#let people ship their ships in peace

[kaladinkholins]

Very interesting to me that a certain subset of the BES fandom's favourite iterations of Mizu and Akemi are seemingly rooted in the facades they have projected towards the world, and are not accurate representations of their true selves.

And I see this is especially the case with Mizu, where fanon likes to paint her as this dominant, hyper-masculine, smirking Cool GuyTM who's going to give you her strap. And this idea of Mizu is often based on the image of her wearing her glasses, and optionally, with her cloak and big, wide-brimmed kasa.

And what's interesting about this, to me, is that fanon is seemingly falling for her deliberate disguise. Because the glasses (with the optional combination of cloak and hat) represent Mizu's suppression of her true self. She is playing a role.

Take this scene of Mizu in the brothel in Episode 4 for example. Here, not only is Mizu wearing her glasses to symbolise the mask she is wearing, but she is purposely acting like some suave and cocky gentleman, intimidating, calm, in control. Her voice is even deeper than usual, like what we hear in her first scene while facing off with Hachiman the Flesh-Trader in Episode 1.

This act that Mizu puts on is an embodiment of masculine showboating, which is highly effective against weak and insecure men like Hachi, but also against women like those who tried to seduce her at the Shindo House.

And that brings me to how Mizu's mask is actually a direct parallel to Akemi's mask in this very same scene.

Here, Akemi is also putting up an act, playing up her naivety and demure girlishness, using her high-pitched lilted voice, complimenting Mizu and trying to make small talk, all so she can seduce and lure Mizu in to drink the drugged cup of sake.

So what I find so interesting and funny about this scene, characters within it, and the subsequent fandom interpretations of both, is that everyone seems to literally be falling for the mask that Mizu and Akemi are putting up to conceal their identities, guard themselves from the world, and get what they want.

It's also a little frustrating because the fanon seems to twist what actually makes Mizu and Akemi's dynamic so interesting by flattening it completely. Because both here and throughout the story, Mizu and Akemi's entire relationship and treatment of each other is solely built off of masks, assumptions, and misconceptions.

Akemi believes Mizu is a selfish, cocky male samurai who destroyed her ex-fiance's career and life, and who abandoned her to let her get dragged away by her father's guards and forcibly married off to a man she didn't know. on the other hand, Mizu believes Akemi is bratty, naive princess who constantly needs saving and who can't make her own decisions.

These misconceptions are even evident in the framing of their first impressions of each other, both of which unfold in these slow-motion POV shots.

Mizu's first impression of Akemi is that of a beautiful, untouchable princess in a cage. Swirling string music in the background.

Akemi's first impression of Mizu is of a mysterious, stoic "demon" samurai who stole her fiance's scarf. Tense music and the sound of ocean waves in the background.

And then, going back to that scene of them together in Episode 4, both Mizu and Akemi continue to fool each other and hold these assumptions of each other, and they both feed into it, as both are purposely acting within the suppressive roles society binds them to in order to achieve their goals within the means they are allowed (Akemi playing the part of a subservient woman; Mizu playing the part of a dominant man).

But then, for once in both their lives, neither of their usual tactics work.

Akemi is trying to use flattery and seduction on Mizu, but Mizu sees right through it, knowing that Akemi is just trying to manipulate and harm her. Rather than give in to Akemi's tactics, Mizu plays with Akemi's emotions by alluding to Taigen's death, before pinning her down, and then when she starts crying, Mizu just rolls her eyes and tells her to shut up.

On the opposite end, when Mizu tries to use brute force and intimidation, Akemi also sees right through it, not falling for it, and instead says this:

"Under your mask, you're not the killer you pretend to be."

Nonetheless, despite the fact that they see a little bit through each other's masks, they both still hold their presumptions of each other until the very end of the season, with Akemi seeing Mizu as an obnoxious samurai swooping in to save the day, and Mizu seeing Akemi as a damsel in distress.

And what I find a bit irksome is that the fandom also resorts to flattening them to these tropes as well.

Because Mizu is not some cool, smooth-talking samurai with a big dick sword as Akemi (and the fandom) might believe. All of that is the facade she puts up and nothing more. In reality, Mizu is an angry, confused and lonely child, and a masterful artist, who is struggling against her own self-hatred. Master Eiji, her father figure who knows her best, knows this.

