#relationships that I rarely see explored in fanworks

[stuffyflowers]

I don't think I'm an expert on the whole Ketsukane tragedy but I'm pretty sure the second Chujin started being reckless and doing those SOUL experiments, that inevitably brings the rest of the family down with him like a house of cards. Yeah for sake of argument Ceroba and Kanako could've made better choices and stopped it early, but 1. they most likely wouldn't with who and how they were and 2. they both lost a loved one i don't think anyone there can be expected to be very reasonable ngl.

NO FR I AGREE WITH YOU COMPLETELY. everyone always points blame at ceroba for obvious reasons but like. chujin is at the core of the familys downfall. if chujin focused on supporting his daughter more after the integrity attack instead of sending axis to tear them to pieces and then hoarding the SOUL things would’ve turned out so differently. Everything that happens from there is just a domino effect really, ESPECIALLY him tasking his wife, who has no real knowledge about SOUL research, with continuing his work after his death, basically assuring his cycle of reckless behaviour continues from the grave

[wlwmedarda]

I'm honestly just looking to rant and this might be long depending on how fast I get irritated the more I type so if this isn't coherent or well written I apologize in advance. Since it looks like Ambessa will take on a more antagonistic role in arcane season two, I would like to unpack the fandom's antiblackness that you guys are either blind to or aware and too pussy to call it out as my gut is telling me it's gonna increase and if no one is gonna start the difficult conversation then I sure as hell will.

Sevika:

Mel:

Starting off strong with the definition of "you guys want complex female characters but can't even handle her". Mel Medarda is in quite the predicament seeing how she's morally grey, a black woman, AND "gets in the way" of a mlm ship so she was kinda screwed from the start. A cunning politician disowned for her pacifism who acts as a sort of bridge to Noxus' slow introduction, and is THE ONLY CHARACTER IN THE SEASON 1 MAIN CAST SPECIFICALLY CREATED FOR THE SHOW. She's treated like satan incarnate or a Jezebel (highly suggest looking into that if you don't know what that is), GOOD character analysis is rare, and when she is talked about positively, it's so often chalked up to appearances that I'd rather yall not talk about her at all. Oh you love Mel? Then can we talk about her relationship with her mother? Unpack her dynamic with Jayce? Maybe more fanworks centered around her? I've seen yall's fake asses dropping the shittiest fucking takes about her only to turn around and gush over how pretty she is, and yall think you're slick about it and you're not. I would say I prefer the ones who are loud and proud about their hatred but that'd be a lie, they're two cheeks on the same ass; annoying and couldn't give a decent break down of her character if a gun was pointed at they head even she's perfect to dissect. I could talk about her more but we'd be here all day and so many black women even from outside the fanbase have already talked about yall so there's no need for me to add on 🤷���‍♀️🤷🏾‍♀️🤷🏾‍♀️🤷🏾‍♀️.

Quick question, have you guys ever tried to talk about her in a non sexual way? Yes, Sevika is undeniably sexy and you could argue that true stans of hers talk about her outside of horny time, but a good half of the fandom is a different story. In a similar case to Mel's, deep dives into her character are rare to find which is crazy when she acts as Zaun's own "kingmaker". She's loyal to her city and the cause, never to a specific person and will not hesitate to betray you. She could be your right hand man one day, and the next she might find a better kingpin to follow and stab you in the back like it all meant nothing. "Were you tempted?" "Not for a worm like him". Simple and subtle and probably my favorite Sevika scene; she comes to realize Silco is no longer the best leader for Zaun, but he's as good as it gets for now and so she sticks by him. I remember a YouTube comment breaking down how she's essentially the quintessential Zaun: a brute warrior molded by her environment, who defied Vander's peaceful ways and embraced Silco's cruelty. Her mindset and goal is interesting and you'd think it'd result in some fascinating meta or exploration of her upbringing when we got a hint that she potentially has some daddy issues right? Obviously, but what do we get instead? White sapphics treating her like nothing more than a sexual object. How delightful!

Ekko:

This might partially be Riot's fault because — and I hate to sound like a league lore nerd — Ekko is quite underdeveloped compared to the richer origins of his former pre arcane self, but I'm gonna hold off on that till the season finale to see how they handle him. Anyways, at this point the fandom clearly sees him as Jinx's trophy husband. When you talk about him, she is brought into the convo 90% of the time. That's exactly why I prefer black timebomb shippers over the nonblack ones because I trust they actually love Ekko as a character on his own. Even though I have my complaints regarding how's been written so far, I still know he's too good to be reduced to Jinx's loverboy. He fights and cares for his city, the only character that you can confidently say is pure of heart, and is the revolutionary leader Zaun really needs. He's just as smart as Jinx too, he is literally going to create TIME TRAVEL. Why does no one wanna talk about that? Can we be excited for his character development and arc not just for the timebomb scenes you'll get out of it?

Ambessa:

Can't even deny this woman is awful but her presence on screen enthralled me after a couple of rewatches and I also love bad mothers in media so I've settled on a love/hate relationship. Yes, she's definitely gonna have some influence on Caitlyn, which makes sense since she has now lost her mother; she's vulnerable and as we have seen, naive. She's practically free real estate for Ambessa. My recent worry though has been how the fandom seems to be willing to put all of Caitlyn's actions on her as if Cait isn't a grown ass woman who can make her own decisions. Of course being grown doesn't mean you're immune to manipulation, but I've seen some Silco and Jinx comparisons and it is NOT the same. Mind you we haven't even seen the first three episodes; we don't know how far Ambessa's manipulation is going to go and we can't really tell what the dynamic is gonna be like based off of clips and trailers that are likely shown out of context on purpose to throw people off. I'll never defend her actions, hell I'll join in on the lashings, but my black ass is also not gonna sit here and let yall talk about her weirdly or pin all of this on her.

Some might say I'm overthinking this, but I've been here since November 2021 and have sat back and observed for 2 years. You don't have to write deep, philosophical conversations 24/7, I'm sure it's not all in bad faith and I won't act like I don't thirst over Sevika or marvel at Mel's beauty. I'm not saying you have to like these characters and that you're racist if you don't. My frustration comes from the lack of nuanced conversations and hypocritical opinions surrounding black characters in this show. When you try to say something about this, you're hit with excuses; it reminds me of how man obsessed fujoshis act when they're questioned for not giving two fucks about female characters. They're either reduced to one character trait, only admired for their looks, or only discussed when it's about the white character they're connected to. Do NOT under ANY circumstance be black and morally ambiguous, you WILL be held to higher moral standards than everyone's wittle blorbos who can do wrong and are defended from all sides when you dare to take the rose colored stan glasses off and criticize them. What's really ridiculous is you hear the "complex characters" bullshit every two to three business days and some of you have the nerve to boast about this series being diverse while simultaneously ignoring the complexities in the characters of color. This is the main reason I took a step back and with season two around the corner I thought "Hey, maybe it'll be better this time!" and it was a mistake. Good to know yall still have an underlying racism problem you don't wanna address but with some extra classism thrown in. "What will we do once Arcane ends?" hopefully get a job, touch some grass, and reflect. Lord knows yall need it. The faster yall sizzle out the better. I'm done that's all I have to say lol goodnight 👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽.

