I really love mermaids and it's really refreshing that your story isn't "the little mermaid" retelling that's overdone to death, idk It's just haven't seen any stories that involve around mermaids that isn't gonna reference the little mermaid somehow
Thank you! The funny thing is when I first created Osip, I wanted to do the same trope but “reversed”. Basically he was supposed to be a merman that loathes living on land and wants to return to sea, but couldn’t due to certain circumstances. Now in the current story, he loathes living on land, but his fear of returning to water from the chances of seeing his dad again overpowers that. Doesn’t make it any less hurtful tho 😶 He misses his old life dearly despite the trauma surrounding it. He misses living a lavish life, the culture underwater, and even if he doesn’t want to admit it, his family
despite all of the queer headcanons detective conan is a very straight franchise and it's fanbase lol, but that won't stop us from interpreting these characters as queer
sometimes the gayest shit is born from the minds of the straightest people, just look at naruto and sasuke
It's frankly incredible what Gosho will write while thinking, "Yeah, this is what straight people do". Like that bit when Ran was trying to make Kazuha feel better about Heiji always running off by telling her she loved her in a Kansai accent. Straight people definitely do this right. Or when he makes Kaito crossdress for the nth time. that's normal cis man behavior we all know this. I think the truly maddening thing about Detective Conan is that you KNOW the author intended none of this but nonetheless the subtext still exists. heishin fans will be looking at Heiji's single-minded obsession with Kudo like
but you know it's never going to get addressed. because that's What Bros Just Do, You Know?
I don't know if you are still detco but shinichi lowkey one of the interesting characters to explore (even if the material isn't willing to do that)
the concept of a person having a split identity and how those identities react to each other and those around them can explore so many concepts and storytelling
I need more shinichi dealing with conan and the existential dread of his life slowly disappearing before his life because of a false identity he cannot control fanfics
I want him to put in a lab and study him
I'm just taking a break, I reached the end of my patience with Detco late last year and have been finding respite in other media in the meantime. It's been a long time coming, those who have been following my liveblogging journey might remember that I started unraveling as far back as the 400s... you know, 800 episodes ago (as of this post).
Long-ish, salty diatribe below:
So I don't hate Detco or regret falling back in love with it or anything, because I obviously have plenty of fun when I get super into it… but I've been thoroughly burnt out in spite of my efforts to pace my enjoyment of the franchise. Someone close to me described the tail-end of my relationship with it as "being held hostage" and... lmfao yeaaahhh, maybe I was foolishly holding out hope that this thing would finally start wrapping up after my (checks) literal actual twenty-year interim between phases and additional three years spent catching up. Alas, virtually nothing has changed.
If I had to pick a single phrase to describe the entirety of DCMK, it's "missed potential." It doesn't surprise me that the fanbase is still kicking after all this time (I myself have relapsed at least once, and will no doubt come back to it again… it's just a question of when... maybe another twenty years, who knows??), because while the franchise is mediocre at best that also means there's tons of blanks to fill for anyone wanting more than what we get from the official material. And the sheer volume of fanwork out there speaks to that.
You're right, though: the implied Shinichi/Conan identity crisis is easily one of the most interesting things about Detco, but beyond the logistical struggle of juggling them in-universe Gosho doesn't seem to be very interested in exploring that angle of the narrative. These days it seems we're only reminded that this was once a Real Problem for him for comedic purposes, my guy doesn't even really try to hide, anymore. Which is a shame, because there's plenty of untapped potential there, as you point out... Has Shinichi become too comfortable being two people? Does it even register to him as such anymore, or have both his identities simply become tools of convenience? If so, what are the ramifications of that, both with regards to how he sees other people and himself? Is he even either identity anymore, or just a faceless puppet master controlling both? Does he continue out of begrudging acceptance of his circumstances or does he still fully believe that this charade is for everyone else's """protection?"""
Whatever your chosen interpretation, that's all to say nothing of how the disparity between identities has only diminished over time with the expanding cast—including characters of great resource, no less—as the stakes keep trying to ramp up at the cost of the appreciable gravity of anything. We're still being told consequences are life-or-death, but they feel very, very absent. Shinichi, along with everyone else, feels rather flanderized in modern Detco and any suggestion of animosity he may have once felt towards existing as Conan has been tossed completely by the wayside. Put this boy back in the meatgrinder immediately, goddammit, I also badly need him to remember that he's supposed to be struggling with this, actually. And it seems like such an easy way to give weight to everything again without threatening to blow up Tokyo and a dozen other prefectures for the umpteenth time
Gosho has effectively written his story into walking the plank, complete with sharks circling below and vultures above, and it's no wonder people speculate about how he's going to handle the resolution and inevitable antidote ending. But in my cynicism I highly doubt whatever's in the works is going to satisfy any cravings we may have for actual conflict as a result of... well, anything, really, let alone these identity shenanigans, internal or external. Shinran, Detco's primary, canonical romance, is built on pretty shaky ground, so God only knows what the baseline looks like for everything else.
