#what a delicious dynamic

[shmisky]

Thinking about Alex’s recent interview and its confirmation of how I view Stancest... Desperately needing each other! Indeed!

I think what many people don’t get about Stan and Ford’s dynamic as children, or even as teenagers, is that, no matter what Stan and Ford think or say about it, they were not like Mabel and Dipper. That just highlights their lack of self-awareness, my poor dumbasses.

Here’s a more lengthy analysis for any friendly soul and fellow shipper who cares to read:

Mabel and Dipper have overall very different interests and hobbies and act separately on them. They have other friends and spend time with them—well, at least Mabel has Candy and Grenda, as the bubbly social butterfly she is; Dipper seems way more preoccupied with deciphering the mysteries of Journal 3 than anything else. As fraternal twins of different genders, no matter how alike they look (and despite Mabel’s joke of being “girl Dipper”), they still manage to retain pretty distinct identities. No issue here.

With Stan and Ford, things were very different. First of all, the absurd codependency. When asked about Shermie, Alex observed that a crucial part of their dynamic is that they only had each other. No younger or older brother to support them. From my own observations about their parents, that point is only driven further home.

Filbrick is, well, Filbrick. I don’t think I need to explain much here; every one of us has different interpretations and headcanons about him, but they seem to all agree on the common factor he wasn’t a good father—how much that can be justified by their time period or stretched to accommodate the most heartwrenching stangst is up for debate, just not a subject for this post.

Caryn is more complicated. I think there’s a big tendency to treat her as a good mom, something I particularly don’t agree with as I take a Watsonian approach—that is, she might not have been intended as a questionable mother, but a questionable mother is the woman we ended up with given the writers’ lack of thought about their side characters.

This is not to say she was a horrible person, not necessarily. I think Filbrick was definitely ‘worse’ than her, so to speak, at least in a more obvious way, and she has canonically demonstrated a modicum of care/affection towards Stan. According to her, Stan’s rambunctiousness can be attributed to an excess of “personality,” he’s her “little free spirit.” She was, most notably, one of the two people present at Stan’s funeral if the info on the new website is to be trusted. We see her smiling brightly in the picture of baby Stans included in TBoB, which hints at the fact she liked her kids.

(Interestingly enough, we have so little on her relationship with Ford. Wouldn’t it be ironic if Stan was her favorite child? Most irl people with siblings I’ve encountered seem to think there’s always a favorite.)

But the fact that she, as an adult, didn’t intervene when Stan was kicked out is simply, in my point of view, inexcusable. One could say she was momentarily paralyzed from an overwhelming fear of Filbrick, as a supposed victim herself, but a) that’s already entering headcanon domain, and b) I think that’s far from the truth and directly contradicting the comics, in which she looks quite comfortable in the company of Filbrick: kissing him on the cheek, comfortingly stroking his back... I don’t think Filbrick is meant to be seen as a monster, not in an exaggerated way. (He’s shown to be touched by Stan’s little stunt with the golden chain, too.) Just a really shitty father, in a common, boring, more nuanced, no less traumatizing, way.

To me, the most telling thing of all is the fact Stan calls for Ford to help him, not his own mother. Ford, his brother, same age as him, who was at the moment beyond furious with him and very unlikely to show any compassion. Ford, whose attempts to change Filbrick’s mind would more likely than not have been unsuccessful. Not Caryn, adult, who probably had much greater sway over Filbrick. They say a child’s first instinct is to call for their mama. Clearly not in this case!

I find it fascinating how easily, in the comics, baby Stan opens up to Ford about his feelings of inferiority towards Ford himself. The sheer vulnerability of that moment. The implicit, profound trust, especially coming from someone like Stan, packed to the gills with toxic masculinity. And the manner with which Ford gently comforts him, as if he were used to do so. As Stan, too, had been shown to do when Crampelter mocked Ford’s fingers. They were clearly accustomed to being each other’s emotional pillars, in the way kids who learned early on they can’t count with adults or lean on authority figures in their lives start building their own little safe space.