[asocial-skye]

no offense to codywan shippers (ya'll are cool and create great fan stuff) seriously, codywan art and fanworks are some of the most detailed, and well thought out pieces i've seen.

but why do you guys ship codywan? they've exchanged like maybe, two sentences per episode they make an appearance in and its mostly about military affairs. they have a relationship you'd expect between like, somewhat affable coworkers. there's more evidence for rex and hunter than there is for cody and obi wan.

you know, i saw a bunch of codywan shippers and codywan fanart and fics when i first entered sw fandom and you know, i read some and thought "this is sweet. this is a cool dynamic. i could get behind this ship."

i'd like you all to keep in mind that i've never seen TCW at that point.

and then i watch TCW and i'm like, you don't even talk to each other. obi wan is in love with hillary clinton for some reason? cody is one of those rare characters where he has zero lines, but you can tell that he has a separate life outside of whatever bullshit he's put on screen for.

i see it as a "what could have been" ship; a ship that should have been explored a bit, even if the power dynamics are really fucked up, rather than yet another woman being fridged for a man. but like, what made you guys codywan stans?

i'm curious, so hit me with your reasons. i'm not dragging codywan-some of my favorite ships are characters that have exchanged a LOOK, not even dialogue. you guys have more basis than me.

[gamerism]

Kiryu Kazumi is an interesting exercise in fandom, in my opinion. And I wanna talk about that.

[Kazumi is the fan created drag persona for Kiryu. Often Kiryu is genderfluid or exploring identity through her.]

Kazumi places a few tiers down the "non-canon fandom iceberg". She exists in response to Goromi who is already a very minor thing in canon, and was written as a Bit/with the intent to make an offensive joke about drag/ect, the fandom were the ones who made Goromi mean more than that. So Kazumi is a layer down from all of that already.

Despite her existence being entirely fanmade, she's not a vehicle for the fandom to cannibalise the source material into something unrecognisable purely for fanworks' sake. Though she might look it on the surface.

If the fandom decided to make Goromi mean something because she's the most blatant moment of queercoding for Majima in a long history of queercoding for him, then her theme is ultimately masculinity in canon.

Which is absolutely what Kazumi is about. Kiryu sits at the very beating heart of Like A Dragon's themes about masculinity. Be it toxic, be it ideals, be it the kind of appearances you're expected to maintain in the yakuza. Kiryu shoulders the heavy burden of them all.

We see him exhibit both positive and toxic masculinity throughout the series. But what the games have rarely brought up for him, is the rejection of masculinity in any context, or at least, femininity in equal amounts.

This isn't really surprising, if they're unwilling to make Majima say he's gay with his own mouth after using queerness as a means to Other him and make him seem dangerous, untrustworthy and even scary...they're certainly not going to have their shining beacon of Honour, Kiryu, do that. (Majima's queerness and coding has changed role somewhat over time and is generally more neutral or positive in positioning now. But even as recently as Yakuza Kiwami, it was being used in a negative way.)

So Kazumi serves the purpose for fans who wish to delve more deeply into that thorny complex relationship to masculinity.

[Kazumi In Kiwami 2 On NexusMods] By kiryussideburns.

Personally I find the idea of Kiryu exploring Kazumi as a means of escape, as a means of fully free self expression (something Kiryu has never had), really really interesting. I also find the time frame she's generally written in interesting. Most people place her post-2005. Kazama is dead. This is a hugely important factor in Kiryu's willingness to take the risk to explore gender expression. Kazama is not the kind of man who approves of any (perceived) weakness in men. In Kiryu and Nishiki's lives he's who instills a lot of toxic aspects of masculinity in them. I'd also hazard a strong guess that he's homophobic, though we don't actually know that.

The next largest factor is that December 2005 is the point where Kiryu leaves the Tojo Clan permanently. Kiryu definitely still cares a great deal deep down about his image and public perception within the underworld after leaving, but his day-to-day is no longer dictated by the rules of that life.

(Some people, me included, also dabble in Kazumi in 1988. But the same things essentially apply there. Kazama is in prison & as far away as he can functionally be while alive. And Kiryu is out of the Tojo Clan temporarily.)

As someone so enamoured with this exploration of gender expression for the character, I was floored when LAD Gaiden allowed Kiryu to wear makeup. Seriously, I had to go lay down to calm down about it when playing Gaiden day of release.

(Gaiden's lighting is very contrasted, I did my best to find a screenshot where you can actually see the makeup.)

The makeup, nail polish and pearl earrings in the Boutique was kind of unbelievable to me. I know RGG didn't really mean anything by it, that they didn't make those customisation options because they were going to touch on these themes. But even the hint of that in canon, it was so much more than I ever expected....even if it did go nowhere, as I knew it would.

It kind of gives me hope that Goromi might mean something more than just an offensive joke (in canon anyway) in the future. Or if not Goromi than something else, in LAD9 or such. Either way Kazumi will continue to be fandom legacy for gender expression, presentation and what the expectations Kiryu & other characters have resting on them mean.

[djpachipikachu]

What are some of your favorite character relationships/dynamics in TMNT, and why? Is there anything that you particularly like seeing explored with them in fan works (art, writing, comics, etc)?

ooh ! hmm thats a good question

a bit basic but raph and leo’s dynamics in any iteration are among my top ones … not typically the conflict of it but more of just their friendlier interactions like the two oldest brothers dynamic in official iterations is always fun and most of the time they really do know each other much better/more accurately than they do with donnie or mikey

taking rottmnt as an example just bc its the one i main and understand best, despite the age order swapping from typical tmnt , the dynamic of an older raph trying to coach leo on responsibility is like!!! raph Knows what it is to be a leader and he Knows that leo is capable of it and he Knows leo is avoiding it by being reckless and he knows this isnt how leo usually is ! and with leo . he’s good at reading people in general ! but he respects raph on a deep level despite being a little shithead because thats his big brother !!! and he soon learns and Truly understands the weight of what raph’s dealt with bc of the events of the movie

and then just like . idk . the eldest half of the turtles being the closest in that kinda deep understsnding of their roles and the struggles that come with them . makes me emotional

id love to see more works about raph and leo just being brothers in the same vein as mikey and donnie just being a chaotic duo,,, like leo knowing when raph needs a minute to calm down or raph understanding how leo wants a plan to go without having to elaborate , etc

and my favorite underrated dynamics are the ones with splinter and the humans👍bc oh man oh man !!!!

again rottmnt specifically but splinter’s dynamic with april is Such a gem to me like she is literally the favorite child and she isnt even his THATS HIS FAVORITE KID!!!! in 2012 also i like april and splinter’s mentoring kinda relationship!!!!! its fire!!!!!

