FanFiction I Love That Feature Ships I Don't Really Ship (Part 1)

[samatethecookie]

I heard there's this battle between Tumblr versus Livejournal now? Whatever, dudes. It sounds lame and it isn't worth the headache. Both are legitimate great forms of blogging in their own rights for different reasons.

Also, there's been this stupid chart circulating around Tumblr and Livejournal about female characters and grouping them into stereotypes to display how they aren't strong female characters. Nobody is an exception, not even Sailor Moon or Angelica Pickles or Yoko Ono. I can't really explain what's wrong with it as properly as I want to, so I'm going to link you to a few posts that sum everything I feel about this chart. There's much more, but those two are the main ones that pop into my brain right now.

Speaking of Tumblr!

A few months back I posted a series of fanart featuring ships I don't actually or actively ship. These were pictures that inspired me to check a ship out or the picture was so pretty that I couldn't help but love the ship for a short amount of time until I realized, "Oh, yeah, this does nothing for me in canon, my mistake."

I thought about it for a few days, before and after analeisa started doing a fanart spam based on the idea in her own tumblr, and decided to feature some fanfiction that do the same thing for me. The featured stories focus on ships I don't really love nor do I really seek out on a regular basis. These stories do such a great job at convincing me (and possibly others) that the ship can work or displaying everything beneficial the ship has to offer to fans that I can't help but add them to my favorites and go back for constant rereads.

So, here's the list. There's only four of them, for now, but these four are some of my favorites to recommend.



1. Picture This by TrudiRose, A Disney fic, Beauty and the Beast's Gaston/Belle.

So, Gaston! He's a douchebag. He tried to manipulate Belle into marrying him, after all, and threatening to throw her father into an insane asylum only paints how inexplicably evil he is.

With that said, what am I doing featuring a Gaston/Belle story? Well, I'll admit: I'm shamelessly a sucker for Opposites Attract tropes. I can't help it. My own parents fit it, so naturally I find it plausible and I like the dynamic those ships have to offer. (Also, it's way too fun to watch characters butt heads and then make out a couple seconds later.) It's not the only sort of trope I love, but it's one of them. Despite that, Gaston/Belle was never my thing, even in a fanon way, since, y'know, Beast/Belle forever and Gaston can just go lunge off a cliff for all I care. (And, um, he did and Beast/Belle got a happy ending. HOORAAAAY.)

Of course, being the masochist that I am, sometimes I get curious, and one day I was looking through FanFiction.Net because I wondered if anyone ever tackled Gaston/Belle and whether or not any good stuff came out of it.

Eventually I found Picture This, and I was pleasantly surprised. It's a good story! Really, it is, if you dismiss the canon and jump in blindly. The author did a good job structuring an AU Disney story without Beast, and set up how Gaston/Belle ould probably happen in someone else's hands. More importantly, the author never forgets that Gaston is a manipulative, egotistical jerk, and she actually uses that for the plot and demonstrates how his behavior regularly backfires on him. He learns from his mistakes, grows a conscience, and it dawns on him that Belle is her own person and he loves her for that. (Oh, and Belle grows as a person, too. Not only does she learn to make friends in town without compromising or sacrificing what she loves and what makes her unique, but the town learns and grows with her as well. Oh and she learns a little bit from Gaston as well when he finally starts getting his shit together.) Like, if Gaston and Belle EVER had to happen for some strange reason, this is the way to do it.

Unfortunately, the story sort of falls apart near the end, and then it begins reminding me why I don't enjoy Gaston/Belle as an actual ship. That, and the final chapters just didn't give me as many feelings about them as the ones prior to them. If you do want to give this story a try, I recommend stopping around chapter twenty-four to twenty-six to get the full extent of why I like it.


2. Puzzling Pieces by vayleen, an Avatar: The Last Airbender fic, Sokka/Azula.

Yes, you heard me. Sokka and Azula. I like the appeal in the ship, but of course, it isn't my most favorite of the Sokka/ladies ships. If you ask me, Sokka/Toph is my personal favorite, and I'm content with Sokka/Suki being canon even if they're not my thing. Frankly, I think it's odd that people try to ship Azula with Sokka during the series run, before the finale, because I find it hard to believe that Sokka would be attracted to a girl who hinted that she tortured/probably killed his girlfriend. Oh and of course, Sokka/Azula fans act like anyone who doesn't understand the appeal in their ship are lame, and a lot of them play the martyrs and whine about how there's little content for their fanon ship. Cry me a river, dudes, I've been dealing with that forever with my own favorite ships and you don't see me complaining.

