#codawn

So why, despite everything, all the trouble that it’s brought you, why do you keep acting the same?

You’re so close…

Doodled something a bit different from my usual style, both in illustration-wise and in how the dynamic between these two plays out. Wasn’t planning on making anything CoDawn for a while, yet this happened.

Sorry that it’s scuffed and tiny and low res.

I'll admit I don't ship it myself, but as a multi-shipper and someone who has survived the horrors of tumblr, I do want to say that as long as the ship makes you happy, there is merit to it. Dork and mystery girl is a cute ship trope for a reason.

I'm not going to deny that people aren't going to suddenly stop saying it's not a 'real' ship because this is, unfortunately, the internet. But you deserve to draw the art that makes you happiest and ship what you want.

No matter what art you make, when I do see you on my dashboard it sparks joy.

Thinking I was a bad person for posting CoDawn was a consequence of my bad mood at the time. I don’t generally think that, but I do sometimes feel a bit of guilt for posting it knowing it makes some people uncomfortable.

I’m also a multishipper myself, I just happened to get attached to this ship in particular.

It sucks that there’s a “competitive” slant to some of these ship debates, but I don’t want that at all! Having ships that contradict each other coexisting in spite of it is the fun of fandom, and having an outlook where “there can only be one” causes so much heartache.

I understand very much why you wanted to pause posting them, which is so sad because you seem very passionate about them and draw them so adorable. Like you said, it’s truly not a simple “oh, I don’t see how this could work,” “not my thing but cute.” It’s complete disdain more often than not.

I saw that there was literally a Reddit post about CoDawn a few days ago, inspired by seeing your art, with tons of comments about “self-insert” and dismissiveness. I can only imagine how discouraging it is for you, and I must say you handle things with grace. This fandom ships anything that breathes, and you know what? I love that. Have fun! Be creative! But when it involves Cody the shipper immediately “self-inserts” and it’s “disgusting” and Cody’s a “terrible person who shouldn’t be around girls…”

Within the past year, the hate for Cody and anything surrounding him has gotten so extreme that it is completely discouraging to say or post anything related to him unless the only people seeing it are others who view him positively. I’m afraid to even say this because of his history as a fan favorite, that people who dislike him would simply roll their eyes as such an accusation, but it’s true. It really is. I get anxious (so embarrassing…) when a post of Cody comes on my feed, or check the tags, because I know I won’t be able to escape some negativity, to the point where I’ve started blocking tags. It’s like, not enough… I feel so much shame honestly saying (which is now internalized as just thinking!) anything about him because I immediately start thinking negative things about him and how others will perceive it poorly. Apologies if that’s a bit much but it’s gotten to that point and your mention of feeling like a bad person resonated with me.

I know this won’t change anything, but if it provides any comfort, you can NEVER be a bad person for enjoying them, or anything even just related to Cody. It is not possible. You deserve to find comfort in it whether you decide to post them or not. I’ve started feeling the same way about Cody in general, so I seriously understand. It’s an awful feeling and I actively try to feel better because I feel so foolish being upset over these things but it’s a real feeling and you are not alone if it does make you feel down in general or about yourself.

Cody and Dawn have incredible potential. Them both coming off odd, but meaning well, having sweet hearts that are a bit buried under layers of attempting to connect in ineffective or generally unintentionally intrusive ways. They work well together, and I think they’d bring out the best in each other and find a lot of joy and peace once they actually get to know each other. I think Cody would be mesmerized by Dawn’s beauty too, ha. I’m not so sure why that’s even questioned, Gwen is beautiful but she’s supposed to be a bit of a loner outcast in universe! Especially in Island. He’s not against unconventional girls one bit as long as they’re treating him like a person and not a toy… I hope you keep drawing when you feel ready, and take care!

Thank you so much for your wonderful words!

I know this might be odd to say, but reading through this really validated a lot of the feelings I had about the fandom skewing heavily towards negativity and dismissiveness, especially towards anything related to Cody. You basically articulated everything that was storming inside my mind that I would have made a mess of if I tried to do so for myself. I feel like I got everything off my chest without having to string the words together for myself.

