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nat-20s · 3 months

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THE GIRLS (FOURTEEN AND DONNA) ARE FIGHTIIIINNNGGG'

aka Donna has some lingering Feelings on the whole mind wipe thing and she's gonna shout about it <3

The Mess That's Made of Us

She didn’t mean for an outburst. They were having a calm, rational, adult discussion, not a fight. She didn’t even want a fight, not really. But The Doctor, he couldn’t just let it go and let her sort out her big stupid feelings on her own. No, he had to needle, he had to inquire, he had to push. He had to say that “everything had turned out all right, in the end”, and oh, that so wasn’t the fucking point. Nearly choking on the words, she yells out, “What would you have done?!”

After he startles and she has a moment to be thankful no one else is home right now, he’s shockingly even when he replies, “You..you know what I did.”

She lets out a right and proper growl of frustration. Clenching and unclenching her fists a few times in an attempt to ground herself, she grits out, “Not what I meant.”

“Donna, I don’t-”

“I meant, you pedantic little-”

She cuts herself off, takes in a deep breath in and out through her nose, and tries again. “I meant if our roles had been swapped. If I had been the one to take that year away from you, if you were about to have an essential part of the person you had become stripped all away in a moment. How would you have reacted? What. Would you. Have done?”

“I..”

She doesn’t let him finish, collect his thoughts, say pretty words that would fix it all. See, she can push, and push, and push too, now can’t she, Doctor? Generally, Donna doesn’t consider herself a cruel person. Sometimes oblivious, sometimes obnoxious, sometimes inconsiderate, but not cruel. But she knows she’s capable of it. She knows, if she so desires, she can hurt someone. She’s not trying to hurt The Doctor, except that she is, not to wound but to pull him to where she is right now. To make the grief and the rage and the conflict be shared. So she keeps going. “It’s not the same though, right? No, of course not. One year out of a billion, maybe more, that doesn’t make much of a difference, does it? Like forgetting what you had for breakfast that morning, barely a breath. I bet it would’ve been so easy, for you.”

“Donna!”

When he says it, his face is hard, and frustrated, but not cold. That’s something she’s still getting used to, with this new-old face. He used to have the coldest rage she ever saw, standing like a stranger. Now, he doesn’t tend to rage at all. It’s enough to make her clamp her mouth and actually listen for a second.

“Respectfully, what the hell are you talking about? Barely a breath, easy for me? Do you really believe that our time together meant that little to me? Do you really not understand by now? I mean, look at my face, Donna. And this is the second time that I’m completely rearranged myself in memory of you! One day with you changedme. One full year with you? Rewrote me.

So yes, removing my time with you would’ve made a difference. It would’ve made all the difference in the universe. And I don’t know what I would’ve done. If I had to get rid of the part of me that was made from you. I’m not sure I could.”

Such pretty words. And, well, the face in front of her right now does suggest some truth to them. But she can’t quite believe them, and she can’t quite look at said face, so instead her vision drifts over to the Tardis parked outside their kitchen window. Folding her arms and staring listlessly, she counters, “Yeah? Don’t you think you would’ve, I dunno, blinked and gone ‘oh that’s odd’ before putting on one of those manic smiles and inputting the coordinates to Venus in the 15th century, and that would’ve been that?”

Out of the corner of her eye, The Doctor’s face goes through a rapid series of motions that she can almost sort out, before stopping at realization. Oh. She didn’t like that one bit.

“Ah, that’s what you think did happen, huh? You think I flew away in my box and had magical adventures and found someone else in a day. It would make sense, right? Start pallin’ around with the nearest redhead I could find, forget all about me ol’ mate Donna, it’s not like she was gonna remember, so why should I?”

She sniffs, and tilts her face up, and resolutely does not let any tears fall. She also does not look at him.

“Donna, there was no one else, not until I was someone else. You want to know what happened, after I lost you? I broke. And then died. There was no me without you.”

Fuck. He changes his tune then, and she’s pretty sure they’re no longer fighting. They’ve always lacked a talent for it. He comes closer, placing both his hands gently on top of her still crossed arms, and moves until she has to look him in the eye. He even throws in a smile. Damn him to hell, he knows it’s near impossible for her to see her best friend smiling and start smiling a bit herself.

With a breath that borders on being a laugh, he continues, “But you! You got married, and yelled at parking attendants, and had a kid, and you existed. And I can’t regret that, I can’t. So I’m sorry, I really am. I ignored your pleas, and I took some of you away, and I’d do it again. I’d do it every time.”

She lets out a sigh and lets her arms drop to the sides. “I know.”

Wiping a hand down her face, she mixes a huff and a shrug. “Honestly, Doctor? I think I’ve already forgiven you.”

With a nod, she stands up straight and tells him straight, “I think I forgave you the moment it happened. I just..I just need time. I know it’s been years but I’ve only been able to think on it for a week.”

“I understand. Hell, there’s things that take me a couple thousand years to process, so.”

Donna rolls her eyes and let’s out a small chuckle, before opening her arms and saying, “C’mere, spaceman.”

The Doctor quite readily does, and the hug fits just as naturally as it always has. They take a moment to breathe together, and Donna gets to listen to the comforting double rhythm of the two healthy hearts in his chest. The silence is comfortable and the sharpness has eased.

When she pulls back, she can’t help but ask, “Wait, second face? What was the other one?”

“Ah. About that-”

#1. i will edit this and put it up on a03 tomorrow but i want attention NOW and i'm very sleepy #2. sorry i didn't get into the 12clara mindwipe. i wanted to and i did in fact remember it but this fic is like double the length i planned #so i left on implying that they Get Further Into It #3. oooo you wanna listen to half of you from a tendonna perspective soooo bad #my fic #doctor who #fourteenth doctor #tennant doctor #donna noble

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absolutebl · 5 months

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This Week in BL - I'm finding rankings difficult, there's a lot of middle of the pack action and some serious top contenders

Organized, in each category, by ones I'm enjoying most at the top.

Dec 2023 Wk 1

Ongoing Series - Thai

Last Twilight (Fri YT) ep 5 of 12 - I love how they’re slowly revealing bits of their past to each other. It parallels the slow burn of them falling in love with each other. Knowledge + understanding = affection. I cried during the part with his doubles partner, of course I did. As has been mentioned many times in this blog, I am a sap. Also I’m realizing that there is something particularly clever about this show: Because Day is blind, there must be a ton of physical touch. And physical touch is something that Thai BL does really well.

(I gotta say, while I ADORE JimmySea in these roles, a small part of me wonders how JoongDunk would have handled these parts.)

The Sign (Sat YT) ep 3 of 10 - Phaya is SO DAMN SMITTEN. It’s great. Have I mentioned recently how glad I am Billy got this role? This was the: “it’s not a date” date ep.

I gotta say these 2 BLs are neck and neck favorites right now.

Cherry Magic (Sat YouTube) ep 1 of 12 - Uh oh. I like it a lot. I think I was always going to because I have a soft spot for TayNew on screen. It is such funny to watch Tay play such a stiff character. I like it. This is very fast paced for a Thai BL I wonder where they’ll take it with this speed, are they’ll following the manga more closely?

My Dear Gangster Oppa (Thurs iQIYI) ep 7 of 8 - Wait, no. Wahl you’re such a problem. The pacing of this is very KBL. I’m not mad about it but it feels odd in Thai. Still enjoying this one the most as my "early in the week" offering.

For Him (Thurs iQIYI) ep 2 of 10 - The booty call flirting is next level with these two. Like Bed Friends but with less pain. I love that Nail is such needy evil wild child - the story gets all its tension from that.

Baby boy gives off so many danger signals I wouldn't tap that with a 10 ft… pole. Him is a braver queer than I. I do like how the high heat is being used to drive the story. It stands in stark contrast to Playboyy. Which is using high heat to drive, well... piles apparently.

Twins the series (Fri GaGa) ep 6 of 10 - I'm enjoying it again, the main couple is getting more BLish.

Bake Me Please (Mon Gaga) ep 3 of 6 - Shin and Peach flirting is very cute. Although they got into that sack swiftly. Guy leaving was contrived and reactions overwrought but okay babies.

Absolute Zero (Weds iQIYI) ep 11 of 12 - Now I'm mostly just confused.

Which timeline are we in?

Do they know each other in this one's past or not?

Have they met yet?

Who has which memories of what?

I feel like I’ve been through a lot for the show.

I’m not saying the reunion scene in the theater was worth it, but it was a really spectacular reunion scene. I’m terrified that there’s one more episode. I wish it had ended here.

Cooking Crush (Sun YT) 2 of 12 - I’m just not that into it.

Pit Babe (Fri iQIYI) ep 4 of 14 - A new ship has been set afloat, we are now Team #WayKim / #KimWay and if you're not with us, you're against us. Trash watch happening here.

Middleman’s Love (Fri YT & iQIYI ep 5 of 8 - oh look, it’s everybody’s favorite big brother!

That was a kind (and kind of lovely) coming out sequence. KingUea being the worst best Gay Advice Dads is awesome. Mai is SO SWEET. And we end on some good old miscommunication / misinterpretation, so that Jade can behave in an even more unhinged manner next ep. Our brief respite from absurdity has ended.

My Universe (Sun iQIYI) Fake Love ep 16 of 24 - They cute fake bf but it’s oddly unappealing. I mean most us queers have slept with each others exes, that’s swimming in a small pool, for ya. In my experience, only hets get butt hurt about it. (Hets never use enoug lube, they butt hurt about everything.) So the whole drama just felt confusing to me. Or maybe that's just my experience with swimming in lube? 4/10 whatever... not recommended

Playboyy (Thurs Gaga) 4 of 14 eps - I’m seriously considering dropping this.

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

VIP Only (Taiwan Fri Gaga) ep 4 of 10 - They cute. Are aquariums now gay? That’s not the definition of fish that I grew up with.