So I was already turned off by the ship when I discovered these collections of drabbles focusing on Sokka/Azula. These drabbles--each written to fit a specific theme--definitely changed my mind. All of them are scattered and they're not exactly in order to the plot so it's hard to follow at first. However, once you get into the flow of the story, it's easier to follow than it looks, and it slowly reveals itself and connects to each other.

The drabbles pick up AtLA's story after the finale and focuses on Azula's recovery from her psychotic episode and her break from reality. Her mother Ursa has returned to the family, Zuko tries to fix their relationship with little success, the Gaang reluctantly agrees to help her out, and along the way, Azula and Sokka both learn a lot about each other and accidentally fall in love. Of course, Azula still gets to be Azula, but the drabbles examine why she became what she used to be and how she manages to break away from her past and reshape herself.

The only thing I imagine that's going to bug some people is how it doesn't properly explain why Sokka and Suki broke up, and it hints that Sokka was possibly attracted to Azula while he was in a relationship with Suki. Fanon-wise, it doesn't really bother me, because the story doesn't outright disrespect Suki in any form, and it's probably better that no explanation is offered, but it's still confusing.

Overall, I like these drabbles and I hope you're willing to give this and the ship a try. Again, much like I've said about Gaston/Belle, this is exactly how I would love to see Sokka/Azula happen if it had to happen in canon.


3. Ten Times The Duke Didn't Win Toph's Heart by achtung_baby, an Avatar: The Last Airbender fic, Toph/The Duke

I remember hearing somewhere in the universe that Mike and Brian actually discussed the possibillity of the Duke/Toph. Which...I have mixed feelings about. Don't get me wrong, I don't dislike the Duke, but there's nothing really interesting about him by himself, and you only see him in a handful of episodes. On the other hand, we did see a glimpse of the Duke hugging Toph in the finale for a few seconds, and it was adorable so I can't hate the idea outright.

This is probably the only Toph/the Duke fanfic out there, and it's worth the read. It's cute and it's surprisingly heart warming how the Duke admires Toph from afar and attempts to woo her. With every failed attempt, you can't help but feel bad for him. Also, there's slight hints of Zuko/Toph and Sokka/Toph to satisfy fans of those ships.


4. Knight of Flowers by Zachere, a Kingdom Hearts fic, Goofy/Aerith.

You heard me right: Goofy from Disney and Aerith from the Final Fantasy franchise in this Kingdom Hearts, together. How does that even work?

Remarkably, it works in this story. Yes, they're from different worlds and they're not even of the same species, but it doesn't matter. They care about each other against all odds. And even better, the author hints at Aerith's connection with water (lol lifestream) and Goofy's widowed wife and his son Max, all these things that aren't really introduced in the Kingdom Hearts series.

If you're in the mood for a cute crack pairing, give this a try. I may not ship them--since, um, there's barely any canon to fall back on--but it's nice to see a different ship explored in the Kingdom Hearts fandom. (Because really, you guys, I'm sick of the boy slash. More crossover pairings, please!)

Comments

[asylumiss.livejournal.com]

Yeah that chart is all kinds of dumb, and the creators actually signed their names to it too. Forshame.

ah I remember Knight of Flowers, I read it a few years ago; it's wonderfully written.

[samatethecookie.livejournal.com]

I mean, I sort of get what they were trying to do, but grouping every female character you can think of altogether into stereotypes and saying they can't carry their own stories is such bullshit. I can't believe anyone actually thought this was a great idea, especially the inclusion of Yoko Ono. If you have to include a real woman as a stereotype in herself and imply she isn't a strong person, then your "feminist critique" fails..

<3 It's a cute story. I only discovered it earlier this year but I'm so happy I stumbled upon it when I did.

[ivy-chan.livejournal.com]

The flowchart is many kinds of fail, especially because they aren't holding male characters to the same searing light of inspection. How about a list of annoying male stereotypes, too?

I admit the Belle/Gaston one intrigues me.

[samatethecookie.livejournal.com]

Exactly. If you're going to fit every female character with a trope and say she isn't a strong female character because of it, then start doing it with male characters Plus, why is it wrong for a woman to fit a stereotype but guys can get away with it in their narratives? Double standards, fandom, you has them.

If you're intrigued, my mission is complete!