#like i dont even like that ship that much but. but that fic in particular.

[toripar]

anyone else read the jercy sandwich thief au? i feel like that changed my life a little bit tbh

[hecksupremechips]

Can we talk about mitsuham I think we should talk about mitsuham yes I’d like that very much

Imagine Mitsuru her life has been planned out for her by a bunch of men her choices are not hers to make every move is political she is nothing but a tool forced to fight as a child never allowed to burden anyone with her feelings. Her life isn’t hers, it’s never been hers for a second, she exists to further the careers of the men around her. The first two friends she makes are both boys and she was in charge of leading them, using them just to further the Kirijo agenda. Genuine friendship did blossom between them, but things fell apart pretty quickly. Shinjiro can’t control Castor, something is seriously wrong with him, he kills someone, then he leaves and the Kirijos cover it up. Was it to protect him, or to protect themselves? Mitsuru certainly doesn’t know anymore but she’s lost a friend and can’t reach him again, he’s too traumatized by personas and Akihiko is still there but he’s always so stuck on Shinjiro and Mitsuru feels like she failed both of them. Just more men for her to let down by not being good enough

Then there’s Kotone. Sweet, strong, clumsy, talented Kotone. She’s so bubbly and friendly, but behind those warm smiles is horrible loneliness. Pain. But she’s never ever gonna let anyone see that. She busies herself by taking care of everyone else, listening to their problems and never burdening them with her own feelings. She can just fix everything and make everyone happy if she works herself hard enough. She just has this way about her, so reliable and so kind

And Mitsuru watches Kotone from above. Trusts her to be the leader, or maybe she just wanted to push a burden onto someone else for a change. Someone who’s able to take on burdens with a smile for fucks sake. And Kotone leads, seemingly effortlessly, and is able to recruit several members in a short time and achieve just so much more than Mitsuru could in her entire lifetime. Just, perfectly. Without even possessing any prior knowledge of the dark hour or personas. And she does this while being so emotional, so social, so weird, so fucking cute, it’s absolutely nauseating. This should be fine, right? It’s what Mitsuru’s always wanted, for someone else to ease her burden. And hell, it’s a woman too, a woman who’s perfectly capable of doing it all without a bunch of men helping her. It’s inspiring, isn’t it?

But there’s the pain. The envy. Kotone is perfect and she doesn’t even have to try. Mitsuru on the other hand has been shaving herself down to nothing just to be allowed a place. She makes the perfect grades and wears the beautiful clothes and applies the fucking makeup and is mature for her age and never speaks out or feels anything that could possibly make her be seen as a human, a filthy fucking human. So why does a woman as unashamed as Kotone get to have it all? And why is Mitsuru still here, still acting as the Kirijo tool, still doing whatever she possibly can to hurt herself to make a man feel better? Why isn’t she useful anywhere? It’s not fair

And then when she actually spends the time with Kotone she’s trying so hard to be that wise and mature figure she’s always been, trying so hard to force herself to smile through the pain, but she’s talking to someone who can see right through that shit cuz Kotone Shiomi invented lying through her teeth to make others feel better. It’s annoying really, how Kotone is supposed to be the childish one, yet it’s Mitsuru who can’t get it together and can’t seem to look into those bright eyes without breaking. And Kotone isn’t disgusted by what she sees, even though Mitsuru is being unreasonable and emotional and talking about wanting to run away and how much she hates her life and how she’s not only eating fast food but enjoying it, letting herself enjoy an indulgence that won’t make her pretty anymore. No, Kotone sees this and listens and encourages it and celebrates it, celebrates how utterly human Mitsuru is. She holds her hand and says "let me take on your burden". And it’s horrible, this kindness, Mitsuru hasn’t even broken all her bones to make Kotone happy, so why is she being so fucking nice? And then something breaks, and Kotone defends her. Stands up for her against a man. Lets herself once again take a hit to protect someone else. And it’s just too familiar, too much to fucking bear, and it pisses Mitsuru the fuck off. And she is able to tell a man to go fuck himself, because no one gets to fucking talk to this girl like she isn’t the most amazing person ever to exist. Not after everything she’s done, everything she still does, not after giving her all and never once asking for anything in return. And in standing up for Kotone, Mitsuru is able to stand up for herself for the first time in her life. And she looks at Kotone and says "let’s take on each other’s burdens"

Oh and also they watch a scary movie together and hold hands and ride a motorcycle and Mitsuru calls Kotone adorable I mean that’s pretty gay man

[netscapenavigaytor]

if i had a nickel for every time while headcanoning character dynamics that don't exist much in canon, i ended up making the fan-favorite yaoi pairing instead a worryingly toxic friendship that's only hanging on by a thread, i would have two nickels but it's weird that it happened twice

[inamagicalhallucination]

fic where 18 yrs old dazai meets 14 yrs old atsushi (right after leaving the mafia ig) and w/o thinking takes him with him and they spend the two years on the run together (dazai becuz anytime he tries to abandon the orphan he picked up w/o thought oda flashes into his mind and ultimately he grows to care for him) (atsushi becuz the weird bandage guy pinkie promised he could ride on one of those trains he's seen in books)

anyway

dazai and atsushi dont look alike or have the same name so the ada picks up they arent related by blood real quick

anytime anyone asks how they met, they honestly answer "i/dazai kidnapped him/me" but everyone thinks its a joke

atsushi wins dazai over gradually, like small moments, small moments of kindness shown for dazai, small moments of seeing atsushi's real non-trauma made personality seeping through , he doesn't even realize it until it hits all at once how much he cares for atsushi

atsushi on the other hand was sold because dazai could make him laugh

//

also sskk where atsushi takes his bf to meet his brother and akutagawa and dazai do the spiderman meme

