Why Are Non-Shipped Characters Sloppy Kissing? The Fan Art Trend Inspired By The Viral 'Yoshi And Toad Kissing' Image Explained

In the world of online fan art there are a lot of common themes that you will see. One of the most common things found within fan art and fan culture is shipping which is when two characters are thought to be in a relationship by the fandom.

However, recently a trend within the art and fandom communities has involved making characters not traditionally in a ship open mouth kiss, but why is this?

Where Did The "PhantomArcade Kiss" Come From?

The idea of drawing characters kissing each other has been around since pre-internet times, as fans of two characters would often draw their favorite characters being intimate with each other. However, in June 2020 the artist Phantom Arcade posted the first version of this trend, claiming that they made it in honor of Pride Month because both Yoshi and Toad are male.

How Do You Join In On The PhantomArcade Kiss Trend?

In the most basic of senses, the best way to create something that works for the trend is to simply pick two characters from the same shared game, anime, or work of fiction. After picking the two, just redraw the Yoshi and Toad image with those two characters, adding your own variation along the way in the form of hearts, extra sloppiness, or whatever your heart desires.

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For the full history of PhantomArcade Kiss, be sure to check out Know Your Meme's encyclopedia entry for more information.