Yeah I'm stealing this for a moment just to talk about it.
This is going to piss off lot of people, but reasoning like this is the exact reason I discourage the Vanus and Mannimarco ship.
Nothing that happened between them was positive or cute.
Mannimarco emotionally abused Vanus to no end through gaslighting, manipulation, or, by the end, even threats.
The fact so many people just accept the headcanon they HAD to be a couple is really concerning. Listen, I get it, cute gay boys TM, BUT:
1.) Stop sexualizing gay men- by that I mean stop making a relationship about nothing but the kissy kissy aspects and not the emotional/supportive aspects.
2.) Please, raise your standards. Gay, straight, pan, poly, whatever your sexuality is, you deserve a loving, supportive partner who, even at their worst, admits to their flaws and apologizes with zero gaslighting. Why do I even need to state that??? That should be the default standards for everyone!
3.) "It's just a fictional ship, relax. It's all in fun and my comfort ship." ...Do I really need to point out the numerous times that statement has been used to cover up some of the most abusive or perverted ships in fandoms? Or canon ships in anime especially? And what do you find fun or comforting in romanticizing an abusive ship? My comfort characters are bad: Darth Maul, Frieza, Bular- I get loving a villain for being a villain, meming about them and all that jazz. I love Mannimarco for those reasons. But that's completely different than being silly about an emotionally or physically abusive relationship.
There was a time when roleplay blogs were buzzing on this platform, and among them were Ask Vanus and Ask Mannimarco blogs. These blogs eventually spun a new story where Vanus and Mannimarco got together. While I do not agree with the ship, I can respect that before they entered the relationship, Mannimarco completely gave up necromancy, apologized for what he had done, and legitimately changed. I was so worried they'd do the old narrative of that ship that really doesn't do the characters justice nor should it be supported on those terms. But they didn't, and damn it I loved seeing a reformed Mannimarco and Vanus interact!
I'm not here to scream at you or say you're a terrible person if you've been posting about this ship in the discussed light. It's a sad fact of the internet that abusive ships get passed around as "romantic" or "cute" because they often hide under the "enemies to lovers" tag. That tag is a very thin line to walk, and it takes a lot to pull that off correctly. I can honestly say I was raised seeing abusive ships as desirable due to the fanfiction community in every fandom I was apart of. If it's what one has been conditioned to accept, its hard to break the cycle.
So, let's just agree to start changing this? As fanfiction writers or fandom artists, to start portraying healthy relationships and common sense from all ships? Yeah, that stuff is always going to be out there, but so is what we add to the fandom as adults, and we should want better for younger fans in the fandom. They should expect and demand something better from their lives when they reach adulthood, not merely hope for it.
And that is my rant, one of many, about why I do not support the Vanus and Mannimarco traditional ship.
Civil debate Asks I'll accept, but not DMs. Anything nasty I won't be responding to. I survived through a wave of angry Almalexia fans, and that was merely over principle.
Over defending the characters of Vanus and Mannimarco? You aren't going to shake me.
And yes I'm aware the quote originally came from the Harry Potter fandom. I think we can all agree we should seriously learn from the mistakes in that fandom.