//

also dazai finds out atsushi's ability becuz at some point he comes to their hideout or whatever and a giant tiger is sitting there and before he can even panic it happily jumps at him and boom atsushi

//

in this particular au, dazai lets atsushi doodle anywhere like dazai's bandages and his books becuz its better than having to actually engage with the child and eventually gets atsushi an actual sketchbook and the two spend their time drawing, atsushi's sketches get better dazai's get worse but atsushi sometimes thinks its becuz dazai's silly and scary sketches make him laugh

//

there has to be a scene where someone asks atsushi what he's doing here, after dazai's joined the ada, and atsushi's like "im here w/ my brother" and looks at dazai, sees him poorly flirting w/ kunikida and irritating him and gets so much second hand embarrassment he points at ranpo instead

//

atsushi knows dazai was in the mafia but he thinks double black was just dazai's cringy ship name for his ex boyfriend

//

okay thats all i can think of now ill add more maybe

[toraawa]

ive been a fan of yours for a while and i gotta say, i think you have the best grasp of yurisere/predatorshipping in the fandom. you actually take their characters into consideration and acknowledge their complexity as two stunted individuals who are very different but similar instead of diminishing them to memey single-trait characters. its amazing how many other other fans reduce serena to only "edgey mean girlboss" and yuri to only "nasty psycho" and then call any other version of the ship than constant hate fucking, backhanded affection and beating each other to a pulp "wrong". very tiring how only a handful of us dont like that to be the only thing they ever do

btw, your fics on ao3 are a godsend. judging by your stats im definitely not alone in loving how you write yurisere. thank you for doing the lords work. cant wait to see more updates

First of all, thank you for the high praise! It's the second time this week I've been told something similar, lol!

Though I will say anon, the rest sounds pretty charged towards something or someone particular in the fandom, so at the risk of aggravating some current stuff I don't know about...

Yeah. I agree. A lot. You pretty much summed up my thoughts perfectly.

"Edgy mean girlboss" and "nasty psycho" for Serena and Yuri respectively is... extremely accurate, lol, to the point where I kinda have to laugh bitterly for how pervasive it is. Like, I know they both got shafted hard by canon, but it's a bit annoying when so many people override Serena's multifacetedness to fit the girlboss mold and accuse Yuri of being one-dimensional. I'vs seen some even get strangely angry at the prospect of him not just being the sadistic plant guy. I just don't think him only being that is true. Then again, I'm a staunch defender of the assessment that most of Yuri's character is shown, not told.

Unfortunately, the fanon interpretation of characters overriding canon is something that happens in pretty much any fandom, so there's not much we can do but ignore it and find like-minded people. It's super annoying, but it can't be helped. There's also a broader phenomenon of prioritizing tropes and meme-y dynamics over actually appealing characters, so there's that too.

Since we're all waiting for more canon interaction, I'm definitely in the minority in that I don't think Yuri and Serena's interactions in Duel Links will be a pure hostility fest the entire time. I've also gotten accusations over the years that my Yurisere writing is objectively "wrong" for a plethora of reasons, many of which you stated above, so... there's THAT, too.

At the same time though, that isn't to say Yuri and Serena would never fight or bicker or even be mean to each other — I never expect them to be completely nice and friendly to each other right off the bat. And people are free to write and draw whatever they want — I want to express my disagreement and only that here — so if I don't like it, I ignore it. The people who don't fall into fanon have a much more appealing, deep, and romance-forgiving interpretation of yurisere to me, so I just focus on that!

Anyway, thank you once again for being a fan of my writing! I'm honestly surprised at the following for my current fics on ao3. The Arc-V tag doesn't get much engagement despite being updated every day. It's always great to know there are others who enjoy and share my idea of Yurisere, so to anyone lurking: don't be afraid to reach out!

[the-real-rain-world-confessions]

just going to leave some of my thoughts here:

first: i do not think the fandom is falling apart. there is still talented and good people here. people always blow up anything that happens out of proportion. this dosent even apply to anything in particular. even if it did get bad, i love this game too much to just stop supporting it.

partially related to that, i do not get the people who whine so much about nsfw and generally things they do not like. i do not like any rain world nsfw at all. iterator or scug or else. but i would not harass anyone over it, that is not good. i dislike but care very little about iterator or anthro scug (anthro being a slugcat who is able to consent, does not have to be full furry-looks-like-a-person) nsfw. i very much do not like animalistic slugcat nsfw (or think other things that would be illegal in real life) but i still would not attack people over it. (and i would stay out of those spaces! they arent for me)

and semi related to that too, i do not ship anything in rain world. i generally dont really ship. but i still show my appreciation for ship art like anything else. i see a really good slugcat art? yay! i let the creator know (by liking etc) that i like their art. i see a really good ship art, even if i dont ship? yay! i do the same thing, because the creator obviously put effort into it and cares about it. and it can be cute sometimes, or interesting. i actively follow accounts that post majority ship art because i like the art, or the ideas, or the account.

all this also goes for headcanons i dont like, aus i dont like, fics i dont like, interpretations i dont like, literally any content i dont like. not hurting people in real life, and you know how to keep it that way (seperate fiction from reality and things)? well then im just going to leave, maybe block the tags so i dont see it again (or something similar), and consider it settled. hence 'people always blow up anything that happens out of proportion.'

this was a long confession but what else ima do? i guess im a coward for posting this on anon but thats what confession blogs are for babyyy!!

