#literally never drawn fanart for su

[dieserr]

[zombiecourse]

First of all. "They're just fictional" is such a weird defense like? "Oh I'm not a pedophile, I just enjoy FICTIONAL pedophilia" why do you enjoy pedophelia at all?? In any context?? Same goes for incest ships??

"theyre just fictional" is a defense because no real people are being harmed directly by the action of writing fanfiction, or drawing fanart. people can enjoy fictional pedophilia for a variety of reasons, ranging from they were abused to they enjoy the story potential.

You are actively violating creator boundaries. "Proshipping doesn't harm anyone" yeah. It. It does. Content creators shouldn't be scared of creating characters that are minors cause y'all will ship them with literal adults. People do not want their characters in the disgusting contexts proshippers put them in. And if anyone says "well they never explicitly said they were against Proshipping" THEY SHOULDN'T HAVE TOO. Nobody should have to fucking explain they don't want their characters drawn in relationships with their SIBLINGS or with people twenty years older.

here's the thing about writing - you cannot control how people see your work. you could use the excuse of "creators shouldn't be scared of their characters being put in contexts/situations they don't like" to attack all fanwork.

"Let people enjoy what they want to enjoy and if you don't like it look away" Look. People are always going to create disgusting content of minors and put it on the internet, and you just have to avoid it. But that should be a BAD thing that those things exist! It shouldn't be someone thing people are making MORE of and enjoying! And by creating an actual market for that content that greatly increases the probability more people will see it! If you're so depraved and desperate go get off alone on whatever add riddled site you can find that will give you what you want and leave the rest of us alone if you have too. Don't try and make a fucking COMMUNITY about it.

if its of actual, real minors- i agree! people should not be making videos or pictures of real life minors in sexual situations. but fanfiction isn't of real minors, and doesn't involve exploiting real children in any way. and if youre referring to ao3 or the tumblr proship community at the end there- ao3 was made for these kinds of things, fancontent that other sites shunned. as for tumblr nearly any community can carve its own corner out here.

This sort of ties in to creator boundaries. But I want to make a short note of it. As a writer who wishes to publish my work one day, proshippers are a big reason why I haven't published anything or put any of my actual content and characters on the internet. My characters for the most part are MINORS, not to mention very personal to me. It makes me extremely uncomfortable at the idea of people sexualizing them even in "normal" context, let alone shipping them with their siblings and adults. That isn't okay. You are stopping me, and probably who knows how many, creators from sharing what they love with people because you will ruin it for them.

if you publish your work, and legally have copywrite over your stories, and i mean this sincerely and if any part of this post gets through to you, i hope its this: do not look at fanworks. do not read fanfiction. it can, and has, gotten creators sued.

and back to my previous point: you cannot control how other people see your stories. if the mere possibility of people seeing your stories in a way you don't like makes you want to not publish, then maybe publishing isn't for you.

About Proshipping/Proshippers.

I know this is pretty out of place on my blog(with really nothing on it anyways but oh well) but I have a few very important things to say, because some Twitter people have begun a slow migration back here somehow

First of all. "They're just fictional" is such a weird defense like? "Oh I'm not a pedophile, I just enjoy FICTIONAL pedophilia" why do you enjoy pedophelia at all?? In any context?? Same goes for incest ships??

Second of all and this is my main point,

You are actively violating creator boundaries. "Proshipping doesn't harm anyone" yeah. It. It does. Content creators shouldn't be scared of creating characters that are minors cause y'all will ship them with literal adults. People do not want their characters in the disgusting contexts proshippers put them in. And if anyone says "well they never explicitly said they were against Proshipping" THEY SHOULDN'T HAVE TOO. Nobody should have to fucking explain they don't want their characters drawn in relationships with their SIBLINGS or with people twenty years older.

"Let people enjoy what they want to enjoy and if you don't like it look away" Look. People are always going to create disgusting content of minors and put it on the internet, and you just have to avoid it. But that should be a BAD thing that those things exist! It shouldn't be someone thing people are making MORE of and enjoying! And by creating an actual market for that content that greatly increases the probability more people will see it! If you're so depraved and desperate go get off alone on whatever add riddled site you can find that will give you what you want and leave the rest of us alone if you have too. Don't try and make a fucking COMMUNITY about it.

This sort of ties in to creator boundaries. But I want to make a short note of it. As a writer who wishes to publish my work one day, proshippers are a big reason why I haven't published anything or put any of my actual content and characters on the internet. My characters for the most part are MINORS, not to mention very personal to me. It makes me extremely uncomfortable at the idea of people sexualizing them even in "normal" context, let alone shipping them with their siblings and adults. That isn't okay. You are stopping me, and probably who knows how many, creators from sharing what they love with people because you will ruin it for them.

So the next time you say "Proshipping doesn't harm anyone!!" reread this post.

That's all folks.

[especdreamy]

SO THAT'S WHY UR ART STYLE FEELS SO FAMILIAR! Every former SU fanartist has a similar vibe that carries over into later art, 10/10

LMFAO yep SU was the first fandom on this blog :)

[ze-pie]

Sketchdump!

[blvnk-art]

I was looking at your art of Draco and I'll say that I'm not a big fan of him from the books (especially not the movies) however I'll say that your art makes me see a completely different side of him that makes me like him. Not sure if that makes any sense, because I know that I couldn't believe that I was actually liking/reblogging draco artwork. I was a bit shocked with every drawing from you that I reblogged (literally, Every. Single. One.). I'm happy to know that you made me a fan of his after war life.

