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camels-pen · 11 months ago

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the difference between zosopp and sanuso (romantic OR platonic) is that Usopp is Zoro's specialest little guy and Zoro is someone Usopp hangs out with and looks up to and hides behind when things get scary, but Sanji and Usopp are best friends. They horse around, they beat each other up, they confide their worst fears trying to one up each other. Usopp hides behind Sanji sometimes, sure, but idk, Sanji's weaknesses are more obvious (bugs, fighting women, etc) so there are times when Usopp has to stand in front of Sanji too, yknow?

Like, how do I say this, all the crewmates are equal- Usopp and Zoro are equals- but with Sanji it feels like more... comradery? Zoro's a rock in a terrible storm- even rocks tend to get weathered and chipped and worn down, but they overall stay strong and steady. He has trouble being vulnerable and there are times when the burden he's placed on himself to keep the crew safe is crushing his chest. Usopp would help with that and be very understanding, but the point I'm trying to get with that is that those moments are few and far between. So I feel like Usopp, especially after Water 7, would take Zoro's lead on something like that, and keep most of his worries to himself or only talk about them sparingly unless they're really bad and/or he can't hide them.

Sanji is like a tree in a storm; he can be strong, yes, but it feels like he bends and sways with the storm, and has more obvious breaking points. He can relate more to Usopp's struggles rather than resorting to blunt honesty that might border on callous like Zoro. And while, with Zosopp, I tend to think of scenarios with Zoro being blunt like that as a good thing- because sometimes when you're spiraling, it's nice to have someone say exactly what's great about you and shoot down all your worries with straight facts that you can't argue with- I can also see this as being a bad thing. Anxiety can really twist up your brain sometimes, you know? And despite the words, the tone could still mess someone up if they're already feeling like a burden on others in some way.

With Sanuso it's a lot more understanding and thoughtful words. It's distractions and comfort food and patience- the kind reserved for Usopp- until Usopp talks about whatever's troubling him. Compared to Zosopp, it doesn't take as long for Usopp to open up, since he's done the same thing to Sanji at times and it's more familiar to him to talk and commiserate with Sanji about his worries and doubts and such. However, there are times stuff like this has absolutely no effect and Sanji will end up at a loss, no idea what to do or how to help over the course of several days with Usopp being quiet and keeping his distance, and he'll end up working himself up about it which will only serve to make Usopp feel worse and. yeah. bit of a vicious cycle with them.

So it's like. Usopp can be weak with both of them, but since I see Sanji as the type of guy who'd be more open with his worries (at least compared to Zoro), there's less of a need to 'perform' and be his best self around him. He's comfortable around Zoro, yes, but he is constantly wanting to show that he won't be a problem to him. On the other hand, while he's more open with Sanji, and Sanji with him, they tend to relate a bit too much with each other and they both have issues with causing trouble for others and being 'deserving of love' so failed attempts at consoling one hurts the other and creates an unpleasant cycle of misery and avoidance before some other crewmate (Zoro) tells them to quit being stupid and just fucking talk to each other.

#one piece #sanuso #zosopp #long post #nemotime #does this make sense or is this the ramblings of a person who's only got 3 hrs sleep #bc thats me. 3 hrs sleep. ugh #listen okay its like. zosopp has their own growing pains to get through yknow? zoro will eventually get the whole #'oh usopp isnt as open with me bc he wants to seem tough and is also kind of doing the same thing i do. thats bad for him'#and it'll be a whole thing about making a promise between the two of them to try and be more honest with their fears and seeking help #when they need it #the sanuso thing is like. i hope i didnt mean to make it seem like sanuso is 'better' or w/e bc its just a different thing #sanuso got their own problems to sort out. 1. Sanji's everything 2. boundaries on special treatment-#i'm not gonna go seriously into this but both relationships start out not the best and get better over time yknow #also i know usopp's afraid and freaking out a lot but for this post i meant his deeper fears and insecurities #not 'i've got can't-go-on-this-island disease' lmao #the tl;dr of this post is: Usopp is more closed off with Zosopp. Usopp and Sanji have similar issues that cause problems with Sanuso.#also the way i see these ships will probably change at some point. who knows #there was a post i saw recently that was like 'hey sanuso bc romance trio were already chill with each other so sanuso became chill with #each other in an 'alone together' type of way and also they have the same issues' and i thought 'wow so true bestie' and here we are #also. man. usopp taking on / copying the behaviours of his loved ones regardless of his age is just. my jam. in a positive or negative way #maybe i'll make a post about that explaining it more. maybe