2 vents for the price of 1! LOL

But yeah, the Cody hate as of recent has been really intense and vicious. The worst part is that it’s almost always interwoven with contempt for his fanbase as well, like the haters can’t separate the character from the fans. And yet, if you point it out, you’re called the sensitive one who “can’t handle criticism directed towards your favourite character”, ugh.

Yes, I know he was rather creepy with Gwen. How he treated her wasn’t right. And I know he acted entitled and jealous about her in TDWT. I know he’s hypocritical in not considering the creepiness of his actions towards Gwen when Sierra does the same (and worse) to him.

But by golly, these people won’t ever let you forget.

I, for one, am rather sick of feeling like I have to put up a disclaimer for liking a cartoon character. And I’m sure you are too.

But alas, the hate train doesn’t seem to be coming to a halt anytime soon. How long do we have to wait until Cody’s no longer “overrated”?

Anyway, enough of that.

I’m glad you seem to be on board with CoDawn. Once again, articulated my own thoughts for me. I really do love the ship, as unusual as it is, and I don’t want to completely give up on it yet.

Thank you very much for your kind words!

And I’m really sorry for subjecting you and others to negativity that I dragged here. I try to avoid doing that, being dour about things others have said, since fandom culture in general has skewed unnecessarily towards upset and conflict. Unfortunately, today I was weak and ended up feeding into the negativity.

But I’m doing a bit better now (I say as I tear up writing this).

There are other factors which make the ship complicated for me, like having an acquaintance who I know is very uncomfortable with it, so I alway have that guilt in the back of my mind whenever I post about it.

But I also see how it makes other people happy, and it strikes a chord with me in a very specific way. So I have to weigh the odds a little whenever I post; does the positive outweigh the negative?

It's totally valid if you wanna pause art for it, though. I just don't think you should stop forever, especially if you're worried people don't like it. Just draw whatever you enjoy at the end of the day.

I know this is an older ask, but…

Most people, from what I’ve seen, are very dismissive of the ship. Not in just a “not my cup of tea” or a “wow, that’s random” kind of way, but they actually express that the dynamic has no merit and they seem to think the ship only exists because of people self-inserting themselves as Cody to get with Dawn.

And that’s not what the ship is to me, but when I see so many people make that assumption about the ship, it also feels like they’re making an assumption about me by extension.

They actively call the ship “slop”, say “WTF IS THIS?!”, vaguepost about it, and in general, I feel like somebody’s side-eyeing me any time I post about it.

I can’t fathom how Dawn would definitely hate Cody. She would see the good (and why he acts the way he does) in him immediately. Cody is not presented as a bad person in universe, as much as the fandom acts like he is, even if his pervy acts would be too much in real life. I’m so drained over this, so I really understand why you feel the way you do.

Genuinely just sending you good feelings. Your CoDawn art is appreciated by many, even if it doesn’t feel like that at this time.

Don’t worry about responding to this (or anything you don’t want to, of course!), but sending another message because it really is that bad and you deserve support. I hope you feel better about this stuff soon.

Yep, that’s the one. It’s pretty brutal.

I’m a little embarrassed that I didn’t handle the negativity as quietly or with as much grace as I usually try to. Definitely had a sulk-fest in the comments section. Not my proudest moment, but I can’t bring myself to be too ashamed either.

The subreddit has been a less-than inspirational place to be as of recent, so seeing people label my high-effort contributions as “slop” was a little too much for me to just keep bottled up.

But thank you for the positive vibes. It genuinely is uplifting, even if the fact that I’ve been using these submissions as half-vent sessions makes it seem like I’m still in a dour state.

A little Cody+Dawn thing for r/TotalDrama’s Valentine’s Day art contest.

Is a picnic a little cliche? Well, that’s an understatement, but it’s a cliche for a reason - who doesn’t like a picnic? Or butterflies, or flower crowns, or heart-shaped biscuits- yeah, ok, it’s a little saccharine.

It also reminds me of another drawing I did of these two where they’re snuggling together in the same oversized sweater, but I feel like this one has more context. I dunno, maybe I just like cozy, snuggly scenarios for these two.

CoDawn screenshot edits for those it may interest.