Plus this is the first I see him with Astoria (they fit perfectly together, may I just add). I'm happy that you didnt make it seem like SHE was the one that changed him to a better person because that trope never feels really to me. Probably since I feel as it's nobody's duty to change someone into a better person. It should be 100% from the person that wants to change.

Usually when I come across draco works, it feels a bit exaggerated and his characteristic are completely changed for example he's being given all of Ron's characteristic except the red hair and freckles. Those types of art isn't really my cup of tea since I believe that every HP character are unique in their own way, that they shouldn't be obligated to have the exact same traits of another character. Like could you imagine if Draco had the same traits as Dobby or Hagrid? ( I wonder how'd that look, now that I think of it.) Also, I'm glad that you've chosen Astoria and not one specific member of the Golden Trio. Not trying to start shipping problems, but I never understood that relationship. It seems like that relationship was based off the looks of the actor/actress from the movies. (That being said, I only have one person I ship Hermione with and that happens to be her husband: Ron Weasley).

Also when you draw him it seems like you stay true to his character while making him a bit softer with his love interest. The softness that's being shown by him fits well with the darker side of him. Like we know he is experiencing what may feel like his first romance, but we also know that its difficult for him to be genuinely happy because of his past with the Death Eaters/Voldemort.

Again thanks for drawing these amazing artwork and have me enjoy Draco artwork without feeling like he's being molded into something completely ooc. Also I'll say that between the HP women that you've drawn, I feel like Astoria is my new favorite (after: Ginny, Lily and then the small piece of Hermione), you make Astoria seem so well put together. I wonder if Draco has ever caught her in a moment of vulnerability. Since it seems that only a limited of people close to her would be able to comfort her without making her feel uncomfortable.

Sorry for the rambling but ever since I've started seeing your Drastoria art, I've been in a whole new world. You have an amazing talent of writing out the characters though your art and it feels like it always goes smoothly. Thanks for taking time out of your life to draw for us, I really appreciate your work. It brings me out of my bad days, which are many anymore since your artwork is very soothing.

Again thanks for being su ccj a unique artist!!!! (Until next time I reblog your work)

This message means so much to me! Thank you for taking the time to write it! I'm glad you enjoy how I draw Draco, first of all. I do try to stay true to his character in the books, with a bit of my imagination of how he would be as more mature person after a war, especially by the side of someone like Astoria.

I don't have nothing against other ships with Draco, but as I said in some previous asks, I don't ship non canon ships simply because it does feel like the characters should be out of character in order for them to be together, and that's not what drives me to create fanart, personally.

There's a lot of things I imagine about Astoria, I don't think it would be enough to draw her more complex personality, or vulnerable, difficult moments, and I'm glad you feel interested in knowing them! My intention with Drastoria now is to show their light, soft moments. Nothing too dark, nothing too dramatic. (so far). But that does not mean I don't think they didn't have it.

I'm glad you enjoy my art, thank you for this message and I hope you have a great day!

[fangirltothefullest]

Hi-a! I have a question about a post you reblogged, the one about writing commissions and fanfic. I'm a bit... confused. I get what the post is saying in how creators have reacted to fanworks being monetized, but, why is it exclusive to fic? Fanart commissioning is completely open I've seen. What makes writing different from art in that respect? I know you do art commissions yourself so I thought you might know.

Ah ok yes this can be very confusing! This is also something I have to go into detail on because it covers multiple things. 

One, fanart is an art form that is entirely visual. Visual arts are not copyrighted the same way as written works/print. Fanart commission, while it seems more widespread is not actually open. There’s a very delicate line we walk under the creative commons liscense that says we are not making an exact copy of a thing and selling it so we have the right to slight creative liberty and freedom. This is also why farce can make fun of stuff while referencing it for comedy’s sake. There’s a lot of legal stuff about it I can;t go into because I’m not a lawyer but that’s part of it. 

I cannot sell drawn pokemon works on redbubble because they have contacted redbubble and said purge all artwork pertaining to our licensed characters. Even if I draw it in my own style, even if I’m drawing pokemon fusions or whatever, redbubble kicks it off because the company which owns the licensing for pokemon said NO. sometimes you can squeak under the radar but usually they get you eventually.

It’s a lot EASIER to sell fanart but it’s still a touchy subject. At any point a creator can say hey that’s my character, do not draw artwork of my character. Disney is notable for doing this. So while fanart is much more prevolent, it’s stil la fine line to walk. 

Now onto the written word- This is all Anne Rice’s fault. I’m only barely joking.  The author got SO angry that people were doing fanfiction of her works that she literally sued people and it became a huge thing in court. This is why AO3 is what it is and why it’s run by lawyers and why they have such strict rules. The lawyers that run AO3 have the rules they have because they are your ticket to total fanfiction freedom. Their lawyers say that if someone comes after you and tries to sue you for writing a fanfic, they will protect you from harm under fair use. BUT you CANNOT make money off of it or the protections they have given you by using the site no longer count. AO3 is a place where you can post it freely, but the moment you make money off it, then it becomes questionable as fair use. Because parody or not, a good lawyer can argue that it’s not fair to the original author if you are profitting off of their original copyrighted material and that’s a fair assumption to have. 

You CAN charge for fanfics, but again you have to be EXTREMELY careful where you put it, who sees it and what you do with it. That is why you must never say on AO3 that you take commissions and that is why they say it in their TOS. It’s to protect the users. Posting on AO3 means you’ll never be sued so long as you follow those rules. It’s literally a safe haven for fic writers.

