#a lot of dynamics can be similar or different depending on the character but. i want to see how rakan as a character stays true to himself

[mdhwrites]

Did TOH Need More Time For Its Ambitions?

No. Because Amphibia exists. Why can I say that so confidently? Because Sasha and Amity show a VERY clear comparison in how the storytelling in each show is handled and how that shows that even with a similar amount of appearances, TOH is just lacking in actually doing anything with its concepts.

(Quick interjection: Consider this effectively a part 2/rehash on why Anne's arc in S1 is so much better than Amity's arc period, which is a blog I did a LONG time ago that analyzed critical portions of character arcs in general. This one though uses the more obvious pairing and also the two with much closer screen time and narrative importance... though with TOH that term is entirely fucked.)

Both characters are enemies to allies. Both have complicated relationships with the main character and are motivated by that relationship to change themselves for the better. Both have positions in the world and priorities that explicitly makes them opposed to the main character not only ideologically but sociologically. And, above all else:

Sasha's redemption arc, from her first appearance to Turning Point when she explicitly turns full good, is 9 segments. Ten/Eleven if you count Reunion/True Colors as two.

Amity's redemption can range anywhere from seven A plots to nine/ten depending on if A: you count Hooty's Moving Hassle, which I don't, and B: if you count the end of her redemption arc at Winging it Like Witches (when she rebukes her old friends), Escaping Expulsion (when she rebukes her parents) or Looking Glass Ruins, the first episode where she is 100% an ally. Or hell, you could actually for FIVE episodes and say it's Understanding Willow as she apologizes for the past and promises to stop bullying at least Willow at that point, which was her first antagonistic act before.

And mind you... Understanding Willow is in S1. LONG before the shortening took effect. Even the latest one of these puts it at before the shortening. So I think these are fair comparisons of just how the two's arcs were handled with the amount of time spent on them. Which raises the question: What did we get in that time?

Well... We got an actual arc with Sasha while Amity just changes randomly. That's not even really a joke. I'll try to bounce between the two to really highlight the difference, especially in storytelling.

In her first appearance, we get pretty much all possible suspicions about Sasha based on Anne confirmed. She is manipulative, self serving, self aggrandizing and tells people what they want to hear to get them to do what she wants. She is your friend so she can control you. However, she isn't all bad. She could have just ran during the Heron attack but instead helps save the day though it's very possible that she recognized she was better off staying as an equal of Grime's than running off on her own. The Toads are opposed to the Frogs in Amphibia's society though, creating an inherent conflict between Sasha and Anne due to the social dynamics of the world they are in.

Meanwhile, Amity in her first appearance actually makes a strong case for herself. She looks down on those magically challenged, which Luz is, is a bully while Luz is an outcast who has struggled with friends and has a drive to succeed conventionally while Luz uses more unconventional methods. The opposing elements are actually lined up really well between the two but we don't get a lot of Amity's actual personality. She just comes off as an entertaining, almost neurotic bitch. We get more of her personality in her second episode where she is a little more in control of her emotions, shows a potential softer side, and also sets up another sociological conflict in that Luz inherently is on the side of the wild witches due to her mentor and her magic style while Amity is full on the coven train, even to the point to wanting to one day potentially lead the Emperor's Coven. Though, importantly... The only thing that's challenged about Amity's worldview in this episode is the idea that someone she thinks is weak could actually be strong, something that theoretically could have been said to have been covered by the end of Teenage Abomination when Willow proves herself with the seed. Hell, it's also reinforced in an episode I don't usually count for this but is kind of important: Hooty's Moving Hassle. So that's one problem addressed but only tangentially and it's by no means the biggest issue between Amity and Luz. Amity is still a bully after all.

Meanwhile, Reunion goes for the core, both sociologically and personally. The Toads want Hop Pop dead and Sasha doesn't care. Not only that but Sasha assumes that if she tells Anne not to care, Anne won't because in her eyes, Anne serves her. She is the one in charge after all and she won't take no for an answer. Period. We're even shown this explicitly in the flashbacks. The problem is... Anne has gone through an entire character arc to make it so she can stand up to Sasha and challenges pretty much all of Sasha's beliefs. Her need for control, her callousness towards others and her warped view of reality where she is the hero and all else are best off listening to her. Sasha even gives in for a moment in an act of genuine selflessness by letting go of Anne's hand so her and the Plantars can live. It does a lot of work but... It might be considered rushed if that were the end of her primary antagonism.

You know where this is going. In her third major appearance, forth appearance overall... Amity is a neutral entity and a friend by the end of Lost in Language. Honestly, if you wanted to argue that the majority of Amity's arc, especially friends to allies, was three episodes, you'd be actually making a very compelling point. This episode after all is the one where she effectively stops being a bully. She just is now the overly dedicated smart girl. She is explicitly not the antagonist though but instead the victim and the one we're primarily supposed to sympathize with. Then, thanks to Azura, she befriends Luz by the end of the episode. They are already allies and... There isn't much reason for it besides one time teaming up. Sure, Luz has challenged Amity's perceptions but even she calls out in this episode that each time they meet up, Amity gets in trouble or/amd embarrassed. Luz has actually done extremely little to deserve this because all Luz has actually done with Amity before this episode is a declaration of combat and then their last talk in Covention which was just about maybe rethinking if someone could or couldn't do something, not about Amity's morality. Also, Luz is important to consider here. These sorts of arcs involve the MC in a pretty crucial way because they're the one the antagonist wants to become allies with and so the MC needs to accept them. Amity hasn't done fuck all at this point to deserve Luz's attention because she's a bully and is cruel to her mostly besides her final act in Covention. It is literally NARRATIVE TROPES that make Luz forgive Amity and want to befriend. Literally. Nothing about Amity's actions or actual character, Luz just wants to live out her fanfic.

And that brings up the fact that Anne does keep giving Sasha chances but they have an established history and that push and pull of trust is a large part of this. It's the main driving factor for why Sasha will change at all and why the lengths she goes both for manipulation and redemption are important. It's also important to show WHY Anne might have wanted someone like Sasha around. Toad Catcher is not crucial for Sasha's arc, Barrel's Warhammer also shows how much Anne's rebuke of her and choosing the Plantars over her fucks with her mentally, but it does let you see why people follow her. The motivation she can bring them because Sasha does see the best in people... But mostly because people's bests are also the most useful for her. It also doubles down on her good quality that she rarely gives up on someone she chooses to ally with. All while still making it clear that if given the chance, she'll try to get back at Anne because accepting Anne was right is too antithetical to how she sees the world.

And then for both, we get episodes that mostly just explore the characters. A sort of holding pattern for both arcs with Barrel's Warhammer, Third Temple, The Sleepover and The Battle of the Bands for Sasha while we have Adventure in the Elements, Understanding Willow and Grom for Amity. This is also where you can extend this to include Winging it Like Witches and/or Escaping Expulsion depending on where you count Amity's arc as fully ending. For both characters though, the status quote they're primarily in doesn't change a lot. Amity is a tentative ally who has to get dragged into things and is generally a good person but not hanging out with everyone else casually yet. Meanwhile, Sasha is barely controlling her growing rage and insecurity about losing her power over Anne, exacerbated by Marcy coming into the mix and, from Sasha's perspective, siding with Anne. Though, there is a critical difference.

One is actually exploring the character, their motivations and their mindset. In all the episodes I listed for Amity, Amity gets small steps but they're NOTHING we don't already know. She's a generally good person who has a compulsion to succeed until suddenly in Escaping Expulsion that she's let her grades slip. There's nothing about what drives her towards success, no exploration on if these changes are difficult on her, both of which are actually in Battle of the Bands to some extent for Sasha. We don't see how this stuff is affecting her besides her growing crush and if that's getting her to act out. That takes until fucking Looking Glass Ruins to actually manifest while Barrel's Warhammer shows how much the idea of changing is fucking with Sasha's head but also why her behavior is toxic. How her best traits can also be her worst. Amity's traits are barely even being examined. She's just slowly becoming more and more obsessed with Luz and bleeding personality for it by becoming a very generically good person.

THEN we get Sasha's big relapse. Her denial of her arc. The attempt to wrestle back control because she saw an oppurtunity to be on top and took it. This is book 2's ending for Zuko. A moment of weakness where the character's vices means they at least have to question their character arc. If that's what they want or if they want to continue being who they always were. True Colors is this for Sasha, even to the point where she is willing to throw out parts of her past if she can't find a way to keep them. It is that same weakness that makes her plans fail though because once she can try to justify her actions and bring Anne back to her, she can't fight Anne properly and loses for a second time. Again, that push and pull of trust and control.