(The way I see it, they got along extremely well, for better or for worse. No sibling bickering. No fights. How could they? They were literally each other’s only friend. If anything, their first major fight was caused by lack of communication, among many other things; they repressed their frustrations with each other to a ridiculous point instead of simply externalizing them like you would expect of a normal sibling dynamic.)

Second of all, they were monozygotic aka identical twins, as strongly hinted in the show, comics, and books, and as confirmed by Alex on Twitter. They were both named Stan, they had the same face. I’ve read irl identical twins’ confessions about the nature of such a relationship re: identity issues and how people tend to treat you, and it’s often not pretty. In the Stan twins case, their sense of identity was beyond blurry, and it’s not difficult to see why. If you pay attention to the show or the comics, you’ll see many hints of this unhealthiness: the way they were both called to the principal’s office, the way Stan was called a dumber, sweatier version of Ford by Crampelter, the way they had already pretended to be each other before, not in their childhood but adolescence (Stan’s idea, according to hilarious extra material in the DVDs).

I find it adorable that Ford, in the comics, basically grounded himself for Stan! Filbrick had been very clear about grounding Stan, only, not both twins. But Ford stays with him as if he were grounded as well, as if he didn’t even have a choice. Where Stan was, there was Ford, not far behind.

(As an addition that occurred to me just later, after you guys have already started reblogging my post, is that baby Ford has demonstrated this tendency before, in a much more unhinged way, when he exclaims, “Oh my God! We killed the Sibling Brothers!” Ford, honey, if anyone had killed the Sibling Brothers, it would’ve been your brother, the person who shoved them in the first place. Not you.)

They were an unit. Inseparable. As simple as that.

Until they weren’t.

In the same interview, though, Alex added: they, quote unquote, “desperately need each other” as old men. And honestly? It can’t get more intense than that.

[earlgodwin]

"Grief? Then why do you force this false joy upon us? We are dancing on your brother's grave."

[psalmsofpsychosis]

The Average Alfred Pennyworth Portrayal: *is Bruce Wayne's capable and somewhat cryptic butler*

Gotham!Alfred Pennyworth: *threatens an 11 years old boy to eat his dinner proper because if he doesn't he'll be too light in weight by the morning and the Balloonman will come for him and will tie him to a balloon and send him to the skies to die because he's rich and corrupt and forever guilty*

[listles-s]

man laios and toshiro's/shuro's dynamic is incredibly compelling to me on multiple levels

when you look at them, you can see the cultural and personal barriers that drive almost every single aspect of their relationship, both positively and negatively. laios is incredibly outspoken and driven by his passions, which he expresses freely even in the face of annoyance and/or criticism- he's allowed to be as authentically himself as he pleases, and it's this drive that allows him and the others to survive as long as they have, especially due to the fact that these passions and interests are intertwined with his skills as a dungeon diver. toshiro, in contrast, is incredibly reserved, not only due to his eastern upbringing but also his status as nobility- a combo of cultures that both demand that one save face, to avoid conflict at any cost, even at the expense of one's own feelings and individuality. this, in turn, has made toshiro the perfect samurai, as he's politely-spoken, agreeable, and an honorable, skilled man. both are also incredibly devoted to falin on different levels, having come to accomplish the same mission of her rescue despite drifting apart from the party.

on the flipside, it's these same strengths that cause them to clash- laios is outspoken but unable to truly decipher the emotions of others, leading to a lot of false assumptions and frustration from those who interact with him. toshiro is stoic but to the point of complacency, leading to a aggressively neutral disposition that's ushered by the needs and wants of others, rather than himself. neither man truly knows where they stand with the people important to them in their lives, and hold the ones that they do know how they feel with a fierce admiration expressed in ways that aren't always traditional.

in the end, they both share a growing feeling of isolation from other people that comes to a head when they meet again in the depths of the dungeon, and they both have different ways of coping with the frustrations that arise, seeing the other as only the things they have seen face to face.

