#Maybe they're in a toxic something but that's not a ship as well! I don't mind people doing it but if it ever happens - I don't see any

[buttercupshands]

The way I approach love stories is so interesting, like I care not for both sexual and romantic part, both don't exactly need to be present for you to see that characters trust each other and feel safe

Same with family, platonic stuff and friendships, feelings of trust and whatever else worth so much in all of this

Love story being a love story just means it'll happen faster and more... Boldly?? Bc that's the main focus and all

Also since people love romance so much you get more stuff in the fandom win/win

Although I'd say it took me a loooong time to get into anything, because I rarely see something and go THAT'S A SHIP! nah, that's a friendship, that's cute and sweet

Then we have toxic stuff and that's the intoxicating codependency that makes me want to analyze it all, like wow those characters are horrible to each other

But I usually have like two to balance each other, bc as funny toxic stuff is, I want some sweet stuff be it a friendship or a healthy ship

[elexuscal]

the longer i stay in fandom, the longer i think a huge amount of bad takes and discourse come from an... abundance of identifying with a character

to be clear, i don't think it's bad to identify with a character. far from it! i think that's part of what makes fiction so powerful.

and it's only logical people often attach to a blorbo because they're just like me, for real. a person will see some element of themselves-- their race, their gender, their sexuality, their hobbies, their family life, their specific flavour of neurodivergence-- and something just resonates. it gives them a way to explore and name this important part of themselves, a part they maybe didn't even know existed before it.

and everything is well and good until some split between them and the character shows up

because of course, no character, except an explicit self-insert written by yourself, will ever be a perfect 1:1 for your own experiences. so sooner or later-- maybe in canon, maybe in a fanwork-- your blorbo diverges from your lived experience in a huge way.

I think this is why shipping culture in particular gets so toxic. While it is by no means the only way to indulge with shipping, a significant portion is 'if i was in that character's shoes, i would choose X'. the fight becomes for your own self-identity.

but this gets expanded in other ways. a character who is revealed to be black when the majority of the fandom had just assumed they were white. or revealed to be queer, or maybe the 'wrong' flavour of queer. or fuck, even some more innocuous part of their backstory, one that's nonetheless so meaningful for SOMEONE, but now it feels like the story is saying, fuck you, we're doing something else

i don't know. i just feel acknowledging this perceived-attack-on-identity helps me understand why people react it what seems to be such outsized way to canon and fanworks alike.

at the same time, i think it's a really important thing to check in yourself.

it's nice, to see a character who you identify with. who resonates with for being like you. but it's also nice to acknowledge and appreciate the way characters are not like you at All. how great it is to get insight into this totally different lived experience. and to muse on how wonderful that recognition might be for someone who does have that background.

[tanoraqui]

obviously the Historical Figure Episode(TM) of Doctor Who that I’d write would of the Noted Author subset endemic to the RTD Era; it’d be called “Spiders in the Trenches” and be set in the middle of World War One ft. one Lt. John Tolkien.

idk if the main aliens are spiders or if they're just using giant robotic spiders as soldier-minions. Either way, Tolkien is a little too defensive when he says he's not afraid of spiders.

The alien invaders want some sort of shiny mcguffin, maybe as a power source for their ship? Or for a mega-weapon? We do not want them to get it, at any rate. Race to find the Shiny Power Jewel-Thing which has been lost somewhere in this like 20-mile radius of the Western Front.

When our heroes narrowly beat the spiders to the SPJT, Tolkien realizes that the spiders only ever attack at night because light hurts them somehow, so he holds the SPJT up as it flares and shouts, "Get back, foul creatures! Back into the shadows from whence you came!"

(They're from the dark side of a tidally locked planet, and made for extremely low-light conditions? The SPJT flares because it's controlled telepathically and it connected to Tolkien's mind when he touched it?)

Ideally Tolkien's first encounter with the Doctor is that he wakes up in the trench one day (after losing some men to a mysterious monster in the darkness a couple nights ago?), and there's 2 random strangers in weird clothes idly singing and playing an instrument which they stole from someone a couple bedrolls down. (This works well with Fifteen & Ruby's established inclination to music!)

We do need an Eowyn Moment, because that's iconic, but I'd split it: for dialogue, at one point the head boss evil alien boasts, "No human can defeat the Tenebrarachnid Empire!" and the Doctor replies, "Good thing they've got me, then."...

[I don't know if this is a Fifteen line yet. I know it's a very Eleven line]

...and there's a soldier in Tolkien's unit who is revealed to be secretly a woman! Who disguised herself as a man in order to enlist for ??? reasons, and who dramatically pulls off her hat to reveal her long hair.

The third notable local character is the sort who inspired Sam Gamgee, "...the English soldier, [like] the privates and batmen I knew in the 1914 war, and recognized as so far superior to myself.”

^those two can have a romantic subplot if it fits (comrades-in-arms is also extremely good). Tolkien, however, at some point shows Ruby the picture of his wife Edith which he carries at all times, she of the black hair and bright grey eyes, and is obviously ready to monologue about how wonderful she is.

In the same scene(?), Tolkien looks up at the stars and says their brightness shining afar, clear of all the horrors on the ground, is always a source of hope and strength to him.

Maybe also in the same scene? Tolkien is shown to make up stories for fun, or to read them in his little spare time - fairy tales and mythological epics. Maybe he tells them to the men around the fire, maybe he keeps a little notebook, maybe he just admits to daydreaming... When asked why, he paraphrases his quote from later life, " Fantasy is escapist, and that is its glory. If a soldier is imprisoned by the enemy, don't we consider it his duty to escape?"

At some point (Star-watching scene? when the Doctor inevitably has to explain that aliens exist? when they're all saying goodbye in the end?) there's a line drawing attention to the Doctor's parallels with Eärendil - eternally wandering figure of hope, sailing the stars in a ship with a light on top, not quite mortal...

Tolkien DEFINITELY tries to figure out the alien language, in writing or speech.

Something the aliens are doing is making people sick. Maybe the attacking robo-spiders are venomous, maybe there's a toxic byproduct of the alien ship, maybe it's a deliberate first assault of the planned invasion... By the end of the episode, Tolkien is very ill. The Doctor has figured out an antidote and given it, but Tolkien says goodbye to him and Ruby only to stumble to a medical outpost - from where, the Doctor explains to Ruby, he'll be sent home with this bad case of what's assumed to be trench fever. Between the fever and the brief psychic entanglement, and unentanglement, with the SPJT, he won't even remember most of this, and what he does remember, he'll put down to fever dreams amidst the horrors of war.

But he'll remember some things! He'll remember an eternal wanderer of the stars, unaging and undying and ever-hopeful, heralded by light (and a vworrrp vrorrrp noise).