And Amity doesn't have this. The closest there is to it is Escaping Expulsion... Where she doesn't do shit. Calling that an Amity episode is FRUSTRATING for me because she is barely in it. Not only that, but she doesn't decide to do villainy. Instead, it's that she is a teenager with a controlling mother. But don't worry, despite only showing up for like four minutes of the episode, Amity can just tell her mom to piss off and that's that. It isn't motivated by a push or pull, Amity doesn't want to go back at all and she actively is miserable the entire episode despite having explicitly chosen to be a bully for YEARS before this. After all, her parents only told her she couldn't be friends with Willow. They never told Amity to bully her for years and become queen bitch of the school over all. That was Amity's choice.

And then finally resolution. When the character themselves accepts the change and stops shifting morality. This is actually why I consider Turning Point the end of Sasha'a arc. Commander Anne is follow through but it's just reinforcing the version of Sasha that takes form in this moment. The Sasha, who reading how much her betrayal hurt Anne but how much trust she had for the mean girl, who has to face all she's lost in her pursuit of power, takes the mantle of guardian seriously. It is not a moment of weakness like in Reunion that makes her put other lives over hers but instead a moment self actualization and determination. A moment of strength and one she'll stick to for the most part. She is no longer manipulative, she is a commander, even if she doesn't have the title yet. This is especially satisfying because... Well, we've seen EVERYTHING that motivates this moment. Not just Anne's stuff but Grime's loyalty to her and how much that means to her. Percy and Braddock abandoning her and her trying to use the calculus of war to be okay with that. We can see MOUNTAINS of evidence for why she would choose this over her old self. Over one more time to try to conquer Amphibia like Grime suggests.

I... Genuinely can't really say when this happens for Amity. This actually has way less to do with how many times she rejects her past self and more to do with... Why does she? Why does she ever change in fact? What are her motivations? Because even in Escaping Expulsion, Luz's conversation with Amity isn't "You need to stand up to your parents because you shouldn't let others dictate your life." It's instead, "You should stand up to your parents so I can go back to witch school." And this happens CONSTANTLY. Remember: You can argue her villain role ends on her third major appearance and Luz NEVER talks morality with her. Never has Amity actually learn something.

It actually comes down to an inherent storytelling choice with TOH as a whole: Very few episodes are about anyone other than Luz and Luz actually really sucks at helping people during their episodes. Gus actually has some of the best episodes dedicated to a side character as they're actually addressing a core element of the character... And in his first one, Luz is a bystander. She does fucking NOTHING except maybe give Gus a pep talk. She is mcguffin than anything. With Amity though? Covention is mostly about Luz learning about the coven system. Lost in Language is about Luz and the twins and her want to befriend Amity, not the why she wants to befriend Amity. Adventure in the Elements: About Luz having a Winter Adventure where Amity is a perfectly good person. Understanding Willow is actually one of the better ones because at least for that one, Amity makes her final choice because she's nostalgic for an old friend. Grom has her only stand up though when Luz in trouble. Winging it Like Witches? It's just Luz being in danger that motivates her. Escaping Expulsion? Luz being in danger. Looking Glass? Luz needs her.

This is why Amity feels like she changes just for a pretty girl. Luz actually does NOTHING to ever try and change Amity. To ever actually interact with Amity's arc. Reaching Out will be the pinnacle of this where Amity has suddenly written off the entire coven system, one of the only things besides Luz we've been told she cares about... And Luz has never once talked to her about the coven system or Belos. Because Luz has barely actually talked to her about her besides to call her cool and pretty. It is remarkable how little Luz actually interacts properly with Amity and how few real conversations they have, especially about their differences and feelings about each other. Each time Sasha and Anne are in the same room, you know their philosophies and relationship is going to come up in some way. It's too omnipresent for both to ignore. Meanwhile... There's a lot of episodes where Lumity exchange cute jokes and that's it, despite the main plot focusing on those two characters for that episode. And remember: TOH's A plots explicitly have more time to include those sorts of slower conversations. Oh, and, you know, one of these pairs are just friends while the other GETS INTO A ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIP.

And the pinnacle of all of this: Amphibia does this amazing character arc while also making it plot relevant and REALLY important to its themes. Sasha is a primary antagonist for two seasons technically. She genuinely challenges both the message of change being good from a meta perspective but also challenges Anne's own character arc from a narrative perspective. Her degradation of care is contrasted by how Amphibia makes Anne care so much about others that it makes it harder and harder for her to write off Sasha despite what Sasha did. Then, Sasha changing her perspective and treatment of others, while keeping the core of herself true, is what helps keep Wartwood alive while Anne is gone while also demonstrating the power of change but also that you don't have to change literally EVERYTHING about you.

Meanwhile, it was a fucking meme in the TOH community that if Amity was on screen, nothing could happen and that stayed almost true for literally half the series. Not only that but Amity's complete change for Luz doesn't really feel coherent with the themes of self acceptance and not changing for others. It tries because the show posits that Amity just needed a better environment to go back to being the good person she always was but A: that's never explored because challenging her environment is not actually a part of what motivates her changes, just B: Luz is the whole reason for her change and she changes effectively into Azura, Luz's favorite character. That doesn't feel like becoming her own person and instead changing literally every aspect of yourself for your partner which... Yikes. To put it mildly.

You can cut EVERYTHING to do with Amity out of the show and you lose literally nothing except representation. You cut Sasha out of Amphibia though? You do not have the same story. Period. You have to rewrite a good bit because despite her lack of appearances, she is important. A lot of elements of Amphibia are important like that.

And Amphibia did it with smart storytelling that actually explored its own elements, not because it had three full seasons. Not when Sasha takes up so much less time of her show than Amity does.

This is all because Amphibia actually was interested in telling a character arc instead of just kind of weakly being able to claim it had a character arc. You can even extend that to almost literally any element that TOH and Amphibia both did. And not because of time, simply because one is written a hell of a lot better and was more interested in actually telling its story rather than making a bunch of statements that Twitter could freak out about.

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I have a public Discord for any and all who want to join!

I also have an Amazon page for all of my original works in various forms of character focused romances from cute, teenage romance to erotica series of my past. I have an Ao3 for my fanfiction projects as well if that catches your fancy instead. If you want to hang out with me, I stream from time to time and love to chat with chat.

A Twitter you can follow too

And a Kofi if you like what I do and want to help out with the fact that disability doesn’t pay much.

[tavtime]

One of the things I've been thinking a lot about (as I very, very slowly write my longfic about it) is this theme in BG3 of conflict between gods or godlike authorities versus ordinary people. I think the things it has to say about how "the Great and the Good" treat people they consider their inferiors, and where real power is actually located in that dynamic, are very interesting.

Like. Ok. Literally every full companion's personal arc is concerned with that companion being used as a pawn by an actor with greater scope of influence than themselves: Karlach is on the run from Zariel; Lae'zel finds herself in direct conflict with her people's god-queen; Shadowheart's entire relationship with Shar is dependent on her compliance to being bent to Shar's purposes at the expense of all other connections; Mystra tells Gale to blow himself up to earn her forgiveness and derail a competing power. Even Astarion and Wyll, who aren't beholden to gods per se, are struggling against being manipulated by those who hold sway far beyond the scope of their own (Cazador is not just powerful as a vampire but implied to be socially powerful as well, and Wyll's conflict is not just with Mizora but also his father in his capacity more broadly representing the needs of Baldur's Gate).

And the interesting thing with each of these, what gets brought up time and again, is that these gods and betters aren't actually the ones exercising power over the situation. They're trying, via manipulation of those in service to them, but they aren't actually exerting influence directly in most cases. The implication is of indifference, impotence, or being themselves beholden to a greater power (Gale does make an offhand comment re: how willing Ao would be to overlook Mystra's interference in mortal affairs). The people who actually end up exercising power in this situation are the little people, the ones nominally being used.

Which, Thing One, I think this is a very intentional storytelling choice that yields fantastic contrast to the interactions between the controlled party and the antagonists. The Dead Three are a threat in large part because they were willing to get their handa dirty and operate on the material plane. The first real boss the player faces, Ketheric, is not just chosen of Myrkul directly wielding some of his power, but transforms physically into his avatar. Orin and, to a lesser extent, Gortash as well, can be analyzed along similar lines.

But Thing Two, which I think is really the thing I want to spend the most time turning over, is that the story takes a pretty clear position on moral and personal value in this situation. Basically, in the conflict between the ordinary people of the world and its gods and paragons, the narrative comes down very firmly on the side of the people who are considered pawns or disposable. The protagonists are the ones winning this fight, not their gods, and every time a character gets the opportunity to rise above their "station" to be on equal footing with those powers it's framed negatively. Durge embracing Bhaal, Astarion completing the Ascension, Shadowheart becoming a Dark Justiciar, Gale reforging the crown, Karlach becoming a mind flayer, any Tav or Durge choosing to dominate the brain - all of these involve the character gaining a large amount of power, and all of them are framed by the narrative as "bad endings" (though whether you as the player personally feel differently about them is left up to you, of course). The sole exception to this might be Wyll, who has the opportunity to step into his father's shoes, but even then, there is some aspect of power only being framed as "good" when it is used in service of the people.

