo Higashino. This dude is seriously amazing at crafting unusual murder mysteries. This one is structured as vignettes of shop-owners in a Tokyo neighbourhood and, as the stories progress, more light is shed on the mystery of a strangled woman.

Faithful Place and The Secret Place by Tana French. Fantastic prose, absorbing murder mysteries that are more like deep character studies as well as an incisive portrait of contemporary Ireland.

The Lady of the Lake by Andrzej Sapkowski. This is pretty grim at times, ngl, but it has a daring structure with lots of POVs, switching between numerous timelines, a frame device, lots of found materials (essays and chapters from fictional books). All that worked for me very well. I love some experimentation with craft. I wouldn't say it was my fave read, but I'm happy that I finally reached the end; completing a series always gives me a dopamine rush so yay

progress on my reading goals

A reminder that my two goals for the year are:

to read (some or all of) the Vorkosigan saga

to read less or no US authors

I'm doing pretty well on those two scores. Read a few installments of the Vorkosigan saga, and (besides Bujold and a poetry anthology by Maggie Smith) have read no other US-based authors. My intention was to diversify my reading and, indeed, so far, I've read French, Japanese, Polish, UK, Australian, Irish, and currently reading a Ukrainian author.

fics I loved

I've not read as many books as I normally do so far, esp in the last couple of months, but I read a lot more fic than recent years. I've read some fab stuff in a variety of fandoms. The fics I'm going to rec below are the longer ones that I read on my ereader:

Tarnished Gold by Prim_the_Amazing (bingqiu/svsss, M, 118k) Inventive premise. Couldn't put it down.

Memory (T, 23k) and Out of the Dead Land (M, 62k), both stucky, both orphaned by one of my top authors ever. The second one gave me the worst fic hangover I had in ages. I had to go and rewatch Captain America.

contrapasso by damagecontrol (jegulus, E, 41k) Very horny. I like that.

Fire Burn and Caldron Bubble by pastapug (jegulus, E, 40k) Lush language, fascinating setting.

Beholden by Faith Wood (faithwood) (drarry, E, 123k) Gave me all the drarry feels.

Shout out to @hoko-onchi-writes's WIP: To Hold You in the Earth's Unholy Din, which I am loving <3

That's all, folks. Here's hoping for more wonderful reads till December!

[ssparksflyy]

what if. hera DID have children but they were born in a more athena-like way, and not how demigods are typically born

ALLOW ME TO ELABORATE

what if children of hera were born from a feeling or emotion or just idea so deep, that hera is able to transfer that energy into a human-like form?? OR what if she just like decided to make herself pregnant IDK LMAO

but i mean like what if she blessed/gave (???) lets say something like couples who want kids but cannot have them, or couples that lost their baby/mothers who had a miscarriage

im fully aware anybody who has a miscarriage still has a chance of giving birth to another baby, so this part kinda applies more towards couples that want kids but cant have them- but id say she looks for people who desperately want and are worthy to have kids, and kinda like (god i wish you guys could see my hand movements right now) gives them a child??? idk i mean she could just kinda like leave a kid on their front doorstep and just so happens to be a perfect mix of the couple (or person)?? something like that??

yea i know its such a weird concept and very loose but i think its a nice thought ! like the goddess of childbirth using her power to help those who want but cannot have kids

i think artemis would also have to play a role in this, like she and hera judge and evaluate whoever theyre gonna give a kid to so they know theyre not giving it to somebody who wont treat the kid right or like a couple that thinks having a kid will fix their relationship

AGAIN very very vague and probably doesnt align with greek mythology at all but like this is directed for the pjo fandom anyway so any greek mythology nerds out there pls dont come for me in my dms 😭

and now we enter the questioning period

"would they still be considered demigods?"

i think so yep!! cause yk they came directly from hera .. she created them .. kinda like athena babies !! theyd obviously stay in cabin two :)

"do the parents know their kid is a demigod?"

i mean like no demigod parents know that their kid is but i feel like hera would leave a little note with the kid making up a story about how she needs somebody to take care of the kid cause she cant or wtv but then shed actually sign it 'hera' (and probs add like a little heart or something or maybe theres like a mini peacock drawing on the card) but i think most parents would just kinda brush her name off i dont think they would really realize like 'ohmygod the queen of the heavens hath given me a child' yaknow

"what traits or powers would a child of hera have?"

ummm idk. im not thought daughter enough for that ngl, especially cause their nonexistent and this is literally just me making up a theory but i feel like she mostly has daughters (cause shes the goddess of women - but that doesnt answer the question at all), i think theyd be really sweet (even though hera is a jerk in the books), and i feel like theyd also be good at archery and have an interest in nature, that they get from artemis :)

oh also!! these kids are like rare. like big three rare- max three roll around every decade or so

lmk what u think !! ˊᵕˋ

[gacha-incels]

It's astounding that these liberal bootlickers *still* can't do the basic ass things of just re-examine those official posts, consult with those who can speak the language and look up the translated threads of the unions' responses.

And before anyone tries to rebuke, no, the things said in both the August & September posts WEREN'T condemnation, just vague corporate reassurances without any statements direct intentions or actions against the perpetrators.

Are these people that cocked up in their echo-chambers to hear out of another person's culture or are they *that* sensitive of hearing of things they like that has done bad things?

ngl at some point it really does feel obscene to me seeing people write about how PM & Limbus are some top tier progressive anticapitalist haven full of lgbt+ characters while Korean women try to tell them the company’s antifeminist actions are actively harming female workers and perpetuating this misogynistic 🤏 witch hunt.

like of course MTL is not perfect here but essentially she’s saying “if you’re a transphobe in PM’s fictional city it’s unacceptable but if you’re a feminist working for PM in reality you’re at risk of losing your job. I’m surprised people who are sensitive to representations of queer fictional characters are indifferent to the labor rights of Project Moon’s employees.” This is just one example, couple of days ago I had posted another, it comes up quite often. these users are trying to tell you that this is something that directly affects Korean women in reality and you just tell them, what? they’re wrong, they don’t get it, actually what PM did was normal in their country and they had no other choice?? it must be fine because the lead singer of mili is a woman and still works with PM and this is actually just like the hays code in the US? I honestly cannot believe someone had the gall to write that last one in their “PM masterpost”. the Korean users telling you this organized boycotts, frequent digital hashtag campaigns to get information out in multiple languages, completely removed fan accounts, created an organization to help victims of feminist ideological verification, monggeu came forward explaining her awful working conditions, Mimi legally took Wonderlab down because she did not want to be associated with project moon. honestly it’s been incredible watching them rise to the occasion and accomplish so much. and you think….what exactly when you see this? that actually all of these people directly affected by the misogynist, incel catering actions of project moon are just misguided fools who don’t understand what happened? that these women are worthy sacrifices for a gambling game because you think it has some epic capitalism takedown and there are male characters who have traditionally female names?

Why do they defend PM so vehemently in the face of critique? I think part of it is this increasingly common phenomenon where these fans need to think project moon must completely have the same progressive political leanings as them because they enjoy consuming the works and they consider themselves progressive, therefore the reverse must be true, that the media they enjoy must also be ideologically progressive because they enjoy it. it’s why they’re so shocked when someone completely different from them in political leanings enjoys PM’s games, we saw this as well when Arknights KR engaged in feminist ideological verification. these high earning gambling games can make all the vague political statements they want but it doesn’t mean jack shit if they’re engaging in antifeminism and harming employees in reality. in the past decade (and especially 2020 until now) “fandom” and “consuming content” have evolved into integral parts of these people’s personalities (especially those who are gen Z and younger) and have significant impacts on how they interact with others and how they see themselves. they wrack their brains coming up with excuses for project moon’s antifeminist actions and this genuinely gets fanfiction tier at some point.

like look at this example from that “PM masterpost” a user here on tumblr made. this is the same one we were discussing earlier that reposted rumors slandering the youth union.

beyond the ridiculous untrue claims (this is nothing like the hays code, what PM did was not normal, Mihoyo isn’t the only company that told incels to fuck off, they also have offices in SK and had literally dealt with a bomb threat at one of their SK events, etc…u get it, I’m not going thru every word) you can see this wild conjecture regarding the actions taken by the 2 studios. To me this is an example that shows how much these people defending Project Moon warp their thinking in order to keep believing this company is “progressive”. The company Mihoyo that did not respond to incels’ increasingly ridiculous harassment, blocked their livestream chat then deleted all their misogynistic comments in the next livestream and was one of the only (if not the only) targeted companies that did not take Studio Ppuri’s work for them down - this is presented as essentially “whatever” and further downplayed by saying “I personally doubt [this] was a part of any deeply held opinion on women’s rights.” And Project Moon, the company that folded to incel demands immediately, fired a woman at their behest, sued unions and condemned them in their later statements while saying absolutely nothing about the incels that caused the incident, put memes in their gacha game from the very community these incels came from, makes sure to dutifully censor any🤏 in their gambling game, worked the Leviathan artist so hard she contemplated suicide frequently and had to get IVs? These things are presented as just inevitabilities of operating in South Korea and PM is lauded as “I can’t believe PM is fundamentally misogynistic.” The editorializing is absurd. imo there also comes a time where you compare your “poor little South Korean gacha game who just got caught in the crossfire and actually they are totally progressive and feminist 🥺” to the “Chinese company Mihoyo who does whatever to keep getting the most money and has no morals about it” that at some point starts to lean heavier on sinophobia. I’m not here to blow smoke up Mihoyo’s ass but I do think their action regarding the korean incels’ harassment was significant at a time when companies were falling over themselves to kiss incel ass. And, as has been discussed before on this blog, Project Moon’s capitulation to incels was also significant just in the opposite, misogynistic direction. idk it just gets so unbelievably frustrating to see English speaking users who believe themselves to be “progressive” or “leftist” making excuses because they want to keep playing videogames without feeling guilt meanwhile the Korean fanbase has consistently mobilized digitally and irl to spread info, protest, raise money, etc. like how are you not feeling any shame whatsoever after seeing how principled they are?

