#because sara was super obsessed with it

[evanescencefan101]

[nexus-nebulae]

found my ancient mp3 player recently. finally found a charger for it and plugged it in. and remembered i found a yt playlist of the whole httyd movie chopped up into like 20 videos and i downloaded the mp3s of all of them to listen to on the school bus. which is why i can effortlessly quote the whole first movie now

[ball-of-butter]

red queen characters and their fav video games:

mare: grand theft auto 💀🙏 any gta game she can get her hands on but it started with the chinatown wars on ds

cal: missed out on a proper childhood so is treating his inner child to fnaf for the first time and idk… something something about the story being an overarching narrative about a brother trying to pick up the remnants of his family through his grief… he says he doesnt get the lore butbhe kinda does. also had a goat simulator phase for the same reasons but minus the angst

maven: i would like to say some really cool psychological game but this mf would probs love playing chess against a cpu the most 💀 silent hill takes second place though (he’s obsessed with the idea of a purgatory of one’s own making… hmm… i wonder why 🤔)

evangeline: mario cart (she eats anyone who even THINKS of playing as peach)

elane: some sort of dating sim methinks… maybe like those ikemen games (let her be y/n)

ptolemus: fortnite for the dances.

kilorn: also fortnite but he has one-sided beef with ptolemus on there who keeps trying to add him. he also has the toph skin and keeps wiping the floor with his ass (ptolemus has the miles morales skin)

cameron: the attack on titan vr game where the world’s best comedy is originated from

gisa: what remains of edith finch. cursed family narrative goes hard with these folk.

shade: hes a legend of zelda girlie.

diana: she genuinely doesn’t play any game besides minecraft because she gets forced it by other people. but i know she’d love red dead i just don’t think she could be convinced into playing it (tragic)

iris: virgo versus the zodiac would speak to her, i feel. she has a secret weird side that only indie games could tease out of her.

wren: star stable!!! secret horse girl lore.

thomas: resident evil 4 because depending what you headcanon him as hes either feening for leon or ada or both.

coriane: definition of stardew valley girlie. but considering what she went through maybe yume nikki would be a game she keeps close to her heart (someone check up on her).

elara: if the sims 4 existed in the red queen verse it could have saved a lot of lives. maybe even her own.

sara: she wipes everyone in super smash bros you best believe it.

julian: castlevania: symphony of the night… mm the grip it has on this nerd loser… do not even breathe the name alucard around him he will give you the entire dracula lore starting with le fanu’s carmilla.

dane: detroit become human. played markus’ storyline and bro suddenly was made to govern a democratic republic for the people by the people.

[thatdeadaquarius]

Reader that can emit sounds from their memory(like as an aura)

Walk into a room? Why do I hear boss music

Comedic timing? Fuck yeah.

Bored? Jumpscare noise.

Zhongli talking? Jeopardy theme.

Someone is annoying? Earrape.

Think about it!

Hello! I’m the 12th Harbinger, aka as CHIL- bitch shut the fuck up, WHATS UP ITS YA BOY AQUARIUSSS- /ref

lmao imagine you walking into a room like this in teyvat, with like that audio I SAVE BY GIVING IT CPR- TIGHT AS VIRGIN BOY DONT GET NERVOUS-

(also ill stop apologizing for the late replies to these, bc as we all know by now that im slow and u will get answered eventually i promise tumblr most likely didnt delete u guys asks im just hoarding them LMAO)

I’ve been super busy running in circles so sorry about ghosting! I still very much enjoy and love u guys and love seeing you guys enjoy my stuff :’) 

Still cant believe that, but thank you!

JEOPARDY THEME MUSIC WHEN ZHONGLI TALKS

HE’D BE SO CONFUSED

THINKIN HE GOT AN ANCIENT CURSE HE DOESNT KNOW ABT PUT ON HIM OR SMTH BC HE’S ALWAYS BEING STALKED BY THIS SONG-

(tbh unless the person is super observant I dont think most ppl would get that it’s YOU causing this chaos lmao)

◇

Like I can see Zhongli eventually getting it lol, other ppl I could see after the first few weeks of interacting with you (esp bc you mix it up, honestly it was only bc u kept playing the jeopardy theme over and over when Zhongli ranted on too long that he got it was you 💀):

Heizou (he’s the best detective on all of Inazuma’s islands, ofc he got it! no he will not acknowledge that he totally thought you were hiding a very musical tanuki somewhere on your person at all times lol)

◇

Alhaitham and Cyno (haitham took like, two hours of walking around town with you and knew, bc he’s a little know-it-all lazy bastard like that, and Cyno is actually just really aware, despite what most ppl think, he’s the General Mahamatra and not just a regular Mahamatra for a reason after all)

◇

Tighnari (i stg he can like, smell when bullshittery is happening in his vicinity …or... hear?)

◇

Venti (unsurpringly, he’s totally in love with this power of yours, i mean he definitely loves you cares about you a lot he says, but you’re starting to think he’s just lying to butter you up into pranking Diluc, Barbara, Jean, and really the entirety of Mondstadt more often  including Zhongli just so he can laugh until he’s on the ground again, also he definitely once asked you to make a dragon sound that’s the equivalent of shouting FUCK at Dvalin when he was flying overhead one day)

◇

Hmm

Hm hm hmmmm

Who elseee, i need a characcctterrr lisstttt…

Albedo (duh, he’s albedo, you think he has an entirely too thick folder dedicated to your recent obsessions, you rant a lot about it while playing and also he can access your browsing history 👀, and he somehow doesn't know that about you?? You’re like, literally one of his long-term, there-for-life, has-bought-a-house-for-free-in-his-head-you- arent-even-on-rent-anymore, hyperfixations or special interests. Autistic!Albedo is autistic, Because I Am Your God, And I Say It Is So.)

◇

Dehya (always knows when its you walking around near her bc you like to listen to your old world’s songs too often when you arent pranking bitches, she actually rlly likes it and your music tastes…)

☆

HOLY FUCK SPEED RUN BC GOD THERE’S TOO MANY BITCHES WANNA BE YOUR BABY, RIDING AROUND IN A DAMN MERCEDES-

OKAY-

SO not all in the same way or at the same time, or even the same length of time did they realize you literally change background music or some shit so I’ll let you just- you know okay- like you get it- you get it.

Xiao, Kazuha, Kaeya, Diluc, Ayato, Yae Miko, Keqing, Qiqi, Klee, Sara, Kuki, Nahida, Ningguang, Rosaria, Scaramouche/Babygirl, Dainsleif, Kokomi, Xinyan, Yun Jin, Yelan. 

Jfc got the whole damn pride flag up here

Anyway everybody else outta luck, at least takes em a month or longer to get it lol

♡

Sorry abt the end there i didnt feel like writing out all those bitches bc the few I did before were already longer than I thought they’d be…

Also, I am posting these spam of drafts (and that old follower 100+ event possession headcanons in prep for the next 2 weeks bc I will be really busy, again :/

Got spring break shenanigans this week, then I’ll be running around like a cat with zoomies bc im getting ready to install/actually submit my artworks for the gallery exhibition! 

…wish me luck or prayers or anything good from any god you believe in, I need the strength. 

With love, safe travels,

💀♒️

♡the beloveds♡

@karmawonders / @0rah-s / @randomnatics / @glxssynarvi / @nexylaza / @genshin-impacts-me / @wholesomey-artist

[bugonalog]

While I hate Felix I also have GOT to know what his problem is.

Like yeah he obviously has this weird obsession with Mathias and has since season one. Always been super jealous and possessive (but only when it comes to Erik and never Sara don’t think I didn’t clock that) and yeah while I don’t want him to be secretly in love with Mathias it’s kinda the thing that makes the most sense to me?

Like internalized homophobia, in love with your best friend, and while he’s dating girls it’s fine because guys are never even an option so of course he doesn’t like you but then he starts to show interest in a guy that isn’t you and you just? Lose it?

Idk it kinda makes sense to me.

Also Felix only being homophobic toward Mathias when he was standing there long enough to hear Erik say that he thought the kiss was nice is.. interesting.

Idk though. He sucks but I wanna study him under a microscope and then throw him in the trash.

[cocoabeloved]

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#THIS BLOG FULLY SUPPORTS PALESTINE 🇵🇸 !!