.

[bhnsby]

🔥

Gonna use this to drop off one of my hottest takes;

I think you all take Sierra and Cody, and the way people portray and think of these characters way too seriously

WAIT WAIT BARE WITH ME DONT SHOOT I CAN DEFEND MYSELF HERE

Sierra and Cody…

Sighs. I like sierra. And I thought she was funny. Let me explain before you get your pitchforks out

Sierra and Cody, while being a story about a stalker meeting their tv crush, is a PARODY of real obsessive fans and is meant to be COMEDIC.

Firstly, it is okay to like sierra and Cody’s dynamic;

Shipping them is eh to me it doesn’t make sense but if you can truly justify it without being a freak I’ll let you have it I guess, but Sierra and Cody as a duo not romantic relationship but as a stalker and her crush is different. Sierra and Cody were intended to be comedic. Whether that’s your sense of humour or not isn’t my issue, but claiming its Misery levels of stalker story is insane. Yeah she breached his privacy, yeah she was a bit of a freak, yeah she fucking sucked in world tour what the fuck was that, but she was still intended to be a PARODY. Quick little lesson chat what is a parody?

Well I’m glad you asked a parody is an imitation of the style of a particular writer, artist, or genre with deliberate exaggeration for comic effect.

A really obvious example of a parody I can compare to sierra is caricature art. (Yes some is genuinely offensive and straight up racist but I’m talking about the innocent ones here). Caricature art isn’t funny to everyone, not everyone is going to want to get a caricature done, due to either not wanting their feelings hurt or them just finding the concept a bit rude or a bit offensive. But some people like caricature art and find it funny. They see the satire and parody here and can look at it from an unbiased perspective and appreciate the humour. Sierra isn’t funny to everyone, not everyone is going to like sierra, due to having maybe a personal experience that hits a bit close to home or finding the stalker concept a bit much and more serious than comedic. It some people do find sierra funny. They see the satire and parody here and can look at it from an unbiased perspective and appreciate the humour.

Next I wanted to touch on the whole concept of the Sierra Cody situation to be taken more seriously;

If you want to take Sierra and Cody and look at it from a perspective of a stalker and victim in a more serious lense, and want to include in your fics, fan art and over all interpretations of these characters and situations as something more serious, then that is great. That is wonderful even I’m glad you are able to do that. But if someone wants to just look at Sierra and Cody as comedic relief, and only see them as comedic relief, and want to include this in their fics, fan art and over all interpretations of the characters, then that is also okay. The wonderful thing about people is that we look at, react to and interpret things in different ways. Maybe we should all hold hands and realise that it’s okay to take the Sierra Cody thing seriously, and that it’s okay not to.

Finally , you do need to understand that the Sierra and Cody situation can be serious, and that it can be comedic, but you kind of need to acknowledge both;

So. Yeah Sierra and Cody is a story about a stalker meeting her favourite tv star and getting way too into it. That is a serious situation. But it is also a comedy. Like ive said multiple times throughout this post. But listening to one and ignoring the other is kind of stupid. The fact is that what happens to Cody is pretty serious and not okay at all like some of that stuff what the fuck, and to try and say “uh well it’s a joke so sierra is completely okay and did nothing wrong” is ridiculous, and it is a comedic part of the show. It’s a joke, it’s a huge part of the humour in world tour, so saying “well what happened to Cody was pretty serious so you can’t laugh at it and anyone that does is evil” is also stupid. Now ready for my bombshell of a take

Fiction does affect reality and fiction is different from reality are two statements that can coexist.

This can apply to multiple things, shipping, characters, topics and in this case Sierra and Cody.

In regards to sierra and Cody, this means that while what happened to Cody was awful and a serious matter (mainly in real life as the show doesn’t really take it seriously), it is still a joke and a bit of humour, and that while it is funny to laugh with Sierra and at Cody, there is a level of tragedy to this and what happens to him

Uh to wrap up because I’ve just been repeating myself over and over

TL;DR : Sierra and Cody is ultimately a comedic part of the show, but has a level of seriousness to it, and it’s best to acknowledge both

[bluhjeans]

songs i associate with dbh characters / what i think their fav songs would be

pleasee share ur own thoughts & opinions id love to hear them!! and I need to ramble abt my dbh opinions to people (+templates if u wanna make ur own)

