#it's just. interesting. and sort of makes sense to me

[simplyhansel]

So I just finished my second watch of k-pop demon hunters

And I have a theory. I saw someone point out that the Saja Boys names are based on who they are: Abs is muscular, Mystery is mysterious, Baby is youthful, Romance is a chick magnet, and Jinu's name means "true"

But I don't think their names JUST represent what they are. I think it represents what turned them into a demon in the first place. As Jinu puts it, their shame. First things first: I think there are two types of demons. Demons born in the demon world, and demons that used to be humans.

Outside of the Saja boys, we can see a few other demons in the background who have very similar outfits, most notably the hats. These are the demons that were once human, turned into demons by Gwi-Ma. The other demons with more exaggerated features were born in the demon world.

Starting with Abs. Strength, muscles, looking manly; that's his schtick. There are a few ways he can go. 1) it's possible that he wanted to be stronger to protect someone he loved, but I don't think that is the case. 2) Abby was weak and being weak made his life worse "you are weak, no one will ever respect you. but I can make you strong." this, or some variation of it, is the one I think is most likely. 3) Abs was born appearing very fem (transgender or genetics, take your pick) and Gwi-Ma made him manly and muscular.

up next, we have Mystery. He kind of stumped me at first (which is honestly kind of fitting tbh) but then I rewatched the scene where Jinu pitched the band to Gwi-Ma. during the small transition scene, we see slight shifts in Romance, Mystery, and Baby. Of all the boys though, Mystery's is the most interesting.

Mystery is the only one of them to have exaggerated demonic features, specifically his teeth. I believe that Mystery is half human, half demon, just like Rumi. "but Han!" I hear you say, "Jinu was surprised that a human had demon blood!" but to that I say; no he wasn't. He was surprised that a HUNTER had demon blood. he says specifically "A hunter who is part demon?" This implies, however loosely, that half demon/half human hybrids aren't unheard of. Mystery was ashamed of his heritage, wanted to hide it, be free from the scrutiny. I also think this can be supported by the way he acts during the joint signing. He quite literally barks and growls at the fans at one point lmao. Even if he isn't actually half demon, I think it would still be safe to assume he was born with some sort of physical defect or oddity, more than likely something that affects his eyes.

I feel like Baby is pretty self explanatory. He was made eternally youthful, to the point that he basically looks like a 5 year old. My guess is that he looked older than he was, and he was self conscious, or mocked, or something to that effect. Maybe his wife left him cause he was old looking? idk. In any case, this is what makes the most sense to me.

Romance is somewhat self explanatory, but there are still a few ways it could have gone. 1) He wanted to be able to have anyone he wanted, so Gwi-Ma granted him the ability to charm any and everyone. 2) He had an unrequited love. Gwi-Ma made his love fall for him, but it ended terribly in some way, shape or form. I can honestly see either, as both are fairly self-serving.

Last but not least, Jinu. He is the only member with a normal sounding name, but that doesn't mean we cant infer anything from it. Jinu in Korean means "genuine" or "true" and I think in this case, it symbolizes that he was the only one in the group that had good intentions with his actions. He did legitimately want to help his family, and I believe Gwi-Ma prevented him from doing so. Even if his family wasn't allowed into the palace or wherever, I think he had full intentions to send his mother the money he made. He was never able to, though; Gwi-Ma sent excuses and opportunities to squander away his money, then kept whispering in his ear that he was abandoning them. Don't get me wrong, he did abandon them. But I also understand that when the voice of doubt has you in a strong grip, it's well and truly paralyzing. Gwi-Ma accuses Jinu of being self-serving, but he is arguably the only one in the group who was trying to do the correct thing for the people he cared about the most.

Anyway I really fucking loved this movie: the visuals were stunning, the symbolism was spot on, and that soundtrack was KILLER! If anyone has other ideas or theories Id love to hear them! Thanks for coming to my ted talk.

[cybermvtt]

SOREYY I KNOW PEOPLE DIDN'T FOLLOW ME FOR TADC CONTENT BUT 8GEH IT'S MY GUILTY PLEASURE AND I NEED TO TALK ABOUT JAX THAT FUCKED UP STUPID IDIOT

So now let me give u my overanaylizations and infodumping (most of it is Jax 💔 srry I'm Jax pilled)

- I'm so deadass when I say I didn't realize when Jax was talking about his "backstory" it was a Breaking Bad reference. I lowk thought his backstory was gonna be like a Charlotte situation from ONE maybe and then I realized it was a Breaking Bad reference, which makes it funnier

- It's interesting that Caine can in some way alter how the characters think (with how he made Jax vegan) makes u kinda think what's real and what's not or what the characters truly believe and what they don't

- I KNEW IT I KNEW THE REASON HE WAS SUCH AN ASS WAS SO HE DIDN'T GET CLOSE TO PEOPLE I KNEW IT BIG BRAIN BIG

- Also kind of random but trans Jax real

- ^ to go with that (I saw someone else say it and I very much agree) ofc canonically I feel like the main reason Jax didn't like the maid dress is like obvious, it would make him embarrassed esp when he doesn't rlly like to be embarrassed but to embarrass others. But with him being so viscerally upset about it, I like to project and say that it's bc he's transmasc and prob more dysphoric about it as well

- ^^ to also go with that I don't think anyone in the circus rlly knows he's trans since he's so closed off (I think even though Jax has been an ass to Gangle, she wouldn't do something like that, esp since she's close with Zooble who's expressed they're dysphoria before) maybe like Ribbit would've been the only one (probs Kaufmo too?? Think it's been hinted that was possibly another person Jax was close to before he abstracted, due to him being upset when Ragatha mentioned his funeral, and Jax not being present for said funeral) but no one for sure knows besides Jax himself (though I imagine he gives off hints)

- I think Ragatha mentioning how Jax has no more friends and us seeing later that friend was Ribbit also opens up more to maybe why he's upset. 1) Ofc the obvious, he lost a close friend and 2) maybe it got so bad for him mentally that he almost abstracted himself? So it just doesn't bring up good memories in general? We've seen multiple times how characters can almost abstract (Pomni and Gangle) and I wouldn't put it past Jax to have possibly been in so much mental distress that it almost happened to him, idk just a fun theory to play around with

- ^ maybe that could be a reason why he didn't attend Kaufmos funeral, Ribbits made him too upset (possibly causing some sort of breakdown or close abstraction as said)

- Gangle and Zooble lesbians real

- I feel like Jax maybe was like some sort of actor in his life, or like a comedian idk, something like that with how he breaks the 4th wall and is really good with improv when it comes to talking

- Pomni and Ragatha lesbians real (but make it tragic)

- Also I unironically love Bubble sm underrated character. I think this episode shows a clear shift in something going wrong with the ai, since Bubble is way more unhinged (even Caine notices) Caine is also kinda going insane (also with certain things like how Jax said he had a tail but then looks and has no tail)

- I find it funny Jax probably watches anime but just hates slice of life specifically

- Feel like the evil versions of them in some way could kind of project what they don't want to become/insecurities of who they are (Jax being more whimpy, Pomni being more cruel, etc.)

