#i know the 2 ships i'm not a fan of are pretty popular so i'm sorry in advance

[haveyoureadthisfanfic]

i see there's shipping discussion occurring in your ask box so i figure i'll throw in my two cents as well!

i used to be a REALLY heavy shipper, in exactly that shallow "reduce their personalities to the concept of kissing each other" way that tons of people are complaining about. i wouldn't get into ship wars or harass people or anything, but i was totally the kind of person who you couldn't just have a level character discussion with— because i would be pretty intent on just going through the motions with whatever best friend or acquaintance I'd decided they had a huge crush on.

by contrast now my biggest most important "ships" end up all being somewhere between 3-5 people with a lot of care put into the nuances of each connection on the relationship chart— i still refer to them as poly ships (as a shorthand mostly), but of the 3 to 10 different relationships between the characters, i usually only see a few of them as romantic or sexual, with the majority a lot closer to a found family or queerplatonic sort of vibe

honestly i think the biggest reason for the reductive style of shipping was that 1) i wasn't as skilled a writer then as i am now, so i wasn't really sure how to really retain all of the features of a character that i liked, and 2) i wanted the biggest feelings IMMEDIATELY and there's some kind of instant gratification to shipping where the end goal is for them to kiss and you can just draw/write/think about them kissing and you're done.

it's kind of like the instant ramen of fictional relationships to me. it's kind of "one size fits all", low writing skill requirement, low effort, really really fast and easy, and ultimately not really that rewarding at the end of it. and just like how real actual ramen exists separately from instant noodle cups, it IS possible to write a really amazing and beautiful and deep romantic ship fic that successfully plays off of the kinds of people these characters are, but ramen still isn't the end-all be-all of relationships! there are so many different hypothetical dishes that could be made with the same characters!

and my personal favorite is polyqueerplatonic ships for this very reason, because with just a few characters you can get a whole diverse array of interactions and dynamics!!

anyway tldr; i think romantic shipping is fun, and even "cheap" reductive romantic shipping can be fun, but (to return to my instant noodles metaphor) it would be reasonably upsetting to attend an awesome community potluck only to find like 90% cup noodles. and the people serving the cup noodles frown at you whenever you ask if anyone's serving like, gourmet spaghetti or dumplings or something.

so just know that if you're bringing your silly "ouhhh they should kiss" fan works to the fandom, you're appreciated and I'm glad you're having fun, and if you're bringing the super precisely thought-out nuanced relationship fan works to the fandom, you are ALSO so appreciated and additionally i really wish there were more of you in my own fandoms.

flashbacks to the time i looked up a ship that i THOUGHT was pretty popular but it only had like 230 works on AO3 at the time and basically all of them were romantic instead of my hyper-specific one-sided queerplatonic one-sided fully platonic thing i had pictured in my mind....

Okay, as someone who has tried their hand at writing slow burn in the past, I totally get the instant gratification thing. "You know when would be a good time for them to kiss? NOW"

I'd get frustrated at my own characters for not just making out already and I was the one writing them not making out lmao

[w1ngedv01d]

Looking for Fic Recs

Been wanting to get back into fic for weeks, seeking recs to get me back into the swing of things

Fandoms: Hermitcraft, Life Series (all canon seasons), GIGS/Phasmophobia-verse

Any hard limits? Cheating/aftermath of, Sexual Assault/aftermath of, pregnancy of any form

Ships I'd Prefer to read? Scar/Grian is my OTP, but I'll take most anything! I'll even read fics with 0 shipping at all

Ships I'd Prefer NOT to read? Bdubs/Etho and Grian/Mumbo (<-this includes triads/polyships with them together as well)

Fic Site of Choice? Ao3

AUs I Like? I'm down with basically anything! I like canon compliant, canon divergent, full fledged AUs... I'm weirdly into Demon AUs rn but I doubt there are a lot of those for these fandoms lol. So I'm good with anything ^-^

But I am definitely a slvt for AUs with lots of worldbuilding and/or adaptations of other shows/media using these characters, so if you've got those, feel free to slide em over

Best Way to Give These Recs:

-Reblog with the name, title, and site in the text of the post, and/or the link to said fic in the text of the post

-Reply with name, title, and site of fic

-Send an ask with the link and/or the name, title, and site

(You can technically put the info in the tags, but it's easier for me to read and find when in the actual text of a reblog, if that's okay)

[lemotmo]

I think parts of that fandom are kind of in a tailspin of reality at the moment. Her ask box is still closed but this is OUCH

My friend received an ask telling him that he can't hold that deleted clip against Tommy because it's not technically canon since it was deleted. In the same ask they told him he had to give Tommy credit for letting Buck set the pace. Sweetie, you can't pick and choose what parts of a deleted clip you can claim are canon and what parts you can ignore. That's not how it works. The part of that clip that is absolutely canon is the repeated pattern, in non deleted scenes, of blatant dismissal on Tommy's part regarding any type of conversational depth when it comes to the topic of Buck and their relationship. I don't need a deleted clip to prove that's what's happening.

A couple of things are fairly obvious here. The traffic on that post is not what it would have been even 3 weeks ago. That's the first thing. Yes the numbers were decent but not great and certainly not impressive. They are representative of a small fandom, which is what you are. The second thing is they didn't trend on Twitter or Tumblr following the post, something that definitely would have happened a few weeks ago, and a barometer his fans constantly like to use as 'proof' of popularity. So something has shifted/happened. It could be that all the people screaming that they had been blocked by the official show account were being honest and the account moderators figured out their spamming game. Something that was always going to happen eventually given the kind of things they were openly admitting they were saying and sending. The Buddie fandom figured it out weeks ago and quickly started making up the commenting ground on the posts, they also, wisely, stopped engaging with the Buck/Tommy comments on those same posts. So it was only a matter of time before they became drowned out anyway. Meaning the numbers were always artificially inflated and once they weeded out the duplicate accounts the numbers naturally decreased. Or the more likely scenario, the hype faded. Something that was also always going to happen.

Anytime a show has 2 men kissing it's going to be talked about. People will watch it. Get excited over it. Want more of it. But if the show doesn't provide content of some kind, the excitement from the wider group at large, dwindles. My ask box, along with my friend groups ask boxes, pretty much confirm that the die hard shippers don't really care about the couple. They ship Lou. Buck and Oliver are just the character/actor Lou is paired with. Look at their behavior towards Oliver. He didn't engage with them, he doesn't promote the pair, and he doesn't follow Lou, so they openly turned against him. That was never going to be sustainable from a large numbers perspective. The audience cares about Buck not Tommy. It was never a smart strategy. Making it almost exclusively about Lou was never going to end well. The frantic posting following the release of the clip trying to explain why it was actually a good thing that Tommy doesn't care what the 118 thinks of him, when anyone with just a passing knowledge of the show knows it's actually a very bad sign, tells me all I need to know. You're aware of the reality of what the show, THUS FAR, is doing. Only it doesn't match the content you paid $200 to hear, my apologies $169 to hear, so you feel cheated. That's not Oliver's fault. That's not the show's fault. And it's why I'm more certain each day that Tim put a stop to it. Those videos created an unmitigated disaster for everyone not named Lou.

I also think some people genuinely don't understand the size difference between the two fandoms. The Buddie fandom makes up a significant number of their audience as a whole. Their fans are not all on Tumblr and Twitter. They have general audience fans. That is not an exaggeration. And it's something the show is more than aware of. Do not try to pretend the show doesn't know that. The general audience/passive fans, like them as a unit. It's just a fact. And never, until now, has a group tried so hard to pretend they aren't an audience favorite. They are. I also think there's quite a few fans like me. I don't classify myself as a shipper. I want the best story for the characters I love, Buck and Eddie. I like Tommy for the larger Buck and Eddie story I think they're using his character to set up. Once it's been set, I don't need or care to have Tommy stick around. Once the newness of the Buck/Tommy pair settled lots of casual shippers were always going to make their way back to the Buddie side. It's the side with all the context. It's also the side the actor/character the show cares about is on. And I promise you Oliver gets a say. Ryan gets a say. Lou doesn't get a say. Paid for headcanons don't get a say.