explaining my reasoning here if anyones curious

gavin: couldn't decide between rehab and in my feelings because theyre both just so him (and by that i mean fanon him cuz there really wasnt much to work on) 'in my feelings' because I can just imagine him to all' of the lyrics ('Sobbin' in my cup of coffee 'cause I fell for another loser' and 'Who's doper than this bitch, who's free-er than me' in particular) and rehab is a little looser of a connection, it stems from this story that ive been sorta writing that focuses on gavins relationship with alcohol aswell as his friendship with tina, and I just feel like rehab really captures his reluctance to give up the many different problems he has in the story like drinking, smoking & drugs rk900/nines: i dont really imagine he listens to music but but i kinda associate him with the pre-chorus in 'In my feelings' by LDR with the 'get that cigarette smoke out of my face' and the bridge with 'got me feeling so blue, making no sense at all, gotta leave right now' sooo duet with gavin...? 'shades of cool' (u may have noticed i like lana songs by now!!) also really matches nines IMO, the song is about her own pain and disappointment but but it also centers around this flawed love interest she wants to fix and understand, but ultimately can't, which to me just feels like nines and gavin, atleast in my own hc's (can you guess my fav ship yet) connor: whilst this song (a human's touch) could generally apply to all androids in dbh I connect it most with connor, especially in the second verse; "We were still going strong I never did you wrong Until the new me came along It was just you and me We were such a good team But now I’m alone on the boulevard of broken screens" Listening to this, I can really imagine him talking to Amanda after being introduced to his successor, the RK900 ('the new me') - I also can imagine the boulevard of broken screens being in reference to the graves of his previous bodies and I just think thattt hits yk, + whilst the second verse applies to machine connor more, the craving for human touch (connection in general) feels rather apt as by becoming deviant he has severed ties with Cyberlife, causing him to be pretty alone so yeah kara: I can just imagine her, alice and luther all singing country roads together in a car during the summer and it just warms my heart sm like its just sooo cuteee <3 I can also imagine her being a fan of Adele's music in general, I can't really explain why but she just seems like the type of person to be reaalllyyy into adele (me too) (+ i know age as a concept isnt a thing for androids really but adeles music appeals to a large age range making her music appealing 2 families so maybe im connecting adele n kara because of that) markus: I feel like I don't even need to explain history has its eyes on you... i mean come on.. but ohhh emmm geee!! I can not stress how PERFECT 'as the world caves in' is for markus atleast in my opinion, when I listen to it I can really picture this song over markus either choosing to sacrifice himself in BfD when surrounded, but generally I can just imagine this song over him doing anything really. 'run boy run' also feels like it needs little explanation, just listen to the song/look at the lyrics and youll see the connection north: I don't actually have any meaningful reasons for these songs but I just feel like north would like them but I guess 'breakin' dishes' is the one I thought about most because I can imagine her acting similarly in the same situation soo yeah chloe: Chloe doesn't really have a lot to work on with her extremely limited appearance in-game so this is completely based off a fic i read lol, where chloe was in a relationship with kamski but only in private because of his concern for his image anyways, in 'a loving feeling' mitski sings about feelings of loneliness in a relationship where her partner only shows affection alone and yeah that just feels like chloe n kamski to me!

[stuck-in-the-ghost-zone]

k, m, n, t for pd and/or suck!!! >:33333

K - What character has your favorite development arc/the best development arc?

-> you know i gotta say wiwi. i have to. that character was Made For Me i swear to GOD . genuinely i cannot think about prime defenders season 2 episode 39 without feeling physically sick bc i love it so much. its the only one i havent relistened to since i heard it the first time. i KNOW its gonna make me cry again so i genuienly have not touched it even though theres things in there i need to hear again for character research. his arc is so like. narratively satisfying in a way that hits me so fucking deep to my core in an extremely personal way. and like. there were definitely some Decisions that i was REALLY ANNOYING about hating when they were brought up because im used to media with bad storytelling/creators that do not care about their characters but. looking back on it i would not change a single thing about it. i love you wiwi so much.

-> FOR SUCK.... its not over yet. so i cannot definitively say. campaign finale comes out tomorrow so my answer may change depending on that but for right now i think i gotta say arthur. i joke a lot about hating arthur for no real reason in particular but. man his story is just REALLY good. not going 2 give you suck spoilers (hehe) but i also really like how shilo has grown through the campaign. hes my little guy :]

M - Name a character that you’d like to have for a friend.

-> TIDE. TIDE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! TIDE TIDE TIDE I LOVE TIDE SO MUCH. thats my dad thats my best friend i love tide so much dude. every time he is mentioned or on screen i am just like :D HI TIDE I LOVE YOU TIDE

-> grefgore :] light of my life this is how i feel anytime i think about grefgore

N - Name three things you wish you saw more or in your main fandom (or a fandom of choice).

-> CHARACTER STUDIES. PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD. I LIKE A GOOD SHIPPING FIC AS MUCH AS THE NEXT GUY BUT PLEASE GOD WRITE THEM IN CHARACTER. EXPLORE THEIR THOUGHTS AND EMOTIONS AND WHY THEY MAKE CERTAIN DECISIONS THE WAY THEY DO. this doesnt even go for just pd and suck this is like. true for every single fandom ive ever fucking been in. do you know how hard it is to find character studies in the danny phantom tag on ao3. nobody has even fucking watched the show how are they going to write character studies they just want (<< i cannot legally finish this sentence without getting in so much trouble) I HAVE TO DO EVERYTHING MY FUCKING SELF AROUND HERE. ALL I EVER WRITE ARE CHARACTER STUDIES BC THATS THE WAY I THINK ABOUT CHARACTERS. I LOVE THEIR MOTIVATIONS I LOVE TO GET INSIDE THEIR BRAINS LIKE A LITTLE PARASITE AND IT IS ALWAYS SURPRISING TO ME WHEN OTHER PEOPLE DO NOT THINK LIKE THIS. (edit im just now reading through this and realized the question says three things. i did not process that. my three things are all more character studies please)

T - Do you have any hard and fast headcanons that you will die defending? 