and God . casey and splinter in rise . Christ dawg . oh my god!!!!! splinter sees himself in casey so so much . Splinter Broke Casey Out Of The Hold The Foot Had On Her !!!! they make me crazy emotional and rarely any fanwork explores it !!!! i want more of that!!!!!! he saved her !!!!!! and she doesnt know what to even do about that!!!!!!! casey is also his favorite child rise splinter has a thing about all his favorite kids being none of the turtles and i stand by that /j

rise splinter sees his own younger self’s fiery passion and intense Want to be something great in april, and he sees his younger self’s struggle with being a part of a locked destiny that he was never given a choice to decide if he wanted it or not in casey </3

more rise casey jones and splinter fanworks🙏🙏PLEASE!!!!🙏🙏🙏casey learning how to be a person on her own🙏🙏🙏splinter supporting her like a father bc her own guardian figures never saw her potential🙏🙏🙏

other honorable mentions:

leo and usagi . self explanatory . love them . platonic or romantic idc i love seeing any content about them i love the different dynamics for them in any iteration

casey and april 2003 mt beloveds they make me so uehehehe theyre Silly theyre so silly and i wish we couldve explored rottmnt casey and april’s dynamic more

idw jennika and her relationship with the hamato clan !!! shes so similar to rise casey in that sense but then also just how shes such an older sister to them already is like . augh . i love asshole older sisters . i love her doubting her place in the family . i love her imagining what itd be like if she was with them during their worst moments and how she wouldve taken the hits for them . Idw jennika you will always be famous

im a huge yapper sorry but yeah thats my answer me thinks

[dhmis-autism]

anyways since i hurt my wrist ive been reading a lot of DHMIS fic, and as such i have some opinions on alla them! i also have some faves that i am going to reccomend now if any of you are in the mood to read:

First up, this whole series of DHMIS shorts are SO well-written and very bittersweet. They’re both sort of mini stories AND explorations of the positives and negatives of each individual character in the trio + their dynamics with each other. Pretty accurate to the characters, I think, and just straight up, well-written, fun to read. CANNOT OVERSTATE how much I enjoyed these ones. This was my fave of the three, I think about it ALL the time. Though, honestly, you can’t just read ONE and not read the others!

Alright, next is my FAVE FAVE FAAVEE dog/dad duo fic! I love a lot about this fic! I love the in-character dialogue, I love the thoughtful way this fic explores one of my favorite dynamics in the show! It's heartfelt and awkward and jumpy and misshapen- and I think it's a pretty fantastic avenue to take when exploring these characters. There's also a bit of existential terror, for those of you who like that element of the show! Anyways, this fic is literally ALWAYS going to have a rent-free space in my heart.

THIS ONE is a really smart and thought out rearrangement of the first TV season, with a kind of emotional narrative throughline that I gotta say, I was invested in. I always like fanworks that reintegrate lines from canon in different contexts and this is something this fic really understands how to do well. The epilogue made me understand why people will buy and read books telling the exact same event from a different characters POV. tbh i’d buy this if I could.

THIS one is short,sweet and REALLY fucking funny. I literally crack up just thinking about Duck asking Red which of the other two he’d rather be stuck with on a desert island. Comedy of errors with a bittersweet ending that has really stuck around in my head.

This one is less of a singular character exploration and more of a exploration of a hypothetical character dynamic ,imo. And I LOVE the dynamic in it so much! It's compelling, it's messy, it's very push-and-pull, it's like watching two cars almost crash into each other, miss, and then smash violently into poles in opposite sides of the street. I like the OCs in it ( they have a very funny bit going ), I like the fun little fanmade songs, and I like that the relationship between the two main characters is used as a really good platform to see what their insecurities  and their worst traits are up close. I rarely see ship fics that do that! And as someone who is far more interested in the characters themselves than the ship together, I am all in on the carnage. 

[amemenojaku]

Askgame 001: Seija/Shinmyoumaru

When I started shipping it if I did: Right when the full version of DDC came out, so... more than 10 years ago... It's hard to believe it's been a full decade LOL

My thoughts: They've been my favorite touhou pairing ever since then so I have a lot of thoughts, but in general I think they're one of the most interesting relationships in the series (and ZUN's favorite in DDC apparently >:3), whether it's interpreted as romantic or not. That being said, there's clearly some kind of affection or attachment in canon given how much they've interacted and how they stuck together in the end despite how things started, and that makes me really happy. I love the push and pull, the "we're partners in crime and then I turn on you and then we're together again etc" of it all... It's just really really good.

The other day I was talking with a friend about the amount of canon content they got for a duo that isn't made of main or recurring characters, and it's actually... a lot... A lot more than I would've believed 10 years ago at least!!

Things done in fanworks that annoy me: I'm not super vocal about it because I did it too back in the day, when there wasn't much to work with besides DDC's basic plot, but with everything we got now I have a hard time enjoying works where Shinmyoumaru's just a poor victim of Seija's lies and nothing else. Or the other way around where there wasn't any conflict and manipulation at all, although that's much more rare lol (but I've seen it)...

Things I look for in fanworks: The main appeal to me nowadays is how they change one another in a way that just wouldn't happen in their interactions with other characters, so I'm very fond of works where her meeting with Seija allowed Shinmyoumaru to finally know freedom, or how Seija somehow both mellows and gets worse when Shinmyoumaru's around, etc. Something else I love to see is pre-DDC works where Shinmyoumaru is aware of Seija's lies but rolls with it anyway. I think it goes well with the previous thing of Shinmyoumaru finally getting to live the life she wanted; she gains something from being a pawn anyway, so why would she care?

Also I am a very simple person and seeing Shinmyoumaru sitting on Seija's shoulder or Seija holding her in her hands (and being gentle as she does so, unconsciously) is always the best to me and I hope people continue drawing/writing that. I eat it up

Who I’d be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other: Realistically, no one lol. I love what happens when you add Reimu to the equation (and Marisa for even more of a mess), and Reimu/Seija is by far my favorite rarepair, but I don't think any of it would work the way seishin could work (with all its ups and downs, but work nonetheless)...

My prefered future/ending for them: I think they should stay the way they are forever :] I'm serious I think it's already perfect the way it is, with the push and pull and sometimes they fall down and they get back together and they annoy everyone in the process etc. I do think Seija's gonna outlive Shinmyoumaru eventually but that part isn't something I enjoy thinking about, as opposed to other pairs where it's a big aspect of it.

What is their favorite activity together: Going places they haven't seen before (mostly for Shinmyoumaru, I think Seija's been around long enough to know most of Gensokyo), and just moving outdoors in general. There's no way either of them can sit still inside for a while without going nuts. And there's more people to bother outside anyway!! I love pictures of Shinmyoumaru exploring nature and I think Seija who spends most of her time outdoors anyway would appreciate the company, regardless of what she says about it.

[lesbianfakir]

Not saying anything I haven’t already said but it’s 2 in the morning and I have feelings about this!! I want more queerplatonic art and interpretations in the tutu fandom sooooo bad. I keep coming back to how it’s so rare to have a show of this genre where the boy and the girl stay friends without any pressure to make their relationship “something more,” and that really resonates.