Basically what I'm trying to say is that there is an allegory here about class conflict and the power inherent to ordinary people which I think is worthwhile to examine, and is a crucial part of any thorough analysis of BG3's themes.

[flightfoot]

Chat in the movie was sassier and could be annoying but consider…

1. The movie makes a point that Adrien tries to close off his heart to people. He lost his mother at a much younger age than Show Adrien who only lost her less than a year before the series starts. So he’s had more time to become a bit prickly and put up walls. Show Adrien is still desperately trying to hold onto his positivity. But Movie Adrien is more Jaded. He’s an independent catboy who don’t need no watermelon cramping his style. I think that’s why it’s easier for him to yell at his father later on too. Movie Adrien has been dealing with the broken home crap for much longer.

2. Movie Adrichat is a bit more in line with Season 1 Adrichat. He’s more likely to express negativity even if it’s just with a facial expression. Chat Noir in season 1 is more of a sassmaster. He doesn’t go as far as movie chat, but he gets some barbs in and has more bravado. He tells Theo that he’s in charge between the two heroes in Copycat and makes muscles at Marinette in Illustrator. He pushes back against Ladybug more and tells her on more than one occasion that she’s not funny when she sasses him with a joke. When Ladybug calls about his Lourve heist asking what’s going on, he tells her if she’d been there she would know, said he was handling it himself and hung up. He pokes fun at her lucky charms multiple times. He’s salty with Plagg and makes sarcastic little comments about his dad and is generally allowed more teenagery moments that aren’t necessarily the most gentlemanly but sympathetic considering his situation. Like remember when Ladybug exposed Lila’s lie about her and the first thing he says to Ladybug in French is something like “are you insane?!” before he caught himself? 😆

I liked movie Chat because he reminded me more of Season 1 (and maybe 2?) Adrien? As Adrichat progressed in the series he lacked more personality to me. He definitely lacked some of his season 1 attitude. By Season 5, he felt really wooden to me a lot of the time. Like he still has moments of negative emotion, but there was something more dynamic about his character at first. Adrichat in Season 5 is either angry enough to kill over Marinette or sad with his tail between his legs. He used to express himself more as Chat just day to day for all sorts of reasons. He used to have a bit more edge. Doesn’t mean I want him to be an edge lord. He’s always been sweet and self depreciating too but I miss his sassier moments.

All of that to say, Movie Chat reminded me of him and lately he feels a little neutered. Though Season 1 Chat is the main Chat for me, I think I prefer Movie AdriChat to Season 5 AdriChat at this point.

True, Movie!Adrien's dealing with different things. Movie!Gabriel is a way better person and parent than Show!Gabriel, having lost himself in grief but not trying to actually hurt Adrien, merely retreating... but that's also left Adrien without a parent for a lot longer. Based on the pictures we see, I'm betting it's been around five years. He's definitely more withdrawn, he says something about that in the movie, and him wearing earbuds all the time seems to be a way of symbolizing how he's closing himself off from the outside world, like how Neku uses his headphones in TWEWY. I like how you point out that he's making himself into an independent catboy who acts like he doesn't actually need other people, like he's enough on his own - that does help to explain why he's not reaching out to Ladybug as much, why he makes himself out to be a big shot more than in canon. He's been basically alone for a long time now, so he can only really depend on himself.

2. Yeah Movie!Adrien does remind me of S1!Adrien with his expression of negativity and sass. I thought that it worked better in the show than the movie though. In the show it usually seemed to me to be bravado, his imitation of a swashbuckling hero similar to Eugene's "Flynn Rider" impression in Tangled, while in the movie, I thought he came off as a little mean to Ladybug at times, especially since he didn't have as much gentle support going on as we do in the show, whenever Ladybug's struggling.

[weirdrandomtina]

My favourite cartoon ships 2.0!

1. Broppy, Branch and Queen Poppy, Trolls

Such an adorable couple with highly entertaining interactions, anything from bickering to heartfelt encouragement.  Great yin and yang with very opposite yet very compatible personalities.  These two truly have changed each other’s lives for the better, bring out the best in each other, and would do anything for each other - you can’t have one without the other.  I’m not much into reading fanfics in general, but have read all kinds of Broppy ones!  Hopefully we’ll get another special and series!

2. Elixie, Eli Shane and Trixie Sting, Slugterra

Close friends who are always there for each other, loyal teammates who work really well together, who both pester and support one another.  Cute interactions that, to me, give the vibe that they could become more than friends in the future.  I don’t know, there’s just something about them that catches my attention, so many options for fanfics!

3. Embade (not sure if there’s a ship name for them yet), Wade Ripple and Ember Lumen, Elemental

About as opposite as two people can be!  I fell in love with these two immediately - their dynamic is highly entertaining, being fire and water they have unique interactions no other couple could have, their dance scene / first touch gives me butterflies, their first date is the cutest thing ever, and I like how it wasn’t ‘love at first sight’ - they got to know each other first, then fell in love, and they really improved each other’s lives.

4. The Love Square (Adrinette, Ladynoir, Marichat, Ladrien), Adrien Agreste / Chat Noir and Marinette Dupain-Cheng / Ladybug, Miraculous Ladybug

Four ships in one, so lots of options for different fun stories between the characters!  I’ve read a few neat fan-comics of them, their varying dynamics are always interesting.  This ship also moved down my favourites list, because I personally thought their ‘just friends’ status dragged on too long in canon.

5. Simonette, Simon Seville and Jeanette Miller, ALVINNN!!!

Close friends who have similar hobbies and compatible personalities, I love the episodes where they interact, especially helping each other on projects or just hanging out.  They would make an adorable couple, I’d love to see them on a sweet little date.  I’m not a huge fan of the CGI movies, but I watch Chipwrecked solely for their interactions.

6. Guep (no solid decent ship name for them so I’m going with this), Guy and Eep Crood, The Croods

I love the fact that she’s stronger and bigger than him, and far from a typical girly girl, it makes a unique and unconventional couple.  Also, they take care of each other, it’s never one-sided (the macho guy rescuing the dainty damsel, or the powerful woman rescuing the weak guy).

7. Eugunzel, Eugene Fitzherbert and Princess Rapunzel, Tangled

Tons of excellent interactions in the series, a healthy relationship and another couple who has given each other better lives.  She’s not the typical dependent princess, but not an overly powerful female either, just the perfect balance.  And like Guep, he rescues her, and she rescues him; both have strengths and weaknesses, making them a very realistic pair.

8. Hiccstrid, Hiccup Haddock and Astrid Hofferson, How To Train Your Dragon

Another couple where she’s the stronger one.  I like their teamwork and interactions - even though she’s much bolder than him, she respects his leadership and is loyal to him.  At the same time, he respects her and is open to her suggestions.

9. Jilaire, Jim Lake Jr. and Claire Nunez, Trollhunters

Their development from barely friends to a close couple was natural and realistic.  There is literally nothing these two wouldn’t do for each other (Jim risking his life and breaking the law to save Claire’s brother, Claire fully accepting Jim no matter what physical form he’s in)

10. Snowlin, Prince Merlin and Princess Snow White, Red Shoes and the Seven Dwarves

Excellent messages about true beauty.  The rare movie relationship where the main female does not represent ideal beauty standards, yet still ends up in a happy relationship.  These two learned to truly love each other for who they are on the inside, regardless of their appearance, and will surely stick by each other’s sides no matter what.

