#Might end up making a sideblog for this kind of thing? Haven't decided yet

[junkyardescape]

Singed as Orianna's Father

Since this shot in Arcane there's been a pretty sizeable group of people suggesting Orianna will be written into Arcane as the daughter of Singed. I'm not entirely sold on this being the case, given that the shot we get is so small, but given that there's a chance, I've been thinking a lot about the possibility and I'm. Not A Fan.

This isn't to say I think it'll be poorly done or anything - The writers of Arcane are incredible, so I wholeheartedly believe that, if this is made the case, it'll be well written and compelling. My issue is not that it's going to be bad, or even that it'll be worse than the current lore. My main issue is that I don't think it lines up well with the established aspects of Orianna's character and simplifies her relationship with her father in a way I don't love, while also harming the worldbuilding of Runeterra and of Piltover specifically.

Something that has always intrigued me about Orianna's lore is her relationship with her father Corin. Part of why is because that relationship is so poorly explored in her original lore. Her father doesn't let her go anywhere without him, and only lets her leave home to go to the theater, which becomes her only understanding of the outside world. When she escapes for Zaun to help people after a mining explosion and ends up getting terminally sick, her father DOES make her a set of prosthetic lungs - shout out to him for that one - but he makes it so they only work when wound up with a key that he keeps behind a locked door. And still, in spite of the obviously poor treatment she received, Orianna gives her heart to her father once his own health starts failing.

There's like. SO much interesting stuff here. I kinda like that Corin is mostly just a guy? He's a not great father in a way that feels really resonant and grounded in a fantasy setting, whereas Singed being her father means she has a dad who's shitty in a grounded way and also makes nukes to destroy Ionia with and manufactured the drug crisis of a millennia in Zaun, one of which he's already done in Arcane lol. This choice inexorably ties Orianna to the larger narrative, when honestly I'm not sold on the need for that? It might just be my love of smaller slice-of-life storytelling, but it's hard to imagine how Orianna's journey toward regaining her humanity and understanding her new self ties into the current plot of Arcane. There are ties to Viktor there that could have their plots sort of opposed to one another, with Viktor getting further from humanity while Orianna aspires to it, and there are a million other ideas they could go with which could be compelling and exciting, but again, the quality of the storytelling isn't my concern.

I feel that the relationship she has with Corin is an essential part of Orianna's character. It is something which contributes to her feelings of isolation and her love of the outside world, as well as speaking to her nature as a fundamentally caring person. It's also something that to this day has never been resolved; for all we know, Orianna is still just out there, not understanding herself or her relationships and thinking her isolation is permanent. And that's not a satisfying ending for a character who is completely capable of self-love and in a world where her isolation is genuinely fabricated. And I like these aspects of her character! She's complex, she's grounded, and there's already such a great base for her character that I think would be hurt with this relationship with Singed.

There's also a couple issues I have with how it impacts the worldbuilding, and what the implications of Arcane's story as it stands has on Orianna as a character. Orianna's dad, in base canon, runs a shop where he designs sells prosthetics. He's not a huge scholar, he's not insanely wealthy, he has no access to special tech. Orianna doesn't gain hextech until she manages to get some from a chembaron. I really like this choice! It tells us a little something more about Piltover to know that there is some weirdo in his shop in the city turning his daughter into a robot, showing off a little bit more about the culture of the city and attitudes toward augmentation at the time Orianna was needing new parts. This isn't necessarily lost if Singed is her father, but Zaun has a different attitude toward mods, and it's harder to consider Singed's opinion on anything to represent the common people considering his... everything.

I'm also very interested to see how they would manage to conflict of hextech that she presents; in order for her to exist as her current self in Arcane, she would've had to be built before or during season 1, which was before the discovery of hextech. I have some thoughts about how they could do this with respect to her Old Lore, but that's gonna have to be a separate post, as this one is long enough as it is already XD

Basically, I like the Orianna we have now. I think there's so much of her left unexplored, and the changes to her character this represents would leave her original story incomplete and also change her to a significant capacity. The new Orianna that could be made from that totally has the ability to be as interesting or more than the one of base lore, but I'm not sure it's the Orianna I know.

