#The Woobie (trope)

[the-bar-sinister]

Gotta love a gross middle aged man with the attitude of a tsundere anime girl.

[toffeebrews]

btw error is the definition of someone with a superiority inferiority complex (images via tvtropes):

heres the definition of a jerkass woobie, if you're wondering what that is (which i also believe fits error pretty well):

wanting to see him even broken more fits me pretty well. haha, sorry error. But i think many error fans can relate to wanting to hug him (an air hug, of course) but also want to punch him in the face (or maybe I'm just the crazy one here, idk).

I would say error supposed to be a little less sympathetic, but many people feel bad for him. so i believe he still fits the description.

[whumpfish]

One of the best illustrations I've seen of how conditioning actually affects people once they're out of the grip of the ones who conditioned them is actually Peridot in Steven Universe.

Peridot has a hard time adjusting to her newfound side. She was created and raised (for lack of a better term) where her needs were subordinated to those of someone above her, who had no regard for her, with the understanding that the natural consequence of anything else would be total destruction. While she accepts this as normal for a long time and can't really cope with a life where that paradigm is inverted, she doesn't try to make Steven or the Crystal Gems her new Diamond in order to cope. She doesn't respond to their displeasure the way she responds to Yellow's, because even in the grip of conditioning, she can distinguish between individuals.

When she thinks she needs a Diamond to have any significance, she doesn't try even subconsciously to put the people who are now effectively her "caretakers" into the Diamond role. She doesn't give Garnet the diamond salute or address her as "my fusion" because she's used to behaving that way toward Yellow. She just tries to either run back to her Diamond or convince the others that they're on the path to total destruction and need to "correct" their philosophy "back" to hers.

Her meltdown after standing up for herself to Yellow is a textbook conditioning freakout.

Her new context (independence and confidence) is slugging it out with her old one (subservience and fear) in her brain, in real time, and there's no clear winner for a while. And while Steven wants to get her adjusted and comfortable right away, and is ready to just up and drag her down the road to redemption, Garnet knows it's not that simple, and gives her space to process until Peridot is ready to come to her. She's there, but she's not up Peridot's uniform and around the corner shoving blankets and Therapeutically Approved Conversation at her.

And honestly guys, Garnet's response is the healthy, supportive, productive one. Not Steven's.

I think a lot of people, like Steven, are uncomfortable with others' discomfort. And I think they misread the dynamics at work here because of it, and then that gets reflected in the way they write the caretaking of their own conditioned whumpees.

Once someone subjected to heavy conditioning is removed from that environment, the world they find themselves in is as new to them as if they were just born, and they have to learn how to exist and function in it all over again.... but it doesn't mean they have the mental capacity of a baby or toddler who is learning how to exist and function in the world the first time.

Get comfortable with your whumpee's discomfort. Don't try to shoehorn them into a mismash of before and after where they can't even distinguish which is which. Let them be confused and frustrated because they know things are different now, they just don't know what they should do or feel about it.

Get comfortable with discomfort, period. That's what this genre is all about.

[sapphorror]

okay but meow meow continues to be one of the best fandom labels to me because it simultaneously connotes both inexcusable atrocity and a fundamental deep-seated patheticness. none of this scary villain/misunderstood woobie false dichotomy nonsense. in this house we're all about duality. that guy is the Literal Worst and also needs to be treated like a wet cat. these facts are not contradictions, but complements

[homuraakemis]

I feel so terribly sad for Jonas/Adam, because the extent of his depression really is on another level. And it's not just that he is suicidal and wants to die. It's that he is so depressed that he can't even conceive of the notion that other people might NOT want to die.

One could argue that Adam's goal to end both worlds is simply an attempt to kill himself, because he knows that time won't let him die otherwise, but I don't think that's the case. As I've argued before, Jonas/Adam is not a selfish person, he is selfless. He wouldn't try to kill everyone/erase everyone's existence just to end his own pain. And besides, by the end of the series, after he killed Martha, for all he knew he had no other older self, so if he tried to just kill himself it might actually work this time. But that's not what he is after: he doesn't just want to end HIS pain, he wants to end everybody's pain, because he is selfless.