Ooooof, well--

Nothing to add to this one I think, so I'll wisely stay quiet. Thank you anonymous OP for being so based in reality. :)

Thank you for sending this to me Nonny. It's appreciated, as always.

Remember, no hate in comments or reblogs. Let's keep it civil and respectful. Thank you.

If you are interested in more of the anonymous OP’s posts, you can find all of their posts so far under the tag: anonymous blog I love.

[uninformedartist]

So hey long time no see, just popping in to say that this video by Official_TVC is bullshit.

So summary + thoughts:

Video starts off with defintions on different types of stalking & they say Vivienne has experienced all this kind of stalking. Then goes on to say its 2 individuals doing this stalking and they we the viewer doesn't need to know them, Official_TVC has done a lot of research on them and we should should trust Official & their word without evidence because apparently they retweeted something on twitter & it was a tumblr post thats supposedly exposed Vivienne's siblings, personal things ect. All this is hearsay by you, it shouldn't make the average viewer trust your word. Yes I've seen things but that was from posts I've seen.

Aside -honestly Official should be questioning the anon asks we get on here, some of the asks contain some questionable info like how do you get that info. People get asks on here containing info, people don't go out & hunt all Vivienne's private life, we receive stuff thats how things come to light, OTHER PEOPLE SEND US STUFF.

All the background of the video is helluva boss/hazbin scenes coupled with music from respective shows. No evidence, not even heavily censored evidence to protect Vivienne, just Official_TVC talking & basically saying "trust me bro I did research, believe me". This is heinous accusations, individuals you are talking about & you give nothing. It could be lies for all people know, I don't even believe & I've seen the things you're referring to.

Continued, the stalkers, the 1st one is a "troll" according to Official_TVC & the second is supposedly so bad they were quote " has been 15 ft from vivziepop", no backing on that 15ft statement, Official_TVC just states this. All this stalking, entire pages made is because of a ship. Leaking show stuff (aside again, is GIVEN TO US VIA ANONYMOUS ASKS).

They carry on to say essentially all this hate talk on Viv on YT is cos she's popular, they got nothing of meaning to say on Viv cos they hate her so much they can't talk about her positively. They then mention a person has a never ending stream that just feeds misinformation other YouTubers & quote "on the precipice of wanting to strangle a woman (Viv) who made the crime of making demons gay". Wtf does that mean, who has this never ending stream of feeding misinformation to other YouTube, who & wtf are you talking about.

Anyway, goes on to compare spindlehorse workplace allegations to Amazon (yes ironic) & how Amazon treats its workers really bad... do I need to say more. Goes on to say everyone ragged on Viv because hazbin hotel is on Amazon, Amazon is bad & quote by Official_TVC is cos "everyone looks for an excuse to hate". Ok now I'm giving evidence on why people ragged on Viv for prime since you give jackshit.

Amazon/prime is currently being boycotted, its on the bds list why people were saying to pirate hazbin. Not some bullshit reason Official gave on it being mindless hate. Here is a video explaining why people are boycotting Amazon:

Vivienne also like this post from a fan, do I need to spell out how fucking disgusting this tweet is and the fact that she liked it.

Official carrys on to say stalker 1 did 3 things, doxxed Vivienne, & in their words if you go to said person's page Official states "im pretty sure they know where vivziepop lives". That is speculation, thats your opinion cos no evidence is provided or can be for that matter cos this is what YOU think. Dropping as Official says "nuggets" of info on Viv's siblings University, their work (this info was from a sibling's linked in page, public info). Can I say aside, I know her sibling's names. Why, not from stalking but from them leaving comments on Viv's speeddraws and Viv publicly naming them on her PUBLIC socials. And if you know someone's name you can easily find out what uni they went to, if you know my name & search me up you know what uni I go to its in the public on their linked in, social posts ect.

They go on to talk about how terrible leaking Viv's shows are, which idgaf. Amazon is a zionist corporation I'm pirating anything of Vivienne. Even invincible which I love, pirated it. Fans should too (since I see a lot of fans with free palastine in bio but still pay for prime). Anyway thats on them.

TW: talks of sexual harassment. So Official doesn't want to give more info on this individual which I respect & understand. However they say stalker 1 is sexually harrassing this person, sending content of a sexual nature all because the victim in this situation didn't agree with stalker 1 on the stalker's sentiments on hazbin hotel. I understand protecting the victim but my soul you're literally protecting the perpetrator. Expose them, you keep staying stalker 1 & 2 CALL THEM OUT. Protect the victims but expose the perpetrators.

They go on to stalker 2, who know stalker 1. Stalker 2 supposedly went to the hazbin premiere. They were there to keep an eye on vivziepop Official quotes. No evidence of this quote or info just them relaying it. Again this is all your words against what. Yeah that is concerning it really is but substantiate this evidence & quotes. This is the 1st time I'm hearing about this so I would like to know more on this & this heinous person. But you don't give any evidence. Official says " these people need to be stopped", how can they be stopped. You give no names, no info or evidence, its wishful thinking you saying this. I'm harping on and on on about Official gives no evidence but its so flipping frustrating hearing them spout all this WITH NOTHING to back their words.

TW again: Mentions of suicide and Shay a fan bullied by the fandom who then took their own life. Know a lot of people are still saddened by what led to Shay's passing why I mention this.

Official says stalker 1 is using the death of Shay to entice fruther harrassed on Vivienne. Its "apparently now", huskerdust fans went after Shay with heinous harassment & Shay subsequently ended their life, may they rest in peace. Official claims stalker 1 says Vivziepop is directly responsible for Shay's death. Shay's death was worded as "apparently" but stalker 1 using Shay's death to pin it on Vivziepop is stated as a fact. How disgusting can you be someone died & its apparently so to you but your word of mouth should be considered fact, fuck off. Official then goes on to say... sighs quote "we do not hold politicians accountable when they massacre people of other countries... bloodlines don't exist but we don't blame the politicians pushing the buttons".

Ok wtf, yes we do we blame Biden & other politicians & presidents for pushing the figurative & literally buttons on massacring Palestinians & other minorities, WE DO so wtf are you talking about. I honestly hate Official at this point because wtf are they saying. I don't blame vivziepop on Shay's death, even though when there was attempts to reach Vivienne on what was happening to Shay, maybe the channels they used like email didn't get the message across unfortunately. What I absolutely hate is when fans, like official now use Shay's death as a pawn in relation to people hating on Viv. No one that I've see & I'm saying it now I know who these stalker 1 & 2 are not even they were as disgusting as Official & fans to use Shay's death as to further hate on Vivienne. What Official_TVC is saying is bullshit.

And I disregard everything Official_TVC says after they hearted this comment, fuck you Official_TVC for hearting this vile comment.

I link a screenshot of the outreach to Vivienne via email on Shay aswell as the document on Shay's.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vSfCoyn81fp83pycx5eyS4oxryRpFnVnHdEeyEyouigrKSWAZ5iEgTjt7Q63n68S_PcZK7_klB-9dH1/pub

In all this video is a load of nothing, bullshit actually & just vile on the parts of Shay. They ended of once again reiterating they won't give proof because people just want names & evidence for the tea/gossip & they want to protect Vivienne, shoo shoo. Again trust me bro, I did the research so trust me.