#league of legends #orianna lol #singed lol #arcane #arcane league of legends #league of legends lore #I cannot believe how many thoughts I have about her to put here but. I will continue lol #feel bad for suddenly becoming the “literally just talks about Orianna” blog so #Might end up making a sideblog for this kind of thing? Haven't decided yet

[aroaceacacia]

Man, all these asks really do bring up some memories huh! I was especially involved in all the discourse (which was absolutely not healthy for me but eh, I was a kid who romanticised the whole thing like it was some cinematic war) and I definetly recall some notable details that I might be the only active hermitblr to remember at this point

For example, I personally knew the person who wrote the fanfic people cancelled Cleo over, and they actually wrote it as a vent because they were trans themselves and feared the stuff they wrote about happening to them

And there was a talk with M on a private server, idk Coffee might remember it if I recall correctly?? Or maybe not? But it was when me and a bunch of related people actually sat down and talked to M about how what he has done was hurtful. And he actually was really nice about the whole thing and gave us a heartfelt apology, and explained some details that... really made it feel like his relationship with H wasn't very healthy at all. But it's not my place to be the judge of that.

And then he posted an apology on his blog as well, which was worded less than addmitting his mistakes and actually apologizing, and more like shifting the blame away from himself. Even more, ironically, he posted a drawing of his friend group, most of which were exactly the people that did the most harm in the fandom, on the next day after the convo. On the same server we used to confront him JSGHSDLSDGHJG but yeah maybe the excessive hate on M was not deserved, but he still leaves a bitter feeling when I see him.

I also was very active in hermitshipping circles at the time, so I know some details from there, but idk if you would be alright or even want to talk that much about the shipping itself. But I guess a fun detail was how the whole disaster started with me an my friends deciding that we're going to make shipping sideblogs that haters could block if they wanted and where we could post freely, and also allowed ourselves to use the main tag because we felt it was unfair that no other fandom had a problem with shipping in the main tag and it was just regular content like anything else.

I think my "favorite" (/neg) story that I sometimes tell like both a horror story and a funny incident is the whole pisszloy thing, where the same blog that drew piss all over minor's shipart... called out Zloy. For liking a post on Twitter. Needless to say, ironic. Pretty sure it's the same person that told Scar that Zloy wanted him dead.

I also remember very clearly how, at least in my circles, there was A LOT of hate directed at RST, which I actually haven't seen mentioned here yet (maybe it's because they/[whatever pronouns RST uses these days] have since decided to disengage with the discourse, which, good for them). Basically RST made tons of callouts for shippers, outing those that did not want to be known as shippers. And that landed them into getting doxxed, which was absolutely not deserved and way too extreme, so much that the entire hermitshipblr started posting about how they did not support this, but it remains a fact).

A lot of this stuff ended up leaving a mark, so much that for a while I could not look at anything related to SMPL/LC, Schlatt, even some meme formats, and certain artstyles still cause me to be wary, but these days I feel like not only am I healing myself, but the entire fandom has moved on and has become a very chill and stable place :D All these years, even in the worst of moments, I still had friends that supported me (Hippiecraft, Doomcraft, Zloy gang, etc., I love you all so much) and I think the good times alone were worth it :')

By the way, please take care of your own mental health! You've been getting a lot of very heavy asks lately, including this one that you don't have to asnwer, so if you need to take a break, this is your reminder that it's okay to do that! <3

thank you for the kind words, and for sharing your perspective! I'm glad you're doing well, and that you can still find the positives in the entire situation.

oh god dont remind me of the zloy-scar incident that was SO out of line NotLikeThis