Sahara-sensei to Toki-kun (Japan Fri Gaga) ep 2 of 8 - I'm suffering from terrible second lead syndrome. Glasses guy is new Best Boy. Also, Rise is trying to earn the Namgoong Award for Best Wingman.

It Finished But...

SHADOW (Thai Gaga) 14 eps - completed it's run. Reports are:

It's pretty good horror but not BL. Ending is unresolved.

Given that info and this review here, it's not for me. DNF

It's Airing But...

Behind the Shadows (Korea movie) - a historical I'm interested in (if it's BL) but have no idea how to find.

The Whisperer (Sun ????) 10 eps - Thai horror BL that ALSO involves cheating (what joy is mine). I don't think even the perfect single dimple can motivate me to watch. Word is... it's terrible.

7 Days Before Valentine (Weds WeTV) 10 eps - Giving me Luminous Solution vibes. I'm waiting to binge if it's safe.

Beyond The Star (Weds iQIYI) 8 eps - House of Stars meets Boyband. I was NOT impressed with ep 1. Been told I shouldn't bother.

What Did You Eat Yesterday Season 2 AKA Kinou Nani Tabeta? Season 2 (Japan Gaga) 10 eps - I find this series more fun to binge, so I'm waiting until after it completes its run next week.

Next Week Looks Like This

12/14 Dear Kitakyushu (Thai/Japan movie) in theaters in country only, I know nothing about distribution.

Still coming:

12/23 Dead Friend Forever (Thai horror) iQIYI

Original 2023 forthcoming BL master post (see comments, some are inaccurate, NOT KEPT UPDATED). With the end of the year upon us I'll do an "announced for 2023 but never happened list" soon.

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENTS

Of course I loved all the little language moments. I am here for the kinkification of phi.

That request for a shirt was v sexy phi+na. Thank you Jimmy.

Last Twilight bringing the pronoun and particle game to play hard.

It was a nice kiss. (Absolute Zero)

This as a perfunctory flirting kiss, I anticipate we still have The Kiss to come.

I love that Phaya's personality seems to be spin doctor, just accuse the boy of doing that you are already doing to him (or want him to do to you).

Boyfriend shirts!

And a meta reference.

The Sign is basically made for me.

(Last week)

#this week in bl #bl updates #Thai BL #Last Twilight #The Sign #my dear gangster oppa #cherry magic #for him the series #absolute zero #middleman's love #My Universe Fake Love

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staryskullz · 5 months

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Meet The Scugs!

I dunno if I will ever make this a whole series/au thing, I am working on another big Rainworld related project that takes up alot of my time. But I do wanna post lil drawings n comics. But for now here are the bio's n stuff for these guys. Just know some of the stories aren't exactly the same as the scugs in the game.. This is more of a scenario of "what if the Slugcats and other Rainworld creatures evolved into humanity and navigated the ruins of the world the ancients left behind? So, some of the lore from Rainworld may not apply or be changed to fit this narrative. Keep in mind these are also baseline character descriptions, as time goes on things may be subject to change or tweaked slightly! (and ofc there will be RW spoilers) with that said, Lets get started!

Artificer Age: 28 Pronouns: She/Her Occupation: Hunter/Gatherer Arti is one of the colony's hunter-gatherers, She was pretty much destined for the role due to her explosive powers. She has a tough exterior and is often blunt, which makes most intimidated by her. But deep down, she's caring and protective. She gets along really well with most of the other folks in the colony but is especially great friends with Gourmand, the colony leader. He helped support her through a low point in her life. There is one person she can't stand, Hunter. She's just too pretentious for her taste. Will they ever get along? who knows?

Gourmand Age: 40 Pronouns: he/him Occupation: Colony leader Gourmand is the beloved leader of the Colony in Outer Expanse. Sweet, caring, and kind. A father of two and an excellent cook. He is a natural-born leader. He adores his community and would do anything for them. Likewise, he makes sure that the Colony is safe and comfortable for every single member and is always willing to take in others if they need shelter. Of course, he isn't perfect. He doubts himself and works to the bone, often burning himself out. At the end of the day, his friends and family are always there to support him.

Hunter Age: 30 Pronouns: She/Her Occupation: Hunter Gatherer

Hunter is a sarcastic and smug slugcat, charming to most and pretentious to others (cough cough Artificer). Hunter is very talented at hunting and tracking, skilled with a spear, and knows how to survive even the toughest of situations. She developed rot tumors on her belly and hip. While not fatal, it has hindered her ability to survive solo, as she needs frequent breaks and rest to not completely tire herself out. She found Gourmands colony and was immediately accepted with open arms. Everything was going pretty well until she met Artificer. She still doesn't completely understand why she has a vendetta against her, hey! At least they can go on a hunt together without bickering the whole time, progress is progress!

Rivulet/Ruffles Age: 22 Pronouns: They/Them Occupation: Gourmand's Assistant Rivulet, (or called Ruffles by their friends) help's out Gourmand with the colony. Deliveries? Chores? Packing? Moving? Whatever it may be, Rivulet is on it speedily and quickly. They are also a fantastic swimmer. It's never a dull moment with them around, they'll always be there to cheer you up. While a great helper, sometimes they act before they think, being clumsy from time to time. Luckily they got the help of their friends if they ever encounter a sticky situation.

Spearmaster Age: 24 Pronouns: he/him Occupation: Armory/Tool making/Handyman Spearmaster's name is literal, a master of spears. He is very good at building things, a true craftsman. Spears is well-rounded and knowledgeable. He is generous and always helps the colony with building stuff and supplying all the farmers and fishers with tools. He can also fix lots of things in a pinch. Spearmaster is a bit odd, he has no mouth but can still talk. How does he eat? Well, he doesn't. he stabs things with his tail spears and gains nutrients from the things he stabs with them. He came to the colony out of nowhere. There is a rumor that he is from a superstructure far far away from the colony. Maybe he is a little peculiar but definitely cherished by all.

Saint Age: 36 Pronouns: he/him Occupation: Town Physician and Cleric/Mentor Saint is a wise one, a calm and gentle soul. He is very in touch with the cycle and knows the ways of the world. Not only does he help the sick and injured, but he also is there to guide and counsel those who need it. He is also good at being a mediator and solving problems. This means Artificer and Hunter keep him on his toes, but as with everything, he handles it with grace. No one really knows too much about Saint's upbringing or origin, he doesn't really talk about himself much at all. As for right now, he is teaching and mentoring Monk about Medicine and teaching her brother Survivor, Clergy.

Monk Age: 18 Pronouns: she/her Occupation: Saint's Pupil, learning medicine Monk is the youngest of them all, bashful and shy but a sweetie. She came to the colony with her older brother, Survivor. They got separated from their parents at a young age, and have stuck together ever since. Monk is still figuring herself out but for right now she's trying her best to take the role of physician in the future, helping the sick and injured is rewarding for her and something she is passionate about pursuing. Navigating adulthood is hard, but she is slowly learning and making a difference in her community.

Survivor Age: 21 Pronouns: he/him Occupation: Saints Pupil, learning Clergy Survivor is Monk's older brother, He has a head on his shoulders and is always willing to try his best. He has his flaws, he isn't the most socially aware person and is a bit stubborn. He never really got to socialize with other slugcats, he isn't sure if he will be a good cleric but he wants to try. Not only that, but he had to spend the majority of his life taking care of his little sister, being her main protector and caretaker. He never really grew up finding what he was good at or what he wanted in life. He just learned how to survive. He hopes that joining the colony would benefit him and his sister and being Saints pupil will point him in the right direction.

Enot/Inv Age: 24 Pronouns: They/He Occupation: Tailor/clothier There is so much to be said about Enot, but I'll give you the gist. Enot works as a tailor and helps make and sell clothes for the colony. They are a bit melodramatic and misguided and a hopeless romantic, commonly making a fool out of themselves. Even if they are awkward at times, they mean well and are always willing to take part in any festivities, always overdressing no matter the occasion.

Nightcat Age: 23 Pronouns: he/him Occupation: Carpenter Nightcat isn't much of a talker, blank-faced, and has almost nothing to say. Everyone knows he can build a perfect shelf or cabinet though. If you ever get to know him personally (which is rare) You will find that He is a straight-to-the-point, matter-of-fact type of guy. He doesn't have many friends, usually only talking to Spearmaster and occasionally Enot. Who knows, maybe he'll come out his shell.

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butlervol6 · 2 years

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the baby talk | dad(to be) austin x reader

previous part here!!

pairing: austin x fem!reader

summary: reader finally feels ready to have a baby with austin….but worries the timing might not work out

warnings/notes: some angst? (reader overthinking, s/o all my fellow anxiety babies), a tiny tiny bit suggestive at the end. so sorry this took so long, the last month has been eventful to say the least and i’m just getting time to finish this. thank you SO SO much for over 900(!!!WHAT) notes on my first work and so many followers, i never expected so many people to enjoy my writing. i’m toying with the idea of attempting to write smut, lmk your thoughts (i would make it a separate pt so the under18 can still enjoy the rest of the series)!! thank you all again, send me requests/messages/questions i love talking to ya’ll, and ENJOY PART 2!!

words: 2.2k

On the drive home from Ashley’s you were buzzing from the excitement of meeting Jupiter as well as the anticipation of telling Austin that you felt ready to start trying for a baby. You knew he was going to be ecstatic, it was obvious that while he was always extremely supportive and understanding of your point of view the last time you spoke about it, there was a part of him that was initially disappointed when you expressed your decision to wait to have kids. He was good at masking it, not wanting to make you feel bad for a completely rational and understandable decision, but you knew him well enough to see past his facade and couldn’t help but feel a little guilty for being the one to put starting a family on hold.