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glacierbash · 1 year ago

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kharae for 21 on the pride asks BE FREE!!! RAMBLE!!

hello hi bestie the reason this took me so long is because I was trying to think what about Kharae's identity i could expand upon because like. it seems pretty simple! she's a cis woman. she's a lesbian. Identity probably never came up much for her as she was growing up. but then i thought a bit more about how as a drow, especially one who was not given the privilege that other, higher-class drow would have, her view on relationships would be skewed. So what follows is, drum roll pleaseeeee, Kharae + how she goes about navigating lesbianism after having grown up abused solely by women! Again, running off of non!durge Kharae, cause... It's possessed me. Technically companion AU, too!

TWs below for a frank discussion on abuse in multiple forms, traumatic and unhealthy relationships, and not a tw but CW for discussions of sex and sexuality too, none in depth but still there.

wow what a sensationalist title wowowow. Anyways.

To recap and expand a bit more on Kharae's history: Kharae was the eldest daughter of a minor drow family who, wanting to get a foothold into higher-society within Menzoberranzan, gave Kharae up to house Faen Tlabbar. Rather than being taken as a sign of good will, however, this was seen as a sign of weakness, and the Mlezzoryn family was wiped out before they could ever start growing. Kharae never found out about this, as amongst the priestesses of Faen Tlabbar, one in particular took a liking to her: Sornolu Tlabbar, a young drow woman who was recently given a position of power within the house. Sornolu wasn't too much older than Kharae and her affections started off rather beneficial.

For the first couple of years, Sornolu appeared truly kind towards Kharae, helping her adjust to her new life and helping her detach herself from her parents. Later on, though, as Sornolu was given more power and Kharae wasn't, Sornolu went from a possible friend to, well... What she is now. As the other priestesses of Faen Tlabbar began to grow tired of Kharae, Sornolu swooped in and took Kharae for herself. Thus began the centuries of almost absolute torment.

The more Sornolu was taught and therefore internalized her power and superiority, the more she took it out on Kharae. She changed Kharae's name to Taleth, commissioned a pair of anti-magic cuffs formed of Sussur Tree blossoms, and kept her around for whatever use she could come up with.

As a form of... self-protection, Kharae began to view it as a relationship, something romantic, even though it absolutely was not. It was transactional--Kharae gave, and Sornolu protected. Kharae always occupied thoughts and dreams of escape, but with the anti-magic cuffs she almost always had on, she had no magic to aid her. Sornolu absolutely encouraged this "relationship" view as well, as it both kept Kharae placid, and enthralled her.

By the time Kharae escaped, her view on relationships was absolutely shredded. Was it normal to want to run away from your lover every chance you got? Was it normal for your lover to starve you, deprive you of anything to hydrate yourself with, to leave you tied up on altars, threaten ritual murder whenever you acted incorrectly--so on and so forth? Kharae was free from the underdark for at most a day or so before she was taken by the Mindflayers, so she had absolutely no chance to even begin unlearning what she's been taught.

So thinking about it, Kharae doesn't even... Understand relationships beyond, "I will serve you however you want so long as you keep me protected." She's willing to degrade herself in any way, shape, or form for people. Of course, this isn't discussing sexuality, though--this is all about how she handles relationships in general. Where does the fact she is a lesbian come in?

When first getting to know Sornolu, when they were young and Kharae didn't understand the depths of the terrible situation she had been put into, she fell in love with Sornolu almost instantly. Her attraction was rather... Frank. Sornolu was pretty and was kind to Kharae to start, and Kharae did develop feelings. When Sornolu grew much more twisted, however, and Kharae grew a lot more... Afraid. Attraction turned to desperation.

The most confusing thing for Kharae was the fact she was attracted at all. Sornolu was the first and only person (at least before the party/tav) that she had any feelings for and, well, you see how that turned out. So what happens when Kharae meets a woman who gets her heart pumping, so to speak? confusion, and concern. She's unsure just what she's attracted to--is the woman dangerous and going to hurt her? Is she attracted to the risk of it all? Or does she just find women beautiful?

And then, that leads into Kharae's relationship with Minthara--for a long while, it's... No different than how Kharae treated Sornolu. Unending devotion for the sake of protection. By act 3, it's a lot healthier, as Kharae starts to come into her own and embrace herself and recover from the trauma she's lived with since escaping the underdark, but at least all throughout act 2, Kharae fawns, and she fawns hard.