- Ik it's probably a joke but I feel the vegan thing could mean something (esp with Jax suggesting the first adventure and mentioning something about his mom which could be a throw away line but we never know)

- ^ maybe he used to hunt with his mom? Lived in the Savannah? Something like that

- Ragatha being a doll now makes a lot more sense and definetly confirms that everyone's design means SOMETHING

- ^ Ragatha being a doll could be like a representation of being thrown around and abused by her mother, Zooble being Zooble could represent dysphoria they had in they're past life, Jax could maybe be some thing to do with running away from his problems constantly, Gangle shows her fragile nature and also a representation of putting on a mask for depression, Kingers I feel has to do with his closeness with his wife being like a king and a queen together, and Pomnis is a little difficult but maybe something to do with like performance in some way idk

- I think Jax could've also grown up on a farm maybe since he had a reaction when hearing about it from Ragatha (That could maybe explain some sort of fear for corn idk)

- Them not knowing about Queenie is crazy, I'm wondering if she abstracted immediately after she got into the circus

- Very interesting seeing the beef Jax and Ragatha have, I knew it ran deeper then just "they hate each other" but I find it interesting how deep there beef could be

- I don't personally think it's super strange for Jax and Pomni to get close, Pomni out of all the cast makes sense due to her attitude, she tries to understand Jax rather than do what the others do (ignore him, be mean back, etc)

- I feel like a lot of Jax and how he is towards Gangle in specific could be him just trying to project, like a bully to the bullied. I imagine he has his own slew of mental problems which is why when he sees Gangle being happy after being depressed for so long he questions if she (or him for that matter of fact) can truly be happy aswell

- I think Ragatha is kinda pissed about Jax and Pomnis friendship for a couple reasons 1) Ragatha has been there longer than Pomni, she's probably been trying to get close to Jax for awhile but he doesn't budge, to her it can be frustrating seeing the new person, who hasn't been there for long, suddenly form and get more close to Jax so easily rather than her where it's probably taken longer and been harder to. 2) I think that's also something to do with how she's tried her hardest to make Pomni feel welcomed and tried really hard being Pomnis close friend. 3) the obvious, she's a people pleaser, she clearly wants everyone to view her as good and nice, she cares more about others than herself. And 4) being kinda left alone on her own at the end of the episode (also secret answer 5. Probably something to do with her and Jax realationship, I feel like they've had some sort of falling out or big arguement before the events of the show)

- I think the reason Jax sees Ragathas attempts at connection and kindness as trying to take advantage of people could be his own experiences regarding someone else in his past life or Ragatha herself, another reason is due to how he doesn't open up, he sees it as being taken advantage of when people wanna know him

- ^ to go with that Ribbits abstraction probably didn't help that, probably making him think that even if he DOES get close to someone they eventually leave in some way

- Also WHY R WE NOT TALKING ABOUT THE MANNEQUIN?? He's up to something and idk what it is, could be another example of the ai going rougue

- Kingers favorite color is black I think

- ^ Pomnis is possibly red??

- Rlly cool how much range and emotion Jax shows in the episode, idk what happened at Spudsys but if it made the man start to break down his walls than I can only imagine

That's all I rlly have rn, huge info dump mainly hcs and theories plus Jax post ofc, but I hope u enjoyed my info dumping. If I have more I'll let u gamers know okay bye bye

[bluemoonscape]

I’m sort of curious why you ship obikin? I personally don’t, and you have asks open so I wanted to hear your thoughts.

Sure, why not!! Thanks for the ask <3

Most of the draw for me comes from a combination of Revenge of the Sith (specifically the choreography of the Mustafar fight, which I’ll explain more in a moment) Deborah Chow’s work in the Obi-Wan Kenobi series, and Matthew Stover’s portrayal of them in the Revenge of the Sith novelization.

On a base level, their characters simply can’t exist without the other, which is deeply interesting in and of itself. In A New Hope, Obi-Wan has to mentor Anakin’s son and give him Anakin’s lightsaber after saving it for all those years, and he has to fall to Vader by his own choice. He has to forgive Anakin and still love him after all that time to teach him how to become a Force ghost when Anakin is dying in RotJ. And at the end of the movie, it’s an overwhelmingly happy moment to see them together again as ghosts smiling, standing with one another, and watching over Luke. Their characters have been so closely intertwined since the original films, and every bit of content we’ve gotten since then capitalizes on that so much.

I hope you don’t mind me bringing pictures because… I have pictures.

Coming around to prequels content, one of my favorite Obikin tidbits comes from a 2019 interview with Nick Gillard (Revenge of the Sith fight choreographer who did the work for the Mustafar fight). Here’s a screenshot from an article discussing the interview with a quote from Gillard:

You can read more in-depth about that interview here in a great post by @/gffa.

There are more key quotes from the interview here, including bangers such as:

“I did write it [Mustafar fight] like a husband and wife having a fight. Anakin thinks Obi is maybe having an affair with Padmé at that point. So he’s already gone to the dark side. And for Obi, it’s just about trying to absorb it long enough that he can get him back.”

“My take on the whole duel was that Obi-Wan is the central character in that duel. He wouldn’t try and kill Anakin. The way I saw that fight was like having a fight with your girlfriend. That she’s just lost it and that she’s coming at you with everything she’s got. […] So you try to defend her as long as you can until she breaks down. Then you can give her a cuddle.“

These quotes admittedly make me giggle a bit because. What do you mean you framed it like a husband and wife/boyfriend and girlfriend having a fight. That imagery is just so funny to me. But seriously, I do think it really emphasizes how much they still do love each other even as they’re fighting so brutally—Obi-Wan can’t bring himself to do anything more than defend, and the idea that Anakin fighting Obi-Wan equates to him fighting the good side of himself is heartbreaking. The fact that fighting him is literally like fighting part of himself is insane.

