#but alas I’m but one person that prefers a pairing with a more platonic dynamic (or romantic idk I can never tell the difference FFDDF)

[sikyurame]

YES, 1010% YES

This is EXACTLY how it feels

Shipping is so much more FUN when you're aspec.

I'm not super fandom savvy, having only ever been active in one of them in any meaningful way, but I am familiar with the online culture surrounding shipping fictional characters together. Something I've personally witnessed is that the thinking around platonic v.s. romantic is extremely binary; a relationship can be one or the other, and a platonic relationship is the failing outcome if you, as an audience member, preferred the latter. This reflects much broader societal thinking, so it makes sense that most people approach shipping this way.

However, when you're aspec (anywhere on the aromantic and/or asexual spectrums), this idea doesn't necessarily apply. Suddenly, platonic and romantic are not opposing ideas, they're just two potential options on a very, very wide sliding scale / multi-dimensional graph wherein the significance of a relationship is completely disconnected from its label.

A huge part of shipping culture (again, just from what I've witnessed) is that Explicit Confessions and/or an onscreen mouth kiss are necessary to make a ship canon, and that not happening means Your Ship Isn't Canon And Therefore Isn't Important or Valuable (and gets used as a way of invalidating other people's ships). However, for a lot of aspec folks (and others, of course), romance is not automatically more valuable than friendship, and an end goal for a particular character dynamic becomes a lot less about fulfilling A, B, and C to verify the couple as "real" in the eyes of the mainstream or even the fandom as a whole, and instead is more about wanting to see characters happily in one another's presence. Specifics vary wildly case to case, so I'm gonna leave that fairly broad.

Ultimately, I have found myself shipping characters in the usual way less and less as I've learned more about my own aspec identity and experience. I care less if characters kiss; I care less if characters declare three little words...though I also am very familiar with the history of queer erasure and definitely root for explicitly romantic queer rep. And all this doesn't mean I don't have couples I root for - I very much do. But whether their relationship is specifically romantic matters very little to me, with rare exceptions. (In fact, I often find myself "shipping" characters platonically - seeing a couple that would make great best friends being forced along standard, probably heterosexual romantic beats.) Mostly, I want the characters I ship to be around each other, to support each other, and to love each other in whatever capacity is fulfilling to their arcs and to the narrative.

Or, to put this all in a more digestible meme format:

Allos: If the couple doesn't kiss then the ship isn't canon

Me: but have you considered that the real kiss was the friends we made along the way?

[citrus-cactus]

I know you're a major Daisuke/Wallace shipper, but may I ask which other ships with Daisuke you like too, if any? (^・ω・^ )

(in my case i multiship him with a ton of characters... Lately more into TakeDai thanks to Shiha lol)

Ahhh, sorry it took so long for me to answer this!!

Oh, Ni. NI. Do you really want to open up the floodgates of shipping with me?? (bless you)

So, I developed the habit of just not talking about Digimon ships on the Internet many years ago, despite it being the primary thing that was fueling my creative output for a significant period of time (like… 2007-2014, probably??). But yeah, for most of my time on Tumblr, there was no way I was gonna talk directly about Digimon ships, because I’m always scared about the potential backlash such posts may receive (trying to get over that, though!). A few ships have breached brain-containment: Wallsuke and Taijyou, obviously, Taishiro and Nishihime maybe less-obviously (these days). But I feel more comfortable talking about those since they’re (mostly) rarepairs, the haters are minimal/nonexistent, fans of those pairs are chill and awesome, and I guess they just feel “safer” than some of the rest of the Adventure/02/tri/Kizuna shipping minefield XD

I would LOVE to make a chart like the one @reliablejoukido did showing my OTP thru NOTP feelings though! Back in 2012 I know I made a numerical matrix-type thingy for my preferences, but I never published it anywhere and I’m guessing they’ve changed a bit ^^; If I ever found time to make my own template in this day and age, I’d do it, but alas, time makes fools of us all! 🥲

All that is to say, I’m also a multishipper, and I absolutely have other Daisuke ships!! I have ended up on kind of a personal crusade to put more Wallsuke out in the world these past few years, which is why it kind of accidentally ended up being my primary Daisuke ship (oops). It doesn’t mean all those other ships are gone and forgotten, though!

