#the Oedipus complex is strong with this one

[teafiend]

Let me make a detour from my usual KDrama rare pairs to fangirl scream about this pairing. This show has tropes galore to make a shipper like me go squeeing to high heavens. Love this for me and the show, truly❣️

While not wholly a rare pair as this pairing from the drama itself has a number of high quality FMVs to fangirl over - and the overwhelmingly more popular ship with viewers - and there exists a tiny amount of fics in Korean, on Ao3, the fics (in English) for this pairing is basically nonexistent. A sad state of affairs, certainly, but the main female character is generally beloved, and the number of FMVs enough to tide me over for a time, so all in all, this is a very wonderful ship for me to have fun with.

Compared to some of my other rare pairs, this ship is unironically a major, major comfort! There is extremely little frustration to be had although fan content is not in abundance either. A lovely, sexy and peaceful ship 🥰🥹

[lazysublimeengineer]

Freud being one of the famous person whom Kaiser wanted to meet is an interesting yet entertaining piece of information.

Imagine Freud learning what his ideal woman is and he'd just look at Kaiser and says, "Damn. That Oedipus Complex is strong in you."

[warblogs17282]

"I also really wonder just how much of his mother Blitz sees in Stolas." - An answer.

I remember asking myself this shortly after ghostfuckers released, and thanks to a reblog I did a few days ago where I touched on topics kind of related to this, I think I have an answer. More specifically, I touched on this topic in that reblog:

According to an article posted on the Michigan State University website (and more sources agree with this claim as well), research shows that people tend to choose partners similar to their exes or parents, which in Blitz's case, which obviously be his mother, Tilla.

What relevant similarities between Stolas and Tilla have we gathered already?

'Stolas has Tilla's smile.'

'Stolas in s1 e6, and Tilla in s2 e10.'

I'm pretty confident that Stolas in s1 e6 and Tilla in s2 e10 (as I have just shown you), is intended to be a parallel of sorts between the two people, the two scenes.

So, assuming that these similarities between the two are an intentional decision from the helluva boss team, what could this possibly tell us?

"People tend to show romantic interest in people who resemble their exes or their parents. Called transference, this concept holds up across the lifespan - meaning that younger, middle-aged and older people all tend to follow this pattern."

I believe that it shows that both Stolas and Tilla share some similar qualities, such as being gentle and caring, to give a few examples. Keeping the quote from the article in mind as well, I suspect that in Blitz's mind, even if subconsciously, Blitz sees those parts of Tilla in Stolas, like Stolas is emulating parts of Tilla in a way.

Some other lines in the article I'd like to mention are these:

"For this study, the researchers asked over 500 participants to use adjectives to describe their past partners, such as "nice," "helpful," or "charismatic," and then designed dating profiles to mimic those traits. Leahy and Dr. Chopik found that, not only did the majority of participants favor profiles with similar traits as their exes."

"The study also found that people were more interested in dating people who reminded them of their parents as well as their exes."

Now, while the first quote of the two does talk specifically about past partners, I believe the second quote shows that what the first quote is saying is also true if we were to replace 'past partners' with 'parents'.

As I have recently stated, I believe that it is likely that Stolas shares some positive qualities/traits with Tilla, and that Blitz may have noticed this, even if it's subconsciously.

And well, in s2 e9 and s2 e10, it's been made pretty clear that Blitz has strong feelings for Stolas.

So, in conclusion, I suspect that part of the reason why Blitz fell for Stolas, and has all these feelings for Stolas, is because Stolas appears to share some positive qualities with Tilla, and as research shows, people tend to pick partners similar to their parents, again, for Blitz, that parent being Tilla.

Also, the article states that the results of the research has nothing to do with the oedipus complex, before anyone tries to say that I'm implying that Blitz has that.

"Although the finding may seem Freudian at first, Dr. Chopik explains that it has more to do with emulating a past positive relationship in one's life."

[room-surprise]

Dungeon Meshi Anime Review, Season 2, Episode 19 review

Izutsumi arrives! And Marcille has a nightmare.

This is an interesting episode but I know my spouse and I had desperately hoped that they would re-organize things somehow. Marcille's plot in this feels painfully tacked on and unrelated to Izutsumi's introduction, and the concept of the nightmare is so good, it could have easily been expanded to be an entire episode on its own. I wish they'd done that. They could have paired Izu's intro with the ice golem story to have one all-Izutsumi episode and then one all-Marcille episode... alas.

Those are changes I would have LIKED to see, but here's some changes I didn't like:

(MAJOR MANGA AND ANIME SPOILERS BELOW THE CUT!!!)

Trigger removed Laios' mother's only speaking line in the manga. It would have taken SO LITTLE to have someone read this single sentence, and removing it, in my opinion, has a negative impact on the story as a whole.

It SOUNDS like a generic thing when she asks Laios "When will you give us grandchildren?" But this is actually really important. Laios is afraid of being forced to make a family and participate in society. This is unusual because he's a man, most men in a historic time period of this don't really care about such things, but Laios is so afraid of it, it's a recurring nightmare!

This is also why he acted so weird seeing a loving father/baby scene in the magic paintings chapter. He hated seeing a father talk about how much they love their baby.

Laios is named after a story about murdering your children before they can hurt you. Like an Oedipus Complex supposedly means that a son wants to have sex with his mother, a Laios Complex means a man wants to kill his sons. Kui did not pick this name and then have Laios repeatedly be uncomfortable with children, marriage and fatherhood for no reason.

Obviously Trigger didn't make any of these connections and so they didn't think it was necessary for Laios' mom to speak this line out loud, but I vehemently disagree.

This is similar to my beef with them removing Yarn Floke's only dialog in the story and removing her from the scene with the Island Governor. That moment told us that Mr. and Mrs. Floke were equal partners, and now anime watchers assume she's just his wife who doesn't do anything. That sucks.

The addition of paintings of Marcille's father in the nightmare. Woof. I really don't care for this, if they wanted to do it i would have preferred it if they'd obscured the paintings somehow so it wasn't obvious that Marcille's father wasn't an elf.

I think this makes the later reveal of her half-elf status WAY less surprising.

Also, in the manga, the complete silence around her father created a strong subtext that Marcille's mother was her only parent that mattered. They could still accomplish this but I think it won't be as shocking.

People reading the manga probably thought "her dad was an elf and he died young and that traumatized her" (this is what Laios assumes I'm sure)

People watching the anime will think "her dad was a tall-man and his natural death of old age is what traumatized her" which is true, but they aren't supposed to actually know that yet...

Overall the episode was good aside from these issues. I liked that the nightmare sequence was in black and white, and the transition to color at the end was spectacular and very impactful... But part of me wishes they had done something else to differentiate the nightmare state from the normal animation. The black and white was good, but almost too subtle because the DM palette is already so desaturated.