And, it’s also a matter of content- nothing is ever new, particularly when it comes to the written word. We only have so many words and there are gazillions of books, more being made every day. I can guarantee there are hundreds of thousands if not millions that have the same plots, the same character names and even the same wording here and there. Humans do that. 

But this is also why copyright is stupid and why written copyright has a limit before it runs out. (Alice in Wonderland is out of copyright, but the Disney version of Alice in Wonderland is not. This is why you cannot make disney-looking characters but you can have as many versions as you want. It’s the same with Hans Christian Anderson’s faerietales.)

No matter how much we try to be innovative, people will have the same ideas. That’s just human. But the problem is, if you are a published author you might be in the middle of writing a book and realize you have the same plot as someone else. And if you publish that book and the other person says wait I wrote this first, they could accuse YOU of stealing and claim you owe THEM money. Marion Zimmer Bradley (the article talks about this too) actually experienced this. She encouraged fanfiction because loved that people enjoyed her stories. I’m like this too, if I write something and people love the world, it makes me happy. But you can see why things like that could get touchy! 

The Copyright Act of 1957 (in America) lists parody under the protection of fair use and technically one can make the argument that fanfiction is parody. But if I published my own personal book and someone accused me of stealing, knowing full well I have read fanfiction before, I might have to pay royalties to a person whom I never even knew existed over a story I worked really hard on! 

This is why (as an example) Thomas Sanders and his team when writing for the Sanders Sides have outright stated they are not going to read, and have never read, fanfiction. Because while they encourage it wholeheartedly, if they happen to have similar ideas they can claim it came naturally and this way nobody can go to them and be like you stole my work where’s my money? This is also why his team decided to offer patrons of their patreon the ability to be part of the writers room. It’s a good compromise- get ideas from the fans which they know have good ideas, while also avoiding the whole “we stole this” thing by making them part of the team through access to that privilege, and then writers of fanfic can get their ideas maybe canonized. I think a lot of creators should think about doing this.

Artwork is a COMPLETELY different ballgame in that regard because the styles vary SO much more than writing. It’s also a different process to get your art copyrighted as a style itself. So like... that’s also a thing. That’s why it’s hard for artists when people repost their art without credits because copyrighting a style and each artwork? I don’t even know how you’d begin to do that, much less uphold it. But writing you can uphold, writing is easier to prove because you can match things, character, places, scenarios word for word. 

This has been a little back and forth but does this all make sense? 

[nachosforfree]

Hi I’m a huge fan of your art (your Sanders sides content literally makes my day I will actively search out your stuff to see what’s new). I was wondering if you’ve ever drawn SU fanart before? I’ve tried but I’ve never quite made it to the beginning of your blog so it might be buried a little too deep for me to have found yet lol- please don’t think I’m asking for you to draw something I promise I’m not trying to be rude the tag system for tumblr is just so bad rn so half the time stud is lost

Fjsjf ye ive drawn su art

[nefepants]

“FUSION ISN’T A METAPHOR FOR SEX/RELATIONSHIPS, REBECCA NEVER SAID THAT STOP HATING THINGS”

There was a whole-ass episode about consent and coercion/rape and it was about Pearl tricking Garnet into fusing for her own gratification. Keystone Motel was pretty much the very next episode after that one and Ruby and Sapphire were legitimately upset that someone they care about so much would betray their trust and force intimacy on them they didn’t want like that.

You can be fine with Steven fusing with parental figures, just admit that Rebecca has her fusion narrative all fucked up, primarily because she chases after every fanservice-y idea that crosses her skull without checking to see if it fits into the story and themes she’s established so far.

Some of y’all brainlet SU fans are sending me anon hate because I’m criticizing a show you base all of your personality traits and interests on and implying repeatedly that I do it because I just like hating shit.

Literally anyone who knows me in any way is aware that I used to be a serious fan of the series before it started showing its true colors. I’m mad precisely BECAUSE I cared so much. Look at all this fucking fanart I’ve drawn in the past.

If SU wasn’t racist, borderline pedophilic and fascist-bootlicky I would still like it. But that’s not the route the show went down, now is it

[astharoshebarvon]

vampire knight

Will this be a rant? Of sorts, maybe.

It seems now there is another discourse in VK fandom, this time about whether Ren and Ai will be a romantic couple or not. Firstly, Hino is drawing them in a suggestive way, that’s true.

Do I care if they end up together or not? Not really. She has drawn Kaname and Zero in a suggestive way many times, hell, even in recent covers Zero is literally all over Kaname. Not to mention Zero/Kaname has way more fanfictions and incredible fanarts than either of the canon straight couples. It’s true, just check it.

Think what you want, above illustration is pure Zero/Kaname and Yume.

And, in the below one, Zero’s hand...Sorry, two rivals and enemies just don’t do that.

Look at the above illustration, that’s not how two guys stand if they are enemies, they just don’t.

Secondly, both Ai and Ren have an intense need of another’s blood. Now, many people say their relationship is creepy…

Sorry, but many shoujo mangas and mainstream novels have the same crap. The girl is obsessed with the boy and also ends up with him. Yikes. Gross.

And, those stories are celebrated. So, why be against these two? Oh, wait, it’s because they are not hetero.

Hino is not doing anything great even if they do come out as a couple, Clamp has done it many times and Clamp works are way more popular than Hino’s can ever be.

X, a shoujo genre manga has Kamui and Fuuma.

They loved each other, don’t even try to argue with me about it.

