🪄 - Hi everyone! My name is Ophelia, I'm 17 years old, and I go by they/she. I'm a genderfluid, asexual lesbian.
💫 - This is a sideblog for yumeshipping. If you see @tangledmention in your notifications that is me Imao
🔮 - I'm a (hyper)sharing yumeshipper for ALL of my selfships! Doubles PLEASE INTERACT I BEG.
🌸 - Outside of this blog, I like to think I'm a pretty busy person. I'm a dancer (mainly tap), AP student, athlete, and quite active in my community! I hope to be a clinical psychologist when I'm older. There're also extra things you can find out about me by looking at my dni list
f/o list:
(this list may be subject to changes!)
⭐ Nuru (VAT7K) - romantic
🕰️ Hugo (VAT7K) - platonic / familial
tags!:
💫🔮 astralheist - anything that reminds me of my relationship with nuru
⚙️🪄 spring & spell - anything that reminds me of my friendship with hugo
show and tell - responding to asks
divine intervention - posting or reposting imagines
dnfi:
bigots, pro contact for harmful paras, anti yume, anti occult/pagan/witch/shifter, medical and science deniers, cat haters
I freely block! If you're blocked and you don't fit the criteria above, don't take it to heart cause I literally block people because they like a character I don't (AHEM KING FREDERIC)
Oh also I'm hyperfixated on VAT7K and Tangled in general if you mention it around me I'll just yap forever
"Ophelia are you gonna type this all out-" no. I already did.
Anyways, this was all lowkirkenuinely just a silly little experiment. Here's my findings yayyy
tldr: I used yumeshipping as an on and off coping mechanism since December. I've found that when I actively used it, my mental health and overall quality of life improved
In the series, Rapunzel is hated by one of her citizens because of her lack of tradition. Her boyfriend is, technically speaking, an immigrant, and not native to Corona. She cares for all her people and has stood up to her father for the injustice he brought onto her people. Rapunzel would hate ICE. Be like Rapunzel.
Eugene was born a prince to the Dark Kingdom, where he and his citizens had to leave because it was no longer safe. Eugene lived as a criminal to survive, and immigrated to Corona for a better life with his girlfriend. Eugene would hate ICE. Be like Eugene.
Varian's parents are both immigrants. His boyfriend is an immigrant as well. Varian has been in situations where it felt as if he had to break the law because the government didn't care for its citizens. He has traversed the seven kingdoms and learned about their cultures. Varian would hate ICE. Be like Varian.
Hugo grew up on the streets without parents. He had no shelter, didn't know when or where his next meal would come from, and had to resort to theivery to survive. Everything he learned was likely self taught, including his education and knowledge in alchemy and science. At the end of VAT7K, he immigrated to Corona for a better life with his lover. Hugo would hate ICE. Be like Hugo.
self shipping is like the biggest act of self love. it genuinely feels so healing. like yes I deserve love. yes I deserve a happy and fulfilling relationship. yes this 300 year old cryptid would smooch me.
Being so intimate with your f/o, that when you both see something that piques your interest (concerning, amusing, whatever), you share a look. Maybe it’s a thinly veiled smile or a furrowed brow; you are able to just look at each other to communicate a thousand words.
Big fan of people with really, REALLY obscure f/os. Like yeah man I have no idea who that is but they look decent enough. Yeah man I'd like to see your extremely obscure merch of them from ten years ago. That's cool.
If you're into vat7k, you 100% know about varigo. I'm afraid it just isn't negotiable. However, what if I told you that their side plot romance was actually very important for the development of the story, and essential for it to have a happy ending? Don't believe me? Well, I can prove it.
This post is also on tiktok. If you'd prefer this post in video format, the user there is the same as mine here!
Let's start with Hugo, who is arguably the most important character. I'll explain my reasoning later on. All you need to know is that he's pretty damn important. He's the deuteragonist, after all, and it's for two reasons. One, because he's Varian's love interest and two, he's the only character with direct ties to the protagonists and antagonists. He's a spy. We all know that because he fell for Varian, he changed and became better. By many interpretations, my own included, Yong and Nuru played a role as well. Why is Varian so significant, you may ask. Why aren't his literal friends as important as the guy he has a crush on? Well, there's studies that back up fandom interpretation.
In a study conducted by numerous researchers, they were able to support the hypothesis that long term romantic love can look similar neurologically to its very beginning. I highly recommend reading the study, and I'll place the name of it with my other photos. Along with that, I downloaded the fMRI scan and the collected data from participants, which you can read if you'd like.
The data collected from the study confirms the hypothesis, that long-term romantic love can look like how it does in its early stages. However, the study also compares it to friendship, both with close friends and acquaintances. The results of the study show, "The same regions of the VTA showed greater activation as a function of romantic love scores, measured by the Eros scale and PLS (nonobsessive) items...However, associations with friendship-based love scores, obsession-related items on the PLS and sexual frequency did not show significant effects in the VTA." The VTA, or Ventral Tegmental Area, is responsible for our reward system, motivation, learning, and rewards, often through dopamine. Essentially, the VTA is more active when around someone we feel romantic attraction to, rather than platonic, showing that platonic relationships do not hold that same impact on our brain. That's not to say they aren't important. Connection is what humanity is built on, and if you looked at the charts for this study, you'll actually see that many close friends had close results to the person's partner. HOWEVER, friendship is unlikely to do much in this situation as it is not pre established. With less of an impact neurologically, Hugo is likely going to have an easier time ignoring or pushing past his attachment through manipulation that Donella and Cyrus would present. Believe it or not, Hugo is a very loyal man. He stays loyal to Donella for most of, if not ALL of the journey. In nearly every interpretation, he makes an active effort to stay in touch with Donella and Cyrus. A newly established friendship without a strong neurological impact is not going to be as effective as a new romantic attraction with that strong neurological impact.