#asks #long post #2019 talk #discourse

[ffamranxii]

Hello! Here from Ao3 :) (@bokashi is my side blog)

As mentioned in a comment on your iwaoi story, which ships do you see as legitimately being canon? (a link for the silly geese who haven't read it yet)

For me, I honestly think bokuaka could be canon (we just need the confirmation </3). But for like iwaoi (I get really intense friendship vibes, but like so unabashedly proud and happy to be friends with the other person in canon) or kuroken (maybe like a heather situation, where one of them is in love, but the other isn't; but also, they really teeter on the edge for me) or other ships (I could go on forever), it's a bit more up in the air for me. I indulge and thoroughly enjoy all ship content, but I try to separate the two worlds of fandom and canon too.

I also think it's really easy to enjoy shipping. They're fictional men (thinking manga timeskip here), so it's kind of hard to self-ship (for me), but I want them to be happy in the romance department. Plus, when there are so few women and non-binary people in the show, naturally that shipping is gonna happen between *the bois*. (Although, based on all of the content we get, even with women, I'd still ship them all with their teammates.)

So yeah, I'm really curious about your thoughts on this jumbled mess about shipping and canon vs fanon, etc! Really enjoying your content, thanks for replying to my comments! :)

Hiiiii! Ffamran is a sideblog too, I followed bokashi on my hiatused chibimonkey main.

So tbh, given Japan’s general stance on homosexuality *side eye intensifies* I’d have to say regretfully nobody could be legitimately canon except Tanaka/Kiyoko the token heteroship. HOWEVER, some mangaka (looking at you, CLAMP and Yamaguchi Tsubasa!) dgaf about heteronorms and have written gorgeous and CANON LGBTQ+ characters, so it’s within the realm of possibility that Furudate-sensei intended some of her characters to be gay and maybe her editor or the magazine said “uh, fuck no?” because, I mean, have you READ the manga? Some of it’s pretty fucking gay.

My top 5 ships are the ones I could most likely see being canon: daisuga, iwaoi, kuroken, asanoya, and bokuaka. I’d also add kagehina to that. The evidence is just THERE.

Daichi and Suga are VERY close. They’re always shown together, were introduced together, have been referred to by Furudate-sensei as Karasuno’s parents, Daichi talks Suga up a ton, Suga is very physical with Daichi especially, etc etc. In one panel of the manga, Suga is literally slapping Daichi’s ass. (Under the #ffamran reads manga tag.) Like what? But they’re also the least in your face on this list.

Asanoya is just... a lot of what daisuga is but more obvious. Also introduced as a duo, usually around each other, physical, etc. Noya ONLY sets for Asahi (though once in the anime he set for Tanaka) - that’s HUGE. He learned to do this crazy fucking technique all to better ASAHI. He refuses to play without Asahi. At the very least, Noya is bisexual and has a thing for Asahi. PLUS they travel the GODDAMN WORLD together at the end of the manga.

Iwaoi might as well be official. There’s the whole Iwaizumi milk bread thing (like SERIOUSLY, how much more do you NEED?), the nicknames/name-calling/teasing, the constant touching, the complete trust and connection. Oikawa relies overtly on Iwa, and Iwa is constantly checking on and reassuring him. These two blatantly love each other.

Kuroken is another where at least one of them has a thing for the other. Kuroo is SMITTEN with Kenma. He’s constantly taking care of him, checking on him, monitoring his comfort. When he, Kai, and Yaku are discussing Kenma, Kuroo’s face is just so in LOVE with this fucking boy. Kenma is up in the air - he’s not as expressive as Kuroo, or as emotional. He keeps his feelings firmly inside. But I’d say it’s safe to assume he cares very deeply for Kuroo and loves him, and it’s a 50/50 toss up if it’s romantic love.