That disappointment for him and guilt from yourself didn’t last long though, as he landing his ‘Elvis’ role no more than six months after that conversation took place. Now, two years later, you could not have imagined trying to navigate a little one during the stress of the pandemic and a filming process like Elvis. Despite being very stable and annoyingly in love your entire relationship, never once considering separating, being newlyweds was still incredible stressful during that time so you knew you both shared a mutual, unspoken feeling of relief for the decision you made.

Looking over at your husband as he drove, you start to try and come up with a way to approach the conversation when you got home, wanting to make it as special as possible. Usually you pride yourself on your creativity as well as your apt for being excellent at surprises, but in this moment there was not a single idea in your head. You were completely perplexed, and growing increasingly frustrated, at your inability to come up with a suitable way to start the conversation. This must have been evident on your face as Austin glanced over and caught you looking his way, a small frown on your face and eyebrows pulled together in deep thought,

“Baby?” You, so consumed by your spiralling thinking, don’t notice when first he addresses you, “Y/N?” He places a hand on yours resting on the center console, rubbing his thumb along your knuckles to gently bring your focus back to reality, “What’s going on in your head darlin’? You’ve been so quiet this whole drive–makin’ me nervous.” He drawls, attention shifting between the road and you, waiting for your answer. You try to quickly recover, as to not tip him off about the impending conversation,

“Sorry baby, I’m alright. I think the adrenaline and excitement from the day is finally wearing off so I’m a little tired.” Austin eyes you, not quite convinced but decides not to push it any further. You can see this fact evident on his face so you smoothly change the subject so he doesn’t have room to figure out the real reason you’re acting weird, “What about you? Did you have a good day Uncle Austin? Was it everything you dreamed it would be?” Being reminded of his picture perfect day, surrounded by his favourite girls, immediately distracts him from your odd behaviour,

“It was everything I imagined and more. Jupiter is just perfect–I can’t believe she’s real, and finally seeing Ashley again after so long was perfect, and you being there with me to share it all was-“

“Perfect?” You find his excited rambling extremely sweet but you can’t help but tease him. He bites his bottom lip smiling, slightly embarrassed by his own words. You lean over, grabbing the far side of his face to press a quick kiss against the corner of his mouth before speaking again, “I’m not trying to embarrass you, love. I’m just teasing you, I loved seeing you so happy today.” You absentmindedly smooth your thumb back and forth along his cheekbone as you speak. The loving gesture and kind words make him smile, ducking his head down slightly to press a kiss to the inside of your wrist that hovers near his mouth,

“I was so happy. I am so happy, y/n. Everything just seems to be working out lately—my career, my family and friends, you. I just can’t believe it all.” You can feel your cheeks start to hurt from how large your smile is. After experiencing firsthand the type of stress Austin had been under the last two years; completely immersing himself in his role, being away from all of his family and friends, the pandemic, you were overjoyed that he was finally feeling the beginnings of the pay off of it all. And you knew this would only increase as the press for the movie and the fan reaction began.

It was at this thought that your happiness and excitement momentarily faltered. Since your realization at Ashley’s, you had failed to fully considered how much was going to change after Elvis came out. From watching the transformation your husband made, you knew that people were finally going to take notice of him and, as a result, his popularity was going to sky-rocket. There wasn’t a cell in your body that didn’t want that for Austin, he deserves to finally be recognize as the incredible actor and person that he is, but you did start to worry that having a baby in the mids of it all these new changes could be just as bad as having one in the middle of filming. To quell your small disappointment and spike in anxiety, you lean your head on Austin’s shoulder as he turns onto the last road to get to your house.

It’s obvious now that something more is wrong than what you originally let on so Austin presses a kiss to your hairline and mumbles, “You wanna get some food and talk about it when we get home?” You sigh, nodding and snuggling into his arm for the remainder of the ride.

…

After taking the remnants of your takeout to the kitchen, you make you way back to the couch where Austin is sitting, arms outstretched along the back and his head leaned back. The credits of the show you were watching play on the tv so you pick up the remote and pause it before sitting down against him, tucking your legs up and leaning your head on his shoulder. He wraps his arms around you, kissing the top of your head,

“What’s goin’ on in your head, pretty girl?” You lift your head up and slightly turn your body in his grasp to look at him fully, he smooths his palm up and down your arm as he speaks. The weight and warmth of his hand against your bare skin grounds you as your open your mouth to speak,

“I was- I guess I just-” You pause for a moment, closing your eyes and taking a deep breath to get your thoughts together, “I had a thought earlier today, about us, and built it all up in my head before I really considered it. I’ll be alright, I’m just a little annoyed at myself for getting carried away. And, honestly, I’m kinda sad about it too.” Austin watches your face as you speak, brows slightly furrowed as he takes in your words. You know you were vague and he is probably more than a little confused, but you can’t bring yourself to say exactly what you were thinking, tears already threatening behind your eyes.

“Oh baby, I’m sorry you’re upset. Do you think you could explain your thought to me? Maybe there’s somethin’ you didn’t think of that I can do to help.” As you gaze into his eyes, your heart swells with love for the man in front of you. You are so grateful to have him as partner in life, always so kind and attentive to your needs. You look down to your lap for a moment, clearing your throat and parting your lips to unleash the uncensored truth but the words stay lodged in your throat. Emotion starts to swell within you, hot tears pricking the corners of your eyes, and you look to Austin. He gently brushes your cheek with the back of his fingers, “It’s okay, you can tell me anything.” A tear slips from your eye at his reassurance and you quickly wipe it away,

“I wanted to have a baby.” The second the words leave your mouth you can feel Austin tense beside you. Terrified that he is going to get upset you quickly continue, “Don’t worry, I know that we can’t and I promise I’ll get over it I just need some time an-” Austin silences you by leaning forward and pressing his lips to yours. You melt into the kiss after a moment of surprise, focusing on the warmth of his mouth against yours and the hand that now rests under your chin. He pulls away slowly, as if moving too fast could scare you away,

“You really wanna to have a baby with me? Oh my god y/n, that’s amazing! When did you change your mind?” He scoots closer to you on the couch and runs his fingers through your hair. His eyes are bright, excited, and that flares your upset once again—he’s not listening. You furrow your eyebrows and you gently push his hand from your hair.

“Austin, we can’t. I just told you that’s why I’m upset.” Austin tries to interrupt but you stop him, wiping at your wet, blotchy cheeks, “You were absolutely perfect with Jupiter and I could see how ready you are, and that made me ready. But, everyone is finally going to see how incredible you are when this movie comes out and I want you to have your moment in the spotlight. This has been your dream your entire career, I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I put that in jeopardy by being selfish.”

“Y/n, you and our family are my dream. There will never be a ‘perfect’ time to have a baby, all that matters is whether or not we both want it. And it’s not ‘selfish’ to want it.” Austin grasps your chin, turning your face and making you look him in the eyes. “Do you wanna have a baby with me?” You plead with your eyes and stutter to answer,

“Aus, it’s not that simple. I-“ He presses a finger to your lips, silencing you, and softly laughs,

“Hey, none of that. Just answer the question.” You sigh in defeat and pull his hand away from your mouth and into your lap before responding,

“Yes, I want to have a baby with you.” Because you do, there is nothing you want more than to grow the love between him and you by bringing a baby into the world.

“And I want to have a baby with you. So let’s do it. If we both want it then we'll make it work. ” You gaze into the eyes of the man you love as he speaks and all you see is unfiltered love and excitement. It’s in this moment that you believe what he says, because you can see how much he believes it himself. If you love each other and you both want to start this journey together, then everything else can be dealt with as it comes. At this realization, you finally allow yourself feel the excitement you experienced earlier in the day, a large smile spreading across your face.

“You promise that it’s really what you want? I don’t want you to agree just because I’m upset.” Austin tilts his head back and laughs, a deep rumbling in his chest. You nudge him in the ribs, causing him to let out an ‘hey!’, and can’t help but laugh along with him, “Don’t laugh, I’m serious! What’s so funny anyway?”

“Y/n, you’re kidding right?” He leans in, suddenly serious and slings his arms around you again, speaking lowly, “I think I’ve made it pretty obvious how much I would love to get you pregnant, baby.” He trails kisses along the side of your jaw and down your neck, your eyes fluttering closed and lips softly parting. After a moment of getting lost in each other, Austin pulls back–a smug smirk on his face to look at you. With your eyes still closed you say,

“Okay, let’s do it.” Before you can even process what’s happen, you’re being lifted into the air and your eyes fly open meet Austin’s gaze. You wrap your arms around him as he carries you toward the stairs, a glint in his bright blue eyes, “Um—where are we going?”

“To get started.” He reaches the top of the stairs, looking down at you in his arms, “If we don’t get a baby in you right now, how am I gonna have a hot wife with a cute little baby bump as my date to the Met Gala?” You’re momentarily shocked at his words, and you can tell by the devilish look on his face that while he’s joking, he also isn’t. You shake your head, a smile on your lips, as he pushes the door to your bedroom open.

All you get out is, “can’t argue with that”, before you squeal as he tosses you onto the bed.

next part here!!

#austin butler #austin butler x reader #dad austin #austin butler imagine #austin butler one shot #austin butler blurb #austin butler fic #austin butler x y/n #austin butler fluff #austin butler angst #austin butler fanfic #butlervol6writes

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sciderman · 7 months

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Omfg he IS Daffy. Like. If we want to get into specifics…Wade’s entire life is that episode where Daffy keeps trying to play out the scene and the “animator” keeps drawing new ways to fuck up the scene. And after you’re certain Daffy has lost the tiny semblance of the sanity he had left, you pan out and it’s just Bugs in the animation studio closing the book on Daffy.

Oh man that tracks on so many levels. Especially the power exchange when Peter takes on the Daffy role and Wade gets to be Bugs. Even down to how Bugs dresses in drag, typically leaving Daffy to fend for himself in terms of the antagonist. When Wade dresses in drag or even simply wears a dress, even when Peter enjoys it he’s usually left to fend for himself against his biggest foe: his gender and sexuality.