[sad-girl-poetry]

what my 65yo father has to say about antis:

let me preface this by saying, i literally wish i had what just happened on video to go viral on TikTok. i was shook by this conversation down to my bones; and if you could see my father - a loud old Italian man with dramatic hand gestures - say what he had to say, i think this shit would blow up. but as i was obviously not filming him while we were eating, i will have to relay to you the story with my words.

so i'm sitting eating dinner at the coffee table with my father while watching TV, as Americans often do instead of eating at the dinner table, and since the news was on he started telling me this story that had been recently mentioned on TV once again from maybe ten years ago (it was in 2014, you can read about it here) where these two 12-year-old girls killed one of their friends as a sacrifice to the Slender Man. yeah, real thing. fucked up.

and so my father told me about how they interviewed one of the killer's mothers, and when questioned about where her daughter's motive could've come from, she said something along the lines of: you know, when i was a kid, i was into Stephen King and horror - and so when my kid was into that kind of stuff, i didn’t think it was a big deal.

so, of course, my response was "yeah, being into that stuff isn’t a big deal at all - it's normal - but being a sociopath and murdering someone is not normal; it's fucked up. but there's nothing wrong with being into horror stories - they're just stories meant to entertain - it doesn't make you a murderer to enjoy Halloween - but it would if you put on a Michael Myers mask and went out and stabbed people." and, of course, like any sane person, my father agreed with me.

then, continuing this line of conversation, i started talking about the concept of how "fiction isn’t reality," and how a frightening amount of people don't understand that; and i literally started telling him about antis - people on the internet who attack and harass others over "problematic" or "inappropriate" fictional interests.

i used well-known pop culture examples like: if you're into Game of Thrones and like Jaime and Cersei together or wanted Jon and Daenerys to end up together (i didn't think he would process the term "shipping," but clearly by the end of this conversation i think i was wrong), that people (antis) will say things like "you should die," and that you "support inc*st in real life," and that "you're disgusting."

i also used the examples of "toxic relationships" in pop culture, like the Joker and Harley Quinn, or Kylo Ren and Rey, and how if you’re into those kinds of fictional relationships that people (antis) will say that you "support toxic relationships," and that you are "glorifying abuse," and that it all "must be what you really want and believe is right or good."

and my fucking 65-year-old father literally goes: "I don’t understand. It’s a TV show. Don't they know it’s fake?"

queue my jaw dropping to the fucking ground because i'm like. YES. THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT PRO-SHIPPERS ARE TRYING TO SAY AND THESE PEOPLE DON'T GET IT.

he was flabbergasted, my pals. the shock in his eyes was incredible to behold.

and, oh boy, that isn't even the best part, guys.

my father then says, "Don’t tell me it’s like that with anime too?"

and i said, "it's worse with anime."

and i fucking swear to you - no joke, on my life and baby Jesus' cradle - again my 65-year-old father looks at me and says, “It’s a fucken cartoon."

... ... ...

... i can't ...

i can't end this post better than that.

[justcallmemrslupin]

My problem with the Marauders fandom

I usually say that ATYD was the worst thing that ever happened to Potterheads ("Harry Potter" fandom) and specially to Lupin Lovers (Remus Lupin fans). I don't actually think it is the worst, but you know what I mean. And it's not just ATYD, but most of Marauders fanfiction (well, they're mostly ATYD fanfics, to be honest).

It really disturbs me, because that's NOT Remus Lupin at all:

Lyall Lupin being an abusive father and Remus being raised in an orphanage or whatever that was? No!! Absolutely not! Lyall and Hope were loveable parents, who did everything they could for their son. They became outcasts because of his lycanthropy, and that's the reason behind Remus putting people at arm's length and feeling unworthy of love. He knew what would become of anyone who was too attached to a werewolf.

Remus being assertive and exploding at his friends. Uh... Nope. He was a boy who'd never had friends. Having friends had always been his biggest dream. So, he didn't agree with many of the things they did, but he cut them an awful lot of slack because he didn't want do lose them. It was the only time when he felt happy before "Prisoner of Azkaban" - when he had friends. Dumbledore made him prefect so that he would control them, which he didn't! He even remained friends with Sirius after he used him as a weapon against Snape! (Well, maybe he wouldn't remain friends with him if it didn't mean losing James and Peter's friendship too, but that's just a theory.)

‌Remus being a walking time bomb before the full moon. Remus? Really? Remus Lupin, the most self-controlled of all "Harry Potter" characters?! The guy always tamed his human form because he couldn't tame his wolf form. The moon only affected him when it was actually full.

‌The whole Wolfstar thing... Okay, I admit I don't like non-canon ships in general, except when one of them is an OC (most people hate OCs, but I love them, I read most anything Remus/OC - and write it). And as a woman, I mostly have no interest in Slash (M/M) - I do love Grindelore, but that's because it's Canon and their story fascinates me.

But my problem with Wolfstar is more than just a personal inability to like non-canon pairings. It's the fact that I can't get pass the fact that Sirius never cared much for Remus. He was his friend, sure, but he didn't act as a person in love, not for a second:

1. He wished for a full moon when he was bored. Of course Remus answered "darkly". He felt bad for him wishing it. And he suggested that he studied with him, but Sirius dismissed him.

2. The so-called prank (the biggest problem of them all): okay, I can't even begin to say how problematic this is even for a friendship, but for a couple... It would be extremely toxic, don't you think? Do you really think that a teenager in love would reveal his love interest's biggest secret to their worst enemy? And that was the least of it. He didn't care about what would become of Remus had he attacked Snape. The least that could happen would him being expelled (and knowing how society felt about werewolves, probably Remus would end up being executed). Of couse Sirius didn't think of it. But he definitely would if he was in love with him. It was something really cruel to do with a friend, but with a boyfriend... I don't even have the words to describe how toxic it would be to use your significant other as a weapon and expose their biggest secret.

3. He didn't leave him anything in his will. Anything. Even knowing that he was living in extreme poverty because of Umbridge's law against werewolves working. Sirius knew about that. It was Sirius himself who told Harry about it - and Harry was mad, because Lupin looked more ragged than ever. Now, I can understand that Sirius would forget about his friend - it's bad? It is, but it's on character. -, but about a lover? Never! Sirius was too intense for that. He loved James with all his heart and would do anything for him. But nor for Remus. Oh, by the way, James helped Remus financially when he couldn't work after finishing Hogwarts. Yep. He did it. Sirius didn't even leave him anything in his freaking will!

4. They didn't trust each other. They were supposed to be friends, but Sirius literally told James not to trust Lupin and to trust Pettigrew instead. Again, would he do that if he was in love with Remus?

Plus:

- Sirius was always much closer to James than to Remus. They are always described as always being together (even by the teachers and Madam Rosmerta. Not once is Remus mentioned.) and Harry had the impression that he was the only person who could make James change his mind;

- Dumbledore referred to Harry as the person Sirius loved the most. Harry. Not Remus. Harry.

- Sirius was the walking stereotype of the "bad boys" from the 80's/90's: long hair. motorcycle, ignoring the girls who were swooning for him, posters of girls in bikini in his bedroom (even when he grew up and Remus was actually a guest in his house), arrogant, popular, reckless... Totally "alpha male" and "heterotop" vibes.

- It's stated in Lupin's biography on the official "Harry Potter" website that he had never fallen in love before falling for Tonks.