I’m generally using REALLY OLD American English Fandom ship names in this post, only because that’s how I refer to them in my own head. Please don’t think too hard about the spelling/order/capitalization/punctuation of them, because I’m not! I assure you these designations don’t mean anything in this context other than “the relationship between these characters in some platonic or romantic way, explanation to follow.” TL;DR for everyone reading this: don’t be rude about shipping on this post, and don’t nitpick my terminology, please! I’m old, and so, so tired of fandom drama.

And now, without further ado, and in no particular order… DAISUKE SHIPS! ᕕ(ᐛ) ᕗ

Daiyako (Miyako/Daisuke)

I love them as friends hanging out or casually dating. They’re so!!! Well, they’re pretty similar in how strong their convictions are and how open they are about their feelings, which means they agree on a lot of things but also have the potential to clash a lot, which is a dynamic I REALLY enjoy for them. In a romantic scenario, I can definitely see them as going from arguing about something inconsequential to making out in about 3 seconds flat (maybe with a side of “how did we end up here??” ehehehe). IDK, they both give off disaster bisexual vibes to me, and I’m 100% here for that!

Daiken (Ken/Daisuke)

Really great, obviously, either romantic or platonic. They were Jogress partners (cue chorus of “oh my god, they were Jogress partners…”). I actually um. Don’t have a lot to say about this ship, but I do enjoy seeing it on my dash! Daisuke and Ken’s Christmas Carol and the entirety of Revenge of Diaboromon are all-time classics in my mind and I do secretly like one-sided Kaiser/Daisuke or mutual Kaiser/Daisuke Kaiser… shhhh

Daikari (Hikari/Daisuke)

Like, honestly yes. Daisuke, I am rooting for you! I mostly enjoy them as a friendship or in a “falling in love once they grow up and mellow out a bit” context. This is also how I feel about Junpei/Izumi from Frontier, by-the-by. Both pairs give off similar vibes (to me), but I’m more likely to gravitate to thinking about Junzumi because I just. Junpei does NOT get enough love, respect, or attention in general, and I would LOVE to see more portrayals of fat-positive romance for him, specifically.

Daikeru (Takeru/Daisuke)

So, I’ll admit I have a really hard time writing Takeru, which means I don’t do a very good job of imagining him in Situations(tm), but I have read/seen a fair bit of this pair romantically and I like it, I just also don’t have a lot to say about it (I’m sensing a theme!). Once again though, I will happily read what others put out there. Please, fic writers, help me understand how Takeru thinks! He’s such a mystery to me.

Daichi (Taichi/Daisuke)

The admiration Daisuke shows his senpai in canon is very endearing, even if it can seem a bit lopsided (though maybe, by the time Revenge of Dioboromon concludes, the admiration IS quite mutual??). I do like thinking about them as a mentor/mentee pair though, or equals/brothers-in-arms, learning from each other as they compare notes on leadership and decisionmaking.

Daimi (Mimi/Daisuke)

I loooooove their friendship!! IDK, between the NY segment of the World Tour Arc and the Door Into Summer audio drama, it’s there, right? Anyway, I still say these two are the Treat Yo’ Self squad for the Adventure kids, and I love picturing that dynamic for them.

I think me answering this ask is a bit of a stealth request for (short) fic recs that feature these relationships, lmao. I used to casually browse fanfiction a lot more than I do now, I guess I’m too picky or something (plus I have a HUGE backlog of mutuals’ fanfics to read, augh sorry!). And I didn’t mention it, but romantic thruples are good too! I would be interested in reading… oh, I don’t know, pretty much any combination of the older 02 characters in a polyamory situation (Dai/Ken/Miyako, Hikari/Takeru/Dai, Ken/Dai/Takeru, Dai/Miya/Wallace, etc).

