#ship essay

[murdockchronicles]

people talking about matt and karen’s upcoming argument annoys me so much so here are more thoughts!!

(putting everything under just in case but i don’t really think it spoils anything)

a. it’s not gonna break them up bc it’s the most in character thing they could do

+ if you have seen the trailer or the set pics you know how (and more importantly where) this season ends for them so 2+2=4, they’re not breaking up.

anyway matt KNOWS karen is gonna crash out (as she should!!), dex took soooo much from her, tried to kill her etc, the same way karen knows why he would bring him in.

idk how much of it is gonna be a screaming match as much as letting them explain themselves, but karen specially mentions mercy in the ddba finale. she tells him she knows him, all of him etc

so it’s not surprising to her but OFC she’s gonna be mad. she’s allowed to feel frustrated!!

they’re both adults in a relationship living in a very difficult context, of course they’re gonna argue and yell at each other. and they’re allowed to make their pov heard.

karen when she talked about “cutting the head off the snake” and more next episode, with the “you let him (dex/fisk?) live and people die”, the same way matt is probably gonna defend his decision, mention foggy etc.

again, the main thing for both of them is trying to defeat fisk and keep each other alive. how they go about it, they WILL argue but as DAW said “it’s an accepted part of their relationship”

they’ll figure something out and move on. because that’s what they do!!

karen can (and should) be mad at matt and push him and challenge him over his decision about fisk/dex whilst still understanding WHY he does that. the same way matt understands why she would feel frustrated about their current situation and even consider killing or other possibilities (BECAUSE HE DID TOO!!)

ppl saying they don’t understand each other. wrong! they do!! they just disagree at this particular moment.

and that’s why it’s not a dealbreaker in their rship, because for both of them their relationship is more than fisk or dex.

[starrynight2306]

I posted a version of this on Reddit and cross posted to the main MK subreddit and got a few trolls that kind of took the wind out of my sails when it comes to the ship. I posted a version of this on AO3 and have a lot of this on separate posts here too, but I figured it’d be nice to have everything laid out in place. I guess you could think of it as a ship manifesto. Hope y’all like it and if something is factually incorrect or you have a rebuttal or something I missed that you think could be added please let me know!

Happy Pride Month! 🏳️‍🌈 🏳️‍⚧️. Here’s to hoping there’s more rep in MK in the future (preferably in the form of canon Johnshi😂

Is Mortal Kombat 1 Setting Up Johnny Cage & Kenshi as a Couple? A Deep Dive into Johnshi

In Mortal Kombat 1 (2023), the relationship between Johnny Cage and Kenshi Takahashi stands out as one of the most emotionally charged and narratively significant in the game. Their dynamic has sparked a lot of fan speculation, and many are wondering: could MK1 be laying the groundwork for a future romantic pairing?

I’m not here to declare it canon or say it has to happen — but I do want to explore how the writing, performances, visuals, and character choices suggest that their bond might be deeper than friendship. Whether you agree or disagree, I’m interested in hearing thoughtful perspectives.

⸻

1. ⁠Unique Chemistry and Banter

Johnny is loud and brash. Kenshi is quiet and stoic. But together, something shifts. Johnny teases Kenshi in ways that feel unusually affectionate — and Kenshi actually smiles, which is rare for him. Their banter feels playful, flirtatious, and emotionally intimate — more so than Johnny shares with most characters.

⸻

2. Kenshi’s Sacrifice and Johnny’s Care

In the story mode, Kenshi is blinded protecting Johnny from Mileena. Johnny tends to Kenshi’s wounds, applies a salve from Syzoth, and fashions a blindfold out of his own armor. It’s a deeply personal act of care — and Kenshi keeps wearing that blindfold afterward. Later, Johnny gives Kenshi Sento (his prized sword), which he had refused to part with the entire game. The exchange is quiet, intimate, and filled with unspoken emotion.

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3. Support from the Cast

Noah Fleder (Kenshi’s mocap actor) has referred to Johnshi as “canon” in interviews, and Andrew Bowen (Johnny’s voice actor) has leaned into the ship in cameos and interactions. Both have used the #Johnshi hashtag on social media — something actors rarely do unless they recognize the chemistry or the fan response.

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4. Bumbleby Parallels (RWBY’s Blake/Yang)

Johnny and Kenshi’s dynamic closely mirrors Blake and Yang (aka Bumbleby) — a canon queer couple in RWBY: • Brash extrovert + reserved swordsman • Both tied to morally gray factions (Yakuza / White Fang) • One suffers a disabling injury to protect the other • Awkward flirting becomes emotional intimacy • Slow-burn trust and eventual closeness

Given how many pop culture nods MK1 contains, these parallels may not be accidental.

⸻

5. “Sexyface 2”

When Johnny is the announcer, he refers to Kenshi as “Sexyface 2” — a nickname he doesn’t give any other male characters. It’s playful, specific, and suggestive.

⸻

6. “Best Friend” = Romantic Code

Johnny calls Kenshi his “best friend” in announcer intros. That sounds innocent — until you realize: • Tanya is “Mileena’s bestie” → canon couple • Sareena is “Bi-Han’s future bestie” → past romance • Johnny might be using “best friend” the same way: as coded affection.

⸻

7. Kenshi Keeps the Blindfold Johnny Made

Even when Kenshi wears alternate costumes, the original blindfold Johnny crafted is tied to his chest strap. He clearly keeps it as a sentimental item — a symbol of their bond.

⸻

8. Johnny’s Announcer Line: “Hot!”

When Liu Kang is selected and Johnny is the announcer, he simply says: “Hot!” It’s a nod to Liu Kang being the Fire God — but it’s also unmistakably flirty. Johnny has never made that kind of comment toward male characters in earlier games. Combined with other suggestive lines (like his playfully hostile banter with Rain), it adds to the growing interpretation that Johnny is being coded as bisexual in MK1.