it's laios' ability to express himself emotionally without consequence that sparks jealousy in toshiro, leading to a physical fight born out of miscommunication and envy. while toshiro is a driving force in the conflict, it should be noted that the actual fight is started by laios, breaking the dam of indirect communication through force. nothing is more direct than a slap to the face, and it's only after they start hitting each other that toshiro's true feelings come to light.

however, at the end of it all, toshiro is the one who stops torturing himself, listening to laios and giving him the bell, allowing laios and his party entrance into his homeland should they need it, and ultimately giving him support in his mission to defeat the dungeon mage, albeit in his own way. despite it all, they're still good friends with a conflict that boiled over, but came out the other end with a slightly better understanding of each other. the fight was painful for both of them, but it was a necessity for their dynamic to improve, and for them to be made aware of their faults and improve as individuals as well.

but also, if you think about it, their dynamic is literally just this

[zukkacore]

As much as I want True Believer Jace to be real I do believe his biggest crime in the eyes of Brennan is probably being kinda complacent and cowardly. I’m very convinced the explanation for why he’s team Porter is going to be very underwhelming and mundane. However, this too is yuri. The mundanity of the very probable “I got strong-armed into it and was afraid of oblivion” is not enough to dissuade me and in fact not to be real for a minute but being given a sense of purpose and hierarchy is a big reason many people turn to religion in the first place because it soothes them of uncertainty even if the the hierarchy fucks them personally over. Jace kinda got Fantasy Pascal’s Wagered into being a believer whether he likes it or not & is that not toxic old man yaoi in its own way

Come with me. Hold my hand. This isn’t the first time I’ve romanticized the “aimless undisciplined person looking for purpose idolizes the person so single-minded in their aims it’s awe-inspiring and terrifying and enviable” dynamic and it won’t be the last

[hoplessartist]

"What am i to you?"

[albino-parakeet]

Maybe people wouldn’t have died if these two were better parents. /j

No, running experiments and observing behavior are NOT valid forms of Parental Bonding and Attention.

No time lapse for this one but just know I listened to Lum no Love song an unhealthy amount while drawing this.

(Not super proud of how it looks but this has been sitting basically finished for a while so uh here it is lol)

[wisteriagoesvroom]

KINGSMAN SPIES LANDOSCAR!! honestly could put oscar in as harry (looks conservative and staid upon first impression but actually has an edge) & lando as the upstart newcomer who solves problems unconventionally but effectively nonetheless.

i passed a specialist shoe shop earlier today that specialises in leathers and i think there'd be something cool about cobbler oscar who keeps a very quiet shop. he's very reserved. has mainly old clients who he keeps in a handwritten notebook. he's carrying on a cobbler tradition of like 90 years and has trained with some impressive brits and everything. and at night he's the kingsman's service artillery specialist. he just pulls out rows and rows of stuff like Q and is like. "i'd suggest that one. you need a muffler in a place like king's cross station. easy cleanup."

and lando's some rich kid from millfield who has been thrust into the service because his dad sent him as a joke 'cus he's like, you're too coddled. you need to do it before you get your trust fund.

but it turns out that with the right focus and intention lando is actually a brilliant kingsman in the making. he definitely has an eggsy moment at training academy where he has to take out a bunch of trainers using only a ballpoint pen and a textbook or something. he's the only one who figures out that the ballpoint pen has different functions upon specific clicks. one of them is a nanorazor, and another is an incapacitating poison.

and lando, a little bruised, very tired, is about to go on his first mission. he's at oscar's shop, choosing shoes and trying not to glance at oscar and his still hands and his cool demeanour.

then lando is like, "wait. you designed the pen thing earlier didn't you? that was you." and oscar gets this glimmer of a smile and a single arched eyebrow that he presses back down, and is like: "yeah. did you like it?"