-> oh dude i have so many hmmmmmmm how to choose just one. i have a LOT of feelings about wiwis original death and i might write something about that when i can get over my shrimp emotions about him. dakota cole audhd truther but that ones pretty much canon anyway so i dont think it counts. vyncent and his relationship with growing up in fantasy world and then being thrown into prime and how he adjusted to that. I think he really lies shitty syfy channel type horror movies that are so stupidly bad. and also plays a lot of video games but again i think thats mostly canon already. i think tide listens to dad rock but also like. ocean man by ween. you already know about my william and ashe being each others emotional support at concerts. i think william and ashe should hang out and do emo kid things more. i also have a lot of feelings about ashe and coping with the crippling loneliness of basically growing up alone and how the pd becoming like INSTANT best friends was so much for him in sooo many ways. you already know how i feel about mark i am in the middle of dissecting him like im in a high school biology class as we speak. uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh i know im gonna think of something really good after i hit the post button so stay tuned

[thrandilf]

while i fully agree with the thesis of your gay best friend mei post (she is often pushed aside in fanworks and her friendship with red son is undersold) but i think you might have gone too far in the opposite direction regarding mk and red sons dynamic?

obviously they dont have as much plot-relevant screentime as mei and red but mk is still important to red son. even disregarding their s1 nemesis dynamic, red son still regularly brings up mk in his conversations with mei during the s3 special, announces his entrance to mk in the mech, and asks about him on meis stream in 401, all of these feel like intentional writing choices to imply he cares about mk (and mei, but thats more implicit with him saying her name and such) more than he lets on

that is to say, i dont think shipping mk and red means someone doesnt value mei and reds dynamic or think its unimportant, just like shipping red and mei doesnt mean disregarding mei and mks bond

i hope this doesnt seem like im trying to pick a fight or anything, i just wanted to put in my 2 cents :v (also tumblr is being shit so sorry if this sent twice)

MK and Red Son are definitely friends, not denying that, but the show doesn't have an interest in developing their specific relationship further past like... halfway through Revenge of the Spider Queen. MK says they should trust him, and from there on out the two banter or work together sometimes, but nothing between them really gets going or more intense

Because after that the majority of the time is spent developing Mei and Red Son's dynamic (which was already starting in S1, 1x08 in particular I'd argue, but it was still minor then).

Her and Red Son constantly get paired up onscreen together in RotSQ, both on the main quest and then in like... every shot possible. The piggyback ride thing is actually a romance trope as well, btw. 3x06 involves everyone, but it's Mei who Red Son touches and has the Samadhi Fire connection with, and even then it's Mei who interacts with Red Son before they leave and she leaves her plushie, and then -insert the special here-. MK comes up in their conversations, as Mei comes up in MK's conversations with Red Son, so that segment's even to me, but then the Samadhi Fire ending is kinda like. Man. That's unique to Mei and Red Son and it got build up. That's something intimate and between just them

Don't get me wrong, I don't think shipping Has to be about who a character values most, because my arospec ass doesn't think that there has to be a One person put above all else. But it often comes across that way in shipping. I guess a fic doesn't have to include people who aren't in the pairing, but it does feel like it skews Mei's importance to MK and Red Son.

TBH, entertaining my own idea of a Most important person, even liking Red Son and Mei together, I think think that MK is more important to Mei than Red Son is, if she had to choose. Frankly I also think both of the boys would pick Mei before each other if they were in a situation where they had to choose, MK as Mei's best friend and Red Son, to me, having Mei as his anchor to the group considering how S3 went. They all matter to each other, but in different ways.

So sure, I don't think shipping automatically means that a dynamic is skewed to exclude or devalue a character, but it sure comes across that way when paired with seemingly ignoring all Red Son and Mei do get together, as well as how often I see people trying to give the Samadhi Fire to anyone but Mei. This is also a fandom where it seems like Lady Bone Demon's nameless male sidekick gets the same amount of content she does, which makes me scratch my head

Like, if Drag-onfruit was m/m, would Red Son and Mei be the rarer pair? Would ppl keep trying to give the fire to anyone else? For me it does read as fandom sexism with a gay hat slapped on. At the very least it's MK/main character bias, even though Mei is the female lead

No one Has to ship anything to be clear, Drag-onfruit isn't canon, but maybe it's because I watched the series all in one go that hitting the end of S3 and imagining going, "Who do I think Red Son is most likely in love with/has the most compelling relationship with? -insert anyone but Mei-" baffles me

I certainly prefer Drag-onfruit where MK is deeply important to both of them, even as a sort of platonic third (1x05 shot down MK and Mei or chimera faster and harder than any other ship known to man for me lmao) and to be fair I rarely engage with Red Son and MK shipping because it isn't my thing for multiple reasons, so maybe there is a lot of stuff out there where she's really given the love and place in their lives that she canonly has and I just don't know it, but the Mei treatment that I see in fandom does seem to be a side effect of said fanon favorite ship which is how I landed on the original post I made about her getting shoved aside to be the sassy bff who's conveniently fanonly a lesbian (for reasons I don't get) so people don't have to consider that she could have a relationship MK doesn't get to have

Maybe I'm a pessimist but this is how I've perceived it. TLDR they're a delightful trio regardless

Thank you for being polite btw, I know this got long winded but I appreciate being able to discuss!