Some of his alternate costumes also appear to draw fashion influence from queer icons like David Bowie, Elton John, and Rob Halford.

⸻

9. Fandom Momentum

Johnshi is one of the most active ships in MK1 fandom right now — especially on AO3 and Tumblr. We’ve seen before that NetherRealm responds to fan demand (e.g., Mileena’s return). The growing popularity of Johnny/Kenshi could influence future direction, even if it wasn’t planned from the start.

⸻

10. Domestic Pre-Fight Banter

Their pre-fight dialogue feels more like a long-term couple than rivals:

Johnny: “Well if it isn’t Special Agent Special Agent Takahashi with the FBI.” Kenshi: “That’s getting old, Cage.”

Kenshi: “I’m not betting Sento in this fight.” Johnny: [makes chicken noises]

This is teasing with familiarity — not aggression. It reads more like a married couple’s inside jokes

Other characters notice their closeness too. Ashrah directly asks Kenshi:

“Can I trust Johnny Cage?” — as if Kenshi is Johnny’s emotional anchor.

⸻

11. Sento as a Symbol of Transition

Johnny’s obsession with Sento costs him his marriage — but it also brings him to Kenshi. The sword becomes a turning point: the end of one relationship, and the beginning of a deeper one. Symbolically, it connects their fates.

⸻

12. Foreshadowing at the Wedding

At Kuai Liang and Harumi’s wedding, Johnny says:

“This reminds me of when Cris and I got hitched.” Kenshi: “In Hollywood? I’ll bet that was epic.”

It reads like casual banter — but also foreshadows the idea of Kenshi himself possibly getting caught up in a “Hollywood romance.” Maybe even with Johnny.

⸻

13. Johnny Invites Kenshi into His World

At the end of story mode, Johnny offers Kenshi a role in his next movie. Kenshi has no interest in acting — so why suggest it?

Because Johnny wants to keep him close. It’s also a classic flirt trope: “You should be in pictures!” Johnny might flirt boldly with others, but when it’s someone he genuinely cares about, he gets subtle.

⸻

Final Thoughts

Taken alone, each of these moments could be dismissed as coincidence or fan service. But when you look at them together, a pattern emerges. Their story is built on sacrifice, trust, emotional intimacy, and loyalty — all the ingredients of a romance.

Whether or not NetherRealm chooses to make it explicit, MK1 has absolutely laid the groundwork for Johnny/Kenshi as a romantic pairing. For fans who want to see richer LGBTQ+ storytelling in Mortal Kombat, Johnshi offers something emotionally compelling and narratively earned.

⸻

[kivaember]

Not sure if anyone's asked you this yet but PLEASE drop the walt/mich essay!!!

OKAY i went crazy and did an actual essay. im not joking this fucker is long. i'd open the read more in another tab, just to warn you.

ALSO ALSO! This was just me sitting down and rambling about things. It's a summarisation of my thoughts, and I pared it down since it was hitting 5k (it's about 4.4k words long lmao). If this essay has you thinking of specific questions and the like, feel free to ask and I'll try to answer them!

Now without further ado, my ramblings below:

THE WALTER/MICHIGAN SHIP ESSAY!

INTRO

That's right baby, I'm giving this an intro and everything. Alright, this essay is all about exploring and explaining my version of the Walter/Michigan ship using the characterisation I gave them for the APV verse. First I'm going to drill down into the individual characters, what makes them tick, their backstory, etc, before finally going into detail about how they mesh together as a ship and why they're both good yet terrible for each other.

THE WORLD LORE

To understand Michigan and Walter, we need to understand the type of world they were born into. Furlong Dynamics is a major powerhouse on the Jupiter colonies, owning several shipyards and carving a specific niche for themselves as the weapon-dealer for interstellar craft. They may not be as well-known or successful as Arquebus or Balam in the defence industry in terms of MTs or ACs, but if you're arming an interstellar craft, you sure as shit are going to use Furlong Dynamics weaponry.

Problem is in post-Fires age, that corner of the market is stagnating due to a lack of new interstellar craft being built. Prior to the discovery of Coral as an energy source, humanity had to do long-stasis and slow-walking their way across the galaxy, which meant trade and the like was incredibly limited between extrasolar colonies. With Coral, however, they were able to make tremendous technological shortcuts to create what they called the "C-Wave Drive". It functions a lot like the hypothetical Alcubierre Drive, with Coral producing the insane amounts of energy required and running the equally insane amounts of calculations needed to ensure the craft doesn't crush itself into a singularity (also, Coral has a very strange relationship with spacetime, the scientists found...). An added bonus as well was that these "C-Wave Drives" required no refuelling.

The interstellar craft needed crude fuel for sublight travel and other functionalities on the ship, but as for long-distance travel? There was no need to make pitstops or set aside cargo space for fuel, so many ships got used to just carrying a small amount that would allow them to travel as needed locally, as it would be easy to refuel when arriving at their destination as and when was needed.

Post-Fires changed this landscape drastically. Overnight, the interstellar craft market was rocked by the realisation that the previously thought limitless and abundant miracle substance that made FTL travel easy and convenient was now extremely finite had them all scrambling. The UEG openly seized every single galactic store of Coral from the corporations, citing "galactic security", and all orders for new interstellar craft - amongst other Coral technologies - instantly halted.