But here's the thing: as I've said before, I don't agree with Adam at all. Between him and Eva, I think Eva is actually right: yes, the world is full of suffering, but life is not just suffering, life has good things as well and is still worth preserving. And that's why I feel so terribly sad for Adam: his depression is so severe, that he can't even imagine why anyone would want to continue living/existing. His suffering is so intense to him, he is so blinded by his pain, that he can't imagine that there are other people in the world who are NOT suffering like him, that there are people who like their lives. And he specifically can't understand Eva: for all he knew, she lost just as much as him (her lover and her entire family), so he really can't understand why she would go to such lengths to preserve such an existence. The idea of moving on from his losses, like Eva did, is completely alien to him.

It's also interesting to think that Adam considered himself to be completely free of emotion, since he tells Noah "only when we're free of all emotion are we truly free". And yet, he doesn't realize that the very thing that drives him to his goals is his extreme despair. He is definitely not free of emotion.

[munning0401]

As an Asian, I have read Classical Chinese Literature such as "jttw" since I was a child.

Although I am not completely a fan of Black Myth, I am still very moved by the star-crossde lovers Zhu Bajie and Violet Spider!!

This is an English Cover video produced by "Serge_S"on Bilibili.

poetry:

生來心性拙，進退不得脫。

Born with a clumsy heart, trapped in life's advance and retreat.

戒空難戒色，隨性也隨佛。

Breaking precepts repeatedly, following nature, not the Buddha's feat.

釘鈀築機緣，獠牙拱因果。

With rake and tusk, smashing fate, burrowing karma's weight.

滾滾濁世裡，管他笑與說。

Rolling in the muddy world, heedless of scorn or debate.

[queerquaintrelle]

I love it when characters are so messed up they cannot even comprehend their own messed up-ness. Bonus points if they’re charismatic, or blonde and pretty. I love the horrors of trauma as a tool to unpack trauma. Also more bonus points if they’d be absolutely unforgivable irl and would get punched by me irl but are fiction so I’m condoning all their behaviour.

[gothicseverance]

The Gothic also embraces melodrama. Dramatic events occur and characters respond in kind — women swoon, men rage and lash out.

—Key Elements of Gothic Literature & Film

[aparticularbandit]

Somewhat related to something I posted but

Imagine if Junko met Flowey.

Junko and Flowey would get along pretty well, I think, but they're more parallels ish if you take Ryoko and Asriel into consideration.

I honestly think Junko would just. adopt Chara. Little murder child without a soul. Who definitely had the right plan about how to break the barrier + killed themself to do it (and corrupted someone else into helping them who CHANGED THEIR MIND LAST MINUTE (looking at you Remnants)) + was gonna start another war between the monsters and the humans (like Junko inciting riots from the Reserve Course).

Junko's more of a Sans troll than Chara is, but. she and Chara are a LOT alike!

(And if you compare Mikan with Asriel in terms of personality, there's some overlap there, too. And Flowey as Remnant!Mikan? Flowey as a parallel to all of the Remnants? I have thoughts.)

[aeide-thea]

[witcherposting ahead—nb that this is all totally lighthearted and it's fine if you feel differently!]

anyway what i'd started to say before tumblr ate my post was that like. disclaimer that my approach to netflix witcher canon is that i fully reserve the right to cherrypick, because some of the changes they made were good but others were character assassination, and that obviously i get that if one isn't cherrypicking one does have to actually Grapple With Certain Things 🏔

but like. that said—the more 'Geralt Must Grovel for Weeks and Probably Scourge Himself, Look at What He Did to Poor Sad-Eyed Woobie Jaskier' fics i read the more i'm fucking grateful for the tiny handful where jaskier's just been like, yeah, i never bought that bullshit tbh, he was lashing out and he owes me an apology for sure but a single angry outburst does not in fact scupper an extremely well-established relationship of literally twenty years' standing in one fell swoop???

like i just. idk. imagine remembering that jaskier's a cheery irrepressible little shit and not actually as crushably low on self-esteem as all of us are. of course that would probably require *netflix* to have remembered that, so, you know, no actual shade to anyone who's been projecting that onto him! but just like. idk. they're obviously not siblings but they honestly do have that vibe in certain ways and it's just like. did you never say something overdramatic and shitty in the heat of a fight with yr sibling growing up and then after taking a bit of a breather just like. make a rueful face and apologize for yr respective roles in winding each other up and move tf on, without having, like, a whole extended OTT reparations process where you tell them repeatedly how perfect and sinless they are and how you know you're a miserable worm who doesn't remotely deserve their sunshiny presence in your life but would be so grateful if they could, possibly, somehow, see their way to forgiving you despite yr essential unworthiness—

[elspethdixon]

[onewomancitadel]

I'm trying to be completely normal about Cinder's redemption and not get too attached (nek minute) which I've resisted for years, but it's hard not to. It doesn't help that I was dealt the full blow of Paul Atreides recently and I'm still not over it. I know he's a world-destroying conqueror, that's the tragedy.

