(in relation to this)
"Least favorite thing about this ship?"
Less about this specific ship and more about shipping culture as a whole, I find, but-
I dislike how prevalent it is to just sort of... shoehorn a character into a trope or gender role to make the ship 'work.'
I really think it boils down to all of us playing with dolls differently. I like playing around with the characters as established by canon (even if I am particular and only use game canon) and then interpreting where they might be in 5, 10, 30 years from there, which is to say, I like playing with what is and then extrapolating from that. I like looking into dialog and small one-off interactions and going 'aaaah okay so what about-?' I like trying to take a character and then pushing all the buttons on the control panel to get the results. I don't like changing the fundamentals of the character just because. Like, I think anything can be in character if you explain it well and support it, but if that doesn't happen... I'm not engaged and I find it shallow.
I dislike the notion that Amy would just... give up everything. I see it not just in ShadAmy but in *a lot* of Amy ships, where she gives up on living a life, on fostering community, on helping people, hell- on being married- just to be with someone. That doesn't feel like Amy to me at all. Grant it, I'm sure people don't see her as 'giving up' anything, but I confess, as an outsider looking in, that's what it appears to me to be.
I also dislike the idea of Shadow being a genuine asshole/ true 'bad boy.' In the games, there are plenty of times Shadow is shown as caring, curious, engaged in the world around them. There are also times where they are not. Between the two is a person that is struggling with whatever environment they happen to find themselves in. Neither one is, 'the only true option' - they *both* are. The dichotomy of man exists for a reason.
As an aside, I want to establish something- I reblog nearly all Amy Rose, Shadow, and ShadAmy art here. That doesn't mean it's my personal interpretation of the character. That just means I like the characters and can acknowledge that we play with dolls differently. I find a lot of ship blogs or character blogs don't do that and, honestly, it makes me sad.
So what if I don't agree with you on the specifics? We still both love the characters, and the ship. That's good enough for me to celebrate it <3
theartofmadeline
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