By Young Jupiter time (ten years post-Fires), Furlong Dynamics is beginning to feel the strain. They built their empire on focusing predominantly on interstellar craft - their designs, their weaponry, their engines - and their frantic R&D into solving the energy problem the Coral had shortcutted wasn't going very well. All that could be done was continue to maintain the existing ships that existed, as theoretically the C-Wave Drives could run indefinitely until some sort of mechanical failure happened due to wear and tear. As for new ships, the only ones being built were those utilising the old "slow-walker" engines, which meant bigger, bulkier, slower ships, with less room for ammunition fabrication and storage, and more for stasis compartment and fuel storage. Corporations that had specialised mostly in stasis technologies enjoyed an unexpected windfall, while those like Furlong Dynamic began to languish.

But as they say, shit rolls downhill. With the Corporations struggling to adjust to the Coral shortage and the UEG viciously hording the few galactic stores that remained, the working class found their workload increasing - heavily.

Factories that had benefited from the automation of Coral technologies found themselves in the position where they needed heavy reliance of human productive power. Yet they didn't want their productivity to lower thanks to human limitations, and neither did they want their profits to dent by either hiring too many workers, or paying the few higher wages to make up for the harder work. The few worker protections that had been steadily built up over the past few decades were immediately torn down and rescinded, and the working class were forced to work to maintain the corporations' and the UEG's productivity in their factories and fabrication facilities on basically starvation wages.

So, we have a world that has suffered from a fatal blow to the comfortable status quo. Furlong Dynamics is desperate to try and stem the bleed from their profits that the Coral shortage had started, and the boot has never been heavier on the working class's neck. It's an atmosphere that creates considerable tension within the various stratas of society, and the Jupiter colonies especially - known as the industrial powerhouse of the solar system - have become a bubbling pot. Any socialist talk or gatherings are viciously cracked down on by the corporate and government forces, and the workers are becoming increasingly frustrated and antagonised.

So it makes sense why Walter and Michigan initially have a bit of a rocky start, coming from these polar opposites of society. Michigan, the son of a Furlong Dynamic's director, and Walter, a Rubiconian refugee clawing his way out of the slums.

But alright, world context has been laid down, it's time for the character context. First up:

MICHIGAN - THE PRINCE WHO WANTS TO BE A PAUPER

So, Michigan. G1. Hell On Four Legs. Where did he come from, and who is he? To answer that, we need to look at his family... and Furlong Dynamics' leadership.

Every corporation is unique in its structure and the way it handles leadership. For example, Balam is well-known for its unusual meritocratic selection process for its CEO, though that hasn't exactly escaped the nepotism that pervades the upper echeleons of corporate society. Those with advantageous beginnings normally win the meritocratic race: they just have to work a little harder than most. Furlong Dynamics, however, are upfront about their leadership roles being hereditary.

Five families sit on the board for Furlong with one presiding as a CEO, a role that rotates every five years in a set pattern between the five families. This is a system that has worked for almost as long as Furlong Dynamics had existed (almost 300 years by this point), and needless to say that those five families were old money. They're the equivalent of an aristocracy in a hypercapitalistic galaxy.

One of these families is Rivera, which Michigan was born into as Gabriel Rivera. It was expected of him to succeed his father and sit on Furlong Dynamics' board as a director, so from a very young age he was prepped for this eventuality. His father dictated everything in his life, from his hobbies to what he wore and right down to what he ate. He was drilled in everything to do with business, politics and the interstellar industry, as his father was keen for Michigan to be ready and prepped for when he succeeded him, especially as Furlong Dynamics was entering a critical slump for the first time in its long history due to the Coral shortage. He didn't want his son to be the weak link.

Michigan despised this. He hated the people his father forced him to interact with, he hated the two-faced communication and backstabbing schemes he was encouraged to learn and inflict on others, he hated how boring yet stressful this kind of life was. Contrary to his personality later in life, Michigan was reclusive and anti-social when he was young - a direct result of his father's overbearing and relentless micromanaging - and when possible would hole himself up in his room and escape by watching classical films.

Classical films being... war films and action movies.

Though plenty of media had been lost when Earth suffered from ecological devastation, many had been salvaged throughout the centuries. It had begun from Michigan pilfering from his father's collection, something to put on display and boast about possessing rather than watching, and found himself hooked.

Brave soldiers heroically saving their comrades, taking charge of their destinies, denying fate, overcoming the odds, starting from the gutter and rising to the top from their own merits, making fire-forged friends that were genuine and not shallow transactional facades... this type of fantasy entranced Michigan, giving him a craving that he couldn't quite itch with his luxurious yet empty life. He desperately wished he had been born as some poor bastard whose only option was to join one of the corporate militaries, and distinguish himself by commiting acts of heroism, have people awed by him because of his own merits, and not because he is a Rivera and surrounded by brown-nosing sychophants.

It was a delusional dream driven by an intense desire to escape and forge a genuine connection with anyone, and after years of burying himself deeper and deeper in the propaganda belched out by these old action films (the message of 'war is hell' from the more solemn ones flying miles above his head), Michigan decided: he was going to disown himself and become an MT pilot.

Which he managed. To cut a long story short, Gabriel Rivera became just Michigan, the Rivera name used sparingly and only for legal reasons. He left behind the comfortable executive life to start at the very bottom of the pilot ranks, working his way up with grit and determination, denying any advantages or opportunities that came his way due to his blood or name. He wanted to emulate those heroes that he had watched in those films, he wanted to start with nothing and become something, all with his own efforts, and leave behind the Rivera name and reputation for good.

He started acting more like those gunslinger heroes, loud voice, boisterous personality, easy-going nature and possessing a masculine charm. He's always seeking that big, heroic event, that euphoric moment of victory and achieving the impossible against the odds... but he never really found it. Even after abandoning Furlong Dynamics entirely to jump ship to Balam, he realised that it was just more of the same, his battles against downtrodden workers protesting against their inhumane treatment, or furthering corporate interests over some useless moon in the middle of nowhere. There was no glory or higher purpose - just the company's bottom line.

