#anyway i love jealousy and refusal to accept it. sophie i love you

[shebsart]

howl's moving castle book but it gets faster every time sophie gets jealous over the black knob and the black suit

bonus brutal sophie:

oh my god and sophie doesn't even know she's affiliated with the Witch . miss angorian's just a random woman to her 😭

[madamhatter]

Jade/Sophie for the ship meme?

Send me a ship and I’ll tell you... | accepting

Who asks the other on dates:

These two have been on dates before realizing it could be considered dates (and really considered each other's interest in another outside of friendship). During that time, it was equally that Jade and Sophie asked the other out. A lot of outdoor excursions for the Mountain Appreciation Club on the mountain trails/woodlands and also for the Gardening Club, which was focused on working in the greenhouse and tending to several terrariums.

Once things pick up steam, they still do these things together. them getting closer but still not dating, Sophie does the initiative and asks him out to different places. Jade does ask her out too, as well, keen on reciprocating. But, he needs to rely on Sophie actually mentioning things in passing (ie: visiting somewhere in the Coral Sea). Though, still not classified as dates as their dynamic is interesting, to say the least.

When feelings are involved, and neither is really acting on it (yet), Jade actually asks her own on dates. This time, he considered the romantic implications in their movement -- and Azul and Floyd might’ve been hammering in his head to do something before they dared let Sophie getaway.

Who is the bigger cuddler:

Good lord, 100% Sophie is the cuddler. Definitely the more physically affectionate of the two and there is NO denying that. Miss 162cm looks up at Mister 190cm and decides ‘ah yes, perfect.’ She’s way stubborn to even dare be little spoon and Jade is way too amused by how determined she is and doesn’t have a complaint. He could be the cuddler, if not to pester Sophie and get her riled up because he’s cheating with his height + weight versus hers. I think he doesn’t like auto-cuddle or does it alot unless being asked. But, I feel like he would do it some nights or when he knows Sophie’s too tired and she appreciates the touch b/c touch-starved dumbass she is.

Who initiates holding hands more often:

Sophie tries once or twice because her relationship with touch is rather rocky. She needs to develop a new form of trust in herself to feel confident to reach out in her partner...which then means her trust developing between them. In the case of her relationship with Jade, she is way more reluctant and has tried, but shrinks. She grows embarrassed by it but does it mainly when they’re alone. Being less tense and less stress means she feels more comfortable in touch.

Jade does it in public randomly to embarrass the living shit out of her. She will feel his cold glove brush against her, and she’s all fine with it. It’s until she feels his fingers moving against her palm that she will whip her arm away. He has done held it once or twice in the beginning of their relationship. She still had the same reaction -- she holds her hand to her chest defensively and runs off.

You can’t blame Sophie when she’s wanting to keep their relationship on the down-low and doesn’t want people bothering her/targeting her.

Who remembers anniversaries:

Both! It’s practically an insult to either of them if someone insinuates they’d forget their anniversary.

Who is more possessive:

It isn’t possible for a Leech not to be possessive -- it’s of their nature as a moray eel that they are ridiculously territorial and watchful about their claims. Jade happens to harbor this as greatly as his brother, but the ways in which it comes up are vastly different. Anything is easy to hide behind a mask when you take as much pleasure and glee in violence and bloodshed with that same chilling smile you wear everyday. 

As to what he’d do, well, he’s as brutal as his sibling, but not as public about when it won’t be in his favor. He leaves bitemarks and scratches on Sophie that should be difficult to hide (but her make-up skills and magic help her out a lot). If he were pushed further, egged on by people who are knowingly commenting about Sophie/trying to get touchy, it’s gloves off them there and he would have all the more fun in proving his point.

Who gets more jealous:

Sophie gets way more jealous than Jade and it shows may more often from her. Her concerns stem in not feeling adequate and being in constant question about herself. It would of her nature to make blunt comments, deadpanning too, about people who are talking about Jade (while he’s not paying attention/not present in conversation). Depending on the time, she may not admit that they’re closer than most, but she will be as hard with a sharp glare and a frown directed to the person. 

Jade finds it amusing that the jealousy manifests so differently than his own, and especially better when he notices what triggers it and when it’s triggered.

Who is more protective:

Sophie 100% will not hesitate to both defend Jade’s name and literally Jade. It’s hilarious to think that one of the two infamous Leech siblings has his much shorter, if not easier to target, partner who will place herself between him and anyone who tries to get at him. It doesn’t always happen and she’s smart in stressful situations. But, mark her words, she’s not taking any crap about her partner. 