It’s not a bad thing but it’s a little sad to me that the tag is so focused on romantic shipping when there are so many other ways to explore the relationships in the show. I would love to see more people engaging with the text in ways that don’t fit in with the conventional relationship script.

Duck feels she is lacking in some fundamental human quality, a narrative that is so very often, an aspec one. For a show that’s so entrenched in amatonormativity I connected with the narrative of tutu in a way that I do with so few shows because it feels so fundamentally aspec. And I want to explore the shit out of that!!

The way the show develops it’s central relationships really resonates with me—rather being built upon some nebulous attraction the foundation of many central relationships come from a place of deep admiration. There is no expectation that that admiration must blossom into romance. At the end of the day, the world is saved through a friendship. There’s no NEED for it to be anything else because that love is complete just as it is. There’s no lack felt—only the strength of what’s already there.

And that said, I feel like when engaging with fanwork that quality is often missing. The idea that these relationships hold the same strength and validity whether they’re platonic or romantic doesn’t always carry through. And don’t get me wrong, I love to see a cute couple. But I wish there was more exploration of the weird nebulous up to interpretation not-quite-romantic, not-quite-platonic relationships the show gives us. It can go either way so it’s so strange to me that fandom tends to gravitate towards only one outcome to these options

Anyways, this is my rallying cry, JOIN ME IN QUEERING PRINCESS TUTU

[nekropsii]

HI ITS ME. GUY WHO HAS A LOT OF THOUGHTS ON MEAT!ROXY. despite how i. admitedly dislike how they HANDLED meat roxy, i cant help but hold a certain... appreciation? fur transmasc roxy. i dont know a lot of canon transmasc characters. most of the time the people i s33 even headcanoned as transmasc-... dont match my experiences. roxy has ALWAYS been my favorite. i love her xomplex relationship with rose and addiction and her friends. i could rel8 to being- idk if hyperfem is the word but? before i transitioned i was deff a very girly-girl. and in my early transition stages i really thought i was faking bc no one ever made content with characters like that./ i love roxy so much, and it was so nice to see my fave character being canonically transmasc, and it reely hurts to see people constantly talking aboat how much they HATE it. i get it! i get how much it sucks to have a popular hc invalidated! but... transmasc roxy has always meant a lot to me- in ways i cant explain w/o delving into some personal stuff. idk, i just. sighs. this came out a lot less coherrent than id like, but even tho i have troubles with how hs2/the epilouges were handled... i reely did like that. i think hs2 is a compilation of good ideas and wasted purrtential, and i wishmore ppl would try and explore that instead of writingmit off and criticizing efurryone who wants to engage in it

Yeah. The handling is definitely one of the biggest factors that ruins it. A lot of Post-Canon is hugely mishandled, and meat!Roxy is no exception to this. The other biggest factor that ruins it is that it was put in official material.

I obviously don't hate the idea of a hyperfeminine person realizing they're transmasculine, or a hypermasculine person realizing they're transfeminine. Those are real experiences that people have, and they deserve to be touched upon. People with those experiences get very, very little representation. I said this before, but I have no ill feelings towards people who like meat!Roxy. It lines up with some people's experiences more than some other portrayals of transition, and therefore some people will gravitate towards it because of its rare factor of relatability to them.

The thing about it is that the writers were never going to get the handling of it right. The Post-Canon writers are not good at their job, they have too much to live up to, and it really seems as though the move was made to spite that widely accepted notion that Roxy is a trans girl- something that has some very real backing within the text of canon. Transmasculine Roxy... Isn't an inherently bad idea! It really isn't. But it is a bad idea to not only confirm a character's previously up-in-the-air birth sex- something that directly goes against one of the most widely accepted transfeminine headcanons of all time- and then proceed to make that character trans in the other direction... While completely sucking the soul out of that character.

Transmasculine Roxy is a fine idea. It's just not one that's able to ever be comfortably explored in a piece of official material. It's perfectly okay for fanworks and personal interpretation, but it doesn't have a sound place in canon just due to the optics of it. It's just too contrarian. And while some people may not care, a lot more people will, and a lot more people do. Too many people care for it to be a good idea to canonize in any regard, no matter what level of eggshells the writers walk on.

And while that may seem like an apocalyptically grim statement to make... That really is just how writing for an audience works. It might suck sometimes, but it's how it is.

TL;DR: Yeah, you liking meat!Roxy is completely valid and I do not blame you whatsoever. More power to you! Major respect! It was just massively fucking mishandled, and handling it at all in official material was just a bad idea. It was a concept that was most likely born out of spite, and destined to fail. Justice for transmasc!Roxy, by the way. Why the fuck did they turn Roxy into an entirely different character? All the charm of Roxy's character was really just lost the moment they made 'em transition. That's one of my least favorite tropes ever. I hate it here.

[dawnofplumeria]

I'm a bit curious about this (don't hate)

Why do you ship Kokunaki? While they don't have any interactions and moments with each other?

Even I see some of its shippers always say that it is canon but it has never been confirmed like that, which makes me somewhat displeased with the ship.

If you like it then I'm fine with that because I respect everyone's preferences

(You can scroll down all the way to the bottom for TLDR if you're short on time😉)

Sorry it took so long to answer...🙇🏻‍♀️😓

I'm glad you asked! In the past, i had a few people asking me why I ship Kokunaki, I'm happy to answer this one! This response will be a bit long since I have so much to say on Kokunaki 😊

Kokunaki is not my first rare pair, so I've been a believer that characters don't need to interact in order for the ship to be valid or good. True, we never got them to see them appear in the same scene together at all. The only time we ever got to see the two next together in any official kny media is in kimetsu gakuen chapter 20 (and they didn't even talk to each other). However, there's so much potential between them to explore in fanworks that I simply can't ignore.🤔

I'm not even sure what source these other shippers use to say that Kokunaki is canon. As far as I know, I couldn't find such source and none provided any. I'm guessing you highly prefer canon ships over fanon ones (which, is your choice and that's ok🤷‍♀️).🤔

At least you're a pretty good sport.🙂

Oh right, here's why I am obsessed with Kokunaki...😊

-I find them appealing to look at together from a visual standpoint. 6 eyes and one eye? So adorable🥰. Pretty much the first reason many people (and myself included) find themselves to ship Kokunaki💕. Also, the height difference is cute(Ik Nakime's official height is unknown, but I'd like tot hink she's 5"0 tall)☺️.

-They share similar personality traits. Both are aloof, quiet, stoic introverts who are surrounded by idiots😆. Due to both of them being the more sane or normal among the UMs, I'd like to believe they at least don't mind each other's company in canon. They'd love to talk to each other and overall spend time together. Their similar personality traits leads them to think and act similarly-so, they'll rarely fight or have major disagreements between them.