Anakin’s fear of Padmé and Obi-Wan having an affair is also mentioned in that interview, and funny enough, the Obidala affair was actually supposed to be canon in from what we can tell is George Lucas’s original draft of the prequels. It sounds almost absurd because of the prequels we ended up getting, simply because Padmé and Obi-Wan as we know them—would just never do that. Even if they were framed to have feelings for each other, I don’t believe their characters as they are could ever bring themselves to act on those feelings because they love Anakin too much. He’s undoubtedly the axis of the prequel trio. What was originally supposed to be a love triangle with Padmé as the axis ends up looking much more like a love triangle with Anakin as the axis.

But anyway! That’s the movie side of it. I don’t know if you’ve read the novelization or not, but personally I like it even more than the movie. That’s not to say the movie isn’t great, but what does it for me is how much Stover gets Anakin’s character. He makes Anakin… make more sense? He makes his motivations and his fall as a whole more sympathetic and understandable to the reader, I think. He also expands on Anakin’s relationships with Obi-Wan, Padmé, and Palpatine, and the way in which he portrays Obi-Wan's relationship with him and their feelings about each other in general is very… oddly romantic? Tragically romantic? Their banter is sweet to read in the first several chapters regardless of whether you view them platonically or not, too.

(Okay look I have a lot of pictures of this book, it ruined me as a human being)

Finally, there’s the Obi-Wan Kenobi show, which is entirely about Obi-Wan and Anakin in Anakin’s Vader era. Once again, you have a lot of comments from the creator elevating that husband and wife/boyfriend and girlfriend sort of dynamic brought up by Gillard:

First of all: ok girl wow 😳 This topic came up in the interview because Chow was asked how she managed to convince the Disney execs to let her bring the character of Darth Vader into the show—because, you know, it’s Darth Vader! The face of the Star Wars saga! You can’t just throw him into anything (or, well, you could, I wouldn’t complain)—and this was her selling point. A show about Obi-Wan would be incomplete without Anakin because Anakin is his biggest love story and his biggest heartbreak in the series. Both the OG and prequel trilogies really are defined by the relationship between Obi-Wan and Anakin—everything begins and ends with them. And it was heart wrenching to watch this scene in the OWK show after all the movies have given us.

”I am not your failure, Obi-Wan” is a major line in their story. That’s the scene where we see Obi-Wan finally accept that his Anakin is gone and the best way for him to keep loving him is to honor him and love him as he was (shown when we see Obi-Wan in the OG trilogy speaking of Anakin to Luke so fondly, telling him he was the “best star pilot in the galaxy” and “a good friend”). And Anakin as he knew him briefly showed himself to give him that peace. In that scene, the red of Vader’s lightsaber reflected on his face recedes and is replaced by the blue glow of Obi-Wan’s saber as he says the words “I am not your failure, Obi-Wan. You didn’t kill Anakin Skywalker—I did.” …at which point the red glow returns to prominence. But however briefly when he said those words, he was Anakin and he was giving Obi-Wan permission to let go of the idea that he killed Anakin, or caused him to become Darth Vader. He was the only person who could give Obi-Wan that freedom, and he did. In the strangest way possible, he freed Obi-Wan, and Obi-Wan was finally able to return the favor and free him years later in death, allowing them to reunite and to free Anakin of his broken-down body and look like himself again as a young man before he fell.

I don’t have a picture in my camera roll, but I believe if memory serves, Palpatine tells Dooku in the RotS novelization that Anakin will never fully be in the camp of the Sith as long as Obi-Wan lives, which is why Dooku targeted Obi-Wan so fiercely in the duel against him and Anakin and then Palpatine asked Anakin to leave Obi-Wan so they could evacuate the ship, at which point Anakin glared at him and said “His fate will be the same as ours.” Palpatine was right about that. Anakin is never able to let go of his past when he’s Vader, and largely it is because Obi-Wan still lives. Even once Obi-Wan finally dies and joins the Force before Anakin’s eyes, Vader doesn’t feel triumph or finally cut Anakin Skywalker out—he is said in another novelization to be felt light years away by Yoda as a beacon of loneliness and grief in the Force. Luke is the last piece he has of both Padmé and Obi-Wan, because while Luke is of course Padmé’s son, it was Obi-Wan who taught him, and thus Vader repeats multiple times in the OG trilogy that Luke has a lot of Obi-Wan's influence in him. It’s Luke who enables Anakin to break free from the chains of the dark side and defeat his abuser and groomer after years of manipulation.

That’s all to say—the story of Obi-Wan and Anakin is so rich, tragic, beautiful, and expansive, it’s easy to feel drawn to it in any capacity; I specifically see the possibility of them loving one another in a romantic light due to all those aforementioned references to them being deliberately set up in the story as lovers, as well as the fact that their dynamic is just incredibly fun and interesting and it’s easy to explore the possibilities of them in all different contexts. They’re uniquely fucked up and obsessive about each other with Anakin being (paraphrasing) blinded by his feelings for his old Master (as said by Palpatine) and Obi-Wan essentially having Anakin and only Anakin as an outlet for his grief after Qui-Gon’s death. The best part about them is that their story never ends. It started with the original trilogy with Alec Guinness and James Earl Jones, bloomed in the prequels with Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen, and has since been revisited and expanded upon over and over in novels, comics, and of course, the TV shows bringing back Ewan and Hayden. It’s possible they’ll even be on the screen as Obi-Wan and Anakin again—Hayden is already confirmed to be set for Ahsoka Season 2, and it’s entirely possible Ewan appears alongside him in more of Ahsoka’s Clone Wars flashbacks. The love story stretches over so much media and material over the course of nearly 50 years (48 currently) that it’s impossible to run out of ideas for them. The story tells itself.

[thebatsandthebugs]

something ive been thinking about lately is how for babs being batgirl was something that allowed her to find her identity and i think its also an interesting sort of coming of age/womanhood thing

in bop babs tells helena how bullied she was and how even at her first dance the boy who took her only did so bcs his dad was friends with jim. in batgirl 00 she tells cass about how being in the suit turned her into powerful, confident, and sexy person and in the same bop issue she also talks about how she began to 'fill out' when she was batgirl

anyone whos grown up as a girl and been 'ugly' knows how detached you can feel from womanhood as a whole bcs of it. for babs being sexy and confident as batgirl let her find her identity as a person and as a girl but whats an interesting subversion to me is she does it in a decidedly not traditionally feminine way

like its not really like she starts putting on makeup and dressing different and being like 'yay im conventionally attractive now i finally feel like i fit in as a girl' becoming batgirl was her way of asserting her autonomy and flouting her fathers control--not a really a 'feminine' thing to do, right? sneaking out, fighting criminals, breaking into the 'boys club' of batman and robin-its all her breaking away from what is expected of a girl and actually finding herself and what it means to be a girl for her in the process. i think its neat how batgirl lets her be the sexy, confident woman thats more traditionally a female archetype, but it also lets barbara gordon break gender norms and accept womanhood as babs too

and imo the same sort of thing happens with her oracle persona. she has her autonomy violated in an act of violence i call gender-based and i think its important to note how disabled women also often are treated as not 'real' women

but she once again rebuilds herself and reclaims herself, and i think its once again by flouting the expectations of what it means to be disabled and a woman-shes competent, resourceful, fiercely independent and even becoming a hacker ties into that-again, shes establishing herself in a place which has traditionally been a 'boys club' shes still breaking norms and being a woman her way but also doesn't mean that she doesn't fit into traditional womanhood either-shes sexy, shes confident, shes desired and shes loved!!