So yeah. Shipping!! I love it. Does this mean the floodgates are finally open? IDK, but you could try sending me another Digimon character to see if I’d talk about the ship(s) I have for them!

[misssakurapetal28]

9 Reasons Why People Might (and CAN) Ship Apritello in Rise!

1). It kind of follows the "childhood friends to lovers" trope. Usually from all the anime (and occasionally cartoons and other types of media) that I've watched, there's a "friends to lovers" trope and/or "childhood friends to lovers" trope. It's usually when...welll...when friends start to feel romantic feelings towards each other, become a couple or start to date. Usually when that's the case, the friends usually have good interactions or/and know each other more personally than anyone else does. Usually those main things are enough to make a relationship. 2). Even if they do start dating, I don't think things will change THAT much. Maybe some sweet and cute couple moments every now and then, but besides that, does Donnie and April HAVE to be lovey-dovey like every couple media tends to portray pairings these days? Donnie and April can just watch Netflix and chill. Have fun and hang out like they normally do? I see them as just teens who do what they want and don't follow couple clichés. They might date or be a couple, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t still friends.  3). Interspecies relationships have happened before in shows. Though I haven't personally watched shows that did have interspecies relationships, I know they exist. So why Rise should be an exception? And NO. Apritello is NOT bestiality. In 2012, April is half-muntant/kraang and there’s a possibly that Donnie MIGHT have human DNA too from Splinter. In Rise, Donnie does have human DNA inside him from Splinter. 

And EVEN IF one or both of them weren’t half mutant/human, it STILL isn’t bestiality. Bestiality is when a human is in a relationship with an animal basically (just look up the real definition if you want to know). Donnie is a mutant turtle (a mutant with human DNA in Rise). He also has a consenting mind. So at best, it’s a interspecies relationship. Now if you personally still don’t like the pair because you personally don’t like interspecies relationships neither, then that’s your preference and I respect that. However, I still think interspecies is LEAUGES better than bestiality in my opinion.  4). Their adorable babies and they generally look cute together. Nuff said ^^ Donnie and April reminds me of the famous "opposites attract" trope too. April, the feisty, headstrong tomboy with the cleaver, sass master Donnie is just interesting dynamic to me. Their personalities compliment each other. Their flaws and virtues compliment each other. I just belive they work well together. Also, angst possibilities. LOTS of angst possibilities. Just saying...

5).  Most Apritello (or April x Turtles) haters/T///cest shippers are total shallow hypocrites. Like I’ve mentioned before, It really baffles me and annoys me that TMNT fans look down on others for shipping Apritello (or any other April x Turtles pairing) just because they personally see (or always saw) April being a big sister to the guys when the same kind of people are perfectly fine with shipping T///cest, pairings that involve the turtles together. At least people who don’t ship neither have the excuse that they see all the teens as siblings and it’s wrong to see them as anything else, but AT LEAST April and the turtles aren’t REALLY related. Like I said, sometimes people who grew up together/childhood friends DO and CAN get together.

Now...People who ship t///cest...that’s THEIR business (I personally despise it). They can stay in their corner and I can stay in mine. Heck, people even have the right to dislike Apritello from any incarnation (especially by 2012 Apritello’s track record), but don’t you dare criticize or looked down on others who do like it when t///cest in that logic isn’t that much better. Now, I personally like 2012 Apritello (or at least mostly the fandom version of it) and I honestly take some interest in the Rise version of it too (however, this one has less attention and love), but if someone else just personally doesn’t like it, that’s perfectly fine too. However, the point that I’m making is that I wish that people don’t be so shallow when it comes to the very little people who does ship Apritello in this incarnation. People liking Apritello isn’t a bad thing. It’s just the way it has to be handled. 

BTW: I can also get people disliking Apritello in the 80’s series and the 2003 series because April was in her 20’s, but in the 2012 and 2018/Rise series she isn’t! She’s 16. 

6). You can ship what the hell you want. 