Bokuaka. Bro. At first I was gonna say “ehhhhh, it’s probably wishful thinking on our part,” but then I remembered: Akaashi decided to attend Fukurodani SOLELY because he saw Bokuto play. Bokuto honed the fuck in on him the day they met and basically staked his claim. These two embody the love at first sight trope and they are comfortably settled in a serious relationship. Why else does Akaashi know him so well, and vice versa? Akaashi made and MEMORIZED a list of Bokuto’s weaknesses, and knows exactly how to get him out of every slump, and Bokuto is intrinsically aware of when Akaashi’s at his limit, and pushes past his own weaknesses to support him at that time. Out of everyone, these two are the most likely to have started their relationship before the manga.

Kagehina. I watched the first episode (I saw the anime before I read the manga) and I distinctly remember my overall impression was “these two are gonna fuck, aren’t they?” They’re dumb. They’re SO fucking dumb, and I respect Furudate-sensei SO MUCH for making both her protagonists stupid as fuck. These two would be a vicious slow burn. They don’t get together during the manga. They’re too busy competing with each other. Their flirting is competition. They’re SO into each other beyond a normal friendly rivalry but they both think it’s just a friendly rivalry because they’re SO DUMB.

Honorable mention to Tsukiyama, because while these two are easy to write off as just good friends, there are very subtle hints that they may be more than, the biggest being Tsukki’s distaste if anyone but Yamaguchi calling him Tsukki (and Yamaguchi hates when other people say it too) and their “tough love” type of support for each other. They seem to be a very private couple, if they were intended as such.

Also: Yachi. Yachi is CLEARLY a lesbian.

It could also be argued that Ushiten was hinted at being canon, since Tendou clearly loves Ushiwaka. It’s not a ship I like but I very easily see why it’s a popular ship. I think I posted about it before somewhere, but the tl;dr of it is Tendou is ALL OVER Ushiwaka. Supports him 1000% in the face of anyone and everyone, clings to him (not physically, but like... emotionally?) at school, and just everything he does is FOR Ushiwaka. Like, did Ushiwaka even have friends before Tendou started talking to him? And Ushiwaka softens around Tendou, becomes more human and likeable. He doesn’t act that way around anyone else. They might just be the bromance to end all bromances, or one of them has a crush, or maybe they do love each other - their relationship is ambiguous in that regard. But I will add: Ushiwaka did fly all the way to France to see Tendou, and I don’t see anyone else (except Asanoya) making worldwide trips for each other.

#those are the most plausible imo #that’s why they’re also the most popular #you could also put Ukai/ittetsu here but I see that more in the anime than the manga #haikyuu

[zackmartin]

hii jaksjdkd @\deweyducks is my children's media sideblog but this is my main so i'll send my ask from here but like...god that's so weird??? i haven't gotten to that episode yet (i'm on international dateline and cringing) but. barbara and cody were so sweet (and!!! a good interracial couple!!! that's important actually!!! why the hell would they make them cheat on each other when it has been established that doing so would be horrifically out of character for both of them) if they really wanted to put him with bailey the whole guy waits for girl after she repeatedly says no trope was not the way to go. at all (and yeah!!!!!! zack and bailey could have been something actually but i want to see where things go with him and maya once she shows up) and i actually would love to read your essay :)

I’m sorry, I will turn anon back on soon 😅 (and I get it, this used to be a sideblog until I accidentally deleted and then I decided to just make two mains instead but).

(For real! Like, yeah they were super important and good!!!! but if you had to have them break up, Barbara was going to stay in Boston and Cody’s on a cruise where he’s going to be a literal continent away at any given time. They really could’ve just done something as simple as letting them have an amicable breakup because the distance was too much instead of decimating both of their characters like that)

Anyway, I love Maya and Zack a lot, for the most part, they’re cute and I adore Zoey Deutch and Zack’s good with her so my love for what Zack and Bailey could’ve been isn’t really an either/or thing, I like both ships but just,,,

Putting Cody’s terrible characterization and treatment of Bailey aside for a moment, they pretty much made Bailey and Cody almost exactly alike. There are some differences, but they’re kinda few and far between. And that’s not necessarily a bad thing, you have to have some things in common with your S/O in order for it to work, but in the case of Zack/Bailey I really believe they could've been the good kind of opposites attract. Like, it could’ve turned into a situation where their differences turned into making each other better.