[edsheerankinnie]

favourite less common mlp ship? also if you want to rant about them please do!!!!

ooh this is a tuff one bc i dont have a FAVORITE favorite per say. but there are a couple i do enjoy!

soarburn: ok so i actually wrote a fic on this! Ik theres absolutely no basis for this in or outside of the show, but part of what makes it so fun is imagining all the interactions they COULD have. I mean, think about it, Braeburn's super extroverted, charming, and hospitable; Soarin's an accomplished athlete, plus hes friendly and simplistic--kind of reminds me of their female counterpart (appledash). Like guys imagine Soarin in his suit and Braeburn ~flirting~ w him.. ouhhh imagine their banter !!

lunajack: ok ive actually seen some rlly good takes that got me on this ship! If i didnt hc Luna as aroace it'd 1000% be one of my top ships of all time. They could have such a good princess x pauper dynamic, a high society royal x simpleton farmer union. Plus like others have said, Applejack is one of the most people ponies ever and has this inherent, idk kindness?? and Luna meanwhile has this huge distance from others because of her years of exile, her particular role as a princess, and all of the walls shes built up from the guilt of nightmare moon. She was one of the first ponies to try and connect to luna in the most welcoming way possible despite her aura that one time she visited ponyville. Hell even luna called her "fair Applejack" at some point😭 like u cannot tell me aj's heart didnt at LEAST skip a beat😭. imagine being a farmgirl just hangin out in a scarecrow fit on nightmare night and the literal goddess of the moon calls you "fair" in return for some of your help, im weakkhjghfhgjfg

sugarmacbra: So actually im (sort of) writing a fic on this. The only reason it exists is bc i recently found out big mac is canonically bi and polyamorous (at least according to his VA), and im a sucker for a good polycule. That added with sugarmac (which i adore) and the fact that King Sombra is literally also bi, i was like, hey, what if we combined these elements, right?? Anyways, im not so much a fan of the dynamic that exists so far as i am of the idea of big mac in the most bisexual polycule ever, but who knows? maybe ill continue the fic and create the most life-changing heart-wrenching three-way pony love story

Cadance x Shining Armor x King Sombra (their ship names suck😭): Speaking of polycules, this one has a lot of potential. Sure, shining Armor is the straightest guy alive, but if we could pretend hes bisexual for a minute, i think him and Sombra in particular could have a LOT of chemistry. Plus given how hes basically smitten w his wife, i love the idea of him being in love w BOTH of them, like, more love for the golden retriever himbo !! Ik its not a super fleshed out especially on cadance's end, but the potential is there. Also, this ship has nothing to do w *that* ao3 fic (and if u dont know what im talking about i promise u dont need to see it. its gross).

somburn: I think we can all agree on braeburn giving massive fruit vibes, plus his overall personality. I was actually really inspired by this one post. I kind of need this to be real now. I love the idea of this evil fuckin guy having a sweet spot for plain ol Braeburn, who in contrast chooses not to see sombra as an evil threat but instead a smexy hot hunk. And to top it off, he "tames" Sombra/Sombra sort of changes for the better to be w him? Honestly its so cute.

anddd thats all i can think of atm lol. this took me way longer than i expected to answer

[representative-democracy]

saw your tags about getting into terror fic again and was wondering if you have any recs <3

Great question! I feel like The Terror has higher than average quality fanfic so this is a toughy, so this list is in no particular order and non conclusive!! And get ready for a lot of Bridglar :P

I also have a TON more, especially of less popular pairings, so lmk if you want more recs

For The Glory of a Good Pudding by soft_october

Fitzier, modern AU, and answers the important question: what would happen if The Cold Boys were competing in the Great British Bake Off?

any world (that i’m welcome to) by attheborder

Fitzier, modern AU, JFJ was frozen in the ice and is defrosted just time time to meet grumpy professor Crozier

Upon Great Persuasion by anactoriatalksback

McStanley, modern AU, this will get you shipping the doctors

Read from a Treasured Volume by Acephalous

Bridglar, canon time period, watch these two perfect men fall in love, THIS SLAPS PROBS THE FICS I HAVE READ THE MOST BELOVED OF ALL TIME

Magic to Make the Sanest Man Go Mad by TheGreenMeridian

Bridglar, canon time period, literally the softest, most tender porn on the internet 🥹

lighthouse on the sea by rednights

Bridglar, canon time period, John Bridgens learns he deserves to be loved and it makes me sick to my stomach how amazing it is

For Those About To Rock by neversaydie

The modern rock band AU you didn’t know you were looking for

At Furthest South by sadsparties

Fitzier, canon time period, the Antarctic expeditions if JFJ had joined - explored unreliable narrators in an extremely satisfying way

Lock and key by seekwell and hazelmotes

Canon, explores Silna and Bridgen’s friendship

How To Kill The Man You Love by madness_and_smiles

Fitzier, canon, I DONT KNOW HOW DESCRIBE THIS FIC OTHER THAN ITS SOME OF THE BEST FICTION IVE EVER READ, I’ve literally made people that haven’t watch the terror read this

Here Again, Even With A Thought by whipstitch

Canon, this will fulfill your need to know what Fitzjames and Bridgen’s friendship was like and will absolutely devastate you

(it’s) a guarantee soul destroyer by in_a_hedge

Joplittle, modern AU, Tom Jopson has a terrible, no-good, very bad week working at a pet store

i’ll be two steps on the water by eternalbrook

Irving/Gibson, modern AU, this bad boy got me shipping these lads something I never planned on doing

