#shipping-rants

So let's clarify it.

I would hate the ship if Cassandra had been a guy named Cassander.

I would hate the ship if it had been multiple guys.

I would hate the ship if it had been multiple guys and girls.

I would hate the ship if it was [insert gender here.]

I would hate the ship if it was Maximus or Pascal.

I would hate the ship if it was some arranged marriage.

I would hate any ship that was a paring for Eugene or pairing for Rapunzel that was not each other.

I would hate any ship that tried to make them share each other with others.

I would hate any ship that ships themselves with either of them (selfship/yumeship) and takes them away from each other.

I would hate any ship that tried to say Rapunzel is so shallow or has no agency and would just go with anyone who saves her.

I would hate any ship that just wants to throw out Eugene because he's a man.

I would hate any ship that tried to encourage fandom to replace, divorce, get in the way, change fandom opinion, retcon, belittle, cheapen, or change New Dream in any way.

Why? Because it's not Eugene and Rapunzel. That's it. They're OTP. They're soulmates. They're find each other in every universe. They were created to go with each other and no one else. The end.

Saw someone's post on here asking for OC x new dream or OC x series only characters content. Okay, whatever, yume shipper, ignore them. BUT THEN they in the same post say no varian and Hugo x OC because Varian only belongs to Hugo.

Wait what?

So let me get this straight. They want a third wheel into new dream, not even the fandom typical ships, just any OC thrown into Disney's most beloved couple.

But don't touch Varian and Hugo.

That's some fucked up double standards there.

Rapunzel and Eugene are outright shown to be jealous over each other in the series. Eugene jealous of Andrew, Rapunzel jealous of Stalyan. And if movie only, for each other and for each other alone. Eugene belongs to Rapunzel, Rapunzel belongs to Eugene, they are married, holding each others hands and Disney's most beloved COUPLE only for each other, created for each other, etc.

But they want an OC thrown into that but don't you dare touch Hugo and Varian.

Oh boy, a can of worms question. Nothing I say is going to be anything anyone likes aside from maybe you, so this is just inviting the peanut gallery. That said...

C4ssunzel: I think it's an insult to the original story and the characters involved. Tangled was about a duo of co-leads, both screenwriter and directors called Rapunzel and Eugene both leads of the story and equal in importance. It's not a princess movie with a love interest and it's not an adventure movie with a damsel in distress, it's the story of both of them. Two leads who aren't who they say they are or believe themselves to be and two leads who end up seeing each other for who they are, bonding, and saving each other.

Dan Fogelman even said the center theme is the romance. It has other themes, but the romance between the two leads is the main theme per the screenwriter.

In simple writing: Rapunzel was created to be with Eugene and Eugene was created to be with Rapunzel.

Inserting Cassandra into that, trying to make her the same importance, and then even to try to take Eugene away and replace him with Cassandra is quite literally spitting on the movie and its themes and flipping off the original source material.

That's the Doylist Out of Universe, Reason.

For the Watsonian (with some doylist still) Reason, it's even more of an insult.

As said above, Eugene and Rapunzel bonded over their shared trauma and lives they were hiding from even themselves, they saw the true selves of each other, and in doing so fell in love and saved each other. Eugene gave his life for her.

And the fandom just wants to say he can be replaced with Cassandra. The fandom just wants to say Rapunzel would fall in love with anyone who saves her thanks to some self-centered Producer who was obsessed with his own character and wanted to make Rapunzel revolve around her, and a couple of story boarders who wanted to force their fanfic romance as equal to the canon one.

Eugene bonded with and earned Rapunzel's love through the strongest symbolism in fictional tropes: Self Sacrifice. What did Cassandra do for Rapunzel? Be forced into being her friend? Be chased because Rapunzel couldn't face abandonment (or rather because Chris needed her to for the plot)?