[thelunarfairy]

A long analysis about the Yugi twins

How should I start? Maybe in a more objective way, or perhaps with a "once upon a time"

No? haha I imagined.

How could I start with "once upon a time" when there is no fairy tale in this story? Maybe it's more like the Grimm brothers' tales.

The story of two twin brothers that culminated in a mysterious family tragedy, how should we tell this story?

How about we start with brotherly love?

Oh yes, that's a good start.

The melancholic, brotherly love of the Yugi twins. Ah… the love of identical twins, more intense than the love of ordinary brothers, there is a connection, a bond, being born together and sharing the best and worst moments of life, discovering the world little by little, each in their own way . .

Their love transcends and surpasses death.

A beautiful story, isn't it?

But why do most beautiful stories tend to be so sad? A 4-year-old child who gives up his own life because his older twin brother will no longer be by his side in the future.

A younger brother who feels rejected, unloved and who strives to his own limits to win the love of his older brother, come on, see him fill his room with toys, books about stars, what else Amane likes ?

He wanted to do something for him, to give Amane a kind of genuine happiness, even with such simple and small gestures. For a four-year-old boy, giving someone his favorite things would make him happy, wouldn't it?

He gave everything to Amane, including the health he wanted so much.

And in exchange for that, he gained solitude.

The first shock was born here, the disappearance, the despair, the sadness, the melancholy. How many times can you imagine little Amane leaning against the window looking up at the sky, hoping and wishing that his brother would miraculously appear to him?

Amane's desire that brought his own pain.

How did he react to Tsukasa's return? Did he cry with happiness? Did he pretend he was strong enough to not let the tears fall in front of him?

Are you listening? Yes, the sound of silence, we still don't have an answer.

There is the first great brotherly love here, a younger brother who fears the death of the older one, who did everything to make his days happier, who found a way to save his brother… And the firstborn, the one who just wanted to be healthy like his twin, he suffered the sudden and inexplicable absence of the youngest.

What were the consequences of this? Insecurity? Lack? possessiveness? Want to be in control? Did Tsukasa's disappearance change Amane?

What has changed at Amane?

What kind of love did he feel after Tsukasa's return? What happened in the interim between childhood and pre-adolescence that culminated in such a tragic end?

All we have are symbols, metaphors, flashbacks. The flowers that surround them in moments of tension or reunion, the camellias, which represent love itself.

We could list its colors, but only one interests us, red. The color that reflects on Hanako's clothes, which represents him as a whole. The red camellia, the one that represents love, passion…. Passion?

They appear between Hanako and Tsukasa, in the same intensity as they appear between Hanako and Nene.

What do they have in common?

Love… but what kind of love?

The human being is a handmade work, as complex as all the stars that mysteriously float in a dark immensity. How many ways could a human being love?

The flowers represent passionate love, romantic love, the love that Amane feels for Nene, but then, why do they appear to Tsukasa? Why is Tsukasa sometimes represented by Sakura flowers, those that show femininity and fragility?

How would Tsukasa fit in here? Freud could help us with this, he, with all his wisdom and experience, showed us a new concept of unacceptable love, the tragedy of Oedipus, the boy who, as a child, had loving and hostile desires towards his mother.

The boy who would kill his father and marry his own mother. Oh, another tragic story involving forbidden love, sound familiar?

What kind of love did Amane sow and allow to grow? What was Tsukasa to him? And what does Amane represent to Tsukasa?

"Oedipus complex: The Oedipus Complex is a phenomenon described by psychoanalyst Freud to designate a time in child development in which the child develops loving feelings for the parent or family member."

I could spend hours explaining the concept, but I believe you already understand perfectly where I'm going. We are on the fine line between brotherly love and romantic love, what separates them in the case of twins?

That's the right question.

At what point was Amane's love sown? There are no answers, just clues. The suggestive touches, the strangely romantic and sometimes ambiguous displays of affection, the light touch on the older brother's lips

A warm hug enveloping him between his legs.

An almost reunion kiss

The older brother on top of the younger one, while he places one of his hands on Amane's arm and gently touches his lips with the other, as if waiting for him to come closer.

Amane's squinty eyes looking shyly at the camera "there's someone watching us"

What would you understand if I used a random couple's name during these times? Isn't this an intimate and intense moment between a couple?

We could perfectly confuse the type of love that exists between them… romantic love, brotherly love… love… obsessive…

Ah… one of the evils of the world, obsessive love, a complete and dangerously alarming package. It is a love that transforms people, making them obsessed, controlling, selfish, inconsequential, disrespectful, jealous, and invasive (with unfounded distrust and suspicion).

I'll ask once again, does it remind you of anyone?

Can you see in those golden eyes a love that shines through your whole healthy way of being? No? This does not exist in the universe that hovers in Amane's head and heart.

What is his is HIS. There is no second option, there is no other alternative, it is his, it is for him, it is all related only to him. Nene is his, Tsukasa too. And if both of them are about to get out of his control, he traps them, like birds that have just lost their wings.

It's a selfish love… It's a jealousy so painful that he cries to the point of almost getting sick. The terror of loss, he hates losing. How did Hanako shock people by crying inconsolably after her little brother kissed the girl he likes?

Would he cry the same way if it was someone else who had kissed Nene? Would he have cried like that if Akane had kissed Nene on the day of the elevator?

Hmm….it's not just about her….

Why did Hanako start showing more love for Tsukasa when he kissed her? Hanako found the two of them falling to the bottom of the abyss of number one's boundary, and he went to Tsukasa.

He wasn't looking at Nene, he wasn't talking to her, he was talking to Tsukasa. He looked him in the eyes without trembling, without hesitating, without yelling

He placed him between his arms and later wrapped them between his neck. He saved them both equally.

And even though he showed irritation, he denied being angry, was he just jealous of Nene? If he was jealous, if he was suspicious, why would he throw Nene to Tsukasa? Why would he scream his name with so much concern?

Why was he so embarrassed when Tsukasa found out that he wants to do perverted things? Embarrassed to the point of turning red all over, including his hands, embarrassed to the point of almost crying, can we see a tear falling here?

Yes, he was more embarrassed here than when Nene kissed him on the cheek….

The chaotic energy that emanates from these two, uncontrollable, one is calm and the other is storm, the Yin and Yang, the sun and the moon. Come, allow me to show you Tsukasa once again being represented in a feminine way, when he becomes the moon of Amane.

Yes, the moon, the one that represents yin, femininity, the opposite of the sun, the masculine, virility, masculinity. Ah, the moon, the one that Amane loves, the one that Amane dreams of finding every day, touching it, making it his own.

Why would Tsukasa be her representation?

Many say that it's because Tsukasa is Amane's treasure, the one who made him give up on his own dreams, the moon is Amane's unattainable hope of freeing himself from the ropes, the ties that don't allow him to float so far.

The moon is the light in the middle of the darkness that he seeks so much.