(important to note that disabled/poc women being traditionally feminine can often be more empowering than making them not fit bcs they are historically excluded. babs being disabled and being pretty and wanted is really important)

but yeah i just think this sort of thread of babs both finding herself as what it means to be a woman traditionally and what it means to be a woman outside of tradition is such an interesting dichotomy does this make any sense

[soulfulazrael]

Something dawned on me about part of Deltarune fanbase which made me theorize something about the ending.

And that is discourse around Kris recently on the internet and the Soul which relates to this

And I have something in mind I want to speak up about, There is something we can see quite a bit in both Undertale and Delatrune fanbases. And that is... bias towards ourselves. Where a lot of players refuse to take responsibility for their own actions. Where some still believe Chara is responsibe for genocide. Where Snowgrave is something Soul itself did or something else controls us. So forth and so forth.

And I was wondering about this, but on something else. Because I also saw some speculation about DU having similar story to a game called Omori. Haven't played it myself, but from what I understand it's ending is tied to confessions. And there is quite a few people now given that Toby by the time it released said a game would be very similar coming out and author of that game is their friend. How Kris will have to explain so much. How Susie will hate them and not trust them. How everyone will turn on them and they will lose their hand too and so forth and so forth.

And now I think... on that side people are doing THE SAME thing as people who blame Chara do. They are still on their very big bias towards themselves which makes sense as we probably always will be biased the most towards ourselves. But I have this thought this concept that... it will be that, but it wont be Kris who will be hated in the end. It will be us. We wont be the ones who will be accepted and Kris judged. No. It's Kris's decisions that THEY make matter. It is our choices that do not.

And possibly in the one ending we get WE are never accepted. Susie will never like us. None of the characters will care for us. It's Kris that will be loved, it is Kris who will earn forgiveness as we are told to leave. Like in Undertale even on Pacifist route we are told to LEAVE and never come back.

And while it is just my theory it would be fascinating if it ended up being true. Sort of way to gauge the kind of person you are. Whether or not you find it fair or satisfying that someone else gets to be loved and accepted and you are left alone. Even if you play full pacifist the ending remains where you have to leave. Probably as being viewed more fondly upon, but not truly accepted. Basically. Can you be okay with Kris being the one who get the happy ending. Not you.

And I know some of you may say how this is something that happens in lots of games like Mass Effect or something, but here is the thing. Deltarune is unique because of how much distinction it makes between the player and the main character. We are hit on our head time and time and time again how we are not Kris. How they have their own agency, their own likes, needs and personality that we hijack.

So in the end no matter what deals they have, what happens, they will earn something better and you will not. And Snowgrave could be a path for those who are bitter about this choice. Who do not accept it and want to force the game to cater to them. To love them. Make at least one person love you. Someone very, very vulnerable you can mold.

Now I know it sounds, dark, weird and uncomfortable, but to me it would be very interesting. A test of how far you extend your empathy at the cost of your own happiness. And how many of those people who are scared for Kris will NOT be happy if good ending for Kris means a bad one for them. Becuase Kris is Kris and you are you. So how about leave them in their world and like Ralsei said "Have real friends"?

Now just to be clear. I do not mean here that characters in this game will HATE US no matter what. What I mean is that we will never be as close to those characters as Kris is and despite everything Kris will be seen in much more favorable light than we ever will be if confessions ever happen. Where Susie may at first look at US more with Scorn and forgive Kris much easier. I don't mean that until the end she will hate us, but I think the game will make sure to let us know that Susie and others will never be VERY close to us.

That is for Kris. And like even in Pacifist Run Flowey pretty much begs us to leave Frisk and others happy and let them live their lives I feel like ending of this game will be similar. In that we will have our time with those characters, but we have to move on and let them be happy on their own. Without us.

[urban-hermitism]

mandatory jiang cheng analysis now that i'm rewatching the untamed. (mind you i am currently 6 episodes in and this is exclusively based on the untamed. i have read the novel. i forget every word of it.)

tbh i have no strong opinions about the man in the first place just because... i don't really get attached to characters. and he wasn't like... interesting enough. but anyway

(adding a cut cause this got loooong)

seeing fandom discourse about him has made my conception of him confusing because he's always characterized as so angry by the fandom (at least from what i've seen. very surface level ik) but there's not really much reason to it other than jealousy about wwx and absorbing stuff from madam yu during the cloud recesses arc, and then bitterness and trauma (ig?) after the war and after the time-skip.

and then of course there's the fact that people either hate him or love him (as with many characters in this fandom lol) and there's really no in-between.

but rewatching the drama gave me thoughts:

1. the way jiang cheng acts with jin ling reminds me a lot of a concerned parent who can't express said concern through anything other than anger, and

2. bro is really concerned about face. actually a lot more concerned about it than the fandom led me to believe.

like okay, at first i was a bit confused as to why jiang cheng is constantly at wwx's neck for the smallest things, but i think these two factors play a major role in what makes him react the way he does.