Like, in the case of Zack, we’ve seen in the original that he can actually do well in school (like when he went to summer school and was able to analyze Shakespeare fairly easily), he just needs a reason to really apply himself. And I mean, we know he would definitely do it to impress a girl alsdkfj (technically we saw that in the original too, when he told Maddie he got an 85 on his vocab quiz and he revealed that he tried to do well because she said she likes smart guys). Ofc, it’d be ideal if he was doing it for himself, but him actually trying in school, even if it starts as him just trying to impress Bailey, is not going to really hurt him in the end alsdjkf On top of that, I’m not sure if it’s canon or if I’m just HC’ing this, but I’m positive Cody has probably tried over the years to help him in subjects that don’t come so easily, but I know Zack, and whether we’re talking the og version or On Deck, I know neither of them would listen nor pay attention if Cody’s the one trying to teach him alsdjf He’d be way more apt to listen to Bailey, and I know she’d be willing to tutor him. And I know Bailey would celebrate his accomplishments, even if it’s as small as getting a C on a geometry quiz or something, and I feel like having someone like that, someone that shows him they’re proud of him and isn't constantly comparing his grade to Cody’s, could be enough to make him want to keep trying. (even if he isn’t always operating at 100%).

And on Bailey’s side; I totally respect the fact that she finds enjoyment in school-related things, and she definitely doesn’t have to have fun a certain way in order for it to “count” but. I feel like filling your day with only school/educational-related activities with no space in-between to breathe can so quickly lead to burn-out (especially if she goes to an ivy league, and you add that in with her going from being top of her class to being in a space where everyone was top of their class. But, again I’m getting off track). And, finding mindless, fun things to do in order to blow off steam is Zack’s exact area of expertise. (Like, I’m gonna be vague so I don’t spoil anything, but there’s legit an episode of On Deck where he teaches someone to relax and not make one thing your whole life). And I know this is adult me projecting cause she wishes teenage me wasn’t so serious, but Zack convincing Bailey to stay out an hour past curfew or skip one class wouldn’t kill her asldfjk Like, she might be upset in the moment if they get detention or something but you get out of high school and look back and you realize it literally Didn’t Matter. (i’m not being a great influence here, please don’t listen to me lklsjkdf)

Like, long story short, I just think that Bailey could teach Zack how to take things like his education and his future a bit more seriously, but Zack could show Bailey that you don’t have to take everything seriously all the time

And while we're on the subject; i know he was partially willing to keep Bailey's secret in the first episode because he wanted to room with a girl, but even after everything was revealed and Tuttweiller and Moseby were saying they had no choice but to send her home, Zack stuck up for her! He listened to her when she talked about why she wanted to go to seven seas high and how she wanted to see the world and he didn't do it for the sole purpose of using that information later in order to "win" her 🙃 He genuinely just wanted her to be able to live out her dream, and he did what little he could in order to make sure she got to keep living that dream.

#asks #but then again. that's just who he is. he helps almost total strangers a lot #if it's in his power to do so #he has a big heart and I love him #anyway #I need to stop but. my point is just that I think they would work well together #and he would give her the love and respect she deserves #and if they wanted them to be the main ship and still be a slowburn like #I know zack doesn't sit on his feelings for long #but they still could've just said she wasn't over her ex and wasn't ready for a relationship #and just had her slowly realize over the first season that she's grown to like zack as something other than a friend #and cody was the one that had the serious relationships in the original so it would've been nice to see zack have his turn #instead of making me wait until the last season but. whatever. it is what it is