-We get to explore sides of both characters that the canon couldn't. In canon, Kokushibo does have very tiny bit of humanity left. If he doesn't have any humanity at all, he would've dispose of that flute that he managed to carry with him for 400+ years. At the very least, Kokushibo does indeed love and care for his brother the entire time (even though he won't admit it). As for Nakime, it's difficult to tell if she had any humanity at all since we the audience don't know much about her. The story has not presented us with any redeemable or sympathetic qualities for her. It could be argued that her ex-husband might've been abusive. Even then, we don't know much about her ex-husband either. What I'm trying to say is that by putting these two together in a relationship together, we can explore their human sides individually and together. Love in any way among demons is extremely rare,so imagining Naki & Koku as romantic partners can help bring out the softer, gentle nature deeply buried in them. Exploring the idea that they aren't 100% heartless monsters can do wonders to their characterization in fanon.

The potential of them as a power couple. Kokushibo has been UM1 from the start and has kept his title since. In Nakime's fight, two hashiras struggled to land a single blow on her. We haven't seen Nakime fight outside of the infinity castle, so we wouldn't know how much she'll do well outside of her domain. However, she's a powerful demon in her own right, and Kokushibo might see potential in her. Under his guidance, Nakime might still get to be powerful outside of the infity castle. With her and Kokushibo side by side in combat, they can operate as an offense and defense duality. Nakime can be the offensive force, while Kokushibo can be the defense force. Ultimately, they'll have someone to fight for😍

-Both were in unhappy marriages. Although not explicitly stated, it can be implied that both were in arranged, loveless marriages. I find it hard to believe Nakime willingly chooses to tie the knot with a gambling addict. From what we can read of her backstory from the fanbook, her ex-husband did nothing to contribute to household finances. In fact, he usually flushes Nakime's earnings down the drain-which is why the two are poor. Nowhere does the fanbook ever mention any positive memories the two have together. Given that the reason Nakime murdering her ex-husband is because he gambled away her only nice kimono, it must've been the last straw from her. Nakime pretty much had to put up a lot emotionally (and perhaps physically) to being stuck with a man who has trouble with money.

As for Kokushibo, he has a stronger case for being in an arranged, loveless marriage. He's the eldest son of his clan with a lot of expectations placed on his family. Of course, his family would set him up with a daughter from another wealthy family. Canonically, he did describe his marriage as "boring". This leads me to doubt he and his ex-wife lvoed each other at all from the beginning. Due to a lack of love or interest towards his ex-wife and kids from his memories, he most likely formed a family purely out of societal obligation (still not a free pass for him to go out and buy milk though).

During the times when Koku & Naki were humans, arranged, loveless marriages were the norm. Unfortunately for our unusual eye couple, divorce isn't an option in their human years. When the two become close and comfortable to be vulnerable to each other, they'll open up and relate to formerly being in unhappy marriages.

-The forbidden/tragic love aspect. They're not in a Romeo and Juliet type situation, but their romantic relationship can bring them a lot of risks. Like I said earlier, many demons don't even get along (mainly because Muzan makes it difficult for mutual bonds among demons to happen). Romance is highly unheard of among demon kind. Given as to their backgrounds and roles in the 12 kizuki, it's a perfect recipie for heart-wrenching angst. Due to them both most likely never having romantic feelings towards anyone before, it'll take them quite a while to realize or admit to such feelings (Kokushibo would be more stubborn and in denial in this aspect than Nakime). Kokushibo and Nakime are very lucky to be Muzan's favorites so that their relationship can be approved. Although Muzan trusts them to not backstab them, he'll secretly spy on them here and there. Since Muzan Witnessing demons being in love is a once in a blue moon phenomenon, he'll probably toy with our love birds for his own sick entertainment. One of the conditions Muzan would give them to continue being romantic partners is to always put him first before each other.

As if it wasn't enough to get Muzan' approval, Naki & Koku will have to keep their relationship behind closed doors from EVERYONE. Luckily, I don't think either of them would be into PDA. In fact, they strike me as a couple who prefer to be affectionate in secret. However, they're still gonna have to be cautious about potential spies and nosy beings. Afterall, they can' let their relationship get in the way of their duties.

-Ultimately, all they'll have is each other. One of the reasons the two will be drawn to each other is vulnerability. Think about it, Nakime is quite quiet, unsettling individual with a very strong "don't come any closer type of nature. As for Kokushibo, he's UM 1 and one of the oldest and most feared demons in existence. As much as both of them are content with their roles among the 12 Kizuki, it can get pretty lonely. Nakime does feel safe in the domain she created to her own liking, but her role as Muzan' lackey can get quite isolating and she'll be in her thoughts most of the time. As much proud Kokushibo is for being the apex predator of the demon hierarchy, he's extremely unapproachable to many.

Due to their similar personalities, they can easily listen and understand each other. When close enough, they'll even know what each other is thinking just by very subtle body movements. The start of a beautiful friendship turned romance is them realizing that they don't need to be completely alone 100% of the time.

TLDR: The reason I ship Kokunaki is because of the potential these two could have together. They are pretty similar in personality and thinking, interesting exploration for their characters and there is room for possibilities to explore demons in love. Kokunaki provides a potentially angsty slowburn fest as a result of two characters coming from troubled, broken backgrounds who are trying to navigate the unnerving world around them. I hope I answered your question successfully well🥰

👀👀👀💘👁

[beyond-far-horizons]

Welcome to my blog!

Edit: ***DO NOT SEND ME ASKS BEGGING FOR MONEY - YOU WILL BE REPORTED AS A SCAMMER AND BLOCKED - TO ALL MY FOLLOWERS, PLEASE DONATE TO TRUSTED, OFFICIAL SOURCES, NEVER TO STRANGERS WITH UNVERFIED SOB STORIES ON THE INTERNET***

As the header says this blog as a mix of nature, the creative arts, occasional spirituality/psychology and fandom posts. I'm multi-fandom with a focus on fantasy and sci-fi, feisty heroines, sexy bad guys and good hearted heroes. Oh and cats!

Just a reminder to new users/followers: if you want to follow me - great! I hope you enjoy my wonderful, slightly incoherent blog.

However you'll need to have a proper Tumblr account- aka one with a customised icon, actively used etc. If not, you look like a bot and I (and many others on here) will block you. Doesn't have to be awesomely curated or anything, just not empty, left with the tumblr triangle/square icon or 'follow for more' etc.

Also I don't always follow back - no reflection on you, it's just my dash gets very cluttered & I'm only sporadically here.

Each to their own, but I also won't follow if the blog is explicit/coarse, very political (esp right-wing), gory, features a lot of horror, features lots of slash shipping (I'm pro LGTBQ+ but slash isn't my shipping focus & I tend to prefer the canon friendships that slash fans turn romantic/sexual), has a lot of purity policing (call-out culture/shipping wars etc) and doesn't tag properly so I can filter. I recommend minors don't interact, esp on the rare occasion posts are explicit.

As said in bio above, I'm a big heroine x villain/anti-hero shipper. As a rule how I see this is:

It's fiction not real life - I understand people's mileage may vary (i.e if you've had bad experiences in RL & the pairing/dynamics hits too close to home), which is why I tag/use content warnings so people can filter/ block. I try & be respectful, however please don't interact if you want to shame or police my or my friends' shipping/fanworks.