Who is Amane looking for so much?

Tsukasa?

It's convenient that he's the moon, she represents the unattainable, the love of an older brother that can't be completely true because he knows it's an equally… unattainable love…

The love locked away in the chest, the love that made Tsukasa become a prisoner. Amane loves him, but he can't express it, he can't admit it, he can't be honest, but he doesn't want to let him go, he doesn't want to let him go again, Tsukasa's love is his.

He trapped Tsukasa himself in a cage that has no doors… But can Tsukasa create a passage?

On the other hand, we see the youngest, the boy who shows his emotions without regret, without being ashamed, he just loves, Tsukasa is a simple boy.

But he loves it too much. Permissive and loyal love, let Amane decide, let Amane tell me. I sacrificed myself for him, but it wasn't enough, I want to understand him.

Why? Do you want to fix things? Want to do better?

The silence echoing everywhere denounces this boy's motivations, the permissive love, so altruistic to the point that he still misses the brother who would kill him in the future, perhaps Tsukasa could even justify Amane's reasons for killing him.

It's a strong love, but it's not unconditional.

Amane tied Tsukasa to him, the boy didn't have the opportunity to truly die. He has lived in eternal purgatory since he was four years old, and from the beginning it was always for him, it was always for Amane…

Tsukasa befriended death, and made it a great friend.

He never had a "rest in peace" it was always a "see you soon". He didn't go anywhere, he remained in purgatory alone for years on end

And when he returned to live next to his much-loved older brother, he deluded himself into believing he had achieved freedom, when in fact he was thrown straight into limbo. .

He was lonelier than before.

Limbo only had memories, darkness and silence… The walls revealed his presence, the hands marked with a certain constancy, with a certain insistence, were marks that Tsukasa left before finding a way out.

The only thing that could be heard was Tsukasa's voice echoing between the walls

"Amane" - he called on Hanako's boundary.

The walls were discreet, Amane didn't hear him

No one listened to Tsukasa.

It will be?

"I'm not going anywhere" - said Amane, forgetting to complete his own sentence - "Neither is Tsukasa."

Tsukasa's loneliness screams intensely but no one hears, no one sees… No one listens to Tsukasa

But no one listens to Amane either… equally lonely, sitting on top of an old toilet while waiting to be called by someone, while waiting to be heard again.

He can break free, Tsukasa can't.

Ah, obsessive love…. it has those things. Amane feels remorse for everything, but his mouth stops, it shakes to the point where he can't speak, he may lose his tongue but he won't ask for forgiveness.

It will be? Ah, my mistake, he will, at the right time.

Love is slowly awakening… Amane had locked him away together with Tsukasa, but now that he is free, love is blooming again…

Hanako had abandoned a love that he couldn't deal with, but that was embedded in his chest, there is nothing he could do that could get that love out of there, it was just dormant…

He was?

Or has Amane been suffocating him all these years?

A tiring love… for both of them… so the Yugi twins' great dilemma was born, to stay or not to stay?

Tsukasa didn't leave because he was selfish, he went to give Amane everything he wanted, he exchanged his own life for his. We can imagine little Amane's pain when he no longer finds his little brother anywhere, even searching among his favorite toys, even calling him over and over again.

Tsukasa didn't respond.

When he returned home, something awakened in Amane, the intense and dark fear of losing, how could he deal with it? His naivety was broken at the age of four when he suddenly lost the one he loved… but, that person came back…

He won't let him go anymore.

Tsukasa wants to go, he wants to give Amane wings to make his dreams come true, but Amane chose to cut them off, he doesn't want to fly anymore, he wants to stay next to the person he loves.

The dilemma that culminated in a tragedy

We could paraphrase Shakespeare, when the famous tragedy born of his genius thoughts told us "to be or not to be, that is the question" to suit the Yugi twins, we would say

"To stay or not to stay, that is the question"

Tsukasa was often stabbed by Amane's silence, the intense attempts to make Amane talk about how he felt, made Tsukasa tired, he wanted to hear, he wanted to see…

It was a tiring love….

What did Tsukasa become when he allowed his chest to fill with the purest supernatural darkness? What did he become when he went there? And who was he when he returned?

Was Amane's love able to overcome the inevitable loss of his four-year-old brother? Tsukasa who returned was not the same, the old Tsukasa died. What kind of relationship did they have when Tsukasa became an otherworldly being?

He who carries death with him.

When Amane allowed Hanako to be born, was he still Amane?

Yeah, he's back, can you hear it? The silence of a non-existent answer.

Supernaturals are not human, and do not relate as such.

To repeat, supernaturals are not human.

How do they love?

It is a mysteriously hostile and unpredictable love, the love that reflects the intensity of the deepest desire, to devour, to desire…

The twins love like humans, but have similar desires as supernaturals. Devour or be devoured. Ah, the explicitly sexual connation in the context, having someone in possession of you, desiring it with all the intensity that you carry in your chest, making it his, uniquely yours.

The misunderstood and illusory love of Hakubo and Sumire, the girl who is geniusly in love, who created castles in her own mind to suppress the pain of living in reality. Being loved by at least someone is a comfort that eases the pain of loneliness.

The years that escaped time separated them, but the resolution came, even after a long wait, Hakubo returned. He took her as his wife, he asked to take her… and she allowed him. The consummation, the blood on the floor showing the painfully unforgiving love they had to submit to.

An Oni who pretends not to see, and a Kannagi who asks for help without speaking. A disagreement that ended in consummation.

How do they compare to twins? Love misunderstood and unresolved… a love that will end in consummation…

It will be?

We see it again, yes, the fine line between sibling love and romantic love.

Taking Tsukasa as his, devouring him, consuming him, as a last gesture of true love.

But would Hanako devour him?

Does Amane love Tsukasa the same way he loves Nene? Does Tsukasa love Amane the same way Nene loves him?

Is it as heavy and difficult to love Amane as it appears to be?

This is the lock, full of clear and objective questions, but the same question screams with all its force at all times:

What kind of love is that?

We still haven't found the key that will unlock the truth, the answer to that question…

We remain trapped in a bird cage, waiting for Amane to arrive with his golden key, only he can bring the truth, the big problem is

When will he come?

Important observations:

The post is an analysis, it has nothing related to my personal preferences, I don't ship the twins and my intention is not to encourage behavior similar to theirs, again, it's just an analysis based on their behavior. Don't take what I say here too seriously, these findings could be completely wrong, so it's just an analysis.

I carried out this larger analysis due to the number of requests to create new posts or complement existing ones about the twins.

There is more content about them on my blog, if you are curious, just go to the pinned comment and look at the index, there are the main posts.