And Akemi, on the other hand, is not some girly, sweet, vain and spoiled princess as Mizu might believe. Instead she has never cared for frivolous things like fashion, love or looks, instead favouring poetry and strategy games instead, and has always only cared about her own independence. Seki, her father figure who knows her best, knows this.

But neither is she some authoritative dominatrix, though this is part of her new persona that she is trying to project to get what she wants. Because while Akemi is willful, outspoken, intelligent and authoritative, she can still be naive! She is still often unsure and needs to have her hand held through things, as she is still learning and growing into her full potential. Her new parental/guardian figure, Madame Kaji, knows this as well.

So with all that being said, now that we know that Mizu and Akemi are essentially wearing masks and putting up fronts throughout the show, what would a representation of Mizu's and Akemi's true selves actually look like? Easy. It's in their hair.

This shot on the left is the only time we see Mizu with her hair completely down. In this scene, she's being berated by Mama, and her guard is completely down, she has no weapon, and is no longer wearing any mask, as this is after she showed Mikio "all of herself" and tried to take off the mask of a subservient housewife. Thus, here, she is sad, vulnerable, and feeling small (emphasised further by the framing of the scene). This is a perfect encapsulation of what Mizu is on the inside, underneath all the layers of revenge-obsession and the walls she's put around herself.

In contrast, the only time we Akemi with her hair fully down, she is completely alone in the bath, and this scene takes place after being scorned by her father and left weeping at his feet. But despite all that, Akemi is headstrong, determined, taking the reigns of her life as she makes the choice to run away, but even that choice is reflective of her youthful naivety. She even gets scolded by Seki shortly after this in the next scene, because though she wants to be independent, she still hasn't completely learned to be. Not yet. Regardless, her decisiveness and moment of self-empowerment is emphasised by the framing of the scene, where her face takes up the majority of the shot, and she stares seriously into the middle distance.

To conclude, I wish popular fanon would stop mischaracterising these two, and flattening them into tropes and stereotypes (ie. masculine badass swordsman Mizu and feminine alluring queen but also girly swooning damsel Akemi), all of which just seems... reductive. It also irks me when Akemi is merely upheld as a love interest and romantic device for Mizu and nothing more, when she is literally Mizu's narrative foil (takes far more narrative precedence over romantic interest) and the deuteragonist of this show. She is her own person. That is literally the theme of her entire character and arc.

#blue eye samurai #mizu blue eye samurai #akemi blue eye samurai #blue eye samurai meta #just in case... im gonna tag this as #mizukemicritical #akemizucritical #though this post isnt actually criticising the ship itself but rather fanon's portrayal of the ship and the characters #for that reason lemme also tag this as #wank.mp3 #feel free to disagree of course but please be civil #and if you need to rant about how wrong i am without any convincing evidence kindly feel free to make your own post. peace and love <3 #fandom.rtf #meta dissertations.pdf #shut up haydar #edit: for full disclosure. i do rather dislike this ship. but obviously it's fine for anyone to enjoy it. please do! have your fun! #it's just that as usual! popular fanon and fandom around a ship is what has completely deterred me from any sense of enjoyment of it #it's a shame too because i was very open and even eager for some mizu/akemi romance in the future #but out-of-character fanon + the rudeness of certain fans has definitely soured it for me #but that doesn't mean people can't enjoy it obviously! ship and let ship!!! #plus it has its appeal which i DO STILL see and enjoy!!!! #i would even go as far as to call them soulmates because their narratives and characters are LITERALLY intertwined!!! #but. yeah. my gradual distaste for this ship is indeed very unfortunate.

[constellation-skirmishes]

i feel like as rexanidala shippers we never focus on rex & padmé's relationship as much as we should. its a shame.