[instantpansies]

Haiii againn :3

Uhmmmm

I was wondering what your general mml hcs are :p

okay i think i'm finally prepared to answer this question!!! i'll preface this by saying i'm much more obsessed w phineas and ferb than milo murphy's law. i love mml very much but i don't have nearly as many Thoughts(tm) about it as i do pnf... even so here's what i've got

i'm not just saying this bc he's the voice actor, i think milo would listen to weird al. that and like '90s-'00s pop hits (basically canon anyway)

melissa has adhd and can't function without variety. she's always multitasking, fiddling, taking hard classes to keep herself occupied

definitely she's the type to really want one of those treadmill desks

that's part of why she gets along so well with milo, it's never the same with him. he's exciting

melissa is the most online of the main kids i think. she probably plays fps games and argues with people who disagree with her on twitter

i think melissa would be a vocaloid fan, lydia got her into it and she passed it on to amanda

btw lydia has been a miku stan since third grade

also melissa likes metal. i have no proof of this but i think she'd like it. good for studying

zack cannot stand metal though, it's grating and he can't hear the lyrics

on the topic of the main kids, i'm not super into shipping or anything but my philosophy is, they all have two hands. so casually speaking i really like the dynamic of simultaneous milo/amanda, amanda/melissa, melissa/zack (i'm not wild about them but if we don't go overboard zalissa is fine), zack/bradley, bradley/milo. they are in a circle holding hands and i like them a lot :3

however like i said that's just for funsies and i dont really really ship anyone there. i do like the dynamics of that particular arrangement though lol!

sara was a tumblr user during the equivalent of superwholock, now that that's not really a thing anymore she's gotten more into analysis and the more geeky side of dr zone fandom. she still watches the old edits though

okayyy i'm kind of obsessed w cavendish and dakota so they r always spinning around in my brain

i think brick and savannah are newer agents than dakavendish, which is why cav is kinda bitter. despite working for the agency for longer, he got stuck with the worst equipment and the most unfulfilling job possible

cav is probably a little frustrated at dakota because of this, but i'd think after so long working w him he's realized that it's not dakota's fault they can't seem to climb the ladder. they're just like that. but obviously he hasn't accepted his fate as we see in the show

dakavendish have been in the same semi-romantic semi-platonic situationship forever. neither of them has said a word. if they knew what a qpr was they'd really like that but they've never heard of it so instead they're just stuck Like That. hopeless idiots my beloved

cavendish watches ancient aliens and all those other sorts of shows about supernatural conspiracies. he half believes them. dakota watches them with him, ironically.

anyways back to the kids. lydia and buford met once at a concert for some famous orchestra, they don't really hang out but they email back and forth sometimes and exchange recipes.

lydia and amanda have been best friends for as long as anyone can remember. it sometimes seems like lydia is just amanda's sidekick, but she just prefers to step out of the way and do her part from behind the scenes. it's less stressful for both of them.

amanda hates candles. just can't stand them. they smell too strong, or never smell right, or they pose a fire hazard, or the shape doesn't fit the vibe she's going for.

related to that i think amanda has some pretty strong sensory aversions, especially to smells and certain textures

milo's backpack is essentially a pocket dimension. it's his hammerspace, so he doesn't need to think too much about what fits or not. he packs it every morning, but the stuff basically comes from already in that hammerspace. there are times when he packs the wrong things (which we see in one episode), but that's because they aren't stored in the backpack and are instead inaccessible to him

basically im saying milo is mary poppins and he can hypothetically access anything he needs at any time. issues only arise when he is caught unaware and unprepared, and that is very rare

milo and sara really like going to creeks. especially when they were little they would go to the nearest creek or pond and wade and look for creatures in the water

baljeet ran a boy bands fan blog back when the lumberzacks were active. he was shouted out once on their old social media and it's still one of his proudest accomplishments.

this isn't really an mml hc but baljeet kind of reminds me of a friend who runs a blog and a youtube channel about some really niche tech and programming stuff, and is also just a normal guy on the internet, so i think baljeet probably does smth similar

amanda and melissa have been academic rivals for a long time, but they have a mutual understanding and it's never gotten nasty. bradley thinks he's melissa's academic rival but honestly she doesn't see him as competition at all

bradley has a pretty big sweet tooth. i'm basing this off the whole carla thing if it wasn't obvious, but he definitely stops by coffee shops after school and gets the sweetest drink he can. ice cream fan as well

tbh i unfortunately do not think much about mort or chad. i dont have any hcs about them

same with the murphy parents :( i like them a lot but i dont have any thoughts abt them rn

elliot is bradley's older cousin who never really got along with him but their parents made them hang out when they were little. i'm going off vibes only here

okay so yeah that's all i can think of for now!!! i'm sure i will think of more later lmao but anyways. mml is such a good show

[mermaidsirennikita]

I'll be super honest... one way you can tell that these Kleypas books have been edited is that they are a lot less sexy.

And I don't just mean in terms of like, things that actually happen with the characters together. (See: the It Happened One Autumn scene, which, believe it or not, took a pretty sizable chunk of activity off the page and prolonged Lillian and Westcliff Making It Official by a A LOT.)

I mean... it's like she's worried... about the heroes... sexualizing the heroines inappropriately? Not that I think there's really an appropriate way to sexualize someone, it's just like—you either do it in a way that's creepy or you don't, and a lot of that frankly has to do with how much that person may WANT your desire. But also, a lot of this the heroine wouldn't know about, the hero is just literally thinking about it, sometimes when she isn't in the room.

Like we don't have Ross getting hot and bothered at his desk, his THOUGHTS about Sophia seem worded in a way that's... proper.

And yeah, Ross is one of Lisa's more proper heroes, BUT there's a line. There's a point where it seems contrived. Not only like I'm not reading a historical hero—because, to be real, I think readers expect and in many cases WANT a super thirsty hero in a historical, I think that it's a feature of the subgenre, not a bug—but like I'm reading a guy who doesn't truly want the heroine in a way I desire to see a romance novel hero want his love interest.

I think that part of the fantasy of a romance novel is everything being BIGGER (lmao) especially in terms of FEELINGS. I don't think it's super reasonable to expect some guy who's into me to be thinking of me constantly to the point that he like, screws up his life, but you kinda want that in a romance hero. It's the fantasy of all-consuming obsession, and that obsession doesn't necessarily have to be creepy or overwhelming or dark (see: mafia romance). It can be just... I can't stop thinking of her her her.

And this can be harder to do well in certain subgenres, imo, but there's an inherent sweeping romanticism that I think a lot of people want from historicals. Darcy confronting Elizabeth in the rain while they pant in each other's faces, the big chase at the end of Mr. Malcolm's List, Come What May in Moulin Rouge!. (I'd compare this to the darker sort of obsession we sought in older paranormals; the craving of the vampire, the animalistic passion of the werewolf, etc.)

But also... I think that a lot of good historical romance novels bring it down to Earth and make it a little more WORLDLY and tangible by adding in the inherent like... physicality of desire. Ross getting worked up over Sophia whether or not he's her employer and it's theoretically an abuse of power and he's kind of seeing her as an object in a moment and and and so on.

Plus, it just feels more like the way these dudes would... act? Like, Ross is a magistrate who's dying for it and regularly gets rough with criminals, even if he's a tamer Kleypas hero. Imagine Derek Craven NOT using the drawn dog line, not telling Sara that he wanted to "do her over" because my God, we wouldn't want him to come on too strong!

I mean, I think the edits to Seduce Me at Sunrise, as minor as they may seem, make Kev's claiming of Win feel so much less substantial. Because like. Yeah. It's supposed to read as a kidnapping! A kidnapping she absolutely wants, and her inner monologue made that SO CLEAR to the reader, and she'd been begging Kev to snatch her up since the first few pages of the book so we KNOW this and HE knows this.

But it's important that Kev finally giving in feels like this like... almost subversive thing. Because he's been denying his nature (which is to love Win and love her AGGRESSIVELY) and denying his needs and hers. He's sweet with her in the cottage, sure, but I think that initial SNAP really needs the full force of "he literally can't stand this anymore and it doesn't matter if it's kinda wrong in theory, he's gotta".

(I mean, based on these edits, I think there's a decent chance, tbh, that the entire scene where Derek and Sara get close at the masquerade ball would be changed dramatically because of how pushy he is, and how he doesn't know her identity, and how she's just sort of swept up if VERY MUCH INTO IT. And therefore. My God. Never let Lisa start ripping that book apart.

I am almost POSITIVE that the Devil in Winter "you're going to lose that bet" scene would be changed by the standards of the Autumn edits. Because St. Vincent literally says no. And I don't feel bothered by that scene... at all. But he says no a few times lol.)

It just makes me like... a bit bitter, lol, because I feel as if not only does it make it hard for me to feel the same enthusiasm when I'm trying to relisten to these books (and I really don't have time to reread with my eyes at this moment, I'm struggling to find time to finish Prince of Dreams even though I love it so far) it makes me not want to recommend them to people I know? Because they're probably going to get edited versions! They're probably going to read them and go "huh, not quite as hot as I expected".

