#and introducing more dynamics with them and mc :)))) | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

lizzybeth1986 · 6 months

Text

Liam and Olivia: When You Prefer The Side Character To The Main

Series - TRR's Alternative LIs: The Romances that Didn't Happen

Previous: A Brief History of Alternative Romances in Choices

A/N1: My apologies for the length of this one! There was a LOT to explore, and even more that I had cut out from my initial draft.

A/N2: This essay operates on the premise that Liam is not the "favoured LI"/"golden boy" of the team - an argument I have made in detail in other Liam-centric essays. I am not interested in arguing those same points in my comment box/reblogs. Visit the Liam section of my meta masterlist if you want to learn more about that.

CW: Mentions of non-consensual kissing. Mentions of the plot against the MC in TRR1. Very fleeting mention of the "infertility subplot" TRH pushed onto Hana.

(Screenshot from HIMEME's YouTube channel)

As I mentioned in the previous essay, TRR (along with ES, to a far smaller extent) was the only series that seemed to make an attempt to pair even their popular LIs with another character. It also was (along with TCaTF) one of the very few books that hinted at an alternative romance in the first book itself.

This section of the essay series will perhaps be the longest, since Liam x Olivia got the earliest hints, and was built up first. While the other three pairings were introduced or hinted at in Books 2 and 3, the reader got to see glimpses of a possible Liam x Olivia pairing from the finale of Book 1 onwards.

Why An Alternative LI?

TRR is, essentially, a story that hinges on the likelihood of an arranged marriage. The character that makes this entire story possible, Liam, is expected to pick a bride by the end of his social season, whether he is ready for marriage or not. The ending of Book 1 itself ties his ascension as a king to marriage.

(Screenshot from Skylia's YouTube channel)

To prove Madeleine's point, the finale actually shows us that until he picks a fiancèe, he literally won't be addressed as king, but still as Prince Liam. So while this point does get heavily retconned later on in the series, the original story itself required Liam to be married sooner than any of the other LIs.

But Liam's story doesn't just hinge on needing a good Queen for his kingdom. His arc - at least in Book 1 - involved learning that being a good king doesn't mean he needs to sacrifice his own desires or romantic sensibilities. If that were the case, he could have just been stuck with Madeleine. No - the story was supposed to be about Liam learning to validate his personal aspirations without hurting his political position. It was essential then that the woman he picked was someone he either was already in love with (the MC), or someone he grew to love over the course of the series.

When you take this context into account, having an alternative romance becomes not only convenient, but essential.

And if the MC doesn't choose Liam as her endgame...who better for this "romance" than an old friend who has always held a torch for him?

A Romantic Rival

(Screenshots from Skylia's YouTube channel)

As most of the fandom remembers the first book and the trajectory of the Liam and Olivia relationship in it pretty well, I'll try not to go into too much detail. The Olivia of Book 1 has two parallel storylines: the one with the MC, where they first start out hating and then learn to like each other...and the one with Liam, which begins with Olivia assuming she will win the social season, but becoming more and more resigned to the MC's chances of winning as her position in the competition declines.

There is obviously a lot more focus on her dynamic with the MC, for two reasons:

1. Until the MC chooses an endgame, an LI will never show more interest in another person. It will always be the alternative LI whose interest initially drives that side-story. Making an LI reciprocate that interest can result in a negative impression of them, as fans could potentially believe that their love for the MC is not genuine or special. This is the case for all LIs in the series, not just Liam.

2. Narratively, the first book wants to make Olivia's love for Liam their big character reveal. It is the first time Olivia actively opens up to the MC, and is canonically the beginning of their "friendship". So very little emphasis is placed on her emotional attachment to Liam until the Coronation (with her cactus gift and her confession to the MC before leaving), and even less on how Liam feels about her.

Whatever little we do get of Liam and Olivia's dynamic before the finale is focused on their childhood friendship. We learn from Liam that she was a sad, lonely child when they met, heartbroken by her parents' death and the negligence of the aunt who was supposed to raise her. Her attachment to Liam emerges from his support of her when they were children, and we later learn in TRH that he not only supported her, but often empathized with young Olivia and comforted her in ways that didn't give away her vulnerabilities.

Olivia claims at the beginning of TRR1 that "everyone just assumed Liam and [Olivia] would get married one day". Given what we learn later about Constantine and the Nevrakis family (and the fact that no one backs Olivia's claim at any point in the book), it is possible she was exaggerating. But it is also true that until the MC gains more popularity and Madeleine makes her entrance, Olivia is assumed to win the social season quite easily. In the same way that Madeleine is positioned as the "political" rival in Book 1's story, Olivia is viewed as the "romantic" counterpoint to the MC.

From Liam's end, there is actually very little shown about his thoughts on Olivia. It is clear that he cares for her, wants the MC to think well of her and understand her circumstances. While as a child, he comforted her when she was called a cactus by reminding her that they were tough plants that no one messed with; as an adult he is pained by her vindictiveness towards people who haven't even harmed her. There is plenty of grounds here for some sort of relationship, but enough there that shows why the MC who will marry him would be a slightly better fit.

The second half of TRR1 focuses on softening Olivia to an extent - having her and the MC optionally bond over their dislike for Madeleine (who is viewed as the "bigger bad" at this point) and having her only occasionally approach Liam for his company. Her feelings for him come to the forefront only during his Coronation, around the time she withdraws due to the blackmail exposing her parents' attempts to assassinate King Constantine.

This moment in the series completes Olivia's transition from antagonist to a possible friend. The reveal that Olivia loved Liam all along ensures that the MC can sympathize with her for not getting the man she loves, and allows the reader to envision her as a future ally.

To some who already vouched for a Liam-Olivia endgame before the finale, this moment was a confirmation. To others who didn't exactly see Olivia's actions towards Liam as rooted in affection, this moment was a revelation. Whatever it was, this moment made her extremely popular in the fandom.

But this scene also had a more important purpose - it provided players not interested in Liam, a possible out from the situation. The ending of TRR1 hinged on Liam choosing the MC as his future bride, then being forced to accept someone else when the scandal broke out. Book 2 allows the MC to explore what she wants without the expectations of a social season. The prospect of a titled lady who genuinely loved Liam being his potential endgame would make it easier for fans of other LIs. It sounded like a perfect ending for everyone.

The (Unwanted) Kiss, and What It Says About the Fandom

(Screenshots from Danni Stone's YouTube channel)

A scene that often gets ignored (or conveniently forgotten) when discussing Liam x Olivia in TRR1, is the kiss in Lythikos.

The Lythikos Ball in Ch 8 is already a social battleground of sorts for Olivia. She wields her power as hostess here - monopolising Prince Liam's company, and humiliating the MC and her friends with the worst seating and ice-cold food. Things come to a head when - while dancing the Cordonian Waltz with Liam - she forces a kiss on him, completely disregarding his ability to consent.

I use these precise words to describe this incident for two reasons. First, because canon refused to do so. Second, because most of the fandom refused to do so.

Different characters in the story respond to this incident in different ways. A shocked "what a bold play!", a sarcastic "Olivia's growing up, how sweet", and an enraged "she's gone mad with power here!" emerge from the ladies of the court - all focused on Olivia's intentions and actions. None of these responses ever address Liam's end of this situation.

Even more interesting are the options the MC is given to address the situation when Liam speaks to her later.

(Screenshots from Danni Stone's YouTube channel. This is the second dialogue option)

She either speaks to Liam like nothing happened, or engages in victim blaming. Personally I think both options are as bad as each other. Neither of these options include "are you okay?" or "were you comfortable with that?".

Liam's answer to the MC's (optional) accusations is perhaps the only time the issue of consent is even barely addressed (and even here Liam is duty-bound to think of Olivia's welfare over his own comfort). It is appalling that it takes the MC practically victim blaming this man for that to happen. And it is equally disturbing that Liam's response is so apologetic, so contrite, as if this entire situation was his fault.

The kiss is viewed as a number of things in the book: an affront to the suitors who have no power in Olivia's estate, or a political blunder. But what does it mean to the man who had this kiss forced upon him? Would he really feel comfortable or safe around her again after that? The writers clearly didn't know, nor did they care. And most of the fandom was only too happy to follow suit.

The few times this kiss was spoken about amongst the fandom, the question of consent was barely ever addressed. The kiss was either brushed aside as unimportant, seen as an indication of the "love and passion" Olivia had for Liam, or viewed as a manifestation of her jealousy towards the MC. Liam is sometimes seen as "clueless" for not "noticing Olivia's feelings...I mean, she literally kissed him!!" All of which could be true, but it doesn't erase the fact that his consent was never given, nor his comfort with the situation ever considered.

It is doubly ironic given the fandom reaction to the MC's plight in Applewood, after Tariq attempts to kiss her without her consent (though this situation involves significant privacy violations and dark conspiracies, and Liam's does not). The MC's situation was (rightfully) viewed as horrible and potentially traumatising, and many were upset that the emotional impact of it wasn't adequately addressed in the story. It wouldn't be surprising if Liam's situation wasn't viewed on the same level - given the difference in contexts - but the fandom and canon rarely saw this as something that happened to him, without his consent.

Ironically, the fandom never really considered Olivia planting a whole smacker on Liam's mouth as possible "proof" that she could engage in creepy, entitled behaviour...but they did often view Liam as "creepy" for...complimenting diamond-option outfits, or saying romantic-coded dialogues that the MC would reciprocate by default (again - I don't deny this is a problem and those lines should have been coded properly. However one cannot deny the doubt standards here). Olivia was the one who forced a kiss on the object of her affection in canon, but Liam was the one who got so many "abuser" and "harrasser" (and worse!) depictions in fanfic when TRR2 and 3 were out.

I will be addressing this particular scene again in another context, in a later essay in the series. I would like my readers here to not forget this scene, or the (lack of) outrage around it. It would be helpful to ponder over why Olivia's behaviour here is largely viewed as no big deal, especially when other side characters (and at least one main character) could be villainized for far, far less.