Jade isn’t used to being protected. Rather, he has been a protector ever since he was young to keep his brother, Floyd, safe and sound. It wouldn’t come as much of a surprise  then that he’s as protective over Sophie. He uses his own presence to induce terror to anyone if they ever consider harming her. He isn’t as action-oriented as Sophie (being she jumps into it immediately), but he certainly understands that sometimes all it takes is silence and a flash of his teeth to keep people in order. 

I genuinely pray for you if you ever take advantage of Sophie in anyway and Jade learns this.

Who is more likely to cheat:

Neither! Honestly, Jade would probably drop his partner if he was ever cheated on (especially with how many limited people he’s intimately connected with) AND bring down hell to the person his partner cheated on him with. It’s all a slow-cook process for him, and it’s terrifying to consider he’ll be all smiles while knowing his partner cheated (and they think he doesn’t know).

Sophie’s just more like....she isn’t the type to seek out revenge for herself, but she will give hell to anyone who hurts her loved ones like that. She’s more reserved about it and would call it off. Depending on who, she might come back, but god, is she hurting, and it is one of those very bad :tm: decisions she could make.

Who initiates sexy times the most:

Now, this one is kind of a mixed bag. Jade initiates a lot more intimate moments when their relationship was in the ‘friends with benefits’ stage but they were already emotionally taken by another and didn’t acknowledge it.  He has the prior experience and knows how to push forward with something -- and he only did because his antics with Sophie spiraled to a point of no return. These are more friskier and revealing to his true ‘bastard’ energy that his brother also has -- as Sophie seemingly has the power to flip that switch on for him.

Sophie takes on more initative for romantic approaches like making out during the same stage. Her focus is pretty much romantically backed without her realizing that it is her acting on such delicate and personal emotions -- which Jade follows with, before it leads to a deeper, physical encounter. She is also the person who’ll initiate introducing more things into their love life, which she does to ‘tease’ Jade, but it only backfires on her.

Sophie, though, does initiate it when she’s pent-up/frustrated OR she really, really wants to have a moment of vulnerability with him. It happens once or twice during that earlier stage. But, once they’re dating, she’s more outspoken, if not terribly shy and refusing to look at him (most of the time) at the suggestion. 

Who dislikes PDA the most:

Sophie, Sophie, Sophie. Good lord is she prickly and too attentive of public views to be intimate in public. She is already too nervous about how others see her and the thought of so many people looking at her, receiving any attention, makes her skin crawl and makes her want to hide. 

Jade isn’t as outwardly affectionate in general. Most of his acts (with other people) are as fake as his smile; his acts of service are only meant to be a part of his facade and maintain his identity. Though, he doesn’t shut out the possibility of PDA with Sophie. It’s just more slower, if not quiet, and takes a while for Sophie to get comfortable.

In spite of this, it would be Sophie trying to produce PDA when she feels the courage. Ir would only be smaller gestures like squeezing his fingers for a moment or leaning the side of her head against his chest when they’re standing close enough. Jade is much more using his PDA as a guide -- like keeping an arm around Sophie or putting his hand on the small of her back. 

Who kills the spider:

Neither! Sophie doesn’t see the purpose of killing spiders when they keep maintain and keep out as many other busg that she doesn’t want. Jade, meanwhile, finds them intriguing and sees it purposeless to kill a spider when it’s harmless to him. Though, he is more likely to kill a spider if someone else were to ask him to (or he’d shoo it away).

Who asks the other to marry them: 

So, this one has me kind of stumped. If the circumstances are right and, if he spends more nights thinking about how much he has literal wife material sleeping next to him, I think Jade would. It’s within his nature to concoct his own plan about how to bring up the question. It’ll be around he’s finishing his fourth year at NRC (and Sophie already graduated (and has her curse completely broken) and moves back to Ingary to reunite/catch up further with her family). 

Both of them are still in constant contact and she visits as MUCH as she can as she’s still a former NRC staff member. ..And to be honest, Crowley would want her back as much as possible for him to give her the work he doesn’t want to do. 

Listen, Jade was sorted into Octavinelle for a reason and he isn’t holding back anything to get the setting right. Hell, I could see him getting Floyd and Azul in on it as these three always seem to pull in the other into their schemes--. 

Sophie would also want to propose, but she is still hesitant and thinks she might be doing it too soon. 

Who buys the other flowers or gifts:

Both! Jade has the expenses available to him to purchase her gifts like clothing (which she has severely limited amount of thanks to him) and flowers. After all, what gentleman doesn’t routinely spoil their beloved with a surprise? Her reactions are worth it as she’s very sensitive and grateful for them -- she’ll get misty-eyed over certain ones ad she’d hug him, very sentimental over the matter. It’s those parts of Jade that he overwhelmingly appreciates, even if he doesn’t say it. It’s nothing exactly something he’s used to or he really gives.