[nono-bunny]

Having ADHD is so weird because the expected experience is for you to have a very short attention span, which is why as a kid my parents were initally very unsure about me having it. I used to spend literal hours in front of the TV, on the computer, or reading books- if anything, it was getting me to stop and take a break that was the issue! They did not, however, see me in school, where since everything was really easy to me I would just find ways of otherwise occupying myself (I actually don't? Remember those days before I was medicated too well, it was YEARS ago, but I know that I for sure got multiple books confiscated for reading in class lol)

It obviously turned out to be me having some real intense hyper-focus and a difficulty telling the passage of time, which evidently is still an issue to this day because I just spent like literally six, maybe seven hours lurking on the Obey Me tag before I even noticed and now it's 5 a.m. but my sleep schedule is already fucked because this keeps happening so it's no problem /s

Anyway. I actually can't get down with short form content, I literally never downloaded TikTok to this day because it holds no appeal to me even though I KNOW I'm missing out, just because my idea of a good time involves watching a multiple hours long video essay on some remote fandom I may or may not have ever been a part of, and to me shorts are like... So boring in comparison? Which ngl makes me feel like an old lady because there's this whole thing about zoomers having short attention spans, which... I do, I still cannot learn anything that doesn't interest me to save my life (and in the past, my grades) but then I go on to spend hours learning about just completely meaningless stuff like it's the most important thing in the world, because at the moment, it is to me, to the point where I literally forget/don't realize I need to eat, sleep, and use the bathroom.

Like!! I only learned that this is even an ADHD/neurodivergence thing in the last couple of years, I just spent my entire life up to that point absolutely baffling my parents and being baffled by how other people don't become so invested in stuff that they could literally starve by accident without even noticing!! Like, truly, no one told me hyper-focus (and hyperfixation by extention) is such a big part of ADHD and I? Kinda wish I knew that earlier, even if it was just so I could have a name to the thing I do all of the time

[kyojurismo]

I don't know if I did this one before so sorry if I did but can I have headcanons of Obanai, Sanemi and Shinobu dating Giyuu Civilian one year younger sister? Like this girl is an absolute sweetheart and the popular one but despite that is so kind and loving especially to Giyuu and is one of the few that is able to make him smile, laugh and spoil? Also Giyuu Hella protective of her.

▸ ANSWERING. hello! actually yes you already requested something like this but since this ask is more specific i’m using it haha, no worries tho <3

▸ FANDOM. kimetsu no yaiba

▸ CHARACTERS. sanemi shinazugawa, obanai iguro & shinobu kocho x fem!reader

▸ RATING. sfw

▸ WARNINGS. giyu is here but i mainly focused on these three lol, fluff, making out, not proofread

giyu is 21 y/o, so are sanemi & obanai, while shinobu is 19 y/o, so that makes reader 20 years old in this (just doing the math, don’t mind me)

SANEMI SHINAZUGAWA

sanemi couldn’t stand your brother, but when he noticed you that one time tomioka took you to meet oyakata-sama

his gaze softened, yeah that sounds cliché but it’s true

you were like a little ray of sunshine

he approached you when you were alone

well, alone = without giyu

due to your personality you were pretty popular so you had a lot of friends

you always found time to take care of giyu, taking him to eat salmon daikon and basically spoil him

he’s always seen laughing and smiling when you’re around

giyu discovered about you two dating when you were wishing sanemi good luck before a mission and he almost passed out when he saw the wind hashira grab your face and kiss you passionately

he tried to convince you lo leave him because he thought sanemi was pretty reckless in battles and also his hot temper wasn’t one of his best qualities

but if you were happy he respected your decision, he just wanted to protect you after all

“sanemi is really sweet, giyu! don’t worry too much,” you smiled softly at him, reassuring your older brother

OBANAI IGURO

don’t ask me how you two got together

it just happened

literally, obanai grew so fond of you that he started being around you every moment

kaburamaru showed his interest for you and loved getting petted by you

“he don’t bite,” obanai said confidently, letting you hold his little friend

“yes he does!” here’s giyu to the rescue

[IT’S ALL TIKTOK FAULT BYE]

kaburamaru did in fact hissed at your brother, but because he wanted to keep getting petted by you

he was even more surprised when you two started dating

obanai took you eating, you two usually walked a lot together when he wasn’t busy with slayers duty, he also gifted you with cute hairpins and jewellery

he spoiled you ngl

he surprisingly started leaving tomioka alone so you won’t get upset at him

giyu accepted the fact that you loved him and that somehow he was the right one for you

SHINOBU KOCHO

shinobu found you interesting and there was something about you that drew her attention

it started as a friendship because at first you were clueless lol

but you discovered you actually liked her more than just a friend

“my little sister and the insect hashira were holding hands the whole time?” he stared at rengoku, his face white paled. “yes, they were! a very cute couple, i must say!” smiles widely unaware about giyu’s true feelings

dead shocked

but she’s a reliable and caring person

the fact that you two were dating was confirmed when giyu surprised you making out with shinobu not too far from his mansion

“you told me tomioka was on a mission, darling,” shinobu chuckled when she noticed how tensed up he seemed. “he was!”

i think that shinobu being your girlfriend didn’t took that much time to settle in his mind, she wasn’t too bad after all

he trusted her with you and noticed the way she acted when you were around

the bullying didn’t stop tho ):

but you made her promise to quit tormenting your brother

▸ BEFORE LEAVING. reblog and comments are super appreciated. shinobu’s part is a bit weak ngl, but i interrupted writing the whole piece multiple times due to being busy these days, so i apologise. thank you for reading !! ♡

[littleholmes]

ngl I actually feel a bit of relief knowing jjk is ending soon. I knew it was coming given recent chapters and Hori ending BNHA and the way Gege tends to parallel and follow Hori in certain things, but it’s helpful to know that there’s an end in sight.

I’ll do a proper write up of my thoughts later maybe, but right now all I can think is, it makes sense. There’s nowhere else for it to go at this point—at least not without dragging things on and making things more painful than they need to be for these characters and for the fandom. We’ve been in an endgame for a while. I knew it when we lost the most powerful character, because we couldn’t progress until that Gojo and Sukuna showdown happened, and it was solidified for me when we lost one of the next most powerful characters, Yuta. The minute we lost Yuta, I knew that Gege was nearing the end of this. The most recent chapters have only solidified it so to finally have confirmation that we’re at the end is a relief. As a writer, from a storytelling standpoint, idk how to describe it right now because I’m tired, but it just makes sense that we’re nearing the end in five chapters.

Plus, this fight with Sukuna has to end soon, it just has to. There’s only so many more times he can use reverse cursed tech and only so many more domain expansions before Yuji dies or Sukuna dies or both. Five chapters is just enough for this fight to wrap and to maybe get an aftermath chapter where we close things out…maybe.

We only have so many characters left, only so many left in the roster who can feasibly do something battle wise against Sukuna who just keeps recovering his strength, and in the last few chapters Yuji has shown growth that resolves a couple of the reasons why he went down some of these paths as a sorcerer. And because the fight with Sukuna needs to be wrapped up, there’s only so many options of what can come next. If he wins, yikes; if he loses, what’s left is how this world carries on and rebuilds with whoever is left.

l’m probably not popular in this opinion, and that’s fine, but I just... I think it’s time. I love this series. I’m sad to see it end, and would love for there to be more but, it’s time. It’s time. For Gege’s sake as an overworked mangaka, for the sake of this series and not stretching things out longer than they need to be, for the sake of us as fans and the pain that comes from each chapter with yet another dead character. (Plus, idk about y’all but I know at least a few people who stopped reading or don’t keep up with the series as much because a character they care about is dead or in will-maybe-be-dead limbo [Megumi, Nobara], and things are so bleak right now I don’t blame them, so with a margin however small/large of people losing interest or voicing their displeasure online, that influences various things, etc etc But I digress..)