I know Rise! Apritello mostly comes from that fact that it was a thing in 2012, but so? People still have the right to ship it. Also, it seems like they have at least some kind of development or chemistry. Now, I’m not going to lie. The chances of them being a couple or even having ANY KIND of romantic feelings in this series is slim because:

1. It’s a kids show. It’s more of a silly/comedy kid show than any of the other previous TMNT incarnations ever were. So this incarnation of TMNT might not be suitable for actaul romantic themes. I mean, there’s the “romantic”/complicated relationship between Splinter and Big Mama, but that’s about it.

2. Again, it’s a kids show....about kids and their (mis)adventures. April is 16 and Donnie is 14. I doubt that romance is a big thing for them right now at this point in their lives. Not to say crushes can’t happen, but...yeah.

3. April most likely sees Donnie as a brother and vise versa. In fact, it WAS confirmed that April sees all the turtles that way. Also, most Rise fans sees them as such, even before Rise began.

4. I know some don’t find a problem with this (including myself), but Donnie is a mutant turtle while April is a human girl. So people might find that weird or claim it is bestiality (even though it’s not). Hence part of the reason why I think one of the creators/writers said this. Speaking of...

5. Seems like they don’t ship it romantically. Heck, they even claim that others (or 2012 Donnie’s crush on April, it’s really unclear) as “pervy” for it (which I disagree, but I digress). 

HOWEVER, despite all this said, who’s to say that anyone still CAN’T ship it? HECK, who even says that the possibility is COMPETELY off the table? You see that I said the possibility of them happening or having any romantic feelings for each other are SLIM, not INPOSSIBLE. Like I said above, I’m one of the those people who watched TMNT 2012 who actaully shipped Apritello. 

Now, I’m not going to sit up here and say that Donnie’s crush (and in my opinion, later love) for April was the healthiest thing in the world. I’m also not going to say that Donnie and April’s characters where the best here. Because it wasn’t, it was a result of bad writting from the writers part. But...Apritello in TMNT 2012 in canon wasn’t that bad sometimes per say. I personally love Apritello for what it could’ve been more than anything, but canon Apritello? It wasn’t THAT bad. Again, it was just how it was written. If it was given more of proper writting, I really think Apritello could of been like, one of the most amazing and complex ships in media history??? But Alas...

However, unlike 2012 Apritello (unfortunately), I do think Rise “Apritello” is being handled A LOT better, healthier and more natural this time around. Even if it’s not the creators/writers intentions this time around to make any kind of romance for the two, they still have great development together, but I belive that they are close. Now, in MY personal headcanons, I headcanon that Donnie didn’t initially romantically like April from the start. I even made a headcanon that when they first met, they disliked each other (but that’s a different story for maybe another day). So things basically just went the same as it is in canon. 

However, ever since the snow day episode (which I kind of headcanon in a scene that wasn’t shown like this), Donnie gain a tiny crush on her (which grew little by little). Now by NO MEANS that it’s as big and crazy as 2012 Donnie’s crush, but a crush no less. Now, do or will they get together in my headcanon? Well, I don’t know yet. Because my feelings for this pair tend to go back and forth. 

The point is, people ARE allowed to ship Apritello if they want to. People shouldn’t have to feel hesitant or bad to ship them just because others see them as siblings (which again, they are not even related) or because people don’t personally like it or see it as right. I also don’t feel like people have to stop shipping it just because of the common headcanon that April is a Lesbian. 

And that’s another thing. Look, I have NOTHING against the popular headcanon of April being a lesbian (and I also understand why people would think that). That’s cool. You can have ANY KIND of headcanon for ANY character you want. However, in my personal headcanons, I see April as Bi (but maybe a little more interested in girls). It’s not only because I ship her with Donnie though, but it’s because it’s never been confirmed that she’s not interested in guys too though. 

Just because she’s bit of a tomboy and has no interested in Dale (a character that BARLEY made ANY appearances and the fandom seems to already hate him for SOME REASON), that doesn’t automatically mean that she’s ONLY into girls. I mean, you can headcanon ANYONE the way that you want, but her being Bi is MY opinion and MY headcanon.