I want to reiterate I condone no actions if provided true on stalker 1 or 2. But from what I've seen of them is all out of context, lies spread by the fandom & things just made up down the grapevine. I don't do this for likes, clout or other bullshit the fandom says. Wouldn't be of me on my nature and the work that I do. Come with substantial evidence, then we discuss & make conclusions but for now

...

I hate Vivienne and this fandom, bye all.

[cherryblossombombs]

I have an issue with the "the giga cover is likely fujobait" because I can't help but think:

if it was truly fujobait, why now?

Why try to get their attention if MHA is now in the 100M club? The series now so popular, hori/jump doesn't need queer shippers to increase its popularity.

Why try to get fujos and queer fans, if it's already popular in that group? Wasn't it apparently shown that MHA is more popular with women and LGBTQ+ fans?

Why try to get that audience when hori had the chance to do that back in 2016-2018 when Kr//bk was the popular gay ship? Wasn't there an interview where someone pretty much asked hori if he's for kr//bk, but instead of playing along, hori made it about bkdk (the ship that no one took seriously at the time) and said he saw the hand hold more about bkdk angst. Kr//bk was a popular ship, it had bones making official art of them. The smash parody manga had moments of it. Two heroes was their movie [I believe hori didn't really help in that movie. However, notice how in the second movie, (he was a part of that one), focused on bkdk (again, the ship no one took seriously)]. Hori had the ability to use that ship as bait, but he seemed to be the only one out of everyone else to not go for it. Instead he kept pushing for the ship that was thought to be too toxic to even become a platonic ship.

If horikoshi did not want bkdk to seen as romantic, why isn't he stopping jump for implying it? You really can't say that he has no ability to, the guy went to bones and told them the ending. Now, notice how bones suddenly stopped making iz//ch moments and added a bkdk moment in the recap episodes (something that they would never do 2 seasons prior). The assistant (whom hori is friends with) is a loud speaker of dkbk lol. Hori follows him on twitter, there's no way that hori hasn't seen his dkbk art once. Same for katsuki's JP VA (who is also a friend of Hori).

Why try to bait the audience when the manga is ending?

Idk, maybe there's a chance he is actually queerbaiting and make iz//ch canon, but again, after everything?

After the togachako arc? He had made ochako confess her crush on midoriya, only for seconds later to not only brush it off as unimportant (unimportant in the sense of it was more of way to relate to toga and speak with her, it wasn't really used as a "canon izu//ocha" moment), she tells toga that she could have ochako's blood for the rest of her life (and we know that's toga's love language of returning/accepting her feelings) and she told toga that she had the cutest smile in the whole world. Like, didn't hori say that toga was made for ochako's character? I feel like it wouldn't make sense for hori to do all of this, then have ochako end up with midoriya, it would feel like a middle finger to toga tbh.

After chapters 285, 322, 362, 367, 403, and 404? The apology? The "you're the closest one to midoriya izuku, therefore I need to kill you in order to make him go crazy". The heart shaped black whip after seeing bakugou's dying body? The "their feelings became one" double spread? this bullet point could be spread to about 2-3 document pages, but I'm just going to summarize for this post lol. But overall, these chapters (and a few more), show me (imo) that it the "fujobait" claim isn't really strong to use against bkdk.

Again, maybe this is queerbait, because I know that there are times where other media/anime have done simliar and still had the MC in a heterosexual relationship, and leave everyone dumbfounded lol. Once again, all I say to this is "let's see what happens."

P.S. Isn't this the same author who said that he thought that naruto was going to end at 698 (the implied SNS ending) lol? Idk if it's true, that's just something I've heard.

[whywoulditho]

"the fandom ruined mha" is one of those vastly popular opinions that i've never quite understood. because they honestly...weren't as bad as people made it seem??? i swear people with zero fandom experience will see a thirteen year old in cheap cosplay having fun and say shit like "ew i hate this fandom you're ruining it" like maybe leave the goddamn kid alone??

mha has a very large fan community, and what makes it a little different than most other anime fandoms is that mha was specifically targeted for a global audience. they did their best to avoid any quirks and cliche tropes of anime that would go over non-japanese' heads. the art style is pretty cartoonish and it's got lots of references to western comics. there's a whole ass movie set in the US. what i'm trying to say is that a large, international fandom was always what they were going for, and it was well received. it was one of those shows that you'd kind of had to watch if you wanted to be in anime spaces back in like 2016-2018. mind you this is when even aot wasn't that popular. and when something is so popular, there's gonna be lot of weird people in the fandom. BECAUSE most of them will be people who have never been in fandom spaces before. the "cringy mha fans" that were the butt of every joke in anime discord were more of than not minors having just been introduced to anime or fandom culture as a whole. there were lots of weird stuff, i admit. but was it ever really that serious? like why couldn't yall just leave those people alone??

another thing people just couldn't stop talking about was how there were way too many ships in the fandom but 1) why is that a bad thing? and 2) of course there were gonna be a lot of ships in a show that introduced TWO WHOLE CLASSROOMS OF TEENAGERS AS THE MAIN CAST who interacted all the time. not to mention all the students from other hero schools, upperclassmen, pro heroes & teachers. there are like a million characters in this show and the more characters the more potential ships -it's fucking common sense. i think what really happened there was that people outside of the fandom looked at the fanmade content and thought the fandom must have been obsessed with ships. when in reality i think the fans were really chill about it. most of them were multishippers, they didn’t mind the other pairings. i understand that for an outsider's eye all the ships and disclose must've looked chaotic but in fandom spaces people know how to filter the content they engage with so there really arent any serious "ship wars" going on anywhere except for maybe instagram comments.

i am not saying all the ships were unproblematic, there were some pretty weird ships going on too, but honestly i thought half of them were jokes? or at least crackships? and if you compared the number of fics those kind of pairings have on ao3 to the more family friendly ones you'd see that there really weren't an actual fanbase for any of those weird ass pairings.

i think the core of mha fandom has never been as chaotic as others thought it was. mha fans were interested in the story, the fights & the character development while casually enjoying ships as well. it wasn't that serious until yall started bullying a bunch of kids online. with the rise of tiktok and the boredom the pandemic caused there were a huge amount of amateur content. i'm not saying i've never seen a mha fan being genuinely cringe. i just think the mature response to those posts would have been leaving the poor kids alone.

yesterday i've seen a youtube video about how awful mha fans are and this guy just showed a clip of a bunch of cosplayers outside of what was probably an anime convention dancing to gangnam style and he was going on and on about how annoying they are. and it made me so angry because where the fuck did these anime fan bourgeoisie snobs come from telling people they can't have fun at FUCKING ANIME CONVENTIONS??? i dont know if you've ever been to one but an anime con is basically the only place that's supposed to be safe to do cringe shit like that. everyone goes to those things in cosplay, some better than others. but last i checked everyone was pretty nice to each other, complimenting each other's costumes, asking to take photos. the cosplays don't have to be good, they don't even have to be complete. a convention is the one place you can show up in a wig you bought off ebay and a costume you finished making the night before. i dont know what yall are on but people go to those events to have fun. not to be filmed and made fun of. and from my personal experience having been in fandom spaces since middle school, someone who dances to gangnam style in a cheap todoroki cosplay is an infinitely nicer person than the stuck-up loser who makes a video complaining about it

[rindragon-from-twewy]

Mmmm forte swap au brain rot upon ye!

I've already completed designs for everyone at the NDA but I wanna space out the posts a bit cuz I don't think I'd be able to say all I'd want to in just one post!

Ramble about character info below; (+spoilers for all of mdarc)

Obviously this is based on my silly doodles for rain code ship week but I've actually started putting a lot of thought in to this now! (I've had waaaaaaay too much free time recently and I'm blessed with the ability to come up with lore/world building very quickly given enough motivation!)