sorry for rambling LOL i'm just 🤏 a liiittle frustrated with the state of this franchise atm
In my experience though, explorations of identity make up a pretty substantial amount of Detco fanwork, I'm sure there's plenty out there to enjoy and I don't doubt they're going to stop coming! If M27 couldn't stop Kaishin no amount of shoddy writing is going to stop the fans from exploring all the cobwebbed corners and unexplored halls this franchise has to offer.
Given my current attitude towards Detco, unfortunately, it's only fair I just say outright that my own explorations of this—the Evil Conan AU—is on hiatus. I do still keep up with the VIZ translations and new episode releases (something something sunk cost fallacy), but more often than not my takeaway amounts to zilch, and on the rare occasion I do come away with something, it's basically crumbs. I like to think I can go a long way on morsels with the right inspiration and perspective, so to that end I'm floored that this franchise hasn't really given me anything to work with for a long fuckin' time. Please, we're starving over here.
I will forever stand the idea that both sonic, shadow and silver being both related and actually both created in the ark cuz it fits perfectly
cuz them actually can use the chaos emeralds and sonic and shadow having almost similar superpowers
I really like to think that sonic was the first attempt to create the ultimate lifeform and silver was the third one (possibly by nega). it's a cool theory and I really, really enjoy it. related in any other way, I wouldn't like that tbh. (like, shadow being the dad of silver or smn, no, I don't like that)
but also, while they do have similar powers (I guess you mean speed and super forms) I also like to think sonic is just some guy. the fact that he doesn't need a complicated backstory for him to have these insane powers makes him all the more intriguing as a character.
like imagine you're just a random ass dude who can win against the ultimate lifeform and can use some gems to go into magical girl mode, anime style transformation, just randomly. no explanation.
Wait so since sonic, shadow and silver are brothers, so that's mean tails has three hedgehog brothers now???
Haha, sure does!
He's still emotionally closest to Sonic, of course. In Project Blur, Sonic adopted him as a brother during Sonic 2, by which I mean he saw a sad kid on the grounds of an orphanage and decided he was going on an adventure, and Sonic being Sonic, that was that, paperwork be damned.
Let me see... in Project Blur, Tails is already friendly with Shadow, who retains his Adventure 2 personality and is pretty mellow when there's no danger. Tails reminds him of the ARK scientists, and he can keep up with Tails' technobabble, at least when it comes to space technology.
Silver is again full of spoilers. Another member of his family gets stuck in the past with him post-Generations, and this person actually works at Tails' company, Prower Products. Silver's big on community and family and happily accepts Tails into his, along with Sonic.
Spongebob's overhated, not talking about the show, I'm talking about the character. idk man, whenever someone talking about him, they first thing that people comes to mind is in modern one, (the flanderized one), but bro, he's more than just that and relatable as Squidward is, and I kinda blame the mordern season for it
Sorry about the late reply!!
Tbh I never seen much hate for Spongebob as a character. I mean when people talk of spongebob now, they'd usually regard Squidward and Sandy more as their favorites since ya kno, they're really likable, who wouldn't adore them? But spongebob is still well liked.
Unless this is specific to those who don't like the modern seasons. Idk much about that since I don't keep up with that stuff. But I do agree that Spongebob is relatable! Very much so. He has a hard time preforming on his drivers test because of all the pressure on him. He has a hard time saying no to people and sometimes others take advantage of that. He still remains positive through it but there are times when enough is enough, even for him.
He's really likable and remains my favorite even despite the nonsense and trouble he puts others *cough*squidward*cough* through. He's endearing and silly and just wants to have a good time and make everyone smile. The world definitely makes you feel miserable at times but I really enjoy watching him just enjoy little things and make the most of his circumstances. Actually now when I think about it, that song Living in the Sunlight that played in the very first episode suits his personality too well. Pretty much sums up what to expect from this show and what it's all about. It still leaves a positive and warm impression everytime you hear it or rewatch the pilot.
Now as for the modern spongebob. I don't think he's bad either. I still really like him. Though I consider him as his own thing. Each era feels like his personality change and I've grown to accept it. He's just a different genre of spongebob if that makes sense. Anyways usually when people talk about modern spongebob, they usually mean seasons 4-8 because when this discussion about flanderized spongebob and modern spongebob all started with people talking about that era specifically and I used to watch people's videos talking about that a lot and ehh I don't really agree with much of it anymore.