I'll give two scenarios for your consideration:

first, let's look at jin ling in the first couple of episodes. this isn't about him, but rather how jiang cheng treats him. we know that jin ling cares a lot about his success. he does things (such as the 400 nets) to try and get ahead and do something note worthy. and jiang cheng encourages that attitude. he pushes his nephew to succeed, and jin ling responds to that. (i feel like their relationship actually sort of reflects the relationship jiang cheng had with madam yu. but that's something to look at another time.) at the same time, jiang cheng doesn't want jin ling to get hurt. he scolds him after recklessly going after the statue that appears in the first couple of episodes. but he doesn't know how to communicate his concern in any way other than yelling at him.

for the second we'll look at wwx during the cloud recesses arc. wwx is actually a lot more annoying than i remember, in the sense that i totally sympathize with jiang cheng. ik wwx is older, but it really feels like dynamic wise, jiang cheng is the older, responsible one telling wwx to behave himself. and he scolds him while telling him that! they argue! like siblings! but jiang cheng's frustration does seem a lot like the same concern that he has for jin ling. to jiang cheng, there are major consequences to misbehavior in gusu, and he wants to prevent anything bad happening to his brother. a lot of his anger seems to be out of care.

but in both cases, there's also the fact that i think jiang cheng is very conscious of face. honour/shame dynamics are very common in chinese culture, and as a clan heir, jiang cheng is probably hyper aware of the effects of one's actions on another's perception of you. he pushes jin ling to do better because it reflects well on the jinag, but more importantly, it reflects well on jin ling's parents. (and jinag cheng wants to honour his sister's memory, and what better way than to have her son succeed, and be able to stand with the best of his peers?) during the cloud recesses arc, they are in gusu to represent their clan, it's insulting to both their own clan and their hosts to be acting out of line. (probably, idk enough about chinese culture, but in my head it makes sense lol.)

wwx on the other hand appears to not care much about how one's actions affect the face of the group. there's definitely a sense that we get where he puts on this clueless, mischievous mask as a way to hide the fact that he's putting things together, but at cloud recesses, he's not really subtle about the goals of his questions. he's actually really blunt about things which is sorta unexpected. i'll need to compare that with how he acts later if to see if it's a skill he ends up developing better. but yeah, that aside, he just... he's willing to do stupid things because they are fun, and does not really think about how his frequent getting into trouble will affect others. (i'm not sure if he just straight up does not care, does not realize, or knows how to toe the line just so. maybe it's up to our interpretation. but i think the confrontation when the wen's interrupt their turn to salute, and the moment where he purposefully collides with jin zixuan and then lets him go ahead demonstrate a decent amount of social awareness so it's not like we can say he's totally unaware? idk.)

tldr, jiang cheng and wwx's personalities clash big time. one who cares too much about how one is perceived, and the other who completely disregards it. and big clash = argue a lot. iconic sibling behavior, let's be real

i do think that further along in the story it's possible that jiang cheng's motivations and reasons for why he acts the way he does become a lot more complex (because trauma + the war + just how people work in general), but to me, this concern for his family and his extreme focus on family honour seem to be his core motivators.

[britishsquidward]

I'd love to hear about your Riddleverse AU! I'm especially curious how he became a private investigator and how he's enjoying the Detective life

Hiya, thank you for the ask! This might be a long answer just to forewarn, but I'll get to it and try to talk through my process! Also, if you want elaboration on any point/s, just send through another ask!!

Cheers & Riddles AU

So, to explain properly, I first need to explain Cheers & Riddles AU because that's what inspired the Riddleverse (and is now a sub-part of the verse, as the Riddleverse works as Batman media does, all different universes but based on the same premise - Cheers & Riddles is like the Batman 66 of the Riddleverse, basically).

All of this stems from Batman 66, and when I was talking about it to my friend one day and we got onto the topic of heroswaps, and I thought that could be a neat idea for 66, Riddler being the hero and Batman being more of a "villain" (more on this later), as in 66, Riddler is written to be Batman's main adversary, particularly in Season 1.

This established, the idea is the Riddler is the hero that Gotham City relies on when there's an arch criminal on the loose. He's a bit morally dubious at times, but ends up doing the right thing, essentially a "what if" in him being given the appreciation he deserved at the time. In the show, he's actually rather interested in old history (especially things that include riddles!), so the "lore" here essentially is that in his interest of figuring these out, he found an ancient treasure hidden in Gotham City and uncovered it, which officials were endlessly grateful for, and he was given a big cash reward, which he put toward setting up his detective agency, since this was an old childhood dream of his, which he evidently proved good at. Business is good, too, for a while, because of all the publicity and such.

The two jobs can cross over, too, as it can be used for an excuse to snoop around, and when he's on a detective case, sometimes he'll uncover something to do with an arch criminal without exactly meaning to.

It's more or less the good route, because to me if he never went after that treasure, it's what turns him bitter against the public and what makes him desperately need that attention, turning him into a villain. Opposingly here, he gets that validation for being good, and so The Riddler is a good guy when he finally decides to become him (later down the line).

On Batman, he's less of a villain, more of a vigilante? He's not on the good side, in terms of the law, but everything he does is to try and make Gotham a better place - sort of like modern Catwoman but less about animals and more about the place's wellbeing as a whole. He still has pretty high morals in some regards, but felt there was no other way at the time, and he's one of the only criminals I've got planned to evade Riddler multiple times, the other being Meriwether!Catwoman. He's sort of a gentleman criminal, if that makes sense?

Anyway, you can't have Batman without Robin... except, you kind of can? Here, at least. Robin exists, but he's also his own criminal (called Robin Banks - yes, I know lol, listen, it's a 66 AU, I can give stupid names), and he turned to crime because he had no-one really to support him, because in this AU, Dick Grayson never gets taken in by Bruce Wayne, as Bruce believes children don't belong in crime and he'd rather not adopt when he's got that negative double life, for the child's safety and not wanting to get them involved, as he could be unreliable. Robin does get reformed later on, but I'll explain that in a bit.

Of course, Riddler needs his own Robin, and since it's a swap AU, I figured I could use Susie from the epsiode "The Joker Goes to School/He Meets His Match, the Grisly Ghoul" (S1), in which Susie was Dick's love interest, and it was very cute, actually, I think it's my favourite 66 Joker episode? Anyway, she was a cheerleader at Dick's high school, so I decided to make her herosona "Rally" (like pep rally), and she joins Riddler in his crime-fighting about give or take two years(?) into his being the Riddler, after she stumbles across his secret and begs him to let her help, which he eventually agrees to.

Susie actually helps out around the detective agency, and lives in one of the two upstairs rooms that Riddler rents out. She doesn't pay to live there, but instead helps out with the investigations and organising some of his paperwork and things like this, to which she gets an allowance for (what's left after Riddler takes out some of the money from the "wage" that would go toward the utilities and groceries, and such). She's also rather intelligent and witty herself, so I think Riddler sees himself in her, and looks on her as a daughter figure, and she sees him as a sort of dad.