Michigan started his piloting career as a rich kid craving adventure, naive to the true gritty nature of the galaxy. After decades of piloting under his belt and with an intimiate insight on both sides of the corporate ladder - both at the bottom and the top - to say Michigan was jaded by the time he landed on Rubicon would be an understatement.

He learned that there's no such thing as big damn heroes in this shitty galaxy. All the titles and medals he earned were just window dressings to whatever shitty advertisement his corporate master touted to bolster its reputation or sales. He hated his "Hero of Jupiter" title, and he took great pleasure in launching his "medals" off a cliff and into the ocean like they were frisbees. He hated that in the end his father had been right, that becoming a pilot wouldn't let him run away from the corporate lifestyle, it'd just throw him down to the very bottom and get him trampled

In short, Michigan's a man who tried to forge his own destiny by following a childish dream. His naivety resulted in him being trapped in a life that only had one escape - crawling back to his father and retaking the name Gabriel Rivera - and he viewed that worse than being a corporate attack dog with no real freedom. He'd rather die in some shitty hole in a random ditch somewhere over some pointless resource that meant nothing to him. Was it pride by that point, or stubbornness? He really didn't know.

He just knew that he was just another guy suckered in by the corporations' glitzy and false promises.

WALTER - THE AVENGER WHO KNOWS HE'S DIGGING A GRAVE FOR MILLIONS

Walter, meanwhile, was born to a privileged family of a different sort.

A good few decades before the Fires, Rubicon had done the unthinkable in human history: it had broken away from the UEG and declared independence, becoming a self-sustaining colony with a distinct identity - and able to negotiate with the fuming UEG on equal footing due to its sole access to Coral and its development of the C-weapons. The UEG couldn't take Rubicon or its resources by force (though it surely contemplated it from time to time), and so begrudgingly dealt with them as a peer, legitimising Rubicon as an independent colony and allowing it to forge its own desinty on the galactic stage.

While UEG and its many colonies functioned as a hypercapitalist ogligarchy, Rubicon became a technocracy, with the Rubicon Research Institute having considerable sway over the Rubiconian central government - to the point where it was understood that despite the elected 'president', it really was the Institute that was in charge. This gave rise to the 'intellectual elite', the scientists and academics who ran the Institute - the class that Walter belonged to before the Fires.

His parents were both scientists that worked on the Xylem and lived on-site. They were passionate about their work with the Coral and highly respected within their community, but while they clearly loved Walter, he was always second priority to their research and ambitions. Walter was the only child growing up in the labs (at least, the only one that wasn't a test subject of some kind), and only ever interacted with adults - all of whom were scientists or the security staff. He had never left the Xylem either, his concept of the 'outside world' being the small, sanitised courtyard with the lone tree, and the street he could see past the bars of the labratory's secure and gated exit. While he had some freedom of movement within the facility, there were areas he was barred from entering due to sensitive experiments, or to minimise his interaction with detained test subjects.

As a result, Walter became scarily self-sufficient from a young age, and came across as taciturn or emotionally stunted. He spoke like an adult but struggled to navigate social situations in general, unable to sugarcoat his words and coming across as rude or abrasive when speaking to others. While he found himself occasionally curious about interacting with people who weren't harried scientists that barely tolerated his prolonged presence, Walter genuinely found himself unbothered about his isolation. He was lonely, yes, but he occupied himself well enough, and filled the long stretches of time in furthering his education - determined to become a scientist like his parents and continuing on their work, as what was expected of him.

Then his father began the augmentations and everything went terribly wrong.

His mother volunteered to be Gen Zero, the prototype used to present to the Institute to have the augmentation project greenlighted. Initially, things went well. His mother suffered no significant drawbacks, and demonstrated an incredible boost in mental acuity and calculation power that current neural implants couldn't even begin to compare to. Once the Gen Ones were well underway, however, with a significant death rate at that, his mother began to rapidly degrade, physically and mentally. Walter's last memory of his mother was her unable to recognise him and talking to people who weren't there, knowing that it was the Coral's fault somehow.

His father was driven to perfect the augmentations to ensure his wife's sacrifice wasn't in vain. In Walter's words, he began a carnival of horrors within his labs, killing and mutiliating hundreds within his labs in his pursuit of the refining the augmentation process, with the Institute pumping unlimited resources, funding and test subjects into the project. The glimpse of the future Gen Zero showed them had them eager to achieve that perfection, no matter how many bodies they had to stack up.

It disgusted Walter. While he had never been emotionally close with his parents, he had still respected them, and to see his mother reduced to a crazed husk of herself before dying and his father turning into a monster, destroyed the pedastal he'd put them on. Walter found himself fostering a near irrational hatred for the Coral, rationalising that none of this would've happened if Coral had never been discovered - if it had never existed. He wished, vehemently, for it to disappear.

He got his wish with the Fires.

While the augmentations had made Walter view the Coral with a negative lens, seeing the damage it could do in the wrong hands, the Fires cinched it as a traumatic avatar of destruction in Walter's mind. The Coral was too dangerous to exist in their galaxy, not with how greedy humans could be, and blind to the dangers in pursuit of power. But his motivations weren't noble: he absolutely despised the legacy it represented, how he couldn't hear the word 'Coral' without thinking of his father, his mother, and how everything was robbed from him. It seeded in him an obsession, a hateful, vengeful obsession, because focusing on that, on gunning for a tangible entity that you've vowed to destroy, is far easier to stomach than processing the fact that your life was utterly ruined by selfish ambitions and a freak accident.