My heroines/protags are always aged up in my headcanons/fanfic if they aren't of age already.

I'm a big fan of feisty heroines with agency & am as focused on the philosophical discussions/development as I am the romantic/sexual tension.

My explorations in fandom/fiction do not reflect my relationships in real life - this should be obvious, but sometimes in fandom ya gotta say it ;).

I'd much rather you block me than try and argue shipping, fanon, or canon/fanfic plot points with me. Having lived through Tumblr 2013/14 and anime shipping wars, it's simply not worth it. Live and let live etc.

I also like hero x heroine ships & I'm a multishipper - chances are I may also ship your NOTP so use that filter option, it's a lifesaver.

I love that UST & I might occasionally post explicit fanfic, but generally this blog is SFW. I'm also not a fan of porny style language.

If all that hasn't freaked you out, welcome and enjoy the blog - it's mainly nature pics anyway lol.

[mademoiselle-red]

Reading the Renault fandom dissertation, part 3

An academic decided to write about us, online fans of Mary Renault’s works, for her phd dissertation in 2018, and as the subject of her research, I will be covering & commenting on what she wrote over a series of posts ✍️📑

(Here is part 1, part 2, part 4, part 5, and part 6)

And now, for part 3 we jump to the Renault chapter:

“Chapter 2: From Greek Love to Boys’ Love: Mary Renault’s Romanticization of Pederasty”

Personally, I don’t read Renault’s works as romanticizing the institution of pederasty. They instead set up the ideal of “Greek love” in order to explore its problematic place and inadequacies within both its culture of origin (The Last of the Wine) and within early twentieth century gay culture (The Charioteer).

“Despite her contemporary fame, however, she is rarely mentioned today in either mainstream media or academic circles. Only in the form of a niche online fandom do Renault’s works continue to generate enthusiasm and contemporary relevance: male homoerotic fan art by women.”

I’m really surprised to see that she chose fan art as the primary form of fan media through which she uses to analyze the Renault fandom. I know it is more convenient to compare fan art to BL manga since both are visual mediums, but it doesn’t make sense for the Renault online fandom. I’d say the online TC community is 90% fanfic & meta and only 10% fan art. Even the Alexander Trilogy and LotW fanworks are mostly fic and meta. So focusing on art doesn’t make sense when you are trying to study the online fan reception of Renault’s works. This oversight in Chou’s methodology leads to some interesting results later…

“The second part of this chapter brings in the latest online fandom devoted to Renault, which focuses on Renault’s representation of male homoeroticism. These fan artworks and discussions based on Renault’s novels are located squarely within the BL sensibilities that I discussed in the previous chapter. By examining the unexpected affinities between the mid-twentieth century lesbian author and her millennial online fandom, I contend that the apparent contradictions between Renault and her works is best understood through the BL logic—which is the logic of fantasy.”

This is her central thesis about Renault and us, the fandom. A preview of what these “unexpected affinities” will be:

“More specifically, I argue that what critics have found problematic about Renault—her idealization of male homosexuality, her misogyny, and her indifference to identity politics—make sense for BL aesthetics.”

I will discuss Chou’s argument that Renault’s works appeal to her online fan community because they are indifferent to identity politics and modern reality in my next post (part 4), but first, the author explains her definition of “queerness,” which is crucial to understanding her distinction between BL/slash sensibilities vs queer sensibilities.

“Although Renault’s novels since The Charioteer almost exclusively focus on homosexual characters and relationships, and the word “queer” is in fact scattered all over The Charioteer referring to gay men in the postwar era, her books have never been considered “queer” in the post-gay, academic sense.”

This is a baffling sentence. And this definition of “queer” really narrows her analysis of queer fannish activity in my opinion, and prevents her from recognizing Renault’s online fandom as a form of queer culture and queer community. Also, I didn’t realize there is a “post-gay” academic culture. What does “post-gay” even mean? She goes on to explain:

“Queerness is understood as a mode of critique rather than about a specific sexuality, which is where queer theory divulges from lesbian and gay studies: whereas lesbian and gay studies tackles homosexuality as an object of study, queer theory defines itself as a philosophical and political strategy of critique rather than a study of particular objects. With representation no longer the measurement of political efficacy in textual analysis, writing about “queers” and being politically queer are two different, although not incompatible ideas.”

So queerness in Chou’s understanding for the purposes of this dissertation does not refer to a group of people who can be studied. I’d say it’s fine if you want queerness to be a mode of critique of normative structures in fiction & philosophy, but how useful is this definition when you are studying a fan community, a living breathing organism comprised of real people?

“The silence around Renault in academia today is a result of the awkward combination of who the author is, what she writes about, and how she proclaims an apolitical orientation. Queer criticism is used to heteronormative subjects being silent about politics and the mainstream’s lack of action is easily understood as complacency and sometimes homophobia. But queer criticism is not geared towards handling a non- normative subject with a voice that does not articulate political aspirations.”

Queer people can, you know, just exist, and write about other queer people, and have bad politics.

“In what follows, I propose that reading Renault from a different perspective—the BL perspective—not only dissolves her hopeless contradictions but is also more productive in understanding how her works can still be (if not more) relevant today.”

Buckle up, friends, she’s gonna analyze the TC fandom (us!!!) next 👀👀👀

More in part 4

[dimiclaudeblaigan]

How or when did you realize that you love Dimiclaude as a ship? Was it already while playing the game/their routes or some time later? I already picked up on their chemistry in the game, especially their banter during WC (incl. El here, wish there was more House leader content) but tbh it really got me trough good fanwork. Probably bc I'm not that much of a shipper, in 3H there are few pairings I really care about, Dimiclaude and Sylvix on the top there. So, slowly I thought more about their[1]

[2] canon interactions and how good they would be for each other. All the things you and others already mentioned in "why do you ship them" answers, but also they do complement each other so well. Even in Hopes you can see Dimitri really needs someone to help him relax and take things a little more easy - Claude could help here. And Claude really needs someone who he can trust unconditionally to work on his issues there, and who better than someone as honest and good-hearted as Dimitri? ♡

[3] adding to my prior post: I also noticed that there are a fair number of fics that include both Dimiclaude and Sylvix, which is nice for me since I ship both. Most of them are modern au and often one of them is more in the background, but I do think it works really well in the post-AM universe, too. Imagine the King of Faerghus/Fodlan and the King of Almyra, and the Duke and the Margrave (who are more or less the most powerful nobles in the kingdom after the King himself) ... if I ever heard

[4] of two power couples it would be them. Though ofc that means a lot of responsibility and some long distance longing as well, ah poor Dimitri and Claude. Imagine, when Sylvain got send off to deal with Sreng/work to negotiate with them, at least Dimitri and Felix can exhaust themselves in practice, like the training maniacs they are (win-win!) while they "secretly" pine for their loved ones (secretly = obviously Dimi a little down, Felix more grumpy). Ok I'm getting a bit off-topic, sorry lol

Tbh I don’t really remember exactly what made me love them or when I realized it. I know it started in 2019 so it wasn’t too far into the game’s existence, but I don’t recall if it was fanart, Tumblr posts, their chemistry or a combination of those things. I do know it was BL/AM where I first really gave it thought. Originally my main ship was Dimitri and Byleth, but somewhere along the way it just kinda shifted to DimiClaude.