Devine Fruits by manicpixiedreamjop

Joplittle + Solomon, modern AU, the romance is TOO TIER and the porn also slays for this! This Solomon is also so extremely in character is almost painful but I love it so much

[yandere-daydreams]

sorry for misunderstanding u for the longest time my liege :(( i thought you were on the other side of the fence when it comes to shipping discourse... i forgot how exactly i came into this conclusion, but it was something along the lines of looking for the more controversial trope mentions (incest, age gap, lolisho, etc) and finding no particular stance abt it—which of course is fine. nobody has to engage with it if they dont want to. but back then i was too immature and hasty, so i concluded that you were one of those peculiar people that hypocritically likes [taboo fictional trope] while condemning the other [taboo fictional trope]. i see them on twitter a lot. i did not have any way to confirm (i thought it was weird to be all up in your mentions regarding fandom discourse) so eventually it soured my feelings and i'd decided to refrain from reading your fics (or engaging with the blog) even though i enjoyed it a lot.

i hardly think that this apology is of any particular interest, but i really want you to know that i regret misunderstanding your character and i'm happy to see your blog thriving!! thank you so much for the fics you've written all these years. -🍀

huh.

[peacockrulz]

dont say sorry we love the paragraphs!! tbh i cant stand a lot of md fanfics because of how they characterize uzi in particular, they just do not do her depth justice. and you're so right about the narration too. its so subtle but a lot of great fics go above and beyond to take narration from just describing the world to actually representing a characters perspective- literally and figuratively. hostile takeover is a masterclass in it tbh. its actually inspired me to try and get into writing for md because you need to be the content you want to see in the world ig- im starting with rp rn though because i find that to be the easiest way to get into a characters head, ya know? also your dollxn piece made me physically ill (positive). im shipping them now but exclusively in the way your fanart is framing it (also great song choice listening to it and staring at the art really sent me) - juzi anon

I think a good narration is like, an unspoken art when it comes to writing. I LOVE fics that make a point to have the characters thoughts be a part of the narration; It speaks volumes to how that person write the character themself and can even make for some really impactful dialog thats not even spoken. I think the biggest strength of Hostile Takeover (from the chapters I've read!) is its ability to make a character's narration show the subtle, unseen things about the characters themselves. (Which is why I love J's chapters so much, J puts up such a large persona that being able to read the thoughts she actually has is so!!! arugh!!!!!)

Also: I'm glad to see you taking an inspiration for writing, I've honestly thought many a time to force myself into writing fics just because theres so many ideas I have that I do not have the time or skill to illustrate lol. I actually started posting artwork because I wanted to see more fanart for my own rarepair!!! And I can understand the whole roleplaying thing (I haven't roleplayed canon characters since my.. *shudders* MMO days /j) I grew up on roleplaying and still do on occasion! (OCs I mean haha) I think its a great stepping stone to writing full blown chapters and stuff, all about practice or whatever!!

oh and: I'm glad you liked that piece lmao. N x Doll is one of those ships I thought about for 2 seconds and went "wait no I get it.". I've honestly thought about making more art of it just because its left such a impact on my skull. (ITs... the only enemies to lovers you could HAVE with N canonically w/o messing w/ his character and i am OBSESSED)

[victimsofyaoipoll]

alright time to write an essay detailing whatever yaoi has done to my girl nancy wheeler. so like, even when it comes to yaoi shippers nancy has had stonathan, harringrove, AND steddie over four seasons with steddie already having massive popularity + the other shippers, wheras thankfully eleven only has to deal with byler shippers when it comes to the victimization. but not to diminish eleven any more because she has def gone through it in fandom, im going to get into nancy's stuff: you will notice all three ships she supposedly gets in the way of (ignoring jargyle because the shippers are chill in my experience) involve steve harrington, AKA the most popular character if i had to guess and the white boy of the month. see, they were dating at one point in s1 and s2. the breakup was messy. like he kinda was complicit in her slutshaming at one point and didnt let her grieve her dead best friend properly and she ambiguously (as in nobody can fucking decide when the break up was) cheated on him so yeah. messy. mutually. if not more on steve's side given he was a bit of an asshole in s1-2 but gets better. yadda yadda fast forward to harringrove in particular, AKA steve x the guy who attacked a black child and abused his younger sibling (and im not attacking anyone thats just. what happened). basically 90% of them try to convince people nancy is abusive for the two arguments that occurred and is a slut and privileged (never mind steve being probably the most well off member of the main cast + hes a white guy in the 80s) blah blah blah. also ironic they call her abusive OFTEN when billy (one half of harringrove) kinda like threatens his sister max and breaks her things and otherwise abuses her Often. but yeah. they hate her for breaking his heart. they hate her for getting in the wya of their ship possibly. they hate her in general. add that to the general fandom misogyny and suddenly a large number of people are writing essays about how much they hate her and how she's a piece of shit, actually. fast forward to s4 and steddie and a new problem arises: steddie shippers keep flooding her character and ship tags with primarily steddie. so now your options regarding her are mlm ships and mlm shippers shitting on her. also keep in mind there is now more content for half of that ship, a guy who shows up for an hour and dies in the same season, than nancy, a mc. and if you like nancy ships like jancy or ronance, too bad those tags are flooded as well. as in someone did analytics in august for ronance i think and at one point the majority of main pairings in the ronance ao3 tags itself was steddie. either way both ships usually end up as side ships or bait into a steddie centric fic or tumblr post. or nancy ends up third wheeling and getting them together. as a nice bonus (not really) recently steddie shippers have decided that they too hate nancy and have entire posts and common plots (i have seen tumblr ficlets/hc's and people discussing this as a common trope for steddie fics on ao3) about how nancy was a horrible person who damaged steve's self esteem and ability to be in a relationship or something from a break up, as if the relationship wasnt mutually harmful and compounded by nancy's whole dead best and possibly only friend thing. and whoops for ships like ronance that isnt allowed either because steve's friend isn't allowed to interact with his ex despite the fact that said friend literally said he was an ass in the s1-2 timeline. all of this making it impossible to find any positive content without it being interrupted for a character who, if i remember correctly, has almost as much screentime as eleven (and eleven at least has popular fan content and other ships that dont somehow loop around to byler/mike). and whats worse is that while canon doesnt have yaoi victimization it does have heteronormative bullshit in which she is forced into a love triangle with the same guys TWO TIMES. she literally cant win so let her win a poll maybe also sorry this is super fucking long <3