Overnight Walter went from part of the very prestigious intellectual elite on Rubicon, to a penniless refugee on one of Jupiter's colonies: Ganymede. It was a shock to the system to find himself in a world where food wasn't simply there whenever he desired it, that shelter wasn't a given, and that clinical cleanliness was a privilege, not a right. He fortunately had Carla with him, though, and while the first few years were rocky, they managed to find their footing by creating a scrapping service in the Ganymede slums, Carla using her previous experience in R&D at the Institute, and Walter his education, to repurpose old tech and mechs or salvage somewhat valuable tech to sell on.

From there, they began to plot, to focus their shared hatred and distrust of the Coral to really make sure it was gone for good, that it wouldn't come back. In the filthy slums beneath Ganymede, with a promise made between two emotionally exhausted yet furious Rubiconian refugees, Overseer was born.

But that's its own story.

Walter's endless conga line of misfortune did well to harden him and make him adaptable to unpleasant surprises. He always expects shit to go wrong at the most inconvenient times, he doesn't trust a single person to do the right thing even if he's known them for years (Carla, who all but raised him, he only trusts to a certain extent), and he realised how hypocritical most people could be. Though he was born as one of the intellectual elite, witnessing and experiencing first hand the oppression and indignity the working class suffered in UEG territories genuinely sickened him - and cemented in his mind that this galaxy couldn't be trusted with the Coral at all.

He had to destroy it for good. He had to make sure it could never come back and hurt anyone else. He had to erase every drop of legacy his shit-for-brains father had built and let history bury him forever. Walter, for all of his outwardly cold and emotionless masks, feels deeply and intently, and all of it is bitter rage.

Walter just doesn't know how to process his emotions well - he was never taught, and he missed those vital milestones with his lonely childhood, locked away in an ivory tower filled with nothing but scientists and test subjects. He feels so much over his father, the Fires, the Coral, but has no idea how to sort through it all. So he stuffs it away. He keeps his gaze fixed on the horizon where his mission to destroy the Coral hangs. He tells himself that once he destroys it for good, it'll all go away: these incomprehensible, heavy and painful emotions. The source of them all will be gone.

Imagine that: condeming millions to death because of crippling, unaddressed daddy issues.

THE SHIP ITSELF

Right, with all that context given, onto the part people really care about: so, why does the Walter/Michigan ship pair well? Or at least, why does APV Walter/Michigan pair well.

Michigan's POV:

From Michigan's side, he's fascinated with Walter. Everything about him just doesn't make sense. He's a 'sewer rat', a working class drone that managed to claw their way out of the muck and elevate his social standing through stubborn grit and determination - but his demeanour belies that. Walter demonstrates a level of education and sophistication that the working class just don't have. Michigan has grown up on Ganymede, and despite the high-ranking executives living in their gated communities and busying themselves with the day-to-day running of their businesses, they do keep an eye on what the working class are up to.

The corporations have perfected subjugation and propaganda to an artform. They can only achieve this if they know their target audience. Michigan knows, as any self-respecting Rivera knows, how the working class tick, their current worries and desires, the statistical trends of their few purchases and which style of propaganda they're most receptive to. Walter fits none of the established norms for Ganymede working class - he doesn't even have a recognisable Jupiter colony accent - so he already presents himself as an interesting puzzle for Michigan to break down.

There's also some genuine respect there too. Michigan acknowledges that Water had to work hard to get where he was, and he appreciates that Walter doesn't mince his words or beat around the bush. He's blunt, direct and isn't in the business of brown-nosing or fawning to ingratiate himself. You always knew where you stood with Walter, or so Michigan felt, and admittedly, Walter reminded him a lot of a certain character achetype in his precious films: the underdog, the guy you ended up rooting for just because he worked so fucking hard for what he wanted.

So, to Michigan, Walter's interesting, he's mysterious, and he's a representation of what Michigan wanted for himself. He wants to be like Walter: a poor as shit refugee making something of himself, with a whole future to distinguish himself and build his own reputation, to forge himself in fire! Michigan is mildly envious, but thinks as well that if he sticks close to him, he'll be able to live vicariously through him, to get a taste of dream he really wanted to achieve...

And because he's so fascinated with Walter, he starts to learn all of his tics and mannerisms too. He begins to understand the minute shifts of Walter's expressions, what he leaves unsaid and knowing when Walter is feeling but just doesn't know how to express or word himself. Michigan is the more emotionally intelligent of the two, and very perceptive despite how he acts. Combined with his easy-going nature and his respect for Walter's hardworking nature and competency, this helped him break through a few of Walter's walls - despite Walter doing his best to rebuild them as fast as possible.

Not to say they don't butt heads: they butt heads a lot. Arguing is their favourite pasttime. They challenge each other, and Michigan knows that he can say whatever and Walter can dish it out right back. Walter doesn't give a shit about any potential ties Michigan may have to the Rivera family - he just gives a shit about Michigan waking him up at 6am and asking him to go running with him. He snaps at him, argues with him, insults him... he treats him as Michigan, and this is what Michigan cares about the most.

Walter's POV:

Meanwhile, Walter's feelings towards Michigan are very complicated. He's irritated by what he sees as Michigan's nosiness towards his private affairs, and he doesn't appreciate him trying to figure him out. Mostly because he doesn't want him figuring out his true identity. Walter wanted to sever any and all ties between him and his father's legacy, and he and Carla took great pains to have no one realise that he was the famous Dr Kohler's son. And the disowned heir of the Rivera family? Definitely in the best position to connect the dots.

But Michigan's also the first person to ever just... treat him normally and roll with his verbal punches. People are usually scared away by Walter's cold attitude and sharp words, but Michigan gave as good as he got, and always shrugged off Walter's meaner comments. It left Walter at a bit of a loss, and after a while he slowly desensitised to Michigan's presence. He rationalised that it's just pointless wasting energy trying to chase off Michigan, but the fact was he... ended up liking his company. He had no idea socialising could be so enjoyable, once you learned to tolerate their more aggravating parts.