[pansy-picnics]

how did unknighted dream react to varian coming out/bringing home hugo lol

LMAOOO OK so this is one of my favorite things ever solely bc theres SO MANY different ways it can go and literally all of them are fucking gold

i feel like they always knew varian was Not Straight. im a big fan of the idea that varian transitions after qfad and has a big mental breakdown haircut when his dad gets trapped and considering his feelings towards both eugene and cass i think it was always this unspoken thing all of them knew about. rapunzel and eugene however were obviously Not expecting him to bring home a whole ass boyfriend

of course varian wrote tons of letters home so they both heard everything about the new friends he was making, but varian was insistent on not telling them ANYTHING about his crush because god knows how rapunzel would react if she found out about That. she was suspicious when he came back for the light trial but decided to keep her mouth shut until they were all finished with their work there

i love rapunzel and eugene being super supportive but also a Little protective. and its not really anything to do with anything hugo’s done, they’re all about second chances after all but they’re obviously not ready to see their baby brother grow up so fast. ive seen a lot of fics where one or both of them are very defensive and suspicious towards hugo and it ends with a VERY yummy confrontation from varian where he tells them they need to learn that he’s an adult now and is able to make his own choices and they have to be okay with that. but the route of them being so excited and supportive that it ends up being overbearing is also super funny and in character

i think rapunzel at first would be super excited varian is finding love, and very welcoming towards hugo on a surface level- but as time goes on the tiniest things start to make her paranoid, and she worries a lot about varian getting hurt in some way. cue her snooping around a lot just to make sure he’s okay, varian eventually confronting her about it and her apologizing and promising to recognize varian’s maturity and be more accepting of his choices.

when rapunzel actually starts to see hugo on a deeper level she starts to recognize a lot of his similarities to varian, eugene, and especially herself, and she’s now basically like “oh ok!!! new baby brother!! :)”

she then tries to be a lot more welcoming towards hugo, trying to help him settle into the castle without being too overbearing. of course from hugo’s perspective her seemingly constant mood swings make him very hesitant to trust her, but eventually through varian the two are able to bond and find a lot of common ground

eugene on the other hand is fun bc he’s way more versatile and it can go a LOT of different ways depending on how they’re introduced or how their past together is established. i love the idea of him basically becoming Cass 2.0 and being super overprotective of varian but i also like to imagine he’s mostly just so hostile towards hugo bc he recognizes so much of his younger self and is Cringing about it (he would literally NEVER admit it though). like he’s like “i cannot STAND that kid he always acts so cocky and like he’s sooo much better than me” and cass is like “lmao yeah right? he’s exactly like you when you first came here” and eugene’s just “😐”

anyways they’re best friends (they literally cant stand each other)

no they do start to get along eventually though and i have so many thoughts about the potential friendship between the former thieves, lance hugo and eugene would be SUCH a dynamic and this fandom is sleeping on it fr

and then theres cass. GOD cass is my favorite in this situation by far bc shes way more logical and is like the only grounding force between rapunzel and eugene. new dream are the overemotional parents/older siblings in this situation and cass is like. the wine aunt.

bc see cass already ran into varian at some point during his journey and has already processed most of these changes ahead of time. she already recognized how much varian had matured and how much this trip had changed him. and most importantly she recognized what was going on between him and hugo a Long time ago and literally Did Not Care

in fact cass’s main concern is literally just that she thinks hugo is annoying. its not like she’s suspicious of him at all bc she fully trusts varians judgement and also knows varian is capable of handling himself. she’s aware that varian clearly saw something in hugo and chose him for a reason. she just doesn’t like him solely out of personal bias

cass doesn’t straight up tell raps and eugene what the problem is because she knows they need to hear it from varian more than anything but she does try to kind of push them in that direction. she reminds them like “hey maybe you should try to give the kid more credit. i think he knows what he’s doing” yk that kind of thing.

ironically enough though hugo is WAY more scared of her than he is of anyone else. shes like on the same level as quirin on his list of threats which is hilarious because they are the main 2 people who have like, basically nothing against him

hugo: so is this the part where you tell me you’ll kill me if i hurt varian

cass: ? what?? oh no that bitch is fully capable of killing you himself if he wanted to

hugo: …….yeah thats fair actually.

[9800sblog]

yunho tarot reading

public persona vs real personality

do i have his energy permission to do and share this reading? ace of swords, 6 of pentacles

it's no wonder mingi and yunho are close friends, their personalities are incredibly similar!

persona

heavy, intimidating persona, specially because of ateez' concept. as often, his persona depends a lot on what's being asked of him, what type of content he's making. in general, yunho likes to present as someone who is self composed and reliable, traditional to please the elders yet sexy to please the youngers. he brings extensive power to performances and photoshoots, he likes to look scary sometimes as it's part of the concept. for entertainment purposes, yunho seems to think that the weirder the better, literal self humiliation came through in the cards, he likes to act as an annoying young brother to be funny. this also implies that the person he is on camera is intrinsically different from the person he is in private. he comes up as someone who is welcoming and warm, open to all types of people and non-judgmental. he is definitely a protector of those he sees suffering, as he himself has no problems, no issues and nothing that ever bothers him (🤥). yunho doesn't talk to other celebrities unless he's working with them, I don't think he cares about making friends based on status. I literally got the 3 of cups reversed amongst other cards for this section, he may not relate to the celebrity lifestyle/social life, and just not talk to anyone in a substantial or significant way. conversations seem superficial, like small talk about their job and the weather haha with fans, it's the very classic, tired thing of being obsessed with everyone of them all the time. he follows along to what each fan expects and plays a part/character, specially pretending to be romeo and juliette, "forbidden love" thing. he seems to be quite apathetic about this, this is the heaviest part of the reading, bringing some anxiety and headaches, the cards indicate boredom and a lack of care, it's just his job he don't care, but he may find it embarrassing and laugh at himself sometimes kkkkkkk oh the things we gotta do for money, like calling ourselves a dog

personality

oh yunho is very childlike, he may feel that he's growing up too slowly and doesn't feel like an adult. he can get often distracted and scared, needs someone to protect him from himself in a way. he can be quite self-centered and he doesn't try to be like everybody else, yunho is the type to figure out what works for him personally and go for that with confidence. he can also get vindictive, jealous and when he gets angry it can be extra scary or destructive as he's usually such an easy-going and nice guy (as I know tumblr, this doesn't mean that he beats up walls or people, he may just cut people off or cuss, I know this app loves drama). friends are a big part of yunho's life, he likes to be a leader instead of a follower, decide where they're hanging out, what they're doing, etc (peep yunho and mingi's entire dynamic haha) he prefers having a small number of honest and soulful friendships than an army of followers who only know his name and status. yunho enjoys all sorts of activities with friends, as long as they're together, he doesn't mind, they just gotta match. he enjoys sitting in a garden talking about his feelings as much as he enjoys pretending to be superheroes in a loud bar. his current friendgroup is probably filled with people he's known all or most of his life. yunho seems to hold intense gratitude towards his family, these are the people that know him the best, he'd never deny that. the ones that protect him and make him feel safe to be himself, he doesn't hide his emotions or pretend to be anything around them, he tends to just rest and do nothing around them, unproductive. some of what he considers family may not be blood relatives, found family. he rests by doing absolutely nothing and has fun by doing a lot, he enjoys things that test his morality and explore his psyche, also likes to live vicariously through others, watching stuff (tv, gameplay, youtube, sports, etc), hearing stories (podcasts, books, music, etc) or playing games. he likes the things that shake him up and bother him a bit, bring him out of himself comfort zone while still standing in comfort. when he's alone, he's just lazy, may lack direction and go into survival mode, aka only care about eat, sleep and poop. he may often distract himself to escape boredom by doing many things at once, he likes intense videogames and he may be the type to listen to music, while reading and eating at the same time. he may find his casual, alone self to be boring and try harder to be interesting when in public, he seems nervous about his identity, not in a worrying way, but in a "young adult who is naturally still growing his confidence and sense of self" way. he's also an incredibly supportive and giving person, he would literally die/kill for those he loves and would give away his own house if they needed one. yunho seems like the opposite of materialistic, but he still cares a lot about the quality of what he surrounds himself with, it seems that even when alone he's still trying hard to be a good artist, rehearsing and working beyond the hours requested and alone, he really loves art. he also seems really weird when he's alone, talking to himself, making himself laugh, he may like to prank people too. I'd describe his energy in the private section of the reading as a magical healing starry heart, he's innocent and just genuinely really nice.

[kordeliiius]

Been working on another Metroguy for awhile now :] Their name is Steel and they fight for the Resistance with the power of dance, baby

hella long brainstorm session under the cut

To start, I originally envisioned a Desi-coded character (at least when it came to Steel’s facial features) since I’m leaning into the game’s suspected Hong Kong inspiration and I read there’s quite a few Indians in Hong Kong today. They’re also nonbinary but I'm thinking they might not fully realize it until later on. For the record they're AMAB (I like to keep a tally so I can strike a balance with all my different OCs) and they’re used to being addressed as such, but they’ve always been apathetic towards gendered semiotics/expectations in general, and just do what they please. They tend to stick to an androgynous/soft-masc look and a strong girlypop attitude.

For combat etc, Steel wears some kind of limb augmentation, which Hunter also uses, but it has to be flexible enough to move around in and contort a lot. The gear detects their movements to fine-tune different sounds, whether they’re manipulating something Ten records, or adding more layers to his compositions. The output can then serve as a powered-up attack pattern or special key. Basically they're like Imogen Heap’s Mi.mu gloves if you could wear them on your legs. (They also might resemble dance tights depending on any other layers one might wear.) Maybe there’s some arm augmentation to allow for more range of options, but it’s already too much of a one-to-one recreation at this stage, and going forward I’d like to branch out more and make them look more appropriate for the setting. The real Mi.mus also use wi-fi and the motif I’m leaning into here is wired technology, so there’s also more to figure out when it comes to transferring power/energy between people.

