#she better love Tugboat.... haha

[panicsprey]

    so update, I’m ( mostly ) moved! That took about. . . .  um . . . seven hours longer than I initially projected, and I still have just a couple final touch things to do at the old place tomorrow after I wake up, but after that I’m hoping to finalize setting up electronics, find my bed stuff, and put away stuff in kitchen cabinets, then veg here. So hopefully I’ll have a meme/ic tomorrow! <3

[incarnateirony]

A thought on actor-endorsed ships and shipwars resulting.

So I had a thought.

This is kinda wanky discussion points on ships, but a thing about actors that have made supporting statements or negative or whatever else since it’s forever thrown into question.

In the past, Jared semi-endorsed W*ncest. Like, he was never hard-up on it but he used it to make jokes and drop comments in ways his supporters didn’t really feel insulted - And, being not particularly a socially correct savant (no offense intended, but he’s just not), why wouldn’t he? It’s the one ship he has that hasn’t been murdered since Ruby. Given, it was mostly used to prank and torment coworkers, but I mean, once in a blue moon, he’s dropped a few lines. They’re not hard shippy, but - you get me, fam. Sure there’s Saileen but they only got a few episodes, she died, and so on. Unsurprisingly his W*ncesty commentary eased up since Ruby and marrying Gen but it still pops up like one remark every few years or something so I mean. Considering he hasn’t been ever given another long term option, is a fly-by-seat-of-pants comedian and it’s just kinda stuck around... none of us are really surprised, most of us just cringe.

Rachel Miner actively endorses M*gstiel. Pretty actively too. And if she isn’t considering the original Meg and consent issues - why wouldn’t she? It’s the one ship her character ever had that came as close to atoning for her history as she’d be allowed. Of course she’s going to connect to that, the unicorn and rainbow thinker that she is.

Nearly on the daily, Misha endorses Destiel. Why wouldn’t he? From his point of view, and he’s even admitted it, he sees and lives and acts it out; and it’s the one pairing of his that hasn’t ended up in him being murdered, and/or hasn’t been murdered, and it’s just there and huge and he’s supportive and sees it. Why wouldn’t he?

Then we get poor fucking Jensen Ackles. Jensen Ackles, who’s first big ship experience in fandom was W*ncest, which again, was mostly used to torment coworkers. Jensen Ackles, who’s quote about enjoying W*ncest because it was super weird has been truncated for convenience by those who ship it, despite their forums lighting on fire in upset and rage when he said it because they knew it was shade. Jensen Ackles, who was literally introduced to a ship that was, essentially, taken to be like a crackship and a joke among the crew from go. 

So, poor fucking Jensen Ackles, a texas-raised dude, gets flung into slash fiction with this perspective. Then comes Destiel - so - haha, isgay. Oh, wait, people are serious. And uh, I guess gay isn’t unmanly. Jensen Ackles, who tries to be an ally, had to trip and stumble through this discourse while occasionally getting flayed.

Jensen Ackles, who in 2016 said he didn’t want to hear or know about W*ncest in an interview with the NYT. Jensen Ackles, who is frequently employed as a tool by mad hatters everywhere like some weird trophy piece instead of the human being he is because a nonviable ship has been largely buried by one he’s gradually started accepting: Destiel.

And why wouldn’t he? He’s fully aware his character isn’t going to ride into the sunset with a lovely lady, his others have been slaughtered for years. His coworkers adore it. The bulk of the fandom adores it. 

What was once assumed just flagrant sexualization (as, for example, is necessary in an *ncest ship when not just accepting brotherhood) has risen as a series of romantic gestures in art and photo ops - from mixtapes to whatever else; to telling stories of his dinner dates with Misha and encouraging fanfiction; the Jensen Ackles of today is worlds apart from only a few years ago.

And antis hate it. They demand stickers be removed, while trying to instead force forward things that were knowing miswordings as their path to reminding of their ship while screaming down ship content elsewhere; try to bury the one while resurrecting their own - and why wouldn’t they? Somehow they see it as some wild competition to keep Jensen Ackles from seeing it.

From understanding it.

Thing is, I’m starting to believe we’re honestly past that threshold. The last year and a half has been extremely telling. It’s almost like -- hm, how to say -- like something changed shortly, if not immediately, after that public and fateful explosion. And no, not evol Destihellers bullying him into it. Why, if we were to take a page from J2hat books, we’d just yell that the PR team sat him down after that.

But pretending nobody knows what changed after that, the simple fact is: this is becoming a weird, vindictive battle from their end while on Destiel end it’s... literally just trying to enjoy their ship. You know, the one docked at TPTB and wondering if it ever gets a chance to set sail, but everybody there talks about the ship and frequently engages the ship on some level. That ship. Not the tugboat from ten years ago.

If you like that tugboat -- cool, I guess. But choosing a nonviable taboo ship and then expecting it to handle alongside a viable nontaboo cruiser or be taken to the same is foolhardy at best and ridiculous at worst. Your right to have your interest is equal. But not all things in actual product are equal. Products have different values for a reason, Jan, and it’s not because everything is equal. You want your taboo ship, that’s great. 

But trying to repress other ships because one is unwelcome in general society is ridiculous. And if you’re trying to paint queer as in the same taboo problem as incest, we have a bigger problem between us here than ship wars.

And this isn’t like the Detroit: Become Human fandom where people are mental gymnasticsing to make an android and a human not raised even remotely together as incest. Or more hilariously that the people who yelled for years that Cas isn’t family are suddenly trying to argue he’s family so that makes incest -- lmao no Jan. This is literal, blood, raised together, codependent incest if you’re shipping it. It’s never gonna see daylight on a show like SPN. It’s just not.

Whether or not you believe Destiel will or won’t see daylight on SPN doesn’t mean it’s nonviable. Unless, what... angelxhuman will never happ--oh wait. Queer will never--sit down. 

Trying to desperately prevent Jensen Ackles from seeing another ship just because he doesn’t want to see your ship is childish AF. Trying to forcefeed him that ship after he specifically said he didn’t want to see that ship is vindictive. Trying to claim he doesn’t want to see a different-ship-than-yours while pulling these antics, despite him ENCOURAGING that other ship modernly is outright gaslighting and manipulation of people who don’t know better.

The desperation has become particularly thick but in the end, it’s one weirdly wild agenda: Keep Jensen Ackles from enjoying Destiel.

Son, I think you may be a little late to run that interference. No need to protect this fragile flower. He’s too busy telling people to write oil rig fanfics and happy about his western romcom with Misha to care about that. 

I promise he won’t melt if he sees a Destiel Exists sticker after that.

Now, whether or not you choose to blatantly ignore his request to not expose him to W*ncest, that’s up to y’all. But pretending this is anywhere in a morally ambiguous ballpark is hilarity at best. But infuriating on his behalf at worst. Especially with their concern troll tone while blatantly ignoring his request for their own purpose.

Whether or not it “exists,” he encourages it. 

I can’t wait until the show is wrapping up and they decide to get a restraining order on the Fruit Loop gang.