So first off: Why Storm Cypher? Well cuz it's a protagonist swap! Desuhiko's now the amnesiac trainee being haunted by Shinigami so it made sense in my opinion to make this au's name reflectant of his last name, Thunderbolt. So that's where the 'Storm' comes from. 'Cypher' because it's a form of code and... well I just think it sounds nice basically! I do what I do for my own enjoyment, I don't always need to have a reason - no matter what my teachers say.

Also I decided to change some (Not all) character's last name's to better reflect their newly assigned fortes.

Anyway- It's character info dumping time!!!

Desuhiko, like og Yuma, has absolutely no memory of his past. While his personality remains fairly intact, he boards the Amaterasu Express hoping to figure out who he is along the way. While nobody there knows who he is, he instead finds he have a knack for word-play, puns and pick up lines, leading to accusations of secretly being a circus clown as opposed to a detective. This attitude is only solidified more upon meeting Shinigami, the death god with just as many innuendos to make as he does. They get along almost dangerously well, even more so when he learns she has a humanoid form. After completing the first mystery labyrinth, he decides that being a detective HAS to be his true calling, since solving the case was pretty fun all things considered, and receives his hoodie from The Chief to help keep him dry once arriving in Kanai Ward.

Yuma on the other hand, takes the place of co-star of chapter 2. At first he comes off as cool and charismatic but he breaks down almost immediately at the slightest hint of conflict. He's been a very famous musician for years prior to becoming a master detective, though he finds it hard to fully express himself through anything other then his appearance and music. The anxiety induced from an excess of fans, attention, and not knowing who to trust anymore thanks to his own popularity, he was ecstatic to be scouted by the WDO for his talents in disguises. Once it blossomed into a fully fledged forte and he was allowed to work as a detective properly though... they started regretting hiring him. Chaotic, anti-authoritatian and impossible to track down, he's more of a vigilante then a real detective. He was selected to go to Kanai Ward due to it's predicted high mortality rate, the higher ups hoping to dispose of the troublemaker without being too obvious about it. What does APAB mean you ask? All Peacekeepers Are Bastards!!! The Chief wasn't very happy to see him wearing it but permanent marker is permanent.

I haven't decided if I'll change Shinigami's humanoid design yet. If I do though, it'll probably just be more remenicent of her beta design. I haven't decided if I'll swap the Amaterasu Express detectives either though but... maybe I will. Since its forte swap though, the peacekeepers will all remain the same.

I'm hoping to write a fanfic for this, as opposed to like... a comic. But I'm partial to the idea of maybe doing an ask blog as well? I don't know yet. Either way, I'll probably post more for this tomorrow! <3

[oscconfessions]

ii is like actually really good, amazing, even. like it's not perfect since nothing is but it is REALLY good. you can tell AE cares about the show and the characters and the story. i will say, though, a big problem as to why people often come across as pretty negative towards the show, it's thanks to the fact that pretty big people on the fandom often treat ii as terrible, completely misunderstand the story on purpose, make up things about it, and actually don't care about the characters themselves. i know, i know, listen, crazy, how does a fandom not even care about the show they like? and i think that it is thanks to said popular people and how the fandom treats the fanon as canon, and thanks to the fact that again, the fandom only really seems to care about shipping and the character designs and. it's really discouraging. since back then from what i saw, the fandom actually cared about the show. you could tell they cared deeply about it and looked into the characters deeply, and were overall pretty calm too.

i really hope that with the coming back of s2, the old fandom of ii comes back. it is much nicer to have people who care and want to learn more about it than people who just... hate the media they're watching and genuinely believe it is bad, but that the fanon "made it" good. (spoiler: it did not).

like even regarding the things the big people on the fandom say, you can literally just rewatch the show yourself and realize that "Wow, they're wrong" or that they're straight up lying in some cases (that one Cabby thread, Mic's character in the way the fandom sees her as a whole and the way people insist that Nickel hasn't changed). Like. I genuinely encourage all of you to actually watch the show and to look deeper into it outside of ships and designs and the basic storylines, AND outside of the fanon. And also please watch III. People complain about it being bad but it's not! It's really not! Main problem is that most of the rejoiners are characters who's arcs have been already closed (those being TT, Fan, OJ, and Paintbrush), so that ultimately only leaves Yinyang, Nickel and Balloon as the only guys who get development (the invitationals do too, of course, but what I mean is that those 3 guys are the s1-s2 rejoiners that ACTUALLY get development and it was for the better.)

And people willlll complain about it "not living up to s2's writing" when that was never the purpose of it! S3 was made so that AnimationEpic could take a break from Season 2, which was emotionally taxing to them! They even said it themselves! It is meant to be more lighthearted, but that doesn't mean that it can't portray emotional or serious moments because of it. Do I think it could've been better? Of course! But that's still not really AE's fault nor I think people should hate them for... wanting to enjoy making a show again. And the reason as to why PB, TT and Fan were even there was because of viewer voting. AE ultimately wanted to make their fans happy and I think that's a nice sentiment. I am very sad on the way the fandom treats AE and how they overall act regarding the show.

Please, stop believing everything that the popular people on the ii fandom say, it is usually pretty bad takes on the show and they often take things out of context as well. Make your own judgement on the show. Be interesed on it. Don't stay in the fanon. Please, please care about the show. Care about the stories. Care about the characters. Care about the friendships. Care about the growth these guys had. Please. Give the show the same love AE has been giving it.

I'm usually more angry about II not being treated the way it should be (with love) but honestly, I'm just heartbroken nowdays about it. Not even angry. I just want people to care about it and to not follow fanon, to not believe what big artists say all the time, to make their own mind and to look deeply into it. I want people to care about II the way people used to do, to care about it the way AnimationEpic and the people who worked on the show do.

I love Inanimate Insanity and I love how much care AE has poured into it. And I hope that with time, the fandom gets to understand it and to care about it for what it is. Or that it goes back to how it was. When people actually liked it.

I really do hope so.

(also, mods, you don't have to tag the characters here! i just mention them briefly and it is mostly just my thoughts on the way the osc treat inanimate insanity and it's content.)

- 💛🎤 anon

.

[sboochi]

What do you hope to get in Frozen 3?

It's probably not surprising at all, but I'm a big fan of Frozen :D the first movie holds a special place in my heart (the opening actually makes me emotional) and while I have a few issues with the second, I'm weak for the Frozen Aesthetic™, the characters and vibe.

I have no idea what the story for the threequel is gonna be, but I do have a wishlist!

A proper character arc for Anna. Elsa went through a great journey of self discovery+acceptance, but Anna's arc never felt... concrete?

Same for Kristoff!!!! Please please please gove him SOMETHING that doesn't revolve around Anna

And a solo song!! That isn't silly!!! (Lost in the Woods I love you but I want more)

Speaking of songs, besides Into the Unknown (my fave), Show Yourself and Lost in the Woods, the others felt a bit of a letdown. Idk maybe it's just personal taste

More outfits!!! One of my favorite parts of the movies are the pretty clothes

I know the lesbian headcanon for Elsa is popular but in my heart she's aro, so yeah. Hashtag don't give Elsa a partner at all (again, you can ship her with whoever you like obv. This is just my opinion™)

New secondary characters that don't get thrown away after their introduction. Basically what happened with everyone from Frozen 2

Let Anna use a real sword (optimistic. I believe disney has a rule for not letting their heroes use weapons against people)

[iwannascreameurekaa]

I don't understand how any of the seven get so much hate. They all have amazing characteristics, designs, personalities, backgrounds, etc. 

so I'm gonna explain why they're all amazing

Yay

Percy

Percy is the main character to the first five books so he has the most information shown about him than the seven since we read from his point of view in pjo and the Olympians. His whole thing of loyalty is incredible and the things he risked to save people he barely knew made him an amazing protagonist. 