[thegirlwhowrites642]

Say your response about snape reacting to hinny, honestly it IS one of my guilty pleasures in fics. I hate when people say that jily and hinny are similar therefore harry has an oedipus complex, he is NOT. He cant have it bc he wasnt raised by his parents so he couldnt have it. I like the pararell simply bc it fixes the "what could have been", idk i think its a bittersweet sentiment. And like ginny is similar to lily NOT in appearances. They dont look alike, the most is just an anecdote for 'Potters and redheads' but I do like how theyre girls' girls you know? Despite being athletic ginny is girly and so was lily, they are fierce and protective of their friends, they are smart but not bookish smart and know it all like hermione, theyre popular not only bc theyre pretty but bc theyre so nice and friendly. I think its sweet that these are the good qualities Potter boys seem to have fallen in love with. Its a cute history pararell that is not at all creepy and people trying to use it to invalidate hinny are just dumb (im looking at you harmony shippers)

As I said in that post, I do think that Snape certainly saw parallels between James and Lily and Harry and Ginny: Harry's suspicion that Snape keeps him more in detention to keep him away from Ginny is never narratively disproven. And while that could only be due to Snape's intense dislike for Harry, what he find out in DH (including Snape's obsession with the past) points in the direction of him seeing James and Lily in Harry and Ginny, even simply because Harry looks like James and Ginny is a redhead.

Though, as you said, Ginny and Lily look nothing alike and if people knew how the oedipus complex works, they would know that if Harry had one, he would fall for someone similar to Petunia.

Now, let's look at Ginny and Lily's differences in appearance.

Ginny is short, Lily should be of average height. 

Ginny is athletic, Lily is not. 

Ginny has freckles (even if not many, at least on her face), Lily doesn't. 

Ginny has flaming red hair, Lily has dark red hair. 

Ginny has bright brown eyes, Lily has green eyes. 

Also, from these traits, we can deduce Ginny has a warm undertone, while Lily has a cold one.

Of course, if jily fan artists stopped drawing Ginny with green contacts where Lily should be, it would help reminding people they are not long lost twins.

That said, there are some personality similarities between Ginny and Lily (and I also think the concept of Potter men falling for redheads is lovely). 

We found out Lily was popular with the boys through an interview in which Rowling, to explain that particular point, directly used Ginny as reference.

They are also both great with a wand 

They are both cheeky with professors, and for sure the fact that Slughorn likes both very much is telling. 

They are both smart. 

They both have a strong sense of justice. 

They are both brave. 

They both know what it means to lose a very close friend.

In general some similarities between the two are sort of inevitable considering that Lily is Harry's mother and Harry and Ginny are quite similar.

But there are also a lot of differences between them.

Ginny grew up poor, and while Lily didn't grow up rich, she was not Weasley type of poor. 

Ginny grew up in the countryside in the open air, Lily grew up in the suburbs (I apologize to all the Brits if this is not the correct term). 

Ginny is the younger of seven siblings and the only girl, Lily is the younger of two sisters. 

Ginny is part of a close-knit family, Lily isn't. 

Ginny is a pureblood, Lily is a muggleborn. 

Ginny is an athlete, Lily isn't. 

Ginny is popular with boys like Lily, but Ginny is also in general a very charismatic person who can keep the attention of a room, there's no proof of Lily being popular in that sense. 

Ginny has a thing for taking emarginate/fragile people under her wing, we don't know if that's the case with Lily, the only person we see her defend is her best friend (also, we can be sure Ginny would have been considerably more angry about the Mary MacDonald episode). 

Ginny has a stand-up comedian sense of humor, and while Lily seems to have a sense of humor it's not really on that level. 

Ginny can be quite feminine, we really don't know if that's the case for Lily, though I would suspect a teenage girl in a boarding school in the 70s who grew up in a female-dominated house would be. 

Lily's dominant trait seems to be kindness, and while I do consider Ginny generally kind, it definitely is not her dominant trait.

And of course they grew up in very different political circumstances, Lily had an overall normal teenagehood, Ginny was touched by darkness extremely young.

And I really could go on for hours in explaining why they are different, but it really wouldn't be fair. Ginny is a three dimensional character with light and dark sides, various interests, and fully developed narrative arcs that go on for seven books, while Lily simply covers the role of the angel woman and is therefore quite aetherial as a figure.

Regardless of this, as you pointed out, there's an element when it comes to jily and hinny of "fixing history", it's something Rowling has quite an obsession for throughout the seven books, the idea of the next generation doing better than the previous one. It is the reason why, for example, we see Draco in the epilogue, to show that Harry learned from the people before him to not hold hatred for years.

Harry and Ginny's story kind of reproduces James and Lily's one in a way. With one partner that falls first, and years of misinterpretation and refusal to admit attraction from the other. But this brings me to my next point, which is that if anything Ginny is James not Lily in terms of personality and the role she covers in her romantic endgame relationship, and it makes sense considering Harry is more like Lily: if the combination of James and Lily's personalities works, and Harry is more like Lily, it is only reasonable to assume Ginny will be somewhat similar to James. There's a foundation of truth in the idea that people usually end up marrying someone similar to one of their parents, and it's not the oedipus complex.

James and Ginny both have a tendency to surround themselves with "fragile" people. 

They are both excellent Quidditch players, they both are chasers with a talent for snitches. 

They are both bold and a bit arrogant. 

Even if for different reasons, they both grew up a bit isolated. 

They both do not have much of a problem with hexing someone they consider an idiot. 

They are both really funny. 

They are both smart and great with a wand. 

They are both charismatic.

They are both dorks at their core. 

They are both purebloods. 

They both have a fascination for stories and heroes and in general have a romantic streak. 

They both had to go through a journey of maturation to show their true selves to the object of their affection.

In general, I have to say that while there are parallels between the characters of the two different generations, I find it very limiting to connect a character to only another of the other group.

As written above, Harry and Ginny –in spirit if you will– are respectively Lily and James and inevitably therefore they assume those roles in their romantic stories. But there are points of view in which Harry is James and Ginny is Lily.

Harry, like James, is sort of the leader of his friend group, and Ginny as Lily is more or less the external element that eventually enters the group. In this idea Ron would be Sirius, the best mate of the leader. Though of course, the connection between Ginny and Ron is much stronger than the one between Lily and Sirius. And always in this perspective, Hermione is Remus, and not only in the role of the other friend. Hermione's loyalty to Harry seems often unjustified, sometimes it seems she would have been friends with Harry and Ron regardless of who they were simply because they accepted her as a friend and she didn't have any. This is a behavior that is reminiscent of Remus' inability to truly critique James and Sirius' questionable behaviors because they accepted him despite his werewolf condition. But then who is Peter? I've seen people say it would be Neville because they are both the losers, and always following the concept of the next generation being better, Neville does better then Peter because he doesn't let his fears turn him into a bad person. It's not even wrong as a concept but Neville is way closer to Ginny than he is to Harry. And then there's Luna. I've seen the people supporting this perspective of the generational parallels claim she would be Snape. Because they are both marginalized weirdos, and Luna does better than Snape because she does not turn into a death eater because of her isolation. Frankly, I'm not particularly convinced by the idea of defining Snape as an emarginate weirdo.