And like. While there are many reasons to read a Kleypas book, I think that what has often appealed to readers are these alpha-y heroes who aren't like, BRUTAL but are dominating and aggressive and full of barely controlled desire. So when you water that down, it's like... You still have the romanticism, the beautiful writing, but those are not the only ingredients. The books feel hollow.

[talas-first-lady]

Legends of Tomorrow: the Musical Episode

Brought to you by my obsession with tumblr polls

Note about suspension of disbelief: this is way too many songs to fit into an hour and we are pretending that all cast members are great singers and dancers (but Amy and Tala are still better than the rest of them, obviously).

Last week on Legends of Tomorrow:

The Darhks kidnapped Ray, who made some annoyingly good points about how maybe turning Nora into a vessel for a demon was not the best idea ever. He also sang the entire Singin in the Rain soundtrack. Several times.

The last lost totem of Zambesi was located on Elvis' guitar: the Music Totem. Damien Darhk seized it and realized that this was his chance to fix things with Nora and get the Legends off his back and maybe torture them just a tiny bit but, like, gently.

Episode 3x1???

Ray Palmer wakes up and begins enthusiastically singing about his morning. Seems in character so we aren't really that surprised. Until he heads out of his room and we discover that all the rest of the Legends are also singing and dancing enthusiastically. They sing about how happy they are now that Captain Darhk and Nora are running the ship. Gideon manifests herself in human form so that she can also dance. Both Sara and Zari say "Look, it's hot Gideon!" at different points.

Rip and Ava portal in from the Time Bureau (Rip is also happy to see hot Gideon) with important time business that promptly gets forgotten about because musical numbers!

Things are super awkward between Sara and Ava since they've recently broken up like 3 times about how neither of them believes she deserves to be happy. Everybody's sick of it.

The other Legends invent some nonsense task for them to do to force them to be alone together and talk about things. They sing about things instead. It is an upbeat and ridiculously cute number that involves a lot of dancing. Everyone is happy.

Well, except Amaya, who has forgotten all about Mallus and the totems but is still thinking about what she's learned about her own future. She sings through the big choice she has to make in the library.

Over in the lab, Zari is chatting with Gideon about how they haven't been able to find any loopholes to let her save her family. Gideon leaves, and Zari picks up with the second verse of the song. Both Zari and Amaya duet the last part of the song from their separate parts of the ship.

Mick dozes off in his room. A lifesize Beebo comes to him in his dreams and they perform an elaborate ballet. It's beautiful. He wakes up, grunts, and goes to get another beer.

We check in with Damien and Nora. Damien is clearly very pleased with himself about how everything is going. Nora is feeling a general state of annoyance but isn't sure why.

Rip and Gideon cross paths on the bridge. Rip starts talking to her like no time has passed, and while Gideon is briefly tempted to go along with it, she can't help thinking about how much better things have been under Captain Darhk. He's never flown her into the sun or into an atomic bomb. He's never turned her into a training simulator. She sings, basically verbatim, "Get Out and Stay Out" from 9 to 5 because Amy Pemberton deserves nothing less.

Rip slinks off to the galley, heartbroken. The guys are all hanging out there already. They manage to get the truth out of him and instantly rally around him: Wally talks about his girlfriend going back to a different earth, Nate talks about Amaya leaving on his birthday, Ray brings out his laundry list of failed engagements. Mick is just there to get a beer. Wally reminds Rip of how healing karaoke was for him just a few days ago. They all join forces for a 90s boy band-inspired number about things getting better in the future and trying again. At one point, Rip pulls a saxophone out of the food fabricator and performs the solo from "Careless Whisper."

Ray leaves, feeling pumped about the idea of finding love again, and immediately crashes into Nora.

Zari is starting to get the nagging feeling that something is wrong. She keeps seeing weird flashes of the timeline where Damien and Nora are evil but she doesn't really know what to make of them.

Ray starts singing about how he's been feeling different about Nora ever since their adventure together. Nora is also kind of feeling something but not really ready to admit it. They sing a funny duet with Nora very annoyed with Ray at first but gradually wearing down a bit.

Zari goes to Nate since he was helpful the last time she got stuck in a weird TV trope, but he just thinks she's trying to prank him because what she's saying is completely ridiculous. She goes to Sara next. Ava is also in Sara's room and they have clearly been in there ever since their song finished earlier. Zari explains and Ava is first to believe her since something has also felt off to her. Between the two of them, they manage to pull Sara out of the delusion as well. They split up to talk to everyone else with varying degrees of success.

Damien notices that there are whispered conversations going on around the ship and intervenes, calling everyone for a team meeting. Sara calls him out in front of everyone. He admits the truth in a jazzy villain song. At the end, Nora confronts him and demands that he hand over the Music Totem and stop standing in her way. He reluctantly gives it back and with that, the spell is broken.

The only thing nobody can explain is how Mick ended up with a Beebo in his room.

[lazaruspiss]

Do you have a favourite Comic artist? imo bill sienkiewicz art is some the best. his style is very recognizable and he uses shape very well. his art in new mutants is some of my favourite especially when illustrating legion. would definetly reccomend reading 'New Mutants #18-31.' Chris Claremont's the writer and I also really enjoy his x-men stories.

ok so. i went to a comic show recently and stumbled into DC's "Young Romance" comics, which i have no interest in reading but i did see this

and its up there as one of my favorite cover illustrations, the hold is just incredibly fucking tender and i think its so well executed. kind of regret not getting it if only just so i could get a better res picture of the cover. i went looking, and the artist seems to be Jay Scott Pike who's main deal seemed to be drawing pretty women for DC and like. yeah. yeah i get it. im not sure id call him a favorite comic artist of mine but this cover has left an impression on me and i certainly think he was very skilled.

to try and think of a favorite... its easier for me to remember artists that i hate that are super popular tbh so its taking me a minute. In general i tend to prioritize fluidity and interesting visuals over Strict Anatomical Correctness. i like superhero comics because they don't need to be hyper realistic. im not gonna list names bc im not a shithead but i have bitched in DMs before bc i simply Do Not understand the appeal of certain popular artists.

to try and list some more artists that ive enjoyed the work of: Sara Kipin was the artist for Poison Ivy: Thorns, which i thought was gorgeous. I stumbled into Serg Acuña's art a few times, I do like it although not enough to seek it out. Daniele Di Nicuolo is another one that's like that.

in general i have a habit of not really paying much attention to creator names unless i need/want to for some specific reason, because i really like to take things as they are. artists and writers have their highs and lows, so i just take each comic i read as it comes for the most part.

sometimes i wish i liked more Marvel stuff, but the only runner ups after my Nightwing obsession are Ghost and X of Dark Horse comics <3 im barely aware of anything Marvel, but i keep hoping ill be able to at least get into Moon Knight one of these days.

[ageless-aislynn]

Oooo, you play mass effect, it finally clicked in my head. Who do you romance in Andromeda?

Also, I really did enjoy the game regardless of the amount of hate it got

ZOMG, you must've missed me at my most Andromeda obsessed, lol! I haven't actually been able to play it since last November, when my previous computer gave out and then this one has been super lousy. However, as soon as I can hopefully get my Vegas back on and thus be able to GIF (and vid) again, I'm planning on going back to Andromeda to finally finish the big Ryder twins romance GIF project I had going, lol!

In short, I've romanced every single option available except Scott/Peebee and Scott/Jaal. Scott/Peebee was in progress when I got derailed. But here are some posts I've made about various things, if you'd like to see them!

Sara's romances with Jaal, Reyes, Peebee and Vetra

Scott/Cora and the shocking, unexpected Scott/Harry romance 😂😜

I was working on the Scott/Gil vid here

I've vidded Sara/Reyes, Scott/Cora, Scott/Gil and my final vid ever was about Scott and his dad, Alec

Mass Effect: Andromeda incorrect quotes

Me at the bottom talking about doing an Insanity run and showing my Sara in her Mjolnir-like tanky armor plus the name of my crafted weapons 😂

I absolutely adore this game and I've honestly missed playing it so much! Also, did you know that Kate Kennedy aka Kai from Halo is the voice of one of the Angara?

I romanced Avela as Scott JUST for that fact alone, lol!

Anyway, like I said, I never did get the chance to finish making GIFs for all of my romances and I still hope to finish those last two for Scott. As for which are my favs...