Whoooo Nancy

[childhoodtv-kalimthefairy]

RidoAce week Day 1

Day 1: Childhood/Family

Yes I have a fic accompanying this drawing that took 3 hours and somehow ended up shitty. Also yes I’ll be doing both for each day, I am dedicated to this. I blame @writesology for getting me hooked on this ship. Anyways, Enjoy :)

When Riddle thinks about his childhood, he wouldn’t say it was a particularly exciting one. Really, it was more like a routine, he never had time to play with other kids because he was either studying or practicing magic. He remembered how he’d look outside his window, seeing kids playing and think to himself “Why would they waste there time? They don’t have a lot of time in life, why not dedicate it to preparing for a good future?”

Thinking back on it, he realized how idiotic it was. He didn’t know that though, at least until he met Trey and Chenya that fateful day. He remembered how they urged him to come outside to play with them, how that turned out to be one of the best decisions he has ever made. That day, for the first time, Riddle felt like a kid, a type of kid he read in his stories. Of course, everything must come to an end, that for Riddle was when his mother found out and banned him from independent studies. After that, for a few years, he forgot how it was like to be a kid. 

Then he went to Night Raven College, where he reached the rope really quickly. Still, he wasn’t well liked, his temper and stricklier for the rules wasn’t something people liked. And for a while, he was fine with that.

Until he Overbloted.

In hindsight, he should’ve seen it coming. How all the repressed emotions, over use of his magic, and his general unhappiness made him finally reach his breaking point. Funny enough, the way he broke wasn’t cause of pressure, it was cause a loud-mouth first year decided that he had enough.  

Ace Trappola. At first, he really did think Ace was attractive. Tall, beautiful eyes and seemed charming enough. Of course after eating his tart, Riddle decided he didn’t like him. He was a annoying, loud- mouth bother to him and he couldn’t see why he thought he was pretty.

But…After he overblotted, apologized to everyone and threw an unbirthday party, Ace seemed to warm up to him. Riddle, upon noticing this, found he didn’t mind.

As the months passed by, he found he really couldn’t shake the thought of the first-year out of his mind again. Everything Ace did, he noticed and it drives him crazy how he keeps finding them endearing. He wishes he could just squash those feelings down every time he talks to Ace, or sees him smile, or just being him just made his heart flutter.

He thought at the time that it would’ve been impossible for him to love him. They were so different, not just that but they had such a weird relationship, friends? Maybe? Something else. He wasnt sure at this point…

But then, much to his shock, Ace confessed. 

It was when they were doing homework, Riddle helping him with a particular math question, when Ace told him.

“Dormhead, I really cant keep it to myself anymore, but i like you.”

And after that, it was history. Genuinely, the last 2 years in NRC had been one of the best years of my life, i felt like a kid again. Ace even gave me a promise ring at when I was graduating…

And now, were living together, almost 5 years later with out-

“Dad!”

Riddle looked up from his writing, grinning at the child who stood infront of him. He had Ace’s hair and personality but Riddles eyes, piercing blue. 

“Daddd, come one papa made some pasta for dinner! He made it pink! Pretty pink!” The child whined, tugging on his fathers arm. Riddle grinned at him, “Now that sounds good right now. Will you take me to him, Orion?” Riddle asked, picking him up and kissing his cheeks. Just as he said that, Ace popped his head into the room, a grin on his own face. “Come on you two, dinner is gonna get cold if you dont get out here!”

Riddle and Orion nodded, the child kept chanting “pasta” as they went to dining room. As they sat down at the table, Riddle couldnt help but reminisc a bit. I mean, he was writing a book about his life since all his mothers…unsaviory, practicies came to light. Plus, he wanted to have something to look back on. But he couldnt help but think how ironic this was.

As a child he was told to look forward, follow the rules, marry a woman and to act maturely. But here he was, sitting with his husband and child, chatting happily, not caring for the rules currently.

If he thinks about it, alot of this is thanks to Ace, Trey and the others.

He has alot to be happy about.

If he could go back in time, hed tell his youngerself to love himself a little bit more. Take risks and to not listen to his mother.

But, if he did he would miss all of this, wouldnt he?