It was never a happy series. This series has always been heavy. It was always going to hurt, but I think it’s time and I’m glad Gege is able to call it now, on their terms, rather than later, and get to wrapping this up. It’s time for us to get closure with these characters and this story and for Yuji, it’s time for this series to go out now, rather than with whimper a year from now when fans would be wishing for it to end in like February or something when only 3 characters and Sukuna are left.

[lightgriffinsect]

OH MY GOD FINALLY SOMEONE ELSE WHO HATES COUGAR’S CONTENT

before he started making those weird shipping videos I actually liked his fnf comic dub but then he started making content farm shipping videos at first I didn’t mind until the thumbnails for the videos started becoming really suggestive

and yes I know fnf is not a kid friendly game but it got really annoying and gross that every tabi video is just him being harassed by that tall girl (I forgot her name) and most of the videos were giving toxic couples vibes like seriously why is tabi always getting paired with a bunch of female characters like what is this a love triangle anime????😭😭😭

it doesn’t help the fact that cougar's voice B3 boyfriend from the B3 remixed mod so with this shit going on it can cause the dev team to kick him off (I hope they does because honestly his voice doesn’t fit B3 boyfriend) and find a new va 

and now he’s making farm content videos of the smiling critters from poppy playtime by making them hot furry characters LIKE DUDE THOSE ARE CHILDREN TOYS WHY ARE YOU SEXUALIZING!???!?!?!?!?!

So yeah I hope someone can tabi away from this man

the tall girl you're referring to is Nikusa, the kinda-sorta villain(?) of FNF Entity. she's an awesome character who also doesn't deserve the crap Cougar put her through.

speaking of which, EXACTLY???? I never liked cougar's dubs at all tbh; even comics that I personally had read beforehand, which had no hints of romance or shipping whatsoever, became so uncomfortably sexual and harem-y the moment Cougar got permission to dub them. i imagine there were artists who didn't want their work cast in this light at all, and I just feel horrible for them. it's really gross.

and honestly??? FNF being a mature game has NOTHING to do with the overly sexual thumbnails and blatant disrespect of Homskiy's and other creators' wishes for their characters. that doesn't make it okay at all. it doesn't matter how family friendly an IP is, if it's popular, people who only value views WILL come up with the most disgusting clickbait garbage as long as it gets them attention. content farms will oversexualize the most innocent of child-friendly characters in order to get views. FNF being for older audiences doesn't make it better.

cougar's channel has become nothing more than one of these farms. he just happens to be using a former friend's beloved character as a mascot, which only makes it worse.

it reminds me of the downfall of Gametoons and EnchantedMob, ngl. they used to make awesome videos with genuine effort and well-thought out plotlines. now their content is in a similar state. it's disgusting. the fact that cougar has let his standards devolve to this is abhorrent.

every artist has boundaries when it comes to fanart of their work. for such a renowned person in the FNF fandom, with such a large platform, to NOT make sure he isn't crossing those boundaries, and in fact actively disrespect them, sets a terrible precedent for future "big" mod devs to follow.

cougar absolutely cannot get away with this. too many other people in this fandom have, but this is something everyone has borne witness to. it is 2024, and we're sick of seeing this. we want every scrap of what we have left.

i honestly hope the remaining mod devs are doing alright. i haven't talked about them much but their experience working on Vs. Ex is no less valid. it's sickening that cougar took advantage of minors to finish all the work on their own so he could slack off. again, an ADULT could not be bothered to handle anything of the mod development, so he left it all to the rest of the team that he was leading, most of whom were MINORS.

cougar must be held accountable for his blatant disregard for Homskiy's boundaries, breaking his trust and using his beloved character against him. no one should forget how he exploited his underage co-devs to dump all the stress of finishing the mod on them.

Tabi's character is beloved to not only Homskiy and the other devs who actually worked on the mod, not only the Entity creators, but to all of us. everyone in the FNF fandom who has gone out of their way to make art for Tabi, everyone who has cared enough to even praise this art, to seek it out, we know this character's worth. we are the ones who value him.

the same goes for Nikusa, and Ayana, and every other character that he's reduced to shipping fodder and suggestive thumbnail art. I just hope outsiders and people who only know them through cougar's "dubs" will understand the same.

[randoimago]

Day 7 - Huddling for Warmth

Fandom: Yakuza

Character(s): Saejima

Type of Request: 31 Days of Oc-Trope-R

Note(s): Ngl I did not think I'd love Saejima as much as I do. Also there isn't really any mention of the current relationship of Saejima and Reader. It can be viewed as pining or like early stages of dating.

The apartment was cold today. It's winter in Kamurocho and the heating in your apartment just had to go out. You had thrown all the blankets you could into a pile to try and keep warm. You had every one of your heavy jackets there too. But it still felt too cold.

Saejima, was unaware of this when he decided to come over. He was in the area due to helping random people with nonsense, and thought he'd stop by to see you. He also terribly missed you, but it was still hard for him to actually say those words and he hopes the steamed bun and candies he brought can convey what he can't say.

He knocked on the door and waited for you to answer. He managed to pick up a groan from your side of the door and that caused him to be a bit curious, but also worried. Before he could kick the door in, it opened, and he saw you in what seemed to be multiple jackets.

"Planning to go outside?" He asks, confused as to why you would do that, but also a bit worried that him coming over interrupted some plans you might have had. You just try to muster a smile for him, but he can tell you're not in the mood.

"Heat is out in my apartment," you tell him as you step aside so he can walk in. An immediate wave of concern hits him as he walks inside and can feel that it's not much warmer inside than it is outside. At least you have four walls and a roof so the wind can't get to you, but it's still very concerning.

"Is no one doing maintenance? You'll freeze," Saejima asks, a tad pissed off now at the thought of you being stuck in your apartment without any heating. He then looks to you and gives you a scolding look. "You should have called."

"Well, I didn't call because I didn't think it would be too big of a deal. And I thought that the heating would be fixed by now."

"Did they give an estimate of how long it would take?" Saejima questions as he walks into the room and sees the pile of blankets and jackets on your couch. You always said the living room was warmer than the rest of the place, so he guesses it's good that you moved everything here.

"A couple hours," you answer and Saejima hands you the steamed bun and sets your candies aside. He turns to look at you and you shake your head. "Before you mention going anywhere, I really don't feel like leaving the apartment today even though it's freezing."

"A couple hours in this cold isn't good. Prison was warmer than this even in winter," Saejima mutters as he watches the satisfied look on your face as you bite into the steamed bun and hold it in your face. For a split second, he thinks about how cute you are, but he quickly pushes it away because there's more important things to worry about. "I'm staying until your heating is fixed," he decides.

"You don't have-" The stern look he gives you is enough for you to take another bite of the food and stay quiet.

"I'm staying with you. If the heating doesn't get fixed in the time you were told, then you're staying at my apartment in the meantime," he says and he feels a bit bad about telling you what you're going to do. But he's glad that you don't seem in a mood to argue with him.

"Fine, freeze with me then," you say and finish your bun. You move to the blanket pile and curl up under them, giving him a look. "You going to join me? You'll freeze if you don't," you state and now Saejima hesitates.

He always tries to respect your personal space. He's been much more of a giver of gifts than affection. And while he very much likes the idea of cuddling with you under some blankets, he is still worried about overstepping boundaries.

And then he sees you shivering, and his mind is made up as he moves closer, picking up the blankets so he can sit down before he lets them fall on top of him. There is still a moment of hesitation before he pulls you against his chest. You were shivering and he knows body heat is a good way to warm up. Saejima is glad that he has the self-control to not shiver as he feels you against him like this.

You sigh and Saejima looks down at you, his heart speeding up a bit as you make eye contact, and a smile crosses your face. "Maybe I should've called you. You're really warm," you tell him, and he can't help an amused smile back as he holds you a tad tighter.

"You're warm too," he mutters and while you don't carry the amount of body heat that he does, he can feel how easily his body heats up and how warm his heart is with having you this close.

[amerricanartwork]

Y’know, I have a funny story with the ship between Innocence and Pebbles.

@eggobuggo , my sister, was playing The Sims and made the iterators in her own humanised forms, including her version of Innocence and Wind, along with Moon, Pebbles, NSH and Suns, all with their own personalities and stuff. She set up a generic apartment, put the gang in, and just had fun making them do silly shenanigans together, while I sit and watched her play.