Sophie tends to go in the same route when it comes to clothing and plants -- but she can make the clothes herself (or accessories like certain ties) and plant the flora herself. She rarely makes purchases and prefers making it herself. 

Who would bring up possibly having kids:

A point in Jade and Sophie’s relationship, even before anything developed, was the fact that neither of them would refuse a challenge. After Sophie bothers the Leech twins with purposely opening her mouth (while in her Simeon disguise), which is known as a mating gesture for moray eels. Jade enthusiastically took the opportunity to exploit the meaning. He has and will mention having children to watch everyone (including Sophie) squirm, much to his pleasure.

However, the SERIOUS thought of having kids came from Sophie. It is probably one of their many late-night conversations when she blurts it as a question. He will, no doubt, look at her and make reference to his own jokes -- before she carefully knees him in the stomach, as a sign that she’s being genuine about their future and settling down. Jade is quiet about the matter, never really considering it as a real possibility,  but quickly warms up to the idea the longer they talk about it.

They’d probably have a mix of having their own and adopting. Sophie has issues getting pregnant/carrying to term/birthing, as guess how Sophie’s late mother died, and they’ll be open to any opportunities they have.

Who is more nervous about meeting the parents:

Neither. The Leech twins’ parents, as well as Sophie’s biological parents, are all no longer in this world with us. Sophie’s stepmother, Fanny, is alive and well...but Jade wouldn’t at all be nervous. If anything, he wouldn’t break a sweat about meeting new people and leaving a good impression. That’s what his gentleman’s facade is for, after all.

In the realm of possibility that Jade and Floyd’s parents survived and were alive in the current time, Sophie would be the most nervous person in the room. She’ll go hard in rehearsing and learning as MUCH as she can about merculture as she thinks she’ll make a blunder out of everything and embarrass Jade.

Jade’s primary concern is the unspoken aspects of how Sophie’s relationship with her stepmother works. She is one who refuses to speak about things or may have even normalized certain behaviors/actions from her stepmother. The fact that (once her memory returns) most of her conversations about her family has to be forced out, it’s safe to say something is up. He is all smiles, acting as usual, but he keeps his eyes peeled.

Sophie’s nervous more about how her sisters and how Jade and Floyd are going to interact. It’s only because her sisters tease/bully her, as the Leech twins already do, and it’s literally the worst :tm: because they get on swimmingly.

Who sleeps on the couch when the other is angry:

Jade ends up sleeping on one of the many couches available in the Octavinelle dormitory whenever he’s really messed with Sophie too much. It isn’t even like they live and share that room. She got to the point where she’d take the key to his room and keep it on her while he isn’t paying attention. Though, Jade would be quickly aware of the culprit once he finds his pockets empty...and as he knows her so well, he knows she’ll come back out of guilt in the middle of the night to return the keys.

Who tries to make up first after arguments:

Jade. As much as Sophie can be mature and straightforward, she is still prideful and spiteful to the point that she will need time to separate and cool off. It affects her more easily, depending on what the topic is, and she prefers being reclusive and hiding (in the case she feels overbearingly guilty and doesn’t want to confront it). 

Jade is not at all tactiturn like this partner and speaks with a clear voice and what’s on his mind. He will need time to separate too, leaving himself to better thought. But, he’s as well very good at reading Sophie (as she can read him sometimes. but not better) and will approach her during the times she’s hurting herself way more than she should be. 

It’s a nice and quiet resolution -- where Jade approaches Sophie and they talk it out, apologies exchanged, and they go on. 

Who tells the other they love them more often:

Sophie! So much of the ‘I love yous’ are from her. She hasn’t really heard it much in her life (pre-curse included) and it’ll always be a part of her to say ‘I love you’ and show her emotions to someone she fully trusts and connects with. It isn’t like it’s super recurring and happening every minute, but I bet you that she’s the reason gets Jade comfortable about being emotionally open with others -- at least, with someone like her, who is probably the handful of people who may get as close to him like Floyd and Azul.

Jade’s ‘I love yous’ are way more based on action and quiet. Like they’re the real sentimental moments where you longingly gaze at your partner and softly smile at them when they’re not looking because, wow, I love you, how did I end up here? I feel like as he gets older, he’ll also get used to saying it as I don’t really think he heard it a lot in his life too -- but he wouldn’t find a real reason to even say it. 

[contradictionaddiction]

We talk a lot about the women in the Castles series, particularly how individual and independent each of them are. This is especially true of the Hatter family, with each of the sisters taking control of their own fate in rejection of expected norms, but, rereading Howl’s Moving Castle again the other day made me realise... there is another sister whose story is very different.