My point: Ship what you want and don’t give dam what ANYONE says, even if it is Apritello.

7). They make a pretty good duo. Shown in episodes like “The Purple Jacket” and “Donnie v.s. Witch Town”, the two make a prefect duo! They also seem to have a better understanding of each other and care about one another a lot. They love each other and kick butt together! ^^ 8). This is my personal taste, but they are like the sun and moon :) This also plays into my “opposites attract” theory when it comes to them. Also, read more up about the concept of “yin and yang”. It will make A LOT of sense when it comes to these two!  9). It can work out platonically AND romantically. Like I’ve mentioned above, it means they are dating/are in a relationship, that doesn’t mean that they can’t also be friends. However, that doesn’t mean they won’t work out just as good as friends. That’s just how much understanding that they have for each other and how good they work out together :) 

---

Wow, I wrote a lot! lol If I took any of this all out of context, I’m sorry for that? lol But I just wanted to make the point that shipping Apritello in this incarnation isn’t bad like some people make it out be. It’s just as fun as shipping any of the other popular pairs in in this incarnation. I like Apritello, both 2012 and Rise. If you do too, then you should be allowed to without feeling bad about it. Just remember that! 

Let’s enjoy these two dorks together, ok? :)

[lineffability]

Why are you so dead set on shipping Chendy tho?? They are kids, they have their whole lives to figure out their sexuality, who they wanna be with etc You don't imagine yourself falling in love at such a young age?? Their interactions are more sisterly and pure, don't taint them. I'm against all Wendy ships tbh

“Dead set”? I’m not dead set I just… ship them? Because I love the healthy and wholesome relationship between them and their dynamic appeals to me?

I will try to answer this very thoughtfully… 

Young girls fall in love. Young girls do fall in love and yes of course that’s young love, but a crush is a valid thing?? “You don’t imagine yourself falling in love’?? Have you never been young? When did you have your first crush? Imagining falling in love is all young girls ever do. (I exaggerate.) This is exactly the age where people start to figure out their sexuality!! Having crushes and kissing is part of finding out what love is and what it means to you. Hell, there are adults who have never been in love. This isn’t about The One True Love Of Your Life, this is about two young girls liking each other romantically, whatever that entails. They don’t have to stay together forever, but they are happy in the moment. Isn’t that the same for… most ships? Romantic feelings come gradually, they don’t suddenly appear when you turn 18?? Especially in a world that revolves around the search for love and happiness.

Being gay is not “for adults only”. This is so important!!! I mean, look at posts like this. Being gay is not dirty or sinful or ‘not for kids’! Kids are gay! And that is excellent! I think it’s important to normalize young people of the same sex falling in love. If you think about it, there’s plenty of that with kids of the opposite gender. It begins with kindergarten playmates and parents (jokingly) ‘arranging marriages’. What is is about kids of the same sex having elementary school ‘hand-holding’ crushes? Why is that suddenly wrong? Food for thought. 

Figuring out your sexuality starts exactly at this age. “They have their whole lives to figure out their sexuality.” I feel like that’s a bit of a misguided sentiment? When do you realize you are straight? When do you ‘figure that out’? Being gay is part of who a person is, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with realizing that as early on as possible. It is healthy. Everyone’s journey is valid, and yes there will be a process of figuring things out and to some people that will happen only later in life, but it does not become less valid just because you are young. You don’t have to write an Adult Essay about why you are now gay and hand it in to be approved by the Gay Council to finally be granted Official Gay Status. 

Shipping does not equal sex. Obviously!!!This should go without saying, especially if the characters are minors. While it is a fact that young people do have sex, whether you like it or not, this is not something that should be described in graphic detail in fic or art!! Good grief! DO NOT explore that aspect with minors!! Having a ship is not the same as sexualizing a ship! (It often goes hand in hand because people mostly ship… well, not adults but older teens, if we’re talking about anime/manga. The protagonists are often still minors lmao. But it is not the same!!) Be aware of that distinction!