(There’s also the idea that Steel doesn't actually suit up/have the opportunity to use this skill until Hunter is out of the picture for some time. So while the two have similar functions, Steel definitely has a more of fun-loving personality while Hunter is closed-off, so their play styles and roles in the group dynamic are entirely different.)

The actual style of dance that Steel uses is a weird mishmash of tap, breakdancing, ballet/lyrical, and Indian classical dances. Their shoes are modeled after different designs for tap shoes and it’s where I got their name from. But it doesn't sound smart to wear actual tap shoes outside, so maybe they use something else that’s actually meant for outdoors, or just a modified, flexible-enough pair of flats. One way they're influenced by Indian classical dance could be the use of mudras with their real-world meanings correlating to different moves. But similar to Nova and their Kagura, I’m worried that might be too dodgy or like taboo in some way @__@

[halfagone]

Hi, Halfa!

Recently, I have seen a lot of fanfics regarding the relationship between Danny and Constantine, as in couple but most commonly father-son dynamic or similar.

Do you think they could work out or are their personalities too different? And what would that look like?

Hello, Anony! X3

There are definitely plenty of lovely fics with these two involved, romantic or not. There's Contractual Obligations by the lovely @arzuera and @tathartiel~ which is a father-son fic. There's also Ashes by the incredible @jaytriesstuff which features these two as a couple. Just a few examples if anyone is interested in them.

I do think that a relationship between these two can work, even despite or perhaps because they are different in many ways. Yes, there are many qualities they share- Constantine may be an ass but in the end for all his dubious morals he is still a hero, and that deserves some recognition. But in some regards, they have such different life experiences that maybe it can be hard to imagine them together or interacting in any way.

But you don't have to be the carbon copy of someone to love them. They say opposites attract, and that can be true. Sometimes you need that different perspective in your life to help you grow to be a better person or look past the biases you grew up with.

There are plenty of parents whose children grow to be nothing like them and they can still love them. Because a kid is not meant to be your do-over, a kid is meant to be a life you bring into the world so that they can live it. Even if it's not something you would have chosen for yourself. And there's plenty of parents who don't want their children to be anything like them, because they made mistakes they can't take back.

A lot of it depends on what kind of characterization you want Constantine to have. There are many versions of his character; sometimes he acts like a self-centered asshole only looking out for himself, sometimes he acts as a mentor to Billy Batson or Timothy Hunter because they're kids who need a hand.

Personally, Constantine as a father to me would be that parent who doesn't want their kid to turn out like them. He's done terrible things for the sake of survival that no one should have to. If he wanted to be a good parent, I can see him trying to distance himself or his past from Danny to make sure he doesn't get caught up in that. This might sound bad, but in some cases, it is genuinely better to give a child up for adoption, and that would probably be the same here for Constantine.

As a couple can be a little more tricky. Because you run the risk of Danny's relationship with John turning into a twisted 'I can fix him' scenario, which is never healthy. Yes, relationships can help you grow, but you should never go into one with the thought that you can change a person. For one, that's not realistic. For another, they don't always have to change. Sometimes one half of the couple just thinks the other half should, which again, unhealthy. And of course, that means you don't care about a person for who they are but some vision you have of them. Not much better.

But if these two are on equal footing, I can imagine it growing into something that has a lot of potential to be a healthy relationship. I love to think about how different their perspectives are on death and how that reflects on them as people. Constantine has made so many soul contracts in his endless attempts to escape death. On the other hand, Danny has died and embraces death every time he transforms into Phantom.

I could wax poetic about this pair if I wanted to, but I should really wrap this up at some point lol I do believe these two have a lot of potential, but I always have been a multi-shipper at heart.

[himbeereule]

different anon, but speaking of our lovely cast of ROs, what are their romance tropes/dynamics with MC?

Thanks for the ask (even though I dreaded this)... I don't really know much about tropes, and the wikis I read just now weren't that helpful, so I'll just try to explain in my own words somehow (I think I'm quite bad at this, so please bear with me)

...actually, I don't think it'd be possible to summarize them in tropes in the first place, since there can be a lot of them depending on how you act. In the first place, they will react completely different towards you, depending on whether you're more active or passive in your rom choices.

Yakov/Liliya: (may be) childhood friends to lovers; you can't be sure of what their true personality is, and they're reluctant to let anyone see, especially you (because they're afraid you might dislike it); if you're more active, they'll try to act cold/run away, even though they'll be desperate for you to catch them; if you're more passive, they'll try the same but'll be forced to come back on their own because they can't give up on you after all; in a same-sex dynamic, they'll do a lot of things to try and dissuade you from going their route, but as long as you don't give up, any reaction you choose to that will ultimately be successful (this is also the only route where you going complete yandere yourself is already fully mapped out)

Semyon/Selena: a dedicated green flag relationship; very supportive and protective; pretty much zero angst, they will never not be there for you; think Morkai from Soul Stone War (I love him so so much), but super calm and mature instead of grumpy

Mikhail/Marina: basically an easily-overexcited, nerdy pet; you're their only friend in the world; if you're more active, they'll be more shy and a bit tsundere; if you're more passive, they'll open up a bit more/act more cheerfully, since they'll suspect a kindred spirit; absolutely will pout if you don't give them enough attention

Leon/Leah: has absolutely no respect for you in the beginning; if you're more active, that will change, a lot; if you're more passive, they'll still see you as a puppet, but you'll be their puppet, and nobody is allowed to touch you; will also not really be able to bear manipulating you in any case, and will be quite weak to any request from you, so who's the puppet now?; not quite enemies-to-lovers, but maybe reluctant-allies-to-lovers/forced proximity

'Little' Semyon/Selena: is there a trope called fan-to-lover? it would fit; they idolize you completely; a classic guard-dog character, though they completely understate their own abilities because they compare them with their extremely over-the-top estimation of yours; tries to be your moral compass (but you can ignore that and break their heart by forcing them into doing bad things; they're too loyal to not do it, but they will suffer); the route where you can be the red flag

Nikola: the classic flirty, rebellious, [whatever the nb version of playboy is] character; will be very surprised to find out they can have lasting feelings for someone; also, my earliest character notes describe them as "cinnamon roll-murder hobo hybrid", so there's that

Rakhmil/Rakhilya: similar to Lyudmila in that they're really tired of all this shit and just want peace, but unable to give up on their cause; very chaotic route to take because of all the relationships they have with other characters; they betray their friends and family for you, and are consequently tortured by guilt - depending on how you deal with that, this is another route where you can be the red flag

Arseniy/Rozaliya: enemies-to-lovers, 100%; you are literally enemies on the battlefield; there are multiple opportunities where you can become their prisoner; absolutely despises you in the beginning; generally few but very intense encounters; also very slow-burn, you'll only get into an actual relationship with them towards the end

Lyudmila: love after marriage; even though it's kinda forced from your side ("marry me or die"), she stands by her decision and does her best to make it work; in the end, you'll not only be lovers, but also best friends (apart from being, you know, married)

Jan/Jana: master-servant relationship, slightly overprotective bodyguard, can't really deal with your affection at first since it seems like a violation of their duties; slightly yandere, but without possessiveness - the only thing on their mind is your well-being; wouldwill kill for you

...I feel like I really didn't answer that well, I'm so sorry ;_;

[emotionallychargedtowel]

the pursuer-distancer dyad & how it applies to the world of BL

Not too surprisingly, since I have a psychology PhD, I notice a lot of examples in my BL-watching of psychological concepts related to relationship dynamics and sometimes individual characteristics. I also probably like BLs because I’ve sought them out in part because they present an opportunity to do some complex thinking about relationships and how we approach them. 

A quick thing to note: BL characters are, of course, not real. But their stories resonate with us because they have some kind of relationship to reality. There’s a continuum from very realistic and highly relatable, to heightened for effect (this can make it easier to see certain things clearly, so they can still teach us useful things about real life), all the way to highly unrealistic stuff where we can relate to it because unusual experiences symbolically stand in for something else (see the classic “sure, he’s a murderer, but he’s my babygirl” phenomenon).

This post is about pursuer-distancer dynamics in relationships. I’m going to explain the concept as quickly and simply as I can, then talk a little bit about BL tropes and specific examples. I hope that if I keep writing about stuff like this, this is a post I can link to for background info in the future.

Most of the stuff I’ve seen on pursuer-distancer dynamics stems from Harriet Lerner’s work. She’s a Bowenian family systems therapist with a feminist bent who has written a lot of incisive but accessible books for popular audiences. Family systems theory is a way of looking at relationships as complex systems in which our patterns of behavior are interrelated. Hopefully that last sentence will make more sense after I explain further. For now, let’s dive in.