The start of their friendship doesn't even make sense. Cassandra gives in and becomes Rapunzel's friend because the writers needed it to happen. There's no initial bonding outside Rapunzel needing more friends and never meeting other girls her age. There's no life or death situations that bring them together the start of the series.

They become friends over time in S1, and actual friends. And I'm perfectly fine with them being a trio of friends. But to say that's enough to put her with Rapunzel, when Eugene has been so much more and been there for her is gross. To say Rapunzel would just get with whoever saved her is gross and takes away from her own agency in being able to bond and fall in love.

And it becomes even worse when you have certain artists on here literally writing up that Rapunzel is comphet and forced into a marriage with Eugene and needs to Divorce him just because they can't accept the original story and want to shove her with a girl character because they want their lesbian yuri and parallel her them with catradora which was airing the same exact same time as TTS.

Half of it feels performative and not even a genuine ship for that reason. Some of them probably are genuine and actually think the characters should be together but many of them feel like they just want them together because they don't want the canon couple since it's not gay. (Many on Tumblr have admitted to this, going so far as to even tag 'don't shove men into everything,' forgetting that Eugene was there FIRST).

But for the genuine ones, again. It's just wrong to ignore Eugene and replace him for Cassandra like he's nothing. Or make AUs and imply that Rapunzel would just get with whoever saves her. It insults their relationships, it implies that nothing they have is special or fated or soulmates, because you can just interchange him with whoever you want.

It cheapens the writing.

Ukn1ghtedDream:

Doylist Answer: It doesn't feel genuine at all. I doubt half the people who ship it actually truly ship or want it. It feels like it was just a way to force people to accept C4ssunzel by adding Eugene into the mix and give the 'best of both worlds,' and sway the shippers that didn't want C4ssunzel into accepting it.

We had this same issue in the Once Piece fandom. I was part of a Discord server for SanjixNami. This Discord server had a rule that OUTRIGHT said "Don't talk about ships involving Sanji with anyone else or Nami with anyone else." As in only those two.

Then other members came in and were like 'what about poly,' and suddenly the admins allowed SaNamiZo(Z0san with SaNami) breaking their own original rules. The shippers couldn't talk about z0san so they threw in Nami to invade the server and get to talk about it again.

I feel like that's the same with UKD. They're just tossing in Eugene to the ship that part of the fandom doesn't want, to get to have it still and get people opposed to accept it.

Watsonian Answe: Both Rapunzel and Eugene were shown to get jealous over each other in the series. Rapunzel with Stalyan, Eugene with Andrew and others. As much as they liked to insert their fanfiction ideals, the writers still made it a point to show these two get jealous when it comes to each other.

They would not share each other with anyone else. When it came down to Cassandra or Eugene when Cass tried to make Rapunzel fight her, Rapunzel chose Eugene.

Then there's the fact the elephant in the room of the time travel episode and the fact Eugene was healthily telling Rapunzel she needed to let things go, and instead of seeing he was right or even talking it out, the writers just had Eugene brainwashed through time travel into suddenly accepting that Cassandra hurt Rapunzel again, and he wouldn't give up on her. While we have no idea if he'd have came around had he not been brainwashed by time travel...

We can infer that the end hug most likely wouldn't have happened and he would have been less likely to trusts her again so fast, so the trio hug doesn't feel genuine at all, at the point it happens.

Not to mention the 'poly song,' the storyboarder bragged about hinting at, Cassandra already knew she was going to betray them during it.

All the in-character content UKD shippers try to force the ship forward with were either forced by the writers for plot or reasons they weren't a polyship.

And yes, Rapunzel does have two hands, they're both holding Eugene's even in the movie and series.

Oh look, holding each others hands.

Ending this with: No I don't think she would just get with whoever saved her if you analyze Rapunzel Day One and what Rapunzel herself later says about the heart remembering.

No one likes bait and switches to read a story for 18 chapters thinking one thing is happening because you had ship A tagged, only to later tag a ship you know some people don't like as a GOTCHA as well.