[nellasbookplanet]

Do I actually think Imogen is going to turn on the party? No. I don't think it’s any more likely to happen than I did Fjord releasing Uk’otoa, or Caleb returning to Trent and the Vollstruckers.

Given the nature of the game, any character turning fully dark is unlikely, seeing as it would take them away from the party for a time or potentially even turn them into an npc, replaced by a new pc. So far the only time we've gotten close to seeing something like it happen was Yasha siding with Obann, which could only happen specifically because Ashley was gone from the table for a long time (it was also the product of mind control, not an active choice to turn dark, and as such still doesn’t really count as a pc turning on the party in my eyes).

But the possibility is there. The seeds planted. Travis has talked about how, after he threw the falchion away, he briefly considered having Fjord leave the party and retun to the coast and Uk’otoa. Liam has mentioned that, early on, Caleb returning to work for Trent was a very real possibilty. It can happen, if the players and narrative are open to it.

And now, canonically, Imogen is desperately and understandably searching for a reason not to have to fight her own mother. She is, however briefly, questioning whether the Ruby Vanguard might have a just cause. Much as she hates it, she also feels the allure of the power Ruidus gives her. Her closest ally is someone who has repeatedly assured she will stand by her no matter what she chooses, even after she voiced the possibility of letting Predathos get out. None of these parts of Imogen are evil, and all of them are understandable and deeply rooted in pain and ostracization, but they could very easily be turned into justification, were she pushed enough.

The seeds are planted. Again, I don’t think it will happen (she seems firmly against the evil plan when reminded of how evil it is), but there’s certainly nothing strange or hateful about engaging with and being interested in the darker possibilities as presented in canon. It isn't character hate to acknowledge that Imogen has the potential to go dark, much as Fjord and Caleb and Yasha. To me, it’s what makes her character interesting. I want to see her clash with the party, whether because she’s desperate to save her own mother or because she’s high off the power of Ruidus and lured in. I want to see Laudna have to choose between the world and her promise to stand by Imogen no matter what. I want to see the fallout, the slow healing and redemption and coming to terms with bad choices. I eat that shit up, and if it doesn’t happen in canon I'll probably go read some fic about it to get my fix.

[jirachuuu]

I think they’re neat lol

[earlgodwin]

there's something absolutely brain-inducing about the whole "only a borgia, it seems, can truly love a borgia." quote which serves as the main theme of the three siblings' relationships and repressed feelings and it's a result of how dysfunctional and unhealthy their dynamics drove them to the extremes with each other; cesare and lucrezia becoming too incestuously codependent while juan becoming too much of a lonely yearner which provokes him to act incestuously aggressive toward his siblings...

[greenerteacups]

Hi GT,

Forgive me if this is a stupid question, but I absolutely love the recs you've given (you've introduced me to tomione, and I love it!) and I was wondering if it's possible to give you some recs in return? There are some books and fics that definitely have dramione / got vibes, and I was wondering if I could share them with you!

So glad you've enjoyed them! Feel free to rec me anything you want. I've read most of the classic recs in terms of fic and adjacent content (Cruel Prince et al), but I'll try anything that's well-written. My tastes run towards weird and/or audaciously creative stuff, and I can forgive a lot of weaknesses in plot on the grounds of (1) ambition or (2) character work. My turnoffs are instalove, protagonists who can't fail, and most Y/A (I'm not a hater, I swear, I just need characters who can say "fuck" when their leg gets chopped off.)

I'm also a fan of weird and fucked-up dynamics.(Wuthering Heights was my favorite book for a while, and as a teenager I wrote an AU in which the book ends on a long sex scene where Heathcliff fucks Cathy's ghost and then immediately gets murdered by Catherine 2.) Obviously, I am very normal.

[tls123]

thinking about yoo joonghyuk and how he is not meant to give up, not ever. but then! what do you do when the person who created you strolls in and says actually, this one time you'll have to give up. not right away, sure, but you will have to give up.