[ten-quadrillion-blog]

Highly recommend for fans of found family, pathetic villain and morality chain tropes. Seriously give this a try even if you don't normally watch magical girl shows because Chroma is a certified woobie.

If I had to categorize it I think it's a dramedy leaning heavily onto comedy but the bits of angst and hurt/comfort are so so good I need fics of acro trip on AO3.

News & Trailer reveal for the anime adaptation of Acro Trip, a 2017 shoujo manga by Yone Sawata - slated to air sometime in 2024

Cast:

Miku Itou as Chizuko Date (our lead)

Nobunaga Shimazaki as Chrome (the "villain")

Inori Minase as Berry Blossom (the magical girl)

Kengo Kawanishi as Mashirou (the mascot)

Staff:

Director: Ayamu Kotake

Character Design: Toshie Kawamura

Series Composition: Shinichi Inotsume

Art Director: Miwa Kawasaki

Music: TECHNOBOYS PULCRAFT GREEN-FUND

Acro Trip is notable for being the first shoujo magical girl manga adaptation, that's not a reboot, spinoff or a sequel, since Shugo Chara (2008) so I hope everyone's excited to check it out, it should be a lot of fun

[lesbianraskolnikov]

Im sure 100 years ago and 150 years ago someone else read crime and punishment and drew themselves kissing rodya. It happened, its true.

[inspectorspacetimerevisited]

The Eleventh Inspector outright stated that he/she is the one whom he/she most fears.

After all, he/she has a history of decimating his/her enemies, accidentally destroying planets, killing his/her (so-called) mates, and otherwise making his/her life rather shitty. (On purpose!)

[nemo-in-wonderland]

☪️ ZIL-E-QAMAR | FIEND WARLOCK | SELDARINE DROW ☪️

Name: Zil-e-Qamar

Nickname: Zil, Ya Qamar (only Halim called her so)

Title: The Scorching Mirage

Alias: Aranea Baelfaer

Age: ≅275 Years Old (She never disclosed her real age to anyone)

Birthplace: Menzoberranzan, Underdark Hometown: Huzuz, The City of Delight

Current Residence: She is wandering Faerun without a fixed place, collecting souls as she goes. When not on the Material Plane, she resides in Mephistar.

Alignment: Neutral Evil

Race: Seldarine Drow

Class: Warlock - The Fiend

Profession/job: Before the great tragedy that apprehended her life and forced her to flee to Faerun, she worked as a Scribe for the Grand Vizier Alyana al-Azzazi, a job she was immensely proud of. Visual particular traits: Standing at 183 cm barefoot, Zil is abnormally tall for a drow, and this is an anomaly for which she has no answer to give. Scent: Oud, Rose, Sandalwood, Saffron, Amber. Subsequently, sulfur and brimestone.

Colours/symbols associated with: The Colours of the Desert at Night; The White Heron that flew at dusk; The Sphinx whose riddles couldn’t be solved and whose smile couldn’t be understood.

Languages: Midani (mothertongue), Jaanti, Kadari, Infernal Language, Common Language, she is learning Undercommon.

Accent?: Before moving to Huzuz to embark on her studies at the Al-Bidr Sallah University, she spent her childhood and early teen years in Ajayib, the City of Wonders. Therefore, she spoke Midani with the regional accent of the Pearl Cities. Her accent translates even when she speaks the Common Language, immediately clocking her as not native of Faerun.