Seishirou and Subaru, the most tragic couple of manga and anime are also in it. CCS has Yue with Clow Reed, Yukito/Yue and Touya, Sakura and Tomoyo, some of these feelings are one sided, but none of them are hated.

These couples are way more popular than whole VK manga. Rg Veda, another shoujo has Amaterasu and Souma, Taishakuten and Ashura-ou, Yasha and Ashura can also be interpreted as an M/M couple. Oh, wait. That’s canon. They are together in Tsubasa.

And, don’t get me started on Fai and Kurogane. There you go people, these are shonen and shoujo mangas which have same sex couples.

And, the readers know there was something going on between Fai and Kurogane even if it’s not stated explicitly.

Clamp literally said,”do not call Fuuma and Kamui brothers”. They are soulmates. They don’t even mention the obsessed fangirl, kotori.

Arina Tanemura, whose stories are a perfect example of a  fangirl ending with the guy they were after, also has a single M/M couple in one of her works. Mostly in her stories, the main girl likes one guy, but in the end, that guy never ends up with her. He ends up with one of the obsessed fangirls.

Am I still bitter about how dirty the mangaka did Itsuki Otomiya? Yes. The sweetheart doesn’t even know Haine was his daughter, and the whole bloody cast had coloured illustrations, a freaking artbook is there for the series, but not a single illustration for him. Yikes.

I hope she redeems herself and makes Tokita and Chikage a couple in 31 Ai dreams. The only series of hers which didn’t have this cliché was Sakurahime Kaden and Kamikaze Kaitou Jeanne.

And, let’s be honest, Eiichi would have have ended up with another fangirl if he wasn’t dead in Full moon. Thank god he was spared that bullshit. But, then again, he dies. That’s not good either.

Gentleman’s alliance cross, Nekota are just bad. Yes, the art is beautiful, but that doesn’t mean the males of her series deserved to end up with obsessive fangirls.

The one with underage relationship, Nekota or whatever [thank god that was never picked up by Viz.] In this, the blue haired dude, Serizawa, who the main girl liked from the beginning didn’t end up with her, he ended up with a fangirl. Ugh.

And, it is incestuous, the girl has feelings for her underage cousin.  Right.

Her art is beautiful, but damn it, her stories are so annoying.

For her only M/M couple in shinshi doumei cross, she had to make one half of the MM couple a cross dresser.

The guy, Maora was wearing woman’s clothing every time he and Maguri were shown together. He was never once shown as his real, tall self with Maguri.

And, she has said she isn’t comfortable with yaoi, but is okay with shonen ai.

Right.

But the point is, it’s been done many times.

In Hana Kimi, one of the protagonist’s elder brother is gay. He was the school’s physician if I am not wrong. So, Hino is not doing anything new.

Kyou Kara Maou is a shoujo manga, but it has Wulfrum and Yuri, two guys as a main couple. Granted, nothing happens, but they are engaged.

The manga was published in Asuka, a shoujo magazine.

Same goes for uraboku, Luka loves Yuki, regardless of the fact whether he is a female or a male. Senshirou and Kuroto were together, Hotsuma and Shusei were married in previous lives and they were very much together in the present as well.

Do I think Ren and Ai will end up together, I dunno. Maybe they will, maybe they won’t. But I don’t think she will show them as a couple. If she will, fine. If she doesn’t, then also fine. They have an intense desire to be with each other, and their relationship is not parallel to Kaname and Yuuki’s or Haruka and Juri’s.

One can say they are like Rido, Yuuki’s uncle, not like the above two couples.

There are many differences between them and the two couples.

And, let’s not forget the harem Sara created, in fact she even kissed one of the girls.

Do I care about Ren and Ai ? No.

My sole reason for reading this manga is: Yume. Just bring Yuuki back and show Yume happily ever after. I really don’t care who ends up with whom.

But some reasons regarding Renai are hypocritical. This manga has incest, why are you being bothered by it now? Hell, she drew Ichiru and Zero in suggestive way too, and Zero’s care for Ichiru could also be questioned in that case.

I am not sure if the above is Zero and Ichiru or Zero with another personality of his, I don’t want to see my artbook right now, but it can be seen as Zero and Ichiru.

We don’t like yuri and yaoi.

Well, in that case I really hope it happens so it’ll tick off the people who make this statement. Yes, it’s a derogatory statement.

If the mangaka wants to do it, she can, it’s her choice. Hate her for it, plenty do. Zekis and yumes do for their reasons. I dislike the way she does things too, I hate many things she has done. But, hey she still did them.

Read Yona of the dawn in that case, that’s the only series which isn’t “problematic”

But,  Kija and Jaeha can be shipped in that too. I do ship them. And, the author has drawn shonen ai doujinshi’s.

And, Yona was in love with Su-won in the beginning, who is her cousin. Incest is incest, whether it’s between siblings or cousins, they are family.

I really don’t think Hino will show Ren and Ai as a couple. Siblings who are weirdly close, yes. Romantic couple, I don’t think so. If I am wrong, fine.

Just give me my Yume happy ending, and Takuma and Seiren scenes. I literally don’t care about the kids relationship. I just don’t. First, I had to suffer through that traitor’s crap with the stupid bint, Sayori, now this.

Edit :  Finally I read this chapter…

I don’t understand how anyone can even compare whatever crap that is going on between Ai and Ren to Yume and Haruka / Juri. The Kuran couples never looked so fucking weird with each other.

I was absolutely right in thinking their feelings for each other are reminiscent of what Rido felt. Just because Ai is Yume’s daughter doesn’t mean she’s a perfect character. Give me a break. Then again she had a crush on Zero as well.