- It's also said there that Sirius "always got the women".

But it's not just Remus. They made everyone act off-character: they made Sirius feminine, James soft and Peter a sweet boy who was forced to betray his friends. Not to mention poor Lyall Lupin and even Dumbledore. And what's with the obsession about making everyone queer? It was the 70's, for Merlin's sake! Not the 2020's!

My biggest problem is not the fanfiction per se. Fanfiction exists to make fans happy, I also read and write them. The problem is the fandom, trying to shove it down everyone's throat, pretending it's canon and even spreading fake news about the actors who played Sirius and Lupin, being aggressive to anyone who doesn't agree with them, and saying things like: "Lupin and Tonks had a lavender marriage" (yeah, because in lavender marriages one gets depressed over the other's rejection, leaves her newborn baby and runs into a war because she couldn't stand not knowing if her husband was dead, or - this is awesome - an unplanned pregnancy! LOL), "Tonks morphed into Sirius" (really? She never morphed into a man in the books, the furthest she went was disguising herself as an old lady, do you really think she even could morph into a man?), or - this is my favorite - "J. K. Rowling accidentally wrote them as a couple"! LOL This is hilarious. How can anyone "accidentally" write something?

And then, there are the people who choose to ignore canon. Okay, that's a valid option. Just don't go around saying that you like "Harry Potter". You don't. Your fanfics are about ATYD, not "Harry Potter" at all, because those characters are NOT from "Harry Potter", they only share the same names.

I could go on forever about this. But I won't I can't afford a lawyer. :P

The thing is: Marauders fanfiction is not "Harry Potter" fanfiction anymore, it's ATYD fanfiction. Only the names are the same, but those characters are definitely not from "Harry Potter", they're just all OCs.

[dimplyowl]

Today I want to talk about intentions. A while ago I made a post about why Izzy's toxic masculinity and internalized homophobia doesn't give him a free pass to treat other people like shit and then not try to atone for that. A lot of the Izzy apologists I see seem to be of that opinion: that because we take into consideration Ed's past trauma when thinking how his actions have hurt the people we care about, we should give Izzy the same grace.

Well, I don't actually think we should, and I'm going to tell you why.

First, though, I want to say that this isn't about attacking people who enjoy characters who are pieces of shit. Please, by all means, enjoy your grubby little shitstain characters (I absolutely have some of my own that I love). This is about discussing why it's problematic to twist the canonical narrative to label Ed as abusive and Izzy as a victim.

And, in my opinion, it comes down to intentions.

"But dimplyowl," you say, "someone's intentions don't matter when the result is harmful to the people around them!" And I think, to a point, yes, that's true. People who hurt others through careless or reckless behavior need to bear the responsibility of their actions and own up to it (something that imo Izzy does not do). But I think there's also a distinction that needs to be made between people who hurt and control others because they take pleasure in feeling powerful over them, and those who don't.

If we take a look at Izzy's actions in season one and compare them to Ed's actions in season two, in my personal opinion, it becomes clear that one of these men is someone who has repeatedly taken pleasure in mistreating the people around him, both insubordinates and people that he claims to "have love for." And that man isn't the dread pyrate Blackbeard.

Does Ed enact violence on other people? Yes. Does he "love a good maim?" Also yes. Does he enjoy hurting people? Mm, debatable. The thing about Ed is that he has a complicated relationship with violence. To him, it's a tool to be utilized when necessary. I think he certainly gets a sense of vindictive pleasure when instructing Fang to skin the French captain or when the people at the French party descend into chaos and set themselves on fire. But, importantly, it's because those are people who wronged him. Those are people who hurt him, who dug at his race and his background and took pleasure in using those things to hurt him.

But Ed doesn't enjoy violence for violence's sake. There's always a reason, whether it's in reaction to being insulted, belittled, or threatened, or whether it's because it's literally just in the job description, he has a reason.

In season two, his reason for mistreating the crew is that he's trying to provoke them into mutinying on him. And, like, honestly, he does a pretty shitty job of it. Up until we rejoin them, his big crime is overworking them. The crew is tired emotionally and physically, but for the most part they're unharmed. They lost Ivan on a raid, but any one of them could die on a raid at any time, because it's literally just a hazard of the job. Not a single one of them is even considering mutiny at this point.

Ed hits his breaking point when Izzy suggests that they try and "talk it through," and imo completely understandably. It's his fault that the morale on the ship is low, is it? It's his fault because he was sad and heartbroken and vulnerable? It's his fault because he was healing in his own way, but that wasn't acceptable to Izzy at the time, but now because the ship isn't fun for Izzy anymore, because Izzy is on the verge of losing his position of power as Blackbeard's first mate, now is when Izzy decides that maybe talking it through might actually be helpful? Yeah, if I were Ed, I would fucking shoot him too.

But not once do we get any evidence that Ed is taking any pleasure in wearing down the crew. When he hits his breaking point, he is very clearly not having a good time. He realizes that if he wants this to end, he needs to up the ante. He hands Izzy a loaded gun and offers himself up as an easy target. Izzy laughs at his suicidal boss, friend, someone that he "has love for", and tells him to do it himself. He prolongs Ed's suffering. He puts the crew in even more danger. And even as Ed is trying to make the crew kill him, he doesn't touch them. By this point, we've seen this crew turn to mutiny twice, once because of Stede's ineptitude and once because of Izzy's abuse when he took over as captain. It shouldn't take much to get them to act, and yet it takes Ed threatening to get them all killed in a storm for them to finally act. Because up until that point, he's been unstable, he's been clearly going through a crisis, but he hasn't hurt them, he hasn't been abusive. He's clearly not enjoying any of this, he's going through some shit, he's hurting, and they love him, and until their lives are imminent danger, they're discussing how to help him.

If Ed wanted to hurt them, if he wanted to push them into mutiny sooner, there are so many things he could have done to terrorize them. Instead until the point he decides he can't live anymore, his only hope is that either he'll get killed in a raid, or he'll overwork them enough that they'll kill him themselves. This is not about abusing his crew, this is about abusing himself.

In contrast, when we look at Izzy's behavior throughout season one, we see someone who very clearly enjoys his position of power over other people, and who gets pleasure out of abusing that power. In 1x2, he sows distrust and uncertainty in Ivan and Fang about Ed's decision-making, telling them that he's half-mad, keeping Ed separate from the crew, and discouraging any questions by asserting himself physically over Fang. (He then claims in 1x4 to have reassured the crew when they've doubted Ed's leadership, when in fact he seems to be the cause of that doubt). In 1x3 he blatantly lies to Ed about having "explicitly" (his word) told Stede that "Blackbeard wants a word with him." He is practically gleeful when he passes on Stede's message to go suck eggs in hell, clearly expecting that to get a rise out of Ed, certainly to get him to drop his fascination with the Gentleman Pirate, and probably intending for Ed to attack Stede himself for disrespecting him.