That middle era spongebob did cause a few problems and really degraded his character over time. That's generally what comes to people's minds when they talk about modern spongebob bad and generally unlikable version of sponge. Him stalking people and doing weird shit wasn't funny at all. Squidward was more humanized and seen as some dude who wanted some peace and quiet. The star of the show is constantly making him miserable and ruining his life. It's hard to enjoy. Its not like the current modern era isn't like that too.
The middle seasons annoy me a bit more but even when this happens in the modern seasons, they are really what I hate the most. It's biggest flaw of the modern seasons for me.
I feel like they're fixing it now but gosh idk who thought that was funny. The appeal of spongebob is that you saw it from a child's point of view often. You saw spongebob as just a sweet kid who wanted to play and Squidward as the grouchy adult/older sibling who doesn't notice you or pay attention but you still really want to spend time with them because you think they're a good person deep down. And you know squidward cares back too. There might be times where spongebob messes up but there are still consequences for him and generally there's a balance. You never feel like he's ever being malicious to squidward and nothing super bad happens where it feels like the universe is punishing squidward for being alive.
This was mostly season 1 and 2. Season 3 had a push for Spongebob being more of an adult. He behaved more adultish and the scenarios they were in are a little more mature. Hence why season 3 is often the most remembered season for its adult humor. But the scenarios are simplified enough for a kid to understand the general plot and adults can understand all the true implications and circumstances. There was a balance. Same as having a more adultish spongebob, his relationship with squidward balanced out too. They were closer to equals at this point and Squidward was more annoyed with him being an optimist in their bleak working environment. They were a ying and yang and you could identify with both. They both complimented each other and clashed. It worked.
Past that. They've never found such a good dynamic like that again in post movie episodes. Its been a bit wobbly. Squidward is the most easy character to identify with. While they made him more relatable. Tired, stuffy adult who just wants peace and is wasting his life working at a minimum wage job. They also wanted to keep elements of the classic era without understanding why they were funny and worked so well. Such as squidward's karma. He gets punished for just existing. Its not funny. Squidward often did get the short end of the stick bur usually you'd understand why. He became more of a depressed individual getting punished for being alive. It's not funny.
At the same time spongebob's personality regressed into being too naive to function at times and too babyish than childish. Often times I don't feel like the writers know what to do with him besides bugging squidward. But there used to be a reason why he bugged Squidward. He genuinely liked him. He looked up to him. He really believed deep down there's a part of squidward that cares and just needs a little push. It's stated in the art book. And a lot of things and rules from the art book feel so lost in the show over the years.
You can tell the writers thought of him as how adults think of small children. Loud and noisy, and only want to bug you. They sympathized with squid more but had to keep with the general formula of the show. But forget what made this show so fun was how spongebob was written from a child's point of view. Often times as a kid, you would feel ignored and over looked. Adults talk down to you. You have no free will. Spongebob essentially was a kid but without the restraints and rules a child had to live by. It was freeing and it was nice seeing someone who thinks and feels like you is on screen.
It really feels like they missed the mark with how they interpret spongebob when writing him. They degraded him into a stalker who's obsessed with squidward and torments him. He's often too naive and dumb to function or even interact with other characters. The interesting relationships he used to have feel wiped away. It's hard to enjoy it.
I mean a good example is the reason why he failed his drivings test (though this flanderization already started in the classics era anyways) he fails because he gets nervous and often needs some kind of distraction while driving to keep him calm. He does well on the exams but when it comes to demonstrating what he knows is where he messes up. Its become at this point that he's just an insane person behind the wheel and just magically screws up for no reason. His insanity causes harm to the people around him and we get some of the worst episodes Demolition Doofus. We can't even argue that Mrs. Puff is wrong for the anger she feels since she's endlessly harmed by sponge to the point of basically becoming disabled. Its not funny. It just sours what was supposed to be the golden boy of the show.
Spongebob will never be how he used to be but I appreciate how as of recent there had been some repair to his character. He's really wildly different from the classics era but I appreciate every so often when they remember an aspect of his personality that's been long gone. Even in the middle seasons. There's better episodes that remember why Spongebob fails his driving test and episodes that remember that remember squidward isn't just a tormented sufferer and spongebob is a deranged stalker.
He's kind of his own thing now but I find the modern seasons one cute and more amusing. He's still very flawed but I can at least enjoy him ya kno? I'd like to hear your thoughts on him too!
Ok but this ia a very different ask but bugs and sonic headcannon?? How would they interact, yeah so ummmmm
Hey! Sorry for the delay, had to do research into Sonic for this one.
So, the simple answer is, friendly rivals.
Sonic has a bit of an ego, as does Bugs so when they met, no one was exactly sure how this would go down.
