#ty for indulging me. i tried to keep it minimal and its still an ungodly wall of text. sad !

[tomwaterbabies]

How do you feel about VATSK as a concept? I’ve noticed a lot of people in the fandom like it but have things they would change, so I want to know your opinion

the concept itself is something i genuinely really am Deeply intrigued by (i'd have to be if im at this level of fixated on it) and generally i absolutely love it

i DO have a habit of fixating on things that have a base concept that simultaneously lets me add my own takes to it. i like being given interesting concepts and then building off of them. i'll admit that with vat7k- it's probably the most intense it's ever been LOL.... kind of sick in the head about it

that all being said, i do certainly have things i would change both in terms of the initial concept the storyboard artists created and what some of the fandom likes to do. here are some off the top of my head:

retcon the 7 kingdoms as they appear in tangled the series. like it wasnt a big deal within tangled's story but i think these kingdoms need to be better fleshed out and have a stronger form of identity. there is no way i can accept nuru's kingdom just being Generic European Kingdom, for example. i probably would change hugo's kingdom too and focus on heavy industrialism instead of just "scary warrior women" (to be fair to vat7k, the concepts dont seem to use the 7 kingdoms in tangled as the base anyway lol but just in case... im saying i would change them)

bloodline does not equal inherent similarities. with both varian's mother being an alchemist like him and his mom's side of the family being inventors too... it implies there might have been a trope im not super fond of. instead, i prefer the idea that varian has to learn that there is no inherent, birth-given truth that makes him who he is. his family became inventors because of the environment they live in, not because of something in their blood. i like the idea that the more he learns about his mom (and the unsavory parts about her), the more he fears he's becoming exactly like her (which culminates at the end). credit again to the concept- it seems like that was the idea with ulla, i would just want to make sure that notion is consistent throughout the story

hugo's character (in regards to some aspects). ive talked about it many times before but while i love most of his character there are a couple things i'd change about him. namely the idea he's flirtatious and the idea he is greedy in the typical thief way. i think he is far too emotionally repressed and distrustful that he'd ever (even casually with intimacy) want to do anything like that (this includes all forms of affection, including platonic friendship). i also think that while his longing for Finer Things and Wealth is present- it doesn't take the form of coveting precious jewels and treasure. he would more quickly be drawn to a device with top-of-the-line material than a golden crown. this kind of ties in with my whole take that he is ever so pretentious and particular about things- but that's also a sign that deep down he just genuinely has a strong spirit and sense of self, i just dont think he realizes this and considers himself a bad person, but doesnt really care if hes stuck being bad (lie). he is also, yknow, incredibly intelligent with a brilliant mind that makes him stand out to other thieves. this is important, and something varian can see quite clearly

varian's past is a big plot point. credit to the fandom this time, it does seem like this is generally accepted as something that should happen even if the concept doesn't seem to really talk about it at all. i would definitely want to delve more into the trauma varian has and the guilt he carries with him and how that works with hugo- someone also holding guilt and trauma. not to say the others would have nothing to do with it- they would! it's an important part of the story, for me, to depict how these characters handle trauma and a past they're not proud of (and even scared of)