So as you can see, while some parallels can make sense, they always have their limits.

Another relatively popular idea is Ron and Hermione being like James and Lily. I've always found it very weak despite having some valid points. Yes, they are a pureblood and a muggleborn, Ron and Hermione are both prefects like James and Lily are both headstudents, and romione tends to cover quite often the role of surrogate parents for Harry. There's also an element of contrast between the partners. But fundamentally the dynamics are very different. Ron and Hermione have been best friends since age 11, that's definitely not the case for James and Lily. Then of course when you look at the relationship between Harry and the Weasleys, Harry is Sirius and Ron is James.

And to circle back to hinny: while I do not want to encourage the prongsfoot shippers, if you look at Harry and Ginny in terms of chemistry and attitude towards each other, they are James and Sirius, from the non-verbal communication to the banter. If you have ever read the short story Rowling wrote about James and Sirius, you can attest to the fact that those two could have easily been Harry and Ginny.

I think I might have gone quite out of the borders of your ask, but what I wanted to explain is that there are a lot of parallels that could be made between a lot of different characters, and they could be interesting to discuss without turning them into weird bashing theories.

I find that it is also important to distinguish between actual parallels the story makes, and dynamics that are similar simply because they are all written by the same author who, as authors do, has her themes and fixations.

The parallels between hinny and jily certainly exist, some are on purpose, and some are the consequence of how similar Harry and Ginny are. But one thing is for sure, if Harry married one of his parents, he married his father (lol).

[random-guy01]

Why am I into feederism and have such a strong preference for bigger/fatter women? Is it just because they have more to hold, embrace, fuck and cuddle? That definitely plays a part, but I don't think that's the whole story.

Could it stem from something like an oedipus complex? Was my mother fat? Nope. She was actually on the thinner side and harbored a bit of a disdain for fat people, specially fat women. This was evident to me from the way she constantly urged my sister not to gain weight and made unkind remarks whenever she did. I've always had some level of disdain or dislike for my mother for a couple of reasons, so could my attraction to fatter women be a form of rebellion against her and her "ideals"? Maybe, but if it is, I'd say its only a minor factor at most.

Honestly, I would say that the core of it lies in my desire for a single, super deep, and meaningful connection. A connection so intense that my partner would feel safe enough to let her "gluttonous" side emerge, letting go of societal worries because my opinion would be the only one that mattered to her. Or a connection so profound that she would be more than willing to compromise her health and body image, gaining weight as a clear and constant symbol of her love and devotion to me. There's also the added dimension of physical dependence, her becoming more reliant on me would naturally lead to us spending more time together and deepening our emotional and physical codependency. In this sense, my attraction to feederism seems to stem from my more obsessive and possessive tendencies

[nrilliree]

I haven't read F&B but I have read snippets here and there. Doesn't it say that whatever tricks alys had didn't work on Daemon. Then we have Aemond who somehow out of everyone at harrenhall picked up her, a woman who is basically even older than his mummy, which is just plain creepy, he is 18 with a woman in her mid forties or something. Not to mention Aemond's hatred of illegitimate kids, he wouldn't look twice at her. Not to mention his so called bastard child with her isn't even relevant, like no one believed it, i doubt there was one. it just seems like another way to say Aemond was even foolish enough to fall for her tricks when his uncle did not let anyone or anything affect him, the man he so wishes he could be like.

Aemond was twenty years old, and Alys was described as a woman who looked very young for her age, even if she was in her early forties. And the series suggests that Aemond has some preferences for "milfs", because the whore with whom he lost his virginity was not one of the youngest. It is not clearly stated that Alys was truly a witch or that she had any abilities beyond herbalism. The most insistent on this was Mushroom, who is the least reliable and trustworthy of the authors. It is not specified what tricks Alys may have used on Daemon, but they were most likely simple seduction attempts that Daemon was immune to due to his experience. He had experience with many women, not just whores, so it was much harder to turn his head than an inexperienced young boy like Aemond. A boy who delighted in his first (and only) "win" during the war, so he saw himself as someone who needed a "reward". Because that's how it's described in the book - that Aemond took Alys to his bed as a war prize. Maybe he was fascinated by her, maybe she was so beautiful, or maybe Aemond just liked milfs. Or he had an Oedipus complex and she reminded him of his mother. Or maybe her alleged magic really only worked on him because he was weak.

It was Mushroom who was the only one to suggest that Alys was using love potions to make not only Aemond but also Criston fall in love with her. Munkun and Septon Eustace disagree and believe that it didn't happen and that Aemond simply fell in love with Alys so much that he didn't want to be separated from her. Women during the occupation and danger often used this type of love tactics to save their own lives. Alys took advantage of this and wrapped the inexperienced Aemond around her finger.

Aemond claimed that Alys saw the future, but I think she just made him believe that she was more powerful than she really was. Maybe she also made him believe that she was pregnant by him. We don't know that. All we know is that Aemond is remembered as someone who allowed himself to be wrapped around the finger of the Strong bastard.

"A kinslayer and a milk cow" that's how they were nicely named ;P

[merlincersei]

Merlin BBC UK TV Show - A Psychological Analysis Series Part 9

The Disney Dead Parents Troupe In Merlin

Disney is the undisputed master of the dead parents troupe and the Merlin series adopts this troupe fairly consistently.

This is the status of all the main recurring characters's parents:

Even though Merlin is the only character whose both parents were alive, he was still raised by his mother as a single parent. The episode where Merlin meets his father, the father ends up dying.

Morgana was initially introduced as an orphan but we come to know later on that Uther is her father.

The psychological impact of being raised as an orphan and / or single parent manifests in very interesting ways among the characters, however this phenomenon deeply affects Arthur Pendragon.

Uther is a typical distant and repressive father who has channeled all his hopes and emotions on Arthur.

This style of upbringing however has left his son emotionally repressed and the absence of a doting mother figure has rendered him needing to be tended to like a child along with major abandonment issues. His psychosexual development couldn’t follow the normal path, as he never had the chance to experience and overcome the attraction to his mother. As Uther had to play the part of both mother and father, we could say that Arthur didn’t successfully resolve his Oedipus complex. This manifests in the form of Arthur constantly seeking attention from Merlin from the moment Merlin becomes his servant. Merlin basically acts as his nanny from waking him, to bathing him, to dressing him, to feeding him and everything in between. AND THIS IS FOR A FULL GROWN ADULT AND NOT A CHILD !

SEASON 1 EPISODE 1 ENDS WITH SOMEONE COMING INTO GAUIS CHAMBERS SAYING ARTHUR IS LOOKING FOR MERLIN. LIKE REALLY ARTHUR YOU CANT GO ONE EPISODE WITHOUT HAVING MERLIN WAIT ON YOU HAND AND FOOT!!!