#rexanidala #captain rex #ct 7567 #padmé amidala #padme naberrie #i have no clue if this is a ship people do outside rexanidala so i dont know how to tag it lmaooo #star wars fanart #star wars prequels #star wars the clone wars #i think about them so much your honor #i think about them so so so much. i just never draw them. i need to draw them more :(( #let them have a nice peaceful nap while anakin is doing mechanic enrichment by rebuilding droids or something in the living room #lukka's workshop

[gayboss-too-close-to-the-sun]

Okay but like

How much of the Tolkien fandom is homophobic?? Because from my experience Tolkien nerds are always either very homophobic or very queer positive, and I have no clue what the pie chart would show for how large each population is. It’s made me quite afraid of the fandom because I don’t know how to end up in only the gay parts and have had too many unpleasant encounters with the homophobic parts…

I know my exposure is only to a specific set of fans, so I don’t feel like I have enough experience to estimate and I’m just like ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

#sam and frodo out here being jonathan and david levels of obvious #and yet the christians will wail if i choose to see them as more than besties #i have no issue with christians but i’m t i r e d #i’m so tired of people throwing a fit just because their homophobia reacts with my gay #let me read my books in peace i want left alone #but maybe i’ve just been exposed to a loud minority in the fandom? #¯\_(ツ)_/¯ #tolkien #lotr #silmarillion #sam and frodo #bagginshield #is also a super cute interpretation #i know tolkien didn’t write Gay on purpose #but for valar’s sake let me ship fictional characters in peace

[castielinpastel]

seriously, why do people get so pressed when someone likes a queer ship or headcanons someone as queer? I genuinely don’t understand.

#unless the ship is extremely problematic or it’s illegal obviously #stranger things #stranger things 4 #I saw an elmax edit earlier and the people in the comments were so pressed #and I genuinely want to know why it’s okay to bash gay ships that aren’t canon but live laugh love straight ones??? #like please just let me ship things in peace #steddie #ronance #byler #elmax #henclair #destiel #blackhill #carolmaria #valcarol #thorbruce #lokius #there are many more. #I’m in a lot of fucking fandoms but these were the first ones I thought of

[violentlyscreaming]

A friendly reminder that a ship does not have to be canon for you to enjoy it. Please respect all ships (even if this means blacklisting the tag bc you simply don’t like it)

#I’m tired pls you do not have to prove a ship is canon to like the ship just let people ship in peace #rwby #yang xiao long #blake belladonna #weiss schnee #ruby rose #summer rose #raven branwen #Rosebird #bumbleby #whiterose #monochrome #checkmate #freezerburn #ladybug #nutsanddolts #insert ships here #poly str

[mono-socke]

For your consideration:

The SQUiP and Jeremy... holding hands?

yes.

#the squip #jeremy heere #squipemy #they're sweet #(i am not going to engage in the squipemy discourse now. yes i know they're problematic. no i don't care) #(just let people ship in peace) #squip is such a tsundere #love them <33

[fulltimecatwitch]

hey its cool if you don't ship Sabine and Ezra, but maybe don't shit and laugh on people who do?

#sabine wren #ezra bridger #see i personally see their relationship as platonic #but i'm not going to laugh or humiliate people who do just because it was confirmed as as platonic #the only person it reflects badly is on you #it irks me when things like this happen #just ship and let others ship in peace

[uselessnbee]

people who absolutely hate crossovers and crossover shipping and shipping characters who barely/never interacted but the fan is interested in what their dynamic could look like, who hate any non-canon shipping are boring as fuck and really annoying when they have the need to go in the comments of these posts and be like "that's so weird why do people do that?" or start ranting how much they hate it

because they can and it's fun, dumbass so stop ruining other people's fun just because you don't like it

if it's not for you that's all cool and fine it's not for everyone but you can just scroll away or block such things you don't have to spread your negativity in the comments where others are just trying to have fun with other people who have the same interests. stop it. you're being the weird one here.

let people have fun in the fandom that's what fandoms are for!!