In 1x4, he flip flops between caring that some of their crew died while fighting the Spanish to get Stede and his crew, and telling Ivan and Fang to kill anyone who refuses to fight the Spanish. Intending to fight the Spanish warships that have caught up with him is absolutely going to get everyone slaughtered, when there are other options. Ed actually advises anyone who can to leave, knowing that that's their only chance for survival, and similarly he tells the Revenge crew to surrender when cornered by the British. In 1x4, he clearly considers every death that would occur to be his responsibility when he tells Stede that being Blackbeard means that everyone's going to die, and it's going to be all his fault. Who's the one who actually cares about what happens to his crew here?

In 1x5 Izzy attempts to exert control over Lucius and punish him for, apparently, not working on his day off? Never mind that there are two other people in that room who are slacking off. Izzy targets Lucius, who is an effeminate unapologetically gay man, who Izzy clearly believes will be an easy target. He attempts to mock his sexuality (which actually winds up being more telling on himself), decides that it's his right to tell someone else's crew what to do at all, and attempts to use Lucius as an example to show the rest of Stede's crew that their "days of doing fuck-all are over", but then doesn't give jobs to the rest of the crew? He catches one of his own crew members fucking off with Lucius, and from what we can extrapolate, decides to only punish Lucius, because clearly Lucius as the "seductress" is to blame. He threatens to blackmail Lucius into obeying him, is visibly enjoying threatening him and manipulating him, and leaves like a pissy toddler when he doesn't get his way. And by "get his way", I mean successfully gains control over someone through threats and manipulation.

In 1x6, he once again decides that an effeminate gay man needs to be punished for his existence, but this time it's Stede he sets his sights on. He decides that he needs to take action only after hearing Ivan say that he's never seen Ed so open and available. Izzy can't have that, because he needs Ed to be dependent on Izzy, so that Izzy can continue to isolate Ed from the rest of the crew, can remain the only source of contact between Ed and the crew, and thereby easily control and manipulate both parties. He pressures Ed into finally acting on what he said he would do, belittling Stede and Ed's connection to Stede by referring to Stede as Ed's pet. (It is not an accidental choice that the writers will later have another antagonist refer to Stede as Ed's pet; it's deliberate mirroring to Izzy as an antagonist). He uses Stede's ego to manipulate him into insisting on putting on the fuckery so that they can get rid of Stede today--almost as if he knows that putting immediate pressure on Ed to act won't give him time to reconsider, to rethink, to back out, to maybe consider why Izzy is so adamant about this--and then uses Stede and Ed's relationship to further manipulate Stede into doubling down on doing the fuckery when he's doubting himself. And doing it in possibly the creepiest way possible?? Stede literally puts up a physical barrier between them, and Izzy pushes against that, actually literally pushes up against the curtain to push against the boundary that Stede has put up.

And then when it's clear Ed isn't going to kill Stede, Izzy decides that he's going to take that decision out of Ed's hands. He decides he knows better than Ed what's best for him, places more value in his own decisions than Ed's, essentially mutinies on Ed by disobeying him, and on Stede by challenging him to a duel. He clearly believes he's going to win, and easily, in the process forcing someone he again claims to "have love for" to watch as he destroys the only thing that's brought hope and life and light and enjoyment back into Ed's life. He's embarrassingly easily goaded into losing his temper, relishes the moment he thinks he's won, the moment he stabs Stede, loses his temper again when his sword is stuck. Canyonites love to talk about Ed having anger problems, but this episode clearly demonstrates who actually has the anger problem. He looks to Ed when he realizes he's lost, as if Ed is going to forgive him, let him stay, when he just tried to kill Ed's friend and (only in Izzy's mind at that point) lover.

Izzy then turns to the fucking cops to turn Stede in. He reinforces his belief that Ed isn't capable of making his own decisions when he refers to Stede as having "done something" to Ed's brain, as if Ed is a weak-willed, easily manipulated child. He sends Jack in because he knows that Jack will put a wedge between Ed and Stede, and hopefully to get Ed out of there before the navy shows up. He apparently doesn't consider the fact that Ed is the most wanted pirate in the world, and if Jack doesn't succeed, will be in life-threatening danger. But maybe he doesn't care about that, considering what he tells Ed later.

He arranges for Ed to be put into his custody. Like, I shouldn't have to say anything about that, because it's fucking disgusting. Like Ed is property to be handed over to Izzy. He tries to convince Ed that Stede's execution is actually a kindness, despite knowing what it will do to Ed. When that fails, he tries to convince Ed not to take the Act and sign the contract, but...isn't that what Izzy himself just did?

In 1x9 we get more of his control and manipulation over the crew. Taking away a week of Wee John's rations for making a comment about Izzy's terrible name for his ship, as he is actively eating in front of him. Making Ivan and Fang serve him, telling them his food needs more salt, and then not even eating more of it when they salt it? Fucking gross. That move is all about control.

And then 1x10, which I shouldn't even have to talk about, but the fucking horrible way he treats Ed apparently is still something that goes over some peoples' heads. Once again keeping him secluded from the crew, refusing to give them answers about what's going on, keeping them busy by literally spitting on their clean deck, when he could have just dumped the coffee out on it. Watching Ed grieve and bond with the crew, once again deciding for Ed that he knows what's best for him, interrupting his grieving process, telling him that what he's become is worse than death. Threatening him that if he doesn't return to the very specific image that Izzy says Blackbeard is, that Izzy will kill him. Later on his deathbed apology admitting that he knew that being Blackbeard was harmful to Ed, but that he kept pressing because Izzy needed him, needed Blackbeard in order to feel powerful, to keep the level of respect and fear that other people had for him.

All of this paints a picture of a person who enjoys feeling powerful, who enjoys using that power to hurt and abuse and control the people around him, who will do anything, even at the detriment of someone that he has "love for", to keep that power for himself. A person who takes pleasure in hurting people, physically and emotionally.

I see a lot of people trying to say that what Ed did was worse than what Izzy did. I personally don't think it was, when you add up the consistent way that Izzy mistreats every person around him. But I think that what's even more important in this discussion are the intentions behind the hurt.

Ed did everything he could not to harm his crew until it became evident that the only way he could be successful in getting them to kill him would be by giving them a very present, very real threat. And even then, the way he went about doing it was very distant. Making Jim and Archie fight each other. Sailing directly into a storm. Damaging the ship to make an already dangerous situation even more dangerous.

Izzy repeatedly enjoyed exerting his control and physical and emotional violence on other people. He displayed a pattern of believing himself to be the only person capable of making the right choices, of removing the agency from the people around him, specifically of removing Ed, a person of color's, agency. He hurt every single person around him, all for his own benefit, for his own gain.

Maybe it comes down to value systems, maybe intentions behind someone's behavior really don't matter to you, but I know that I am much more forgiving of someone who hurt me as a byproduct of hurting themselves than I am someone who knowingly, repeatedly hurts people because they enjoy it.

