i don't FULLY understand but i'm gonna try to dive into this:
i think some context is missing from your ask so it's a little difficult, namely what you mean by "lottie abusing/grooming natalie into thinking that way" - what exactly do you mean by 'that way?' - about her past?
because we aren't explicitly told what exactly nat is thinking about - only given the assumption that nat's regression is a sign of healing the younger part of her that never found solace (think back to - "i lost my purpose" - a feeling that likely arose immediately after their rescue), and given that adult lottie's whole shtick is healing (and nothing romantic happens in that scene), that's how i interpret the scene. healing. it's as simple as that.
like - have some of y'all never had a therapist delve into your past to better understand what plagues you in the current day? have you never felt comfortable enough to bring up trauma from your youth? if you have - are you implying your therapist groomed you?
I never really romanticized the scene? Someone might catch me slipping idk but while i have always stacked that scene atop my pile of lottienat moments, i don't think i have ever taken it romantically - it's like, a 17 yr old and 40-some yr old moment ffs. i think it hit more in an emotional way. if i highlight it, it's to show how comfortable nat felt revealing her innermost struggles/pain/wtv. to lottie.
again, and i hate to sound like a broken record, you cannot convince me that lottie groomed nat in any way. i've yet to receive an inbox arguing that point, and i'd love to see the arguments people have in that regard. it honestly just sounds like another fruitless excuse to dunk on lottienat.
in my opinion, being around lottie may have reminded nat of those times. i don't take that as grooming. it's like, if i linked up with my ex best friend and was hit with memories from when we were younger - uncomfortable or not. she didn't GROOM me into thinking about that - it's just an inherent, unavoidable part of our relationship.
that same shit can be applied to lottienat. just, on a much more serious, deeper level, obviously. that's all i really have to say about it.
to everyone calling it grooming, sorry your favs didn't have a moment as profound as that. cope and seethe.
disclaimer/note: hello hi this is for the anon that said more transfemme!lottie under my plea for more hcs post!!! idk if they meant in fics (i will rectify this) but you're getting this rn because i'm a lottie akgae first and foremost and I Said So. with that said, here comes the disclaimer, i am a trans man and even in my experiences as a woman i never quite fit into that sphere, so in a sense you're asking a dudebro what i think a girl would be like, which has the potential to be really funny, but i also want to make sure i don't step on anybody's toes so i'm going about this very carefully! ok! this time around i did not get to write a fic, but i will eventually!
HEADCANONS (ALL SFW)
i had to google the exact meaning of this phrase to be sure but i feel like lottie, both pre-E and actively taking estrogen would be a girl's girl. i feel like there's always the possibility for jealousy brought on by dysphoria ('why couldn't i be born x sex') but lottie wouldn't see it that way? she would just genuinely support her female counterparts (afab or trans) and actively be happy for the women around her!
some may consider this a cop-out, but i don't think transfemme lottie would differ much from the cis lottie we see now. let me elaborate! the softness is still present, not one to raise her voice or be quick to anger. i think we may lose some of the firmness behind her thoughts or her words, almost as a means of being placating, if that makes sense? not a doormat, but now more so the type to quietly pipe up as opposed to firmly assert her opinion.
you'd still see that deep connection to earthly things, and it's not even because of my florist!lottie au that i'm saying she'd be a plant girl. is plant girl a thing? just the way that people have certain aesthetics they lean into, one of the things that make her feel more feminine (yes, i know horticulture is not just part of the feminine sphere) IS that relationship with flowers, botany, nature, etc.
on like a sillier note, and no offense if you go to these stores, she would SOOOOOO be crystal girlie. i can also pretty firmly say that's something you don't really see in the masculine sphere - i've never had one of my bros walk up to me like, "hey, dude, look at my rose quartz necklace!" but for her it's cute, it's natural, it's deeply in touch with a more feminine divinity, and it's that exact connection to womanhood that she wants to express.
like. the connection is there. like, i genuinely cannot imagine a more dysphoric experience than lottie having to grow up as a masculine-presenting individual, especially when there's that already gnawing feeling of 'i have a greater connection to this, and i feel more like this, than i do to the caricature that i'm having to put on.' i do believe that part of womanhood comes from experience but i also believe that there is also an undeniably innate component to a person that either gets it, or doesn't. and she gets it.
appearance wise: 75-80% of the time femme - not necessarily high femme, but like, cutesy? and she'd like, really fucking show out. Her girlfriends (or femme-expressing friends) would RAID her closet. this is because, especially because with her upbringing, i imagine she'd be closeted until she was an adult. the other 25-20% would be more relaxed, almost hipster, potentially closer to futch? but i feel like these instances also may be few and far in between, due to her being in her head about it - as in - am i passing? do i look blocky/stand out? which brings me into my next point.
lottie strikes me as someone who would want to be stealth, not ashamed of her trans identity but not wanting it to be the focal point of who she is or to receive those, "you're so brave/strong/etc." comments. i feel like she would have the desire to exist in the feminine sphere and not need reassurance from other people that she belongs there or is making some huge statement by existing therein.
that kind of goes both ways sometimes, but i can see how it may be more difficult to enmesh yourself in a feminine zone without people making an ordeal out of it, and i feel that's simply something lottie would not want.
dating would be EXTREMELY hard for her, and yes, i have to bring it back to the fact that i feel like she would harbor insecurities she's not even cognizant she's harboring insecurities about. her height, her voice, if she's pretty, if she'll still be desirable as a woman, especially carrying that added-on layer of having a transgender identity. will her preferred sex look at her the same as they would a cis person? all of these questions that make the dating realm scary. that! is why i see a T4T lottie, and as we all know i'm a die-hard lottienat, so put two and two together and you already know what relationship i'm cooking up in my head right now.