Olivia and Liam in TRR2 and 3

(Screenshots from Skylia's YouTube channel)

TRR1's finale and TRR2 show a small shift in Liam and Olivia's dynamic. Now that he is engaged, and in love with a woman who isn't Olivia, their interactions become sporadic and awkward. To ensure that Liam won't be viewed as a cassanova, the narrative keeps their interactions to a minimum. Group scenes that involve Liam often leave Olivia out, and group scenes that involve Olivia exclude Liam.

However, to address the "romantic potential" from TRR1's finale, the book shows Liam and Olivia interact in at least one scene in Ch 10. Here, they have a short, stilted conversation that leaves Liam concerned about Olivia's well-being, and that makes Olivia grieve over her unrequited love for him to an equally concerned MC.

Olivia's story in TRR2 largely centers around establishing her character (snarky, prickly, warriorlike. Much of this is actually a deviation from her writing in TRR1), strengthening her relationship with the MC, and integrating her into the core group.

Olivia's feelings for Liam get addressed again after the MC makes her final choice of LI. The MC's acceptance or rejection of Liam's proposal results in a bit of tension between the two women. If Liam is the MC's choice, Olivia admits to her heartbreak despite being truly happy that Liam has found love. If not, she reveals a slight resentment that the MC could so easily throw away the love that Olivia so badly wanted. The narrative allows Olivia her complicated, ambivalent feelings towards the Liam x MC match, and expects the MC to understand and sympathize. By default.

If you don't choose Liam in TRR3, his romance with Olivia does start here. And by this I mean that Liam is now allowed to reciprocate her affections.

(Screenshots from the Skylia YouTube channel (Drake playthrough). The screenshots aren't in order. 1st Liam x Olivia scene is the handholding at Applewood (5), 2nd is dancing at Vegas (1st two), 3rd is Liam asking Olivia for a dance at the finale ball (middle two), and the last is Liam asking Olivia out (6))

Even in the playthrough where Liam is marrying the MC, his default is to trust Olivia, show her kindness and staunchly defend her to people who suspect her motives. Liam advocates for her innocence in TRR3 Ch 2, even as her family becomes one of the prime suspects. The MC may vouch for her by choice...but if she does choose to suspect Olivia, it is Liam who pushes back against the idea.

By this point, the MC and Olivia can cement their friendship if the former has worked on gaining her trust. If not - the book has already created an inbuilt mechanism to ensure Olivia's loyalty anyway. It is tied to her gratitude and affection for Liam, the one person who consistently believed in her from childhood. Whether the MC makes an effort to win her approval or not, Olivia respects her. Her emotional attachment to Liam as an old friend, and loyalty to her king, ensures that her support is gained by default throughout.

Outside of his own playthrough, though, the narrative does slip in a few extra scenes where Liam shows an obvious romantic interest in Olivia. It's small - he isn't exactly yelling from the rooftops that he loves her - but it is definite progress where he seeks her out for support, dances with her and eventually asks her out to dinner at the finale. The scenes are few but prominent, and leave no doubt to the reader that Liam fully intends to court her.

So...why is Liam still single in the Drake, Hana and Maxwell playthroughs of TRH?

Writer Bias

When you read enough interviews and watch enough livestreams from the TRR team, one thing becomes very, very clear. They love their TCaTF callbacks. And no callback is more beloved to the writers than the repurposing of Zenobia Nevrakis' sprite to create her descendant, Olivia.

In this section, I will focus in particular on Kara Loo, COO of Pixelberry and one of the head writers of the TRR/H/F series. Going by several interviews and social media posts, Kara wrote most of Olivia and Drake's scenes and dialogues (along with "some of the Prince's speeches"), and was in fact the driving force behind how Olivia's character came to be, in the original series.

"...when we were creating Book 1, we wanted an evil redhead to be your antagonist, and Kara said, "Oh, what if we used Zenobia, but the twist is she's a Nevrakis descendant?"" - Jennifer Young, Looking Back on The Royal Romance (Sept 2018)

Kara has openly admitted before to having a fondness for Olivia's particular character type. In an interview with Daily Dahlia, she spoke of Val, one of the TCaTF LIs, in glowing terms that perfectly fit the way Olivia has been written as well:

"I love writing Val Greaves in The Crown & The Flame. I love writing for characters that are a little meaner and will really just say what they’re thinking, even if it isn’t exactly tactful." - Daily Dahlia's Interview with the Pixelberry Crew (Sept 2016).

The love for mean (and white! Don't forget white) women among the team, is pretty clear when you look at the kind of reception TRR's mean white women get.

Notably, Kara does have the occasional nice thing to say about Liam too. In an interview before the release of TRR2, she spoke of how "considerate and loving he is", how "there is nothing mean or selfish about him". As a Liam fan who kept seeing him bashed left and right after the TRR1 finale, those words initially felt like a massive relief.

But now, seeing the way the team treats nicer and more diplomacy-oriented characters in the series, this fulsome praise for Liam's selflessness gives me pause. It reminds me too much of how most of the team swore up and down that Hana would be their choice of LI to marry in a livestream, at the same time that they were slamming an infertility subplot on her in the books. Looking back with the knowledge of how the writers would treat Liam later, praise like this seemed less focused on finding him lovable, and more on ensuring that he gave constantly to the MC without ever getting much in return.

While Liam's treatment is not as bad as Hana or Kiara's, one must take note that the team - esp the head writers - have never really hesitated to throw Liam under the bus or retcon entire chapters and backstories to make characters like Drake seem better than him (eg. The narrative choice to have Drake claim Liam was leading the MC on when they first met in TRR3, which has led to more than one attempt to rewrite the bachelor party).

Part of this could be attributed to just the fondness for a specific character type. But I do think that with Kara in particular, ideology also plays a role in her preferences. There are at least two interviews from the team where her liking for darker, more violent storylines has been mentioned. In TRR3 the team affectionately called some of their brainstorming sessions with Kara as "Kara's trail of bodies" (one idea was to kill off Madeleine in Lythikos), and in the TRF livestream they mention that she initially wanted a war storyline.

This leaning towards a more militaristic mindset shows...in the care that Kara takes for Olivia's dialogues and especially her spy scenes (tho such scenes actually don't contribute much to the plot). In contrast there is a subtle disdain for the more diplomacy-minded characters shown in scenes where Olivia's ideologies are measured up against theirs (eg. Any scene where Hana and Olivia are supposed to work together, or the vast difference between the "valiant" Lythikos tournament and the "ridiculous" Castelserraillan flower competition in TRH3).

Even though it is often the diplomacy that saves the day at the end, the framing always highlights the militaristic way of thinking more positively. Given that Kara writes a lot of Olivia, and a fair amount of Liam, it's pretty obvious now where her (and the team's) particular bias may lie.

Because of this bias, it became far easier for TRR's writers to lean into popular fandom myths when it suited them, or pander to a particular section of the fandom. Which is the subject of my next section.

Fandom Entitlement

Olivia often has two types of fans - the ones who wanted to ship her with their MCs in canon (and couldn't), and the ones who wanted to be "bestieeeees!" with her. The frustration of the former was rooted in the fact that wlw had only one romantic option, but I will not be talking about them.

The latter were found in plenty among the Liam, Drake and Maxwell stans - all of whom either viewed her as an ally to win over (Liam), or as someone to push onto Liam, so they could romance the men they preferred in peace (mostly Drake and Maxwell. Some Hana stans but not as many).

As I'd mentioned in an earlier section, Olivia's final scene in TRR1 allowed people who didn't want to romance Liam, to envision a narrative 'out' for themselves. By the time Olivia reappeared in TRR2 Ch 5, she'd gained a cult following among many, many fans. A lot of them were actively rooting for the start of a romance between Liam and Olivia, and very few resented her for her feelings or begrudged her past actions.

But there was one downside. The intent among the majority who rooted for this pairing, was more about "getting Liam out of the way", than any actual romantic potential. Because of this, certain Liam x Olivia stans (ironically, the Drake romancers were the loudest voices in this group) felt a ridiculous level of entitlement towards this pairing.

A number of readers insisted on having Liam fall for Olivia immediately, wanted him to show feelings for her instantly, and complained when he didn't do so while his (optional) romance with the MC was still on.

Olivia's sad, longing gazes in TRR2 propelled many a reader to complain about what an awful situation poor Olivia was in and how insensitive and uncaring Liam was (even in the face of screenshots that clearly showed him worrying about her desolate mood). One of many examples comes from a post in Feb 2018 - a Drake stan's written walkthrough of TRR2 Ch 10, and ironically the following lines were made above a screenshot set that clearly showed Liam noticing how sad she was and worriedly asking the MC about that:

Liam finds you and as always, can’t help fawning over you. This time Olivia is right there and he is like, Oh yeah, Olivia, you are too here, hi. She definitely notices, gets upset, and leaves because she really does love him and she is third choice at best.

This was not the only one. There were multiple posts like these, and they often positioned Olivia as a figure of sympathy, yearning for a love that would never be hers. Liam in these readings was always positioned as someone who "didn't care" and later, "didn't deserve Olivia".

When he did start showing an interest in Olivia in Book 3, it went largely unnoticed by most of the fandom, even though he was romancing her in at least 3 out of 4 playthroughs. There were very, very few posts made about any of these romantic moments. Instead, from Chapters 3 to 10 of TRR3 - where Liam didn't show any indications of heartbreak re: the MC - certain Drake/Maxwell fans made posts complaining over his not pining over the MC, or theorizing that some of his friendly attempts to educate the MC about the country had to have been done with more than friendship in mind.