And, she was raised among people like Ruka and Aidou, traitors and obsessed idiots. It’s no wonder she turned out idiotic.

She looks weird when she says, “she had her sister with her” to Youko.

I am not going to post the image cause its just bad.

Yume and Haruka/Juri were never so fucking creepy. Never.

Ren is just so bland and sad in everything that I don’t know what to think. Youko was the only one who wasn’t weird in this Ch.

The author should just wrap this up, it’s neither interesting nor is evoking any feelings in readers. It’s as bad Sayori/Aidou crap. Just stop with the useless story arcs, show Kaname and Yuuki together and end this shit.

I really don’t think the two girls will end up together. Their scenes aren’t sweet, and if she wants to show them, just do it and move on. They are both boring and least interesting. They are so bad it will not matter whether are together or apart.

They are as bad as other creepily obsessed M/F couples in novels and shoujo manga where the obsessed fangirl ends with the boy. This trope itself is gross. Who even cares about them?

They are only being hyped because they are two girls. When people thought Ren was a boy there wasn’t much reaction. I know there wasn’t. But now that they are two girls…

Hate them because they are stupid, no point in saying we don’t like them because its FF relationship. That’s just bigotry. Or maybe the author should be honest and say I wanted Zero and Kaname to fuck but Yuuki kept on getting in the way. So, I decided to pair their daughters together. because according to the author incest is fine in VK.  Just drop this crap already Hino.

I mean what the hell is up with this boring arc ?

I don’t even understand why stupid shit like this is overlooked in MF couples but if same happens in same sex, everyone is like, looks its unhealthy.  Incest, age difference, obsessed idiots/ fangirls, they are all bad.

I love Clamp, but that Rika and Terada thing was just plain gross. Same goes for Rin and Sesshoumaru.

I kept on telling myself about the latter one, no they are a parent child relationship. But at one point, I had to accept it was anything but family love. I love Sesshoumaru and always will. But I can’t get behind Rin/Sessh or whatever nonsense it was. Sessrin is celebrated, it’s a fact. It’s creepy, don’t deny it.

I know some of their artists and Sesskag [yuck] kept on leaving rude comments on SessKik fanworks, my favourite ship.

And Terada/Rika thing is overlooked because, let’s be honest CCS is fucking awesome. I overlook it and concentrate on yue yukito/ touya, syaoran/sakura.

I just want this RenAi thing to go away. I can’t stand either of them. Just show Kaname and Yuuki together and end this series. Hino should wrap it up and start a new one. VK will not gain the popularity it had at one point no matter what. The author is just coming off as desperate.

[aprilestrange]

Okay, Rant Time.

Alright, the amount of hate towards 2Nu in recent months is getting ridiculous. I know there’s always been 2Nu haters, but since Gorillaz is active again, the animosity is back and bigger than ever. It’s ridiculous. I can understand not liking shipping the bandmates with each other, but 2Nu really gets a lot of flack. And the detractors seriously love throwing terms around without caring, just so they can justify their hatred. It’s comedy fucking GOLD. One thing haters love to call 2Nu is “child grooming.” Do you even know what child grooming actually fucking is? Child grooming is defined as:

The constellation of psychological manipulations and actions taken by a predatory adult, meant to reduce a child’s fears and inhibitions, as a prelude to sexual abuse or exploitation by the predator or his/her associates. (thefreedictionary.com)

Oprah’s site elaborates on this more:

The grooming sex offender works to separate the victim from peers, typically by engendering in the child a sense that they are special to the child and giving a kind of love to the child that the child needs.

And during research, there are several steps to child grooming in order to get the sexual end result.

Targeting the victim (self explanatory. Most commonly look for children who feel isolated, emotionally needy, or have low self confidence)

Gaining the child’s trust (watching and gathering information on the child so they can know how to approach the child and lower their guard. The predator has to be slick and not act in a way to gain suspicion by the parents/guardians)

Filling a need (such as gifts, extra attention, etc.)

Isolating the child (constantly trying to create situations in which the predator can be alone with the victim. This in turn makes the connection stronger and the child trusts the abuser more. It can be even more reinforced when an offender cultivates a sense in thechildthat they are loved or appreciated in a way nobody else provides the child)

Sexualizing the relationship (going slowly by taking advantage of a child’s curiosity and then advance the sexual encounters the more time that passes. Through this, they make the child become a sexual being)

Maintaining control (the usual threats if the child tries to withdraw from the relationship. The child will by now be so afraid of losing their special relationship they’ll become docile in order to keep their abuser close to them.

Now, going over all of these points, does that really sound like something 2-D would do? Hell no! Child grooming is a drawn out process that not just anybody can pull off. It is INTENTIONALLY done. It requires quite a bit of planning and is a process that can take months to plan before execution. Now, no offense to 2-D, but he’s not exactly…smart enough to pull off something atrocious like this. 2-D is an adorkable goofball and he would never do something like this. Especially not to Noodle. Now, child grooming sounds more like something Murdoc would do if he were a pedophile. He seems the type to do something like that (and no, I’m not calling Nudoc pedophilia, either, I’m just saying. Out of the two of them, child grooming sounds more like something Murdoc would do rather than 2-D because he’s really despicable).