#when will people realize that they're the ones who curate their fandom experience and it's their job to organise what you see #and what you don't if you don't like it you have every right to block it and please do so if you really hate it so much #but it is nor other people's fucking problem and you have no right to tell them what to like amd what to post #you don't like it? you block it and let people who like it enjoy it in peace #it's that fucking easy #don't go around shitting on it especially not in a space for the fans that's just read and fucking stupid #the time you spent writing stupid annoying comment you could have spent instead blocking it and making sure you won't see it again #but no instead you decided to make yoir dislike everyone else's problem for literally no reason??? #like do you think others care that you hate it? no they fucking don't you're just ruining the good time they were having #the world doesn't revolve around you did anynone ever told you that? #sorry i'm pissed and had to rant lol #fandom #people are ok with self insert and self shipping but if you try to ship a character with someone they never met suddenly you're weird #bitch they never met you either🤨

[pomellon]

drunz and/or dreamnap for the game :3

I forgot to answer this one, but for Dreamnap: YEAH I SHIP IT!

What made you ship it? I think Dreamnap was my first mainship in the fandom, before I even got into the dsmp. I did dip my toes into dnf because I heard about it before I even started watching dteam content, and it intrigued me since its been a while since I'd seen a popular rpf ship outside of kpop. But when I started actually watching their stuff Dreamnap was the ship that instantly stood out to me and I could not get enough of em <3

What are your favourite things about the ship? They're best friends!! Oh my gosh they're best friends ; u ; Like aaahh just look at them?? Sapnap always having Dream's back and being his personal hype man, Dream always being there for Sapnap when he needs him. Sapnap getting this small soft lil voice when he ask Dream about stuff and wanting his approval. Dream giving Sapnap his name, but also constantly calling him Nick because they've known each other forever?? Yeah... Also size dif again because Sapnap is just a lil guy and he deserves all the big boy hugs mhm

Is there an unpopular opinion you have on your ship? Not really about the ship itself, and probably not an unpopular opinion within the ship, but boy do I wish people would stop pushing the "they're like brothers" agenda just to claim you can't ship em, it's so silly XD

#dreamnap #people have got to stop with the “sibling coding” bs let people ship what they want in peace #anyways dreamnap will always be precious to me #I still remember the fucking hype and butterflies I felt when they moved in together I was just so fucking happy for em <3 #thanks for the ask 💖! #anon

[fangirlneverlie]

I'm waiting for the day fandoms stop acting like het ships/relationships are the end of the world or always boring/bad

#fangirlneverlie #fandom problems #fandom culture #fandom meta #fandom nonsense #fandom bullshit #fandom criticism #It's exhausting honestly pls just let me enjoy my het ships in peace #Like breath #het ships/relationships are not going out and killing your family #And calm down #Gets war flashbacks to my began phase and people hating me and giving me death threats for likingBreagann as a possible couple

[jonsaslove]

people legitimately being threatened by and hating on helaemond is actual comedy. they have never exchanged words on the show. we have like 4.5 scenes and one line of dialogue for aemond referencing her. HOW are you not embarassed. 

#helmond #helaemond #helaena targaryen #aemond targaryen #hotd #mine #this is skfjskajfsl like how are people actually caring about a ship that is literally nonexistent #everything is speculation and like i said theres like 4.5 scenes kfajsksdfj #let us enjoy our crackship in peace

[beanghostprincess]

Hi, wanted to ask if there are ships that you don´t like? For me it´s romentic/sexuel shiping of any type between the asl brothers. For me they are just that, brothers. (It´s just not my thing) Would skip everything with that. (actually I only once got curios and read an Ace/Luffy ff. I was traumaticed!)

And every ship with Chopper. He is my cute baby okay? Never saw something, but the internet is full of the crazyst things.

Oh! Interesting question. I guess I don't have those types of ships?? I don't usually focus on the ships I don't like. If I'm not interested in a ship I just don't consume the content of it and I just scroll away and ignore it, but I don't hate ships or whatever. I just don't see the appeal of some but I let people do whatever they want because, after all, the internet is a free space to enjoy content however you want and I am not the shipping police, so... I guess I just rather focus on the ships I enjoy! I couldn't exactly tell you what ships I don't like, maybe what ships I'm not interested in(? Like Nami x men, for example, because I headcanon her as the biggest lesbian in the world, but it's not like I hate her ships with men, I'm just not interested in those. I do have preferences (I think it's pretty obvious what my preferences are seeing my top 5 OP Ships lmfao) but I don't go as far as to say "I hate this ship and I can't consume content of it or I'll get traumatized!" because to me it's just something other people like and maybe it's just not my thing and that's okay and I just ignore it if I don't enjoy it.