Annabeth

Hello??? I know she's smart but that's not her only characteristic. She's blinded by her own powers and doesn't know how to handle things thrown at her when she can only rely on her emotions which is amazing cause ME TOO GIRLY she's a badass who also went through so much during HOO 

Leo

Built a whole ass ship, was manipulated and controlled into KILLING HIS OWN MOTHER OMGS MY HEART, was always singled out and felt like he didn't belong, SACRIFICED HIMSELF FOR HIS FRIENDS, and so much more!!!

Jason

This is where ima start defending for my life bc people who say Jason is boring don't understand his story. He was taken from his home, raised by wolves until he was around 2/3, raised the rest of his life until his was 16 in a camp where he was trained to be an actual child soldier, kidnapped and had his memory erased, watched his best friend DIE, and died for his other best friend !!! WHAT MORE DO YOU PEOPLE WANT????? OFC HES GOING TO BE BORING HE DIDNT KNOW WHO HE WAS OR WHAT HE WAS SUPPOSED TO BE

Piper

I will hold you by the shoulders and stare directly into your soul until you give me a good reason to hate Piper bc she did nothing wrong. She just wanted her father's love and she never got it so what happened? She was sent or a wilderness camp where she was also manipulated into believing a random boy was her bf which entirely messed her up and it took her MONTHS ALMOST A YEAR to realize that she didn't have the feelings she was lead to believe. THEN SHE SAW HER EX HER BSF DIE IN FRONT OF HER????? I WOULD BE RUINED AFTER THAT OMGS 

Hazel

Excuse me, didn't she DIE in the 1940s to prevent the world from ending, came back, only to have to save the world AGAIN??? Not to mention that fact that she was bullied and harassed all her life before and after her death. Before her death she was always treated like the devil bc of her curse, even by her own mother. Her mom even neglected Hazel which is something NO ONE SEEMS TO TALK ABOUT. Then she has an unknown brother save her from the underworld and have to completely rebuild her life from scratch. At new rome she still wasn't treated right and was left out and made out to be a weird girl just like her old life. Tbh if that was me I wouldn't be shaking crying every time I saw someone. Also she learned how to control the mist which is pretty fricking cool okay I love her 

Frank

Let's just point out the obvious first. The reason Frank is not one of the most loved characters is because he is/was chubby. I'll say it, that is the reason. If he was skinny/fit more people would love him. That's probably why Rick did the transformation thingy thing where Frank got all buff. Which sucks because Frank is incredible and having one of the only character that's not skinny or muscly or as conventionally attractive have to change to those things just to be slightly more popular is STUPID!!!! I'm not hating on Rick I'm honestly hating on the fans who didn't love Frank because of the fact that he was chubby, whether they knew that was the reason they didn't like him as much as the other seven or not. His story is incredible. His mom going to war and her dying made my heart break while reading. his entire life force being attached to a piece of wood, so easy to be burned to nothingness, is SO GOOD. His awkwardness is so refreshing to see when characters are often portrayed as nonchalant and cool when in reality we're all losers 😭 

Really, there's no real reasons to hate any of the seven. You can have favorites, I have my favorites of course, but putting the other seven down doesn't do anything. You're just an asshole. 

[ltwharfy]

For the ship game, gotta get in roudise!

Ship It

What made you ship it?

I've been a fan since the first airing of "Carpe Museum". I enjoyed Rudy right away as a character since he reminded me a lot of myself as a kid. And Louise's interactions with him were pretty different from what we'd seen with any of her classmates before- she treated him as an equal on their adventure, she was concerned when he had his asthma attack. I liked that he brought out a different side to her. By the time they were cuddled up next to Bob on the bus, I was sold.

2. What are your favorite things about the ship?

For starters, I'm a dork for friends to lovers. And I really enjoy the way the show has developed their friendship- it hasn't been static. While I love "Carpe Museum", I really think "The Kids Rob A Train" shows them kind of moving from classmates who get along to friends. And other episodes after that show their friendhsip continuing to evolve until you get a story like "The Amazing Rudy", which would not have rung true if it was earlier on in the shows run. As I've gone on about at length elsewhere even the epieodes that focus on the two being in conflict, "House of 1,000 Bounces" and "Bridge Over Troubled Rudy" , ultimately end up showing them growing as individuals and as friends (and the "growing" part is important since they are only 9, after all.)

But I also really love that their friendship doesn't have to be the focus of an episode to be there. It is often reflected in the show in little moments like Louise cheering on Rudy in kickball in "Stop! Or My Mom Will Sleuth!" or him laughing at her joke at the beginning of "Amelia".

And I like the way their personalities play off each other. I think they have similar personality traits but in different proportions- so they are able to bring out another side in each other. Louise encourages Rudy's more adventorous side, he brings out her more thoughtful and selfless side. They complement each other well and are capable of bringing out the best in each other ("are capable"- they don't always do so, because, again, they're 9).

3. Is there an unpopular opinion you have on your ship?

That I ship it, LOL! (Sorry, but I feel like folks can say this about any "Bob's Burgers" ship except Boblin. I mean, if you don't ship Boblin how are you even watching the show?!)

Okay, seriously, I think an opinion I have about them that might go against the conventional wisdom is that, while Louise can be a force of nature, Rudy's not a pushover. I actually think that, after Tina (who has the big sister card to play), Rudy is the next best of any of the kids on the show at standing up to Louise when necessary. Not only is there a whole episode about Rudy setting a boundary and Louise realizing she screwed up by overstepping it ("Bridge Over Troubled Rudy"), you get little things ranging from Rudy being snarky to her in "The Gene Mile" ("How is this 'for Gene'?" and- one of my favorite Rudy lines- "Someone's fishing for a compliment...Good job, Louise!") to Rudy speaking up on behalf of himself, Arnold, and the Pesto Twins in asking for a refund in "The (Raccoon) King and I".

(I will admit that I find this "unpopular opinion" question to be tough! I don't know what's popular! I never have! That's why I'm so unpopular!)

[missfckingfortune]

How many works do you have on AO3? 4

2. What’s your total AO3 word count? I have no idea. Maybe around 150k? (I’m sure there’s a way to actually see this?

3. What fandoms do you write for? Currently only writing for ACOTAR and Masters of the Air In the past, on a different site ( most of which I have since DELETED) band of brothers The pacific last kingdom the 100 thor one direction ( I know, I know)

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos? I only have four fics. But of those. It’s I Can Wait For You At the Bottom.

5. Do you respond to comments? YES!!

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? None of my current fics have ended yet, but I’m not a fan of angsty endings.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? None of my fics have ended yet, but spoiler alert, it’s going to be I Can Wait for You at the Bottom.

8. Do you get hate on fics? I’m not popular enough for this hahahaha

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind? Currently the good old f/m kind. I’m for sure a plot with porn girl with some good old breeding kink, praise kink, and light dom themes. But open to branching out to m/m or f/f and likely will for one of the spinoffs I have dreamed up ( Azris)

10. Do you write crossovers? Haven’t yet.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen? Again, I’m not that popular.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated? Please see above.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before? Not yet!

14. What is your all-time favorite ship? Oh, like all time? Doesn’t even have to be ACOTAR? Let’s do acotar first just to get that out of the way. I’m a major Elucien girlie. All time? Will Turner/Elizabeth Swan, Ben Solo/Rey, Charles Vane/Elinor Guthrie, Ross Poldark/ Demelza Carne, Bellemy Blake/Clarke Griffin. There’s probably a million more I’m not thinking of!