1863rd round the author comes in and talks to him directly and makes him the husk of a man we find a few days away from The End, the one whose only desire seems to be to just get there (the last step of han sooyoung's plan) and die.

she is the only one who can make him give up like that, if not for the single point of failure she wove into his very being — the very reason he cannot ever truly give up

kim dokja shows up, changes the trajectories of both of their lives for fucking ever, and in general fucks everything up so spectacularly yoo joonghyuk can do nothing else but split himself in two

because he wants to live.

[stormyoceans]

THE WAY I NEED A BL WITH THESE FOUR TOGETHER MORE THAN I NEED AIR

[fallloverfic]

Me: I read/watch Delicious in Dungeon for The Plot The Plot (spoilers for S01E16: Cleaners/Dried with Sweet Sake and the manga, Chapter 31: Sea Serpent, Part 1):

Never escaping from the crotch indeed lakjdladj

I also really love this fond look Marcille has for Laios and his excitement/him appreciating her genius/making use of the dungeon/whatever. It's really sweet. Chilchuck is tired and doesn't like being nearly drowned in a wall by a handsy elf.

Laios is so adorable when he's happy like this. Poor Senshi lol

Finally we get the first true Labru episode, my beloved.

Just shocked to see this mess of an adventurer. Kabru thoughts: Oh no he's hot. (yes I know he's not the one talking here, it just looks funny)

Kabru is so good-looking this episode, I took so many screencaps of him. He just looks so amazing in the anime. I love it.

Putting on smooth talker mode. Love him. Gotta flirt with the blonde tall-man for intel. I blame this whole arc for making me think Kabru is short; he's not short, Laios is just taller lol (Laios is 6'1"/185 cm tall, Kabru is 5'7"/170 cm tall). Or at least Kabru is still fitting the tall-man name and a lot taller than most other races, like the elves, just not as much as Laios is. (And for the curious: Toshiro is 5'11"/180 cm tall, so even he's shorter than Laios). I think between Toshiro, Laios, and Inutade (a 6'5"/195 cm ogre), I just had a weird impression of Kabru's height. (All heights from Delicious in Dungeon World Guide: The Adventurer's Bible)

Kabru being dangerous and also cute still. I just... I have too many screencaps of him alkdjalj Beautiful man.

Toshiro is a saint for tolerating this man. But they are cute together.

Kabru and Laios kill me T-T I wanted to fic for them ever since Kabru first showed up in the manga cause he was really cute and I wanted more of him and he seemed fucky enough that he would be fun to fic for, especially with the sort of enemies to lovers vibes of his party chasing Laios' party for revenge.

And then there's this chapter cover lol (this is actually two episodes ago story-wise, but it feels more relevant here):

And I was screaming in joy XD Particularly after we got to Kabru's obsession/curiosity about Laios in particular. I was putting off ficcing for them in case they actually met and yup, they did lol I still have a lot of ideas for fics for them. Maybe someday.

This man is having the time of his life with this nonsense and I love it roflmao He was like "they're either evil masterminds or stupid" and it's kind of the latter and mostly just "they're weird and it's funny" lol

I know he's faking so hard but it's still cute lol (Especially cause Laios offered to treat him to a meal, like hello, Labru date????) One thing I love about them as a pairing is their weirdness interacts in fun ways and it is hilarious.

This man is here for this absolute train wreck and I could not be happier for him. And them. Look at that little blush. Bless him.

Truly a phenomenal episode. It's also interesting seeing how... disrespectful, shall we say, to be polite, just about every character is to each other. You've got Chilchuck insulting Marcille for getting incapacitated, Marcille shoving Chilchuck into a wall to nearly drown without explanation, Toshiro's retainers - particularly Maizuru - being patronizing to all the non-tall-men (and any outsiders, really, considering at least what Maizuru thinks of Falin), Laios being... disrespectful to Toshiro with his name, and Kabru lying his ass off to get the deets on what the heck is going on and essentially being the human embodiment of -grabs popcorn-. It's a lot of really interesting character, social, and political dynamics. Everyone's a mess and I love it. I'm late cause of various nonsense with me misreading something and thinking they skipped a week and being busy but ahhhh such delicious food to catch up on. So good.