Here’s Lerner introducing the concepts of pursuers and distancers with a bulleted list from her book The Dance of Anger, excerpted below:

PURSUERS

• react to anxiety by seeking greater togetherness in a relationship.

• place a high value on talking things out and expressing feelings, and believe others should do the same.

• feel rejected and take it personally when someone close to them wants more time and space alone or away from the relationship.

• tend to pursue harder and then coldly withdraw when an important person seeks distance.

DISTANCERS

• seek emotional distance or physical space when stress is high.

• consider themselves to be self-reliant and private persons—more “do-it-yourselfers” than help-seekers.

• have difficulty showing their needy, vulnerable, and dependent sides.

• open up most freely when they are not pushed or pursued.

Sometimes we see these roles happen in clear-cut ways similar to what Lerner describes. But they can also show up in more complex ways. Roles can vary both between and within relationships. In other words, you can be a distancer in one relationship and a pursuer in another, and you can be both a pursuer and a distancer in different areas within the same relationship.

In healthy relationships that aren’t under any particular stress, pursuing and distancing would still happen. But partners would be free to engage in either as needed in a flexible way instead of being stuck in entrenched roles. 

Side note: there’s a difference between pursuing in the sense of wanting to be in a relationship with someone and pursuing a partner emotionally in an established relationship, just as there’s a difference between distancing yourself from a potential partner and distancing yourself from an established partner. I’m including a shot from Semantic Error above because it has a quality that not very many BLs have: the seme seems like he’s be a pursuer in a relationship, and the uke seems like he’d be a distancer.

So, why do we get caught in these entrenched, interrelated roles in relationships?

Lerner sees them as a sort of unspoken deal that we make with people we’re close to because deep down, we want to avoid acknowledging certain needs and the emotions that come with them. It’s a fairly universal thing that human beings both crave intimacy and fear it. But this is hard to acknowledge. It’s tempting to disavow either our need for closeness or our need for independence.

As Lerner puts it:

Emotional pursuers protect emotional distancers. By doing the work of expressing the neediness, clingingness, and wish for closeness for both partners, pursuers make it possible for distancers to avoid confronting their own dependency wishes and insecurities.

It goes both ways. Distancers can convince themselves that they don’t have a need for closeness because their pursuer is holding all of the neediness for them. Pursuers can convince themselves they don’t have any desire to avoid intimacy because their distancer will hold that for them. 

Not only do we make these unspoken bargains within relationships, but our tendencies to pursue or distance inform the partners we choose in the first place. Those of us with a tendency to pursue may gravitate to partners with a tendency to distance, or vice versa.

So, what’s the alternative? Lerner writes that relationships are healthier and more honest when both partners can acknowledge both their need for intimacy and their need for independence. 

Before I move on to BL-specific stuff, a couple things to note. First, the way in which pursuer and distancer roles are complementary is a pattern that comes up in a lot of other relationship roles. There are a number of ways in which we sort of delegate certain relational tasks or emotional states within a relationship and disavow those they have assigned to the other person. Second, the tendency to pursue or distance is related to other factors, such as attachment style, and I may get into some of those in other posts.

So, on to BL tropes. Let’s start by looking at maybe the most foundational BL trope, the seme/uke pairing. I honestly think I’m still working on fully grasping that concept. But of the varying definitions I’ve seen, I much prefer ones that define the seme as the person doing the pursuing and the uke as the person being pursued (rather than putting it in terms of semes as “aggressive” or making gross assumptions about topping and bottoming). It’s pretty obvious from the use of “pursue” here that the idea of a pursuer/distancer dynamic readily applies here, although it doesn’t map on perfectly.

So, what do Lerner’s ideas about pursuer/distancer dyads tell us about the ways BL dyads negotiate closeness?

It helps to explain the appeal of tsundere characters as ukes. Not as a fictional character, but their appeal to a seme. Watching a BL with a sweet seme and a grouchy uke, you might look at that seme and say, “poor thing, too bad he has to like someone who’s so grumpy” and see him as fully and sincerely seeking as much intimacy with the uke as he can get. But why did this person who’s supposedly so interested in intimacy fall for someone so prickly? Pursuers find distancers appealing because they can chase after them all they want and while, hopefully, they’ll catch up to them at times and experience some intimacy, it won’t be too easy. If it was too easy, the pursuer would 1) get more intimacy than they bargained for and 2) have to admit to themselves and their tsundere that they need distance sometimes too.

The reverse is also true. A uke can better afford to distance himself, or push a seme away, because on some level he trusts the seme to continue to pursue.

One thing I didn’t get into above but that Lerner points out: when a pursuer gets fed up with pursuing and not “catching” their partner enough, they tend to engage in what she calls “reactive distance.” This isn’t like when a pursuer calmly and authentically gets in touch with their need for independence and acts on it, making their approach to their relationship more balanced. It’s when a pursuer feels rejected and, well, pouts. I can think of a few examples of this in BLs but the first one that comes to my mind is from To My Star 2. (Spoilers ahead!) Seo Joon spends most of the season doing a serious full-court press to try to get Ji Woo back. In the face of a lot of rejection, some of it distinctly mean-spirited, he just keeps trying. And then, suddenly, he doesn’t. He takes his camper out to the woods where he has no phone reception, and when his management can’t get in contact with him, Ji Woo panics and is afraid something terrible has happened to him. But when he finds him calmly drinking a beer beside his camper, Seo Joon’s manner has changed drastically--he’s cold and dismissive. He still actually wants Ji Woo back. But he’s gotten to the point where he’s hurt enough to get into reactive distance mode. Later in the show, he does something similar. When Ji Woo finally wants to reconcile, Seo Joon is reluctant (for a little while). Chasing Ji Woo (while Ji Woo distances himself) was easier than dealing with all of the questions that come with reconciling with him, like whether he can really feel safe resuming a relationship with someone who ghosted him for a year. (I should note that there seems to be reasonable disagreement about who the seme is in this relationship, if indeed there is one in the strictest sense, but Seo Joon is definitely a pursuer in the family systems sense.)

There are other ways, besides choosing a distancer as their object of interest, in which a pursuer can build in safety mechanisms to make sure their pursuit doesn’t result in more intimacy than they can handle. I’m thinking of Utsukushii Kare here. I have a lot of thoughts here that should probably be in a separate post. I’ll just say that Hira and Kiyoi are both intensely ambivalent about intimacy and that despite Hira largely pursuing Kiyoi and Kiyoi mostly acting as the distancer, they turn those roles inside out and backwards and randomly trade positions. Honestly half my reason for writing this is so that I can pull all of these ideas into an Utsukushii Kare post later because they are a great example about how these dynamics can turn into a tangled mess.

I’ll leave it at that for the moment. As I said above, I’m planning to pull from these ideas for at least one in-depth post on Utsukushii Kare and if there’s interest and I have the time and energy I’ll try doing something similar about some other constructs that apply to BLs in a useful way.

[prpfs]

🔪 Fandomless MxM RP 🔪

Hello!! I’m an 18-25 y/o rper looking for partners over 18 for a MxM OCxOC RP. I’m looking for a 70/30 plot/smut ratio for this one

The plot I have in mind revolves around the OC I want to use. He’s a young adult (age varies depending), serial killer/yandere type character that I’d like to write against an older/similarly aged male character! He is a switch with a bottom lean and I’d prefer my partner’s character to be a switch or top leaning character, he won’t work well with strict bottoms.

Okay, so plot! If you’ve seen the show You, it’s pretty similar.

My character is obsessed with yours; he’ll do anything to get closer to them and will go even further to protect their relationship, even killing people to ‘fix’ problems.

We can add different ship dynamics, too: like detective x serial killer/ employee x boss/ college au/ etc.!

That’s the basics of it! I have a lot more specifics I’d like to chat about; interact with this post and I’ll reach out to you!

give a like and anon will get back to you

[sokkastyles]

Examining the way that various characters define loyalty. In “The Storm,” Zuko defines the plan in the war meeting as a betrayal:

Young Zuko[Zuko is shown standing up.] You can't sacrifice an entire division like that! Those soldiers love and defend our nation! How can you betray them?

Then, when faced with his father in the agni kai, defines himself as loyal to Ozai:

Young Zuko[Frontal shot; kneels on his knees and forearms, while looking at the floor.] I meant you no disrespect. [Gazes up at his father, tears shimmering in his eyes as his voice starts to waver.] I am your loyal son.

An idea that Zhao uses to question Zuko later, implying that Zuko’s status as banished means there is cause to question his loyalty:

Zhao: Prince Zuko, the Avatar is the only one who can stop the Fire Nation from winning this war. If you have an ounce of loyalty left, you'll tell me what you found.