The other rented room is occupied by Aunt Harriet, who fusses the both of them, and is really sort of there so I can do a lot of the jokes they do with her not knowing like in 66. She sort of works mechanically here like their version of Alfred, moreso after she finds out wayyy down the line (Riddleverse mainline), and sometimes goes undercover for them as "Mrs. Bird". She was seperated from her nephew when he had to join the circus and she could never find him again, so when Robin Banks ends up reforming and coming to stay with them all (and later on starts dating Susie), Harriet is so happy to see him again and it's very cute.

OKAY, that's. Basically what Cheers & Riddles was baseline, so I'll get onto what you wanted properly spoken about.

The Riddleverse AU

You know the premise and some of the information now, but I'll explain how I developed it into this, and it's because of the Batfam. To be honest, I'm not super well-versed in the modern stuff like that, as my thing has always been older media/comics, but my friend talks about it a lot, so I know the basics, and since I often make Riddler a father figure in my AUs (to Susie in Cheers & Riddles AU, and to Stephanie in Spoilt Riddle AU), I figured, why not make a Riddlefam, and use the premise of a Riddler herosona from Cheers & Riddles to do it?

So! I'll try and keep this as concise as I can, but I love talking about my silly ideas, so I'll see what I can do, lol, but I'll give you a lineup in the order they join, and a little extra information for the actual "Riddlefam" in terms of the ones that are like daughters to him. Also, this AU is a lot more female-focused in terms of people in the fam, just to be sort of like the opposite of the Batfam, and also because I felt the female characters deserved some more love, too, especially some underrated ones I've used here!

Edward Nigma (The Riddler) *

Susie Caperume (Rally) *

Dick Grayson (Robin Banks -> Robin -> Nightwing) ***

Betty Kane (Batgirl -> Flamebird) *

Stephanie Brown (Spoiler) *

Barbara Gordon (Batgirl -> Oracle) (Sort of both?) **

Cassandra Cain (Batgirl -> Black Bat) **

Kitrina Falcone (Pussycat -> Catgirl -> Katnap) *

Harriet Cooper (Herself, sort of Alfred-esque, & "Mrs. Bird") ***

Key * The Riddlefam, found family ** The Batgirlfam (Babsfam?), found family *** Harriet and Dick, blood-related auntie and nephew

Then of course Batman (and Meriwether!Catwoman but that's a different Earth that isn't mainline lol), once he finally reforms and joins the Riddler, who manages to keep Bruce's identity secret from the public by pointing out his helping works as a form of community service, and he's never performed any irrepairable damage or injured anyone lawful.

This has gone on for a WHILE, so I'll try and keep this as brief as possible and if anyone at all wants to know more, just send an ask! Also, remember, some of this may be subject to change. Not the members themselves, but small details and such that I may iron out later.

As Batgirl, Betty acts as an adversary, but she's not very good at it as her heart isn't fully in it, because she's initially doing it to get Robin's attention. She and Rally do not get along at first but eventually manage to find their common ground and realise the other isn't so bad after all, and Betty gets over her crush on Robin, and Susie suggests she join them to assist in crimefighting, as she proved to have valuable skills, at which point she agrees, and her herosona becomes Flamebird.

Stephanie has been a vigilante (somewhat lawful) for a long time, but recently moved back to Gotham with her father, Cluemaster. Just finding out about Riddler, she suspects he may be involved, so investigates him and finds out he's not. When Susie and Betty are away at college, Stephanie makes her move, and convinces The Riddler to help her capture her dad, and they bond along the way, and after Cluemaster is locked up, she becomes a permanent member of the Riddlefam.

Kitrina is the youngest of the Riddlefam, and gets into crime as Pussycat via Newmar!Catwoman, but eventually breaks away from her, becoming her own villain, Catgirl. A series of events lands her up temporarily in Bruce Wayne's care until he can get her to one of the Wayne Foundation's care places, but Edward knows Buce when they're both out of costume (not yet knowing about the other's identities), and recognises Kitrina from when he's been against her as the Riddler and she's been Pussycat/Catgirl, and suggests HE adopt her, which he does, and keeps his other identity secret from her the longest, making sure she has a better life first. Eventually Stephanie suggests she should join, and after convincing Edward, they tell Kitrina, which she's excited about, and becomes the hero Katnap.

--

ALRIGHT, there we go, there it is... partially. Obviously there's more to it than that in several aspects including details I left out so it wouldn't actually go on forever, as well as different Earths/Universes of the Riddleverse itself, the Extended Riddleverse, if you will. If you won't, then, uh... Well.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this ramble, and feel free to ask any more questions! Thank you for this ask!

[mindovermutant]

first of all right out the gate i have low-tier beef with the game just because i think they took the coward's way out with the gjinkas. obviously. this is something i would think as an objectum person. i think the writing is tacky, and 90% of the designs are boring, and the other 10% are bogged down by a lame art style and a STAGGERING lack of fat people, holy shit. (Not just for woke points I genuinely think their insistence on their dateables base being Twunk Heaven really drags down the silhouettes in the character designs.) but i won't slight you if you're close to me and enjoy it, i'll just laugh a little bit.

HOWEVER, and this is where i truly become biased -- mother fucking Timothy Timepiece is as much of a personal slight against me as anyone could get without knowing me personally. and this is coming from the same video game with a character named Dirk who is lowkey abusive and has not-DID. (don't correct me i don't care i think it's genuinely funny) that doesn't matter, NOTHING matters in the face of Mother Fucking God Damned Timothy Timepiece.

he (left) is meant to be...Sort Of a gjinka of a kit cat klock (right), but apparently the art direction didn't feel like going all the way with it in ANY respect, so he's just A Cat Themed Clock. but it's meant to basically be a KCK. clearly, even if he was one, you would not fucking be able to tell because where is the mania in his eyes. his design is MASSIVELY cluttered and makes no sense, if he's an analog clock why the stopwatch? why the gold accents if his original object is black and white?? why the clock on his chest if you already know he's a clock? So You Super Extra Know???? i think his design could have been AWESOME with some tweaks but it just is so boring.

design qualms aside, from this game's general track record it should be figured that his only personality traits would be "Musical.ly User" and "Pandering to Twitter's Catboy Fetishes", but surprise-surprise, he also has Not!OCD too. because he's a...clock...? and they're kind of trying to do the alice in wonderland white rabbit thing? and also he turns into "Timmy", his alter-ego who is less high strung, when you interact with him after noon. i'm not calling this Not!DID again but the joke is just too easy. (AND IT IS A JOKE ON MY END. FYI)

Oh, and speaking of pandering to catboy fetishes --

as for everyone else's complaints, if it starts with a "TUMBLR" and ends with a "SEXYMAN" i don't want to hear it, because they know nothing. i have been in those mines for years unironically because that's how my taste is by default and he is NOT interesting or quirky enough. Also, sexymen don't exist anymore. The accident was years ago.

what i'm saying is, timothy is functionally the ANTI-TK bait. he's a gjinka of one of my favorite objects of all time, has the components of a really cool design and character, even tries to pander to the Bow Ties lobe of my brain, but it trips over itself and creates the DARK MATTER of my taste. utter repulsion.