Other delicious Plot:

The Plot in Episode 3

The Plot in Episode 7

The Plot in Episode 9

The Plot in Episode 11

The Plot in Episode 13

The Plot in Episode 14

The Plot in Episode 15

The Plot in Episode 16 (you are here)

The Plot in Episode 17

The Plot in Episode 18

The Plot in Episode 20

The Plot in Episode 21

The Plot in Episode 24

[botanybulbasaur]

love through fiction

stuff below cut because its just stuff im writing while i cry

a quote i keep remembering over adnd over and over again is tahta stupid "the love was there and it changed everything. if you even care" quote because. i dont like change. i like having positive impacts on people but i dont like when i change or when they change. it feels like im losing something, an aspect i cant gain back, a feature that people mightve counted on me for. even worse sometimes, it can feel like im losing people.

so its easier to just ignore change. act like the love and the hate is the only thing that changes, not time. act like we, humans, control how long we have and how the world changes what we love.

but we don't, and we never will. the world will keep spinning and the people will keep changing against their will, against the beat of their hearts. but the fiction i keep reading

it keeps sayingt hat the love doesn't need to change anything. the love being there in the first place is a miracle, a gift, proof that we mean something and that our actions give us something. thte change was there and it made love if you even care.

'slay the princess' does a good job at taking just what i fear and placing it before me. how terrifying it is to be the one who changes, and how terrifying it is to see people change before you. but despite that everybody tried to work together. the love was there. the love was there and it told you to try and change something

then there's the love that transcends change. dragon maid be damned because kobayashi (human character) tells. uak. tells this teenage dragon character "i am. im lying to you. im trying to charm a chaos dragon with sweet lies" after the teenager tells her that she's just a human and she'll die and she's inferior and she's lying to her dragon girlfriend. i think its been a while my memory is shitty. and the girl didnt leave her side later on when she was in bed for a while. she knew that kobayashi was ignoring their differences, keeping it stacked away that theyd die at different times and i cant stop crying. the love was there and it told you that you dont have to change anything. the love was there and it told you that to be happy you have to ignore the change sometimes

amd TOHRU (kobayashi's gf) dont get me fucking started. her short monologue in the train ride back home about how kobayashi will die soon but shes just trying to enjoy what she has now. her conversation with her dad knowing she'd get hurt when kobayashi dies, following her near breakdown just thinking of kobayashi dying. the love was there and it told you to hold on and slow down, that the change is later, you don't have to be scared yet. it's okay, the love says, because it was there.

last but certainly not least dunmeshi. i know i usually bring up marcille here because i resonate with her but i want to bring up senshi and his backstory. like youre telling me he too feels guilty about his family (i know theyre not related to him shut the fuck up theyre family thats what family is) sacrificing for him but it gave him the inspiration and the courage to be who it was. the love was there and it changed me from the inside if you even care. the love was there and it changed me for the better. the love was there and it saved me

yeah im just crying now. the love was there. the love was there and it meant cooking and exploring and selling your desires to the nearest demon and it meant befriending people you'd outlive by a couple hundred years if you even care. the love was there and it made more love despite the change if you even care. the love was there the love was there im jfn,. :( THE LOVE WAS TEHRE. THE LOVE WAS THERE

the love was there and it made kobayashi risk her life for tohru. the love was there and it made laios, marcille and chilchuck risk their lives to kill the red dragon and get fain back. the love was there and it made toshiro wander deep without food to try and find someone who exhibited warmth. the love was there and it made laios and toshiro really become friends because the love was in us all all along wasn't it. the love wasn't because of change the change was love. what made us what changed us was love. what we all have that leads us forward, even in fiction. god i need a minute.