#asexual shipping

[qifreythebitch]

[thirtheenprimes]

Just started watching Good Omens again and I remember why I loved it so much, and why I'll never forgive portions of the fandom.

Anyone else remember when the show first came out and the aro/ace community identified so hard with that angel and demon pair that an indentation can still be seen on the moon? How those two were recognized as so heavily ace-coded, supported by canon facts that Angel's and demons /don't/ have human sexualities and such (I don't remember the actual statements made but it basically confirmed it)?

And then because we latched onto these two characters who dared to be main characters in a beautiful relationship in mainstream media, there was a huge backlash and we were held practically at gunpoint by people telling us to shut up about it and then my dash was flooded with sexualized (oversexualized, explicit, literal sex acts, etc.) content about Aziraphale and Crowley. And, that was it? Goodbye pleasant asexual artwork and comics, hope you never wanted to see another depiction of those two in a QPR either, because either you stop subscribing to that tag or get nothing but another gay couple making out or naked on a bed.

I have no problem with people shipping how they like, but I do when a clearly ace couple is forced underground and replaced with the exact opposite.

But now I'm back and I'm seeing some awesome stuff again! Very happy, and I wonder if the ace community has managed to come back into the fandom or if we're still not allowed to talk publically about it.

[kotalefanzu]

after seeing some of the shipping wars in the mcu fandom, im starting to kinda realize aspec fans and allo fans have different ship mentalities and priorities. this may also be person by person variation as neither these groups are hive minded, i think the disconnect between my shipping experience my be due to my romantic orientation.

okay so for starters, i think one of the main differences is when i’m shipping, the characters themselves aren’t too much of a point of consideration at first when in the consideration stage, as in im not gauging how much i personally am attracted to a character or anything. ive noticed a lot of people mention how some ships come to be simply because two characters are attractive and shippers like two people they find attractive and putting together. same goes for two characters they might want to date for themselves but aren’t interested in (just) xreader fics. as an aroace, neither of these apply to me.

i ship based on dynamic potential and how i think said dynamic will affect either character. some allos might also ship like this, but i wouldn’t really know. i tend to ignore a lot fanon pushed dynamics because this character and this character would play off each other in an interesting way and i like the way that would work out even. i prefer seeing how in canon this dynamic would affect the plot and how certain events and such would shift.

another things is i dont think most aspec, primarily aromantics, immediately think to ship romantically. as an aro, i find less romance focused fics fun unless its the romance itself that is pushing the story along, like its about the reactions to a relationship or the characters get development because it. i only like it if it’s genuinely plot relevant. because of this, most of my ship dynamics can both be platonic or romantic because i dont actually care about the romance, just the dynamic. sometimes this leads to me completely ignoring the romantic side of a dynamic because in canon there is a platonic relationship i genuinely like and appreciate how it’s executed that i don’t think it would translate as well into romance.

basically, the more left a dynamic is in canon the more willing i am to read romantic interpretations. if there is already a solid platonic bond, i’m not reading romantic fics about it because the dynamic is already how i want it.

this also affects things i dont ship. i don’t care about ships that seem like they are meant to be because sometimes those dynamics rub me the wrong way or they are just boring.

i don’t really ship villains and heroes, aggressive rivalries, or things that just seem so tense that they seem like they would either kiss or kill each other. they just don’t seem to like each other and sexual tension means literally nothing to me. stuff with immediate love or predestined love means nothing to me. stuff with overly jealous or possessive stuff isn’t fun unless im looking for it to weird myself out or as antagonistic ship that eventually breaks up. break ups aren’t fun if they get back together. opposites attract only is fun when they are opposite but don’t hate each other or anything.

some ships are so predictably predictable that is boring and i don’t ship it because the dynamic totally could be better. especially if its a non-canon ship. ships like that also don’t really mess around with characters as often either which gets boring, not saying they never do. incredible fanfic writers exist in pretty much every fandom. romance isn’t something i relate to. so the only way to enjoy it is by giving me something interesting rather than just kinda samey. if i do read romance it’s probably an au that offers more flavor rather than romance in canon which is boring.

i don’t know how well i articulated myself, but i just kinda wanted to write something after reading some shipping posts. what are you thoughts?

[qifreythebitch]

What do you think abt Iwaoi

mixed feelings. do i like them? yes. do i like them the way most of their shipper-base does? no. do i find myself enjoying iwaoi fanfiction? rarely. do i eat up every fanart i see? YES. do i think they're soulmates? yes. do i gag when i try to think about them in a sexual relationship? also yes.

i just think my headcanons about both iwaizumi and oikawa are a lot different than most. the biggest part being i headcanon them both acespec and the fandom's interpretation of their relationship is a bit too hypersexual to my liking. (which is OKAY, you do you. it's just that i don't find myself enjoying iwaoi content very often and i'm too lazy to write my own)

this isn't to say i know them better than you, to tell you the truth i think i'm the one projecting here. but other that that all i like them just fine. there's some really nice fics out there. but i think i like reading them having their own character arcs more than i like reading their relationship. they're still very gay for each other though, i'll give you that