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? My Reylo fic- Strange Addiction. I’m just not in the same place as when I started.

16. What are your writing strengths? Description and VIBEZ. Sometimes dialogue.

17. What are your writing weaknesses? Pacing, not repeating myself, organization, thinking the plot all the way through.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic? I’m so uni-lingual American it’s not funny, and I have not done this before, really. Oh, wait, there’s a teensy amount of French in I Can Wait for You at the Bottom, courtesy of google translate.

19. First fandom you wrote for? Band of Brothers 20. Favorite fic you’ve written? I Can Wait for You at the Bottom. This was my return to writing as an adult, and I’m pretty proud of it, even if it is a bit of a chaotic mess

Thank you so much to @beesays @cauldronblssd and @witch-and-her-witcher for the tags!!! You are all goddesses and I love you!! <3 I'm so late to this, so if you've already been tagged please ignore me!

@itsybitsybluesy @wilde-knight @clockwork-ashes @temperedink

[kismetconstellations]

@sockdooe Are there legitimately, truly, and genuinely people who fight about that?

I'm pretty sure that the Black Lion, herself, definitively answered that question.

She came to Shiro's aid by awakening and allowing Keith to pilot her when Shiro was being attacked and on the verge of losing his life to those raptor creatures in the second season's opening episode.

She severed Zarkon's connection to her in favor of bolstering her bond with Shiro, because Shiro understood that the relationship between Lion and Paladin is "not about power. It's about earning each other's trust."

And, she cherished Shiro enough to hold onto his essence after his body was destroyed.

Shiro was the first to master seeing through his lion's eyes, all the way back in Season One.

He and Black had a deep enough desire and willingness to fully understand one another that she showed him her history and abilities that she and Shiro had yet to unlock together.

There's no debate to be had, here. Shiro is the ultimate Black Paladin, as determined by the Black Lion, herself.

I can only guess that there's an element of ageism, perhaps even ableism, and undoubtedly superficial vanity at play when it comes to the fandom's preference for Keith, Lance, and the pairing of the two of them that shall not be named. Keith and Lance are skinny, elfin-faced twinks with a cliche rivalry and certain vulnerabilities that appeal more to the younger demographic. Shiro is a square-jawed, six-foot-tall adult man with bulging biceps and abs of steel, and the sort of trauma that would take years to even begin processing, let alone healing from, who seems to be much more popular with the older, adult fans, and Eastern audiences. The younger, American fans took to calling Shiro a "dad", after all, despite him being twenty-five years-old; nowhere near old enough to be a father to any of the teenagers he finds himself put in charge of. I've also seen Keith/Lance shippers calling Shiro "Keith's dad", which feels vaguely racist, and arguing that Shiro "raised" Keith, which is ludicrous. It doesn't help at all that the show, itself, feeds into the ageism and ableism by sweeping Shiro's trauma under the rug, sidelining him when he's down an arm, and sequestering him and Coran off with the other adults while the teenaged- sans Keith, who was at least twenty-one throughout the latter half of the seventh and whole of the eighth season- Paladins go off on their adventures.

I know the intention was to kill Shiro off permanently before the producers vetoed it due to Shiro's popularity and status as the show's only (living, explicitly confirmed, and relevant) gay character. Perhaps because he has no one-to-one equivalent character in the original series this was a remake of, and Keith was the leader in that same original series, so he was destined to be the leader, here, as well. Or, because the VLD showrunners were under the- delusional- belief that they could have Keith redo what Shiro had already done, only better, somehow, because they prioritized spectacle over narrative substance. Regardless, it's apparent that Shiro is only still around out of obligation, come the eighth season, and there was no desire on the writers' parts to further explore or develop his character. Hence him having no family, and, by extension, no real support system, being largely isolated from everyone, only really getting to shine in an episode that's half filler and unintentionally perpetuates more ableism, and then being married off to a "character" who might as well be a glorified piece of set dressing for all of the personality and importance he's given.

It's absolutely mind-boggling to me that,

1. The majority, or at least the most vocal parts of the fanbase cared more about shipping and complaining about being "queerbaited" over Lance/Keith when Shiro is right there.

And, 2. It seems like Josh Keaton, Shiro's voice actor, was the only member of the crew who truly appreciated Shiro, enough to offer his personal headcanon about Shiro's family- that Shiro was raised by his grandfather- state that he intentionally gave the clone's voice a harder edge compared to Shiro's softer, gentler tones in order to distinguish between the two of them, showing his implicit understanding of Shiro's character, and even made a video tribute to Shiro after the show had ended.

Aww, thank you for enjoying my angry rant on Shiro's behalf. Believe me, it burns that Shiro is overlooked entirely as the stepping stone he was on the path toward gay representation in children's media, purely because this show's quality plummeted so hard, and the fandom earned itself a reputation as one of the worst in recorded history. He deserves to be honored and celebrated, as not only a proud gay man who told Pidge that "owning who you are is going to make you a better Paladin", but also as a trauma survivor who strove to remain gentle, patient, and kind, and devote his life to saving others.

And, yes, he also deserves the best therapist in the universe, and all of the cuddles. ❤

[averydavery]

‼️📣 FX'S SHOGUN RENEWED FOR SEASONS 2 & 3 ‼️📣

You know what that means... time for some fan theories!

This should go without saying but SPOILERS BELOW! If you aren't caught up don't read!

For those who don't know, FX's Shōgun follows James Clavell's original novel pretty closely with some deviations, but it starts at the beginning of the novel and ends at the end of it. This leaves some major wiggle room for the continuation of the series and the writers certainly have their work cut out for them if they plan on going on for two more seasons. However, as definite the ending is, there are some loose ends to deal with and at least two directions they can head with it.

Future Plot Theories

The two ways I believe the story will go- IF THEY DECIDE TO NOT ADAPT CLAVELL'S OTHER NOVELS WHICH I HAVEN'T READ AND CONTINUE THIS PLOT- and they're pretty easy to see: either a prequel season or a season that continues the story. Let's start with the former.

At the end of S1 Mariko, one of the protagonists of the story, dies a martyr to enact Torinaga's plan to win over Ochiba's support for the incoming war. Mariko is played by popular drama actress Anna Sawai, which leads me to believe that the writers would want her character to return- if only for the sake of keeping one of their stars. While only Hiroyuki Sanada (Toranaga's actor) has reportedly signed on for the future seasons, if this is the case and Sawai signs on we can expect a prequel season episodes that explore the characters' pasts prior to the events of the first season. For Mariko, that'd likely be a look into her family and their history. As for Toranaga, a look at his rise to power should be expected and maybe a story about the his divide between him and his brother. On a grander scale, this perhaps could mean looking at life before the power vacuum that was left after the death of the previous leader and at how the Portuguese made their way into Japanese society.

Why I think this isn't all that likely: I'm starting with this theory because I think it's the least likely of the two. The main reason being how S1 ended. The first season ends with the Battle of Sekigahara, probably the most infamous battles in Medieval Japanese history. With such a bang, it has really left the viewer wanting and wishing for more, since war = action. This glimpse at the fate of the war is brief and spoils that Toranaga's faction will win overwhelmingly with the support of Ochiba and the heir's army, regardless it also leaves the audience wondering what life in Japan will be like following the decisive battle. Therefore, if we get any "prequel content" it'll likely be in the form of flashbacks or a flashback episode. Although, backstories and a prequel season could be in store for S3, just not S2.

Alright, now with that outta the way- my real theory for season 2.