Now I have to know…do you think Peter can get to a point where he’s taking up the Bugs role from time to time, or is he an eternal Daffy?

P.S.: Daffy is my FAVORITE.

i LOVE daffy, he's one of my favourite characters in fiction ever. and i've always said it, wade is very daffy duck coded.

wise guy ✅ funny way of talkin' ✅ ability to break the fourth wall ✅ tortured by the narrator ✅ mad about it ✅

even the kind of performative humour that's signature to looney tunes is hardwired into wade. the way he talks in early comics - even his debut series every issue is themed to ducks. i think it's all very intentional he's always meant to have been a looney tunes-esque figure, and that's the way he chooses to perform.

i was a looney tunes girlie growing up (my favourite) and watched looney tunes cartoons religiously and so SO much of my humour came from those cartoons and feeds into how i write wade (daffy and bugs are both like, the biggest inspirations for the way i write wade, no doubt. no doubt. i don't even know if i can point to any other characters as inspiration, save for wade himself.)

i'll squeeze in a clip from duck amuck (my favourite piece of media like, ever created ever.) please seek out the whole cartoon if you haven't - i really think it's one of the greatest cartoons ever made.

youtube

bugs and daffy's dynamic (especially in later content of them, where they're cosier and more self-aware) is a huge inspiration too - an odd couple that kind of hates each other because they're always, always diametrically opposed but kind of know each other so well and know each other's BIT so well that when they have each other's interests at heart and work together they are The Ultimate Duo with like, the most fire chemistry you've ever seen. the most unstoppable banter you've ever seen. when they're in a room together, absolutely no one else can get a word in. obsessed with that dynamic.

wade and peter are very bugs and daffy coded but it's dealers choice who gets to be bugs and who gets to be daffy. they're switches. i think it's all about who has the upper hand in the scenario - bugs usually has a confidence in a situation that comes from him knowing something daffy doesn't - (ergo, wade is usually the bugs. because he usually knows something peter doesn't.)

but... buuuuut, it's not always the case - and wade doesn't always have the upper hand when it comes to his dynamic with peter - particularly when he's feeling emotionally vulnerable. peter can handle those situations better than wade does. those moments, regrettably - happen more often in the fics than on the blog, because it usually happens when their clothes are off. (oops.)

wade's daffy moments happen when he's Not the smartest guy in the room, or things don't work out in his favour or he's not in control of the situation and he's being dramatic about it.

in those moments, peter gets to be the bugs. the level-headed guy who's in charge of the situation. i hope he gets more moments like that. because it's kind of insane that wade's usually the sane one here. and he needs to be dethroned.

peter needs more bugs bunny moments - and though i'm not sure when - olive and anita's warring divas dynamic fits the bugs and daffy model with so much more ferocity. they will be dropping pianos on each other. and you can guess who gets to be the bugs.

#sci speaks #ask-spiderpool #peter season. WADE season. peter season. WADE season! wade season. PETER SEASON FIRE!!

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keeponquinning · 10 months

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Here With Me, the series — M A S T E R L I S T

Joseph Quinn x Erotica Novelist Latina Fem!Reader.

Summary — You've done pretty good for yourself. You have a best friend and through her musician fiancé, a best friend adjacent. You also finalized your dream since you were a kid, always being a writer, but now a published author. Not a grand success, but you gained a following whether from the books themselves or your presence in BookTok and the weekly podcast you do with your best friend. It's earned you invites to conventions with your fellow authors and...that's where you meet him. You were never a fan of long distance relationships, but falling for a London boy? As if there was any other choice. It won't be easy, but, you were both willing to beat the odds.

WARNINGS — There WILL be smut, all sorts of filth going on as typical in a relationship, especially a long distance one. Cursing. Like, obviously I'm writing this for adults. And also, it is RPF so if not you're thing... Understandable, I respect it, just respect me and others that write it to not be a dick about it. ✌️

The Pros and Cons. It's your birthday! You don't feel like celebrating at all, despite your best friends' efforts. What's worse? You're working through the weekend, a guest at a convention with your fellow writers, signing your books and...absolutely no news or content on your anticipated next book that everyone, including your publisher, keeps asking you about. It's all a bit stressful, and then, you meet him. Tall, English, chocolate button eyes and warm smile. Perhaps there would be something to this birthday weekend after all.

Part One - Two ( WIP! )

Close Shave. After growing so accustomed to his beard, it's time for the working actor to shave it for a role and you're the first to see him.

One Shot ( WIP! )

Take Care Of You. You're about to fly to London to spend two glorious weeks with your boyfriend. You both can't wait, to the rolling eyes of your friends. And it starts out lovely....until you come down with the worst cold you've ever had. You're miserable, tired, and hating that you ruined the time you have before you have to fly home. But Joseph doesn't mind, insists it's not ruined because you're still together and he'll just have to nurse you back to health.

Part One ( WIP! )

Yes, Professor. You're Joseph's secret, writer, girlfriend who you met amidst the start of his convention tours, things are hot and heavy between you two, though strained for the inconvenience of not living in the same city and not being official. You're forced to spend a week apart but plan to meet up with him back in London on the last day of his Con appearance, and after teasing him for his Professor type choice of outfits, well, you just couldn't resist showing up dressed as your professor's favorite student, now could you? We thought not.

Part One | Part Two | Part Three ( WIP! )

Get You Alone Tonight. The secret's out, you and Joe are a couple. The Venice Film Festival proves to be your first real outing as a couple, both dressed to the nines and by his side with the premiere of his film, HOARD, and you couldn't even be more proud of him, despite the nerves rattling you both. But once it's said and done and you're both alone again... The nerves get settled the only way you two can think of.

One Shot ( WIP ! )

Almost Made It. You both r e a l l y wanted to make it to that club opening one of Joe's friends of a friend invited him to. But... Oh... You both almost made it...

One shot ( WIP! )

Proud of You. Another festival, another fitting, another chance for you to be so proud of your boyfriend and not afraid to show it.

One shot ( WIP! )

The TikTok series. Your boyfriend isn't very savvy into the whole social media game like you are. But has appeared on your lives, sometimes popping into your videos from time to time, but now has warmed to the idea of doing them officially under your careful direction. He can't seem to say no to you, and you don't take that lightly.

Mini-series ( WIP! )

Notes — These are just the fics I've started, there are plans for loads more. So here is a masterlist for EVERY FIC / blurb / one shot I have planned in this verse. I thought having one big masterlist instead of thousands others would be easier!

Also? Requests are so open for these two, because I love them and honestly any excuse to write them.

We'll start over with the tag list too, just to be fair. So -- !

LIKE THIS POST TO BE ADDED TO THE TAG LIST! ( also reblogging and keysmashing into my inbox / DMs would be cool, too... )

Taglist — 46!

( actual tags will appear on the chapters! that would probably make sense. thank you! )

#— masterlists #writings — here with me #joseph quinn rpf #joseph quinn x reader #joseph quinn fanfic #joseph quinn smut #joseph quinn x you #joseph quinn x fem!reader smut

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my-current-obsession · 3 months

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My Next Life as a Villainess VN - Thoughts

Considering the source material, I was surprised at how good this game was! It's unsurprisingly light-hearted and comedic, but most of the CGs are still great and the romances mostly worked. I appreciated how despite Catarina's black-hole level of denseness causing issues in basically every route, everyone tackled it differently and every relationship felt unique.

My biggest complaint is just that we were robbed of routes with the girls outside a "normal/friendship" ending, since the girls canonically ALSO love Catarina. Getting three extra routes for Mary, Sophia, and Maria would have been SO GOOD. But Alas.

While this game and story is definitely meant for fans of the light novels and/or anime, I think there's plenty of information for people new to the series to still enjoy it. I also appreciate how much content is added to the common route as you complete the routes of love interests. Expect SPOILERS below the cut, as I go into detail on my thoughts for each route.

My play order was:

Alan -> Keith -> Geordo -> Rozy -> Nicol -> Silva

Common Route: I won't linger too long on this, since the common route in this case was pretty short. It did its job, setting up the plot and introducing us to all the important characters, both new and old. But in terms of notable interactions with the love interests or MAJOR plot points, there isn't much of notice yet. All the choices that give affection for the guys pre-route split lead to very brief tangents/conversations, nothing substantial.

We do meet and immediately befriend Rozy in the common route, which is nice. Silva by comparison barely features here, but he's ALL OVER basically every route, so his absence here is honestly fine.

I do like that we learn about the sachets and their connection to Ryle Werder, since that plays an important role in several routes. The Witch's Eye, by comparison, perhaps receives TOO MUCH attention in the common route. It's only relevant in NICOL'S route and yet we learn about it when meeting ROZY, which seems odd.

Alan: Not counting the girls, when I watched the anime, Alan was my favorite love interest. Hence, I decided to start with him. And I wasn't disappointed! I like that it's pretty clear under "normal" circumstances that despite his love for Catarina, Alan would never rock the boat and confess to her. He acknowledges and respects that she's engaged to Geordo, and he's engaged to Mary.

Thus, for this love to bloom, the pair kind of NEEDS to be separated from the group and spend some quality time together, which is just what we get. Interacting one-on-one, these two have a very casual and easy relationship that appeals to me. They get along well and Alan is mostly charmed by Catarina's eccentricities. His one real problem with her is that she is reckless to the point of endangering her own life, and that's a fair criticism I think.

Since Alan wasn't planning on confessing, his struggle to "get through" to Catarina is mostly about making her understand that being reckless hurts and upsets the people that care about her, which he finally inadvertently succeeds at by... getting hurt himself while protecting her, causing HER to be upset.