This section of the fandom often got insane amounts of pandering from the writers themselves. When TRR3 returned from a hiatus post Ch 9, we were suddenly hit with more scenes involving Liam's "heartbreak" (it featured sporadically in all three of the other playthroughs, but you could tell it was tailor-made for the Drake one because it got referenced there waaaay more) before the big battle with Anton. Fandom spoke far more on these scenes than on the ones they got for Liam x Olivia.

What was completely missed was that such "heartbreak" scenes happened because there was a demand from readers who weren't even Liam stans in the first place, and the same stans didn't hesitate to flip and label him "desparate" or "pining" or write fanfic where he was an absolute creep in response to a thing they asked for!

As for talk of the Liam x Olivia ship post TRR3, the phrase "sloppy seconds" started to be used often to address the pair after the series ended, and there were quite a few posts claiming that Liam didn't deserve such an incredible woman like Olivia.

(Edit Source: the playchoicesconfessions Tumblr blog)

Using the pining subplot that nonLiam stans had asked for, some of the same people would insist that Olivia "deserved better than to be sloppy seconds" (at some point after TRR3, I noticed that even some Liam stans would say the same!). This argument often came hand-in-hand with the lie that Liam never cared for Olivia enough (as one can see in the edit above). It also often hinged on the premise that the MC was Liam's first love, that he wouldn't (and shouldn't!) ever get over her, and that anyone else would rank as second best to him. And while I agree that Olivia deserves a partner who would wholeheartedly love her, this argument seemed to come from people who were eerily reluctant to imagine Liam leading a happy life without the MC.

Tbh, the fandom at large has always had a very confusing relationship with Liam as a character. I wouldn't be exaggerating if I said that from TRR2 onwards, making Liam a scapegoat was a very popular reading from the fandom. He was often expected to live up to impossible standards - way more than the other male LIs - and criticized incessantly for dialogues and action that the other two could easily get away with.

Many fans were (rightfully) frustrated by how Liam could have romantic lines by default (which the MC would by default reciprocate, to their chagrin) all through TRR1 - while ignoring romantic default dialogues from Drake - but also complained when Liam responded more calmly than expected to her rejection of his proposal. They also didn't like that he could be largely neutral/merely friendly towards the MC for most of TRR3. Damned if he didn't, damned if he did.

I'm not saying that this was the viewpoint of the entire fandom. There were people - yours truly included - who pushed back against such a biased view of this pairing. Against a view that insisted on centering only Olivia's feelings, while either badmouthing Liam for not returning her love, or ignoring the times when he did. There were people who pointed to canon for proof that he cared.

But enough voices vouched for this other, more unsavoury reading that "Olivia deserves better than to be Liam's sloppy seconds", that it became quite popular. That it became the accepted view in canon too, when the writers began work on TRH.

Olivia x Liam (not), TRH and Beyond

As we all know by now, Liam x Olivia did not happen in TRH. After a dance and an invitation to a date in the finale, Liam was back to being single and uninterested in any romantic relationships (like all the other LIs). It went to the point where he was ready to appoint the MC's future child as his heir (heir apparent, not presumptive. The fandom mockingly dubbed him "Rumpelstiltskin" for this). At the time, I imagined that perhaps the narrative was trying to erase the pair altogether, since no other LI got paired up either. It would be fair.

This wasn't exactly the case. In fact, in my opinion, what they managed to do was much worse.

(Screenshots from the HR Gameplay YouTube channel. Liam is renamed "Rayden" here)

Savannah's bachelorette (TRH1 Ch 7) has the MC and the ladies "address" certain pairings that were hinted at in TRR3. One doesn't get addressed at all, one addresses the LI by name only if the playthrough isn't the one where the MC is married to him.

Olivia's is the only one that got addressed regardless of whether the MC was married to the man she had wanted or not. And looking at the scene now, I really, really wish they didn't write it at all.

If the MC encourages Olivia to talk about her feelings for Liam, the latter shows anger and resentment over Liam not choosing her twice over. This, despite the fact that he did attempt to date her the previous book. This, despite the fact that he never indicated interest until he actually felt it. This... despite the fact that not returning the feelings of someone who likes you romantically is a normal, natural thing that said someone should accept without judging other person!

In fact, the fandom was more than willing to view other LIs "not returning feelings" as normal, natural and blameless...so why did only Olivia get sympathy and praise for her unrequited love, and why did only Liam have to be criticised for the same?? Even in THIS scene??

Liam x Olivia would not be referenced for 3-and-a-half books after this, until the very end of TRF. Over the course of the series, the team tested her compatibility and possible chemistry with at least two side characters. One was Jin, the Auvernese spy that Olivia fights with in TRH1 Ch 19. While they did seem to have some banter in the first book and a smattering of scenes in the second, interest quickly died down and Jin was written out of the story once the Auvernese royals' scandals were exposed.

TRH3 then hinted at Amalas x Olivia as a pair, peppering hints as early as the introductory chapters. There had been a few murmurings among the fandom for the same, since a number of wlw were fond of Olivia, and people liked headcanoning her as bi or lesbian (in fact, when the team claimed in a TRH1 livestream that having Olivia as an LI would "soften her" too much, the fandom protested). Amalas x Olivia was met with more approval than Jin x Olivia, and in TRF you could encourage Olivia to ask either Liam or Amalas for a dance.

Liam himself never got any other options for romance (understandable, none of the LIs did), and in fact had several aspects of his story chipped away, chunk by chunk, to benefit other characters. In the end, Liam is treated like Olivia's "alternative LI" than the other way around.

It was a pretty ironic ending for a pairing that people felt so entitled over in the beginning. After years of protests against Olivia being Liam's "sloppy seconds" just because he chose her after being rejected by their MCs... the narrative didn't mind treating him like some sort of "consolation prize" (one of two) for Olivia. And as expected, nor did the fandom.

Conclusion: Could This Pairing Have Worked?

Much as I dislike it now, I did think Liam x Olivia had some potential back then. Politically and emotionally, Liam and Olivia were opposites in many ways. There was a lot you could explore. Their background history and the sweetness of their childhood story had the potential to add layers to their dynamic.

But for a pair like Liam x Olivia to work, romantically, some things would need to change:

1. Respect in the writing room for both their ideologies, not just Olivia's. If you view one with adulation and the other with disdain, that will eventually show in the writing. These two could have been a solid power couple if the team could just set aside their boners for violence and knives once in a fucking while.

2. THE KISS. If you're going to have that kind of a scene around, especially in the context of TRR1's larger story, it needs to be addressed. From Liam's point of view. With Olivia openly regretting it and atoning for it, and Liam getting to choose how to handle that. It isn't just enough to assume they spoke offscreen, and then pretend the forced kiss never happened or that that violation meant nothing.

Olivia was wrong. Olivia crossed boundaries. Olivia disregarded Liam's consent. Liam was the victim here, not the person the MC should be shouting at - even by option.

If a romance should proceed between the two, that kiss deserves to be addressed with a lot of sensitivity and respect to Liam's own experience.

3. BALANCE! Between their perspectives, their viewpoints, their beliefs. Which would only be possible if you equally valued both characters.

4. Respect for Liam's feelings and his romantic choices, whatever they may be. Liam knows what he likes best. Him not returning Olivia's feelings is not a crime, nor does it make him any less of a caring person. Him falling in love a second time, seeing an old friend in a new light, should have been embraced as a concept.

Loving someone else deeply in the past shouldn't make his feelings for his second love any less genuine. But most of the fandom adopted such a way of viewing the Liam x Olivia relationship because it allowed them to pity Olivia and blame Liam (again) - and the team validated those sentiments out of excessive care for one character, and a lack of it for another.

Changes like these four would have definitely made for a better-written alternative romance. But given the kind of team and the fanbase TRR had, none of the changes I mention here would ever have a hope of becoming a reality. Olivia is too popular, too beloved to her writers and fandom, (and too white!) to be viewed with even this much of a critical eye. And tbh, once the fandom has marked a character (esp a character of colour - customizable or not) as a scapegoat, they would enjoy bashing them too much to stop. From then on, it would only be a matter of which excuse, which nitpick, which set of double standards, would work best.

Liam and Olivia had potential. And the narrative was able to get that story to the point where the two could at least have a first date. But team TRR squandered all its future possibilities in the mad rush to pander to a portion of their fandom, with a clear bias for the side character...and so we will never know how a more balanced portrayal would've looked like.

A/N3: I have quoted posts that have actually appeared on Tumblr, but without any identification marks. All of them are one among many such posts - either lost to digital decay or hard to find. I do not want to call out any of the individual posters - I want to make it clear that many of these posts are indicative of a fandom-wide problem. Do not try to find out, or harrass, these posters.

Next - Maxwell and Penelope: When You Like the Side Character So Much, You Gift Her A Shiny New LI

#essay series: trr's alternative LIs #the royal romance #the royal heir #the royal finale #king liam #liam rys #olivia nevrakis #trr meta

102 notes · View notes

devildomwriter · 2 years

Text

Satan Birthday Fun Fact Special 100 Facts

1. Satan had a pet Flame Salamander but it preferred Simeon so he allowed Simeon to have him (it later ran away from Simeon)

2. Satan was once allowed to have a cat but kept bringing more until you couldn’t see the floors of the house. He has been banned from having a pet cat since

3. Satan is considered the safest option for MC to date by Lucifer

4. Satan has some control over Cerberus thanks to Lucifer teaching him

5. Satan belongs to a rare book club but advises all new members to make sure Mammon isn’t following since Mammon was banned

6. Assuming all humans are the same, the first valentines card Satan appears in he offers to kill someone for MC and attempts to give them rare jewels and other treasures

7. Satan’s wrath alone can shake buildings

8. Satan is stated to still be going through his rebellious phase. All his brothers agree.

9. Satan was born shortly after the fall from the celestial realm but due to being part of Lucifer he has memories of the celestial realm and of Lilith

10. Satan loves beautiful things according to his card though this isn’t addressed much in the game

11. Satan loves going to art museums

12. Satan has connections with literally everyone. His brothers are often surprised by this, even Lucifer

13. His brothers compare him to a cat since they never know when and where he’s going to show up

14. He has a giant inferiority complex due to Lucifer and feeling like his copy. Through the levels Satan has gotten better but still feels this way on occasion

15. Satan is the most openly sexual out of his brothers when it comes to encounters in the game

16. When lost in a forest, Satan took the opportunity to try and have sex with MC but they were interrupted by Beelzebub

17. Satan is rich enough to buy clothes worth as much as a house and discard them without a second thought

18. Satan checks a cat blog as the last thing in the day before bed so he has energy for the next day

19. In one chat Satan says someone he’d be attracted to someone with a mutual understanding of anger

20. Satan once strung up Mammon when he secretly recorded him

21. Satan’s feather boa is a nod to being created from both Lucifer’s wrath and the wings he ripped from his back

22. While most people don’t like things being thrown at them, Satan is worse. In a pillow fight he blew up about getting hit in the face and was even angrier when Asmodeus sent a picture of it to Solomon. Mammon once threw a piece of trash at his head and hid in the woods out of fear.