People can excuse this behavior stating Arthur is a royal and hence it is normal for royals to be tended to constantly by their servants. However you never see Uther being tended to hand and foot like Arthur does. Uther even comments that Arthur is strangely fond of the boy.

In addition, Arthur throws a tantrum whenever Merlin goes missing highlighting his need to be nurtured and looked after.

In the The Hollow Queen episode where Merlin goes with Daegal Arthur literally seems exasperated over Merlin’s disappearance searching the whole castle like a lost child. He even has Gwen and Gauis replicate some of Merlin’s duties for him.

In the Diamond Of The Day Episode 1, when Merlin tells Arthur he wont be going to Camalan, Arthur cannot bring himself to say he needs Merlin with him but chooses to express his hurt by calling Merlin a coward.

Arthur fear of losing people close to him is a running theme in the series even at his own deteriment.

Arthur goes to help & rescue Merlin and Gwen even when Uther forbids it. Arthur goes to help & rescue his knights even when Merlin disapproves. Arthur trusts Aggravaine so readily because he is his kin and Arthur is traumatized and vulnerable after Uther’s death. Arthur even agrees to legalize sorcery because he thinks it will save Uther’s and Modred’s lives.

Overall this series has such rich and complex themes .

No wonder that even after 10 years since the series ended, it is still trending strong !!!

[kxllerblond]

cont. x @berylcluster

There had to be a science to it, something beyond Clark's understanding and something far beyond what he was willing to care about beyond as a passing curiosity. Two individuals one might typically fall over themselves trying to approach if separated, suddenly deemed completely unapproachable as soon as they were interacting with one another.

Clark had come to people watch, not be accosted by them; he seemed more than willing to take a good tongue lashing if she'd shield him from any further unwanted attention.

❝ As good as my relationship was with my mother, I'm terribly afraid I missed out on the whole Oedipus Complex train. ❞ his practical monotone was grating, he sounded like he was constantly tired. The obnoxious world-weary sort.

❝ Strong opening line though. Smart. Men and their mothers. A variety of reactions you could get, but you'll always get a reaction. ❞ he reached for his drink, cast his gaze off elsewhere across the room at the patrons that stuck closer to the edges than wandering inward.

His gaze finally flickered to her and he tilted his head some, let his gaze travel up and down in a single sweep. He hummed. ❝ I don't think I can poke holes in a bubble long burst. ❞

Another sweep of the room, another tired exhale. What had meant to be an excursion to give himself a forced break from his work had just served to dampen his mood further, drain him further.

❝ I don't know, darling. Maybe I'm projecting. Maybe I need to say it out loud to remind myself? Maybe I'm looking for some sort of comradery in shared shitty narratives? Does it matter? ❞

He sat back some, spun his glass idly a few times. ❝ If you already know, why does hearing it bother you? ❞

[streets-in-paradise]

“ El complejo del aguayo consiste en que esa mujer que has amado desde niña, que la has olido y la has creído tu mamá, a los siete años tu familia te enseña a despreciarla. Y el dolor que te produce eso es imperdonable. [...] Es muy doloroso cuando te preguntas de niña ¿por qué no la puedo querer? ” 

“ The aguayo complex consists in the fact that the woman you have loved since you were a child, that you have smelled her and thought she was your mother, at the age of seven your family teaches you to despise her. And the pain that this causes you is unforgivable [...] It is very painful when you ask yourself as a child. ´Why can’t I love her?´ ”

Silvia Rivera Cusicanqui 

I wanted to share with you this sociological concept from a bolivian academic that blew my mind since the first time I read her. Although it describes a microsocial aspect of how colonialism is experienced in Bolivia through the domestic bonds, it has been ( and keeps being) a great inspiration for me to imagine the social dynamics in mycenaean greece slavery for my Troy fic. 

The relationship I’m developing for the mycenaean princess and her trojan slave is a resolution of the aguayo complex that takes the route of resistance. From my understanding of the theorizations I have read, the expected outcome of this complex ( a parallel to the societal ruling cultural aspect of the Oedipus complex ) is the biological family succeeding on imposing classist (and racist, for the bolivian context) hate through the figure of the kid’s caretaker. Wet nurses in the old times and workers of domestic services in current times are the targets,through the despective attitudes of the family towards them the privileged kids are supposed to learn the prejudices that societal expectations assign to them to reproduce their role in colonial society later as adults.

The painful experience the author describes regarding this comes from the fact that kids are trained to despise half of their cultural inheritance ( because in their bonds with the wet nurse/ babysitter/housekeeper, etc who raised them, they acquire her culture along with their parents’) and, by extension, half of themselves. It explores inter class cultural mixing from a really interesting angle that is still relevant to look at in any stratified society. 

The family dynamics I’m building in the fic are a reflection of all of this, I’m doing the reverse cultural journey and taking the latin american concept to a mycenaean greek context that is part of greek mythology. The author herself, although she points out the aguayo complex is an eternal struggle in an analogical way to how the oedipus one is never fully resolved in freudian theory, has chosen the way of resistance and develops a beautifully crafted exhortation to embrace cultural mixing and bilingualism. 

Now speaking about the movie, Troy (2004) has a strong component of anti imperialist criticism in the way it handles the trojan war. Greeks and Trojans are presented as antagonistic societies with kings that are complete opposites and hold on to different cultural values. I know in reality they weren’t that much different, but the plot of the film builds them as opposite powers in a semi Cold War situation( semi, because previous greeks attacks are mentioned by Andromache in a director’s cut scene) until Helen flees with Paris. 

For this precuel fic I loved the idea of making my invented mycenaean princess be a mixed translator that makes both cultures her own via her own resolution of this societal-cultural-psychological complex in her relationship with the slave woman who raised her. For so, she is not a mere rejector of societal rules for the sake of making her a more modern character in tone with our views. There is a complex and understandable reason for her antagonism with Agamemnon. 

She is not an unicorn person who magically aligns with our views because this is a reader insert fic and it has an identification factor, she is a twisted product of the form the aguayo complex presents in her own society. 

[litcest]

"But, before I even begin to tell the story, let me just mention that, Hamlet’s obsession with his mother, Gertrude, is so strong that Freud himself linked their relationship with his Oedipus Complex (here’s another play I should write about, Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex)."

That is an absolutely beautiful thing to learn when a surprising amount of your personal vision of Arthuriana is based on The Once and Future King by T.H. White, in which the relationship between Mordred, King Arthur's tragic bastard, and Morgause/Morgawse, his mother and one of Arthur's half-sisters, is 100% a Freudian mess.

