My Personal Rules for Writing ToBecky in Word Up
Hello all! I want to have a serious talk about ToBecky.
About a year ago, on my main blog, I made a post talking about how I feel about the ToBecky ship, how I am a ToBecky shipper, but often feel guilty about it because the ship is toxic at it's core, and just giving my analysis on the ship. Here's a link if you want to read it.
In that post, I mentioned that I would eventually reblog it on this blog and talk about how I would be addressing these issues in Word Up...
Well better late than never right? I might reblog my post later, but for today, I want to share some rules I've come up with for myself for writing Word Up.
My goal here is to present a healthy relationship between these two, not whatever toxicity would realistically result if they had gotten together in the series. And this is no attack on other ToBecky shippers, and by no means are these rules something I'm commanding other's to follow. For the fandom, I want us to have fun but still think critically about things every so often (not just ToBecky, not just other ships, but other aspects of the show too), and for me personally, I want to make sure I write a story where toxic and unhealthy behaviors and relationships are not glorified.
EDIT: I also want to post this so that you all reading can hold me accountable to these rules!
I also may add to this if I think of more Although not gonna lie, I kinda hope I don't think of more because I worked really hard trying to condense this as much as possible lol
So here we go, here are my personal rules for writing ToBecky in Word Up (In no particular order)
Tobey being good needs to be his choice. No one turning him good, no "he just needs friends and people who love him" He is responsible for his own actions and life
Tobey needs to be held accountable, take responsibility, and feel genuinely sorry for all his actions. Past, present and future
Tobey needs to earn his position as a good guy. He needs to prove he's good. He needs to care about people, not just the people he loves, but other's as well. He needs to make up for what he's done. Trust first, romance later
Becky's opinions and perspectives matter, and she doesn't put up with any crap from Tobey
Don't downplay the seriousness of Tobey's villainous past, or his character arc
No major power imbalances are allowed. Small ones, sure, as long as they shift between the two of them, and they still have equal say in decisions
Tobey never tricks Becky for personal gain
Becky and Tobey are their own people with their own lives, views, hobbies and flaws. They both respect this and don't try to change each other
Explanation as to why they got together in spite of their messy history (And they should explain it to their kids)
They genuinely enjoy each other's company
They find healthy and responsible ways to express their emotions and sort through conflict
They are supportive of each other, but also understand that they are responsible for themselves, not the other person
Again, these are just rules for me, I am not going to ask other members of the fandom to adopt these same rules. That being said, anyone is willing to use these rules if they wish
Special thanks to three friends for helping me come up with these ideas! @animation-is-my-jam @newsiegirlscout and my irl friend