23. Satan likes chunky red bean paste over smooth because it has more bite

24. Satan despises baby talk not directed at animals. He was extremely angry when Asmo was using baby talk

25. After his birth, Satan was taught everything by his brothers. Due to Lucifer’s new harsh behavior contrary to his pre-fall brotherly behavior, Satan only saw this dark side of him and unfortunately it had the largest influence on him

26. Despite his rank at fourth brother, he is the youngest, and aside from MC is the youngest character in the game. In Issue 3 of the RAD newspaper the devs say Luke is youngest but this is in terms of physical appearance/mental age and contrary to many in-game details

27. Solomon and Satan get along very well and share a love of books, knowledge, and especially cats

28. Satan goes to a cat cafe often but is annoyed that they seem to prefer Belphegor over him

29. Luke was extremely surprised that Satan’s kind act was all a fake. Lucifer even immediately warned MC of Satan’s deceiving appearance the moment they were introduced

30. Satan originally approaches and “befriends” MC to use them to annoy Lucifer, this relationship dynamic eventually changed to affection and admiration

31. Satan covered his student laptop in cat stickers and did the same thing to Belphegor’s

32. Satan’s antagonistic behavior with Lucifer is shown to be an impulse as he also wishes to dedicate less time to Lucifer but does so anyway

33. Satan admires Solomon’s intellect and wishes to catch up to him

34. Satan cherishes relationship anniversaries and special dates of remembrance

35. Satan’s motto is “Wisdom is the treasure of all generations.”

36. Satan in B’s Log is said to easily be able to openly express his feelings

37. Satan likes the bitterness of dark chocolate

38. It’s been confirmed by Asmodeus that contrary to his behavior, Satan does care about and look up to Lucifer

39. The gray cat Satan is seen with most often is names Sir Cat

40. Satan has successfully pranked Lucifer multiple times. The most significant event being when he transferred his pain and side affects from Solomon’s cooking to Lucifer who declares he will get him for this

41. When Beelzebub’s mind became that of a cat Satan found him to be oddly cute

42. Satan let’s Belphegor sleep on his lap because Belphegor seems to really enjoy it

43. Both in the human world and Devildom Satan feeds hoards of cats

44. Multiple times Satan has made a move on MC in front of other people, once when Beelzebub was asleep and again when Mammon passed out

45. Satan starts his baths by washing his left arm

46. Satan in B’s log is said he has things he is jealous of when it comes to his lover

47. Satan is a fan of the artist Dantalion

48. Satan gets sleepy after eating lunch

49. Satan has taken MC to art galleries and events multiple times in the games

50. Satan’s greatest dream is to have a cat

51. Satan says for relationships with hardships he chooses to face them passionately

52. Satan’s favorite show is Mid-Fall Murders, a parody of Midsomer Murders

53. Satan’s book piles have fallen and trapped him on multiple occasions

54. Satan is a good artist

55. Satan’s daily goal is to pet a cat

56. In B’s Log, Satan is said to take the active role in Love and wants to bind and monopolize his lover

57. Satan loves classical music, especially symphonies

58. Satan is a night owl and has said si himself. Often it is because he looses track of time reading.

59. Satan likes to make his own Christmas ornaments—they are all cats

60. Satan is a confirmed sadist

61. Satan has said his room is not a mess and he knows where everything is

62. Satan enjoys going for walks at night

63. Satan believes Easter is the perfect day to throws eggs at Lucifer

64. Satan agrees with Lucifer that Luke is like a dog

65. Satan sometimes wonders if Mammon is the most decent of them, though he hasn’t stated why

66. Satan isn’t aware humans count sheep to go to sleep and mistaking it believes it’s crows

67. Satan loves Ska Music believes it’s appealing no matter age or gender

68. Satan has never won a game of chess against Diavolo

69. Satan is one of the worst drunks according to Asmodeus

70. Satan is most trusted by Asmodeus

71. Levi asked Satan for a Cherry Crush once but Satan gave it to some cats saying they wanted it more

72. Raphael made Satan extremely angry by pointing out he reminded him of Lucifer right to his face

73. Satan once got angry when Lucifer said it made no difference if he did the paperwork or Satan bug later it was revealed it’s because Lucifer trusts him and knows he will always do a good job

74. Asmodeus believes if Satan ever becomes truly angry the world will end, this belief is shared by most of the Devildom

75. According to Beelzebub, Satan looked at him reproachfully for eating a cat shaped pancake at the Cat’s Eye.

76. Satan and Luke like the Devil Animals TV Show, and they watch it together when Luke comes over to the house of lamentation. Belphegor once found them absorbed in a scene of a cat swiping at a zombie iguana

77. Mephistopheles and Satan have a chat where 9 times out of 10 they devise plans to ruin Lucifer, gossip about him, complain about him, or discuss rumors about him

78. Satan once gave Lucifer a scarf but it was cursed to grow for eternity so he immediately burned it

79. Satan visits the demon lord castle archives very often

80. Satan is the only one of his brothers to have been born a demon

81. Satan put cat towers in the backyard, hoping to entice cats to play in their garden. Since he isn’t feeding them he claims he’s not breaking the no-cats-rule

82. Satan saved Luke from falling down the stairs. Luke called him an accursed demon but Satan later found candies on his desk

83. Satan is knowledgeable in Venus flytraps, and told Mammon they like stuffy humid places

84. A convenience store put out a capsule toy machine with kittens. Satan was afraid of everyone would think and got MC to go with him

85. Satan unknowingly wore face-changing mask that made it appear he was smiling, Lucifer chose not to do anything, worried about what Satan would do to Mammon if he found out

86. Satan gave cursed candies to Lucifer once but it didn’t affect him much and Satan was “distraught” according to Mammon

87. Satan once suffered a curse that made everything look like cats. According to Barbatos he wasn’t bothered at all

88. When MC was practicing wash granting they made a giant cat for Satan

89. Satan fell asleep with a cat under a tree and ended up covered in petals, solomon thought it was cute

90. At least five of Satan’s outfits involve cats

91. When Beelzebub ate cat food, Satan got mad as he saw it as stealing food made for cats

92. Satan reports everything his brother’s get up to to Lucifer

93. When Belphegor fell asleep in his soup it was Satan who decided to clean him up and tuck him into bed

94. Despite Belphegor being bad at drawing, if it’s of a cat, Satan can tell what it is down to the specific cat breed

95. Satan finds that cleaning the kitchen is stress-relieving, this was recommended by MC

96. Satan borrows manga and light novels from Levi

97. Satan blew up when Belphegor admitted he accidentally spilled something on Satan’s book and left it that way

98. Satan’s brothers all began apologizing to Satan in fear for their life when he casually read a torture manual in the cafeteria at school

99. Satan laughs when remembering the time he strangled a bunch of demons on his first day of school

100. A child once ran into Satan while he visited the human world. He helped the child but the child blamed him and went crying to his parents who started yelling at Satan. Satan put the fear of god in them and finds it hysterical, proudly sharing this story

#obey me shall we date #obey me birthday #obey me satan #omswd Satan #obey me fun facts

690 notes · View notes

crimswnred · 8 months

Text

LITG SEASON 7 — STICK OR TWIST: FIRST IMPRESSIONS

a bunch of opinions no one asked for!

ok, so first things first, things I really hate:

MC design. I'm sorry, she's UGLY. she's also too skinny. I hate her teeth when she smiles. plus, where is her hairline?

our outfits. I know they add more literally every week but the ones we have for now are ugly. I just liked the yellow nightwear (?) combo.

no, actually, the hairs and piercings and jewellery are also awfull. it feels like season 4 again 😭

the other girls design. I think the one I like the most is Uma, I think she's pretty although her pose is weird at. but Summer is ugly and Bonnie's design looks rushed.

the season is short as hell with like 33 episodes

now, things that I like:

I'm always optimistic at the beginning of the season, it's my nature, I'm sorry.

all the girls feel unique and they talk in unique ways too. on season 6 all the girls always seemed to say the same things and think the same with only like 2 stand outs (flo and ivy)

the boys have relationships and dynamics among them! like, Bryson and Joyo hate each other. Raf and Alex are really close and talk highly about each other (for ex, when Alex said he would love to introduce Raf to his nephews).

all the boys feel unique too. I don't know if they have unique dialogue, but I think Raf does since our chats always somehow mention Daphne. I need to snoop around a little more.

but their personalities are very different from each other. plus, I think like I know A LOT about them already.

MC's personality. oh my god, she's not obnoxious and annoying like the last 3. I think she's flirty and fun and I loved how she replied to the guys when I wasn't choosing dialogue. she talks like a normal human being, THANK GOD.

also, the episodes were long af. love that!

about the characters:

Uma is my girl. she made a mistake, she apologized, we are good. I like her A LOT, she's confident, she's fun, she's easy going and she's friendly. I think she'll be the "mom" of the casa girls.