There's also a colder and more pragmatic side too: Michigan is useful to him, as a son of an executive, disgraced or not. Walter is aware enough to acknowledge that a small chunk of his tolerance is proportional to Michigan's use for him, but in his mind he sees it as an expected part of their relationship. It's transactional, what they share (or so he tells himself). He offers entertainment to Michigan, who in turns offers the same - and lets Walter take advantage of the few perks being "friends" with an executive's son offers.

He tells himself he can't get attached - he has his mission after all - but by this point Walter's good at ignoring his feelings and burying himself under six feet of concrete denial. He clings to the rationalisation that they're just "friends with benefits" for years, that from the beginning they were only making use of each other - there wasn't really anything there. Even to him that sounded hollow when he finally cut ties and left, to pursue his hopeless and doomed mission. He never really stopped thinking about Michigan, the what-ifs.

He hated it.

...

Also they both share a hatred of their respective fathers, so they Get That. They're part of the Dads Suck club.

CONCLUSION

So basically........ they're gay, your honour.

[leorai4life]

Analysing Leorai - differentiating rumours from reality (a 3 part analysis)

Introduction

To this day, Leorai (2012) remains a controversial ship as many view it as incestrious and therefore taboo. I understand why many would view it as much - especially if those in question haven't watched the 2012 show - and that without proper analysis the concept of "adoptive brother and sister in love" sounds pretty bad. However, I for one can say with certainty that Leorai is not a ship that is not as simple as revolving around two adopted siblings in love - as characters, be it platonically or romantically, Leo and Karai's relationship has many layers that cannot be dulled down to being one thing or the other.

Before I start this analysis, I just want to say if you're an anti Leorai shipper or just not a big fan of shipping in general, that's cool! I'm not trying to convince you to like this ship or anything - however I do hope that in reading this you can learn to respect those who do ship it.

Aspect Analysis 1 - Siblings? So, a common argument for why Leorai is "wrong" is that it's promoting incest. Well let's look at Leo and Karai's parental relationships and discuss that:

Although they both technically share a father, Splinter is barely granted the chance to form a paternal bond with Karai due to the fact that he didn't get to raise her, nor spend time with her once the truth had been revealed. Even when she was brought back to the lair and reunited with her blood father, she still chose getting vengeance over getting to know and love her blood father. Leo on the other hand was raised by Splinter since he was a child and views him as his beloved father and sensei. He looks up to his adoptive father for guidance and emotional support; he is Leo's role model, and essentially all Leo wishes to be as the new sensei.

When we compare the bond Leo has with Splinter to Karai's, Leo had more experience being Splinter's son/ward than Karai did. Even Splinter's death had more of an impact on Leo than it did Karai; Leo was filled with anger and despair and continued to "talk" to Splinter when seeking guidance, whilst upon hearing of his death Karai's response was more reserved than distraught. This is an understandable reaction, as within a couple of weeks Karai had had her whole life exposed as a lie, became a mutant, got brainwashed and on top of all that didn't even get to form an emotional and parental connection with her one true father before he too was taken from her. So yeah, it's no wonder she wasn't able to emotionally process his death like the others did (heck, even April and Casey are more bonded with Splinter than Karai is).

So to relate back to my initial point of both Leo and Karai technically sharing a father, they each share him for a different reason: Leo is Splinter's son by a lifelong bond, whilst Karai is Splinter's daughter by blood. This difference in reasoning does not make either one of them any less of Splinter's child, but this difference does make them be less seen as siblings from each other's POV. Leo was raised with his blood-brothers by the same father/sensei, under the same roof and with a shared family dynamic - so he of course views them as siblings. This is why something like Raph x Leo differs drastically from Leorai as Raph and Leo have always treated one another as siblings because it's what they're used to - so turning that dynamic romantic would make both of them extremely uncomfortable. However, Karai enters the Turtles' lives when they're well into their teens - aka, when they're beyond extreme (emphasis on extreme) influence. On top of that, her first introduction to them was 'Shredder's daughter'/'a Foot Clan kunoichi' - so taking her home and attempting to accept her as a sister didn't really work as there was an already established family dynamic between the brothers and Splinter which Karai hadn't been around to be a part of. This is why she's mainly viewed as a close friend/distant family by the bois (although bless Mikey for at least ATTEMPTING to give her the opportunity to be their sister).

Karai even distances herself from forming any sort of familial bond with the Turtles by refusing to join their Dojo and rarely instigating missions with them unless absolutely desperate - instead she opts to rebuild the Foot Clan under her rule and take her life into her own hands. And if anything, she builds herself in the image of The Shredder - a powerful leader with an arsenal of ninjas at her disposal - but with the heart and honour of her father. When Mikey queried why Karai didn't come home with them, Leo states "Well, she's not a little kid anymore - she wants to take control of her own life"; in a way, this indicates that Karai doesn't want the burden of being a part of a family. Perhaps after living a life of lies under a tyrannical "father" she just wanted to be her own person on her own - literally (well, aside from Shini).

So to answer the query of "Aren't they technically siblings?" the answer is logically no, as they do not share a sibling bond psychologically or even biologically; Leo is literally a giant talking turtle mutant...she's a human-mutant hybrid...they literally could not be more NOT related lol.

Anyways, onto the next point:

Aspect Analysis 2 - "The Turtles are blood relatives of Splinter"

I see a lot of antis use this point in an argument, saying that the Turtles share blood with Splinter so they are blood relatives.