AND THE CHERRY ON TOP? HE'S VOICED BY BRYCE PAPENBROOK. Bryce fucking Papenbrook AKA nagito komaeda's english voice actor. WHOSE VOICE WORK FOR HER I HAVE HAD BEEF WITH FOR YEARS. KOMAEDA'S ENGLISH VOICE IS SO FUCKING BAD. AND HERE WE ARE.

unrelated, there is also a TV gjinka in this game, who also looks kind of bad. heheh. so nobody wins here.

okay. in the following reblog i am going to complain about the dating sim "date e.verything". be psychologically ready for this.

[spoopdeedoop]

king and harbinger, old and young

[juniemunie]

[Abandoned by the Lightners, his heart became cracked with hatred.]

Hitting a lil' too close to home?

[fromthetriangle]

OUH I LOVE THAT SO SO MUCH IT'S SO INTERESTING

Personally I see Spamton as some sort of scavenger, or just generally opportunistic creature. Spamton and especially Spamton NEO is just very vulture to me (white headed vulture to be specific). But your interp does make more sense tho!

I love the idea of prey animal Spamton so much? It suits him so much and I can see game era Spamton's glitchyness really exacerbating his inherent instinctual, jittery nature.

Which makes me ask... How would you interpret your Spam in his NEO form? Is that body like one of those macro herbivores/omnivores that err towards being bigger and more aggressive like Moose or Hippos? Or was he suddenly in a carnivore body with new hunting instincts that he didn't know how to handle?

spamton is a herbivore, having flat teeth and no canines. he has very sensitive hearing and great eyesight, tho his vision went a little bad as he aged so now he has to wear glasses. quick reflexes, too, just TRY to catch this little bastard

as neo, he becomes an omnivore!

he becomes taller than tenna, and gains claws. he is able to control any meat eating urges tho it was difficult at first. he still loves salads. :,)

also im looking at spamton and wear are his ears. are they like. bird ears

canon now

[inafieldofstarflowers]

idk i’m just thinking about cat not trusting neil to take care of jean & jean telling her, laila, and jeremy that they don’t have to trust neil, but he does & how that parallels with jean later saying he can’t trust kevin with his secrets because he told the truth about his hand to jeremy where cat and laila could hear & kevin essentially saying that he doesn’t need to trust them because jeremy does

[tls12lessthan3]

thinking about orvs metatextual engagement with its genre and specifically how that interacts with its women again. kim dokja is a self insert for the reader - what he thinks is largely meant to represent what we think, especially in the beginning before sing shong really fleshes out his character. kim dokja sees the world through tropes, directly acknowledging the genre around him and the cliches we expect e.g. the overpowered mc, the scheming villain, the beautiful heroine.

but a major part of his arc is deconstructing this reductionist view of the world in a way that parallels the author's deconstruction of the genre, and that plays really well with the way orv writes women. yoo sangah is perhaps the best exanple - shes introduced as the heroine, a one-dimensional pretty girl who in any other novel would become kim dokja's love interest. but the authors allow her to be her own character, directly challenging the stereotype of the heroine and calling attention to the genre's typical lack of depth for such a character. i think this undercurrent plays in the background often but really comes to the forefront when yoo sangah reminds kim dokja of her putting pepper in their bosses' coffee, a memory kim dokja had supressed because it didn't fit with the pretty girl persona he made for her.

i interpret that moment as yoo sangah pushing her way out of the mold of heroine often found in these stories, demanding a depth be added to her character, asking kim dokja - and thus the reader - to see her in her entirety, to see the heroine archetype for what she could be. orv is at all times in conversation with its genre, and its simultaneous writing of female characters with agency and depth and acknowledgement of the tropes these women are expected to fulfill is undeniably a part of that. and its a part i enjoy. most of the time.

[radioiaci]

"If cooking in tandem is something that interests you, I've no reason to not offer. One of my favorite places to be is in the kitchen, after all. A fine meal to craft with fine cutlery and fine ingredients is as zen as any meditative isolation, I find. As long as there are no spectators that disrespect the sanctity of the practice is all."

And if Lucifer is cooking, he will not be spectating. Nothing to worry about in that case.

"But if you are to have me try anything with that amount of sugar in the future, I think I will pass." Sour, even, is more palatable. Sour, spicy, salty... All things he can manage. Sweet is just too... much.

But for now, Alastor returns back to his own coffee, listening silently with interest as the devil goes into his usual yammering session, though he will admit that the topic is of interest. Without thinking too hard about it, his gaze travels upwards, though it's only met with the ceiling of his room rather than anything else - he can't see Heaven from here. But he can imagine what it might be like. Charlie's tellings of it had painted something of a picture, but not enough for him to really form a proper image in his mind. Lucifer's own descriptions help to build upon it, though at the mention of snubbing, the radio demon gives a slightly amused chuff in response.

"How nice. I imagine that's changed since then?" Eyebrows raised, it's an obvious answer. But he will take satisfaction in hearing it from the horse's mouth, as it were.

Back to the topic of food, Alastor silences once again to listen, head tilting at the mention of eating lava and wondering what that might possibly taste like if he were at all capable of it. Mysteries that will go unsolved. But the lack of eating meat is nothing that surprises him entirely. That requires killing - something he does not think angels might do without some other significant purpose, if at all.

"You made orchids?" He hones in on, finding some surprise in that. Maybe he shouldn't. Angels, of course, are mostly beings of some kind of creation. It makes sense that all things on Earth may have some sort of heavenly origin.

Extending a hand of his own - the one not holding the cup from which he sips - he begins to manifest a similar looking flower in his palm, forming from shadow and taking on a form that is somewhat recognizeable. But the colors are all wrong - not a soft pink or red or purple - but instead it is a near neon blue, the tips of its petals dark and tinged purple.

"I could never really capture the likeness of flowers very well. There are not many of them in the bayou." Or any beyond an occasional cattail. Ferns, grasses, and moss are much easier. "Demons, unfortunately, are not as gifted for creation. But I imagine you know that." His palm shuts in curled claws and the flower vanishes in a few wisps of shadow. "And I do not think it's something that can be practiced."

Alastor sighs, somewhat wistful.