Bonnie is also great. I think she's chill and mature and funny. she doesn't really gaf and she's sooo into us (if you're bisexual) to the point she's just twisting to be with us in the villa. she gets along well with the boys and the girls.

Summer. well, she's The Bitch™ of the season. We need a villain and I'm guessing she's ours. She doesn't seem deranged like previous ones, though. she's a Casa Girl and Casa Girls want to get to the Villa, right? can't blame her.

first boy I'm gonna mention is Joyo. I'm not really a fan. he gives me player vibes with his mysterious façade and the whole Geri thing that happened to Bryson.

and I like Bryson. I always have a thing for the Funny Boy™, you guys know me, so it wouldn't be different this time. he's not my first option but he's A option.

Alex is a golden boy. def husband material. I KNOW he'll be a fan favourite. he is chill, easy to talk to and wholesome. all his chats were great. I think he really comes across as trustworthy. one of my options, as well.

now, MY BOY. Raf is ever cuter than I thought he would be. he's so sweet and I find his loyalty admirable. he reminds me of a previous islander (haha and I think you guys know who). he's just... my type.

this is it. would give it a 8. great start if you ask me. but it's fusebox so chances are they will fuck it up in no time

#litg #love island the game #litg s7 #litg season 7 #litg stick or twist #💬

95 notes · View notes

little-emerald-snake · 8 months

Text

Kinktober Day 10

Master/Slave - Sebastian Sallow X F!MC

🔥NSFW 🔞 MDNI

1.4k words

Sebastian tapped his foot eagerly, his all black pants, dress shirt, and vest blended into his surroundings, a dimly lit club where lightly thumping trance music filtered from the walls around them.

His friend who’d brought him tonight, Ominis, sat across the deep red booth from him. Sebastian had specifically been invited to be introduced to another regular of the club and they awaited her arrival while silently tucked into the booths with a glass of whiskey each.

The club was sort of underground and usually only accepted members after heavy vetting or by recommendation of other members. Ominis, being a long standing member of the club, had met up with his long term friend Sebastian and over drinks the mention of the club had slipped out.

They’d ended up in a long discussion about how Sebastian had been looking for a short term slave/sub for a while and Ominis had said he’d put in a good word for him.

Ominis had also mentioned the name of a regular who typically leaned into slave play, the regular definitely had her fair share of fun times with other club members but she’d never been able to find a long term partner to engage in this type of more involved play with.

Sebastian was mid sip when a gorgeous girl in a green mini dress and black heels approached them. She politely introduced herself before sitting down beside Sebastian in the booth. The three of them chatted for a while. She and Sebastian clicked right away and Ominis made his leave once his friend had successfully invited the girl into his lap.

The two of them flirted and drank, getting to know each other and trading their likes and dislikes with each other. Sebastian was surprised at how much their interests aligned, smiling broadly when she asked for his phone and typed in her number. After that she’d thanked him for the drinks and asked if she’d see him next week, to which he nodded.

The two had flirted non stop over text ever since. Innocent getting to know each other texts turned to texting about their fantasies they’d wanted to explore. She even went so far as to send him a mirror selfie of her sitting in bed in lingerie with the caption ‘wishing I had you here to tell me what a pretty slave I am’.

The photo was unexpected and almost instantly made him rock hard as soon as he opened it. He’d teasingly responded by sending her a winking emoji and the word ‘soon’.

The next week they met up at the club, she’d only lasted one drink before taking his hand and leading them to the ‘play rooms’. He’d never seen this area of the club but Ominis had mentioned it was a place in the club where people could rent a room for a few hours and try things together without having to go to their homes.

Once inside he’d been too wrapped up in taking in the atmosphere to notice she’d done something he’d mentioned liking, kneeling at the foot of the bed and waiting for his command patiently with her palms flat on her thighs. He’d smiled, crouching next to her, taking her chin and tipping it up so his eyes met hers. “What’s your safeword, princess?”

Her lips parted, tongue dating out to wet them as she thought about it. She’d been so eager to give herself to him she’d forgotten how good a safeword would do in this dynamic. “Charm.”

He’d nodded, committing the word to memory as he stood, rounding the bed to take a seat on the edge. He placed both hands behind him, leaning back on them casually with a smirk on his face. “Come kneel in front of me, I want to tell you my rules and you’ll repeat them back like a good girl. Okay?”

She nodded sweetly, sinking down to her hands and knees as she crawled to him across the plush carpet. He put on a lazy smile, reaching up with one hand to undo the top few buttons on his shirt as he leaned on the other. Finally she stopped, kneeling between his slightly spread legs. “I'm ready.”

He leaned back on his hands, easily letting his eyes slide over her beautiful figure. “I will serve, obey and please my Master.”

She repeated his first rule clearly and obediently, a look of excitement in her eyes as she did so.

He nodded, pleased with her obedience. “Above all else my primary focus shall be to please my Master, hoping that he finds me pleasing in all that I do, whether I am in his presence or not.”

She repeated just as she was asked, true sincerity in her voice as she repeated it word for word.

He nodded, moving on to his third rule. “My Master knows of my potential, learning more about me each day I am with him. He trusts that I will act in accordance with what he perceives of my potential.”

Her eyes lit up as she repeated them, his rules were far better than any master she’d experimented with before and she could tell he used her input while making his rules for her.

He could see the emotion in her eyes and it brought joy to him that he’d made her very specific rules. “I trust my Master. His responsibilities, his skills, his hunger and needs, and his concern for my safety, my emotional, psychological, social, sexual, and physical health.”

She smiled, eager to repeat his rules and allow him to collar her. She was going to stay with this man and never leave him. This, she was sure of.

He could see her happiness. He’d used her past experiences and things she liked to build a very specific set of rules just for her. It was proving to be well worth his time. “To receive pleasure I must earn it.”

Her eyes flashed with excitement at the mention of earning pleasure from him.

He leaned forward cupping her chin gently while saying his next rule. “I am an instrument of great value that my Master will use to draw out his pleasures as well as mine.”

She leaned into his touch, keeping her eyes on him as she parroted his rule back, denying the urge to close her eyes.

His tone turned sultry as his hand released her chin and his finger trailed down her chest. “I will ask my Master for permission to satisfy whatever sexual need I have before acting on it.”

She knew this meant she’d have to ask him for permission to pleasure herself without him which both made her nervous but brought heat into her belly at the thought as she repeated them.

He loved this rule, one of the things that turned him on so much about being a Master and giving a ‘slave’ great pleasure was the endless breathless thanks he could coax from bliss inducing pleasure. “I must always give thanks to my Master for all I am given immediately after receiving what he has given me, for such things as gifts or privileges granted to me by him.”

Heat rose to her cheeks as she repeated this one, she knew from their conversations that this was one of his favorites.

He gently tipped her chin up again as he said this one. “I must be both specific and explicit in my speech when talking about my needs. Whether they be sexual or otherwise.”

She struggled with asking directly so she didn’t like this rule at first but he’d assured her when they talked about it that it was mostly to help her be able to stand up for herself and ask for what she needs in everyday life. In a way, all his rules were tailored to benefit her.

He smiled, pulling out a black braided choker chain with a simple heart in the middle of the front and a discreet lock in the back. “I must wear the collar my master presents to me at all times unless I’m told otherwise. I will not tamper with or disable the lock at any time.”

She smiled brightly at the chain he’d picked out for her. It was simple and beautiful, just what she wanted. Something discreet she could wear anywhere without it being obvious what it was. She repeated after him and held her hair out of the way as he placed it around her neck.

He gently placed the collar around her neck, clicking the lock into place with a smile. He pulled back and admired her, loving how pretty she looked with his collar around her neck. “You look beautiful, and now you're all mine.”

Kinktober Prompt List

#hogwarts legacy #hogwarts legacy smut #kinktober #kinktober 2023 #writing challenge #hogwarts legacy fanfiction #sebastian sallow #sebastian sallow x mc #sebastian sallow smut

85 notes · View notes

sleepsentry · 10 months

Text

Hoooooooooboyyyyyyyyy...

I've spent most of my years in the gravity falls fandom as a kid/teen.

And I kinda resent seeing adult fans turn a comforting kids show about embracing your inner kid and not being ashamed of fun, into a dramatic, petty morality obsessed, soap opera...

Like- its really uncomfortable the way most of the adult characters are depicted in fanon, it doesn't feel "more realistic" it feels like the adult fans are kind of ashamed of any interpretation that isn't "acceptably mature".

______

For example: The way Stan and Ford are turned into the worst versions of Batman.

Stan and Ford are often depicted with a subtle but important edge that isn't necessarily present in canon.

Especially in fanworks wich focuse on them instead of the broader family.

As if their softer, goofier sides are just a front for the sake of the kids rather than fundamental parts of who they are as characters.

They're not.

They're just as important as their more "serious grown up moments"

Stan and Ford aren't adult characters in an adult show, they're adult characters in a kids show and their silliness is essential.

Their approachable, softer, kinder, moments, are vital, as authority figures in a show where the intended audience is expected to relate to the children they are responsible for.

Their vulnerability and screwing up is an important aspect of the show, showing kids that adults don't know everything and it's important to question them when they make mistakes.

"Adults are often just as afraid as you are and it's OK for them to express that, it's also important that they don't make it you're responsibility to deal with" is at the core of the way Stan, Ford and most adults in the show are depicted.

It's a comforting and affirming theme to have in a show about two kids on the brink of losing that childhood wonder, or at least afraid of losing it.

As Mabel says:

"They got... stupid. Promise me we won't get stupid."

______

I've seen so many adults make these characters more "adult" to appeal to them and it isn't even bad, it's just uncomfortable... it feels wrong.