Sara: Reyes. I'm a sucker for that scoundrel, what can I say? 😍😇 But Vetra is a close second. I have to physically restrain myself from flirting with her if I'm planning on romancing somebody else because there's no way I'd hurt my best Turian girl like that! 😱😉

Scott: Gil surprisingly became my favorite "I have to make SURE not to click the flirt options if I'm romancing somebody else" romance. I also, no surprise, loved his romance with Reyes. Cora also was great!

I honestly really enjoyed all of the romance options, except for Keri's (the reporter) and not for any fault of hers but I disliked how she looks kinda uncomfortable with either Ryder flirting with her while she's just trying to do her job. I felt like a real creep, I have to say! 😩Then at the end, after I've annoyed this poor Asari at her workplace this entire time, the "payoff" was we went from a table at the Vortex to Ryder's just suddenly outside of her room? Not even a kiss? 🫤(I legit have headcanoned that Keri never actually let Ryder into her room, just went in herself, closed the door, and left them out in the hall, lol! "That's for continuing to come on to me and never taking the hint while I'm clearly just doing my job, you creep!" 😖😂😉)

If I could've romanced Evfra *points up at his pic above* I totally would have because I'm a sucker for a good "enemies to lovers" trope, lol! And I think Evfra would haaaaate himself for falling for the human Pathfinder. 😍😍😍

I clearly have put a lot of silly thoughts into Andromeda, lol! Anyway, thanks so much for letting me ramble about this! Who did you romance? Have you played as both twins or do you prefer just the one? Default or custom? Do you mod? My computer was coming off the rails at the time so I've only stuck to what's available in-game but I've seen some beautiful Ryder twins and some awesome clothing options with mods. 😉💖💖💖

[jeromefart]

Hi, I want to hear about your ships, because I'm no longer interested in the fandoms I was in and I want interesting shit to get into in very healthy ways of course.

Thank you very much for spending this fraction of your life on expending my ship knowledge 🙇🏼

Sorry for the late response! I’ve been traveling all day :(

Well obviously I love dirkdave from homestuck. And I don’t even like Homestuck but they have a grip on me. They have alternate versions of themselves from different realities, ie splinters, it makes for a lot of interesting dynamics between them. Dave grows up with an invasive and distant older brother. Dirk grows up with a fully absent one. The section in the comic where they meet the teen versions of themselves is really amazing to me because even though Dave is so conflicted and hurt, he still seeks comfort and even barely knowing him, he still goes and gives him a hug. It’s really really cute. And if we like old man yaoi we can focus on the older brother versions of them, isn’t that fun. Hollywood director and insane fuck is such a good pairing. Obviously theyre brothers so that makes it more interesting (or revolting) if you even care about that. Who cares.

Umm one of my fave ships of all time that I never talk about is midosara from yttd. Midori is a super creepy but eccentric robot dude, and he recognizes the potential in sara to become this unfeeling and bloodlusting killing machine and he’s desperate to break her. Also they have the age gap too, so that’s fun.

I’ve been thinking a lot about gaara/sasori recently, I read a fic where they’re uncle and nephew and have the whole “i dont want to become him” deal, but since he’s already halfway there, he’s able to find comfort in getting to know him. Gaara has this positive character development which I’d love to see absolutely ruined. Imagine if after the ichibi is extracted from him, sasori survives and takes his ass away.

As you can tell all my fave ships and characters have some sort of doll/puppet/robot aspect to them. They’ve achieved a form of immortality that makes them kinda jaded to everything around them. But then they take interest in someone that kinda brings light back into their life and it’s cute.

Fun fact but I used to be huge into enstars and my favorite ship was tsukasa/kohaku. I was fucking obsessed with them. They have the prince and knight dynamic! Kohaku is part of a branch family that does the head family’s dirty work, ie he’s an assassin. He enrolls in the same school as Tsukasa to keep an eye and protect him since he’s the heir to the family. And kohaku is tsundere about it and tsukasa dotes on him

I’ve yet to find a lesbian ship that’s as complicated as my other favorites. I usually just genderbend the ones I like when I’m tired of hearing about twitching cocks and tight asses 😭 Toxic yuri is an unaffordable luxury unfortunately

So I like dark ships, but I’m not completely inhumane about it yet, I still like fluff aspects. I typically go for rarepairs because most popular ships are just boring. And if they aren’t healthy, they’re very simply rivalries that just don’t do anything for me. My ao3 is kwu9 if you want to look at some of the dynamics I like explained in more detail. It’s all very self indulgent on there, you’ll notice a theme with the saw references.

Sorry this is so long, you gave me the chance to ramble and I’ve had a long day of being quiet at the airport lmao. Plus most of my online friends kinda have sticks up their asses when it comes to this shit, so I’m left just screaming on my dead blog

[bluedalahorse]

Hey! I love your YR analysis posts, thank you so much for sharing your ideas with us! :) I'd love to hear your opinion on what you think happens in August's mind that allows him to look beyond Sara's class background when date her, given his obsession with defining himself by his status social standing. Thank you!

Hi! Thanks for reading my analysis; I’m glad you like it! I’ve been dreaming of answering an ask like yours for a long time, so I’m glad you popped up in my inbox. As it happens, I have a shorter answer and then a much longer answer prepared.

So, the first part of my thesis here is that August’s attraction isn’t rational. Feelings kinda happen however they’re going to happen, and people try to rationalize those feelings and make them make sense and fit into the frames they have for relationships. You are right to notice that August has to get past some mental blocks to get to the place where he sees Sara as a dating prospect at all. But once he gets there, he rationalizes her presence in his life using frames he understands.

Now, August doesn’t necessarily see status as something he has to earn. He sees it as something he already has and is owed more of, and as something with ideals he strives to live up to. Nonetheless, as much as August clings to his status to give himself a sense of stability in the wake of family trauma, his status is constantly in jeopardy throughout both seasons. This is what makes his behavior so erratic, and why he lashes out at others.

My (potentially controversial?) sargust theory is that Sara and August are attracted to one another from the earliest episodes of season 1, even if they don’t understand that as true at first. August’s understanding of his attraction to Sara changes over time, the same way his sense of security in his status changes. How he responds to Sara is tied together with how he responds to his perceived power in any given moment.

We often think of the ruling class as being tied to old, outdated traditions, and to some extent, that is true. But from my experience of working in proximity to people of considerable privilege, one of the ways they express that privilege is in how and when they move goalposts to fulfill their desires. Those who are privileged claim the power to write the rules, but also the power to decide what the few rare exceptions to those rules are. By the time August recognizes that he’s fallen in love with Sara and is willing to commit to her, he’s also decided to rationalize her as one of those exceptions.

It’s a little easier to see the evolution of his thoughts when you break his interactions with Sara down by half-season. Luckily, I had a meta started focused on what I see as the timeline of their relationship, so I was able to take what I’d already written and modify it to answer this ask. I’m putting this behind a cut, because it’s SUPER long. But hopefully it shows the shifts in his thinking and the ways he eventually ties Sara to his philosophy of exceptionalism. Feel free to read on if you’re curious…

(Content warning for most August topics, especially in this case toxic relationship dynamics and class-based sexual harassment.)

Intro: Framing Attraction

Before we start, we have to recognize some things about the nature of attraction. First, it’s important to realize that not everyone feels attraction in the same way or at the same pace. Wilhelm and Simon fall for one another pretty quickly, to the point where Simon makes an unambiguous move on Wilhelm at the end of 1.2. For all that Simon and Wilhelm still have a lot to understand about their feelings, Sara and August are both less in touch with their feelings and what they would want out of a relationship. In Sara’s case, we see her asking a lot of questions to the other girls that shows understanding her own feelings isn’t always easy for her. (I imagine one of the ways her AuDHD manifests is alexithymia, which, haha I relate tho.) August, meanwhile, spends so much time in cycles of self-denial and self-punishment that he’s gotten used to ignoring his own needs, whether that’s emotional needs or even needs around things like food and not over-exercising his body. As a result, what occurs between Sara and August is paced and dealt with in dialogue a little bit differently than the Wilmon stuff, but it’s just as dramatic.

Second, and less comfortably, we have to acknowledge that attraction is not always accompanied by purity of intentions or emotions, and that a person’s understanding of their own attractions can be influenced by outside social structures. As a result of these structures and systems, attraction can also be expressed in ways that are laced with disdain. (Patriarchy, for instance, gives heterosexual men an abundance of sexist language and tropes to draw on when describing or addressing women, even women they’re attracted to.) Hence August calling Sara a “freak” and berating her early on in the study hall scene. This is not to agree with the idea that A Little Boy Pulls On A Little Girl’s Pigtails Because He Secretly Likes Her, because that is a dangerous and harmful idea and I don’t subscribe to it. Rather, I want to examine how societally-influenced biases shape our ability to process and act on our feelings in a healthy way.

