fandomsecrets | [ SECRET POST #2389 ]

⌈ Secret Post #2389 ⌋

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

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[Avenged Sevenfold]

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[Professor Layton]

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[Yoroiden Samurai Troopers (Ronin Warriors)]

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Do like it? Hate it? Does it depend on the pairing? If so, what pairings do you like this in? What pairings do you hate it in? Why do you like it in some pairings and not others? Etc, etc, etc. Discuss!

It depends? What counts as a power imbalance?

Depends on the pairing and the canon, if you ask me. There's just so many variables and circumstances that could affect a pairing that it would be false to say that all power-imbalanced shippings aren't OK.

Depends. If it's handled well [and fits teh characters/canon] then I tend to like it. Otherwise nope.

I like there to be equality in the pairing, but for it to seem like there should be a power imbalance if you know what I mean? Like, have one character be substantially older and more experienced. Or for one character to be insecure. An example of this might be Jim/Blair in The Sentinel - I like for Jim to angst about being older than Blair while Blair is just amazed that Jim likes him, and I like for Blair's knowledge of Sentinel stuff to balance out the fact that Jim's in a different spot in his life than him.

I also have a soft spot for John/Sherlock where John angsts that he could never be Sherlock's equal in a partnership while Sherlock quietly knows that John's the only one who ever could be.

So yeah, I like equality - but for the characters to angst about possible power imbalances between them.

Agreed, anon!

I generally like to see how the characters can overcome a power imbalance.

Nope. It's no darn good. It's just not the kind of relationship I want to read about.

Really depends on the type of power imbalance we're talking about and how it's handled. Like, I don't like anything that even borders on dubious consent (ie, the one with more power abusing their position to take advantage of the other), and I feel like a lot of power-imbalance fic/pairings tend to cater to this element. (I'm not knocking the kink, it's just something I don't care to read.)

But I do like where you have A in a position of power/authority over B and they're still able to see each other as equals in their relationship, and I'm very fond of (well-written) D/s, so there's that.

My main attitude towards power imbalances is usually It's Not Like Real Life. In real life, there could be exploitation, manipulation, abuse, that kind of thing. But fictional characters are "safe" - you can trust that even if a character with more power than another could abuse their advantage, they won't.

So, power imbalances only squick me when the imbalance's negative effects can occur unconsciously/unintentionally. Like, if a character hero-worships another character to the point of being totally blindly loyal and unquestioning, even though the other character is flawed and prone to making mistakes, or the hero-worshipping stunts the characters' growth as people, even if the worshipped character isn't actually trying to make the other character worship him/her.

Or if they have really strong parent-child vibes....:\

Oh god, I can't touch any sort of ship where one character had a hand in raising the other - even just as a babysitter or something. It squicks me out.

I like power imbalances when it's due to stuff like class/money, age, authority, intelligence, supernatural/sci-fi elements. On the romantic side of things, In fiction, I find it actually really incredibly appealing when someone with power considers someone noticeably less powerful than themself as worthy of being a partner in a romantic relationship. And on the not-so-romantic side, unequal power dynamics are interesting and hot, even if it's manipulative or un-respectful.

But anything where two people have a close relationship because they have a parent/child- or teacher/student-like bond is a big NOPE for shipping in my book. Like....just no.

Power imbalances can be okay for me if it has more to do with the physical. For example, money, sci-fi/fantasy stuff, age. (A lot of the stuff the anon above me stated.) When the power imbalance is emotional I can't deal with it. For example, teacher/student, blackmail, etc.

The only exception would be if the emotional imbalance was agreed upon beforehand by people who were equal during the agreement. This would include some D/S stuff. (Which, in general, I'm okay with because equal parties agree to it.)

I will also admit that sometimes there is a gray area. In this example I will use one kind relationship that can end up in either category depending on how it is played. It's the boss/subordinate. Now, you'll be asking me, isn't that like teacher/student? No. Generally teacher/student has one person who is an adult and one person who isn't. There is an emotional imbalance there that cannot be fixed. So, for one that works I will look at Jack/Sam from Stargate SG1. Sam may have been under Jack's command but the way they interacted was very much like equal comrades and they treated each other with respect. They listened to each other. Sam would follow his orders because she's a good soldier, but it didn't affect their emotional balance, in my opinion. When this kind of relationship doesn't work you get something like Regal/Alicia from Tales of Symphonia. She's was his secretary. He was a very rich businessman. Alicia is not very worldly and does not have the same education he does. It doesn't help that with what we see of them Regal is calling all the shots and Alicia is mostly an object to be acted upon and seems to have no will of her own. Granted, yes, we see very little of it and so it could look better if we were given more of them but we aren't so I'm working with what I was given.

So yeah, there are some relationships I'm okay with, some I'm not, and some I need to get a feel for before I can decide.

This comment basically describes why (to use one fandom as an example) I'm perfectly okay with Picard/Q, Picard/Riker, and Picard/Crusher, but Picard/Data squicks me the fuck out.

All four pairings have very obvious power differentials - two are frequently-demonstrated military boss/underling relationships, and Q is an omnipotent godlike alien. But only Picard/Data has an unfixable emotional imbalance of a father/son or parent/teacher kind where one character had a visible hand in shaping the other's growth and identity formation and therefore holds huge psychological sway over him in a way that can probably never be done away with.

You get what I'm saying exactly. I'm glad my rambling was understandable.

What you describe is a great example of my preferences when it comes to power imbalances and the difference between the physical and emotional.

Your comment was totally understandable! (that was me btw, dunno why it went anon)

Good to know. :)

You sneaky, sneaky nonanon anoning like an anon.

[ SECRET POST #2389 ]

Power imbalances in shipping?

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