It's a very sweet and subtly romantic moment, which I liked a lot. I like how this route, particularly the "memory scenario" bits, seemed to imply that deep down, subconsciously, Catarina ALWAYS has liked and favored Alan. He's the one she likes to just... hang out and spend time with, and thus when they spend a certain amount of time alone and have some (mostly accidental) romantic moments, she's quick to Catch Feelings, even if she takes a bit to acknowledge them.

The cherry on top to this route was his confession and how it was handled. When Alan accidentally confesses his feelings while saving Catarina from Frederic, due to her hangups about the whole "I'm a villainess in an otome game and all the guys should love Maria" thing she initially wants to doubt or misinterpret it - but Silva (who had earlier called out and WEAPONIZED Alan's feelings for his own gain) is quick to correct her, forcing her to acknowledge it. But the pair don't get to talk it out right away, leaving them to be noticeably awkward around each other until they do.

Only then, when it's unavoidable and necessary, does Alan fully confess. Because he knows Catarina NEEDS to hear this in order to fix their current relationship. But he immediately follows it up by telling her to forget it all - because he's genuinely content with just being friends with her and doesn't want to ruin things between her and Geordo.

I appreciate how much Alan is selfless and trying to do the right thing - and I appreciate it even more, comparing it to other routes to come. And Catarina refuses to forget because simply finding out how he feels is enough to make her recognize her own feelings, but she similarly resolves to talk things out with Geordo and Mary before confessing. The respect paid to their "official" partners and trying to properly end things before starting anything together is mature and wonderful, to the point where in Alan's happy end Geordo (reluctantly, but still entirely of his own volition, without outside pressure) gives them his blessing. It's sweet and satisfying.

Also, sidenote - I genuinely liked Liliana a lot as a side character and was disappointed she wasn't in any other route. On the other hand, that means she got to witness and support JUST Alan's romance and none of the others, so...

Keith: I won't lie, this is my least favorite route from a plot AND relationship standpoint. While basically ALL the other love interests find Catarina charming and endearing, it bothers me how Keith is always criticizing her. He loves her, but he's constantly trying to get her to act like a "proper noblewoman" instead of embracing her as she is. And from the perspective of a SIBLING, that's fine. But I HATE it when you're actively trying to mold your love interest's behavior and personality.

Across all the routes Catarina must have dreaded Keith lecturing her (explicitly acting like her mother, at that) more times than I could count. That's just NOT romantic. At all. And isn't a dynamic that can/should be TURNED romantic, IMO.

Another big turnoff for me is that Keith is one of two love interests who has... let's say a sense of entitlement to Catarina. He's actively hidden his feelings for years, AND YET he hates the idea of her with anyone else and actively tries to keep her away from her more aggressive suitors like Geordo. Unlike Alan and Nicol, who acknowledge their feelings but WILL NOT act on them in usual circumstances, Keith monopolizes Catarina's attention when he can and actively WANTS to be with her romantically... all while excusing the time and attention he gets by saying it's his right as her BROTHER.

The underhanded nature of how he gets her attention and his ulterior motives bothers me. At least Geordo is UPFRONT with his possessiveness and intentions, even if Catarina is too dense to notice.

On Catarina's end... I just struggle to buy her suddenly falling in love with him. This route makes it clear Keith is "special" in that she's quick to notice if he's not feeling well physically or emotionally; Catarina likes to TAKE CARE OF and DOTE ON Keith. That's pretty in-line with her seeing him as her brother, and honestly that same care and attention comes across in other routes where she clearly loves him PLATONICALLY, so it's hard for me to accept that not only does she quickly fall in love with him here but she confesses FIRST before Keith makes his own feelings clear.

As for the rest of this route's plot, I barely remember it. I wasn't invested in the conflict here - and that's not the case in most routes. Alan's route interested me with the relationship drama of Ryle & Liliana, Silva and Rozy had big political issues, and Nicol's was supernatural. Only Geordo's route was similarly dull in terms of non-romance content. The main thing I took away from the conflict here is I was unhappy how Keith's conflict of feeling weak and unable to protect Catarina was handled.

Rather than learning he didn't HAVE to protect her, that he was important/valuable to her without that, or something along those lines (leading to a more mutual and open dynamic, theoretically), it's resolved by... him finally being able to protect her. He had a BAD personal arc on top of a BAD romance on top of a BORING overall route/conflict.

Geordo: Like Keith, Geordo is pretty possessive and "entitled" to Catarina. Unlike Keith, I can at least somewhat understand why. He's literally engaged to her and has been for years. Beyond just his own hopes/feelings, there is an expectation that he WILL marry her eventually. I also appreciate that while he's initially not that forward, he's still open and obvious about his romantic affections. It's just that Catarina is PARTICULARLY dense with him.

She struggles to believe anyone could fall for her when Maria is Right There, but Geordo in particular she struggled to win over "in game", and despite years to get used to the idea she still doesn't seem to realize how much people and relationships have changed due to her actions. Thus she can't envision him EVER loving her romantically and finds a way to misinterpret his every action.

Whereas Keith just kind of... snapped and wasn't able to hold back his feelings in his route after spending too much time alone with Catarina, Geordo by comparison is very DELIBERATE in making more aggressive moves. And again, I think it's narratively justified albeit kinda messed up. While he is used to the usual rivals and felt relatively secure that they wouldn't/couldn't steal Catarina out from under him... suddenly Silva enters the equation and NOW he feels threatened.

As a pirate, Silva wouldn't care about Geordo's title or his claim to Catarina. If he chooses to steal her away or if Catarina just comes to like him, there's NOTHING Geordo can really do. Thus, he couldn't afford to be patient anymore and he got desperate.

He thought he had time to win her over, but now he had to progress things FAST or risk losing her. His actions make sense, and by making his feelings clear earlier on in the route, Catarina has more time to think about it and figure out her own feelings.

I think it's notable that none of the other love interests, despite their own feelings for Catarina and their frustration for how Geordo handles things (since he says some nasty things and unintentionally hurts her while revealing his feelings), actually try to PREVENT Geordo from "winning" Catarina. The girls even come around to SUPPORTING him despite loving Catarina as well.

Geordo's "entitlement" to her is reasonable. He's not guaranteed her love, but he is the most justified in expecting it and acting possessive by virtue of their engagement. While Mary may plot to run away with her, while Keith might secretly want her for himself, while Sophia tries to push Nicol to pursue her... EVERYONE acknowledges on some level that unless Catarina actively falls for someone else (which looks increasingly unlikely as time goes by), Geordo IS her endgame by default. And they respect that. They are all prepared for this marriage to eventually happen; Geordo by comparison on other routes is typically NOT prepared for Catarina to suddenly fall for someone and want to break things off.

His crime is of being complacent and then poorly handling it when he realizes just that. I personally can forgive that a lot easier than Keith's... everything, and a lot of what happens in Rozy's route, too.

On Catarina's end, the extra time she got to think about Geordo's feelings and re-contextualize a lot of their earlier interactions while also being more aware of the romantic implications of later ones served her well. While I personally imagine Alan and Nicol as the two guys she's lowkey into "by default" judging from their routes, it was easy enough to see Geordo's efforts to win her over actually paying off near the end, and her accidentally acknowledging her realization of "maybe I love Geordo" out loud, TO HIS FACE, was great. The non-romance plot of this route was fairly dull, but I found the romance very engaging so it evens out!

Rozy: I was impatient and just had to give one of the new love interests a go before doing Nicol. I have very mixed feelings about this route. On the one hand, as a new character, I found Rozy very attractive in terms of his appearance and personality. And many of his interactions with Catarina were sweet and endearing. On the other hand I have two MAJOR issues that hampered my enjoyment of specifically his relationship with Catarina, A LOT.

Problem one is that, plain and simple, Rozy was TOO devoted and obsessed with her based off ONE, BRIEF interaction 8 years ago. I understand that she inspired him and changed his life without meaning to, but he just... takes it too far. I can rationalize him looking into her immediately afterwards to learn her name. I can get behind him thinking back to that moment and hoping to meet her again one day, to thank her.

But he went as far as HIRING people to check up on her and tell him all about her, years later. That's just STALKING. Through a proxy, yes, but stalking nonetheless. Which is not okay. Ever. It doesn't help that outside of this one "flaw" - being TOO devoted, to the point of clear obsession, which is noted in story to be a flaw his entire family has - he's basically perfect in a way NONE of the other love interests are. I'm genuinely not sure if I would have preferred a literally flawless Gary Stu love interest or... this, which was gross.

Problem two was Albert's interference and the DISRESPECT to Geordo this route had. In general I'm wary of other characters in a story "shipping" anyone together - passively rooting for something like Liliana did is typically fine, but very active matchmaking is grating - but WOW was Albert a busybody about getting Rozy and Catarina together. When he was talking politics I was engaged and enjoying him, but whenever he turned his attention to playing matchmaker, I just felt frustrated.

He's MEANT to be eccentric, but this is really how a king is spending his valuable time? In particular the way he outmaneuvered Geordo so that Catarina and Rozy could fake-date For Reasons, and even PULLED RANK on him, threatening to end his and Catarina's engagement BEFORE Rozy had even confessed, was infuriating.

What gets me is that his interference was ENTIRELY unnecessary. There were plenty of moments between Rozy and Catarina to justify their mutual feelings without him poking his nose in it, and despite being clearly unhappy about it Geordo HAS proven to be reasonable about letting Catarina go when she actually falls for someone else. It's not like Albert's actions prompted Rozy to confess; he was going to do so ANYWAY. All Albert did was piss off and disrespect Geordo. In theory his actions SHOULD cause political issues between Quid and Sorcier, which he wants to prevent, and yet...

This was the one route where I liked the plot outside the romance significantly more than the romance itself. The political drama and intrigue was engaging, and I loved seeing Rozy and Silva interact. They have a genuinely sweet dynamic. It was also cute seeing Rozy's dad gush over him - a more normal, healthy (yet embarrassing) way to express the family's overly-affectionate trait.