Another term 2Nu haters just love to throw around carelessly (and this applies to any fandom towards ships that have age gaps) is pedophilia. “Oh, you can’t ship 2Nu! It’s pedophilia!!!!!!1 1 ONE!!!!!” ….lolk. Do you people know what pedophilia ACTUALLY means? Hold that thought, it probably doesn’t mean what you think it means. Pedophilia is actually defined as:

An ongoing sexual attraction to pre-pubertal children…the fantasy or act of sexual activity with children who are generally age 13 or younger. (Psychology Today)

Now, again, does that sound like 2-D? Again: HELL NO. I don’t see how people continue to call 2Nu pedophilia to this very day when, in CANON, Noodle is almost THIRTY FUCKING YEARS OLD. I don’t think that a 39 year old being with a 26 (almost 27) year old is pedophilia. Now, if people ship 2Nu in Phase 1 and 2, when Noodle was 10-14 or so respectively, yes THAT can be considered pedophilia, but starting from Phase 3 and now, it’s NOT pedophilia. In Phase 3, Noodle was 20 years old. Phase 4, now, Noodle is about 26 years old. And in the UK, the age of adulthood is 18. So since in Phase 3, Noodle is 20, I don’t see how that can still be called pedophilia. And truth be told, I don’t see much fanart of Phase 1 or 2 2Nu. The few pieces that are around, it’s mostly just unrequited crushes Noodle has towards 2-D, nothing seriously romantic. But even so, quite a lot of Phase 2 2Nu art I’ve seen, the artist deliberately states that Noodle is of age in those pieces. Have you people never heard of aging up a character? I guess not. But I will agree, Pre-Phase 3 2Nu is very wrong. Besides, most 2Nu art that is around and is romantic depict them in Phase 3+. And don’t even get started with the stupid “B-but 2-D and Noodle have a 12 year age gap!!!!” because that shit’s annoying. Yeah, that’s quite a few years in between them, but it’s not that bad. Especially since, as I’ve said before, Noodle is of legal age. And it’s only 12 years between them. It’s not like Noodle is 26 and 2-D is 65 or whatever. Now with Murdoc, he’s many years older than Noodle. He’s literally old enough to be Noodle’s father. 2-D and Noodle’s age gap pales in comparison to the bigger age gap between Noodle and Murdoc. And I honestly don’t see Nudoc getting as much hate as 2Nu. *sighs and shakes head*

Also, “2Nu is abusive!!!” Ummm…LOL. No it isn’t. Never once has 2-D physically, mentally/emotionally, nor sexually abused Noodle and never will, so your argument right there is invalid.

And out of all the Gorillaz ships, 2Nu is the most plausible (in regards to the band members dating each other). It’s not hard to imagine Noodle always having a crush on 2-D. And yeah, you could argue that they’re like siblings, but there are plenty of pairings that are like brother and sister but end up together (aka main guy x main girl in almost every series). It’s honestly not as disturbing as Noodle and Russell. Russell is like a big brother to Noodle and like a father to her. He was the one who REALLY raised her like his own. Murdoc’s like that sleazy older uncle who is addicted to strippers but still cares for Noodle. 2-D is a bit like a brother, but again, it’s not hard to see Noodle having at least a one-sided crush on him after all these years. Also, they seem more like super BFFs than ONLY just like brother/sister.  Especially when she reunites with the band in “Rhinestone Eyes.” After being gone for about 5 years or so, I’m sure seeing him again would reawaken her feelings for him and make them even stronger. 2-D could start to view Noodle romantically after all these years, surprised by how well she aged and since she’s physically (and mentally perhaps) a lot different. And sure, 2-D would be freaking out and conflicted at first, but eventually he would get over it and love her back. Besides, even if he didn’t return her feelings, they’re best enough friends to not let something like that come in between them. Their zen bond is stronger than that.

And let’s not forget the official art that’s come out since Humanz came out. There’s one magazine cover that can be taken as romantic with how Noodle is posing with 2-D. Besides, there’s been a lot more art of 2-D and Noodle close to each other in this phase (there were a couple as well back in Plastic Beach, but not as many as there are now with Humanz). It’s nice to see how much closer 2-D and Noodle appear to be in Phase 4. And honestly, it isn’t hard to imagine someone not into Gorillaz mistaking these images implying the two are together.

It’s hilarious how haters are all “LOL friendship goals!!!” but if it’s Noodle next to Murdoc or something, it’s deemed “CANON LOLZ.” Seriously. Ah well, I’m also a victim of rose-tinted shipping goggles for other pairings myself, so I can’t judge too hard. *shrugs* Also, quit getting super peeved when someone likens “To Binge” or any song from Plastic Beach to 2Nu. Let people do whatever they want. If someone thinks “To Binge,” or “Broken,” is a 2Nu theme, then for crying out loud, let them think that! That also goes for “She’s My Collar,” too. Stop giving people shit because they’re “not understanding the song’s real meaning/message!” or whatever.

So, in short, those are my defenses to the two biggest anti 2Nu arguments that I see everywhere, and then some. Now, it’s fine to not ship 2Nu, but you really shouldn’t cross-tag into the pro 2Nu tag and start attacking anyone and everyone that ships it. It doesn’t make you look any better, really. And that goes for any other Gorillaz pairing. If you don’t like a pairing, that’s fine, just don’t go all ballistic when you see your NOTP. And seriously, stop cross tagging. It’s seriously irritating and makes you look like a huge asshat. Stop ruining the fun for shippers and everyone else. Stop causing fucking drama. This isn’t the SU (or insert other insanely dramatic, toxic fanbase here) fandom for crying out loud! Also, holy crap, Noodle is almost 27, let her get fucking romance already! Stop treating Noodle like she’s still that little 10-year-old girl.