[mirrorcatcreditcard]

Why won't my brain leave me alo-

Y'ALL I'M FINALLY WRITING THAT ALIEN STAGE HISTORICAL AU AND MY FUCKING GOD THIS IS GOING *DEEP* AND I CAN'T DO ANYTHING ABOUT THE EMOTIONS WELLING UP INSIDE OF ME THAT I CAN'T EXPRESS BECAUSE AHDLSBSKSBSK

I have everything I could ask for in a fic and more because I do what I want.

MiziTill dated as teenagers but they're now friendly exes.

Sua killed her fiance.

HyunLuka is in the fucking trenches but they're so perfect for each other I want to bash my head into a wall

IvanLuka is thriving in toxic yaoi as they play this fucked up dance of bargaining information and making out.

Ivan and Mizi are best friends in a contract marriage and pretty much have weekly sleepovers where they make crafts and rant about their crushes/relationships.

Till wasn't even assigned a gender at birth and is nonbinary.

Dewey bombs the clock tower at the capitol because he misread the mission before eating the paper.

The entire cast is queer; ¾ of the cast is trans (or maybe all the cast idk); ¼ of the cast is intersex (Sua, Luka, & Acorn [yes, Acorn is important]).

The fucking plot relies on discussion of aphobia and aroace erasure due to the empire's religion. (The entire main cast is under the aro-spec, ace-spec, or aroace-spec umbrella.)

Hyun Woo is alive and frequently swaps out jobs with his sister because they're near identical with enough make-up. Yes, they're spies.

Hyun-A is a revolutionary leader.

Multishippers, in case you're worried, polyamory/polygamy is encouraged. We have room for everyone.

You guys are going to love to hate the emperor.

Multiple different culture references because I'm afraid of just using one country and doing something wrong and pissing people off so all the countries are fictional

I'M GOING TO CRY ALL I WANT TO DO IS WRITE BUT I HAVE SO MANY IDEAS AND I'M WILLING TO MAKE ANYTHING OR DO REQUESTS BUT AKDVSKDBSKSB

I don't care who. Please go in my inbox and ask for something about this AU so I can center my tasks. Please, I'm begging y'all moots and strangers and followers alike 🙏 y'all can just ask for ship content if you want I'll feed you, prommy

(I'm supposed to tag someone but I forgot their user sksksks lemme go find it and add it)

[antarescamusxo]

Some of Sirius' ships that I like, and how I see them in brain:

Sirius x James: Devotion and loyalty. Passionate. Twin flame. Obsession. Codependency despite seeing both as very independent separately. Sparkles of soulmatism.

Sirius x Remus: Strangely, I see them very romantic and poetic with some sort of animalistic thing going on. Vampire x werewolf coded.

Sirius x Marlene: Rockstar boyfriend and rockstar girlfriend have magic and are the coolest. Weirdly very intimate, but they only know that

Sirius x James x Lily: Family.

Sirius x Lily: The older brother dates the older sister. Slow love and patient love. Open, and weirdly very communicative. Both sides are very protective.

Sirius x Barty: Mama, I fell in love with a criminal, type of shit. Toxic. Fast, and lustful. They're too fucked up for each other. Regulus, I have to tell you something, but don't kill me- MY BROTHER?! REALLY?! Emotional.

Sirius x Mary: The it couple. Tension>>>>. The edits would go crazy. Somehow, I think of them as angsty, maybe in another life type of thing. Toxic, but they do it so well that it becomes healthy. Pink and black. Scary dog privilege

[alter-ego-xxx]

Opinion on Remus x Barty? I have sort of a vision for them: maybe Barty is fascinated by Remus's scars and Remus still won't admit how he got them. Maybe Remus is fascinated by how much Barty doesn't give a fuck about anything and wishes he could also not give a fuck sometimes. Maybe they're both desperate to find someone who will value them above all else cause they've never felt valued in their life (see: daddy issues). Maybe they're codependant and it's super unhealthy on both sides. Maybe they wanted the other one as kindof a replacement for Sirius / Evan cause Rem and B have just been let down one too many times by them OOPS maybe their relationship starts off as a coping mechanism for their own trauma but they just become toxic (i mean it's a ship with barty ofc it's gonna be toxic)

Thoughts? Sfw/nsfw, whatever comes to mind (i just wanted someone's opinion on this and you always have great opinions soooo here i am)

nsfw

Anon. I just saw your ask now (I'm sorry) but this. IS. EVERYTHING. Yeah. I haven't gotten these two out of my head for a few days now. It just... makes sense. I don't see them as an endgame type of thing but they just work so well. Like them getting high together, throwing some fists because they both have that rage inside them, having a messy and bloody makeout session that's kind of too violent for a 'normal' couple and then blowing each others back out, shagging away all the nasty thoughts from their brain?? Yeah.

They're big on daddy issues, you're right. So that word is like standard procedure whenever they're alone. I also think they both have something for blood and the messed up things like a cnc scene, maybe? They have these twisted thoughts and this rage that can't be let out otherwise, but they both still need the security of a safe environment, to know that the other would stop if one of them safewords... They're just so twisted and toxic, I can't get them out of my brain.

If someone has more thoughts about them, don't be afraid to spam my inbox, guys!!

[doctorruby]

tbh i think a lot of the people saying "well both sides are wrong"/"bt stans are just as toxic" are just not exposed to other perspectives in this fandom. as a buddie fan who's been watching this show since s1, i can safely say that buddie fans have always been toxic. like as fact. to me, to say that bucktommy fans are just as harmful or just as annoying or just as bad as buddies consistently are is just. delusional. indicative of at worst a biased opinion and at best an uninformed one. buddie has been here since s2 and fans have ruthless ever since. bucktommy has been here for 3/4 of a season and for the most part, stay in their lane. i'm sure there are bucktommy fans who suck, like that's just being on the internet, but you have to be blind to ignore how insane buddie fans are and genuinely how much worse they are in comparison.

i don't want to generalize and i think constantly adding that disclaimer is annoying as hell bc obviously i'm not talking about everyone but because buddie has been here for so long and taken up so much mental space of very die-hard, passionate fans, you're going to see much more intensity on that side. after season 5, i had to step away from the fandom and the show because of how frustrating it got. it was annoying to see people swear up and down buddie will be canon by the end of s3-no wait s4-no wait s5-no wait- and ultimately it sucked my enjoyment out of a show i otherwise enjoyed because i got swept up in the Buddie Of It All and forget about why i watch the show to begin with. we've been left to stew in our theories and now we can't tell what canon and what's fanon anymore, and when the show reminds us, the disappointment and frustration kills our hopes.

i was also active in the dan and phil fandom and supernatural fandom, like ik why people think we're annoying and it's because we are. we make everything about the one thing we like, we comment on every post begging for it to become canon, we're violently disappointed when the show doesn't play into our fan theories because we've convinced ourselves buddie is going to happen by the end of the next episode or actually the end of this season or actually maybe the end of the next season. we've torn a part every female love interest, either making them boring or making them unlikeable in our fanon. all that to say is that when people call us annoying, they're telling the truth and when bucktommy fans say buddie fans are toxic, they're coming from a sincere place. i mean we can't even enjoy our own ship because we're so quick to get our hopes up and be let down about something as stupid it becoming canon. who cares if it becomes canon, just like it to like it.

and it makes sense why there's perceived "toxicity" on the bucktommy side. our energy is being matched; the obsession, the passion, the surge in fandom. if you don't like it or even just find it annoying, i suggest you guys look back on your own posts and comments and behaviors towards other people in the fandom and other characters and unbiasedly compare it to the Toxic Bucktommy Shippers you're claiming you hate. if bucktommy fans are obsessive, it's because we've set the stage for that. if bucktommy fans are getting aggro and defensive, it's because buddie fans have been on the opposition and don't know how to turn it off. we've gone from underdog to bully somewhere in the last 6 seasons.