Sara and August sit at an intersection of class, gender, and neurotype that influences how they react to one another and initially prevents them from seeing one another as potential partners. Consider that an overwhelming amount of Western history and culture includes men who harass women into relationships, spouses complaining about one another, working class women getting taken advantage of by upper class men, and just general… *waves at all of that.* As much as we want to believe we’re now in the era of the emotionally honest softboy, these sexist, classist, and ableist influences are still very much with us, and we still see the kind of nonsense that’s out there nowadays radicalizing young men into crap behaviors toward women. We don’t have to be resigned to this in our own society, but we do have to acknowledge it and how it influences August. I mean, August can’t even express his attraction to Felice without being gross and offensive about it, and she’s of his class and therefore someone his biases nudge him to see as “marriage material” at first. So how is he supposed to recognize what he’s feeling about Sara and reframe it in a healthy way?

For what it’s worth, we can see how Wilhelm’s societal programming impacts his relationship with Simon, too. It’s not just the sexual orientation stuff, but the class stuff. We can see the little moments where Wilhelm starts to drift into “we can just hook up and have it be a secret forever.” We see how he tries to make things happen with Felice (and that’s additionally nuanced, because he and Felice are also performing Gender as Hillerska defines it.) The part where Wilhelm denies being with Simon in the video on live TV is really the apex of that kind of class-based thinking, that would let him just kind of have Simon be a secret guy on the side. 

Wilhelm however, unlike August, is much more willing to actively question his biases from the beginning of the series. He protests against being at Hillerska in the first place because he doesn’t want to be surrounded by people who parrot the ideas he was raised with and validate him on everything. Wilhelm wants his views challenged, even when he is periodically tempted to slide back into the habits of the upper classes. August wants his views reinforced, because he clings to his class status and social hierarchy as something that makes him feel grounded, and that’s always slipping away from him in a way it isn’t for Wilhelm. August eventually does push past his biases and see his attraction to Sara for what it is, but things go to hell again when he tries to assimilate her into his class-bound cultural norms.

1.1-1.3: August and Sara discover each other’s existence

In the first three episodes, August isn’t trying to assert his status by pursuing Sara. Instead, he’s pursuing Felice, who he insists that he wants to marry. (Marriage is, after all, a way to keep the noble classes going.) Still, there’s little hints about his future with Sara that we should be watching for, it’s just that neither Sara nor August quite knows the vibes they are putting out just yet.

I want to start by pointing out a moment of foreshadowing during the party scene in 1.1. August is giving Wilhelm his “we could murder someone and get away with it” speech which ends in the question of “who wants to be ordinary?” The Eriksson siblings enter the party right then, and the camera cuts over to Simon and Sara together. We’re following Wilhelm’s gaze at this point, and the camera is showing us his attraction to Simon, what with the way the way Simon is surrounded by colored light, all glow sticks and casual clothes and charisma. (I love this moment because it’s an immediate visual rebuke to August’s philosophy of exceptionalism and special-ordinary dichotomy; the special can be found within the ordinary, and there is so much beauty there.) We’re in Wilhelm’s head and being pulled along into his attraction to Simon. At the same time, August is shadowing Wilhelm the same way that Sara shadows Simon. From the start, we are being primed to see these two relationships as parallel. The camera isn’t quite ready to hint at full-fledged attraction yet, but it’s telling you to get ready for that attraction to develop and track it throughout the season.

In 1.2 and 1.3 we have moments of uncomfortable subtext. Consider the moment in 1.2 where August slides up to Sara and casually asks if maybe, could he please try some of her ADHD medication?

(Crap, I saved this but I forgot who made it. If someone tells me, I’ll credit them in an edit.)

I wouldn’t call their vibe consciously flirty or anything; that’s not quite what’s happening here. Sara’s initially buried in her book the way I am when a guy tries to talk to me on the metro. (She can be feeling attraction but still find the attention unwanted, which is important to mention. These things are complicated.) Still… there is a Vibe on August’s part. I say there is a Vibe because of how Simon reacts when he sees the conversation happening. Immediately Simon rolls in and plays the protective brother and is very never talk to my sister again. Which is about the 50 mg of Vyvanse, yes. But I find it hard to believe that this is not also about August potentially hitting on Sara, and Simon being worried about that.

As for 1.3, one place where there might be subtext about Sara’s feelings is the whole to-do over lunch tables. August is gatekeeping the Erikssons’ access to lunch as a way of flexing his power, and each Eriksson reacts in a way that’s quite telling. Simon is incensed, and uses it as the springboard for a (very justified) rant. Linda isn’t bothered; she is so cheerily sure it’s all just a misunderstanding and of course they’re going to be served in a minute. Sara… is quiet and withdrawn in a way that suggests she might be embarrassed by both her brother and her mother. Simon is unwilling to accept the rules while Linda doesn’t understand them. Sara’s worked so hard to learn the social rules and fit in, and here are her family members flagrantly ignoring the rules! In front of people! In front of… a person she might be developing a crush on, but knows she “shouldn’t” be? It’s not quite there until you think about it in retrospect, but that’s why Young Royals has so much rewatch value.

To be fair, both of these scenes are operating very much in the realm of subtext rather than text (and neither of them portrays a healthy sargust power dynamic.) It’s comparatively rare to encounter a heterosexual pairing who can’t quite find the words or social structures to articulate what they are, while the same-sex pairing they’re paralleled to knows very much that they care for one another. Wilhelm may struggle to label himself, but he understands that he desires Simon. Meanwhile, August is quick to claim a label and perform heterosexuality as a political stance, but doesn’t understand how nuanced and unexpected his desires can be.

I will also remind you that August and Rousseau are the same character, and that instead of giving us an overt, literal, absolutely excruciating Sara-August-Felice love triangle, Lisa dives into the horse subtext instead. A lot of what is under-the-surface in the early part of season 1 is expressed through the horse stuff!

1.4-1.6: Realization and Recognition

The second half of season 1 marks more of a transitional period in the sargust relationship. At this point, the subtext from before is rapidly beginning to surface in the text, and Sara and August are learning more about one another and trying to make sense of what they’re feeling about each other. There’s always been a vibe hanging between them, but now is really where they start to get pulled into one another’s orbit. At first, this looks like it’s going to conform to a toxic patriarchal paradigm, but that paradigm gets twisted a bit at the end of season 1.

Naturally the first scene that marks this shift is the one in 1.4 where August looking for Felice in the stables and encounters Sara instead. August’s immediate response to finding Sara alone is to try and sexually harass information out of her, which… is definitely uncomfortable again. We’ve got to acknowledge that in order to unpack this scene.

I’ve seen a lot of people argue that the stables scene is where Sara’s attraction begins, and I’m not sure if I agree with that. Sara’s inexperienced when it comes to relationships, but I don’t think she’s so pure and naive that August’s cocky performance is what sweeps her off her feet and makes her fall for him. We also know she isn’t taking what he says at face value, because one of the questions she asks him is what he really wants. Instead, it makes infinitely more sense to me that Sara’s already been attracted to August for a few weeks and is still kind of wondering what those butterfly feelings are in her stomach, and now here’s this extra bizarre social interaction (with added kissing that Sara doesn’t consent to but may have wanted under different circumstances) for her to hang those feelings on.

On August’s end… man. Why must this boy be such a can of emotional worms? I do wonder how much something is shifting in his head as he begins to hit on Sara. Most of those shifts are happening for him subconsciously. Maybe what he’s settling on in 1.4 is that, it’s fun to flirt with Sara to assert his social dominance that way, but at that point in the narrative he doesn’t think she counts as a long-term relationship/marriage material kinda girl the way Felice does.

Here I think it’s important to remember for that for most of Western history, wealthy upper class men weren’t shamed for pursuing women of lower classes on the side of their married relationships. (Sometimes these side relationships were more or less consensual relationships with mistresses, but other times men were just taking advantage of women who worked for them, and consent was impossible.) I’m not saying that August is thinking consciously about Sara being “available” for temporary amusement because she’s working class, but I am saying that’s the historical tradition of toxic masculinity that he’s been raised in. He does not expect to be caught and dumped for kissing Sara, because unconsciously he’s absorbed the upper class patriarchal programming that doesn’t even identify this behavior as cheating. It’s just a “fun” way to get the information he wants. (Ugh.)

Tl;dr it’s important to view August hitting on Sara in the stables not as August leaning awayfrom his upper class status, but rather as him trying to assert it. Yes, he does try to get Felice into a committed relationship with him to assert his status and masculinity, but now that he’s in a committed relationship with her he doesn’t feel any more secure in his status. So now he’s pulled Sara into his whole social class deal as well. (Ugh. UGH.)