Tropes they embody: “Determinator”,” Implacable Woman”, “Deadpan Snarker”, “The Juggernaut”, “Broken Bird”, “Heartbroken Badass”, “Be Careful What You Wish For”, “Lady of Black Magic”, “Addicted to Magic”, “Dark Action Girl”, “Revenge Before Reason”, “The Dreaded”, ”Noble Demon”, ”Troubled Past”, “The Unfettered”, “Excessive Mourning”, “Long-Range Fighter”, “Love Makes you Evil,” “Roaring Rampage of Revenge”, “Squishy Wizard”, “Tragic Heroine”, “Tranquil Fury”, “Trauma Button”, “Violently Protective Girlfriend”, “Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds", "Cry for the Devil". Personality: Determinate, Curious, Mischievous, Resilient, Resourceful, Intuitive, Loyal toward those she loves, Secretive, Mysterious, Empathetic, Charming, Charismatic, Seductive, Ambitious, Prideful, Focused to the point of Obsession, Stubborn, Manipulative, Vengeful, Can become ruthless is pushed, Emotionally Withdrawn, Short-Tempered. Detailed Backstory: Zil-e-Qamar was the adopted daughter of Valakos and Breessa, a couple of Faerûnian tiefling merchants who permanently resided in Ajayib, the City of Wonders in the Land of Fate Zakhara. Zil had a childhood of relative comfort and ease, not wanting for anything. Ever a curious child, sometimes too nosy for her own good, she spent her childhood between school, helping her parents with trading and inventorying the goods they received from Faerûn, and exploring the caves upon which the city had been built. She was a brilliant young woman, with an incandescent personality and a silver tongue and cheeky personality that could easily charm the people around her. She wouldn't take “no” for an answer, especially when embarking on a quest to discover and learn about all manner of topics, though her interest always dwelled on Magic and all its different aspects and how they intertwined and connect.

Ajayib, despite being the cradle that sweetly protected her throughout her most tender years, had very little to offer to her ever-growing thirst for knowledge. Soon enough, she made preparations to move to the Capital of the Land of Fate, Golden Huzuz. After being admitted to the Home of the Seekers of Knowledge, the Great University of Al-Bidir Sallah in the City of Delight, she enrolled in the College of Magic to expand upon her knowledge and understanding of how magic worked. She was a hardworking student, with her nose always buried in any book she could put her hands on. It was around this time that she became a devotee of Zann the Learned, the God that oversaw Learning and Intelligence.

Eventually, under the advice of Imam Renn min Zann, her mentor at the University, she sought to learn more about who she was and where she stood in the world. She enrolled for a period in the College of Fine Arts, taking classes about non-Zakharan history and costumes in the hope of discovering more about her origins. After graduating and deciding to continue her studies as a scholar, she took up the position of Scribe for the Imam, and it was during that time that she met Halim Ibn Tariq, a well-renowned Sha'ir and Vizier of Huzuz, advisor to Grand Vizier Alyana al-Azzazi, in a diplomatic visit to the University to report of its state to the Grand Vizier.

Having been assigned to be the Vizier’s guide, Zil found herself intrigued by this physically imposing yet apparently kind and soft-spoken man, who had all the authority that was expected of a man of his station and background, yet possessed none of the arrogance, a man of exceptional moral strength and vivacious intelligence, known for his even temper and warm laughter.

On his side, Halim also found himself fascinated by the young drow, the first he ever had the chance to speak with in his life, with her pale eyes always twinkling with curiosity, her insatiable need for knowledge, and her mischievous way of flirting with him. He found her company pleasant and when away for his duties, he found himself unable to stop thinking about her and her beguiling, infectious smile. Despite their mutual interest, they both believed that, due to the Vizier’s busy life and Zil’s own duties, the few meetings they had at the University were destined to remain as such. Yet, Halim extended an invitation to her to seek him out if she ever needed anything, either a favour or even just his company. Little did Halim know about Zil’s own resilience and way of making things happen the way she wanted. Zil applied to become a Scribe in the service of Grand Vizier Al-Azzazi, to be closer to the man who had completely captivated her. She obtained the position, thanks to her own merits and partially thanks to the good recommendation of the Imam. In time, Zil and Halim became friends and started to spend more and more time together, their mutual attraction growing and blossoming like the beautiful lilies that bloomed in the pans surrounding Hazuz when the rains blessed the city. It grew until being far away from each other felt more torturous than standing underneath the ruthless Zakharan Sun at noon without shade.

With the blessing of the Grand Caliph himself, they married and spent more than 40 years of blissful happiness. But the Court of Enlightenment was not devoid of intrigue, and Halim, with his progressive philosophies and advocacy to abolish the common practice of trading slaves, had drawn upon itself the malcontent of the slave owners in the Caravan District. He had fallen victim to a ploy that resulted in an incrimination for corruption and bribery.