Now speaking specifically about the 2012 show, we never get an official confirmation that the brothers and Splinter share blood. I've even searched interviews with Ciro Nieli and the most he's said is that "All the turtles share a piece of Splinter" - though he was talking trait-wise...so...yeah.

My personal view is that since they are linked to the last thing they touched (be it the pet store owner, a bunch of curious kids or Splinter himself), I do believe they share a connection with Splinter - but not in the sense that the same blood runs through their veins. I believe that when the Turtles and Splinter mutated, the Turtles humanoid appearance was created by the shared contact of the pet store owner, curious kids, and of course Splinter. The mutagen used the fundamentals of all these humans' DNA to basically ~evolutionise~ the Turtles into their humanoid selves (think of it as though they're a combination of turtle and a dose of general human DNA).

As far as I can tell, the only thing the human interaction with Hamato Yoshi (Splinter) got them is some of his core traits - a sense of honour and leadership for Leo, a fierce and protective fighting spirit for Raph, creativity and ability to improvise when under pressure for Mikey, and ingenuity for Donnie. Physically, it seems only Donnie gained something from Splinter (his reddish-brown eyes and natural tall stature) whilst the other brothers must have gained their distinctive physical traits from the other human contacts; such as Mikey, Raph and Leo having different eye colours than Splinter, Mikey's freckles, and Donnie's overbite and gap tooth. My personal headcanon is that Mikey got his empathic traits and love for pets from the pet shop owner hehe.

So essentially Splinter's foundational pieces of DNA helped to shape their roles on the team (leader, warrior, inventor and creative-and-spontaneous-ball-of-butt-kicking).

I guess a question would be "but if they all did a blood test, would Splinter be found to be related????" - my answer to that is yes, though very distantly, as their main DNA result would be a turtle (duh...) whilst the rest is a jumble of the other humans' DNA. Think of it as though you did a DNA test and got a match with a bunch of random people - it is possible to share a small amount of DNA with someone and not be related. In other words, it's possible to share genetic material and not share a common ancestor or any identifiable genealogical connection.

Aspect Analysis 3 - "INCEST!"?

This relates back to point 1 where I discussed whether Leo and Karai see each other as siblings and whether shipping them should be considered promotion of incestrious behaviours. This answer is actually really simple: no, Leorai does not encourage incest.

Why not? Because incest, by definition means "sexual relations between people classed as being too closely related to marry each other". And guess what? Not only are Leo and Karai not closely related, but they never did the deed, or even kissed. They didn't even become 'official' official in the show, so calling Leorai incest is not a fact.

In all honesty, Leorai is my favourite ship of the show because unlike the other ships they didn't need to be physical with each other (e.g. kissing, arms around each other, tight hugs, carrying in arms) to show the audience that they cared deeply for one another. They showed their love through emotional connection and the "little things". Leorai is much like Zutara for me in this sense; I'm happy with what we got because it felt more like two characters building a genuine connection that would lead to an eventual romantic relationship (be it in show or not) than having to shove it in our faces that "tHEY'rE iN LOve beCaUSe tHEy KisSed!" (*cough* Kataang).

If you as a writer can make two characters have a romantic connection without having to make them get physical then you know you've written a relationship - heck, you know you've written the characters - right. And my personal headcanon is that Leo and Karai would share an asexual relationship eventually; no smut, just wholesome love :3

To conclude: Leorai is not incest. Not biologically, not psychologically, and not even romantically. I know not everyone will agree with this as many prefer to just stick with the most popular opinion so they don't cause controversy and that's fine - but heck, I'm tired of hiding my love for this ship cuz "I'll upset someone". That someone can be offended all they want, but I'm still not gonna change myself to suit their agenda.

I'm too old to keep getting involved in anti-ship nonsense (in ANY fandom, tbh), so if you're an anti reading this I'm not gonna try fight your opinion. You can have it, and I'll respect it cuz it's your opinion. I just hope that one day we as the internet can evolve to a point where we're smart enough to just not actively search for something we despise and only focus on what makes us happy.

As for my fellow Leorai shippers- thank you for reading my ramble! I love and appreciate all of you that continue to stand by this ship, and I hope to give you more Leorai content soon! Hopefully one that isn't a ramble, haha 💙🖤

Thanks again for reading, and have a good day/evening!

[zaramel23]

Hey everybody!

Since my linktree won't work on tumblr anymore, I thought to link my manifesto I wrote for the cap/ironman community a few years ago:

Click here to view it on ao3 to bookmark, download and comment - whatever you fancy!

[weird-bird-headingnorth]

Harry&Ginny and Harry&Draco: Drawing Parallels

Clashing ship fandoms never are able to get along, and more's the pity.

These two ships and the characters involved (Ginny and Draco) are more similar than most would think, and I'm writing this pseudo-essay to attempt to articulate why.

This isn't an attempt at blowing holes in either ship, or persuading you to jump ship.

This is just me and my rambles. Mostly, it's a comparison and contrast of things ranging from sense of humor to physical attractiveness and what each could mean for Harry.

Under a cut in case anyone takes it otherwise offensively, and also because there are obscene walls of text. If anyone does read this and think about it, feel free to contact me and discuss! It's what I live for.

True, it makes it impossible within the confines of canon, but however much we'd like to think so, it wasn't going to happen anyway.

In fact, the similarities between Ginny and Draco make Drarry plausible.

Let's look at the most shallow aspects. Physical features.

Attractiveness:

Harry will of course look deeper than for looks alone, but he does often note physical attractiveness--in even Voldemort (alright, Tom Riddle, but same difference), for heavens' sake! So let's see where Ginny and Draco stand.

Ginny has been said to be attractive physically by characters, not just Harry. She's described to be small-made and have bright brown eyes and lovely long red hair. To most people, that's quite appealing. 'Nuff said on her.