The study also states that "These data are also consistent with models suggesting that romantic love is a motivation or drive, differing from basic emotions to the extent that it is not intrinsically valenced (associated with positive and negative emotions), hard to control, focused on a specific target and associated with the dopamine system". The model that this is referring to is the self expansion model, a model that basically says that our connections extend our identity and self concept. Well, this model is often associated with romantic love. In an article by Daniel Dashnaw, he simplifies this model for the average person, explaining how a relationship with the right person can actually provide a better self concept, as well as why breaking up can be so devastating. At the end of the article, he says "What the self-expansion model ultimately tells us is that love isn’t just about comfort or passion. It’s about becoming."
What does this all say about Hugo? Well, it's simple. Hugo falls in love with Varian despite meaning to be a spy. He becomes friends with the others beforehand, but with Varian, he psychologically finds a lot more comfortable with him. His VTA is more active, the right amygdala is less active, and the love he feels encourages a different self concept, one away from the street rat mentality he had to take on to survive. Because the study concludes that the brain reacts the same neurologically when in a long term relationship versus the beginning of love, we may be able to conclude that the same affects are prevalent as well.
Coming the importance of their relationship into the story, we've established that without falling for Varian, Hugo could likely push past most attachment he feels towards the group, effectively betraying them. The keyword here is effective. There are two common interpretations.
1. Hugo betrays Donella first and ineffectively cuts the mission off, tying his loyalty officially to the group
2. He doesn't cut off the mission, but actively works against Donella.
In every interpretation, Varian runs into the library, and Hugo follows him to make it up to him. It's through Hugo's determination that he eventually admits he loves Varian during the fight, which gives Varian the motivation to fight back against his mother and reclaim his body.
Now, imagine, if Hugo didn't love Varian. Maybe if all his doubts were from platonic love, Hugo would still go after him, but the fight would not be likely to go in his favor, especially if Varian still loves him in this scenario. As said before, love can build our self concept, but also destroy it in moments of extreme distress, like what Varian went through here. It's why he gives into Ulla so easily. With unrequited love, Ulla would likely take over Varian's body, and everything is just fucked from there. That's why I claim Hugo to be the most important character, because he singlehandedly causes this, yet fixes it as well, neutralizing the situation.
That's also an important thing - Varian's love for Hugo. It's called Varigo, not "Hugo being gay as shit for Varian" for a reason. Like I just said, Varian would not have won the fight with Ulla if his love for Hugo wasn't requited, or even there. Why? Because as that self-expansion model shows, Hugo is not just a love interest, but a representation of unity, partnership, and Varian's identity and development.
Therein, this implies that while Hugo's attraction is important for his character, Varian's serves the plot. Not only does their love save each other, but the story as well.
Now, we must address my second claim, that without them being a couple, it's impossible for this to have a happy ending. The unity between these two is essential for the plot. In the end, Varian convinces Hugo to stay in Corona, where the two work together and have their own happy ending. This isn't "bad writing", romance can be a good ending for characters. This side plot is a side plot for a reason, and it gets wrapped up in a clear, concise ending. To say that they have every reason to get together and not doing so makes no sense. That's not how you end an arc. Either they're requited and they get together, or unrequited and it ends with one person moving on. The extra possible complexities are still there in between, but an ending usually has one of those two outcomes.
Along with that, with Hugo immigrating to Corona, it gives him his own happy ending. While his feelings towards his home kingdom are complex, it's usually agreed that his feelings are generally negative. Going back would likely just restart the cycle he was in. Varian offers him stability, a promised future, and hope. Hugo does the same for Varian, helping him with unhealthy habits and his work overall. Sharing this workload will also help build their relationship as they overcome these challenges, once again going back to Dashnaw's article on the self-expansion model.
Going back to the happy ending argument, and how romance places, it can definitely help heal Varian. When we go by Erik Erikson's theory of social development, we can actually see that Varian likely did not achieve the positivity and care needed to end up on the right side of this list, specifically with industry versus inferiority, where it's heavily implicated that Varian did not seek the proper connection with his peers. Ironically, this is the stage that can undo the effects of the previous three. Hugo...yikes. Identity versus role confusion did not end well for either of them. However, by the end of the journey, they both achieve what is deemed the proper side of intimacy versus isolation. They quite literally help each other recover from their pasts.
All and all, Hugo and Varian's relationship is essential for the plot of VAT7K. Neurologically, Hugo could not change without Varian. Plot wise, Varian would've never defeated Ulla without Hugo. Their happy endings are intertwined because they are each other's happy ending.
Being a yumeshipper can be odd when you're productive constantly. Yes, the internet believes I have no life and don't pull. Yes I'm doing amazing in school and all my extracurriculars, especially after leaving a toxic relationship
uhhhhh if your f/o has canonically killed, don't imagine them covered in blood but holding your face with a gentle touch! don't imagine the devotion and love they have for you that's almost sickening! and whatever you do, don't imagine the quiet rage they feel seeing someone treat you wrong - like just barely keeping themselves from ripping that person apart! (they'll probably kill that person later whoops :P)
For those thinking about suicide... Please don't do it.
If not for anything else, because your F/O would notice, and they would miss you throughout every remaining second of their life.
They would never be the same, nothing could ever compare to the joy and reason you've brought to their life, without you they don't know what to do with themselves, they don't know how to be happy or how to live their own life.
Things can get better, give yourself time to get to a good part of your life, you deserve it.