The conflict with the premier Cet Norden was... a bit sloppily handled though. It bothers me that like 90% of his backstory and motivation was in an optional "memory scenario". Was an optional exposition dump really the best they could do? No way to incorporate any of that into the story naturally? By comparison the conflicts are much better integrated in Alan, Nicol, and Silva's routes.

I have a third minor issue with this route (and to a lesser extent, Nicol and Silva's) - it's frustrating that even AFTER finding out Rozy is associated with the pirates, he continues to hide shit and only comes clean when he can't avoid it any longer. Silva's route fully explains WHY - they're trying to secretly handle this so they don't have to work with and be indebted to Sorcier. But the politics of that choice are, in itself, kind of disgusting. Thinking rationally, Rozy chose to endanger who knows how many Sorcier nobles by keeping things secret, and even if their lives are kept safe by the "pirates", they're still under extreme emotional stress due to the situation. They even go so far as to plan for ships from Quid to "rescue" the Sorcier nobles, making them feel indebted rather than the other way around! The entire plot/conflict of this game could have been avoided if saving lives mattered more than politics.

Nicol: This route took an interesting turn into the supernatural. There is an entirely unique conflict (on top of the existing ones, which... still exist and take up nearly half the route), and I quite enjoyed it. I do think it needed more time to shine, though. The witch is only properly introduced more than halfway through the route, and that conflict is resolved surprisingly fast and easily.

As for romance, this route actually worked way better than I expected going into it. I'm not typically into aloof love interests that don't emote much, but I think it helped that we got to spend a lot of time from Nicol's perspective so I could see what he was thinking and feeling, even if it wasn't clear from his expressions and voice.

I mentioned that I think Catarina is lowkey into Alan and Nicol "by default" earlier. Alan I explained in his section - she subconsciously seeks him out and pays him special attention, to the frustration of her other love interests.

Nicol by comparison she is more OVERTLY into, but it's initially shallow. Nicol has a "mysterious allure" that exists both in-game and out, and since canonically she hasn't played his route, AND she's the most distant from him out of all her love interests (he's more "my friend's brother" than "MY friend", initially), she's intrigued by and drawn to him in a way she isn't to her other friends. She is Not Immune to his good looks, and he's able to fluster her in a way no one else can, without even meaning to.

Thus, when they actually spend time together and get to know each other, it's actually very EASY for Nicol to win her affections. Lucky for everyone else that he's a good friend and is DETERMINED to keep his feelings to himself. Much like Alan, he has no intention of confessing and attempting to steal (ostensibly) Geordo's Girl, and I respect him for that.

I was honestly really into the tension between Geordo and Nicol this route, where out of respect and friendship Nicol was trying so hard to keep his distance from Catarina but he kept accidentally letting his feelings affect his actions in ways that stepped on Geordo's toes anyway. That said I think there was a missed opportunity regarding how that conflict ended. I think there was a lot of potential for either drama or wholesome friendship if he and Geordo had actually gotten to TALK about it, but they never did.

Nicol spent the entire route not wanting to confess and get between Catarina and Geordo, but then due to the witch's interference he ultimately confessed to Catarina anyway WITHOUT talking it out with Geordo first. Either Nicol needed to find the courage to confront Geordo and at least give him a heads-up that he was going to do this, or even better, Geordo could be a good friend and tell him to shoot his shot (but obviously Geordo himself wouldn't fully give up until it's clear Catarina has fully chosen someone else); either way making it a "may the best man win" situation would have been ideal. Instead Geordo tells Nicol they need to talk AFTER Nicol has confessed and stolen his girl after spending the whole route determined not to do literally just that, and we don't even see the confrontation.

This route is leagues better than Rozy's in "dealing with" Geordo, but not as good as Alan or Silva's. While I wanted Nicol to talk things out with him first, I at least am more accepting of the witch's interference than Albert's. Albert was playing matchmaker and screwing over Geordo in the process, while the witch was personally trying to upset Geordo due to his similarity to her lover that she wanted revenge on, and Nicol and Catarina getting together was more a byproduct of that.

She forced Nicol to spend time with and confess his love to her (in Catarina's body), which made him reconsider his feelings and his passivity, and when he ultimately confessed it was because he couldn't bear for his only confession have been to the witch. It was explicitly for the sake of closure rather than expecting reciprocation, which was a happy surprise.

Ultimately I think this route was very solid all around though it could have been improved in some ways. It also brings another point AGAINST Rozy, because I can't help but feel he WAS trying to pull a last minute Mr. Steal Your Girl despite claiming his confession was just for closure. If you only wanted closure... why did you not also confess in Silva's route, where you spent MORE time with Catarina and thus should have loved her there too? It comes across in hindsight like he cares too much about Silva to come between them but he's willing to try his luck with Catarina's other love interests.

Silva: It's rare for me to love the true/favored love interest in otome, but this is definitely an exception. His route was so good! I already liked Silva a fair amount from what I'd seen in other routes - not only is his design very appealing, but his Honorable Rogue shtick was right up my alley. So I went in with fairly high hopes and honestly still got way better than I expected.

I appreciated that while he and Catarina definitely get along right from the start, he WASN'T immediately into her. It was refreshing after literally all of her other love interests being in love with her from the start of the story (including new character Rozy, who either fell in love as a child or immediately fell for her upon reuniting). Silva's "romantic" scenes in the early parts of his route definitely felt like he was flirting more just because he's USED to getting women's attention and he was testing her reactions, rather than him genuinely trying to woo her. Instead, it's her complete trust and faith in him (despite him being a "pirate" and having a somewhat shady past that he initially tries to hide) that really warms him to her.

Either intentionally or accidentally, this pair kept stealing moments alone together, and almost every one served to bring them just a bit closer together. You could really feel their relationship shifting from strangers to acquaintances to friends to ultimately lovers. They were BOTH gradually getting to know and falling for the other, rather than it being largely one party trying to win over the other.

And while Geordo has a relatively small role in this route and isn't really addressed until the ending... I think that works. As I mentioned in Geordo's route, he was complacent and assumed his "victory" was secure. He might have been initially paranoid, but he took reassurance from Silva initially saying Catarina was like a little sister and didn't consider that those feelings might change. But then unbeknownst to him, Catarina ended up spending A LOT of time with Silva (and as I said, those moments often happened to be ALONE, so no one else truly knew just HOW close they were getting), and falling for him. Basically, Geordo was caught sleeping on the job in this route and by the time he considered Silva a threat, it was too late.

One aspect of this route I really loved was Silva's interactions and dynamic with Rozy and the Lindgren family. It's so clear how much Rozy and his father truly love Silva, and Silva loves them too but is reluctant to officially join their family because doing so would cause a minor scandal. He'd rather keep a wall between them than burden them in any way because he feels indebted and unworthy, while they WANT him in the family and would happily accept any trouble he brings.

Heck, Rozy loves Silva enough that he didn't hesitate to back off when he noticed Silva getting close to Catarina, despite presumably being in love with her himself! The subtle way he gave the pair his blessing through giving Silva the notebook that had her picture - something he had in the past told Silva he "couldn't give" him, despite Silva's curiosity - was honestly sublime. One of my favorite moments in the entire game.

I also adored Silva opening up about his family and culture to Catarina, and then how he used that unique culture to woo her. Even before the reveal, the ear kisses were SO GOOD and clearly affecting her. In the end, when he revealed it was actually a sign that he was courting her? Buddy, that's too smooth!

Speaking of his confession, I loved that initially it seemed he was going to just confess his feelings and then back off, leaving the ball in her court. He wanted her to know how he felt before she left, since it would be who knows how long before they saw each other again, if ever, but he didn't intend to pressure her. It was only AFTER she instinctively stopped and clung to him - after she'd given him some small indication that she reciprocated - that he made a move. And what a move it was! The way he warned her to stop him or leave if she didn't want this before kissing her, MULTIPLE TIMES, was just... very attractive. He was probably already my favorite before this, but even if he hadn't been, this scene would have pushed him to the top anyway.

And the epilogue is also very lovely, with him having finally been officially adopted by the Lindgren family. He found a reason worth troubling them - so he could have the status and education to "properly" be with her without society putting up a fuss. It's so cute to see her so thrilled to see him again and being so happy and excited at the prospect of marrying him.

Finally, the conflict and drama in this route was once again pretty good. I don't have much to say (mainly because while I DID enjoy the conflict, the romance was just astoundingly solid and stole most of my focus), but everything regarding human experimentation and how Silva was directly linked to it and the antagonist was good. I wish the villain wasn't a brand new character not even SEEN in other routes though (he might have been MENTIONED in one or two other routes, but that's it).

One thing I think this story does REALLY well is the Butterfly Effect of Catarina changing the game's canon (something she hilariously never seems to fully grasp). Her one meeting with Rozy changed his life. And even though she NEVER met Silva as a child, her chance meeting with Rozy also rippled outward and still positively affected Silva, making him radically different than the "in-game" Silva, who most likely WASN'T a romanceable character but a true villain (I find it hard to believe the game would let you romance someone who callously kills several people in his INTRODUCTION and who is part of a pirate crew that is legitimately threatening/evil. I like to imagine Rozy was the true "secret" romance in the fandisk, since he WAS still in the game and on the ship).

Overall I thought this game was great and it far exceeded my expectations. I expected (and got) comedy, but the romances were mostly good and there was more drama and intrigue to many of the plots/conflicts than I expected. I'll definitely be returning to this game to re-experience my favorites.

In terms of my feelings on the routes as a whole, best to worst: Silva -> Alan -> Nicol -> Rozy -> Geordo -> Keith

My feelings on the romance/relationship with Catarina: Silva -> Alan -> Geordo -> Nicol -> Rozy -> Keith

#otome #my next life as a villainess #hamefura #aside from the length the hardest part of this review was consistently using 'c' instead of 'k' for catarina #bc the GAME uses c but i'm like 90% sure when i watched the anime years ago the subs used k & that's what i'm used to

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demon-witch-cat · 1 year

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Guess who's gotten into Rottmnt/Tmnt 2012! Me!!