[do-you-ship-it-polls]

Do you ship it?

reason under the cut! there is a lot.

PLEASE THEY WOULD BE SO FUNNY. Man clocked her fujo ass IMMEDIATELY right after she went on about fanfiction being beneath her. They are trash and they love trash and being dysfunctional as fuck. Stupid bickering over bullshit my beloved. Imagine her cussing him out in public and then secretly commissioning him to make nsfw art of her blorbos in private or something. YOU KNOW SHE WOULD. Bonus points he won't even draw it and she never lets it go. Or he accepts the money but draws them as like, stick figures. What's she gonna fucking do, call the cops because he drew porn bad. Is she going to admit to ANYBODY she commissioned shit from his loser ass after she's done nothing but shit talk him for the whole semester. He's not even cute enough to reap Genocide Jack. Fuck

MORE IMPORTANTLY. Dumb bullshit aside they're creatives with insane output, imagine the critiques and professional rivalry. Starts off like "Don't you think you rushed x here? This is super corny." "Philistine!" "Hack!" "HACK?! KYS HOW DARE-!" and several arguments like that. One of them releases a new work? Guess who's first to comment! But the thing is, they're still consuming eachother's work. Obsessively. And it can lead to "This scene is in poor taste!" "Well what would YOU have done?!" "Maybe the lead could *inserts an actually good plot point*" "...huh". Imagine them overtime getting engrossed in eachother's creative visions and analysing their processes, even for the most seemingly simple of pieces. Hifumi drawing content for her characters he knows she'd like. Toko giving him pointers for his first original novel and actually trying to support him in her own incredibly awkward Toko way. Aha, you thought this was just here for the pervert4pervert crack, didn't you? Didn't expect this to be about two profoundly unpopular social rejects with issues comprehending the real world falling for eachother because they see a brilliant, lonely, artistic mind reflecting back, did you?

"That's dumb. I want it FULL toxic" i mean if you WANTED you could go the route where they settle for eachother in an "i resent you but the person I actually want is a fantasy and you're the only real person who talks to me" way. Ig. But I like the former more.

Did I mention they're both pervs. They would accuse the other of being terrible and filthy while simultaneously trying to one up each other. The godawful sex jokes i am cringing on the spot this is so horrible. -11/10 they deserve each other. im going to be sick no one Is safe. Actually I changed my mind. I can't ship this. For the good of planet Earth oh my fucking god they can't be alobe in the same room together longer than 2 minutes abort abort abort abort what have i wrought

[raasturi]

You know what, the Fairly OddParents fandom has been quite tame. Let's spice things up a little bit.

Doesn't anybody else get that silly feeling when you see fanart of Peri being like a father to Dev, like... where's the rest of you 😍? Don't be shy, show us where Dale is. Or are you too scared? (I wouldn't blame you, I was too at first)

Small warning: this post includes slight swearing and many brain-numbing headcanons. I'm not responsible for any mental anguish you may experience

I would like to quickly apologize to the 6 people shipping Peri with Dale. I thought I was the only one but it seems like I've finally found my people. Anyways, back to the topic.

Now that you're here, I may as well show some more art of these two goobers +some silly headcanons. These are my AUed* versions of the two in my odd semi-realistic style that I completely ditch whenever I don't have the patience to draw faces (I often suck at drawing them. No wonder all my OCs are furries)

Note: him being slightly chubby and him having mobility issues are both headcanons I have shamelessly borrowed from others in the fandom. Also am I the only one who thinks Peri WOULDN'T be 6 ft tall? In the series he's like 5 apples tall, so wouldn't it make sense for him to be a bit short?

Note: there's like a bunch of lore explaining the reason why Dale looks so fucked up in my version. I scarred him for life, oopsie! But at least he has Peri now who "forces" him to go to therapy 😍. I may need to make a seperate post where I only talk about him and his past if I have the motivation.

I know a lot of you don't even know the pain of trying to convert a stylized character into a realistic style and still making them look good and kinda recognizable. I envy you who have less realistic art styles.

*And yes, I did say AU. More specifically I'm talking about the "Missionaries of Eden AU" (by me). I'm not gonna go into detail now, but basically it's a semi-biblical and more serious take on FOP, where the fairies are angels, anti-fairies are demons and pixies... I think they can stay as pixies, or maybe they're ghosts, bees? (There's a lot of things I still need to figure out) Their tasks are to work as missionaries on the planets of Eden (planets where life exists). There's a bunch of other lore (some of which I've explained on my casual/personal account on Instagram), but it's best I leave it for another time.

Btw: if you've seen me talk about a "Below the Stars AU", "Bible AU", "Ager DLC" or something else, it's all just the same thing. I just had a hard time coming up with a good name for it lol.

Also speaking of which, I have another post coming up (hopefully) where I explain my reasons for shipping Peri and Dale. It can honestly, out of context, seem like a toxic yaoi crack ship, but believe it or not but I managed to make it the opposite; plausible AND healthy. I want to enlighten you all plus I really want to yap about them.

It feels super funny to ship such a underrated ship. I'm used to shipping semi-popular ships, so to now be all alone feels kinda fun! They have so much potential and so few are seeing the vision?? Though to be fair I'm also glad it's not that famous lmao.

Ps. Ignore the fact I haven't posted anything here for at least half-a-year. All my mutuals are on Instagram, so I don't have a need to post here, though now I've decided to dedicate this account to hyperfixation slop so maybe you'll be hearing from me much sooner.

Ps. Ps. I currently have a 22-page-long google doc filled with lore and info about almost everything I've thought of for the AU, but it's 80% in Finnish so sharing it is useless.

Man, I love writing unnecessary long posts knowing I'm the only one reading them❤️😍 though if you HAVE gotten this far, here's a little treat:

My body refuses to draw Dale in his original outfit. I like to pretend Peri helped him change a bit (most notably taking off his goddamn shoes, though they do have some lore that I've created. GGHHRRAAA EVERYTHING HAS LORE ATTACHED TO IT GRRRR). Also Dev isn't actually grumpy, he just likes to act tough.