Representation is important. And if representation does not exist in canon, it is very okay and good to create it in fandom spaces. I know your point wasn’t the gay/straight ships dichotomy, BUT if it had been girl and boy sacrificing themselves for each other in the name of love in canon (which happened, whether you choose to interpret it as platonic or romantic love) would you also be saying “aw, friendship is so important!!” ?? Which brings me to my next point:

(I’m joking. I’m sorry. Couldn’t resist.)

Gals being pals. The eternal problem. You think their interactions are more sisterly? That’s fine! Shipping is subjective. But desperately forcing all w/w relationships into this ‘they’re just very very very good friends!!!’ drawer is not quite fair. Because there are romantic w/w relationships! Lesbians exist! This is a problem much more prominent in bi/lesbian ships simply because girls being physically and emotionally intimate with each other is completely normalized, whereas boys often do not have such freedom, sadly. But ignoring women in love is just willfully closing your eyes. Perhaps because you (in a general sense, not you personally) might be more uncomfortable with it than you like to admit? Great brotps are just as important as ships and it’s everyone’s free choice to decide which they prefer for a certain relationship! But do keep in mind this very real problem of overlooking romance because you personally don’t want it to exist. As for the whole concept of ‘purity’ and becoming ‘tainted’ by love… er. I don’t like that. At all. How does (gay) love/affection taint a person?! Because I do think this is about being gay. That word choice was really uncomfortable and unfortunate. I’m not even going to adress this because it will make me angry. Love does not taint a person?! (And if this was about sex then…ew? I have never and will never even think about that. That was your thought. So…)

Platonic shipping vs Romantic shipping. There is no better or worse!!! Enough said. We’ve been over this one many times in many fandoms.

It’s all about being age appropriate. It matters how you ship a ship. Especially in the matter of young love. I agree that you have to be careful with younger ships because it can be a sensitive topic. I think the problem when you say ‘I ship these two girls’ is that shipping has become so tied-in with sexual ideas that people just immediately (for some horrible, sad reason) think ‘They must want these two young girls to fuck! They must be pedophiles!” And that is just horrible. Sadly enough there are people who do want that, and those are pedophiles and should not go anywhere near fandom spaces (or real life children). Thiscan and should never be tolerated! Be aware of creeps in fandom spaces… (I think it’s also important to stress that this whole ask is dealing with love between young people. Not between a young person + a much older adult person. That is gross and never ever okay.)But that is not at all what shipping two young people should be about. Obviously!!! This should all be so obvious, I don’t know why I have to write it out in so much detail, but alas. Be age-appropriate!!! Crushes are okay, first kisses are okay, exploring who they are as people and why they fell/are falling in ‘love’ is okay, silly cute drabbles are okay… respect that they are children!!!(A little excursus: Isn’t there this shipping trope where people turn their adult ships into kids because it’s “cute“?? Whatever floats your boat, I guess, but I’ve never been a fan of that. Personally I find it even weirder when it’s just one person of the ship…? But I digress.) I mean: ‘childhood friends to lovers’! You could fill a library with fanfiction about that! But if they’re young in canon suddenly that’s forbidden?? Shipping young people has to be APPROPRIATE and has to be handled carefully and respectfully! Don’t hurt or disrespect people!Nobody has to ship any ship but it’s also not wrong to like a pairing of younger people as long as it is DONE RIGHT (e.g. no smut for god’s sake, no marriage, no adult themes, no paring of one young person with an adult(!!!) etc. it’s really not that hard). And if you don’t want to ship a young person at all, then obviously that is perfectly fine too! Personally I definitely prefer adult ships, but beautiful and age-appropriate (!!! I cannot stress this enough) relationships can be a source of joy no matter the age range.When I, once in a while, find myself really liking a dynamic between younger people, then I give special care to portray their relationship in exactly that innocent, child-like way and handle them with a lot of caution and respect. 

If you ship two younger people, please be aware that they are children and deserve to be treated as such!!!