In particular, we headcanon NSH, Pebbles and Innocence as Gen 3s, the newer modes, and so she made them into teenagers, which, with a DLC, have a whole new host of features that are not in the base game. This includes getting crushes (which weirdly enough, young adults and adults cannot get).

But anyway, one day, later into the game (the gang basically all were in the high end of the friendship scale with each other), the notif board popped up that Innocence had gotten a crush on Pebbles. Unfortunately for her, NSH and Pebs were already being all flirty with each other (Ragequit is where it’s at for us), making Pebble basically keep her in the friendzone. Ngl, my heart went out to her :,) Especially so, because they were all sharing a room. (space was tight)

After that, I began thinking about it in context of it in-universe, and ngl, I came to quite liking it as a ship, especially since I see Innocence to be less… asshole-ish (?), I guess, than what the general fandom makes her out to be (I mean it’s understandable, we only see her to leak the pic of Pebbles condition and that’s it.). To me and Eggo, she’s much nicer unless you really piss her off, which then, her more cynical and gossipy side of her comes out. She was actually more of on the friends side with Pebble before the shit went down.

At the time, I thought “dang, it’s a shame I won’t be seeing anything of it since she’s so obscure.”. This was a couple months before I began seeing art of them on the main tag.

Soooo… I guess I’m somewhat of an og Milkshake (as is the fandom name) shipper???

Just, seeing you and others make art about them is almost surreal in a way, since the only reason I really considered them as a ship was cuz of a random event in a life sim game lol.

Also @eggobuggo, I hope you don’t mind me sharing the story. :)

Wow, that seems like quite the story! And I do agree, after witnessing something like that in a totally different game it must be pretty surreal to see the ship gaining popularity in the actual RW fandom now too! It's nice to get another seal of approval from an original Milkshake shipper!

For me, it's also a bit strange because it's something I've considered for a really long time as a lingering "oh, wouldn't it be cool if I could make this work?" idea. The obscurity and lack of content for UI to draw inspiration from, both canon and fanon, definitely added to these feelings and the difficulty of imagining a working portrayal of the ship, hence I've only recently felt confident enough about the relationship and UI as a character to act on it. So after Pura coined the ship name and made a lot more art of it, then other artists started expressing approval and even drawing it themselves, it almost feels like I'm watching the ship enter the mainstream (Tumblr) fandom consciousness in real time, which is honestly pretty cool, especially since it feels like I had a hand in it with that initial ask! And even if I wasn't the very first to consider it, I'll definitely continue supporting this ship!

For some other thoughts though, I totally agree on Innocence not being mean in reality, though for me she's not mean or gossipy at all and more so has a kind-of opposite major flaw that tends to cause bad things unintentionally. As much as I can understand interpreting the character as a genuinely mean person, I thought it'd be interesting to imagine that her leaking the rot simply caused others to perceive her as mean, not that she's that way in reality. After all, I don't think we ever see direct dialogue from Innocence in canon, and the only evidence I can find of her being mean is Wind's speculation on her motivations. I also took inspiration from @shkika's Innocence, but I just wanted to see if I could take those ideas further to create my own unique interpretation.

Also, it's actually pretty coincidental you're telling me this too, because in regards to what I've come up for my Milkshake portrayal, Innocence having an unrequited crush on Pebbles for a really long time is actually really important for both plot and character arc reasons! I've been developing my own take on the classic worm-off-the-string iterator AU idea with @hail-strom for like the past week or so and the ship as of now plays a decent role in that, but the unrequited crush acts as subtle, yet major context for Innocence's actions throughout, which in turn slowly influence Pebbles especially as he starts to reciprocate those feelings (much to his alarm)!

Anyway, thanks for sharing that with me, and thanks for giving me a chance to ramble about this ship more! I'm honestly so happy to see it growing, and all support counts!

[lizzyaka]

HAIII ITS ME THE ANON!! im ngl i genuinely gasped when i read your rentry and saw tsh and yttd in the same line like those two are such mismatched interests i never expected to see anyone else like them both 😭😭😭

I GET YOUR ATTACHMENT TO SHIN BRO. Also based on your yttd faves i have a feeling you went thru all the stages of grief with the bio-siblings revelation…… idk just a feeling hehe. NO BUT YTTD MAKING IT SO ONLY ONE SIBLING GETS TO LIVE WAS SO??!???? i never emotionally recovered from that . regarding my yttd fav i’d say its shin but it has been so long since i played the game i barely know his character anymore ;;;;; lowkey i also fw almost all the floor masters. midori/sou was my bunny corcoran back in the day (in the sense that theyre both problematic-ish characters that the fandom hates but i enjoy their character guiltily)

and for my tsh faves oooh boy… as u can see by my username… richard and bunny are so deeply personal to me . theyre not favorites in the “i love them ❤️ my scrunklies” way but in the “I HATE THEM I HATE THEM I HATE THEM” way. like i am fully aware they are horrible people but as characters??? Theyre written so well to the point i cant help but think about them every second daily

beware of the shin tsukimi to richard papen pipeline!!!! this may be reaching and i fear im mischaracterizing shin (you are free to correct me on this. let out the inner shin fan out) but if you squint real hard….. theyre both liars who pretend to be someone theyre not and theyre also both pathetic losers (i say this very affectionately) who are just trying to survive (what is richard even surviving from. he is nawt in a majority vote death game)

i have yapped too much i apologize </3 i appreciate you defending bunny from the allegations actually we need more bunny defenders in the fandom (and less francis fans.. cough) . i dont have any specific questions about yttd bc my memory of that game has gotten foggy sadly but we could always talk about yttd to jog up my memory of it !!!

NAURRR DONT BRING UP 2-2 im gonna be honest w u i have played yttd a total of 7 times (this is so embarrassing i want to crawl into a hole and never come out) and 2-2 has never once failed to devastate i cannot express just how badly it affected me. last time i played was over a year and a half ago im trying to forget as much about it as i can so i can replay the whole thing w fresh eyes when 3-2 comes out but i doubt thats gonna be possible since i fear the only person in the world who knows yttd better than me is nankidai himself. I promise ur jaw would have dropped to the floor if u had met me 1-3 years earlier i cant stress how bad the obsession was, theres a couple of people who follow me here who knew me then who can testify😭 it was actually bonkers i ate slept and breathed yttd

I CANT STAND THE FLOORMASTERS BROO i heavily fw rio ranger and safalin BUT THE REST? BOOOO midori actually makes me sooo fucking violent sorry hes by far my least favorite😭 i can see why u like him trustt i just have a vendetta against him

AND I KNOW WHAT U MEAN ESP W BUNNY bro won me over im not sorry. Yes hes awful yes he would borderline hate crime me but i stand with bunny what can i say

[mxtxfanatic]

what are ur fandom dos or don't? is there a preferred way you like to interact (canon vs fanon)?

is fanon ever appealing to you? ngl for me i dislike fanon especially when it tends to take on ooc vibes + feels so far removed from the actual story and characters. obv everyone has their own interpretations + headcanons but i don't think that means all are equally valid esp when not grounded in the story, facts and authors intentions they came from. probs why i think thr authour is dead mindset is weak coping lol

My fandom do’s and don’t’s is that 1) you shouldn’t be an asshole just to antagonize someone with different opinions than you, 2) if you don’t enjoy the source material and also have no real critique of it, then participating in the fandom should not be a thing you do, and 3) all bigots in fandom should be relentlessly called out and mercilessly shunned. Your tolerance should never encompass bigots, because their bigotry will always show in the things they say, do, and create.

As for fanon vs. canon, I think people should do what they want and consume what they want, but they should make this very clear. For instance, I don’t care that people like a fanon version of Jiang Cheng; what I care about is the inane insistence that this is “canon” and that anyone who says otherwise must be bullied out of the fandom. Back when I marginally cared about the MCU in its early days, I liked fanon!Loki, but I made it clear that this was a critique of the source material (the first Thor movie) and how its conclusions and audience takeaways contradicted what the narration actually showed. I still live in a Naruto lalaland where Naruto and Sasuke are a good dads and Sasusaku are a loving couple because I hate what the creator did with the sequel series. It is what it is, but that doesn’t mean that my feelings supersede what the creator made, even if I disagree with them. It’s not my work, and my disagreement is not a “valid interpretation.” It’s just disagreement. Accept that the version of the character/events you like is ooc/fanon, correctly tag your wants as fanon/ooc, and stop tryna argue that you know better than the creator or that you know their secret intentions on the matter because you feel like your fantasies are only acceptable once they’ve been “legitimized” by an authority figure.

Also, maybe unpopular opinion, but I believe that if you’ve never engaged with the source material of the fandom, you should have some shame and show some humility by not jumping into fandom discourse over things you’ve only heard about secondhand through the mouths of popular bloggers. Reblog your pretty art in silence, and stick to the walls.