My art style looks probably so inconsistent❤️

[zu-is-here]

Zu, there's something I don't understand: Antis and ProShippers. I understand that the Pros are in favour of any kind of fictional ship, even controversial ones, and the Antis are not. But why just so much hatred towards each other. I mean, I've seen posts from Antis saying that Pros were disgusting (blah, blah, blah) because they liked incestuous ships for example. But I've also seen posts from Pros saying that Antis are just disrespectful people who harass people as soon as we manage to not mix fiction (the "problematic" ships with fictional characters) with reality (what we think would happen if it actually happened in our world) ≧〔゜゜〕≦

That's not really what Antis is about. I mean, it's just not being comfortable with "problematic" ships, it's just listening to your triggers (and/or for some, your values). That's not mean I think Pro's don't have values (on the contrary, some of them have more values than Antis. It's not because you like this or that ship that you have more or less values) ヾ(-_-;)

For example, I think I'm partly Anti. Because ships that talk about pedophilia (and more often than that glorify it instead of condemning it) make me really uncomfortable. The worst are those who blame the child, that really irritates me quickly. But I try as hard as I can to stay away from this kind of subject and content, I'm not going to insult an artist, harass them or display their art as repugnant ٩꒰･ัε･ั ꒱۶

Plus I know that even though I don't appreciate it when Dream and Nightmare are brothers and ship together, there are strangely exceptions: like they're not brothers in the story, or if they're artists I appreciate their art. Basically, the fact that it's an artist I like is going to play a part, because I'm not really going to look at the ship, just the art itself. If it's a post where you can imply that it's just platonic, or just brotherly love without anything more, I'll do it o(´^｀)o

I know it can be seen as a cowardly thing to say. Like, just because it's an artist I like, I decide to close my eyes and pretend it's just platonic. But I know that most of the time these artists do it in a sensible way, like it's not a toxic relationship and they're both OK with it. On the other hand, when it comes to pedophile ships, I just can't "tell the difference" as some people like to say, but I don't see what the problem is with just not wanting to see that kind of content（▼へ▼メ）

Like when I first joined the fandom, I enjoyed the SwapDream x Nightmare ship. But I grew up, I evolved like everyone else. And like everyone else, I asked myself what I liked and didn't like. And in almost five years, well, there are things I don't appreciate any more, while others have evolved differently and aren't bothered by it. So yes, maybe I'm being hypocritical because I'm turning my coat, but I decided to ask myself what I liked or didn't like and to follow my answer. Even though things have changed since I first arrived in this fandom, I decided to listen to what I liked and what I thought (=｀ェ´=)

I think Antis and Pros are just the same: they've decided to follow their own reasoning. The Antis feel that even if it's fiction, they're not comfortable with that kind of ship, and the Pros have decided that fiction should remain fiction and that we don't need to see anything more than that. So I don't understand why all this hatred towards each other.

There are extremes of course, on both sides. But that's what people don't seem to want to see: there are extremes in everything. There are extremes in every fandom, there are even extremes in 'real life'. People focus so much on the extremes that if you dare to be Anti you're a closed-minded stalker, and if you're a Pro you're someone who encourages that kind of relationship in the real world ┐(‘～`；)┌

I know I've been expressing myself badly all along, but I'm really sick of seeing posts from Anti people who say that all Pros are disgusting people who only encourage problematic relationships in front of young people who are easily influenced, or Pros who consider all Antis to be stalkers who can't understand that it's only fiction ヾ(￣~￣;)ﾉ

Basically, if we're in a fandom, it's just because we like this universe, so instead of focusing on this or that person who likes this ship (and that's bad, yikes), or that or that person who doesn't like it (and they're just closed-minded), we should just be interested in and enjoy this universe in the peace and quiet of our own corner (;° ロ°)

I'm sorry if that sounds like I'm angry and venting my anger at you. That's really not the case, it's just that I know you're a ProShipper but you've never denigrated Antis. So I thought it might be a good thing to talk to someone with a different point of view from me without being afraid of getting hate just because I think differently. And I also know that it calms me to talk to you. I'm really sorry if you took it the wrong way, that really wasn't my aim p(´⌒｀｡q)

Thank you so much for your trust and patience, I appreciate it a lot (⊃｡•́‿•̀｡)⊃♡

You say the right things from the heart, and there's nothing coward about admitting that you have every right to choose what you want to enjoy or not ☆

It is right to decide for yourself!╰(*´︶`*)╯ Problems start when you decide for others.

Without the labels, we're all the same: we came here to enjoy the content. This way, antis & proshippers could coexist peacefully, but some choose to judge others because they feel uncomfortable about things others enjoy, thereby provoking a response, etc.

Sometimes it is hard to try to understand each other, mostly because this would mean accepting others' point of view as equal and valid. But even with things we can't understand, we should always stay respectful to each other — that's the key ♡

[gunsatthaphan]

I agree with what you are saying - the toxic fans have pissed me off and they don’t even acknowledge they’ve harmed both Leng and Ohm with this behaviour. Leng more so with the hate, but Ohm because of their actions.

But what’s annoying me now is the fans hating on Ohm after the whole OhmLeng breakup.

Should he have spoken up in Leng’s defence? Yeah probably.

But I don’t think that would have helped, maybe even made things worse, and there is a history of actors doing this - NetJJ, Billybabe, etc, - and it doing nothing to change things. I’ve only noticed things getting better for NetJJ now James is acting again in another series. But the hate is still there.

But I also wouldn’t put it past GMM telling them to not say anything and the hate “will pass” cause they are so bad at defending their actors.

I think Ohm should stick to non-bl roles. I noticed less hate when he wasn’t in a BL role - Wednesday club, my precious, double savage, etc. or he just stick to being a side character for a while.

But I think Ohm will take a break this year - it wouldn’t be surprising if both his and Leng’s mental health has been affected by this whole thing, plus he seems to be enjoying his free time. I hope Leng, if it’s what he wants, gets a partner where fans wont treat him this way.

I just need toxic fans of every fandom to leave because they are taking the joy out of everything.

I really wonder where these people take all that hateful energy from but atp I don't think it's about the actors or the ship anymore, they just do this for the sake of being provocative. And the worst thing is now they think they won or something. I don't even look at the comments anymore. As a last resort I suggest Ohm and Leng (and Nanon while they're at it) sit down together and make a public statement about this (in video form) and actually call these people out once and for all for their bs instead of just going silent. But knowing gmm and their capitalism fetish I guess that will never happen. pathetic.

Ohm's non-bl roles were generally well-received up until now so yes maybe he should just resort to that for now if he chooses to stay. I don't know how Leng is doing since neither of them ever truthfully talk about anything but I hope he is okay. Ohm should have a thick skin by now so he will be fine. And I would be okay with Leng getting a new partner if that's what he wants. But for now it's best to lay low.

xxx

[leandra-kinard]

On Oliver's social media behavior regarding Bucktommy vs. Buddie

Kind of in line with many of the good points raised by @bbbuckaroo in this ask response, but I wanted to make my own post about it.

I, too, have seen posts that prompted this ask - from more well-meaning people remarking that Oliver could/should maybe say something against the toxic Buddie shippers and promote Bucktommy more, to more critical voices saying he's essentially ship-baiting with Buddie because he keeps posting about them.

As the referenced post says, Oliver "knows how important and pivotal the Buddie FRIENDSHIP is".