Generally I very casually ship things, like I can say I ship Hilda and Marianne or Ashe and Dedue, but I don’t really actively seek out content for it nor write it myself. It’s rare for them to be really dedicated to a ship and I have a few other OTPs from other fandoms that I love a whole lot, but I have comparatively way more casual ships, so DimiClaude being so interesting to me was surprising.

Aside from their canon interactions, for me it’s also the amount of possibility they have together and how many fic ideas, AUs or canon, could fit with them perfectly. They fit into a whole lot of ideas and concepts that always help explore different aspects of both of them. Having that is fun because it also helps me really see the kind of relationship they could have. They have an insane amount of potential and I love that.

Personally I do think Dimitri’s openness and honesty is perfect for Claude. I think if anyone else just said overly nice sounding things to him he wouldn’t immediately believe it, but considering how earnest and easily excited Dimitri can be, it’s hard to believe Claude would look at him and be like nah he’s lying. After Claude had such a terrible childhood, I think Dimitri would be perfect for making him feel better about himself and really giving him even more motivation to achieve his dreams. Being with Dimitri would also definitely help with his dreams since they want the same thing.

When I write them in fics I like to explore a sillier side of Dimitri that he starts to ease into because of Claude. It’s obvious throughout the game that he really does try to be relaxed and not so formal, but it’s just difficult for him. Claude is basically like... the kind of person who can be joking around one second and then get to work and do what he needs to do the next second. I feel like it’d be easy for him to slip into a relaxed, casual attitude to make sure Dimitri doesn’t tend to feel too uptight or serious around him. I like to think that eventually, being with Claude would help him open up to being a bit more silly and joking more. The way they banter in the game makes me think they could easily bounce off each other in a silly situation and have a really lighthearted moment.

Typically I am one of those DimiClaude/Sylvix people lol. For me it’s mainly because Sylvain and Felix are so close to Dimitri that they’re going to be the people who see Dimitri pretty regularly even post war. Also, I think Sylvain would notice Dimitri’s feelings pretty fast, and Sylvain is pretty loving and protective over his childhood friends. I think he’d want to stay close at first just to make sure Dimitri is alright, kind of also with the whole “if you hurt his feelings I will slay you” kind of thing with Claude. Protective older brother kind of deal.

Another character I love incorporating into DimiClaude is Dedue, because I think he’d be both so happy to see Dimitri happy and so happy and grateful that it’s someone with the exact same ideals as Dimitri that Dimitri is with. Both of them want the same things and have been planning for a long time to work on the same things. I think he would get along well with Claude and be really grateful to him for helping Dimitri.

I have headcanon about DimiClaude to keep them from having a long distance relationship because I’m a nut and I can’t handle them being apart lol. I like to write them as always being together like a normal couple, but they go back and forth between Fodlan and Almyra. Basically they’ll stay in Fodlan for half a month or a month or something at a time, then they’ll go to Almyra together. I headcanon that while they’re away from Fodlan, Sylvain, Lorenz and Ferdinand are the Help Desk instead of Dimitri. Generally I headcanon post AM that Lorenz takes care of the former Leicester territories and Ferdinand takes care of the Adrestian territories, so Sylvain would take care of Faerghus while Dimitri is away. And, of course, people know better than to try to start something while the kings are away, because Felix is grumpy and impatient and will just slice. When the boys are away from Almyra, he’d probably leave his dad and mom in charge like before he was king, or maybe have Nader be his temporary replacement while he’s away.

That way they’re always together and grow together as a couple, which would also help them get very used to each other and being around someone else in their daily life. Dimitri mentions in Houses that he didn’t have friends in the palace after the Tragedy besides Dedue because they all died, and of course we know his only other friends were long distance. I think it would make Dimitri really happy to wake up to someone every day and not have to worry that Claude will have to leave soon and be apart from him for long periods. I think Claude would also be really glad to have someone he knows loves him by his side regularly, because he’s already spent his whole life alone. Both of them were pretty lonely people. I like to think they can help each other not be lonely because they know no matter what, someone will always be there now.

Plus, I think if they show up together a lot, whether it’s a formal event or even just walking around a town together, people would get used to seeing them together and it could open up a lot of chances for their nations to get along better. I feel like Almyra would take to Dimitri faster than Fodlan would take to Claude once they know he’s Almyran, but I also think since their leadership would be so good to the people that they would start to accept Claude (and the marriage) a lot faster than they otherwise would.

One of my favorite ideas I still need to write at some point is Dimitri going with Claude to a poor area in town and visiting the kids... I have a n o t h e r and it’s that Dimitri learns to sew from Mercedes like in their supports but he handmakes things for the kids, and he often visits orphanages to bring the kids gifts. It always makes the kiddos super excited when they hear he’s gonna stop by, and when they get gifts from him they like to tell everyone they got presents from the king. Of course, you know Claude’s good little heart is melting whenever he sees this, and after going with Dimi a few times he starts to also learn some things so he can make some Almyran gifts for the kids. Sometimes they also bring ingredients so the kids can have a huge meal that day, and usually enough for leftovers for another day. They’re kings, they can afford more stuff than they’ll know what to do with in their life!

And yes, bodyguard Yuri will usually be shadowing them... even though Claude insists they’ll be fine because he’s used to being targeted. Yuri is a worrywart though despite his denial about that and will often be making sure they are safe. 

[wildissylupus]

As I write a fic that includes backstory with Cassidy and Ashe that is very different from canon (it's an au), I'm realizing that Ashe is *so underutilized* as a character and a character dynamic in the fandom.

Maybe it's just cause a lot of what I've seen/read was made before she was introduced as a character, but there's so many interesting ways that people can take the relationship between her and Cass that I feel like is just very rarely if ever explored. Also she's just so cool as a character, so that alone should warrant her appearing more in fanworks!

I am very intrigued by the little you have given me on this fic, please send it to me when you've finished writing.

And 100% agree, even back when I didn't ship Cashe it was hard to find good fics to read that actually explore Ashe in an interesting way. And when Ashe is explored I see her often be mis-characterised.

I would love to see more fics that go in depth on Cassidy and Ashe's dynamic, shipping or not because either way their dynamic is interesting to look at.

Honestly I want to make a whole analysis on Ashe and Cassidy's dynamic but one of my friends is borrowing my Deadlock Rebels book and I can't really do an analysis without that.

[shipcestuous]

Oh lol, that ask about hypocritical Daemyra shippers hit so hard, I couldn't help but cringe/laugh in sympathy. I'm so sorry if that happened in a fanspace you frequent, anon!! But it really reminded me of one of the reasons I don't interact much with HOTD fandom besides besides reblogging art and memes and discussing the show with a friend.