TL;DR: Let people ship whatever the fuck they want in the Gorillaz fandom and stop giving them shit for liking said pairing. Especially 2Nu. Seriously, stop trying to start shit.

ALSO, stop calling 2Nu shippers pedophiles. None of us are. You motherfuckers literally made somebody suicidal because of the petty name calling. Fuck you.

[robotnik-mun]

I usually have answer for questions like these...but what specifically about Mobius: XYL made it so horrendous that not even someone with actual writing talent like Flynn could save it? I'd say that it was just a blank slate and that any competent writer could fix it.

*Sighs, pulls out a bottle of whiskey and a shot glass. Pours the glass. Takes the shot* 

Alright, before I get into the specifics, I’m gonna contextualize a few things for you. I want you to picture a comic book, one built primarily (but not exclusively) around action, and despite the intense quality issues it tends to suffer from its still pretty popular, with a fairly vocal fanbase. One day a character is teased- the daughter of a major character, hinting towards an amazing story that will show the future of your favorite characters. Years past, the hype builds up. A hint of what’s to come is given in a story where this mystery character is featured, pulling forth an intriguing scenario in which her father, one of the heroes, will become a villain years later. 

Finally it is announced- at long last, this much anticipated storyline is going to happen! We’re going to see the future of the setting, the future of the characters and their offspring! Oh, what things will await? What mysteries will build in the interim? What new villains will operate in the future? What will the children of the heroes be like? 

Well, eventually, the storyline finally comes. All that waiting, all that excitement and hype, all of that theorizing... and all it amounted to was a fart in the wind, all noise and fury signifying nothing. 

That, in a nutshell, was Mobius 25YL. 

Now let us get into specifics. Forgive me if I miss anything, for there is a LOT to get into, so I’ll just summarize what comes off the top of my head. 

-Firstly, there was Lara-Su herself. Oh, poor Lara-Su. That’s really one of the great tragedies of the Pre-Flynn era. She had the design. She had the concept. She had the hype- people were doing fanart and fanfiction of her long before she debuted properly in the book. And then 25YL came along, and what we saw was... 

....yeah, that. See, it turned out that she wasn’t being trained as a guardian. She was just a normal leading a normal teenage life, and my GOD it was boring. Our opening scene involves her thumping her stupid cousin on the head with a book for insulting the Guardians, and this? This is how she became a Guardian. After everything we had been led to believe, everything we had been wanting to see, the mysterious, much-anticipated Daughter of Knuckles... turned out to be a whiny, entitled little rich girl who literally whined her way into being a Guardian. Not that we got a chance to see her tenure as a guardian, oooh no- it was FAR more important to see her sweet sixteen and a sleepover with her friends, and of course pool party antics. Which brings us to the next point....

-...namely that this story went *nowhere*. Like it was literally the last few issues that the damn plot moved forward and reached a climax. THe build-up took a back seat to what Penders evidently felt was what the audieance REALLY wanted- DOMESTIC DRAMA! Marvel in Lara-Su getting in fights at school because someone had an opinion! Wonder in the glories of her sweet sixteen! Behold the pool parties! Amaze at Sonic’s son being a little pervert! Hey, do you know what we needed more of? Sonic and Knuckles getting in a belching contest at a dinner party! And so on and so forth- the whole thing was basically a domestic drama, a really, really cheesy and badly written one, and these aspects of the story overtook everything else. Even worse, this story dragged on and on and on at a snails pace, and as I said, the only remotely exciting thing happened literally within the last few issues, with the build up being drawn out and unengaging. 

-The future was boring. Very, very boring, and even worse, we were told exactly how it got that way. What portions of the story weren’t dedicated to observing the Domestic Life Of The Teenage Echidna were spent infodumping and expositing about the events of the past that led to the present time. And at the present time? Everything was so peachy and perfect it could make you sick. There was no danger, no new menaces to fight in the Post-Robotnik Mobius, everything was just bland and happy and nooo real problems whatsoever. The Kingdom of Acorn now ruled Mobius, and Angel Island was now a superpower, and all the enemies of the past were either defeated or domesticated (more on that below). There was nothing to draw people in. No conflict to engage the readers. Even worse, ss this at the time was regarded as ‘the’ future and not just a ‘What-If’ (the debate of which caused an infamous feud between Penders and Bollers), the exposition ensured that there could not even be a potential mystery in figuring out how things got to this point, because the entire future was now laid bare before us. And since we now knew that this achingly perfect and tranquil future was to come, and exactly HOW Eggman was going to be defeated, there was little reason to become invested in past stories. What’s the point of sticking around when you know how its all gonnna go? Every conflict that took place in the past was now rendered irrelevant thanks to this future, which pretty much gave away the ending. 

-On top of all that, the developments of the characters from the past who were featured in this future were... nonsensical, and in some cases deeply insulting. Knuckles, for example, who had grown up in the wilderness away from cities and the like, was now in a position of power as not only Guardian but the head of the EST, and living very comfortably in a manor, with a maid of all things. Even accounting for the fact that the years change people, this doesn’t really feel like the kind of life Knuckles would ever want to live or COULD ever want to live, instead feeling like a reflection of Penders’ own ideal for what a happy ending should look like. Worse though was what happened to Julie-Su... while her depiction as such was not always very stellar, there was at least a token amount of effort applied to depicting her as a capable soldier and action girl, and prior to the release of this he swore up and down that she would STILL be a badass. This was false. This was very, very false. She was pretty much a stay at home mom who did upkeep on the house, acting as a *painfully* cliche ‘50s Housewife’ at utter odds with her prior depiction. While there is nothing wrong with being a domestic or anything like that, the fact was that this was definitely not how anybody ever wanted to see Julie-Su, and even worse, despite Penders’ touting of the ‘non-traditional’ nature of their marriage (which I should add was a reflection of the fact that he and his own wife operate under a common-law marriage), the fact of the matter was that the marriage was even MORE tradtional and bland than most marriages in media at that time. 