It’s also Zuko’s association with Iroh that calls his loyalty into question, as Iroh himself is known as disgraced:

Zhao: General Iroh, why am I not surprised to discover your treachery?

Iroh: I'm no traitor, Zhao, the Fire Nation needs the moon, too; we all depend on the balance.

Iroh defines loyalty in an entirely different way, though.

Ozai: Iroh is a traitor, and your brother Zuko is a failure. I have a task for you.

Again we have the idea that Iroh is treacherous, but notably Ozai does not tell Azula that Zuko is also a traitor, but a failure. If Zuko were branded a traitor, Ozai would have to admit losing his control over him, since Zuko’s belief that he needs to regain his honor in his father’s eyes is what keeps him loyal. Better a failure than a traitor. No matter how much Ozai puts down Zuko, he needs Zuko to be his scapegoat, so he also needs to keep Zuko loyal to him. It also helps Ozai maintain his control over Azula as well, because Zuko serves as the example of what happens if you fail to keep being the golden child, and it’s how Azula defines herself, as not Zuko (until the end of the series, that is). 

Azula: I expected this kind of treachery from Uncle. But Zuko, Prince Zuko, you're a lot of things, but you're not a traitor, are you?

Azula also needs to believe that Zuko wants desperately to come home, to be accepted back into the fold, and that’s part of why she needs him to side with her in Ba Sing Se. Zuko carving a life out for himself (with Iroh the traitor, no less) in Ba Sing Se is a threat to her entire worldview, because in order for her to be the golden child, Zuko has to be the scapegoat. If Zuko chooses to leave that dynamic, not only is it a threat to her superiority, but a threat to her belief that her father is right and good and that there is nothing better than the life she has with Ozai. Azula also tells her mother in the finale that fear is the only way to maintain loyalty, that trust is for fools.

Zhao, Ozai, and Azula define loyalty in similar ways, loyalty to Ozai, loyalty to the regime, unquestioning loyalty in response to control through fear of being branded the other and ostracized by the regime.

Both Iroh and Zuko define loyalty to the people of the Fire Nation rather than the Fire Lord. Zuko was against betraying soldiers who served his nation loyally. Iroh said that the Fire Nation also needed balance to be maintained. This is also why Zuko and Iroh have a better concept of statecraft and a leader’s obligation to the people of their nation than Ozai, Azula, or Zhao do.

[crazylittlejester]

TW FOR *MENTIONS* OF S/A

I don’t want to ask stupid questions or anything but is there SA/RP/NCON stuff between ur wars and ur cia? Ik its a popular LU headcannon for wars, and it feels very implied in some of your fics (one of the FH9 spin offs, I think) but I also don’t wanna read too deep into this or say something’s there when it isn’t. If this is a major plot point or smth you can’t answer bcuz if spoilers just don’t reply and I’ll figure it out :p

It’s not a stupid question at all, and the short answer is yes.

The severity of the situation and also like, the circumstances are very different depending on which series it is. For example in FH9 Wars and Cia were actually together as a couple for a bit where in some of the other things I’ve written they do not even know each other and have met like twice. For the most part I try to keep it as more of an implied thing because, with the exception of FH9, the interactions between them are never super relevant to the plot, but it is there, and that’s how I meant it to be read.

I know it’s a bit of a sensitive topic for a lot of people, so even though it’s only been implied and not outright stated, I try to post trigger warnings at the start of the chapters/fics that imply it, and also (unless it’s super plot relevant) I try to write it in a way where if you don’t want to read into that, you can kinda skip over it or imagine they’re talking about something else. I know a good portion of this fandom is on the younger side and because most of my fics are rated T, I feel like if I wrote anything more than just heavily implying what happened I should move the rating up, if that makes sense…?

One thing really important to me is representation in writing, being able to read a book or watch a show and see someone who’s gone through something similar to you and be able to feel seen through that character. Male SA survivors are something I rarely see in media, and without talking too much about my private life, I personally would’ve loved to have seen more characters healing from traumas growing up, I think it would’ve really helped me when I was younger. I tend to write a lot about my own experiences and traumas, it’s really helpful actually- And this is just another thing I’ve kinda thrown unto Wars, although this one has a lot more canon ‘backing’ than a lot of my other headcanons and I know this is a headcanon a lot of other people have as well

The whole canon situation between those two was honestly a bit insane for a nintendo game, like just the wiki thing about her that shows up on google is kinda crazy. Like I’m not sure what the hell nintendo meant their whole dynamic to be but playing the game it made me uncomfortable as hell

So yeah, I have this headcanon too, I’m not sure if I’ll ever write a detailed fic about it, that would be a lot for me mentally I think. The most I’ll ever get into it is probably having him say the words ‘I was assaulted’, but nothing more than that.

Full disclosure I wrote this out in my car twenty minutes before class starts so sorry if parts of this make no sense but TL;DR: Yes in my fics Wars was assaulted, I don’t wanna trigger people because I know that’s a bit of a darker headcanon, I think Male SA survivor rep is important, and yeah I think that summarizes everything 👍

(sorry for spelling errors or oddly autocorrected words i am dyslexic-)

[somany-fandoms-solittle-time]

ya know what..... Kalim is one of those sunshine characters that naturally interacts and "befriends" so many characters. It's always the sunshine characters that I'm drawn to put in a giant poly-hole where basically everyone is in love with them. It just makes sense.

Kalim x Silver: He's always waking Silver up in class and tries to help is drowsy spells. They're also just one of the few genuinely sweet guys on campus so it's pure fluff. A bonus advantage is that since Silver is a Trained Knight (or on the road to be) he can protect Kalim from assassination attempts.

Kalim x Ruggie: Eat The Rich w/ a twist. My precious hyena boy DESERVES to get married to a sincere Sugar Daddy (or as my gf and I like to say, Sugar Bestie™). He's worked hard enough and Kalim is one of the few upper class individuals that would NEVER use his money or status to control, manipulate or abuse another. He just wants to help out and the endless positivity would not only bring Rugs outta his comfort zone but would also impact those in his hometown A LOT.

Riddle x Kalim: Not a favorite, but I get it. Two kids from wealthy families (one more wealthy than the other) who were kinda isolated from the "regular" world and gotta figure shit out for themselves away from their former caretakers. Obvi, very different contexts and personality but that's what helps them depend on one another. Even when they can't relate, they can Listen and Grow together.

Floyd x Kalim: ARE YOU KIDDING THEY'RE ADHD BUDDIES?!?!? Not only can they relate with similar neurological issues, but their common interests can be a safe zone for them to bond. On top of that, even with their reckless personalities and their overall lack of forethought, Floyd is STRONG and could protect Kalim from any pushback or consequences. They're also both raised by Extreme Capitalist (even thou we don't exactly know what the Tweels parents DO) so the business sense and exposure to the darker side of things probably wouldn't be too much of an adjustment for either side.

Obvi Jamil x Kalim: I know not everyone likes this ship (and considering the dynamic and difference in power/status I TOTALLY get it). Even if the relationship is seen through platonic soulmates, brother-like, or just a 'we-were-stuck-together-for-years-and-now-we-don't-know-how-to-live-apart' sitcom kinda vibe they'll ALWAYS be linked together. Besides, an angsty, complicated childhood friends to lovers story with repressed mutual pinning is a guilty pleasure of mine lol!

Whoever he gets paired with, regardless of if it's a ship that has an anchor in canon interactions or PURELY fueled by fanon crack, there's a billion tropes to work with before even having to dip into AU or Crossover. Kalim is a COMPLEX CHARACTER with so many random lore drops and info that has so much potential. Even when people are writing or creating fan-produces with a more 2d version of his character, he's still lovable!! He's one of the few reoccurring characters in a cast full of obnoxious, weird, arrogant, awful, annoying, egotistical, pigheaded teenage boys with the power of NUKES.... And isn't completely terrible.

Lemme reiterate, that I LOVE so many characters in Twisted Wonderland but boy do these kids get on my nerves. They're all little assholes in some way or another, but there's a range between "okay, pretty standard high schooler" to "IDC IF YOURE TRAUMATIZED NO AMOUNT OF BACKSTORY CAN EXCUSE YOUR ATTITUDE AND BEHAVIOR!!!!! YOU'RE A FUCKING INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL WTF" and Kalim is a lot chiller. He's irrational sometimes and often does things without thinking it through.... But he's also a kid who's allowed to make mistakes and grow now that he's away from the bubble he grew up in. He can interact with people of all walks of life and get that perspective.

And depending on who he's paired with, romantic or otherwise, it's fascinating and heart wrenching and awe inspiring to watch him grow through the lens and experiences of the other person(s).

.........thank you for coming to my Ted talk 😌

[batbeato]

What are your thoughts on genderbending characters, particularly in regards to Umineko?