And you know what that means?

I've created an crossover AU between the two!

I've actually been working on this AU since September, and have been posting a bunch of art videos of it on my tiktok (demonwitchcat is my username on there too if you want to check them out, though I am going to try to post the ones I can here soon) I just haven't really gotten the chance to post it here since it requires me to type so much, lmao XD

Anyways, here's the first art piece I did for it! Some of the designs are a bit outdated, since I've changed them up a bit after getting the hang of drawing them, but for the most part it's all still cannon, lol

The AU is a ROTTMNT and TMNT 2012 crossover AU called "Wrong Home" and it takes place during the ending of the Rise movie & about a week after the first two episodes of the 2012 series. Age wise, this makes Rise!Raph(Rafa) two years older then the 2012 bros(17), Rise!Leo(Leon) & Rise!Donnie(Dee) both one year older(16), and Rise!Mikey(Angelo) the same age as them(15). This is kinda important.

So what happens is instead of Angelo being able to make a portal to bring Leon home, he accidentally and unknowingly sends Leon to the 2012 universe. The 2012 Brothers are alerted by some sort of tracker that Donnie has that some big mass of energy suddenly appeared in the streets of New York. Thinking it might be the Kraang, they go and check it out. They end up finding Leon passed out and injured in an alleyway. They take him back to their lair and patches him up. They also come to realize that Leon is from another universe, and is essentially another version of Leo. After Leon wakes up and the whole shock where's off, Master Splinter tells him that until they find a way to get him home, he can stay with them as long as he'd like.

Leon takes him up on the offer, and ends up become a sort of older brother to all of them, offering all sorts of advice and, once all healed up(atleat physically), helping out on missions and patrols. He makes sure to take a backseat role though, so that Leo can get the necessary practice he needs at being a leader so when it comes to making the harder choices, in the harder fights, he can.

Problem in the Rise universe though... They all think Leon is dead(or at the least they have no way to get to him in time before the Kraang kill him) and they mourn him. Over the course of the first month following Leons "Death", Rafa and Dee both end up isolating themselves in their grief, leaving Angelo alone most of the time. April notices this and convinces Rafa to let her, Cassandra, and CJ take Angelo out either to the hidden city or through New York in an attempt to help him. Rafa agrees, and this ends up becoming a common occurrence. April even gets him a cloaking broach with the help of Sunita.

However, a month later(2 months after the kraang invasion), while on their way to meet up with the Casey's, something ends up triggering Angelo and he has a panic attack so bad he activates his mystic powers and sends himself to the 2012 universe. Leaving April to tell the others that he's also gone.

Angelo's not as lucky as Leon though, and ends up getting found by the 2012 Kraang and taken prisoner. There, they experiment on him and force him to use his mystic powers. He's trapped there for roughly around four months before escaping on his own.

After escaping, he immediately goes into hiding, going undercover as a human using his cloaking broach. Not even a few hours after escaping though, he ends up meeting the Casey of the 2012 universe, who finds him in an alleyway coming down from another freak out. Thinking he was just some kid who had just been attacked by some gang or something, Casey takes him back to his place to get him patched up. After that night, Angelo finds an abandoned building and takes up shop there, getting most supplies/furniture from the junkyard and stealing what he couldn't(he'll later take odd jobs and similar things in order to get money to actually pay, but he can't do that right off the bat).

A week or two after meeting Casey, Angelo starts going to the same school as Casey. They re-meet and end up become close friends. Angelo even considers telling Casey of his mutant status, but decides he can't risk it.

Back in the Rise Universe, Dee and Rafa are devastated after learning about Angelo's disappearance. Having now lost two of their brothers, Rafa and Dee end up becoming extremely close and rarely ever leave the others side. They also rarely go out and fight crime anymore, both to scared to lose their last brother. They spend most of their time in Donnies lab. When their not in the lab, their out in the hidden city, not being able to take being in the rest of the lair as just about everything reminds them of their brothers. Splinter, April, Cassandra, CJ, and Draxum all try to help them, but they can only help so much.

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likeabxrdinflight · 5 months

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What is your take on Azula's relationship with Zuko? There's a lot of talk about her rivalry with him, but I find it more intriguing to talk about their other facets, like the implication that Azula deep down actually cares about her brother.

There's this odd phenomenon that's been happening in what I'll call ATLA fandom 2.0 (the post-netflix revival) where it seems like you have to pick a side- Zuko or Azula. If you stan one, you can't stan the other. And I haven't cared for that since, frankly, those two (alongside best girl Katara) are easily my favorite characters. So I'm not all that interested in "picking sides" and I'm not all that interested in them as rivals either. That said, it's important to note that their position in opposition to each other is important to the story the show is telling.

Azula is a character in her own right, but she's also a narrative device. As an antagonist, Azula is Zuko's most direct foil. She's his dark mirror, his evil twin (narratively speaking.) So when she's on top of the world, he's hit rock bottom, and vice versa. She represents the worst of the Fire Nation and is everything he could become if he were to give into his worst instincts (again, this is all speaking symbolically, their personalities are quite different). But because of this, she had to fall for him to rise. It's very effective storytelling within the three seasons of the show. Unfortunately that meant there wasn't much room within those three seasons to showcase any more nuance in their relationship.

I'm always torn on this decision by the showrunners, because on the one hand, it's a huge part of why Zuko's story arc is as effective as it is. And all my biases aside, Zuko's arc is very effective and, for a children's show released in 2005, pretty smartly written. It gets a bit overblown by the fandom, it's a pretty basic redemption arc at the end of the day, but it's still a well executed one and I think it's dishonest to pretend it isn't. On the other hand, it came at the cost of actually developing the relationship between Azula and Zuko and, arguably, of Azula's character as a whole. She isn't allowed to have her own arc independent of Zuko because she really only exists (from a writing standpoint) to be that dark mirror. She's not Aang et al's main antagonist. She's Zuko's. She doesn't really get to do much outside that role.

All that said I do think it goes without saying that Azula cares for Zuko. I think it also goes without saying that Zuko cares for Azula too, but he's ironically worse at expressing it (within the main series at least). Because of the way the show was written, however, none of this can be explored except in supplemental material or fanworks. And supplemental material has been...lacking, I think, in that department.

There's some awesome fanworks out there that explore their dynamic, though. I really do encourage people to go back into the archives and find stuff written years ago because stuff written at the time the show was airing/right when it ended are some of the best. The show hadn't yet been lionized as much and fandom opinions of the characters hadn't yet crystallized into what they are now (and also the comics and lok didn't exist so no one had to deal with that.)

#atla

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siryouarebeingmocked · 11 months

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Glass Onion (2022): Mixed company, mixed feelings

This movie is very Current Year, even though it finished shooting in 2021 and is set in May 2020. One minor joke early on; Blanc plays Among Us during lockdown, because he's so bored.

I am not making that up.

I had the same issue with the first movie. I wasn't sure what all the Topical References™ added to the movie. And I know we love to say that great art is timeless.

But as someone who actually does read a lot of old, public-domain, popular books, many had topical social issues in them. Heck, the first Doc Thorndyke book is about fingerprinting, which was cutting edge science at the time, and even makes a self-depreciating joke about it's inspiration, Sherlock Holmes.

I've enjoyed the odd Clancy or Connelly or Cussler or Cavanaugh or Patterson thriller. And those tend to be pretty topical. (obnoxiously so, in one case) Not to mention my love of the Vorkosigan Saga, which was so progressive in the 80s it's still progressive now.

I've also seen stories that had poorly integrated topical issues and much better-handled ones in the same show. The same episode, even.

So I don't know why the political stuff in the two movies rankled. I'd say my issue is "politics I disgree with", but I just mentioned enjoying a book series which is clearly waaay to my left.

Heck, both movies are blatantly inspired by Agatha Christie, and I distinctly recall topical stuff in my mum's old copy of *Third Girl*.

Like, literally the whole plot.

I read it a long time ago, but I think I'd still enjoy it.

Other, less important criticism. And spoilers.

-Blanc intially felt like a caricature, which was very different from the way he appeared in the first movie. turns out that's deliberate. He later says he was playing up the folksy Southernness.

Even though he's an internationally famous detective who lives in a $10,000,000 Park Avenue penthouse.

Don't ask me about the high-waisted pants, the cute little scarf around his neck, or the 19th century bathing costume he wears to the pool. Apparently his style in this movie was partially Daniel Craig's idea.

Also, he's gay.

It's not made explicitly clear during the film, and the guy he's living with could be a roomie or friend or assistant, but Johnson confirmed it. I'm not sure what it adds to the film, except an explanation for the scarf.

And also some irony when Birdie flirts with him, even though he's famous and probably publicly known to be gay. Heck, just his visible discomfort in those scenes would be irony enough, whether or not he liked women.

Miles Bronn -possible shallow Elon musk parody --he’s fooling people w/ fake genius, when he's really just a charismatic idiot. And one who gets swindled, possibly. -There's one bit of irony. Early on, Miles guests on his private island get a COVID vaccine. It later turns out Miles is an idiot.

Since the movie takes place entirely in May 2020, the implication is that Miles should know it's basically impossible to develop a proper vaccine in just a few short months.

Cough.

The actual main protagonist isn't Blanc, it's Cassandra "Andi" Brand and Helen Brand. Andi is a tech genius who Miles ripped off. And also murdered. So her twin sister Helen, a teacher, steps in.

Anyone familiar with the Trojan War is probably going "hey, wait a minute..." Did I mention that this takes place on a Greek island in the Aegean Sea? Which has Troy on its borders?

And the first things we see in the film are tantalizing wooden boxes?