Megan Parry is generally seen as another antagonist in the story - from the constant nagging of Howl that we see in HMC to Sophie saying that she doesn't get on with her later on in CitA. She's presented as controlling, judgemental, disapproving and, ultimately, disappointed in the choices her brother has made, and this manifests as anger and frustration and an incessant criticism that causes Howl to slither away so hard he ends up in another world.

A throwaway line from a sick, half-asleep Howl got me thinking, however... "Megan's full of envy because she's respectable and I'm not."

Now, that's odd. If Megan was so disapproving and frustrated, why would she be full of envy? Howl seems to suggest that actually, this frustration lies not in disappointment, but in jealousy. What if the reason Megan is so upset by her younger brother's lifestyle is not because she disapproves, but because she resents it - because she was unable to do the same.

When we look more closely at Megan's criticisms of Howl when they go to Wales, this becomes a lot clearer.

"You're a disgrace to me and Gareth" This is how her tirade starts, and it’s the theme that she returns to at the end. As Howl highlights later, Megan is very focused on respectability and how her family is perceived by others. It's very much about keeping up appearances, showing to their neighbours that they are proper contributing members of society. Which means that the problem here isn't actually Howl and his lifestyle - it's how he impacts on the way she is perceived by others. 

"Lounging about in those clothes instead of buying a proper suit..." This is interesting, because this is Megan's perception of Howl - a perception that the reader - and Sophie and Michael - know to be untrue. Howl is notoriously fixated on his appearance and clothes, and is actually a very hard worker when it comes down to it. In fact, we frequently see Howl working exceedingly hard whilst dressed up in finery - tying back his sleeves, kneeling in mud, and then getting frustrated when a sleeve gets snagged on a nail, despite being able to fix it easily. So which is the true Howl, the lazy slob or the dedicated dandy? He's consciously chosen to present himself in Wales one way, and Ingary the complete opposite. Why? "...and looking respectable for once" Howl is Obsessed with how appearances affect outcome - the fancy clothes he buys for Sophie and Michael for their visit to Mrs. Pentsetemmon and the King, and his instance that they wear them later in the flower shop as it will be good for business. His refusal to do the same in Wales suggests to me that the baggy trousers and rugby jacket are a conscious decision to reject this notion of propriety in appearances improving status, and is an act of rebellion against... who? "Taking up with riff-raff and layabouts, bringing them to this house!" 'This House' - a respectable house, one I assume Megan has worked hard for and works hard to maintain. I say she - the unseen but ever-mentioned Gareth is the one who is out at work currently. How big is his role in Megan's characterisation? Remember how she greeted Howl with a pointed comment that he wasn't home yet, to which Howl quickly responds with "What a pity! We can't stay," and a fake smile. Howl and Gareth clearly Do Not get on, and Gareth's influence is unavoidable in the house he shares with his wife. "Are you trying to bring me down to your level?" As we've now established, Megan, like her brother, is obsessed with how people perceive her and, unlike her brother, she's very worried about losing the status she now has. Keeping it depends on making sure it is authentic - or at least, that it appears that way. Any blip of inconsistency or deviation from the norm - such as an unpredictable and unkempt younger brother - could bring it all crashing down. Megan knows that this lifestyle is a shallow one. "You've had all that education, and you don't even get a decent job," Now this is where I think it gets interesting, because it's now that Megan brings up Howl's known intelligence and the higher education that DWJ spoke about. Megan, at least, views this education as a route to getting a good job, the implication of which is upwards social mobility - something she clearly places high importance on in line with how the family is perceived. "Wasting all that time at college, wasting all those sacrifices other people made, wasting your money..." It's at this point I think Megan begins to get a bit... stuck, and I think it's to do with the central line here. "Sacrifices other people made" - which other people? It has to be someone close to them else she wouldn't be so emotional about it. It could be their family or parents, however neither of them are mentioned, so what if the person who made the sacrifices was... Megan. She also talks about college - or wasting time at it, at least. She doesn't necessarily think that college itself is a waste of time - but simply what Howl does there. She has an idea of what college should be used for - and it's getting that education to get a job and... improving your situation. "Never doing an honest day's work, never getting a job I can be proud of" I mentioned that I think Megan gets stuck - because now she's back to repeating earlier criticisms, simpler ones. The important one, the one she's really hung up about has been said. Again, there's the theme of Howl's shining dishonesty that is approached and disproved elsewhere in the book, but that’s not the bit that attracts me here. Notice, it's not a job Howl can be proud of - it's one that Megan can be proud of. It's almost as if her relationship with her brother is based in pride of his skills and achievements, something she can show off to her Proper Members of Society friends. "Look at Howell, look at what our family can do." "Shame on me and Gareth" All the time Howl is failing to be something she can show off, he is bringing shame on her and her husband. At this point, she's failing to see her brother as very little more than a status-asset, and he's not bringing in the revenue that was expected. "Coming here and spoiling Mari rotten," And then finally, this is how we end before Sophie manages to interrupt. Because Howl loves his family, his sister and his nephew and niece. They're the weak flank that he knew would spur him into action if the need arose - and he's prepared to rugby-tackle the witch and chase her over garden fences when it does. The door to Wales has to stay when the Castle moves house, because despite slithering out Howl doesn't actually want to leave forever. Megan knows he loves them, and he shows that love through his treatment of the children - but this isn't what Megan feels he should be providing for them.