Fiddleford is another adult character that I often see treated like this:

A lot of depictions of younger fidds I've seen (especially within the context of shipping him with ford) basically turn him into a conflicted love interest lady having an affair with her negligent boss in a stupid 80s movie-

I'm not getting into how fiddauthor is being used as a "safe ship" by the broader fandom and being stripped of its nature as a character dynamic and used as a tool to excuse morality based shaming and harassment by grown adults over stupid cartoon men-with cucumber shaped noses

It gives off similar vibes to certain queer peeps appealing to homophobes by throwing less "digestible" queer people under the bus and its not that serious its cartoon shipping for fucks sake

it's so uncomfortable when you remember he's a silly little hillbilly man.

His name is FIDDLEFORD.

MC. GUCKET. (•□•)

He's got depth and serious moments for days but he's also introduced screaming and jigging and slapping a sandwich out of someone's hands.

He contains multitudes withing his vegetable shaped head.

He's not Ford's frustrated underpaid secretary (as funny as that sounds)

______

Emotional depth and maturity aren't exclusively adult things.

The bloody "Goofy Movie" isn't suddenly an adult film because it has moments of quiet maturity and melancholy, along-side the expected goofyness.

That sense of quiet maturity isn't age locked in reality and I'm so tired of it feeling like it is.

It's not wrong or bad to depict more mature things with a story and characters aimed at kids.

But I think it's very disingenuous to dismiss the lighter elements in favour of the moments that "go over kids heads" they don't.

Even if the kid doesn't understand the adult joke, they can tell something is off and it's annoying how smug grown ups are about it.

I know Gravity Falls itself has that tone so I might aswell be complaining about fire burning or ice melting.

But it's taken to such extremes that it makes my inner kid feel like grown ups are twisting one of the few things I have and making it about themselves again... that's uncomfortably personal and petty I know.

But the reality is, that's been my experience for the majority of my time in this fandom.

Only in the past few years have I grown out of the "baby fan" vibe and it's going to shape my reactions to fanworks regardless.

______

For another example cartoon characters swearing isn't bad.

But it's jarring when adult behaviours (which more often than not means behaving like an ass) are superimposed onto child friendly characters, and these behaviours are taken for granted as "more realistic and natural" it's just... like no that's not true.

There are adults who don't like swearing or drinking or smoking, there are kids I knew when I was little (11 - 14) who enjoyed doing all those things for better or worse.

Seeing Teenagers complaining about 40+ year old characters being "infantilised" or "UwU-ified" as if grown ups can't be vulnerable is just saddening.

Adult female fans complaining that male characters aren't "man enough" is kinda scary to be honest, especially when those softer depictions are usually from teens and maybe even young boys/men in my case.

The problem is behaviours and perspectives are so strictly coded and enforced that even in a sub-community of a sub-community you get people enforcing arbitrary codes of conduct or depiction.

It's a kids show.

Relax.

He said to himself as much as whoever bothered to read this far.

I'm gonna go have a glass of water and some fresh air, if you've read this far I'd recommend doing so too but also, despite the tone of this wall of text, I'm not your dad.

#gravity falls #not art #rant #text post #long post #im being a killjoy again

85 notes · View notes

dhiings · 4 months

Text

𓇼 ⋆｡˚ 𓆝⋆｡˚ Jane w/ HYBE Artists ⋆｡˚ 𓆝⋆｡˚ 𓇼

જ⁀➴ Nana (actress) x Jane

Relationship Dynamic : mother-daughter at the same time older sister, " Nickname given by Jane for Nana : jinah eonni Nickname given by Nana for Jane : nuki

• Nana first met her when jane's crouching down in pledis's old building's bathroom. She found her silently crying, it was breaking her heart. Jane was comforted by her. From there, nana always checking up on her if she's doing okay or not. • Jane always said that Nana is someone she look up to and is the literal definition of angel sent by God. • Nana’s mothering jane. But, also at the same time, she’s like an older sister she never have. Gossiping with each other. Asking about romantic advices. • It could be seen that they hang out with each other a lot, even when seventeen haven’t debut. Everytime jane is stressed out, nana always invite her to have a picnic at han river. • Sending each other a food truck, flowers, or gifts as sign of support.

જ⁀➴ Baekho (Nu'est) x Jane

Relationship Dynamic : strangers to friends, "i always thought you could eat someone alive, but turns out... you're just a hello kitty" Nickname given by Jane for Baekho : baekho/dongho oppa Nickname given by Bakeho for Jane : jein/soonok

• They know each other because they are under the same company. Yet, they're not that close, they just know each other's name and bowed to each other. • Later on, they finally get more close after bumping into each other at a gym place (this is when pledis haven't acquisition with hybe). From there, they started to get closer with each other. Despite that, they doesn't hang out that often. • There are many interaction of bakeho and jane captured during The Game Caterers 2 x HYBE.

જ⁀➴ Yeonjun (TXT) x Jane

Relationship Dynamic : friends to hang out with, silly, "i think i can tackle you down" "you wanna try?" "nvm" Nickname given by Jane for Yeonjun : yeonjun Nickname given by Yeonjun for Jane : jein/soonok noona

• She got to know him because of dino. Their first meeting is when jane needs to grab her phone in one of the dance studio, which txt's currently using. She was accompanied by dino at that time. Knowing that dino and yeonjun are close, he decided to introduces yeonjun to jane. After that, they just kept running to each other coincidentally. Then they decided to just hang out together (the three of them). • During, The Game Caterers 2 x HYBE, he teases her because she can't answer a simple question. Then, when it was his turn, he can't answer a math times table. Jane got her revenge by teasing him endlessly. - ep 2-2, 16:29

જ⁀➴ Jiwon (Fromis_9) x Jane

Relationship Dynamic : adoration, friends, "i'm finally seeing somone" "stop being delulu, i know it's one of your male fiction collections" Nickname given by Jane for Jiwon : jiwonie Nickname given by Jiwon for Jane : soonokie

• Being ina co-ed group where there's only 1 female member, make her thrilled knowing a girl group will son join pledis. • She mentioned that, "You know, when i was a substitute of m! countdown's mc, i saw fromis_9. They are soooo beautiful like a fairy goddess. Even when they're not wearing any makeup, they still look so pretty. I even got one of their number and start befriending her." - Vlive 201018 • They made lots of tiktok videos and challenges together when they hang out.

જ⁀➴ Jay (ENHYPEN) x Jane

Relationship Dynamic : "i mean it's crazy" "what?" "we finished each other's s--?" "sentences?" "bruh, you haven't watch frozen aren't youH" Nickname given by Jane for Jay : jay Nickname given by Jay for Jane : jane (sometimes w or w/o noona)

• Got to know each other (more than just saying 'hi' or bow) through nikki. His very chill to be around (so american style), it wasn’t hard for jane to adjust and become herself. • When they’re around each other, they always talk in english. • Many moments of them talking and whispering in The Game Caterers 2 x HYBE. • Jay’s actually the one who tell both jake and jane that they went to the same high school.

જ⁀➴ Nikki (ENHYPEN) x Jane

Relationship Dynamic : 'swag kids', developed crush, "you're so cute" "me? i mean you are cuter though. wait, i mean- no i mean- no.. yes? no?" Nickname given by Jane for Nikki : nikki Nickname given by Nikki for Jane : jein noona

• Jane rooting for nikki during i-land and belive in him that he could debut too. • Before i-land even happened or broadcasted, they had met before. When nikki wants to go to the audition in the hybe building, he got lost (ofc, that building is sooo huge). Then, he abruptly ask to a stranger to ask for direction, that stranger happened to be jane. Seeing him stutter, mixing both korean and japanese together in a same sentence, jane confidently strike up a conversation in japanese. Hearing the "stranger" could talk in japanese make him felt soo relieved. • Nikki develop a slight crush on Jane. He would secretly glance at her direction when she's in the same room/show with him.

#𓇼 svt-jane's #kpop female oc #seventeen 14th member #seventeen imagine #seventeen female member #seventeen x svt! reader #seventeen added member #seventeen female oc #seventeen x oc

32 notes · View notes

yuri-is-online · 2 months

Note

So I’ve got to ask, would you recommend Tokyo Revengers from your experience so far? Does the story and characters outweigh the (alleged) obnoxious currency system and money grabs?

So my gut reaction is to say no, I do not because I just cannot feel comfortable recommending this game in the state it's in, but I am going to make a pros and cons list to help maybe give you (and anyone else curious) a basic idea of where my head is at right now and help you make your own decision.

Cons

THERE ARE NO CAMPAIGN REWARDS. I cannot stress that enough there is nothing being given out to day one players to help you get started, and honestly it's super hard. Saving up for pulls feels like a foreign concept, there are so few opportunities to earn gems I have no real idea how I would even start building a stash let alone a team with the few characters I currently have. They don't give you a free SSR like twst does to help out, just the free SR from choosing your guy at the beginning though they do have a paid free SSR function. Now Twisted Wonderland does too, but like I said they give you a free one with unlimited re-rolls at the start.

Someone actually did the math about pulls and I agree with their assessment here: the cost isn't the worst I have seen in a gacha, but when you couple that with no free SSR for f2p, lack of reliable way to earn gems and I can feel it being a nightmare if the game progresses any further without a re vamp of some sort.

There really is no point to the combat or team building in this game beyond being a road block between you and the story. It's full auto which could be neat if there were nice animations but there aren't. It really might as well not be there, and that's before you get to the SSR rates...

Neither Pro nor Con

You might have noticed the above reddit user talking about the distinction between joseimuke vs otome and the reason for that is way back when this game was first announced it was supposed to be an otome game, which implies a level of explicit romance and relationship between the MC and the characters that is not typically present in joseimuke games. The current version of the game has a cast that seems to have completely changed, both character and voice actor wise. The stated reason for this and the delay was "changes in the market." It was originally supposed to be based off of Tokyo Ghoul? And was supposed to release in 2019, but was delayed until 2020, then put on indefinite hiatus until it's release now.