That isn’t, thankfully, where August stays. 1.6 marks another key shift in his mindset toward Sara, because it’s where August sees a genuine connection between them for the first time. When Sara goes to confront August about why he leaked the video of Simon and Wilhelm, he corners her and offers to give her whatever she wants. Sara confesses her secret desire—to be a boarder at Hillerska and become one of its elite students. August’s reaction is fascinating, because there’s almost a quality of relief to it. Part of that, of course, is because he can easily buy her off. But I think it’s also because he’s finally not alone. It’s worth remembering that August has spent most of season 1 worrying about paying his tuition and the possibility that he might get kicked out of school. As Erik tells us before he dies, August made Hillerska his entire personality as a way of dealing with the grief over his father’s suicide. Sara, who is using Hillerska to escape her own family trauma, feels similarly about it as a space where she can feel more agency, and now she’s worried that her mother will pull her out of school.

(On Sara’s part, August’s behavior has become increasingly erratic over the course of the last few episodes, and I think she’s drawn to the idea that he might need help. I covered a little of this when I talked about Sara being the special horse girl who wants to tame the troubled horse, but we also see this come out in her friendship with Felice. She wants to help Felice when they first meet! Not to mention, one of the big things Sara gets in trouble for is revealing people’s secrets. If you think about it, August has revealed the biggest secret of the series by leaking the video about Simon and Wilhelm. As pissed as Sara is on Simon’s behalf—and people forget how pissed she is, in 1.6—she also understands what it’s like to have let a secret out and regretted it. Sara’s doing rationalizing of her own.)

I don’t know how much of that runs through August’s head in an obvious or logical way, but in his gut, he’s feeling this jolt of recognition. Sara feels it too. Sara sees him, and he sees her. The magnetic pull has finally brought them together, and when she kisses him, he kisses back. We’d be rooting for these kids as they found a genuine connection, if they weren’t also covering up a horrendous and harmful crime. Sigh! And know we know we’re in for some drama in season 2…

2.1-2.3: Liminal Companionship

Season 2 begins with both Sara and August in an in-between state, where neither of them quite fits into the world they’ve been placed in. Sara’s gotten her coveted boarder’s scholarship to Hillerska, but is rapidly becoming disillusioned with the amount of wealth her dorm mates take for granted. August, meanwhile, hasn’t had to leave school after all, but is convinced he could lose his status and freedom at any minute if anyone finds out he leaked the video. They don’t really discuss this directly, but it’s clear they feel more comfortable around one another because each of them has seen a side of the other the rest of the world isn’t aware of. Moreover, given the amount of discomfort each of them is feeling at the beginning of the season, it’s understandable that Sara and August would seek out one another’s company more deliberately.

It’s in this in-between space, where August feels like he’s lost so much of his Hillerska identity, that he finally starts to recognize that Sara is someone who can hold emotional space for him. At the same time, he goes back and forth between wanting to be vulnerable with her and keeping her at a distance. He breaks down and panics in front of her, causing her to teach him deep breathing, but then runs away after. He seems to like Sara, but he’s cautious about getting too close.

Sara and August’s physical relationship is also in a liminal state at this point in season 2, somewhere between an unexpected platonic friendship and a blossoming romance. Not that anyone should have to define a relationship if they don’t want to, but it’s almost humorous to me how you have this period between 1.6 and 2.3 where Sara and August keep touching and kissing and even grinding on one another and they just… keep acting like it’s happening for the first time. Like. Do we maybe want to communicate about that? No? Yes? Omg you kids are such teenagers, stop.

Sara takes the physical lead most of the time, which is a change from the aggressive predatory gender roles we see August performing in 1.4. I don’t think August is more passive because he isn’t interested (we see the way he lifts Sara up onto his desk in 1.6, and the way he laughs to himself after Sara leaves his room in 2.2.) I personally think this is more about August’s tendency to punish himself. His establishing shots in 2.1 are all about self-punishment and self-denial—the grueling exercise, the infamous bites of kale. We also see him refusing to fight for himself when Wilhelm starts maneuvering him out of his Hillerska positions. August is starting to give up in a big way, and at first he holds Sara at arms’ length because he isn’t letting himself indulge in anything that could bring him actual joy.

For that reason, we don’t really see a reciprocal ebb and flow develop between Sara and August until 2.3, when they finally more consciously choose to do relationshippy things and decide to have sex for the first time. One thing that really stands out to me in this scene is that August is so sure he’s doomed. He is genuinely convinced at this point that the palace is going to send him to jail and brand him a criminal for life. And now that he’s lower than he’s ever been at any point in the series, he’s weirdly somehow gained the ability to show compassion for himself. This is also the episode where he throws his pills aside and pats Rousseau (his narrative shadow) on the nose. If August is doomed anyway, and he’s about to lose everything, well, why not give in to his developing feelings for the girl who likes him back even if she knows he made a terrible decision? Maybe he thinks it’s his one chance to be with her.

I don’t know if August expects that he’ll fall hard for Sara. The reality is, by the time they’re together, he already has fallen for her. Suddenly, she’s a person he’ll fight to keep in his life. Suddenly, August doesn’t want to give up anymore.

2.4-2.6: Whose Cinderella fantasy?

The first time I watched season two, I wondered if August was going to approach Sara differently after his meeting at the palace. There was always the possibility that his (alleged) new security in life would influence him to cast her aside and go back to pursuing upper class girls. Instead what we see is that August is just as devoted to Sara as before—even more devoted, in fact. He invites her to the dance so they can debut together as a public couple. He sets up his room with candles and champagne and waits for her and there’s almost marriage proposal vibes about the whole thing and we all die of second-hand embarrassment when Sara texts to say she’s changed plans. August and Sara argue at the Valentine’s dance, causing August to backslide and start scheming again, but the minute she shows up and cries at his door about losing Rousseau, he takes her in and comforts her. He buys her the horse. He refuses to snitch on her in the field when Wilhelm has a gun pointed at his chest.

Anyway. We know August has very deep feelings for Sara, and it’d be easy to say his feelings run deep enough that he no longer cares that she isn’t high class. And his feelings do run that deep. But there’s another component too, when you think about how August is envisioning his future, and how Sara is part of that future. He’s happy to have her listen in on his phone call about the ten-year plan because he sees her as part of the ten-year plan.

After August’s meeting at the palace, he no longer sees himself as the heir to Årnäs, but rather as a prince in line for the Swedish throne. A noble is supposed to serve and protect the king by making an advantageous marriage and having sons—August explains this much in 1.4 when he’s talking to Wilhelm about the Society—but the king (in August’s fantasies at least) is ultimately at the top of the hierarchy and can bend the rules to suit his will. So August marrying who he wants is really an expression of kingly power, in August’s mind. Of course he can rewrite the rules for himself and marry Sara and make her his queen. He almost says exactly that out loud, when he promises never to hurt her and frames it as a royal oath. And while August and Sara never discuss having children, I’m sure August assumes it will happen someday. (That weirdo probably has names picked out and everything.) That means he’ll be able to fulfill one of the most important duties of kingship (especially in an era where a king’s powers are mostly symbolic) which is producing an heir and keeping the monarchy going.

Anyway, I actually do think that between Sara and August, it’s not Sara who’s caught up in the Cinderella fantasy—it’s August. He really wants to be the prince who rescues her from her ordinary life of drudgery and makes her dreams come true. Why? Because August loathes himself and can’t sit with his own flaws, and it’s more comfortable to imagine himself as Sara’s princely hero than as the guy who leaked the video. And he and Sara are soulmates, in August’s mind. He sees her ambition, and sees himself in it, and he wants to reward it. I don’t think that’s something he could see himself doing as the heir to Årnäs, but maybe it’s something he can do as heir to the throne.

Implicitly I think there’s an element of competition with Wilhelm, too. Sara and August’s fight at the Valentine’s dance brings that subtext bubbling to the surface. Sara is concerned about being in a public relationship with her a royal when she saw what happened to her brother after being outed. August replies, bitterly, that he isn’t Wilhelm, and accuses Sara of just wanting sex.