Once we've looked at it more closely, we can see that Megan's problem with Howl isn't his lifestyle or choices - it's how they impact on her lifestyle and choices as a Respectable member of Society. More than that, her perceptions of Howl differ greatly from the knowledge the reader has of his lifestyle in Ingary. Howl's decision to reject the expectations of Wales and his sister is then overshadowed by his undeniable love for them and inability to completely walk away.

Once the gang leave Megan's house, the only acknowledgement we get of her rant is that... we're going to ignore it. "Howl said nothing about Megan" tells us that he is apparently immune to anything that she may say about him - or at least wants it to appear that way. He knows what she thinks and has heard it all before, and her (wrong, constructed) perception of him is not going to impact on his True lifestyle and choices.

But why would Howl - obsessed with image Howl - go out of his way to construct this fake image and make his sister angry?

We already know the answer to this, because he does the same in Ingary - destroying his reputation and blackening his name in order to try and slither out of proper society and expectation. However, in Wales he's not slithering out of becoming Royal Wizard, he's simply refusing to do what was expected of him by not getting a good job and settling down with a nice partner in a nice house with 2.5 children and a front gate... just like Megan has done.

Megan, who is full of envy for Howl because she's done this, and he didn't.

The very short description we get of Megan when they first arrive in Wales describes her as clearly Howl's older sister, disapproving in manner but with eyes "full of anxieties". Simply, anxiousness and jealousy do not make for a happy housewife. Furthermore, the only time we do see Megan expressing any vaguely positive form of emotion is when she talks about the missing homework, where she appears (to me anyway) to sound interested in the found spell. This suggests that she doesn't actually disapprove of Howl, and is actually quite interested in the work that he's done. Perhaps, in another life, she too could have pursued this curiosity, gone to college, researched spells...

Megan Jenkins is a mirror of Sophie. As elder sister, she dutifully accepted the role of inheritor of the family, fulfilling the expectations placed on her while allowing her younger brother to go and seek his fortune. Sadly, Megan didn't have a witch put a spell on her, indirectly allowing her to reject those expectations and forge her own fate. Her anxieties and disapproval match Sophie's helplessness and jealousy at the start of the book. Her anger and criticisms match Sophie's crankiness as an old woman, as expression of frustration at a situation out of your control.

Megan was the one who made the sacrifices. Megan wanted to go to college, get all that education, buy nice professional clothes and get a decent job. Instead, as traditionally expected of a young woman, she got married and had her 2.5 children, and has to work extremely hard to maintain that image. Meanwhile, she watched her brother throw away the chances that to her represented freedom, as he rejected what is traditionally expected of a young man.

Howl knows this, which is why he let's her yell - why he refuses to abandon her, rugby tackles witches, and spoils her children. I'd even maybe guess that it's why he leaves her with all his books - it's a subtle invitation to read them and be able to join him. Megan, of course, with her jealousy-distorted perception, only sees this as arrogance and selfishness.

I'm going to briefly move away from explicit textual evidence slightly now, and bring in some personal headcanon. I've written before about how I think Howl's interest in magic can be traced back to media we all have access too - and that he's really a Lord of the Rings, Led Zeppelin Fanboy at heart (lol) - but then I realised. Megan's house is called Rivendell. As in, the beautiful realm of the elves, manifestation of idyllic fantasy and a haven for reflection and knowledge. She and Howl had the same upbringing, and I'd guess read the same books - there's absolutely no reason that she wouldn't have had the same response as her brother. She was just unable to act on it.

Megan is an antagonist, but she's not a bad person and it's not her fault. HMC is a book about perception, and Megan is by no means outside of that theme. From her perception of her brother, to Sophie and Michael's perception of her, this face value should never be trusted. Howl - as with Sophie's curse - is the only one to see through his sister's facade.