Zil knew that her husband was innocent, having worked closely with him for all those years, and tried with all the means she had available to find who was behind all that scheming and bring them to justice to clear her husband’s name. But before she could do anything of substance, she was apprehended and charged with the accusation of being complicit and accessory to all of Halim’s crimes. Despite all her efforts, despite all her begging, she couldn’t find the resources she needed fast enough, and the accusations against her husband transmuted from corruption to treason that warranted a death sentence without appeal.

All Zil could do was witness the execution from her cell, not leaving her husband’s eyes for one moment, not even when the blade of the executioner came down and shattered her entire heart in the process.

Alone in her damp cell, shell-shocked and broken, Zil waited all night for her own sentence to pass, wishing with all her might that the moment would come soon enough so that she could be reunited with her husband once more. But, much to her dismay, during the darkest hour that preceded the arrival of dawn, the Grand Vizier herself showed up in her cell, maintaining complete secrecy.

All she carried with her was a note, carved in her husband’s handwriting, and the promise that, as a last favor to Halim, she would see Zil out of Huzuz safely. Zil escaped her own death, thanks to her husband’s foresight and protection, and fled away from the Golden City and beyond Zakhara, finally reaching distant Faerûn.

After Halim’s death, Zil assumed a new name, Aranea Baelfaer, and turned to every god and goddess in the pantheon, begging, imploring, and beseeching all of them to grant her the power to vindicate her husband and to see him one last time. But all her prayers and supplications fell into a deafening silence that reeked of contempt. Enraged with the gods for letting something like this befall a man as virtuous, kind, and compassionate as her husband, she didn’t give up and persistently sought the means to gain the power she needed, her mind and resolve sharpened by grief and rage.

Her obsession and focus would reach such heights that they resonated all across the Weave until they attracted the Patron who would finally answer her call and grant her the power she desired: Mephistopheles. Most treasured possession: Her husband’s jambiya dagger and a lock of his dark hair that she wore braided in her own; the last letter that he wrote her, that she re-read every single night before going to sleep.

Sexual and/or romantic situation: After Halim’s death, she decided to forgo any kind of romantic relationship, absolutely refusing to run the risk of facing the same type of pain she went through when her husband was killed. In her grief, she asked Mephistopheles to actually freeze her heart, putting it in a stasis. As a wager between the two of them, Mephistopheles added a small clause that declared if someone were ever able to thaw her frozen heart, she would lose her powers, her soul would be his and the contract would be considered fulfilled regardless of whether she had reached her vengeance or not. Zil humored him, secure in her belief that no one on Toril would ever be able to ever ignite the flame in her dead heart again. Last famous words indeed. Favourite place in Faerûn: She doesn’t truly have one. She finds Faerun excessively cold and humid. But if she were to choose one, it would be the Great Harbor of Waterdeep, from where she can see the City. What makes them happiest: She likes to create small illusions of her memories of her years in Zakhara and stare at them, wishing with all her might that they were more than just echoes from a distant time.   What makes them angriest: Any uncalled mentioning of her late husband was enough to provoke at best a death glare and at worst an outburst of pure ire. She didn’t appreciate talking about her past or about him with anyone, for her memories of him are hers and hers alone. What makes them laugh: She rarely laughed from the heart. But something that did make her laugh and gave her comfort was hearing children’s laughter. It reminded her of simpler times. Biggest secret: Who her Patron is and the terms and conditions of her pact with him. Obsession: Revenge. She sold her soul to Mephistopheles in order to gain the power she needed to grow as powerful as she needed to be and hunt down and kill whoever was involved in Halim’s betrayal and death. If the Gods didn’t want to help her in the path of vengeance, then the might of the Archdevils would.

soooo.

While on vacation, I had sometime to properly sit down and finally write Aranea's (or should I say Zil's?) proper bio, alongside working on her infographic (and I am SO HAPPY with how it turned out. I love doing this kind of things, I have done so many that I haven't shared lol).

I still need to add a few things as I keep playing the game, which is the reason why I haven't written anything about her current relationship with Gale, the other companions, or the Dream Guardian. But as I proceed, I will update this (or make another post, we shall see) and fill in what is missing.

In the meantime, thank you for reading her profile and I hope you will love this brainchild of mine just as much as I love her <3

--Nemo

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

template by @arcandoria; abridged profile template by @lairofsentinel)