[ SECRET POST #3444 ]

[case]

⌈ Secret Post #3444 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

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Notes:

Secrets Left to Post: 02 pages, 32 secrets from Secret Submission Post #492.
Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 0 - not!secrets ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Comments

[elaminator]

I'm not familiar with this ship (and frankly probably won't get around to Borderlands), so can someone just give me a summary? I'm curious. I've heard a lot about this ship being popular, but I know nothing about it.

It's okay to like an abusive ship, but I do feel that people should acknowledge their ship is abusive.

Ship and let ship and all that, though. *shrugs* (Sometimes horribleness appeals to people. I know it does to me on occasion.)

[(Anonymous)]

Handsome Jack was in charge of Hyperion, a huge corporation, and was a homicidal authoritarian leader who wished to restore order to the planet by killing all the bandits (some of whom were basically just people he disagreed with). He was a very charismatic leader (and even can be oddly likable outside of the game as well, he has some really good dialogue)

The morality of everyone in the game can be considered a bit gray and there's a decent amount of people who don't think Jack is entirely evil. Arguments range from pointing at evidence that Jack could have a severe mental illness (which as someone who is going to school for psychiatry, actually does hold some water) to folks who totally woobie-fy him and ignore the fact he isnt above killing/torturing anyone and emotionally abused his own daughter.

Rhys has a serious case of hero worship for Jack and grows close to him throughout the game (their relationship remains unhealthy as fuck throughout) and SPOILER ALERT:
Jack ends up betraying him in the end.

SA:

[(Anonymous)]

A decent amount of the people who ship it actually address it's unhealthy and some of the shippers are actually abuse survivors who use it to work through their own tramau

[insanenoodlyguy]

Also throw in a little mind/body hijack for the fetishists out there.

[(Anonymous)]

Jack doesn't think what he's doing is betrayal, though.

[elaminator]

Ah, thank you for the run down! It sounds like Jack might be a fairly nuanced character, which can be good to have in a villain or antagonist. Hero worship is something that can be pretty enjoyable to watch as well, so from that standpoint I want to say I can understand the appeal.

Charisma is a huge part of the appeal of a character, so even if Jack isn't remotely a good guy, that doesn't mean he can't make an interesting character.

[a_potato]

So, kind of tangential, but:

(Sometimes horribleness appeals to people. I know it does to me on occasion.)

It's interesting, isn't it, how that happens? I've definitely had ships that I liked because they were unhealthy and fucked up, and it seems that that's one of the primary motivations for shipping in general, but it also seems to be the one that's most difficult for non-shippers to understand (and even for some shippers themselves to understand!).

We're always looking for catharsis, I guess.

[elaminator]

Oh, absolutely. If someone out of fandom were to ask me why I was so fascinated and drawn to Hannibal/Will for example, I wouldn't know how to explain without sounding demented. Hell, even within fandom I have a difficult time putting my thoughts and feelings into words, but I just find that profoundly fucked up dynamic absolutely intriguing and addicting. Sometimes things that are so out of the ordinary and so not okay are easy to get drawn into, and the taboo aspect of them can be sort of exhilarating.

IDK, man.

[a_potato]

I don't know about you, but for me the primary allure is the potential for emotional exploration. I love the taboo and the fucked up because it's fascinating to think about how the characters justify it, both to themselves and to others, and I love to trace their emotional journeys.

But on top of that...we all have impulses we're not keen on, things we know we shouldn't do, and fiction is so often an outlet. I think a lot of shipping fits that bill.

[elaminator]

'Emotional exploration' is a good term! Fitting too, I think. That IS on the money; I'm a bit obsessed about attempting to get inside the characters heads and see what they see (how they, as you say, justify things). When you look at the relationships from that POV it's so curious and fascinating, and just feels so meaty and layered. You can practically pick those type of relationships apart; I like the complexity. (Sometimes there's so much hate and love that you wonder how it works, but you know it does and can even begin to understand why. Which is such a conflicting experience, but strangely rewarding.)

Yay, fucked up relationships!

I'm not saying I keep thinking about Hannibal/Will here...but I keep thinking about Hannibal/Will here.

(In other words: Totes agree!)

[otakugal15]

Hey, I ship Hannibal/Clarice due to the books and I KNOW that's a fucked up ship. But I love it anyway. Though this one I can smudge the whole romantic feel into because I DO think there's a genuine love between the two, even if it reached that through fucked up means. *shrugs*

I also used to ship the fuck out of Batman/Joker back when Dark Knight came out, but I HATED the shmoopy fic. I always looked for the fucked up shit because...well that's a fucked up ship man.

[elaminator]

Different sides of the same coin, man. I know you aren't fond of NBC Hannibal, but I do feel that Hannibal and Will love each other, even if that love is a fucked up, terrible one that comes from an extremely dark, demented place. The same is probably true of Hannibal/Clarice, and who knows, if I read the books I might ship them too.

Batman/Joker isn't one I ever got into, but I love it in a one-sided sense, where The Joker has a thing for Bats (you know, canon), and Bruce feels strangely drawn to The Joker, but not necessarily in a romantic or sexual sense.

[nightscale]

I play Borderlands but I've not played the game the secret is on about but IA with this basically.

People like fucked up shit, and pairings are not immune to this at all. I'd say that a well done messed up relationship has just as much appeal as a perfectly healthy one, but I'll concede that it's harder for those outside of the fucked up ones to get it.

That being said I don't judge even if it's not my thing, you do you.

[elaminator]

Absolutely, yes. It's much easier (and socially acceptable, lol) to mention a ship (even casually IRL, like, "Man, how great are Rick and Michonne together?!") that is fairly conventional then one that is abusive and/or desperately depraved. Which, hey, I get, it's just one of those fandom things you have to remember.

If you've never experienced the appeal of a fucked up ship, it's almost impossible to explain it.