It’s worth unpacking this. As viewers, we know exactly how devoted Wilhelm is to Simon. But from August’s point of view, all he sees is Wilhelm disavowing Simon on live TV and not standing by him. Keep in mind, too, that the rumors of Wille and Felice’s hookup are traveling around the school at that time, and yet Felice and Wille are not attending the dance together, probably signaling to August that either a) Wilhelm treated Felice like a conquest and then pushed her aside, or b) Felice is a gold digger who took advantage of Wilhelm for her own gain. From August’s perspective, what he’s thinking is, he’ll be more committed and mature than Wilhelm. He will be a good partner. He’s not afraid of being seen with his Eriksson sibling, who he absolutely intends to take to the dance properly and stand in posed graduation photos with and probably marry someday. August is keeping score, and he also believes in his own hype. He’s infuriated that Sara can’t see how he’s different than Wilhelm. That’s why the moment he and Sara are back in each other’s arms in 2.5, he immediately leans toward rhetoric about making her his queen and staying with her long-term. I do think he genuinely means this, but we also can’t ignore that he sees himself as better than Wilhelm for it. He’ll do an unexpected fairy tale romance of his own and he’ll do it better than Wilhelm ever did, dammit!

Now if you’re very clever (and yes, this is me trying to channel the gravitas of Abigail Thorn) you’ll notice how actively ignorant and irrational August is being. He’s constructing a narrative about his relationship with Sara that ignores their rocky beginnings. To some extent, August doesn’t have a full picture of what’s going on in Wilhelm’s head, and he’s also assuming he’ll have a lot more free will as king than would actually be true. (We see this in another way, when he tells Jan-Olof he has some ideas about how to modify the Jubilee Day speech, and gets stopped from doing so.) But it still doesn’t stop August from dreaming about being able to write the rules for himself.

Well, of course August is actively ignorant. Systems of oppression thrive on the active ignorance of those at the top. That’s exactly what allows people in August’s position to think well of themselves and genuinely see themselves as good people (who occasionally make mistakes) rather than people running a system that perpetuates wealth disparities and patriarchy and inequality.

Conclusion: The Privileges of Inconsistency and Ignorance

To sum up: I genuinely do think that August is attracted to Sara from almost the beginning of the show. At first, his warped worldview causes him to ignore or lash out at or objectify her, and overall fail to treat her with respect. When it looks like he might lose all of his power, he does have a brief window where he can see her as a fellow human being who makes him feel less alone, and discovers his feelings for her in a new light. As soon as he’s spared by the royal court, however, he becomes consumed by the fantasy of being king and rewriting the rules to make Sara his queen. Being able to cast her in that role would go against convention, but it would also be the ultimate expression of his power and agency. Other people would still have to follow the rules, but August would get to break them, because the king gets to make the rules and be the authority on everything. This isn’t, of course, what Sara wants—but part of August’s hamartia is that he assumes he and Sara are on the same page.

Maybe this isn’t a popular opinion, but it’s upsetting to me that Sara and August didn’t get to connect under different circumstances. When they work together, they work. But by god do they need some therapy and a social revolution to boot. I 99% agree with (I believe) missbolt’s post on Sara and August, where she talks about them fulfilling a deep need in one another. The one place I disagree (possibly in a very nitpicky way that isn’t really disagreement) is that I do think August sees real ambition/struggle to survive in Sara, and I do think Sara sees real vulnerability/loneliness in August. These traits are real and not illusions. Because Young Royals emphasizes choices over “innate” moral personality traits, however, what Sara and August don’t foresee in each other is the choices and sacrifices the other is willing to make. Sara is willing to put aside her ambitions to try and make things right with her brother, while August shoves away his vulnerability to try and prove to himself that he’s worthy of power within a system that’s content to just use him and toss him aside when he isn’t useful anymore.

Neither Sara nor August really expects the other to make these decisions, and that’s what drives them apart. Sara’s choice will hopefully save her and allow her to reconnect with community; August’s choice will only further isolate him and drive him toward destruction if he doesn’t check himself and change course. August could stop this cycle of self-harm if he stopped subscribing the aristocratic ideals of masculinity, but he hasn’t yet. How infuriating! The amount of sleep I have lost over this fictional character’s terrible decisions, let me tell you.

(It kills me how gendered Sara and August’s sacrifices are, too. Sometimes I just think about it and I want to scream. But I can also appreciate the well-written tragedy of it all.)

I will also say that this reading of the characters influences my reading of the show at large. It’s part of why I’m not personally in favor of the monarchy sticking around and a Prince Consort Simon future. (I get why it appeals to other people and can read others’ fics based around that, but it’s not my personal preference.) It’s also why I can’t find hotness in the idea of Wilhelm being a sort of sexy masc dom prince who orders people around and pulls strings to make things more convenient for his precious Simon. August already exists in the narrative as a cautionary tale against that kind of power dynamic! There’s more to be said here about the way you can look at August’s choices compared to Wilhelm’s, and how they are foils to one another. Ultimately, there is danger in trying to rewrite an oppressive system in accordance with one’s individual whims, even when a person imagines something as noble as romantic love as being what motivates them.

Once upon a time, I was leaving @heliza24 a comment on the Heart and Homeland draft she sent me, and I said this:

“The road to democracy is letting aristocratic boys embrace their submissive tendencies.”

And… maybe I was being a little bit facetious. But on a symbolic level I think what I meant was, Wilhelm and August both have to envision themselves in new positions, possibly even as part of a new system, if they want to do right by the people they love. Moreover, they need to think beyond the people they love, and consider the impact of their power has on the world at large. They need to learn humility, to listen, and to manage their emotions. So far, it’s Wilhelm who’s succeeding in that kind of growth, and he doesn’t win that victory by trusting in his love for Simon alone. Instead, as I pointed out in my justice meta, Wilhelm needs therapy and community and the willingness to self-examine in order to move forward. He learns to stop focusing on winning Simon’s love like it’s a prize, and focus more on being the kind of person Simon would choose to be in a relationship with, while still acknowledging that ultimately the choice is Simon’s.

Will August eventually be able learn the same lessons? Only season 3 can tell for sure. I kind of hope he can figure it out eventually, against all odds, if only so he can one day heal from his trauma. He also has to radically accept that he caused harm toward Simon, Wilhelm, and others. If August wants to get there, he’s going to have to stop subscribing to the philosophy of exceptionalism, and instead start valuing the special within the ordinary.

[writergirl3]

4 Town General Headcanons ; Pt. 1.

A/N: Just some general headcanons that I have for the boys. No warnings, just 4 Townie goodness.

Aaron Z and Tae Young will be in part 2!

Robaire

Robaire Beau Dumont, born September 3rd, 1978.

We know that he’s a proud Torontonian, and moved to the city after his family relocated from Montreal when he started high school. He is of African-Francophone-Canadian heritage on his father’s side, and his mother is of African American/French-Caucasian descent.

He has one younger sister, Sophia, who he adores and protects with his life. She is three years younger than him, and the pair were inseparable growing up. Being the eldest sibling in his family really prepared him for stepping up as the level-headed, responsible frontman of 4 Town.

Robaire has been singing since he could speak, and it’s a craft that he relentlessly refined throughout his childhood and teenage years. He always dreamt of being a musician, and his hard work showed that pretty much anything is possible if you put your mind to it.

He gets on equally well with all of the members, but has a soft spot for T. The younger brunette brings out a fun-loving side of Robaire that he never felt he was really allowed to express, either within his family dynamic or within the group. He sees T as a little brother and takes it upon himself to soothe T’s emotional problems and assure him of his worth.

So, Robaire is a perfectionist by nature, but it also goes a little deeper than that. About a year into 4 Town’s career, he had a bit of a breakdown and was sent to a therapist, who diagnosed him with a mild case of OCD. It’s something that Robaire has to deal with, and the boys are all super supportive, especially Z. Robaire is pretty open about it with 4 Townies and harnesses his obsessive tendencies by putting his all into rehearsing and performing. 

When it comes to love, we know that Robaire is a romantic guy. He’s had a handful of relationships throughout the years, but has had less time for it while being a part of 4 Town. He’s pretty private about his love life, because juggling a career in the public eye with devoted fans is not easy when you’re trying to find the one. He’s heterosexual, but doesn’t really care for labels and loves all kinds of people in all different ways.

Jesse

Jesse Caleb Efron, born April 15th, 1976.

He’s of Ashkenazi-Jewish heritage on his Dad’s side, although he had a non-religious upbringing. His Mom is Canadian with Irish heritage. They divorced when Jesse was about fourteen, which prompted his rebellious teenage phase.

He is the oldest of four, and has three younger sisters, Rachel, Anna and Sara. His family were pretty conservative when he was growing up, and his father, in particular, was not happy about Jesse being a teenage dad. He’s since won his father round by showing himself to be the amazing, supportive father that he is.

Speaking of his kids, he has two two ten year-old kids, a boy (Vinnie) and a girl (Phoebe). He named Vinnie after his favourite artist, Vincent Van Goph, and just thought that Phoebe was a cute name.