And it didn’t end there either. Sonic was now King of the world and pretty much going through a midlife crisis, and Sally, who actually WAS a leader of men during her youth and Queen of Mobius, was now happy and content with taking a backseat to Sonic and letting him make all the major decisions. There are many arguments about whether or not Sonic should have ever been a king or if it fits his character, but the point of order is, nobody at all wanted to see THIS from Sonic, or Sally. The decision to make him King was especially baffling because in real life, that’s not how European monarchy’s work. Sonic is not nobility, and even if he were, his lower rank would ensure that he would only ever be a prince or a regent at best, while Sally would be the one calling the shots thanks to her being higher ranked than him to begin with. 

And then there was Lien-Da. Recall how I said some threats became domesticated? Well this here is Exhibit A- wanna now what kind of future Lien-Da has after a lifetime of terrorism, deceit and murder? She’s living comfortabltly in suburbia with her son (with no mention or hint of who the father could be), and is just so gosh darned chummy with her half-sister that they gossip like a couple of old hens. I mean sure, Lien-Da helped murder Julie’s mother and their father, and then had Julie mindwiped twice-over, to say nothing of spending generations trying to murder the Guardians, but it’s all coooool, brah! No hard feelings, no bad blood whatsoever! Why, even Dimitri himself confirms that all of Lien-Da’s ambitions would never ever come true anyway, so hey, why carry a grudge? Family trumps all!

Yeah, I digress. Whatever people envisioned for the future of the characters they loved, this wasn’t it. At all. 

-The kids sucked, both as characters and from a design standpoint. For visuals, Lara-Su got off easy, having a reasonably unique and recognizable design that made her an instant hit with a lot of fans... the fact that Penders didn’t design her might have had something to do with that though. Everyone else? Clone children. Clone children as far as the eye can see. Literally they were all just traces of their parents with different clothes, and they had even less going on with regards to personality. The one with the most distinct personality was Manik, who was such a loathesome little creeper that everyone kind of wished he really WAS just as bland and forgettable as everyone else. While obviously children are gonna resemble their parents, making them flat out clones was just a step too far (sadly this would plague the sequel series as well). There have been many fan ideas and conceptions of what the children of our heroes would look like- all of them were better, or at least made more of an effort, than this. 

-While the book might have been called “Mobius: 25 Years Later”, it was actually more like “Angel Island Twenty Five Years Later”. Given that this storyline started out as a special called Knuckles: Twenty Years Later, this isn’t really that unexpected, but for a storyline that billed itself as the future of Mobius itself, the focus on Angel Island at the expense of everything else left a bad taste in everyone’s mouth. WHile it would be impossible to cover everyone, it was Knuckles and his family that got the most coverage, with the extended cast getting cameos or token mentions regardless of how important they were in the past. Bunnie and Antoine didn’t show up, Tails only showed up much later, we barely get any action from the other Chaotix... you get the idea. Even worse, Knuckles was pretty much revealed to be the destined savior of the planet, the one to finally defeat Eggman instead of Sonic, and the reveal of what was causing problems in the future would eventually be revealed to be SOnic’s fault! The Knuckles favoritism was incredibly grating, and incredibly disappointing. People wanted to see the future of *Mobius*, not JUST all the parts most relevant to Knuckles. This was the storylien that really did much to establish how little Penders cared about the title character of the series and how hellbent he was on ensuring the ‘legacy’ of his personal pet despite the Knuckles series having been gone for years by that point. 

-On a retroactive front, the reveal of Rotor being gay, or rather the rationale and circumstances of it, did a lot to taint the perception of the series. Even when the series was going on, Penders hinted that one of the cast was gay, and didn’t reveal who it was until years after he had left the book...it just happened to be Rotor, who just happened to be tortured in the new 30YL storyline while his supposed lover, Cobor, was dead. That he timed the reveal in such a way that it made Flynn look like a homophobe was suspect enough, but his reasoning behind the reveal was especially troubling, with him declaring that Rotor was gay due to his shyness. Adding insult to injury, there was absolutely no chemistry between Cobor and Rotor, like at all. In a fandom where two characters so much as looking at eachother too long can result in shipping, this was especially noteworthy, as nobody at all shipped Cobor and Rotor before the reveal... and after, for that matter. Penders loudly patting himself on the back for this despite how little he had done in-story to indicate it did a lot to taint the storyline in people’s eyes, and forever made Rotor’s sexuality a touchy subject due to knowing that Penders would always be eager to take credit for it despite having done nothing to build it up. While there was only so much one could really do at the time it was written, that doesn’t excuse the fact that there was so little affection and so little to read into with regards to Cobor and Rotor, due to the fact that believable, human interaction is well beyond Penders’ capacity as a writer. 

There is probably more I am not considering. Anyone who has anything to add is free to do so. But in conclusion? For everything that this story promised to be, and for all the ways that promise was broken, this whole thing became a black hole of wasted potential, a vortex of suckage that would consume everything in proximity, and that is why despite everything, a lot of people are not that eager to see it re-visted, believing that its just impossible to un-anchor it from the awful, awful story that spawned, and that there is nothing worth salvaging from it. 

They might have a point.