Although we're not given any explicit adjectives on attractiveness or the lack thereof, most of fandom is wholly convinced that Draco Malfoy is sexy. Tom Felton is considered attractive, yes, but it's not just that. We get "pale" and "pointy" and "aristocratic". Whether that's handsome or not is up to you, but we haven't been told either way and thus can pick whichever suits our fannish purposes. So, Draco Malfoy iz hawt, or at least looks put together. More than we get for a lot of characters in Harry's monologue--poor Millicent!

Physical Contrasts and Similarities to Harry

I suppose I see so few couples in fiction without physical contrasts that I don't give thought to it. Fandom loves it, though, so let's take a look at that.

Harry is small though he does get a growth spurt, and obviously is built to be a Seeker. He is thin-faced and bony in general. He has very dark messy hair and vibrant green eyes, which would definitely stand out against that pale skin of his.

Ginny is small, has a Seeker's build. Ginny is feminine. Ginny has long flaming red hair. Ginny is freckly. Ginny has bright brown eyes.

Draco is small, has a Seeker's build. Draco is "pointy". Draco has well-groomed (well, slicked back anyway) pale blond hair. Draco is very pale. Draco has stony grey eyes.

Now let's move on to background.

Family Life

Family is important to Harry, because he really hasn't had much of one. In canon, we understand how much the Weasleys mean to him. The family took him in as one of their own. The Malfoys couldn't come to mean the same because of all that history, but let's look at how they're still not quite so different.

Ginny's family is large and sprawling. She is the youngest of many, yes, yet this only serves to bring attention on herself. She's the only Weasley daughter. She is pureblooded but shirks the traditions of it. Instead, she goes with her family's ideals and upholds them well. Her parents mean a lot to her and she's close to both.

We see a lot less of Draco's family, but their bonds become important. Obviously, Draco upholds pureblood ideals, but these have been carefully cultured in him by his parents. We don't know if he ever steps away from them, despite his actions. In the end they love him dearly, despite how very dysfunctional they are underneath, and it's hard to say that they don't mean the world to each other.

First Impressions

The way these characters were introduced was quite, quite different. Or maybe not. I've formatted this one a bit differently so it flows better.

Ginny is introduced complaining about not being able to go to Hogwarts.

Draco is introduced complaining about not being afforded privileges.

Ginny is very shy of Harry by their real first meeting. She was obviously impressed by him once she knew who he was.

Draco is very arrogant towards Harry. Before he knew who he was, he already was making what appears to be his usual efforts to easily impress someone. He didn't find out who he was until later, and then, well. This is where roads split and every Drarry shipper's heart twinges.

House Rivalry

I seriously think the whole of fandom has a Gryffindor/Slytherin kink sometimes, but maybe just because I'm running in the right circles. Let's look at houses.

Harry is our Gryffindor, and there have been enough AUs and essays about him being Slytherin that I won't even dip into that. I do believe he has shown characteristics of both, though.

Ginny is a Gryffindor through and through. Her hair even matches! Her whole family has been here. It's tradition. She herself exhibits that boldness and bravery, though.

Draco, of course, is our Slytherin Prince (I can't not snerk whenever I read that though).  It's pureblood tradition as well as Malfoy and Black heritage to be Slytherin. We haven't seen so much of him being actively ambitious, but we do see him trying to one-up people in any way he can. He's plenty sly too. 

Changing Perceptions

Obviously, Draco and Ginny mean very very different things to Harry. But there are some little parallels Switching up format again.

Harry's perceptions of Ginny change in HBP--he sees her as somebody he's attracted to.

Harry's perceptions of Draco change in HBP--he sees him as a real menace once more, but also sees that there's a bit more going on than he previously realized and so is forced to look at him in a bit of a different light.

Respect and Challenge

Harry had a lot of hero-worshipers. Draco and Ginny weren't exactly.

Ginny started out having a moony-moony crush on Harry. But when she grew out of it, she also grew out of all her shyness and gained great affection for him. She continued to respect him, yes, and grew to have a remarkable understanding of him as a person. She wasn't afraid to be irreverent, either, though, and did tell him things he needed to hear. 

We don't know how much Draco was told about Harry and how his parents painted him, but it's very likely that he did feel sort of awestruck about him. The second he was rejected, though, it all turned to bitterness and yes, loads of jealousy. He was never cautious about what he wanted to say and would cross almost any line to insult him. He just wanted to get under his skin. 

Sense of Humor

This is the big one for me, mainly because of a Harry/Ginny essay I read (and borrowed from just a tad bit here) but also because of my own perceptions of love.

Harry has always had a delightful sense of humor, in my opinion, and I hope in yours too. For a fantasy novel hero, he's very snarky. Actually, he's snarky by any standards. No one can deny his sense of humor is cruel, but you can't deny that others didn't share it, either.

Ginny could be oh-so-sweet, but when she wanted to make a point, her funny turned nasty. She could be easily derisive and dismissive. HBP's newfound attraction or not, Harry and Ginny had laughs together. Laughter, as we all know, is something Harry needs.

Draco is not thought to be terribly funny by Harry. The readers don't share this view, though, because he really is quite the master of the insult, like Harry himself. We've only ever seen his sharp tongue turned against Harry, but in many fics and such, we've glimpsed how glorious they could be if they did get to play off each other.

I do realize I haven't been as thorough as I should have been and maybe I should have done a couple things differently, reference canon more or whatever.

But this was truly for my own benefit. If anyone else enjoyed this or just got a bit of thought out of it, that's fantastic!

And I'll say again, don't hesitate to leave something in my ask so we can talk about this.

I rarely tire of discussion and right now I welcome it.