As I said before, it's clear that we'll be looking at the Battle of Sekigahara and its consequences. However with major characters like Mariko, Yabushige, and John either dead or sidelined... it's to be believed that this season will be Toranaga-centric. This likely will be a season answering "what now?" since we already know Toranaga wins and seizes power. Toranaga's most loyal advisor committed seppuku, so it could tackle the issue of where he can find who to trust and how he'll deal with the former regents and the church. More political intrigue blah blah blah... but if I had to guess (and this is me hoping here): the biggest addition to the plot would be adding in Miyamoto Musashi as a major character. (I will talk about this at length under the "new characters" heading).

Returning Characters (Besides Toranaga since I yapped enough about him)

John Blackthorne

Probably one of the bigger characters who has an unknown future of him is the anjin himself! All we know of John is his remorse for Mariko after her passing and that eventually he ends up back in England as an old man. He's promised his ship to sail again and either complete his mission or return home. Based on his change as a character, I believe he does not complete his mission. But it is possible that he stays for just a bit longer to see what the future will hold under Toranaga's rule. However, since a literal war breaks out I doubt he'll stay for that. Perhaps he leaves and returns? I really believe that John will be fizzled out since his character arc has concluded.

Father Martin & The Rest of The Portuguese

Similar to John, now that Mariko is gone I doubt Father Martin will reappear and if he does it won't be for long- likely to confide in John as they both lost someone they cared for but that moment kind of already happened. However, the more important thing that may happen if they take a more historical stance with this, will be the closure of Japan's ports for another 200 years, effectively cutting off trade and influence from the Portuguese. However, Toranaga is established as a more "open-minded" ruler so I doubt that he will take this stance as well? It remains to be seen.

Kiko, Gin, & The Courtesans

A simple theory but one that may prove important is that Gin's tea house will become a massive source of income and power in Edo and I think she'll end up being a close ally to Toranaga as his influence spreads. I can see her and the courtesans establishing a sort of information and spy trade within the city.

The Regents

This is probably the area where I am most clueless as to what they plan to do with this. I'm thinking Toranaga might just "buy them out" or give them their regions as long as they pledge loyalty to his up and coming empire. There likely will be some in-fighting, but seeing as they ended up siding with Toranaga at the end of S1, I think there just kinda pushovers...

BUTTTTTTTTTTTTTT I do think a whole faction will spring up either stragglers from Ishido's army or something else, there has got to be some kind of threat to Toranaga's reign... I just have no idea what that could be 😭

New Characters

Miyamoto Musashi

Probably the most infamous ronin of all time and a character/historical figure I am way too educated about, Musashi makes his name at the Battle of Sekigahara and is an incredibly popular archetype from Japanese history that's used a ton in fiction- hell, Hiroyuki Sanada has PLAYED Miyamoto Musashi in HBO's Westworld! So adding him would even be a bit of a nod to Sanada's past roles.

Regardless, since a lot of the major character's plot lines have seemed to tie up nicely by the end of S1, introducing a new major character with a lot of "lore" is likely what the writers are looking for. For those unfamiliar, Musashi is regarded as one of, if not the, greatest samurai in history. Known for his unique two-handed swordfighting style and how he was undefeated in ~61 duels, Musashi actually fought for the losing clan in the Battle of Sekigahara as a samurai-for-hire which rendered him a ronin looking to better himself solely in the way of the sword. Musashi also was a talented artist and writer, authoring the "Book of Five Rings" which was his knowledge on the ways of war and the blade.

The character of Musashi was a legend for centuries, however his first instance of being a folklore character was in Eiji Yoshikawa's aptly titled book series Musashi (1939) which cemented him into the popular zeitgeist and still is one of the most popular book series to date. There have been hundreds of adaptations of the series and stories with Musashi in it from shows to video games, with the most praised version (and my favorite manga ever...) being Takehiko Inoue's manga Vagabond.

However, its for this reason that I believe if Musashi does get introduced his story will be greatly changed from the fictional myth to something that will fit into the context of Toranaga's and the greater plot of Shōgun at large. This could mean making him closer to the historical figure, more of a disgruntled sage than a hot head. If this is the case then I think he will be the new advisor to Toranaga that I mentioned potentially being of importance to the plot earlier. Historically, after his rise to fame, Musashi has advised Tokugawa Ieyasu, the actual shōgun who won the Battle of Sekigahara and who Toranaga is modeled after. So it would make some sense to put him in this role. Also when I go over Kojiro, there's another bit with that kinda fits the tone of Shōgun.

Sasaki Kojiro

Given that Musashi is introduced as a new character, they would have to include Kojiro, his "rival".

In terms of historical fact, Kojiro was kinda of the shit while Musashi was still a rising star and Musashi's victory in a duel against him was what cemented his place in history as a legend. Yet, the way he killed Kojiro was incredibly undignified for someone of his status and just the kind of insane death we've already seen in S1 of Shōgun. A la the shocking death of Toranaga's son Nagakado, (WARNING: GRAPHIC) Musashi rows up to Gānryu island late to their duel and after sharpening his oar into a staff, he slams it atop the skull of Kojiro and affectively bludgeons him to death. That is the end of the great samurai Sasaki Kojiro.

EDIT: I didn’t look over this at all for typos and my autocorrect changed “Sasaki” to Salami 💀

If a more historically accurate Musashi does get included in the next season the writers would be remiss in not including this conclusion to their duel. As violent as it may be.

But that's just a theory... a film theory 💀

[lunanoc]

Hey I'm doing some fanlore edits (https://fanlore.org/wiki/Daomu_Biji) and do you have any sources for popular ships in Chinese fandom? I basically just cut it down to pingxie and heihua because those were the ones showing up in 2021 lofter data (https://hardwareabstractionlayer.tumblr.com/post/649989752761810944/the-top-100-ships-in-chinese-fandom-according-to) and like basically ONLY pingxie is on ao3 in any numbers but I'm pretty sure HuaXie was a whole big thing I just can't find a source for it... Thanks in advance!

hi! i don't know if i'm necessarily the best person to answer this question because my incursions into the chinese DMBJ fandom are very curated and basically mostly limited to pingxie spaces, so my knowledge of other ships and their hubs is pretty sparse

that being said, finding centralized hubs to get full numbers and stats from for dmbj ships historically in the chinese fandom is complicated for a number of reasons, one of them being that DMBJ is an older fandom, which means a number of fics were hosted on websites and forums that no longer exist. another is that due to the state of chinese internet, fans also host fics and fan art of ships in closed access forums that are sometimes more or less difficult to gain entry to so as to create safe spaces. that being said, there are still ways to somewhat measure the current popularity of a ship. since this is an ask, i figured i'd turn this into a small informative post if anyone is interested in a surface level overview of what's popular in the chinese fandom by comparison to the english-speaking one. just keep in mind that because of all the above reasons, this is only ever going to be an overview of what's currently popular in general and not everything that exists, because arguably probably everything exists in some capacity, and of course this is all very surface level, so i'm sure someone else could do a more in-depth deep dive, especially if they get around more

disclaimer: because i know some might take this the wrong way, to be clear this is NOT meant to spark any kind of discourse surrounding ships, nor is it here to say that some ships are "better" than others. it's purely numbers i've tried to present as objectively as possible, mostly to provide comparison between two different sides of the fandom that behave differently and have sometimes vastly differing preferences

Chinese DMBJ Fandom Ship Popularity

to start off, i think it's relevant to point out that ao3 isn't the best way to measure a ship's popularity in chinese fandoms even if it can give you a rough idea. it can get you rankings to some extent (and even then it really depends), but the numbers aren't going to be at all accurate considering ao3 isn't the platform of choice for chinese fan fiction for several reasons i won't get into here, but that i'm sure people who've been in cdrama/novel fandoms are probably aware of

so your best bet to get any sort of idea of what ships are most popular is by looking at how they rank on big public platforms, namely lofter and weibo

lofter has yearly rankings like the one OP mentioned that people talk about, and it's a fairly good way to get an idea since it's a pretty popular blogging website for fan fics and fan art. lofter isn't cooperating with me right now, but i'll be using the data compiled for end of 2023 (or as of february 2024) by this bilibili video for the 200 most popular ships on lofter. among those 200 most popular ships, 3 of them are DMBJ ships, and are ranked as follows:

XiePing (not to be confused with PingXie, because yes, chinese fandom differentiates ships by top/bottom dynamic) at #120

HeiHua at #25

PingXie at #2

no other DMBJ ships make an appearance on this list, and if nothing else, it tells you not only that both PingXie and HeiHua are by far the most popular DMBJ ships in general, but also gives you an idea of just how insanely popular DMBJ is in china overall to have three ships in the top of a general fandoms ranking

next we have weibo where getting an idea of a ship's popularity is a bit different, and there are multiple ways to do it, but one of the easiest ones to get an idea is by looking at how high a ship's super topic ranks on both the real time and weekly popularity rankings. super topics function similarly to how communities work on X and aren't tags, so not everything tagged with a ship is necessarily going to reflect what's posted in the super topic and vice-versa, but it still gives something of an idea of overall popularity. looking at the today's super topic ranking in the fictional characters category, again the same two ships show up in the rankings:

HeiHua at #23

PingXie at #5

for the sake of comparison, because it's easier to actually see figures with weibo super topics, i also looked up both other ships that do get some traction in the chinese fandom despite being less popular, as well as ships that the english-speaking fandom tends to talk more actively about (in tumblr spaces anyway)

HuaXie at #174, which has an audience, but the numbers are already very different and speak to the fact it's generally speaking a smaller ship as of now (for reference, 万 that you see on these pictures is a unit for ten thousand, so here 1.1 万= 11,000)

HeiPing (unranked), which is in somewhat of a similar situation as HuaXie, but considering HuaXie is ranked, it's safe to say that's probably the only other ship that's even remotely popular by comparison to the two giants that are PingXie and HeiHua

allXie at #160, which is less a ship and more of a bottom!wu xie enjoyers cocktail that has a little bit of everything under the sun, though is mostly a mix of wu xie being shipped with some of the main male characters (i.e. xiaoge, hei xiazi, xiao hua) as well as other more minor characters such as zhang haike notably. it's not really a thing in the english-speaking fandom, but it's worth mentioning because it does exist enough to be represented

PangXie (unranked), which is quite honestly one of the bigger contrasts between the chinese fandom and the english-speaking one in that this ship is pretty much non-existant, or at least i've never seen fan fiction for it. again, my view of things is biased because my experience is deliberately curated so it's entirely possible there are things i just don't see, but the numbers don't seem to contradict that impression

PangYun (unranked), which i'm providing here mostly because pangzi is most often shipped with yuncai (and usually as a sideship that i can tell), though these numbers aren't necessarily representative of what content exists for this ship, since most things tagged as PangYun are posted to the general DMBJ super topic. if anything this mostly gives the impression the ship doesn't have much of a dedicated following, especially given it's part of the other category rather than the fictional characters category

PingSang (unranked), which is one of the only two ships that have any kind of following that involve liu sang, is also in the other category, and along with PangXie and his other most notable ship, is most definitely a rarepair, which is another notable difference with part of the english-speaking fandom where liu sang ships tend to be both fairly popular and have active communities

CanSang (unranked), which is in yet another category (CP as in couple as in ship), though this one's rarepair status might be explained by the fact that, if you couldn't already tell, the chinese fandom has little to zero interest in secondary or minor characters, and beyond that, the core of the chinese DMBJ fandom doesn't care much for the dramas/live action adaptations and is largely centered around the books, so given the premise of this ship is based in the adaptations, it's not surprising

Iron Triangle at #65 is getting a special mention, not only because it is ranked, but also because it's not necessarily what you think. the 角色 or fictional characters category for super topics isn't limited to ships, so you also have super topics for characters on their own in it. what chinese fandom considers to be the six main DMBJ characters, aka wu xie, xiaoge, pangzi, xiao hua, hei xiazi, and huo xiuxiu, each have their own super topics that are in the top 200. the iron triangle topic is ranked, but it's more in the same vein as those, that is to say it's a gen super topic, not a ship super topic. the chinese fandom doesn't seem to be into polyships in general, so that might explain it

i'm not sure how informative this post is, since i get the feeling some of this information is either obvious or things that people already know more or less, and i'm also not sure it really answers OP's question about finding reliable sources for numbers, but it's a surface level attempt. if anyone has more in-dept knowledge or would like to add onto this with different sources or data feel free to!

[sauron-kraut]

20 Questions for Fic Writers

Thank you so much for tagging me, @nihil-ism 🖤

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

Currently 15.

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

9,329 - you see, my works posted so far are either shorter one shots or ficlets/drabbles.

3. What fandoms do you write for?

The Silmarillion and adjacent works by Tolkien. :) And within this fandom it's almost exclusively about rather niche ships with Mairon. Let's see when/if I will write for other fandoms; I'd love to at some point.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Of Gods And Monsters

Sacrificial

Plaything

Sugar

Sacred

All of these are Mairon/Ar-Pharazôn. lmao

5. Do you respond to comments?

I will respond to every single (first) comment someone leaves on a fic of mine. I thorougly enjoy these little interactions and I want to show my appreciation to people who show me theirs.

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

That must be my double drabble Plaything I guess. At least if we talk about the very moment ending the fic. Throwing up from negative emotions and alcohol alike seems pretty... angsty.

7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

That must be Of Being Born and Little Deaths. Everyone (well...) is having a good time and it literally ends with an orgasm.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

So far I haven't and I'm very grateful for that.

9. Do you write smut?

I love writing smut. And I love weaving character analyses/studies and some poetry into it.

10. Do you write crossovers?

I don't, personally not a fan of crossovers.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I know of.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Nope.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

I haven't, but sharing headcanons and ideas with others has endlessly inspired many of my fics.

14. What’s your all-time favorite ship?

Angbang (Melkor/Mairon). I love them, I will never be over them; they've been with me for ten years now, I could ramble on forever about how important this ship is to me and what it means to me. It's rather popular in fandom though and I feel like there's many great writers out there who have graced us with their brilliant work. That makes me feel like I don't necessarily need to... add to that somehow. I'd love to write (more) Angbang at some point but as far as writing goes my favorite ship is Mairon/Ar-Pharazôn (which many of you might have guessed at this point lol). It's rotten, it's biblical, it's a playground for all things terrible to me. And it's a rarepair (why??) and therefore (in my mind) lies like a bare field before me, ready to sow and play in. 🖤

15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

No such thing. My WIP are my children and I will not abandon them. It might take many months but they will see the light of day.

16. What are your writing strengths?

Building atmosphere, pretty lines, poetry, in some parts characterization. (Very) short formats are my strength in general.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Not really able to write anything plot-driven, sometimes dialogue (though I might have started to improve a little), prioritizing pretty imagery and rhythm/sound over meaning/sense sometimes, having difficulties writing longer stuff.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

Not really my thing; could get awkard quickly imo.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Visual Kei bands (Moi dix Mois) when I was 14.

20. Favorite fic you’ve written? 

Easily my little double drabble Reverence. It illustrates nicely what I talked about regarding my writing strengths for question 17 imo.

Tagging @lvsifer, @curufiin, @cilil, @saintstars, @gardensofthemoon, @elevenelvenswords , @crackinthecup , @swanhild , @a-world-of-whimsy-5 and @i-did-not-mean-to (no pressure ofc and sorry if I forgot anyone, in that case: that's just my forgetful brain at work)