[crownedwille]

ngl im kinda confused on why people support crown wille so much. i’m open to the idea, but i’ve always read him the same way since ep1. he was miserable from the beginning of the show (before he even met simon) up until the end. everything about the monarchy affected him in a negative way. wille and simon could not have existed as a couple if wille didn’t step down (and i feel this is something i feel they’ve expressed since s1.) ntm that there is no such thing as a good monarch and wille has never wanted to be in that role. wille is not a PUBLIC person. and nether is simon.

i’m not sure why some ppl think the fall of their relationship came out of nowhere; different problems can always arise, especially with teenagers. maybe some more explaining would help me understand, but at this point i think crown wille was such a stretch to root for.

i’d also like to add that s1 and s2 more likely had open endings to leave as cliffhangers, while s3 is the conclusion of the story. obviously, it’s not to say that everything is figured out, but that everything will be okay.

oh boy, you really want me to get into this again, here we go

he was miserable from the beginning - yeah, imagine me wanting him to have actual development and have a different mindset in the end. you don't start off your protagonist with the same mindset and that never changes, that is not proper satisfying storytelling imo. and it seems like i do have to remind people every time but if wille steps down he will still be a prince, just the second in line and no longer the heir - which is exactly who he was in the beginning. so yeah actually nothing has changed. and there was already attention and pressure on him and he still had duties and i honestly do wonder what was so different about being crown prince bc they never actually showed us.

so he will never really 'escape' the monarchy, he still is part of the royal family, his mother is the queen and he ABSOLUTELY will be a public person his entire life. and simon by association too. a fucking sex tape came out with them and wille came out to the world as queer, there is no way that people won't care anymore about it just bc wille wouldn't be crown prince anymore in a year. and as if him renouncing wouldn't make any headlines and be a huge deal and simon and wilhelm wouldn't have to deal with the aftermath and consequences of that (if they're still together at that point which i have my doubts)

there will always be attention on wille and that is something that should be obvious and i don't understand why the fandom is choosing to be so naive and blissfully ignorant about this. no, i do know, bc the show is framing it like that and wanting people to think that and stay naive and blissfully ignorant to all these facts

and i love hearing how my interpretation was wrong from the start and of course you were right all along. how dare i had hope and thought the point of killing off erik and making wille the crown prince is bc he would do things differently and bring changes and "start a revolution" bc that is totally not what the show has been about before abandoning it and taking the easy way out and not wanting to deal with what that would really entail. how dare i saw wille question traditions at hillerska and him making a public speech addressing that as him stepping into his role as crown prince and show signs of a great, competent "leader" before they also abandoned that and made sure none of that mattered and erased his growth in s3. how dare i thought wille and simon both wanted changes to the monarchy instead of letting it stay exactly how it is and giving it over to a person who has done fucked up things to them and likes the system as it is

if that and the stuff you're saying was the message the entire time i find it really sad tbh and i call bullshit on it. i definitely don't see how everything will be okay now with none of simon's or wille's mental health issues addressed and implied they're actually working on it but yeah of course they escaped the ~evil~ monarchy now and it was all its fault they didn't work out and now they're completely fine and all their problems have vanished, how could i forget

[not-poignant]

hi there! i just wanted to say i love your writing sooo much, i started out reading your fandom works a few months ago (palmarosa is absolutely delectable) but after dipping my toes into your original work via underline the blue i decided to delve into it more deeply. your universe was hella intimidating ngl (2.6 million words just for the core texts of spoils & fae tales is insane and also very impressive!) but i started with falling falling stars since it appealed to me the most and i’ve read almost the whole thing in the past 4 days. it’s just THAT GOOD.

anyways i suppose i don’t really have a proper question except… in falling falling stars, augus comes across as kinda horrible. i can’t possibly wrap my head around him and gwyn being the “original main couple” or main characters i’m supposed to root for in the rest of the series. is augus really that much of a dickhead in the spoils of the spoiled as well? it seems like that fic must present an entirely different perspective on the character for it to even make sense to root for him. (i hope it wasn’t silly of me to read falling falling stars before the spoils of the spoiled!)

reading underline the blue and then meeting nate in falling falling stars was also like… whiplash. the character seems so incredibly different. is this something i should take into account when it comes to your other verses? underline the rainbow versus spoils versus fae tales i mean. are the stories and plotlines and characters completely different and there’s only internal consistency within each individual universe so to speak?

anyways, reading your author’s notes about your health is so stereotypically ao3 and makes me incredibly grateful that you still take the time to write all this for FREE for us! i wish you the best n hope you don’t take offense to my questions, i really am just curious. you’re a fantastic writer and the way you tackle these difficult subjects is often very cathartic for me to read. i sincerely appreciate everything you do n hope you have a great day whenever you’re reading this :)

Hi anon!

So Falling Falling Stars is like a role reversal of Spoils of the Spoiled. Spoils of the Spoiled actually came many years before, and in that, Efnisien was such a villain that quite a lot of people have never been able to read Falling Falling Stars, or they had to wait a long time to see if it would be worth reading.

Both stories kind of function as 'the main character is the hero of his own story.' Or 'the person who is a villain to one person is a hero to another.'

Augus does do some pretty bad things in Spoils of the Spoiled, but he shows he's capable of growth, he saves Gwyn's life, he's molested by Efnisien (unprovoked), and he's a victim of a lot of circumstances. Much like Efnisien in Falling Falling Stars, he's complicated.

Characters aren't black and white, anon, they have nuance. Someone can do something bad to one person, but still be wonderful to another. Efnisien is actually a great example of this. We're rooting for him. The people who know the people who hurt, might want him dead. Both of those things are true and both of things can be valid. I find that a really interesting grey area to write within! But Augus is very much in that area as well.

Falling Falling Stars and Efnisien's journey would never exist if it wasn't for Augus saving Gwyn's life in Spoils of the Spoiled. In a way, Efnisien - though he'll never realise it - is indebted to Augus for his actions in helping and galvanising Gwyn into the emancipation case that got him away from his abusive family (which very much included Efnisien at the time). And Augus was hurt and threatened by Efnisien for it, more than once.

It's funny reading this though, and I think a few other readers might feel that way. Your feelings about Augus and Gwyn and not being able to 'wrap your head around' them as the good guys / protagonists in the rest of the series is actually how everyone felt about Efnisien.

Like, literally. You're just...on the other end of something everyone else has felt for the character you like.

So we know it's possible, because we all went through it re: learning to care for this version of Efnisien lol.

I will say canon Efnisien in the Fae Tales canon is literally an irredeemable monster, capable of no compassion, who glories in defilement, degradation and torture. He's really not comparable to his human counterpart.

is augus really that much of a dickhead in the spoils of the spoiled as well?

I mean no. Otherwise no one would read the story. He has his dickhead moments, especially in the beginning, just like Efnisien had his dickhead moments in the beginning when he was thinking of torturing Gary and animals and children and other people.

reading underline the blue and then meeting nate in falling falling stars was also like… whiplash. the character seems so incredibly different. is this something i should take into account when it comes to your other verses?

Yes, absolutely.

are the stories and plotlines and characters completely different and there’s only internal consistency within each individual universe so to speak?

It sounds like this might be the first time you've encountered the concept of an Alternative Universe! An Alternative Universe in fandom tends to keep the characters (generally) and changes everything or some other things around them as a way of exploring new scenarios, but also seeing how those scenarios impact the characters.

For example Falling Falling Stars and Spoils of the Spoiled both explored 'what if these characters were human' 'what if they didn't have magical healing' 'what if Gwyn managed to get away from his family.' The characters preserve some aspects of themselves, but not others, as a result.

It's logical that if you take a character that's one thing, and put them in a world where their job, their friends, even their partners change, then aspects of their personality will change! And then the challenge (and fun for us as readers and writers) is to see where they're the same, why they're the same, and where they're different, and why they're different.

What's cathartic about AUs (alternate universes) is we often still get to hit very meaningful moments over and over again in different ways - for example Augus and Gwyn falling in love, or Efnisien making a connection with Gary, or Efnisien starting out very abrasive and hostile and becoming softer and more caring over time etc. The themes are similar, but there's different reasons for these big moments to be happening, and so they happen in different ways, with different dialogue etc.

Meanwhile Nate, as an example, is someone in FFS who we only ever see as an outsider. We don't know how soft he is with Janusz at home. Or with his friends. We only see him in response to a trigger (PTSD), and see him in a very limited way. Of course he will be different when we see a story from his perspective! He's not going to see himself the way someone who hardly knows him and has never seen him vulnerable sees him. Even without him being an omega etc. in Underline the Blue, how Nate lives his life and sees himself has nothing to do with Efnisien. Efnisien has seen maybe 0.00000001% of his entire life and personality (I don't know how numbers work, but trust me, we can't get an accurate read through 'Efnisien the unreliable narrator'), Nate's the one who has to live it. In that sense, it's easier to trust Nate and his loved ones re: what he's really like, than Efnisien.