So, the reason little Vinnie and Phoebe came into Jesse’s life was because of his…let’s say…adventurous teenage tendencies. He became a rebel after his parents divorced and slept around a bit. When he found out he was going to be a father at the age of sixteen, though, he changed his outlook on life completely. Things didn’t work out with his then girlfriend, but he does his best to get along with Vinnie and Phoebe’s mom and keep things amicable.

His kids are really the reason why Jesse got back into art. Doing little crafts activities with them reminded him of his own childhood memories, so they inspired him to apply for college at the ripe old age of 21. 

He’s close to all the guys and feels a kind of paternal instinct over them all, but none more than Tae Young. When Jesse’s apart from his kids, a part of him feels unfulfilled. He loves feeling needed, and with Tae being near-on a whole decade younger, Jesse loves stepping in to guide him when needed.

Jesse’s relationships have been…a mixed bag to say the least. He always figured that 4 Townies were more interested in simping over the other members instead of him, so he tends to be a little less guarded when it comes to dating. Having kids can put a guy under a whole bunch of stress, so in the recent past, Jesse’s never been looking for anything serious. As he nears thirty, though, (a fact that T reminds Jesse of OFTEN), he wants to find someone special. He believes in soulmates, and hopes to find them soon. He’s heterosexual, and has lots to learn about the LGBTQIA+ community. It’s all good, though. T and Tae help ol’ grandpa out.

Aaron T

Aaron Alejandro Tantalo (note; ‘tantalo’ translates to ‘so much’ in Italian, and we know this guy is extra).

Many people headcanon T as hispanic, but I feel like his Dad is originally from Sicily and his Mom is Brazilian. South American + Italian parents = the overly dramatic, energetic and loveable Aaron T.

Born August 29th, 1981. He was always the youngest in his grade, which explains quite a lot about his, at times, immature nature.

Speaking of birthdays, this guy loves star signs. He doesn’t really believe in them, but was roped into the obsession by Tae. He reads the horoscopes of all the other members and uses them as ammunition for his pranks;

"Jesse, you must have eaten the last cookie because your horoscope said you’d have trouble with self-control this week". "T, we all know it was y-" "-THE UNIVERSE SAID SO, Z, NOT ME."

We all know that T loves to skateboard, and he’s pretty good on roller skates too. Being the recklessly confident guy he is, he assumed he would be ace at ice skating. Big mistake. BIG. The guys still laugh and call him bambi when it comes up in conversation.

He’s close with Z, but actually the closest with Tae Young. They share the same playful spirit, and because T was the youngest of three kids, he kinda enjoys babying Tae at every opportunity. He’s super close with all the guys though and always says he has seven siblings, not just three.

Speaking of his siblings, he has an older brother, Leo, who is five years older than him and pretty much his antithesis. His sister, Maria, is two years older and they were always super close. One of the reasons T initially gravitated towards Z was because the guy reminded him of Leo.

Pretty much all of T’s skills are self-taught. Although he’s a dopey goof, he’s surprisingly really driven and resourceful. Singing? Taught himself. Acrobatics? Taught himself. Dancing? You get it. Well, ‘u know what’s up’. He really did do it on his own.

In school, T was, unsurprisingly, the class clown. It wasn’t even really a conscious thing, he just loved making people laugh and smile. Even the teachers couldn’t resist his jokes, which saved him from detention a whole bunch of times for forgotten homework. He always wanted to succeed and do as well as his older brother and sister, but he learnt later on that textbook learning just wasn’t for him.

In terms of love and relationships, T is pretty inexperienced considering how much of a flirt he is. He crushes on people pretty easily, but rarely gets past that stage. In all honesty, it kinda scares him how consumed he can get by a crush so he shuts it down pretty quick and distracts himself with humour. He really wants a S/O, though, when the time is right, and recently realised that he’s pansexual. The boys were of course super supportive, and T has never felt more free.

Stay tuned for part 2!

---

Musing Meaninglessly Masterlist

[bisluthq]

With the Olivia thing though, how do we know st Vincent wasn’t the one who asked for the credit? Like I’m not trying to cupcake, but one direction released Perfect after Taylor released style and it’s the exact same song the whole way through. Alessia cara had a song with Zedd, Stay that used the same melody in the chorus as AYHTDWS and the lyrics are “all you have to do is stay” lmao. And it was a big hit.

Some insider said Taylor was going for credit a month before it was known, but it easily could’ve been st Vincent who wanted it and because of how they published it, it came from Taylor’s team? I only say her because Jack said Olivia offered credit and he thought that was cool.

Alternatively, the person who said Taylor was coming for credit could have known Olivia was advised to offer it (if we’re going by Jack’s telling of events), so they spread that, the 3 of them get retroactively added as co-writers, and people just assume an insecure and mean taylor was going to sue her… they were marketing Olivia so much as the next Taylor and took so many pages from her early playbook, letting people assume Liv was a victim of a power and money hungry force (when Taylor had complained about scooter situation)… they couldn’t be sure how it was going to play out, but it was certainly a move 👀

And if the song has 3 co-writers and they reach out to all 3 to offer credit and Jack said yes he wants it (which I’m sure he would after he and Sara b wrote brave and Katy Perry copied it for Roar), then the other 2 get it as well.

I’m not trying to cupcake, we know Taylor is all about business, and Liv really needed to stop talking about Taylor because she just looked like a super fan whose only identity was swiftie because that got clicks so they asked her. It’s just an unfortunate situation imo that Olivia got the ‘she doesn’t write her songs’ treatment and Taylor got the ‘she bullied her own fan’ label when there were other people involved bts

Nah it was not St Vincent because 1) Annie and Olivia are very much still friendly and Annie’s been extremely supportive and Olivia has been extremely nice to Annie so it had fuck all to do with them - in fact Annie wrote on Obsessed right with Dan and Liv - but Taylor and Olivia are no longer on good terms at all 2) everyone’s basically said it was Taylor lol come onnnn.

I don’t think it was something Olivia plotted and schemed for to look like a victim, that’s a very weird theory. I think Taylor got credits and money from her because she didn’t like that Olivia was getting to #1 while running around using Taylor’s name lol without paying up. That’s a different situation to Style v Perfect which helped bolster both songs lmao? Olivia was “using” Taylor to compete with Taylor and Taylor didn’t like that. We could say she should’ve been more gracious about it but if anything her coming for Olivia to me says she respects her lol and sees her (correctly) as competition? So the whole cutesy “I’m her musical daughtsr” thing was no longer working for Taylor? Because that only works if you’re a little act, not Tay’s direct competitor??

[bigsnzstanacct]

I love your C/heck P/lease stuff! I also really love C/heck P/lease, although my current obsession is imagining giant snz B/itty because "tiny man with huge snz" is super hot

Anon I want you to know a) I love this idea and b) I wrote a ficlet about it but tumblr ATE it and it didn’t post but it’s not in my drafts and I feel INJURED by this INJUSTICE but I will ry to write it again but the (very silly) gist is: at an SMH reunion, there’s like SMH trivia and one of the questions is who has the biggest sneeze and one person says “Hol/ster duh” and then someone is like “Uh, have you heard D/ex since he stopped doing the chew toy hold back sneeze thing?” And L/ardo (hosting the game ofc) is like WRONG and WRONG and everybody’s like who is it and then Jack starts joking about Bit/ty and Bit/ty denies it and then Shitty shakes some pepper (Bit/ty never cooks with pepper bc…) and Bi/tty sneeze so hard he knocks everyone over and blasts all the furniture against the wall. And that’s how SMH finds out who really has the biggest sneezes in the Haus.

Also so glad to see Ch/eck Pl/ease love, I am so into those characters. I can also imagine Jack, sorta like I have D/ex having a big loud Dad Sneeze and he’s So Embarrassed by it so he always stifles and THEN with your idea of giant!sneeze Bit/ty first they bond over the fact that neither of them sneezes full out and then Jack lets loose around Bi/tty and Bi/tty’s like “that’s what you’re embarrassed about, that little thing?” And proceeds to show Jack the Family Curse (I have decided this is some kind of “we have family from Louisiana and they messed with the wrong person and welp that’s why you be nice to everybody you never know who has witch powers” thing. Anyway Bitty uproots some shrubs and blows all the leaves. (And most of the branches) off a tree and he’s like “and I don’t even have the curse that bad, you should see my cousin Sara Beth, that girl woulda blown that tree clean out of the ground and across the county line” and Jack’s just like 😱 and he never feels embarrassed about his loud sneeze ever again from that day forth and whenever the guys (Ta/ter) tease him about it, he’s like “oh this little thing?” and he kinda does it in Bitty’s accent and chuckles to himself.