#idk ig i just rather focus on what i like!!! #i always follow the rule 'don't like don't interact and scroll away' #let people do whatever they want and do whatever you want and that's how you achieve peace on the internet #fandom spaces have become such a negative place to be around... especially when it comes to shipping #just be friendly ??? and don't spread hate or interact with people if you know you're gonna argue #it's that easy idk #one piece

[emeraldguard-the]

can't believe Goldric has become a "what are you doing stepbro?" ship

#funniest shit ever lmao. like we got bamboozled. played for fools. #also just saying i ship Goldric and Huntlow and also am totally down for Hunter and Edric becoming step-siblings if Darador is canon #but i will also say thay romantic Goldric and stepsibling Goldric are two different universes #ik some people are devasted that goldric is 'ruined' but yall are just cowards. maybe poly up and stop whining #ships can coexist in peace. Huntlow Huntric Huntmira Huntara Hunt-whatever hell even Lunter idc #fanon ships do not dictate canon nor do they dictate what YOU ship so stop letting them #the owl house #hunter the golden guard #the golden guard #toh hunter #edric blight #huntric #goldric #edric x hunter #the owl house memes

[arsenicflame]

this is NOT the fandom culture i grew up in

#yes i did watch the Sarah Z video on it but honestly im still fucking lost #like i think i understand likem the concept? its do you like shipping or not? but like??? #we r making this an identity? people have to fall in one camp or the other???? babes they are fictional characters #idk im very lost djdjdn this was not a thing when i was learning about fandom culture #(im not saying it wasn't. around but like. it wasnt like proshipper antishipper is these days) #every time i see it like like!!! what!!! i dont know fjdjnfjdk #dont try to explain it to me i want to live in peace #i like continuing to pretend fandom culture is exactly as it was 2013-2017 ish let me pretend people didn't start all the beef they did #nyxtalks

[murshmallauw]

I want to tag stuff by fandom so I don't miss it myself but I forget that random people can see them too 💀

#let people ship adults in peace

[demonicpossession]

I've seen quite a few people who seem to be getting mad that not everyone sees link and zeldas relationship as romantic. Like yes it has tropes that exist within romance stories, however these tropes can exist for people who are close friends/consider eachother family rather than having a romantic love for eachother and I think Nintendo left it unspecified specifically for that reason, to keep it more open for people's interpretation. Want to see them as lovers? Go ahead, no ones stopping you, don't get mad at people who don't. And vice versa people who don't see them as lovers shouldn't get mad at people who do. Can we just exist calmly instead of having to see either side getting mad at the other? And for people saying zelink is Canon, it's not, it's open for interpretation, Canon would be it being directly specified in game or confirmed by Nintendo. And while I am a zelink shipper for botw/totk I'm not going to get mad at others who don't ship them, different people are going to see different ships, different styles of romantic implications. So please, ship who you want but don't get mad at eachother, its pointless and a waste of everyone's energy to get mad over ships.

Now if someone can show anywhere in botw or totk that says zelda and link are together or anywhere that Nintendo has in fact confirmed it and is a reliable source to say they've confirmed it then I'll put an edit to say I've been made aware of that, however to my knowledge its not specified that they're in a relationship. Again I ship them in botw/totk, I can understand why people do, however looking at it from the other angle I can also understand people seeing them as just extremely close friends. So let's let everyone have their own opinions and be mature about it. Cause rn the fandom seems like a bunch of children throwing a tantrum over whether they are or aren't together.

#botw #totk #zelink #also anyone who gets mad in replies or reblogs will just get blocked #its not canon #it is more implied in this game but consider other zelda games #like skyward sword for example #their romance is clear as day in that one and you KNOW zelda has a thing for limk #its specified pretty early on #whereas in totk and botw its more hinted at at best #at the very least they are extremely close friends or feel more like family to eachother #at most theyre together maybe married #the tropes dont always confirm romance #would you guys not do anything you could to help family or friends too? #would you leave them to suffer when you could do something to stop the ones you care about suffering? #cause thats how half these arguments come across to justify the tropes as being only romantic #just let people ship whoever they ship in peace and stop getting mad over it #its not needed