Likewise, it's easier to trust Augus and Gwyn over what Augus is really like, than Efnisien. And it's easier for us to trust Efnisien and Arden and Kadek over what Efnisien's really like, instead of Augus' perspective, or even Gwyn's.

Efnisien in the Fae Tales canon is only ever an outsider. In fact he's dead by like chapter 15 of Game Theory. Which is good, because he's awful and incapable of being redeemed in any way. He's a torturer in The Wildness Within. Obviously that's quite different to who we end up with, in Falling Falling Stars, and we only end up with him because of Augus and Gwyn's journey in Spoils of the Spoiled. (If you'd read Spoils first anon, trust me, you'd be asking yourself 'I don't know how I could ever want to read a story about Efnisien he seems so awful' instead lol - but I like...the journey, and the challenge, to see if I can guide a reader through someone's inner universe so they can trust a character's growth, even if they don't like them in the beginning).

Anyway, degrees of separation impact how we see the people around us. We as readers are extremely separate from Nate in FFS because Efnisien is. So...yeah, he feels different when we get a story from his perspective! The whiplash is real. Because he becomes a developed character, and not just a 'bad impression' in Efnisien's insecure, sensitive mind. That's the same with Spoils and Falling Falling Stars, we never see Augus' perspective in FFS, we never see Efnisien's in Spoils. That matters.

Sometimes seeing the character's perspective changes everything! I hope that helps :D

[pransesdp]

*sips tea* -Soooo, dunno if the ship-circle-meme thing is still popular or not/has been done lately in the DP fandom... buuut couldn't resist giving it a try after I went back and updated a ship template I made awhile back lol Here's the blank template below for anyone who wishes to fill it out too (just be sure to give credit when you're done! ^^):

My current ship opinions shouuuuld be self-explanatory for the most part, but for anyone curious of my specific thoughts & such, feel free to read below! 👍

~DP OTPs~

-Danny x Sam

Yeah yeah, call me cliche/basic all you want with this being in the OTP rank… but dangit, I just can’t help it after all the fond nostalgia for them I’ve had over the years~💜. A dorky ghostly hero w/ a spunky goth girl, encouraging eachother’s strengths & working through whichever hardships come their way, and by staying so supportive through thick & thin… it allowed for feelings to steadily blossom by the end~ 💚. Was it "perfectly" handled, development-wise? Well, maybe not. Do I wish they could've gotten together sooner so we'd actually see how they'd work as a couple? Absolutely. But all-in-all… writing flaws aside, I can't help but enjoy them anyway~ x3

-Dash x Jazz

Most def one of my more… "controversial" picks for an OTP these days, but hear me out lol. As much of an obnoxious jerk Dash was for most of the show… it always intrigued me alot for how he had that brief crush on Jazz early-on 🤔. Like, the girl wasn't even a popular kid herself from what we've seen in the show (often preferring books to people, half the time)… yet Dash of all people caught a bit of feels for her enough-to invite her to his party? Interesting 👀 Do I think they would've worked as an actual canon ship? …Weeell, most likely no lol. BUT, can't say I'm not a sucker for a good ol' "confident nerd x smug jock" dynamic, esp for the potential of Jazz helping to humble Dash in his place + Dash encouraging Jazz to loosen up more & have fun (away from just being the "responsible" smart one all the time). Hehee~ ;p

-Ghostwriter x Ember

One of my "newer" OTPs as of late, I just love the potential of two artsy-inclined ghosts (Ember w/ her music + Ghostwriter w/ his writing) forging a special bond together~ 💜Whether it's Ember nudging GW out of his comfort zone like the kickass babe she is, GW encouraging more "downtime" moments for Ember at home (whenever the rockstar fame gets too much), and then occasionally annoying everyone with their poetic displays of lovin' when they're out & about together~ -w-

-Jack x Maddie

I mean, this one's a no-brainer to put here lol =P Two happily-married, proud ghost-researchers who work perfectly as a "brains & brawn" duo. Even if there's occasional moments of marital spats (-often from Jack's excitable mishaps 😅 lol), the way they're ultimately always able to find their way back to eachother (even in an AU-timeline where Maddie married Vlad) is just… d'awwww~ ❤️

-Johnny 13 x Kitty

The OG ghost sweethearts whom I'm so sad never seems to feel fully-appreciated by the fandom… even though there's SO much to love about them imho~ The way Johnny was so devoted to bring Kitty into the human world with him (even if it had to involve using Jazz along the way), Kitty's protective rage upon seeing Danny hurt Johnny (despite being mad at him earlier), and the behind-the-scenes element of their VAs being a married couple irl just adds another layer of sweetness to them ngl~ 💚

-Nocturn x Desiree

Two ancient, powerful ghostly spirits keen for chaos and grandeur for themselves… they'd be quite a power couple match the more I've thought of them (+working with their son, Reve). Reminding me alot of Xibalba & La Muerte from "The Book of Life", in a way~ lol ;p

-Walker x Spectra

The stern, crooked ghost warden w/ the cunning shadow lady, if thats not already a recipe for some "steamy" chemistry there~ 👀💚

-Fright Knight x Dorathea

The fiercest ghostly knight with the growing-badass dragon princess spells SO much for beautiful ship chemistry~ :love: With the Fright Knight clearly being a man who values strength & confidence, to have Dorathea around for him to admire and protect (& vice-versa with her own dragon-shifting skills)… just hhhhhhh I NEED it in my life ToT ❤️

-Danielle x Valerie

These two definitely caught my heart ALOT more than I expected these last couple years; from the way Danielle was the key to helping Valerie realize not all ghosts are bad, their moment of teamwork once Danny & Val helped to save her from Vlad, and even that bit of them sneakily scaring Danny at the end was pretty amusing to see~ lol Whether as a strong duo of friends, or something "more" down the line, either way these girls def deserve all the love in the world~ ❤️

-Paulina x Star I will never not be a sucker for a classic "girlboss gfs" ship, and even if Paulina & Star didn't get too much development/focus (outside of being mean girls)… well, they just give me all the feels with how well they click together~ ❤️With Star being one of the few characters Paulina was shown to genuinely care about (to the point of legit crying when Star went missing in "Claw of the Wild"), and the way they're always so doting & sweet when hanging out on the sidelines, how could you not see them potentially getting together~? :3

~DP Loved Ships~

-Desiree x Dorathea

The sneaky chaotic genie with the dutifully kind princess, a pair I think could have loads of potential after all both ladies have been through~ :aww: If it weren't for my attachment to other ships (+Arthur & Reve's characters in my NG), I'd def be down to give 'em more love ngl~ ❤️

-Freakshow x Lydia

While we never really got to know more of the context behind their relationship (if they're just a pair of allies, friends, or something "more"), I enjoyed seeing their chemistry of working together stealthily even after Freakshow lost everything/got further lost-in power. If there ever was a chance to see more of them together, I'd be down for that! ^^

-Kwan x Sam

My overall second-fave Sam ship from the series and one I seem to grow more & more fond of as of late 💜While only really interacting a handful of times, I just love how Sam was able to reach out to Kwan in offering him a chance to hangout (seeming to know that deep down he truly means well, despite all his clumsiness/loyalty to Dash). And Kwan being so dorky and keen to get into Sam's interests was pretty adorb too, so I can just imagine all their fun potential as a "golden retriever x black cat" duo :3 . Sam encouraging him to stand his ground, Kwan helping Sam tone down her temper/stubborn habits, all that jazz~ ;P

-Tucker x Valerie

Ngl, I'm still bummed the show abruptly ended this one before it could fully-flourish… 'cause man they seemed to have such a sweet setup going by "Shades of Gray" 💛. Tucker reaching out to Valerie to cheer her up (even after she lost her popularity/wealth), Valerie (albeit at first using him to get more info on the Fentons) seeming to lowkey enjoy his company the more she hung out with him, and seeing Tuck even going that extra mile to take the fall for Valerie's dad during that ghost accident at the end (which could've really gotten him in trouble)… just, c'mon how could you not find see the ship-potential in that~? :3 While I'm ultimately fine with these two just staying as friends from then-on, I can't help thinking of the "What Ifs?" with them now & then~ ^^

-Valerie x Sam

Again, yet another pair that I feel the fandom's sadly sleeping on… 'cause c'moooon, these girls would be SO fitting as a gf duo together!~ :D Their whole conflict regarding Danny aside, they've got quite a bit in-common in terms of their strong-willed spirits, loyalty to their loved ones, and even while stubborn at times, they've got the drives to try & do the right thing when it all comes down to it~ 👍 As well as having their own lil differences that could help give each girl a better perspective on things (not all popular/preppy kids are bad, not every outcast kid is a “loser", etc.). Ups & downs they may have at times, Val x Sam could def use some more love all-in-all! 💜🧡

~DP Liked Ships~

-Danny x Valerie

Probably the most popualr Valerie ship in terms of the general fandom, and rewatching the show its not hard to see why! Both having gone from two bickering kids unable to stand eachother, to a ghost & hunter duo having to learn how to work together, and even their brief dating phase/further-truce down the line allowed for some solid development to form imo :3 I may not be too invested in this one compared to other ships I have for them both, but kudos to the fans who try to give them that proper attention the showed failed on (even if just closure-wise) anyway! ^^

-Danielle x Sam

While their interactions all-in-all were a lil brief, I couldn't help getting the cute image out of my head of Dani lowkey getting a puppy crush on Sam at some point~ ;p Nothing too serious or anything, just a nice lil bit of amusing fluff imo.