On an unrelated note, OG Obey Me! was released on December 11, 2019, Twisted Wonderland was released in Japan on March 18 2020, and Genshin Impact's world wide release was on September 28 of the same year. Make of that what you will.

"Yuri why did you bring up Obey Me?" Well Solomon's ring is introduced as a plot device... which could be interesting if they are going the direction I think they are with it but I don't know if I have enough faith in them for that.

The Pros

The characters in this game are honestly really fun. I really do mean that, I am not sold on their dorms/houses but the dynamics between the characters themselves are good for what they are. But the tone is very goofy compared to Twisted Wonderland (despite featuring more explicit topics) and I don't think these characters are as well developed as twst's are, but I think that can be chalked up to one of these games having been written by a manga author and the other having not.

I am a little bitch who hates horror stuff and is easily spooked but I really love how they are using modern internet horror monsters in this game. The first book features a creepy pasta monster that I was legitimately afraid of as a kid and I love their take on him. This second book features a ghost from a popular Japanese creepypasta. I'm a sucker for people being creative and using things that have become a part of popular culture without making it cringe, and I think this game succeeds at that.

Wrap Up

This entire situation has made me think about two animes I really like that I think sort of fall into the same dynamic as Twisted Wonderland and Tokyo Debunker. The first I am sure you have heard of, it's called Komi Can't Communicate and follows a girl with trouble communicating who really wants to make friends, and ends up accidentally befriending a guy who wants to help her out. The manga started being released in 2016 and is still going. It's quite good and I like it a lot.

The second is a little show called Aharen-san wa Hakarenai. It's manga started in 2017 and it received an anime adaptation around the same time as Komi san was being adapted. It follows a girl who has trouble communicating who really wants to make friends who accidentally befriends a guy who wants to help her out. I have no idea if Komi-san inspired Aharen-san nor do I really care because once you get past the generic set up, the routes the story takes are completely different as are the personalities of the characters. Komi is a slice of life and coming of age story in addition to a romcom, whereas Aharen is just a straight up romcom with a really cute main couple. There is room for both to exist because both stories do their own thing, just with a similar premise. There really is no reason Tokyo Debunker and Twisted Wonderland can't do the same, provided TD gives itself room to breathe and fixes it's damn grind.

Well assuming it picks up in Japan, it doesn't seem super popular over here right now.

#<3 asks #tokyo debunker

18 notes · View notes

beyondthegame · 8 months

Text

Update 2. — 25th September 2023.

My writing update for this story is that writing is happening! Admittedly not as quickly as I’d like it to, but it’s happening.

Even though Twine makes me want to bang my head against a wall sometimes, I understand why writers are such a fan of it.

In Beyond The Game because the media/social media is such a big element with the mc becoming more and more famous, depending on the choices you make, your mc will see what written about them in the press. I used Twine’s customisation to make what’s written about them look like a real article (sort of), and it’s my favourite feature of the story so far.

Two of the ros have been introduced in game so far, and of course it’s the two that the mc already knows—Milan and N. I’ve also written their first flirt options ♡ too. They’re such different characters: one loves the mc and the other hates them, so it’s funny writing them and their dynamics.

I’ve also introduced side characters! I plan to make a post about who the side characters are, personalities, their relation to the mc etc. closer to demo release, but in the intro post I mentioned that there can be hook-up options separate from the main ro you choose to romance and there are a few side characters that I look at and think “hm, maybe you and the mc could work…for like one night only.”

I originally wanted a late September release, but I started university again today (a masters degree…pls save me!!) and considering I want to put out a good amount of demo content, a September release won’t be possible.

Crossing our fingers for getting this out in early/mid October!

PLANS

Finish chapter one.

WORD COUNT

18.7k

#beyond the game #progress update #me thinking 20k is not enough for a demo release Asdfghjkl

42 notes · View notes

wuffgang-ameowdeus-moozart · 10 months

Text

I think that the complaints about Vickie are less "she is too similar to Robin" (bc girl literally had half a scene of screentime. we have no idea who she is.) and more "once again there are only two (2) explicitly queers in the show (I will always be a Will should've come out to Jonathan truther) so of course they will be forced together".

She was only barely introduced. It feels a lot like the only reason she exists is so Robin can be with someone. The Duffers already have problems dealing with their current (pretty big) cast, it does not bode well for Vickie's characterisation tbh (I'm sorry, I love him as much as the next person. But Argyle's one (1) personality trait is literally. Weed. So it doesn't seem improbable that Vickie's one (1) personality trait would be becoming Robin's girlfriend. Which would suck for obvious reasons. Also, like. They are already infamous for their treatment of queer(-coded) characters)

It would also take away from stobin time, which is an already established dynamic everyone (if you don't you are simply factually incorrect sorry not sorry) loves. The cast is huge, the Duffers will have to pick and choose who they want to focus on, and it seems way more probable that those will be the established mcs (Will & El especially) and not Robin's side-character love interest. I mean, it would honestly be bad storytelling if they did that in the last season.

Especially since the straight romances are so good. Lumax? Absolute banger. The early Stancy development? So good. Jancy? Pretty sure there's a poll out there about how they are one of the most well-liked couples. Mileven? Multiple seasons establishing groundwork before they even get together. To have Vickie not even be a character before she is thrown into a relationship with the only lesbian feels a bit like a slap in the face. Like, at least Steve had a bunch of character development after the breakup but that can't happen with Vickie because it's the last season and they really have other stuff to worry about 😪 Like, idk, at least everyone else had a choice, which is part of what makes those romances so impactful (lumax, jancy, etc etc), while Robin - on the count of being a lesbian and Vickie being the only other sapphic character - really.....doesn't.

(Plus maybe it's the aro in me speaking, but I found it kinda cool to have a canonically queer character whose story arc is not completely focused on romance for once)

I also think this part of the reason why ronance got so big. Nancy already *is* her own person. Nobody can look at Nancy and say "her only personality is being queer" or "she's only here so Robin doesn't end up alone because we obviously need to pair everyone off somehow". A relationship between them would be another facette of their development, not the one thing that defines them. (Like. Her being bi is literally the only reason Vickie is even in the season. Sorry not sorry.)

But I mean. The season isn't out. We barely saw the two interact. My expectations are already below ground level. Maybe they will surprise me.

#i hope this doesnt come off as discourse or mean it was just an observation #analyzing what my feelings regarding this are and putting it into words #tbh i personally would rather robin and vickie be queer bffs than girlfriends. but. once again. very aro #stranger things #robin buckley #vickie stranger things #(she doesnt even have a last name 😭)#robin x vickie #ronance #stobin #st s5

65 notes · View notes

lurksunderthebed · 7 months

Note

Hi, I saw that you had a discussion about the queerness of our beloved characters. I really hope you’re not tired of that topic, because I wanted to add another point.

First of all I don’t really care. I really like the dynamic between most of the characters, especially Ghost and Soap, but I don’t care if it’s interpreted as besties or lovers. I think both is fun.

I just wanted to add that maybe all of the MW story feels so fucking gay, because we lack cool women? We have Farah and Laswell, but let’s be real Farah is basically married to Alex (I thought they were a couple at first) and Laswell is married to a woman. Now people go great lengths to ship the male characters with female villains, who only appear in a small fraction of the story and have no real chemistry. I mean they can do whatever floats their boat, but I don’t really see the point here.

Which leaves us with a bunch of man ‘flirting’ with each other vor comedic value. I think given this and the points you already said on your account, I think it’s even a bit intended that most of our characters might not be the straightest.

Sure, a bunch of straight men can exist without women and still be straight and the military still might not be the most women friendly institution, but I think having more girlpower would have been an easy way to make everyone appear more straight and the devs didn’t go that route sooooo… (I still would love to have more cool women, but that’s another topic)

Anyways, I hope you have a good day and I wanted to add that I really enjoyed your character analysis posts <3

Ahh thanks for enjoying my analysis posts. 💞🥹 Honestly, I'm still surprised people are reading them lol. (And asking me about it haha)

But yes, I don't think I'll ever be tired of the ol' queerness discussion. It's a fun topic to debate especially with these characters in this particular game.

Controversial take, but I actually don't think adding any extra female characters would've been helpful in making the 'gay' go away.

(gonna be a long discussion here, settle in if you want to read it haha 😅)

What we have to put in mind, is that this game wasn't made for the female audience. The vast majority of the people buying and playing it are going to be male. That's the facts. It's going to cater to men.

A game made for men is going to have a majority of those characters be male. Adding new female characters in a REBOOT series is a delicate task when a good chunk of the population playing have played the OG and want to see legacy characters back (which are all male—the OG was all men).

That means that when we look at why certain things are framed and why there aren't many female characters, and especially why there isn't much of any confirmed (het) canon romantic ships between any characters, it's because the game itself isn't focused on it.

That same vast majority of men don't actually care about ships in general and with people trying to be more progressive, any female characters introduced are painstakingly written to omit any overt possibility of romance. In one sense, it's a welcome change from the action movie style plot line where man + woman = relationship with the women being just side characters/window dressing to the MC.

Women here are shown to be tough, that they don't need a man at all. They have their own agency. It's pretty nice actually that they did that. None of the female characters are infantilised nor is there a sense of them being there to "check boxes" in the minority bag. They make sense in the framing the game has placed them in.

But we do have this interesting dynamic whereby removing the romance factor, but having female characters in a setting that most are conditioned to read as man + woman = relationship, it de-emphasizes heteronormality and actually emphasises the relationships between the core characters.

And with a game full of men, that means the relationships between men are going to be the focal point.

Adding extra female characters, wouldn't have changed any of this, because the writers have gone out of their way to not make romance a plot of any sort. (There's a whole other discussion on the flaws of trying to give women agency/proving strength of character, but by doing so, taking away their sexualities by removing any sort of romance, but that's beside the point)

I think there's also an argument to be had that meaningful relationships with others don't have to necessarily imply romance between characters. It's totally fair to be sick of always having romance injected in to these sorts of relationships. That's an extremely valid take.