So let's look at that from Oliver's (and in connection also Ryan's) point of view for a moment here.

You're an actor who's been playing one half of what is one of the most integral relationships on a very successful show. That relationship has textually always been a friendship, but with elements that make it richer and deeper than most regular friendships; it's a sort of family dynamic.

It could be read as having a potential for romance, and you're open to that, should the writers ever decide that's the direction they want to take it. You have said so multiple times, not just to appease a large group of fans, but because you genuinely mean it. You're open to it, but you don't know if it's ever going to happen, nor do you have any power over it.

You do love the way fans are celebrating this relationship though - whether they highlight the canonical platonic aspects or take it a step further. You "love the love" (as Ryan has put it). It's great, it's heartwarming, it's moving because the potential of that romance and your character figuring out he's bisexual means so much to queer fans who are looking for good queer representation (which your show already has, but there could always be a bit more, right?). You see and want to acknowledge all the creativity people pour into it.

But you're careful after a while, because, so far, that relationship has only textually been platonic, and some fans are accusing both the writers and you of queerbaiting.

So you take a step back, do less social media for a while. You don't want them to think you're confirming anything just because you see value in certain fictional interpretations of the text.

But then you are told that your character is supposed to come out as bisexual; he'll have a romance with a background character they're bringing back for a couple of episodes. While that's not exactly the relationship many of the fans hoped to get, it's still amazing. It's the right representation of bisexual characters that is very rarely done right, and it'll confirm that they always read your character correctly as bisexual. It'll be so validating to the fans to know they didn't misinterpret that, and you're very happy about that.

But you still love the family-like, platonic relationship you've built with the other character for 5 whole seasons before this. And you love the relationship your character has with his son, too. (In a way, Buck is to Christopher what Bobby is to Buck - a father figure).

You want to keep celebrating that because your new romantic relationship doesn't replace the year-long friendship with Eddie. You want to show fans that 'hey, even though this isn't exactly what you hoped for, it's still great; it's important. Eddie and Chris are still and always will be a huge part of Buck's life. Don't worry. Buck will not abandon them. I still see you and acknowledge you, but let's focus on the textual friendship and platonic love here. Which is also very, very important, and very dear to me personally."

And there isn't that much to share about a romantic relationship that's just begun yet anyway, especially with the season being so short and packed with multiple story arcs around the main characters. It's all still at the start, and while it's great, exciting and has the potential to become something lasting, nothing's set in stone yet. You probably also don't want to have people get their hopes up that Bucktommy is 'confirmed' as endgame; and you don't want to put a main character who has his own, very complex story arc going on this season on the backburner.

You've obviously 'done it wrong'. But no matter how else you could have done it, it would have been wrong as well. You probably know this by now, because no matter what you did in the past, there were always people who interpreted your actions and words in bad faith to confirm their own agenda.

So what the hell are you supposed to do other than what feels good to you while applying a little bit of caution?

---

Oliver CANNOT get it right. It's simply impossible. If he didn't post at all, some fans would be mad that he doesn't say anything. If he only or primarily promoted Bucktommy, they'd be mad that he ignores Eddie and Chris entirely. If he only promoted Buddie (platonic) and Chris, they'd be mad that he's ship baiting. And if he goes for the balance of putting his character's 6-year history with Eddie+Chris and the newly developing romance with Tommy in perspective, i.e. what he's doing right now, they're still mad.

In any potential scenario, the loud and obnoxiously entitled portion of the fandom would find a reason to criticize. It really does not matter what he does.

So, where does that leave us? Personally, I'd say leave the man alone. Let him post and say what he feels is best, and don't try to look at it under any 'bad faith' lens. He's probably given it sufficient thought and does what he thinks is best and feels right.

[zuko-always-lies]

hello, it seems like this page is dominated by Azula x girl ships, which is totally cool, I personally could see her with Ty Lee the most, but I was wondering if there are any thoughts on Azula x Sokka? Seeing as Sokka’s positive experiences with family could help Azula’s family trauma, and they are both incredibly smart and witty… just a thought. Please disregard me if you wish.

This is a question which deserves to be dealt with broadly. There actually aren't many reasonably prominent boys around Azula's age she can even potentially be shipped with. it's really only Haru, Teo, Jet, Zuko (note: I do not approve of Azula/Zuko, but I'll get back to that), Sokka, and Aang.

Teo and Haru do have significant appearances, but they receive almost no characterization, so there's not a strong reason to ship them with Azula.

Jet potentially makes a very interesting ship partner for Azula, simply because they have almost nothing in common yet perhaps share a certain drive and determination. However, it's a bit hard to imagine how they would even become lovers, and it's simply not a very popular ship.

For Zuko, even if we ignore the issue of incest, which is not a small issue at all, it's not a very attractive ship for me even from a theoretical perspective. Azula is a way more interesting character than Zuko, but one problem that she has is the everyone (the creators, the series, fanfic writers, fans, etc.) makes everything about her revolve around Zuko. Azula/Zuko as a ship perpetuates this tendency. Also, it involves Azula becoming emotionally dependent on another toxic guy from her family, which is something you'd hope she would grow out of. So yeah, I don't like Azula/Zuko due to the incest, but even ignoring that it doesn't seem particularly compelling to me.

Aang potentially makes a very interesting partner for Azula. They share so much. They're duty-driven prodigies who had an immense weight of expectations placed on them, they both love making mischief, they're both deeply ethical individuals, even if they're ethic systems are completely different, and Azula is even arguably one of the characters least inclined to resort violence in the series, just like Aang. Azula also left a scar on Aang's body when she killed him, so there's potentially a very odd sort of connection to explore. And Aang's compassion would be complex for Azula to experience and you can do a lot about how their cultures clash and combine. However, that being said, I have only very rarely seen an Azulaang fic I like. Common issues are

Putting Aang in a position of power over Azula

Making Azula's life resolve around serving Aang

Cutting Azula completely off from her connection to her nation

Softening Azula's character in a way that removes her canonical drive and ambition

Now we can finally talk about Sokka. The theoretical basis for Sokka/Azula is pretty strong. They're both warriors with daddy issues, they're both duty dedicated they both struggle to live up to their desired roles, they're both leaders, they're both highly intelligent, they're both sarcastic as hell, etc. The parallels just keep piling up. Azula is even one of the few characters to value nonbenders. There's a reason why this is the most popular Azula x male ship.

However, I have found that I don't tend to like Sokkla fics. Something feels off about them. I think part of the issue is that Sokka is a very hard character to write well, and he tends to feel a bit off to me whenever I see him in fanfiction. He's as silly and childish and idiotic and melodramatic as he is mature, intelligent, and dutiful. Also, it's easy to completely ignore his cultural background, but I think that background is critical to the character. Generally I've found that Sokkla fics tend to feel like they're about Azula much more than they're about Sokka, and it doesn't quite read right to me. And I guess in a certain way maybe Sokka and Azula are too similar for the ship to be truly compeling.

Anyways, those are just my personal opinions. Readers, please don't get mad because I don't like your ship.