See, I like a lot of different ship in HOTD, and you'd be hard-pressed to find any I actually dislike even if I am indifferent to some. So it's especially weird to me when shipwars between Aemond/Alys and Aemond/Helaena fans turn from "Our ships is canon in the books!" "Well, our ship might still be canon in the show!" to declaring that Aemond/Alys would necessarily HAVE to be depicted as abusive on one side and bashing the brosis shippers as degenerate freaks for daring to ship incest in a show where the main canon ship is uncle/nice on the other. And then I've also seen at least a couple of Aemond/Alys fans take that even further by preemptively worrying that the greedy, nasty incest shippers will take their ship and make it all about Oedipal onesided Aemond/Alicent undertones... which, as much as I love both ships between troubled younger men and witchy older women AND momson ships, and as much as I am that rare breed of shipper who enjoys multiple interesting ships being connected together by one of the characters involved having a type or unrequieted feelings or other stuff like that, I could actually sympathize with because having fanworks and discussions for your ships overtaken by another ship you don't even like does suck. But again, why the weird focus on the incest angle in the show where THE MAIN CANON SHIP is uncle/niece?! XD

And that's not even mentioning the hate I've seen other people spew about, again, Aemond/Alicent AND Aegon/Alicent. "Something something why take genuinely fascinating parent/child relationships and "warp" them into incest," as I'm sure you can imagine. ... it actually reminds me of people crying out in outrage over slash ships, or even some friends-to-lovers het ships with dynamics that go beyond typical Hollywood ideas of romance. The assumption that adding a romantic or sexual element, even just in fanon rather than canon, will necessarily "ruin" a well-written, interesting relationship - rather than allow fans to explore it in new contexts and settings, appreciating its complexity and nuances while looking at them in a different light and through different means.

And then there's all the Modern AU Daemyra fics where they're not related... which may of course be entirely motivated by a simple wish to explore the dynamic between Daemon and Rhaenyra without the burden of legacy and the mess of family drama weighing on them, just enjoying their passion without additional complications. But it does make me chuckle in a vaguely exasperated way giving everything else...

Sorry for the rant. I'm not really mad about it, as I'm used to doing my things in my own little corner of fandom, but sometimes it does make me want to ask those people "you DO realize we are all watching the same Dragon Family Incest Show, RIGHT?!" XD

[x]

I hate to see fandom bringing out the worst in people when, in theory, it's not impossible for us all to just be having fun and enjoying our show. In theory, in a perfect world, we could all just ship and let ship.

What I really wish some people on tumblr would learn is just how to keep their mouth shut. Some thoughts you can just keep to yourself. Maybe the world would be a better place if you didn't say the thing. A lot of the hate I see just snowballs. One Aemond/Alys shipper says something negative about Helaemond, a Helaemond shipper remarks on it - this is just an example - then that remark gets traction, leading to someone saying something negative about Aemon and Alys, and now all of the sudden both ships are under attack and there's a ship war. If Person A had just not made that post, if Person B had just ignored what Person A had said, it might not have gotten ugly on such a big scale. Never underestimate the power of just ignoring.

And of course when you've got incest ships in the mix, the other side is going to come out in full force to condemn it. That might work in other fandoms, but this is ASOIAF, and this is the incest show. The incest shippers are not crazy.

The assumption that adding a romantic or sexual element, even just in fanon rather than canon, will necessarily "ruin" a well-written, interesting relationship - rather than allow fans to explore it in new contexts and settings, appreciating its complexity and nuances while looking at them in a different light and through different means.

THIS.

Like shipping something romantically is some eraser that comes along and erases everything that's unique and interesting about a relationship. Um, no.

It creates new layers!

Modern unrelated AU:

[tzeetzeethirteen]

Hopefully this doesn't sound excessive. I rarely gush, but I thought that if there are a few moments every now and then when I can affording gushing about the stuff I like that I happen to find on the web, then this is one of them.

Some longer thoughts below the break, but all things considered I can say that I fucking loved this fancomic and everything revolving around it, and it was the absolute highlight of my day every time I could find the time to sit down and read the newer chapter, for all chapters and consistently from all the three years of its run. If you ever read this, thank you stargaazer (and co-author), thank you very much for sharing your work - you made this random guy on the internet happy.

Abby is absolutely my favourite Hilda fanwork, which maybe isn't even much to say since I've unfortunately haven't had the chance to read a lot of fanworks for the shows I love in the past few years. It is also, however, one of my favourite fanworks period, across all fandoms, and this thought only got stronger after every new chapter.

I don't want to write a novel here, so to start things off going point by point, this comic did essentially everything I like in fanworks all in one go. Compelling and fun characters? Done. Character development throughout it all, often exploring diffent sides of said characters? Done. Having some fun with the worldbuilding, creating all new stuff or making interesting changes upon the foundation provided by the canon? Done.

Most of all, I absolutely love how the story took the shape of an epic of sorts to an extent, narrating various chapters in Abby and Lir's lives (and the lives who those with whom they crossed paths) while still sticking to them and their relationships, in both highs and lows. Shucks, I don't generally even read romance stories, I just tend to enjoy them but never look for them myself, but by chapter 3 I was already engrossed in these two and upon seeing that scene in the final chapter (before the epilogue) I was basically clapping at my desktop.

So yes: Abby and Lir's story is the spotlight and well-deservedly so, and all of that while at the same time there were a moltitude of interesting characters to learn about, ranging from the bestests of friends (and family) to the most conflicting (or even malevolent) of figures.

Overall: this comic was a blast and it was NEVER boring for even a single moment. I teared up, I got emotional, I laughed, I was on the edge of my seat multiple times, and this evening after seeing the final page, I am just smiling being content that I lived for long enough to discover this thing and enjoy it from start to finish.

Oh well... maybe I am a bit exaggerating with the reaction lol - but the underlying message, about the comic being great, still stands and that's the important part.

So yeah, thanks for the authors, to stargazer and her co-author (sorry, I couldn't find your internet nickname if you have one) for writing this story. I'll likely check out the novel version again in the future to revisit this tale in antoher form, for sure, and keep an eye for any future work from you. Thank you again, very very much!

And for everyone else: please give this comic a chance if you haven't already done so if you have watched Hilda. It is absolutely worth your time.

This is it!

After 3 years of nonstop work on it, my Hilda comic Abby has reached its end! The final chapter and the epilogue are now live on Webtoon!

Check it out here:

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On another note, I sincerely thank all of you who took the time to read my silly comic about a goofy minor character from the show. Writing this story helped me through some hard times in the past few years- which only strengthened my love for the character.

Abigail the goofy ghost pirate came to symbolize comfort for me and writing her story provided a cozy escape. Even now that her story is over, she'll always have a special place in my heart. So...

Thank you, for letting me tell her story. If you enjoyed the ride, I hope you'll stick around for my future projects, both original and fanmade as I have lots planned for the future 💙