-Jazz x Sam

They may have had their differences when Jazz first joined the team, but I did find it sweet how well the girls learned to work together by the end of "Girls Night Out" (gave me a bit of Starfire & Raven vibes ngl lol) :3 I may lowkey be a bit more invested in them friendship-wise, but they're still a fun pair either way ^^

-Pandora x Dorathea

Hehe, the Double-Dora ship lmao =P Silly pun-theming aside, I think it'd be cute seeing Doratea be so in awe of Pandora's wisdom, strength & protective heart for her realm. Even if nothing serious forms from there, I think it'd still be sweet~ ^^

-Kwan x Paulina

Set as I am with the Paulina x Star ship, if I had to envision what kind of guy I'd potentially put with her instead… hmmmm, I think her & Kwan could be cute? .3. With his laidback sweetheart nature balancing well against her sassier tendencies, it'd be fun to see how they'd click imo :3

-Kwan x Tucker

Hehe, ngl… it will never not crack me up how Tuck's first instinct of "YOU'LL NEVER REPLACE DANNY, NEVER!" is almost-immediately followed up to these two frolicking through a meadow lol Guess even Tucker couldn't resist the big sweetheart after awhile, d'aww~ ;P

~DP Ok Ships~

-Jazz x Tucker

A semi-common ship I’ve seen floating around in DP fanfics (mainly as a side ship to DxS), and I’ll admit I can see why it’d appeal. Both are generally smart kids, having helped eachother out here & there on Team Phantom (like the “Frightmare” ep), and the idea of Danny’s bff becoming his future brother-in-law has some cute & funny potential to it lol. On the other hand, though… ehh, part of me feels like it may be a bit too convenient to ship off Tuck w/ Jazz as the only other singles in Team Phantom (lowkey almost akin to Sokka x Toph being commonly shipped alongside Kataang in ATLA-). Not to say its a “bad” ship idea in the grand scheme of things… buuuut idk, I feel like it’d kinda depend on how its written imo .3.

-Wes x Jazz As generally “in-the-middle” I’ve always been to Wes Weston on his own (since he basically just kinda exists to be the “Derpy Hooves” in the DP fandom lol), I’ll admit the fan-content between him & Jazz looked rather cute ^^. Can’t quiiiite put them much higher given Wes’ overall background character-status (so his personality could basically be anything you want… for better or worse lol), but yee .3.

-Technus x Desiree

I seem to semi-regularly spot this around here & there whenever I look up ghost-focused DP ships… which seems like they’d have an interesting “Opposites Attract” angle together, the more I think about it 🤔 Can’t say I’ve ever been that big of a Technus fan tho, hence why this one’s a bit lower-ranked ngl.

-Kwan x Star

One of the other “mainstream” human ships I’ve seen in the DP fandom, mainly shipped through some side ship/NG-related roles. And… I mean, I guess it is a fairly harmless pair for the most part, given they both seemed to genuinely connect well after getting ditched in “Lucky in Love”. But I just… idk, something about them never really intrigued me much to ship them in the longterm :P Not really sure why tbh…

-Sam x Star Saw a couple pieces of them floating around that I'll admit looked cute (esp with their contrasting aesthetics & what-not). Though again, with Star, well… not having a whole lot to her when not with Paulina/the other A-Listers, its kiiinda hard to rank it much higher imo

-Paulina x Tucker

A concept I've only ever seen pop up rarely in the fandom… though, I could potentially see something work here if written right? .3. With Tuck being alot more confident than most "geeks" around him, I'm sure he'd be able to handle Paulina's attitude (which I'm sure in her position, I'm sure she'd probably find a lil refreshing lol), if they ever got the chance to one-on-one bond. Idk, there's still some other ships I tend to prefer more for the both of 'em… but hey, more power to those who wish to explore them anyway! ^^

-Gregor (aka: “Elliot”) x Sam

While I’ll admit seeing Sam’s initial crush on the guy was kinda cute… the fact that he diiiiid turn out to be lying about his goth Hungarian identity by the end (+his sudden jerkiness to Tucker) sadly killed the ship’s chances from there, I’m afraid ^^;. Kudos to some of the rare bits of fan-content I’ve seen exploring their (+Gregor’s) potential a bit more tho… it looks interesting .3.

~DP Neutral Ships~

-Skulker x Ember

One of the more "common" ghost ships ever since the early fandom days… and, not really one that's caught my eye in recent memory 🤷‍♀️ Like, yeah I know they're both fiery punks & became an actual canon thing by the "Girls Night Out" ep… buuuut eh, it just felt a bit too randomly-placed for me to get that many "feels" from them imo. Not to say I'd mind seeing them as a side ship in other DP fanfics or however… just kinda depends on how they're written imo.

-Danny x Star

As much as I'll admit there's some rare bits of fanart that looked a lil cute with them both… ehhhh, again Star's just never seemed to click enough with Danny for me to get more into it (with the most being when she did all his homework to win a beauty pageant… and thats it lol). But thats just me .3.

-Danny x Wes

With how popular Wes is on his own, its not too surprising this one would lowkey become a crackship after awhile. Though… idk, for me it almost feels like a copypaste of Danny x Val's dynamic for most fan-portrayals I've seen of 'em, so I didn't quiiiite stay that interested, I'm afraid .w.;

-Dash x Paulina

Similar case to Kwan x Star in essentially being one of the more “common” human side cast ships (mainly for both of 'em being jerkish popular kids lol). Not a bad idea per-say for a ship concept… buuuut at the same time, just a tad too predictable for me to fully-pair 'em imo.

-Tucker x Danielle Only once or twice I've seen this one shipped, and… I guess I can see some ship potential, kinda? Idk, for some reason its been hard for me to fully-see Danielle with guys lately… dunno why lol

-Tucker x Star

Star may not have been the nicest to him when they briefly hooked up in "Lucky in Love" (on account of Tuck mainly going after her as the "satellite" popular girl lol). I guess I could maaaybe give this one a pass if Star got some more development… tho again, it just depends .3.

-Vlad x Spectra

A fairly common Vlad-focused ship from what I've seen (generally based on their similar aesthetics, in a way?). Seems… alright as a potential pair, but for some reason I just… can't seem to get into it one way or another. Eh… .w.;

~DP Disliked Ships~

-Danny x Dash

“He bullies you ‘cause he liiiiikes you~” has long since grown stale as a shipping trope imo, so I really don’t get why this ship’s semi-popularity lasted as long as it did :/. Like, sure I don't mind the potential of Dash getting redeemed/developed more beyond just a bully… but outside of him hero-worshipping Danny's Phantom half, what else really "is" there to count much for a ship? For me… I just don't see it :/

-Danny x Ember

A pretty popular ship whenever I try to look up Ember content… aaaaand again, not one I've ever been down for much :P. Seems to really mostly appeal to those who think Ember's hot & thus feel like Danny has to have her (+other ghost girls) by-default… which idk, just kept giving me squicky vibes after awhile tbh >>. Not to mention some of the more… "vocal" fans seemingly to also be particularly strong Sam-haters for most of the D/E circles I've stumbled across, aaaaand then it just became even less appealing from there tbh -x-

-Danny x Paulina

A surprising ship I've seen getting steadily popular in recent memory, and… ehhhh as much as I've tried, I just can't bring myself to get into it myself ^^; Again, I'm not at all opposed to Paulina changing her ways & developing better beyond a popular girl role… buuuut with Danny basically doing nothing but awkwardly ogling her looks (+her using him whenever she wants something) for most of the show, like… again, is there anything else to truly "tie" them together, longterm-wise? ^^; Idk, personally if I wanted to pair Danny with a "mean girl-turned-ally" character, I'd rather just stick with Valerie imo.