quick hcs: top 10 euphoric moments is definitely buying her first bra - like that's huge, waterworks and everything. she's the type to keep spare makeup - lipsticks, gloss, eyeliner, other... makeup stuff that girls need on the go or use to enhance their natural feminine beauty. 'protect the dolls' is a common sentiment but she is ON IT, almost like a mother figure to other trans girls finding their way. started HRT at 18 when she could say fuck you mom and dad! definitely voice-trained religiously until it became second nature. accepts her trans identity in the sake that she has keepsakes (first estrogen prescription, first sephora receipt, first driver's license with the correct name, etc.).
i feel like she'd be very understanding of the fact she grew up with privilege (patriarchal society) and not feel the need to atone, per se, but may find that to be something she struggles with, especially when it comes to bonding with other people on the feminine gender spectrum.
okay we need to end on a happy note. e-shot days are dysphoric days for her because there's always that WHY do i have to take this extra step (you're wondering where the happy note is) BUT! BUT! lottie has the wherewithal to surround herself with things that make her feel euphoric, whether that be any of the things i've mentioned, her partner (*cough* nat *cough*), or fuck it - jamming the fuck out to power ballads from the 80s and finally feeling that really wonderful sense of freedom. ugh she's the pookiest pookie to ever pookie and even with all the background noise and the down moments she has the drive to pursue the individual that she was meant to be and that's really powerful! canon lottie's unrelenting will really shines through here.
now i'm simping over transfemme lottie. nat, get in line.
i really hope this like... was kind of what OP wanted, and if they actually meant in fics, i do see where i lack transfemme lottie representation now that it has been pointed out. like fuck you guac why are you always catering to the transmascs.... (i'm kidding). i think she would be really fun to write and explore and after the SHITSHOW that is my current fic lineup clears, a T4T lottienat oneshot honestly sounds glorious in this economy. maybe even a chaptered fic navigating the complexities of a trans relationship, because boooooy is it just as complex as a cis one. i hope this was sensitive, that my stupid boy-brain kind of got some things right, and that anyone transfemme reading this can get something out of it! alrightttt, goodbye! <3 (also idk if it's transfemme or transfem so both are tagged... damn let me get more versed in the femme world of the transgender community. i also would love to have more transfemme friends, so if you ever want a transmasc quirked up himbo to talk to, i'm here. )
(before i disappear to do grown up, real world stuff)
there is no official tumblr page, so i'm passing on the info about this years (drum roll): LOTTIENAT WEEKEND!!!!
these are the dates & prompts! fanfiction, fanart, edits, and smaus (social media AUs for those unaware, though that's pretty twitter exclusive) are all welcome!
i do not know if everything (mainly speaking about fanfiction) is going under a collection or not yet. whoopsie. i'll update if i find out!
likes + reblogs appreciated for visibility!
lastly, BIG thank you to mica (@/antlerituals) on twt for setting this up because Somebody had to (the lottienat drought is deplorable).
(As always, i will be participating, & i do hope to see you there! 😁)
how do u feel about anti lottienats saying lottie groomed nat and we shouldn’t ship them
this ragebait
i just know it came from yjtwt and in that regard i wouldn't even give it the time of day but this is genuinely perplexing me so lets dive into it
lottienat antis will come up with more reasons to dislike lottienat than they will to support their own ship but this is the first i have ever heard of a 'grooming' scenario and honestly, as usual, it strangely pinpoints lottie as the bad guy
i do wish i knew what sect of yjtwt this was coming from because i could easily determine from there why they're targeting lottie but alas i'm going into this blind
i'm going to tackle this from a teen timeline pov and an adult pov because i don't know what timeline they're arguing from.
teen timeline: GROOMING WHERE? no, like, i'm genuinely wracking my brain. They butt heads the entire time and legitimately never see eye to eye so it can't be that? I don't know what defenses they're using for grooming in this timeline so i'll try and think of one? maybe the blood tea? but even then there's reluctance/disbelief on nat's part. so.... where's the grooming?
adult timeline (i'm going to heavily emphasize that these are adults, meaning they have a greater concept of their own autonomy and when they're being manipulated): yes, lottie kidnaps nat, who is on the brink of ending it all. if you want to call saving someone's life 'grooming,' have at it. now we reach the commune, where lottie does make some... choice decisions, in the best interest of nat. do i think this has reached anywhere near grooming status? no. we begin to see nat heal, and i believe this is of her own volition. you can't groom a person into forgetting genuinely traumatic events; lottie is simply guiding nat through them in a therapeutic way. when nat credits lottie with having saved her life, that is not grooming -- it is just genuine, empirical fact. so, no, even in the adult timeline i see no signs of grooming. you can forgive someone for past trespasses and not be 'groomed' into doing so.
i'll leave it at that as i'm busy, and because if i guess which sect of yjtwt is targeting lottie my inbox will blow up.
As a closing statement, I think it is absolutely absurd to use a topic as severe as 'grooming' to discredit a FICTIONAL SHIP of all things just because you don't like it. if you don't like lottienat, cool, ignore it. don't bring in an actual, terrible practice to bolster your point which, in this case, is hanging on by a thread (if even that).
there is a very real agenda to demonize lottie and this just feeds into that. my opinion? ignoreeeee. i hardly doubt those calling 'grooming' could even support their own stance with examples from the show.
sorry if this is long-winded, but as a lottie akgae who has time and time again witnessed the POC, mentally ill, equally traumatized character be painted as some sort of antagonist i had to say SOMETHING.