But there most definitely is a double standard that everyone is operating on. And we see that when we compare Alex/Farah's relationship with Ghost/Soap's.

Alex's most meaningful relationship is with Farah. He sacrifices himself for her cause and loses a leg for it. He comes back and stays by her side. Most people assume to take it as Alex is in love with Farah. We never see any type of flirting between the two. In fact it's mostly Farah testing Alex and looking at their dialogue you can tell there's respect between the two, but anything more is undefined/up for interpretation.

Yet it's just assumed by virtue of Alex and Farah being man + woman, that they must be together because of how much Alex had sacrificed. Completely ignoring the possibility of Alex doing so because he believes in Farah's cause and was sick of being jerked around with no choice by higher ups who largely didn't care about the suffering of Farah's people. Suffering that the man had personally witnessed. But no, he must be in love with her. (If Farah was a man, their whole relationship would be read as platonic with Alex's beliefs as a focus, not him being potentially in love)

Ghost's most meaningful relationship is with Soap. Soap has changed Ghost's whole MO as a lone wolf, and has challenged his very notion of trust. Ghost tests Soap and is proven wrong when Soap survives despite the odds. We even see them have plausible deniability flirting/snark. They are framed as a unit and on the off times (off of missions in cutscenes), they are always physically together. There's definitely respect between the two, but anything more is undefined/up for interpretation.

By itself, their relationship seems innocuous, but looking at the context we see a very different picture. Context matters heavily in seeing how this relationship has changed Ghost/the importance of it to him. It's assumed that Soap is the first person in god knows how long, that Ghost is emotionally attached to. What constitutes a normal, albeit flirty and snarky, friendly relationship for most, is amplified for Ghost in the glaring fact that he really doesn't do this for anyone else ever. As far as we can tell for a man that appears to live his job, Soap is Ghost's most important person.

We can even arguably say that Ghost and Soap had a flirtier, friendlier, more emotional relationship than Alex and Farah ever had, yet it's assumed (by the male audience) to be completely platonic by virtue of them both being men.

For all those people who argue to stop shipping characters, those same people turn around and are completely implicit in the notion of Alex and Farah being a thing.

It's a really annoying take, because you and I know that it's not the romance they're bothered by. It's the idea of having a character that exemplifies the silent male loner badass archetype as anything but the pinnacle of masculinity. IE, totally and utterly straight.

I feel I could go on about all the ways Ghost surprisingly subverts his archetype, but I'll leave it there. This is prob already too long 😅

But yes, having new cool female characters is always good, but it still wouldn't settle any sexuality debate since they would most likely be written without any hint of romance between the core 141 group and that potential new character. Just like how Farah and Laswell, as you said, have been both removed completely from the romance/sexuality debate, any new female character would also be put under similar framework.

I suppose it would just make them appear more straight (and get rid of all the speculation) if they had a new female character added into 141, but I don't see the point of adding a new character for that sole purpose. And tbh, it would come across as insulting to women if they did for that one reason.

Given how little character development we had in the latest game, I heavily doubt they would introduce new characters at all when they barely showed anything of the current ones we have already. We need more development of the characters we have, adding someone new would arguably take away from building proper relationships/dynamics between the characters we do have currently.

But yeah, heh. I'll stop for real now. If you got this far in my latest Ted Talk™, kudos to you good sir 🫡, you have all my love ☺️

Hope you have a great day too nonny, and I hope this helps with the discussion. Feels like I went off on too many side tangents. 🤔🤔🤔

#ask #ghostsoap #soapghost #cod mwiii #john soap mactavish #simon ghost riley #ghost x soap #simon riley #call of duty #soap x ghost

27 notes · View notes

ohmotherwhereartthou-if · 5 months

Note

ROs dynamic with their little daughter/son in the future?

Hmm, I already answered what kind of parents they would be so I am going to treat this ask how would they be like with their first child if it was a girl or boy. 😄💙

Cassandra: She would be happy with either a girl or boy, but I see her having a girl first. She happy to raise her just as she was raised, a very comfortable life but with the strict upbringing to recognize that with that comes the expectations to serve others in your community. She wouldn't be as harsh as her dad in the second part but would remind her kids that their family comes from wealth because of their grandpa serving the people and keeping them safe. She is loving and nurturing but I see her daughter acting out quite a bit, definitely favoring MC and antagonizing her mom whenever she can. That hurts Cass a lot because she does do a lot for her daughter, she remembers all of her favorite things as they change constantly over the years, she spends lots of time with her and she has gone to great lengths to give her the best education money can afford. She wants her daughter that there is nothing in this world she cannot do, nobody that can tell her that she does not have a place that she belongs in. Cass would shatter the glass ceiling for her daughter and do anything to make her dreams come true.

Valeria: I see her having a boy despite her (and her mom) praying throughout the entire pregnancy for a girl. She has grown up around a lot of boys and is bummed that they continue to out number the women in the family. Though she obviously loves her son, she pushes him to follow his dreams knowing that his mom supports him 100%. He will be an absolute mamas boy too, loud like the majority of his family but will throw toddler hands at anyone who bothers his mom. MC included. His mom is his best friend and he tells her everything, he would probably get picked on by other kids for being so close to her but it's okay, his big scary uncles know how to fix such problems. 😊👍🏽

Tomás: He definitely has a sweet baby girl as his first. She is the light of his life, alongside MC of course... although the way he looks when he holds his baby girl; it's like the rest of the world just disappears. She is his little princess that looks at her dad like he hung up the moon and stars, he makes or buys her anything she wants and she is so sweet about it. Tea parties and princess dancing is what she wants and is exactly what she gets from him. It breaks his heart anytime she cries, and she is distraught whenever daddy isn't home. Him getting anything done without her tagging along is a whole damn mission, it usually ends with him giving in and taking her with him everywhere he goes. It becomes a common sight to see him walking down the street with his little girl holding his hand or sitting on his shoulders. Definitely gets jealous of MC getting too close to her dad, get grows out of it eventually but he finds it so funny and cute; makes a whole scene of kissing MC and telling them he loves them in front of her to piss her off. She absolutely hates him when she is a teenager though, he is so overprotective she wishes he would spend more time getting all kissy face with MC and leave her alone.

Ludovica: Words honestly can't justly express how gentle and loving she is with her kids. I see her having a boy first, from the moment he is born or first introduced to her; she is vowing to protect this baby boy from all harm this awful world could ever try to throw at him. She is so tender with him and he grows to be a very sky and soft spoken young man, I can see him getting very dependent and scared of the outside world beyond the high walls of the villa. Definitely getting a bit of generational trauma from his mom, he would cling to her and MC 24/7, he would see his parents as his world as idolize them. She would sew and knit things for him and he treasure everything as if it was made of diamonds and gold. Gets nightmares if sleeping alone and begs to sleep in his parents bed all the way up till he is 15, even then he still begs to sleep with you guys and Vica begs MC to let him. He will always be her perfect angel, baby boy in her eyes.

Aurelio: This man would probably have a daughter first and God help the world prepare itself for this little gremlin. Smart as hell like her dad, good in math, remembers the dates + locations of historical events and writes poetry for fun; also thinks she can self ferment her own alcohol since her parents wouldn't let her drink any till she is of age. In her defense, she did research how and subtly got her dad to tell her the tricks of how his business does it; only draw back is that she started planning this plot when she was 6 because that was the first time he told her no about trying his wine. She would be 17 by the time she retrieves her stashed away brew, this is a petty move 11 years in the making. She pours the bottle into one of her dad's fancy wine glasses and sits in his favorite chair in the lounge as she waits for her parents to get home. When they do and walk into the room, that is when she raises the glass to them and say "Cheers!" before taking a huge sip. Only to immediately gag and spit it out all over a very expensive rug, Aurelio is laughing hysterically on the floor and MC is left to do the actual parenting here. When Aurelio managed to regain his ability to breathe properly, he sniffs the bottle and dares taste it. It's not good but also not as terribly bad as one would expect, he is actually a bit proud. Later takes her to the brewery and explains what she did wrong, his daughter would protest that she was only 6 when she tried it. He would retort that she is now 17 and was stupid enough to drink what 6 year old her had made 11 years later. As she shuts up he makes a deal with her that they can make a bottle together now and wait a few years to try it together. She loves that idea.

Elio: I see him adopting a little boy first. He sees the little bundle brought to him from MC, hearing the story of how MC came across him and how he needs a family. Elio knows he can't have any biological kids himself and while he might never acknowledge this out loud, he honestly feels like that gift was robbed from him. He has caught himself thinking of having a baby with MC a few times and it always puts him in a bitter mood thinks of how he physically can't provide that for them. It hurt him quite a bit but he had pushed all of that deep down, but holding this little boy in his arms... so little and fragile. He can kinda see a bit of MC in his eyes, and a little bit of himself in his little nose and skin. This could just him being completely delusional, this he knows; but it's such a nice little fantasy thinking this baby carries a part of him and the one he loves most. He supposes in the end, he will. This little boy will grow with him and MC's love, he will be taught all from the best teacher he could ever have. And Elio will be sure to not disappoint, he lets his son get away with a lot. The boy grows to be quite energetic as most little boys do, and that would normally grate on Elios nerves to have a child running around everywhere and grabbing everything with sticky little fingers. But for his son? "It's fine, he's just a kid doing exactly what kids do at his age. One of my books got ruined? *sigh* Can't be helped, I suppose. It's okay, it's just a book." MC would be flabbergasted the first time he acts so very forgiving towards his son, Elio's eyes look so much kinder when he sees his son. His smile is so genuine and it comes so naturally, getting him to open up and act this way with MC took a long time. But his baby boy won the keys to his heart just by existing.

#omwat #ask #ludovica #aurelio #elio #cassandra #tomas #valeria

37 notes · View notes