Honestly, I read that passage and immediately thought of this quote:

"People write tragedies in which fatal blondes betray their paramours to ruin, in which Cressidas, Cleopatras, Delilahs, and sometimes even naughty daughters like Jessica bring their lovers or their parents to distress: but these are not the heart of tragedy. They are fripperies to the soul of man. What does it matter if Antony did fall upon his sword? It only killed him. It is the mother's not the lover's lust that rots the mind. It is that which condemns the tragic character to his walking death. It is Jocasta, not Juliet, who dwells in the inner chamber. It is Gertrude, not the silly Ophelia, who sends Hamlet to his madness. The heart of tragedy does not lie in stealing or taking away. Any feather-pated girl can steal a heart. It lies in giving, in putting on, in adding, in smothering without the pillows. Desdemona robbed of life or honour is nothing to a Mordred, robbed of himself—his soul stolen, overlaid, wizened, while the mother-character lives in triumph, superfluously and with stifling love endowed on him, seemingly innocent of ill-intention."

Mordred's relationship with his mother in TOaFK is INCREDIBLY fucked-up and fascinating, btw. And as canon as it can go without ever being shown onscreen. After her death, even Arthur himself and one of Mordred's half-brothers, Gawain, eventually conclude and explicitly state that he must have been in love with her and jealous of Arthur for having had a one-night stand with her as a young man.

Although love may not be quite the right word for such a mess of emotional manipulation, psychological abuse, and obsession... not that Gawain and the rest of Mordred's half-brothers are that much better off in that respect, lol.

Nonie, I'm not gonna lie: I know nothing of Arturian myths except for what I learned in BBC's Merlin (which did have pretty incestuous vibes going all over the place). I'll definitively check The Once and Future King. Half-siblings canonically having sex and lot of submet between a mother and son? SIGN ME UP. Also seems like Mordred is another candidate to name the Oedipus Complex.

"It is the mother's not the lover's lust that rots the mind. It is that which condemns the tragic character to his walking death. It is Jocasta, not Juliet, who dwells in the inner chamber. It is Gertrude, not the silly Ophelia, who sends Hamlet to his madness."

I love this part of the quote, it's just beautiful and perfectly explain's the tragedy of Hamlet. Thank you for bringing this to my attention.

[lemonhemlock]

Aemond/Alys is for sure meant to be a type of irony- although, at least in the world of the show, I think they set it up that Aemond doesn’t hate bastards as a concept (any more than any true born son lmao) just that he hates the Strong boys for obvious reasons, and they are bastards, so he pokes fun at that. But IA that it seems more about his mummy problems (Alys… Alicent… not even that subtle). She even resembles Alicent to a degree and is around her age, if not older. I know this fandom is weird when you suggest stuff like this, but Oedipal complexes (to any degree- I’m not saying he pretends she’s his mum or anything 🤣) are just common literary devices.

Yeah, agree. Not saying he hates bastards in general, but he sure hates the Strong bastards. :)) And the Oedipus complex is so easy to spot lol. A young, inexperienced boy, with a lot of unresolved issues, simmering rage, willing to prove himself, eager to be understood like the emo boy he is - Alys only has to praise him one time and he'll imprint on her.

[slowpoke272]

"kafka on the shore" by haruki murakami

finished: august 29, 2023

aka what the heck did i just read???? but for 19 hours.

seriously, what the read did i just read. since reading murakami's "men without women" short story collection, i read some criticisms of murakami and also knew that this book was polarizing; it seems people either love it or hate it. after moderately enjoying the short story collection at first, i had to look back after realizing murakami is pretty.... yucky about women. sorry, but if you're a murakami fan you've no doubt heard this before. if anyone wanted to like this book, it was me.

there were some redeeming qualities, we start out with this 15 year old BOY (not a young man, a BOY) running away from home and immediately i'm on board with him. we're taking the train the heck out of tokyo, we're seeing different landscapes, it's exciting. i'm just assuming the entire time that the reason kafka runs away has to be something substantial, like abuse or something. one of my biggest peeves about this story is how we never actually hear about his father or their home life, what was kafka's life like before this? was kafka's father at all deserving of his fate? all we heard (ad nauseam) was how kafka was strong, diligent, and disciplined more than the rest of his classmates. so sure, i'm with him when he leaves home, i can even take the stretch of a 15 year old boy being this disciplined... but as things started to pan out, it just became less and less believable that this was all happening to a 15 year old. i think what makes so many of us uncomfortable with the sexual parts, other than the obvious r*pe and oedipus complex, is that we wouldn't want to be imagining these things and murakami slides them in distastefully. it took a while to get to the first time, but after that it was like we should always be on alert that any given moment in the story we would be hearing about updates on kafka's genitals. i don't need that. there just really is no point. it's disgusting to think of a YOUNG CHILD this way.

after reading some other threads about what people liked or didn't like about the novel, i generally agree with the basic "did not like" arguments which point out the minimal actual resolution of most characters, everything that is inferred but never confirmed, the completely unnecessary uncalled for animal torture, ugh it was exhausting. i like magical realism, surrealism, and i'm generally fine with things being left open ended, but the whole point of the story was about this prophecy and it just really all becomes about a 15 year old child becoming obsessed with a librarian. i can't think of a real life or fictional setting in which this would be made okay.

murakami does have a way with writing, but i just wish what he was writing wasn't so raunchy and deliberately obscene. i can handle gore and violence when its met with appropriate response or context, but this just seemed gratuitous. the further the story unfolded, the closer i was to not finishing it at all, but i really was so curious to see how everything panned out and it didn't seem worth any of the cringe. i disliked it so much that i'm having second thoughts about reading any other murakami in the future.

i'm just so relieved to be done with this book so my soul can take a shower and i can move on to something else. this is down there with "pride and prejudice" for me, but with "pride and prejudice" it never held my attention to care about what's happening, "kafka on the shore" had my full attention and i completely understood what was happening at all times, it was just terrible with little recourse. what started off as a romanticizing the countryside, libraries, books, and stories quickly became some man's wet dream. no thanks.

i read on reddit that supposedly this story is loosely based on japanese folklore tied with oedipus complex, i wish that was somehow conveyed before i wasted all this time reading something i really did not enjoy.

rating: 2/10 felt like an obligation and i don't get it, just not for me

[thelunarfairy]

Hi, I hope you have a nice holiday and a merry christmas (sorry for disturbing christmas but I was reading and couldn't shut up jskjakak)

I was rereading jshk and, although I know sometimes the translation is not usually as accurate or the best (even when it is by the publisher with its license) BUT I looked up the kanjis and yep, it's correct both in the fans version and with the [official] of the publisher.

(Although, be careful, in the editorial they translated it as 'obsessed with his brother', while in the translation by the fans it is 'brother complex', the latter being the closest and most accurate translation, since from Japanese [ブラコン] in Spanish/English is brocon, precisely the kanji that Mei draws on Amane's cheek)

I'm also thankful that I had read something about brocon before or I wouldn't have noticed this.