-Dash x Sam

With how little tolerance Sam has for obnoxious dumbassery, and Dash… well, basically being that in a nutshell lol, I can't say there'd be much of a chance for this one to work imo. Even in a potential one-sided crush situation on Dash's end (and/or Sam's parents maybe pushing for it as an "image"-boost in their rich circles), it just ain't meant to be :P.

-Vlad x Desiree

This dude's basically the embodiment of everything Desiree hates in guys (self-absorbed, greedy, and a creep)… need I say more? lmao

-Paulina x Sam

Again, I've gone over this a few times in the past… buuut as much as I've always yearned to end the "Not like OTHER girls" mantra from way back when, it doesn't automatically make me keen to ship EVERY combo of a girly-girl & alt. tomboy together :/. Not helped by Sam's hurt from Paulina toying with Danny (aka: her best friend) due to one of their petty arguments, aaaaand I can't say I'd ever see this one working outside of maybe a (distant) friendship, once they've grown up a bit better. Otherwise, ehhhh… 🤷‍♀️

~DP NOTPs~

-Danny x Kitty If it weren't bad enough that Kitty was ONLY ever dating Danny to make Johnny jealous… the fact that there's the added ick of Paulina being used as a "host body" by Kitty this whole time (-when the poor girl can't even consent/never wanted to date Danny to begin with) just adds a whoooole new layer of "nope" to this pair, if you ask me >>;;

-Danny x Vlad

…well, do I need to go into detail why this ship's here? 🤢Hella-huge age gap, Vlad being a pervy creep to Danny's mom, constantly going out of his way to breakup the Fenton family/cause other villainous mayhem overtime… just eughhhhh, keep this shit far away from me, thanks =_=;;

-Johnny x Jazz

Similar reasons to Danny x Kitty, this one was basically dead-on-arrival if Johnny's only real "interest" in Jazz was to use her body to bring Kitty into the world with him :no:

-Vlad x Maddie

How many times do we have to say it, Vlad? MADDIE. DOESN'T. LOVE. YOU. 😑

-Tucker x Sam

Ughhh… while I know there's arguably worse ships out there in the grand scheme of things, this ship just always rubbed me the wrong way with how cheaply they've been shipped about in this fandom..😒Mostly ever done as a way to keep Sam away from Danny (and… I guess to just give Tucker something to do when he's not really focused on fanon-wise, either 🤷‍♀️), it fails to take into account just how much Tucker & Sam's differences/attitudes are too fundamentally different to work. From their whole "meats vs. veggies" conflict in the first ep having been the cause of a ghostly mess at their school, to them having to practically always need Danny around to balance their friendship… it just ultimately proves to me that not ALL opposites are meant to attract, I'm afraid >>

~DP BrOTPs~

-Danny/Tucker/Sam

The OG Phantom trio from the very beginning, what more can I say about 'em that the show haven't showed enough of? ^^ Even if Tucker x Sam still rubs me the wrong way ship-wise, I still enjoy their overall friendship & teamwork when it comes to supporting Danny & vice-versa. And heck, even if there's a scenario that Danny & Sam don't end up together, I like to think they'd always be the best of friends no matter what~ :3

-Danny/Clockwork

I enjoyed seeing their mentor & student-like dynamic the more they interacted in "The Ultimate Enemy" & "Masters of All Time". While rather trollish to Danny at first, its clear Clockwork means well in wanting to teach Danny a lesson that actions have consequences (no matter how big or small) ^^

-Danny/Danielle/Jazz

A bundle of Fenton siblings that I can't help but find wholesome the more I've rewatched the series~ :) From Danny & Jazz's growing support for one another upon Jazz realizing her lil bro's secret, to Danny learning to lookout for Danielle beyond her being his clone (akin to how a big brother would, in a way ^^), and even though we sadly didn't get the chance for Danielle to meet Jazz (or the other Fentons) before the show ended, I like to think the two girls would get along great either way as (technical) sisters~ :3

-Dark Danny/Danielle/Jazz Even though you could argue Dark Danny (or "Dan" if you prefer) should prob be more considered his "own" character at this point, I just can't help enjoy certain fan-depictions of him maintaining a strong sibling bond with both Jazz and/or Danielle ^^ Guess that brotherly instinct inside Danny would never "fully" go away even while evil… awww ^^

-Danielle/Youngblood

With them both being the youngest ghosts in the series, I love the idea of them having a grand ol' time messing with the older ghosts & pulling pranks around the place lol

-Desiree/Spectra

Two matured, devious ladies with alot of experience on their plate, they'd be quite a fun villain duo if you ask me ;P

-Ember/Kitty

The rebellious bad babes of the Ghost Zone who'd be down to wreck up the place & go vibe on the town, what more can you ask for in a pair of villain besties? lol ;p

-Jazz/Sam/Valerie

I'm always a sucker for a good trio of heroic besties, and what more can you ask for with a kickass mix of brains, brawn & heart from these three? ^w^ Whether they're kicking ghost butt, hanging out at the mall, or training up for future adventures, I'd SO be down to see it! :>

-Dash/Kwan

While Dash may not always be the nicest/most considerate to Kwan at times, I like to imagine at the core they're still generally a tight pair of "bros", when it all comes down to it :3

-Skulker/Technus

As much as I may not be the biggest Technus fan around, I did lowkey enjoy seeing his teamup with Skulker here & there (like in TUE's timeline where they're fused in-one). It was cool ^^

-Dorathea/Sam

While they had their differences with Sam being caught up in Dorathea's plan to give her brother a "bride" (via-the beauty pageant), I found it quite touching of how much Sam inspired the princess to stand up for herself by the end 🥺👏Would've loved to have seen more of that potential friendship throughout the show ngl.

-Star/Valerie Even if Valerie's not part of the popular squad anymore, its kinda sweet ngl to see Star still hanging out with her here & there. Guess the lil sassy blonde's got more of a heart deep down after all, aww~ ^^

~Paired with an OC/Non-Listed Character~

-Dark Danny x AU!Sam

With all the colorful AUs & fanfics out there with Dark Danny, its always intrigued me of how much people play around of how DxS could still work in a "corrupted" TUE timeline .3. Whether its with Sam being an equally-evil Plant Queen, or Sam actually surviving the Nasty Burger explosion somehow (+potentially working alongside Valerie as a huntress), just imagine the tension to form with her & Dark Danny~ 👀

-Vlad x Harriet

I may not be suuuuper huge on Vlad on his own accord, but ngl… seeing the rare bits of art/fics with him & Harriet Chin (Maddie's old college friend) got me lowkey intrigued o3o. Reminding me a bit of a "darker" version of Superman/Clark x Lois' dynamic, I can imagine Harriet getting more intrigued to find out more about the "mystery" of Vlad's Plasmius half (perhaps as a way to restore her own reputation post-"Bitter Reunions")… coming across eachother enough for some potential "sparks" to form. Idk, I'd have to look into it more if I could see it working endgame-wise… buuuuut either way, I be curious~ .3.

~Stay Single~

-Clockwork With his duties of looking after time itself, I feel like Clockwork would consider romance too "distracting" to his work.

-Pandora

Similar reasons to Clockwork, I feel like she's too stuck by her role of keeping the "box of evil" closed to venture much into a dating life.

-Poindexter

…weeeeell, I just never cared for this dude to think of anything ship-wise for him, romantic or platonic tbh lol 🤷‍♀️

-Youngblood

Seems pretty content atm to be a carefree kid to wanna give much focus to "grownup" things like romance… less it gross him out like w/ most kids his age lmao.

~Crossover Ships~

-Tucker x Wendy Corduroy ("Gravity Falls") Was a reaaaally random old crossover I had that I didn't get to work with much, but I couldn't help finding it cute back when I was more into "Gravity Falls" :> The idea formed of it being Tucker essentially getting sent down to Gravity Falls via-family vacation (as a lowkey break from him being so "tech-obsessed" lol), coming across Wendy & getting mixed into her own misadventures at the Mystery Shack. Can't quite remember if I thought more to their ship setup further, but its still a cute concept imo~ ^^

-Sam x Tom Lucitor ("Star VS. The Forces of Evil")

Ok, now this one I'll admit I just always had this in the back of my mind but never got the chance to talk more about it… buuuuut this is what happens when you have two comfort faves & want all the best for 'em lol ^^. Essentially I see this happening on account of Tom (having already gone through enough bs by the end of "Star VS."), somehow coming across Sam and forming a connection along the way. Both coming from affluent families but struggling to get involved socially in such roles (Sam being the "perfect" prim daughter + Tom being a prince), having an affinity for alternative/rebellious interests, and both having a stubborn but strong loyalty for those they deeply care about. With the potential of Sam even further helping Tom ease up on his temper/encourage him to be himself more often, who knows what other antics they can get up to together!~ :3