Sonic was fairly dismissive of this rabbit that seemed so sure of himself [cue Tails pointing out that Sonic could be quite cocky to] and, although he did speak to him and talk to him nicely, managed to come across as a bit 'stuck-up' despite that not being his intention.
Bugs - being Bugs - challenged Sonic to a race.
Sonic ran it fair and square [with the help of his shoes] and Bugs...well. Kind of fair. He DID run the race, he just used a few...toon tricks to help him. To be fair to him, he was allowing Sonic to use his shoes, why couldn't Bugs use a few tricks to?
Sonic - swallowing his pride - went up and congratulated Bugs for beating him, while lamenting that Shadow would never let him hear the end of this. [Shadow, along with Tails, Amy, Cream and Rouge, had been invited to watch this and indeed was loudly telling everyone that he'd 'never let Sonic hear the end of this!']
Bugs felt guilty at this and explained he'd used a 'plot-hole' device to miss out a small [tricky] section of the race.
Sonic had a moment of ;what do I do with this information?', then Shadow [of all people] said that, really, it was no different from Sonic's shoes or Shadows own genetic-enhancements.
From then on, Sonic and Bugs have had quite a friendly rivalry. They meet up for a race at least once every couple of months [schedules permitting] and have a catch-up. It's quite nice for them to each have a friend from a completely separate company.
comphet gay guy heiji makes so much sense cuz of the way he acts towards shinichi and his "feelings" towards his "crush" on kazuha
omg hello, thank you for finding me from tags from 3 years ago LMAOOOO
And yeah comphet gay guy heiji makes SO much sense. A lot of how he treats Kazuha seems to be guided not by how he actually feels about her, but rather seems to be shaped by the societal expectations he feels. And I'm sure there's quite a bit of pressure, what with being childhood friends whose parents work at the same place. I think they grew up with a lot of nudges that romance between the two was inevitable, and I think Heiji swallowed that idea hook, line, and sinker... only without falling in love with Kazuha.
Between the two of them, I think it's pretty clear that Kazuha's the one who's actually in love with Heiji... and that Heiji cares more for Shinichi than he does for Kazuha. Kazuha mentions how Heiji keeps bringing this "Kudo" up all the time around her, and yet when Heiji is around Shinichi... Kazuha never comes up. When Heiji isn't with Shinichi, he's always thinking about him, and when he IS with Shinichi, it feels as though his world were complete. It's like Heiji is always waiting to return to Kudo to really come alive.
Even when Kazuha and Heiji reminisce about their childhood memories, it feels like only Kazuha is enamored by their past. I get that Gosho's addicted to the male tsundere grind but it genuinely feels like Heiji only sees Kazuha as a friend during those initial meetings with her.
I don't really think Heiji and Kazuha have had any meaningful character development that piqued my interest. I never felt convinced that Heiji fell in love with her at any point in the series... so the recent efforts going into pairing him up with her feels clunky and not genuine at all.
Heiji is too obsessed with checking off boxes that it seems like he only cares about PERFORMING courtship, and never once does it seem to occur to him to think about what Kazuha might actually want. He doesn't even notice that he's trying to kiss Kaitou Kid... that was such a Heiji cringefail moment I died a little bit on the inside... I feel like Heiji used to be a brash, but ultimately competent and cool character, but I feel like this version of Heiji doesn't even exist anymore in modern detco. I understand Gosho wrapped this up the "trying too hard to perform the perfect confession" with Heiji confessing on the spot without any setup, and that's probably the only way to tie that kind of thread up, but to me it just felt anticlimactic rather than true and beautiful...
When M27 came out I thought it was a lovely movie. I will never stop talking about how awesome the soundtrack is. But to me it was such a Heizuha L... Kazuha clearly really wants to hang out with Heiji, but Heiji is so focused on taking her on the perfect date he isn't actually spending any time with her at all... as I was watching him fight Hijiri for her I actually felt deep in my heart that Hijiri should win and he would deserve that victory because he's actually paying attention to her and offering to do nice things to her.
That's really the worst way for Heiji's comphet to have gone in my opinion... where he doesn't actually feel romantic love for her, but simultaneously feels entitled to her affection because they're childhood friends. I felt really sad about Heizuha after that movie, even though I still rewatch it every once in a while... as much as I love Kazuran it was so clear to me that Kazuha just wanted to spend time with Heiji. Argh, in my perfect universe it would be Kazuha confessing because she obviously likes Heiji more. And maybe Heiji would feel happy... but also afraid at the prospect that he'd have to put Kazuha over Shinichi... I don't know...
I'm not really that into the Detective Conan fandom anymore even though I'd say I still have a lot of friends from there. Heishin will always be my dcmk ship of all time though... thank you for sending this ask