It's one of my favorite tropes, but I know that a lot of people don't feel comfortable with it, whether they find it disrepectful to the lgbtq+ communities or some other reason. Likewise, though, if not done with care in regards to a character's personality and circumstances, the opposite - making an au where a character (who isn't canonically, or it isn't known) is transgender - can be equally offensive.

Considering the matter of a person's physical sex, the interpretation of gender in Umineko, I'm curious how you would perceive it - especially since both 'tropes' can be used in tandem - and 1) I really really liked the way you portrayed Jessie and Yukari's situation in the story carries on' and 2) the fem Black Battler fic. Poor Battler, but Still. It was good!

I figured if anyone knew how to handle the matter tactfully, and in respect to the characters personality's and the situation, and the topic of being transgender vs outright genderbending, it would be you.

With genderbending I feel like it depends on context, what you want to do with it, and what you do with it. (Also I'm glad you liked those fics!)

In a lot of WTC works, characters have interesting relationships with gender (and sometimes sexuality) that can make genderbending more complicated. For example, genderbending Jessica to be a guy can be interesting. She feels pressured to get a boyfriend, but also feels like the reason why she doesn't have one is because she's too tomboyish and abrasive. She also has to deal with her mother wanting her to be a proper lady and find a nice (read: wealthy and powerful) husband for her. If Jessica was a man, 'he' may have more similar experiences to George - the looming prospect of an arranged marriage, the expectation to be the family Head rather than to marry man to be the Head, etc. His attitude may be construed as general laziness or lack of interest rather than tomboyish behavior. If someone is just drawing art of what they think a genderbent Jessica would look like, they don't need to delve into these aspects, but if someone wanted to write about Jessica, they'd need to consider these things.

This also becomes more complicated when you want to do ship content with a genderbend, because how the characters may be different would interact with how they see each other and potentially affect their dynamic. For example, Beatrice/Sayo's attraction to Battler may take on new rich connotations if Battler is a woman and not a man, or if Sayo conceptualized Beatrice as a male sorcerer rather than a female witch.

With regards to genderbends, I really like seeing art of them! And it would be nice to see more writing, too. I think people become worried about them because of how they can be used to erase the queerness of mlm or wlw ships, but I've known friends who like genderswapping their wlw ships to wlm from time to time. In the end I think we can't toss the trope out in general, or even when it's a mlm/wlw -> wlm swap, because sometimes people just want to explore things. Something being wlm can mean that they're still queer - bisexual, pan, etc. - but maybe in a different way.

...People also probably remember the "what if the story was all the same except this character was a GIRL" stories that had a lot of self-insert action, stereotypes, and poor writing from the olden days of fandom. But I think that's a quality and writing issue, not a general genderbend issue.

As for a character being transgender, I think it also needs to be done with care and thought put into it, the same way a genderbend might need. If a character is transgender, how will others feel about it? What sort of medical care will they be able to receive in their setting? Will they be closeted, socially transition, etc.? Depending on the setting, it might not be possible for that character to receive gender-affirming care. It might not even be possible for that character to "pass" as the gender they identify as. And that needs to be considered.

For example, if someone has a trans headcanon for an Umineko character, the character may need to leave Japan to receive surgery (I actually found an interesting paper while googling about this). If they're one of the younger characters, like Battler, one needs to consider if their parents will fund or approve, as they would not be able to access gender-affirming care without them. How would other members of the Ushiromiya family - which is shown to hold to strict gender roles and uphold capitalistic, cissexist, patriarchal ideals - react to someone transitioning?

...More specifically with Umineko is if someone wants to genderbend Sayo or one of their personas. I think that can be a difficult task, because of how complex Sayo's gender is, but I don't think it's impossible or should be disallowed, so long as people are willing to delve into the complexities of what it would mean for any particular genderbend. I'm not entirely sure about the idea of CAFAB Sayo transitioning to masculinity, due to how AFAB Sayo was used to make BeaBato and WillLion as cishet as possible in the past, but I think that so long as such a headcanon is coupled with queer exploration it's fine, albeit a bit touchy for me (perhaps a more subjective worry than objective, though).

For an example of a possible Sayo genderbend, bending Beatrice to be a man could be used to delve into more Sayo-Kinzo parallels, or conceptualize a more masc-leaning, or genderfluid, or nonbinary depiction of Sayo.

...In the end it's just about doing what you like, not minimizing the queer aspects as a result, and exploring what would happen if a character was a different gender all along or was transgender. It's about putting the work in to make me believe in you and your respect for the cast.

[lunestael]

Itafushi vs. Satosugu Analysis

Posed with this question on twitter which had me go like “yeah thats not gonna happen.”

“If Megumi and Yuji end up the same as Gojo and Geto... what are we going to do? “

disclaimer: just using their ship names in reference to the relationship dynamic between the characters in canon, not connotating a romantic relationship

I feel like satosugu and itafushi are specifically portrayed to be foils of each other, to compare the ways that itfs excels in what stsg failed at (honest communication and being sensitive to each other’s feelings, acceptance of each other despite differences in philosophy, etc)

Both itfs and stsg have pivotal philosophical debates on what their personal beliefs surrounding “saving people” entails, which narratively serves to establish each person’s character and goals as jujutsu sorcerers. however, despite being about a similar topic, they are approached completely differently.

fushiguro claims “selfish” reasons for saving people, saving those he personally believes deserved to be saved, because he isn’t some kind of righteous hero, hes just a jujutsu sorcerer, and he does not want to save someone who will just cause harm others in the future.

itadori, on the other hand, maintains the belief that all humans deserve to life a normal life and die a normal death, regardless of what they have done, or will do. If someone were in trouble, and you were the only one capable of saving them, itadori’s belief is that you should try your best to save them. 

Both of them acknowledge this difference in philosophy, but interestingly enough neither disagree with each other’s conviction either. They find the meaning and think about each other’s positions in life that made them come to their own separate conclusions, and respect it even if it doesn’t exactly align with their own, with itadori stating that even if their philosophies are different, doesn’t mean they can’t both be right.

itafushi consistently seek to understand each other’s perspective and put themselves in each other’s shoes. This makes them more empathetic and more willing to listen and understand those they care about. 

stsg have always struggled with this from the beginning. Gojo and Fushiguro have relatively the same philosophy, as do Itadori and Geto (i could do a whole other analysis comparing gojo vs megumi as well as itadori vs. geto goddd) regarding the concept of saving people, though Gojo is much more crass about it than Fushiguro was, most likely to bait Geto into a fight, which Geto easily falls for. Even though they’re close and inseparable friends and the self-named “strongest duo”, there are clear moral lines that divide the two that they use to push against each other. I mean, they literally escalate into a near physical duel over it in not even two pages. 

on another note, gojo has been noted by gege to have relied on geto as a moral compass. your own moral and ethical code being dictated by another person can be extremely unhealthy and become manipulative. gojo saw geto as the pinnacle of morality (which is ironic considering his moral decisions a year later) to the point where whether gojo would massacre an entire religious group all depended on geto’s response at that moment. 

meanwhile geto had his own inner idealization of gojo as the strongest alone, not in the way the rest of the world perceived him, but in his own way as the supposed other half of the strongest duo. you can feel a certain sense of...envy or resentment when geto wishes he were gojo so he could achieve the society he gave up everything for, even though he was supposed to be the strongest WITH gojo. thats how far he felt from gojo without gojo realizing he had felt that way.

satosugu overall have a lot of misconceptions about each other they accept as inherent truths though they never actually confirmed, some of which are realized too late, others never revealed at all.

megumi could almost immediately tell when yuji had gone through some trauma as soon as he saw him alive again, and immediately brought it up to make sure he was okay, which even though yuji was not okay, it was a huge gesture from megumi to stay emotionally in touch with yuji when he can see him struggling.

gojo, however, doesn’t notice when the same thing happens to suguru, though he does notice something is off with suguru. not to say that it was satoru’s responsibility to bring suguru from the brink of his mental break, but rather it shows how their wavelengths are no longer as in sync as they used to be. with satoru having suguru as his moral compass as well, satoru may also have some doubts that suguru would have his own moral struggles since he depends on him to always make the right and just choices (oh the tragic irony...)

TLDR; itafushi tackle their differences and issues with each other with open arms and seeking to understand each other with honesty. they don’t apply a codependent attitude towards each other, being very close and understanding without idealizations of each other beyond reason. itafushi are just raw truths to each other from the beginning. satosugu...have a lot of internal issues they never bring to each other and just let fester until the dam breaks. they have preconceptions about each other and idealize each other without communicating them to each other, adopting both an unhealthy codependent relationship without proper communications. 

i think itafushi have a much better foundation of support to survive whatever ordeals they will undergo, and most likely be able to pull each other from their respective brinks when they come compared to satosugu’s tragic end.