Thinking on the companion!Kharae au (because I'm SORRY ever since I answered those asks I can't stop THINKING about it I need to do a co-op game where I just get so in character with companion!Kharae..), I think this presents itself in both how she handles a relationship with a Tav, and how easy she is to "romance."

I feel like she'd have the lowest approval threshold of any character to start a romance. Keep her in the party for just a bit and she's ready for you. Almost impossible to be rejected by her at the tiefling/goblin party, unless you do everything ever to piss her off, and even then there would still be an option. In act 2, however, there would be a scene that'd take a few things into account: Identity of your Tav, and approval.

-High approval male tav: Gets a scene where Kharae sits him down and goes "Look. I don't. Think I like you. And that honestly makes me really happy to know. Because you make me feel safe in a way I've never felt safe before. I would love to still be around you. You're a great guy. I don't love you romantically but I adore a lot about you. I wanna be your best friend. More than your best friend. But not your partner." The "romance" continues in a more... QPR manner, and while every romance-specific scene is available, it continues with a different... tone. This does include any future sex scenes being available, but the framing is less... "Romantic music, low lighting, sensual and sweet" and more "two buds goin' at it."

-Low approval male tav: Gets a scene where Kharae goes full force in trying to seduce him. The scene is almost uncomfortable with how hard she's trying, and when she's rejected (y'know, right thing to do) she gets extremely distant, before admitting she's not happy and doesn't want this anymore. Tav can try and convince her to stay, but Kharae will refuse. She'll apologize, blaming herself for being so wrong with everything, and leave, ending the romance there.

-High approval female tav: Similar to the male Tav, Kharae sits her down to explain her feelings. "You are nice to me and it's scary. I don't know when you're going to get rid of me. I don't know when you're going to wise up and realize I'm not as good as you seem to think I am. I'm sorry that you care about something like me, but I do think I love you, and I want to stay with you. I'm sorry." Once she's calmed down, the scene ends with her thanking Tav, and the romance continues normally.

-Low approval female tav: Similar to the male tav, just 100% worse. Whereas the scene for a man is almost uncomfortable, this one is clearly wrong. She's terrified, and she makes it clear. She stumbles over her words in a way that's more disturbing than cute, she missteps and instantly begins groveling, far too terrified to stand up for herself. She doesn't care about Tav, she's terrified of her. There's a chance to sit down and explain to her that Tav means no harm, which takes a pretty difficult persuasion check at the start, a chance to say she's overreacting, or a chance to really go full-force on establishing yourself as something she should fear. The romance "pauses" if you pass the persuasion check (with Kharae saying, essentially, "prove you aren't going to hurt me, and I'll consider it"), ends if you say she's overreaction (she leaves and when you speak with her again, it starts a new scene where she breaks off the romance essentially saying "fuck you"), and it continues if you scare her into submission, albeit... Very unhappily.

For nonbinary identities, it does go based on body type, genitals unimportant.

Actually, the more I write, the more I start to realize... Sex with women is far more scary than it is with men. Kharae is down to clown with anybody, even if she only finds women attractive (friction is friction in her eyes), but being with women is terrifying for her. It's one of those things that takes her a while to feel comfortable with, partially because of how she makes herself feel ashamed for wanting it. All she's ever known is Sornolu, and she judges every relationship based off of her. I think that's the biggest take away--Kharae is scared of the fact she's a lesbian. She's scared of the fact she likes women, because for centuries, her trauma was brought about at the hands of a woman she (thought she) loved.

In the best world? Kharae learns what real freedom means. She learns how to fuck nasty without being afraid. She learns how to love with all her heart. She learns that most people in the world won't hurt her, not like how Sornolu did. She falls in love, she channels her magic, she grows free. I could make a whole different post about how sex is freeing for Kharae, especially after making steps to work past her trauma. i should! maybe.

#this got. so fucking long.#wow.#i just spent like. the past hour or two just going insane. deleting and writing new things. trying so hard to stay on topic #stay focused on PRIDE and not just start rambling about the intricacies of kharae's sexuality #tl;dr: sornolu is the worst and kharae is scared of women and even more scared of the fact she's into them.#aughguhjggk i have SO many thoughts i need to talk about her so much more now #thank you. you've cursed me.#oc: kharae mlezzoryn #(or mlemzzoryn. :3)

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