"If I had the capacity to make spider lilies, that might be all I would make."

“Oh, are you volunteering to cook together some time so that I might see first hand?” Raised eyebrows for that, not entirely sure he interpreted that right, but game to try, at least. If only to use it as an opportunity to get to know the other man better. Nothing like food to bring people together, and he’s noticed that Alastor always seemed much more agreeable after he’s gotten something in his stomach to eat.

It’s his turn to laugh now, dimples flashing as he eases back into his chair, watching the other man carefully accept the drink to himself. Lucifer’s kind enough to wait until the other man has had his sip, delighted by the look on the poor bastard’s face. He doesn’t cackle, but his shoulders are suspiciously shaking as he takes a point gulp of his coffee right away. Death would be too merciful after a sugary punch to the face like that.

“I’m now very tempted for you to try morsels of other dishes I make on the more extreme ends of the flavor spectrum I try when I want to feel alive for the rest of the day.”

Just the thought of Alastor trying a citrus sorbet, and seeing the man’s face twist up from the sheer sour flavor was worth any attempt to have him agree.

“To answer your question, ‘food’ as you would define it came after Eden’s creation and was more of a… curiosity. The first angels such as myself don’t expressly need to eat. Don’t even have the guts for it really, just something a person could classify as a stomach, or a strong gizzard, and that’s that. Etheral juice might have been closer than you think for the really early days. Clouds and rain, sunshine, divine grace, a fresh breeze, that sustained us. Offering drink is more appropriate, and often was as symbolic as preening another’s wings in terms of closeness or establishing bonds.”

Lucifer gestured to their teacups and offered a rueful smile. “Part of my... disinclination to sharing a drink with you, other than not wanting to partake in alcohol, was my way of snubbing you. It was already rude on just the face of it, but culturally for me, I was drawing a distinct line in wanting nothing to do with you.”

It had felt too big a risk, and it was gratifying to deny something that appeared so small to the other man, unaware of the significance.

“A-Ahem, mm, on a lighter note, however, yes, there are foods that are likely familiar to you, though prepared differently. Humans were always particularly clever with reinventing the culinary wheel. Aromatic meals were popular, mainly fruits and vegitation, or animal byproduct such as honey or milk. Flowers. Crystals were popular with some angels with a stronger jaw. There was one that quite fancied lava, molten or hardened; they later made it popular to strike sand with lightening and share the results of that as a fanciful treat with those that had gizzards."

A thought seemed to occur in concerns to present cannibalistic company, so he adds;

"Eating meat was not done in respect to Gabriel, the Garden’s Keeper. That had been his Gift and his efforts, not to mention ‘death’ was not a concept widely known or understood at that point.”

The fallen was staring fondly off into the bayou, gaze somewhat unfocused as his eyes followed the path of a few scattered fireflies. Recalling eons ago, time long past and gone, forgotten by many. “Though, I had been an exception since I worked with him there for a time and understood his love for the place in a way few others did. We made such wonderous things there, all manner of life by encouraging it to grow and change, evolve into some splendid and new. When I first made orchids, I was so proud to show him and the look he gave me back then… Well, suffice to say we had fun teasing the flowers to gain all manner of configuration and color…”

If Alastor had any questions he might seek in finding out more of the early days of creation, now was as good of a time as any while Lucifer appeared to be in the sharing mood and reminiscing.

[abyssal-ilk]

the slide where it is says divine vivienne is only able to remain in power because of her friendship with the inquisitor does kind of. kill me a bit. in the same way it kills me that when vivienne gleefully states that she has never been forced to live anywhere, the places she lists (celene's palace and bastien's estate) are quite literally tied to people who hold her safety in her hands. her safety is constantly hinging on how much the people in her social circle like her, and unlike other people in the orlesian court, she does not have a powerful family of her own to fall back on. like okay. if she loses favor she's just. fucked.

[burningcheese-merchant]

imma answer two asks at once just because I can. (I really wish that was an actual feature, instead of me having to screenshot asks and paste them into a post lol. Tumblr is almost 20 years old when are they going to add this QoL feature)

When you care so little about Clotted Cream that you forgot about a popular ship that he's part of lmaooo. I never really understood Clottedcier, it just feels really... nothing? Financier is his guard, she just takes her job really seriously. I admit that I haven't looked through the Odyssey arc for a really long time save for wanting to enjoy little fuel crumbs of HollyCacao so maybe I'm remembering wrong? But I don't remember any particular closeness between them. He's the stuck up politician and she's Secret Service basically. And I can understand the appeal of Public Figure x Guard, I just don't really feel anything with these two in particular. But more power to fans of it, y'all have fun. I prefer FinanChip personally

Some of it seems to be joking, some of it seems to be sincere. More power to all those people either way, of course. I just don't really understand this one either lol

For one, Black Forest is reeeeaaaaallllyyyy not in any position to be in a relationship at all. She's mentally ill/unstable and a victim of cult brainwashing. Just feels a little sad and strange to impose a relationship on such a confused and vulnerable person. Girl needs a date with a good psychologist before anyone else lol

Second, I think people just kind of ran away with "Wedding Cake is very fond of all the brides" and "you're the most passionate bride I've ever worked with" and automatically made it a lesbian thing because of course they did lol. Just another show of "no one is able or allowed to care about other people outside of a romantic context" imo. Again, I like gay shit as much as the next person, but this is kind of a stretch. Wedding planning was always her dream job, she's just really happy that her dream came true and she can help couples plan their special day (and she probably feels closer to brides specifically because a) she herself is a woman, women relate better to each other on principle b) weddings are often catered more to the bride than the groom (not necessarily a good thing, just how it is), c) the wedding dress is a key component of wedding planning and Wedding Cake obviously cares a lot about acquiring a good dress for the bride. Hell, look at her own attire. She's very feminine and is wearing a high-quality, formal dress herself. She must already love fashion and dresses even outside of her work)

Finally, as far as Wedding Cake knows, Black Forest is already happily engaged to a person she loves. She doesn't know it's a cult thing, she doesn't know Black Forest is brainwashed. She thinks she's just helping another bride plan her special day. Why would Wedding Cake pursue her if she thinks Black Forest is already taken? Are you guys saying Wedding Cake is a homewrecker? Lmao. Black Forest wouldn't have her anyway, she's completely batshit insane over the Witches and probably wouldn't even register someone else being interested in her

But you know. Ship what you want. Shipping is just playing dollhouse. I may not necessarily understand or agree with your way of playing with the dolls but I'm not going to try to take them from you. Have fun, friends