The curious and funny and half-fucked thing in the sense that Aidairo blurted this out so casually through Mei that you don't know if she's making fun of him for it and warning Yashiro Jaksjk or it's just a joke, right, when you investigate brocon/brother complex the definition encompasses [taken from wikipedia, btw] a state of strong attachment and obsession with siblings and its general description is a sister/brother who has "feelings of love towards their brother" and "exclusive desire to possess"; adding that it usually has more influence on the way they develop their lives, for example, choosing spouses who are similar to their siblings.

(It has greater content but, basically, it is like a relative of the Oedipus complex) (I added the couples example because a while ago I read a publication about the similarities between Yashiro and Tsukasa and I found it curious)

I haven't read anyone else mention anything about this, maybe because I haven't found them or maybe it's not a big deal and just a joke from Aidairo to us (or maybe they thought we wouldn't notice idk) and I'm thinking about it too much.

Also because i don't think Mei knows much about the twins unless Tsukasa told her about it, and she just wanted to laugh at him for whatever she noticed about them (which, likewise, is strange because no one else has externalized that kind of thinking about the yugi brothers).

Anyway, I would like to know your opinion about the panels. (and I want to ask if you would extend your publication to an analysis of the Yugi Twins, taboo dilemma)

nice night! <3

I wish you the same! Merry Christmas!! Hahaha, don't worry

So, everything you said makes a strong connection with the story of the Yugi twins, and I've even been wondering for some time now about his obsession, possessiveness and insecurity born because of Tsukasa's disappearance when they were children.

He has a strong fear of losing, he tends to want to cry when he feels threatened, when he is very jealous, in short.

Do you know why there aren't many mentions of this? Because of the taboo. The fandom is just now starting to accept that there is something WEIRD about their relationship.

I've been cautious about talking about this precisely because I fear whether or not people are ready to talk about it. The fandom cannot support the idea of twins having a romantic relationship between them, and it is justifiable, not even nature accepts this, many bloodlines from ancient Egypt ended due to genetic diseases that perpetuated for years because of marriages between brothers.

So I'm taking it slow, talking about it little by little so that the fandom can understand that MAYBE, the twins are in love with each other, and like you said, we don't know if it's something canon or just a joke by Aidairo.

Anyway, talking about the panels, this is also written in English.

But yes, the story is developing in a way that leads us to a forbidden love between them. A love that Amane tries to suffocate…..

I've been receiving a lot of requests to talk or extend specific posts about the twins, so I decided that I'm going to make a more complete post about them both, I'm going to try to go a little deeper and make some things more explicit. So stay tuned for updates, it may take a while for this post to come out, but I will develop it soon.

I will talk about brotherly love, romantic love, psychotic and pathological love, Oedipus complex (as you mentioned), incest, obsessive love, cannibalism, symbolism between supernatural and human love, the relationship between devouring and being devoured, passivity , dilemmas, the double love he feels for Nene and Tsukasa, among others. I will cover most of the topics that exist between twins.

In the meantime, you can take a look at these posts I made about them, if you haven't seen them before.

[highlifeboat]

Terrible or Potentially Amazing Ship Ask (I threw in a few OC/Canon Characters but feel free to ignore): Angel/Melony, Max/Lake, Angel/Lake, Melony/Elizabeta, Melony/Alcina, Mia/Angel, Melony/Elizabeta

Aight I'mma start with the ones that I don't think work for one reason or another.

Angel/Melony

Alrigh so, the main problem with this one is… Angel doesn't date women pfff. Maybe in some AU where one of them is AMAB it would work but as is Angel wouldn't be into it. (Also I feel like Melon is lowkey scared of them). All that said, Angel would definatly awaken some things in Melony that Cassandra doesn’t.

Melony/Alcina

This one I have talked about, and it has the potential to be either really cute or really… weird. Because I think Melony would end up seeing Alcina as more of a motherly figure (and not in a "omg Mommy~" kind of way. Like a legit mom figure way) just because of how Alcina acts. Which makes for some weird…Oedipus type thing in my mind. It just rides a fine line to me and the thought weirds me out pfff.

Mia/Angel

Same reason as Mel and Angel, they don't date women. HOWEVER, I do think these two have a potential for an interesting relationship. Like, the idea of Mia dating a murderer feels really interesting because I think Angel would end up inadvertently giving Mia a kind of complex about the things she’s done. Mia confessing to Angel “I’ve killed innocent people.” and Angel being like “That’s so hot.” and basically telling Mia the shit she did isn’t a big deal. Not that it wasn’t her fault, or that she shouldn’t feel guilty/upset, but that they find it attractive and want details. Because that’s like… the shit they live for. (Watch that translate into their sex life somehow.) I do think the only real reason Angel would date/be attracted to Mia, though, would be genital preference.

Okay, now the others;

Max/Lake

Okay, so, I’ve said Max is straight before BUT this relationship is interesting because it would be a purely sexual thing since Lake is Aromantic. I don’t think Max would ever date a man, or an AMAB Non-Binary person like Lake. Sexually, however, I think he’s slightly more open. I think this would be kind of a… “We meet up to smoke pot and sometimes we hook up” type of thing. Like it’s very Friends with Benefits. I feel like they have great sex, though. Max definitely leads/doms, but they’re both switches for sure, and Lake doesn’t mind getting pulled around. And you know they can go for hours. I don’t think they cuddle or do a whole lot of after stuff, because it’s just not their thing. (It’s also a weird thing of like… Max fucks them, because they want it [and they’re a good lay], but he doesn’t hold any major attraction towards them) Outside of sex, they’re still friendly, but you can tell they aren’t like… besties or anything.

Angel/Lake

I like the idea of this one, but I also feel like it would be kind of one sided. It would start off as a sex thing, that over time Angel begins to take as some kind of romantic relationship (even though Lake never said anything about romance). Lowkey I think it would get kind of stalker-ish/yandere-ish (as much as I hate that word). Lake thinks Angel is really cool and they like hanging out with them for sure, and I think they could grow to have a strong platonic love for Angel, but I also thing there’s some part of Angel that would be upset over Lake not liking them romantically. Overall, a really interesting relationship, but probably inevitably ends badly.

Melony/Elizabeta

SO GOOD IT’S ON HERE TWICE! This is the top tier out of all of these imo. You know these two are HEALTHY AS FUCK. It’s soft and squishy and fucking adorable. You just know they’re both such gay disasters. Melony is embarrassed everytime Liza picks her up and carries her around. Liza is always blushing and clumsy around Melony, and you know Mel finds it adorable. Mel loves hearing Liza talk about plants and explain how they work, Liza always tries to help Mel bake despite knowing jack shit about it. They’re sitting by the fireplace with hot chocolate just snuggling together. Melon is devastated when Liza has to go to Donna’s, but they come over as often as possible and I feel like at some point, when Donna and Liza are closer, Donna would just… ask Alcina if she can have Melony as well, and then the two of them just live at Donna’s. And I think they’d be okay with that.