Helen poses as Andi with Blanc's help, so they can investigate the murder and figure out which of Miles friends, “the Disruptors”, killed Andi.

Both Brands are played by Janelle Monae. A famously left-wing singer and actress, whose biggest film role was in the movie Hidden Figures, where she played one of a team of black women in STEM forgotten by history.

And in this movie, Monae plays two hidden figures, eclipsed by white men. One maliciously, one charitably.

Birdie --Birdie is an idiotic middle-aged singer who keeps getting cancelled because she does dumb stuff. -She sexually harasses Blanc. This is possibly why Blanc's gay, to make it extra ironic. -She's introduced at a party during lockdowns. When she arrives at the island, she wears a completely decorative facemask.

-Birdie prides herself on her honesty. In this case, it means she's inconsiderate and narcissistic, with no filter. Which makes it kinda ironic (or something?) when the day is saved in the end by a combination of lies and truth.

Duke -Dave Bautista plays an alt-right mra. Supposedly.

-He supports a girlfriend and his mother, who abuses him. He's three or four times mom's size. He goes "Mom, I told you not to interrupt when I'm recording!" and she physically slaps him. Not even any ramp-up, she just does it.

She also tries to disrupt his call with his friends by "helping" him solve Miles' puzzle box, right up until it's done, and she stops caring.

So the show decided to mock MRAs by...making one a male victim of domestic violence and emotional abuse from a woman.

And from what I saw on Youtube, plenty of people didn't notice the irony. In fact, I found an official Netflix short of the scene, and the comments were glad he was getting "put in his place" because he politely asked him mom to let him do his job.

Also, remember when I mentioned how Birdie sexually harasses Blanc?

This movie includes two examples of the exact sort of issues MRAs talk about all the time.

-I know he's supposed to be a parody, but of who, exactly? jordan peterson? andrew tate? Pewdiepie? All of the above?

I think they even got some alex jones in there when they mention how he sold pills. Specifically, "performance" pills for men, made from rhino horn.

-Duke carries a gun near his crotch at all times for most of the movie. Specifically, an underpowered Tokarev, I've read. On top of the abuse, he also self-cucks himself so his GF can try and pillow-talk Miles into supporting Duke's next endeavour.

Subtle.

And while I was looking up the gun, I found someone on /r/liberalGunOwners saying "well, maybe it's supposed to look Russian because he's pro-Putin like a lot of right-wingers?"

That's possible, but it would be a really obtuse reference in a movie chock full of really blatant references.

-Also, there's something a tad ironic about a supposedly (alt-)right influencer being a large, muscular, tattoo'd Hispanic man. Unless that's supposed to be a tan.

Claire -Claire is a left-wing, environmentally friendly politician. She wears beige, and always looks terrible (to Katheryn Hahn's frustration). She's also a hypocrite.

Some TVTropes editor: it's about progressive politicans that gradually turn conservative.

No, the message here isn't "conservatives bad". It's "hypocritical left-wing politicians are bad". And I'm not sure about the "left-wing" part.

Duke is a hypocrite because he self-cucks for advantage, and is also physically abused by his tiny little mom. Claire is just a straight up liar, as politicians often are. There's a contrast between his performative peacocking in every aspect of the way he presents himself, and Claire's beige cold mess.

I'm not kidding. That was the stated intent of her costume and makeup.

-claire calls duke an MRA. I'm not sure if the writers were wrong, Claire's wrong, or Duke actually calls himself an MRA in-universe. He's certainly a traditionalist, which MRAs usually aren't. He also wants women to get back in the kitchen, which MRAs usually don't.

And finally, there's Miles’ No 2., tech wizard Lionel, who spins Miles' straw - or napkin ideas - into gold. In fact, he spends most of the movie with a gold wishbone pin on his lapel. GEDDIT?

Duke is a right wing tradcon MRA who cares about physical appearances even though he has a bad social rep, Claire is a left-wing progressive with a terrible physical appearance and a good social rep, Birdie is an idiot who keeps saying un-PC things, and Lionel is the smart guy, who is apparently more or less apolitical.

Also, the movie has obvious inspiration from Christie's "And Then There Were None". And maybe Clue. Or Among Us.

Or all three.

#knives out #glass onion #netflix #tv #television #personal #writing

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salvagesmha · 2 months

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MHA Villain Speculation - The Curious Case of Trumpet

Now for another reason why I made this seperate blog: to post my just weird, gut feeling-ish theories concerning the Villains and their roles in the MHA series! No real evidence, just me speculating based upon how they were handled in the series.

And for our first entry we have everyone's...well, someone's favorite politician Villain! Representing the Meta Liberation Army it's Koku Hanabata AKA Trumpet...

And what I think of his weird treatment and what the 'original plan' in my eyes was supposed to be.

So I'll put it out there right off the bat: I do not think that Trumpet was supposed to live past the MVA Arc.

Now, that is a pretty big thing to claim and don't blame people for being skeptical. After all Trumpet's faction, the Hearts and Minds Party, is a major aspect of the PLF if they were to win, being the driving force to steer education, and thus the future more towards what the organization wants after Shigaraki destroys everything. It's even brought up again after his arrest and how the party was dismantled...

Yet, with that in mind, I can't help but feel this is something akin to a band-aid meant to involve someone who wasn't supposed to last as long as he did.

So why do I feel this way. Well, from the get go, MVA ends with a bit of an awkward note when it came to the MLA executive side. No matter how you slice it, the fact that Hori planned only for Curious to die out of the named five is just very weird in hindsight. After all, if the plan was for the MLA to join the LOV, then why not have her stick around as well? Why just kill one? It's just an odd detail, I'm sure everyone else would think so as well.

Well, what if she wasn't supposed to be alone? Given how much of a forefront he played in the Revival Celebration, from spurning the MLA soldiers to attack and even welcoming the League when they come to Deika City with Curious, (especially in the image above), I feel as though he was supposed to die in the event as well. If I were to be specific, I think the initial plan was for Spinner to prove Trumpet's view of him and his 'weak Quirk' wrong by using the strengths of his Quirk to get close enough to kill Trumpet. In turn, Spinner is able to lighten Shigaraki's load since Trumpet's death removes the effects of his Quirk to the soldiers of the MLA and makes them fall even easier for Twice's Sad Man Parade to handle.

But something happened. I think, ultimately, the plotline had to be scrapped as Hori went into Shigaraki's ordeal with Re-Destro. Perhaps it was to preserve the pace or maybe its because there may have been pressure from editors or the like to hurry the arc up, whatever the reason was, the fight was scrapped and Trumpet was spared as a result.

If that's the case, then it goes a way to explain the oddity concerning his placement in the PLF. Namely, the fact that he doesn't get to be a Commander of a Regiment (which is bizarre when you consider that Twice was the sole Commander of the Black Regiment, even though Trumpet easily could have been a Co-commander of it). Re-Destro made sense since he was the leader of the MLA as a whole up until Shigaraki, so he's pretty much the Vice Commander of the entirety of the organization as a whole.

But Trumpet? He just gets nothing, and while you can argue It's because he's a working politician, keep in mind Skeptic was a Commander while also being an executive of Feels Good Inc. He could certainly have been both, and likely be a good fit for Brown or Black. It's odd, but if you consider he wasn't supposed to live past MVA, then it starts making sense. He was supposed to be dead, so Hori didn't really have a set Regiment to give him, and by the time the First War came around, he opted not to really bother with it.

And on the First War? If you consider he was supposed to be dead at this point, than his involvement makes his role in it star to click...or rather. Lack of it. He doesn't do anything. Geten, Re-Destro and, especially, Skeptic had major roles to play in the War and Trumpet easily could have had a part in leading the army about or boosting them with his Quirk. Turning 16K people into a very dangerous force to contend with the Heroes! Yet-

He's taking out off-screen without affecting a thing. But why? Well, another reason I think Trumpet was supposed to be bite it in MVA, beyond giving Spinner his moment, has to do with Incite.

It's one of those Quirks that would fall into 'One-Shot Villain' tier on the latter of how tricky it is to write around. Think of Mustard. His Gas, while it worked for the Training Camp arc, would have been a nightmare to use in later arcs if he were to stick around given how effective it is as neutralizing enemies, require someone to be there with gas masks, and he can't really work with his allies since he could knock them out too - as much as I love Mustard, its very understandable why he couldn't stick around.

Trumpet also fits the bill since his Incite can very easily stack the favor in the Villains without much effort. With one speech, those thousands of soldiers can be buffed to prove an even more dangerous threat to the Heroes by being so caught in a frenzy they refuse to go down, and if worked in conjunction with Gigantomachia, I could see them even pushing back the Heroes to have even more escape!! Add that to having powerhouses like Geten and RD around, the aforementioned Giganto, Advisors (in theory), and the League (especially Shigaraki) fighting and the cards become too stacked for the Heroes to win. But if Trumpet were dead? The canon story becomes a lot more smooth as the soldiers have no one really giving them that boost to be as dangerous as they would be in MLA, and makes most of their capture make a lot more sense.

But, since he was left alive? Well, Hori's answer to that awkward fact, seemed to be just 'pretend he's dead' and just stick him in a panel for later, and be done with him. Which...was an option XD

On the matter of the Hearts and Minds Party, I also argue that the PLF could still use it even without Trumpet being around. He can just be a martyr for them to promote Liberation even more, which makes sense since Trumpet did that with Curious himself. Heck, a cool thing I think could have worked out is for both Trumpet and Curious to have successors in the MLA since their spots are vacant. For example,

Chrome and Diva, for lack of names (Hori please give these guys names), could have been selected to take up the mantle left behind by their predecessors, having been part of their party/Shoowaysha, respectively. That being said, given the PLF reshuffling, at the current moment, they were stuck as just #1 Advisors to the Commanders until a proper time to name them could be met. Give a bit of depth to them.

But that, seemingly (they haven't shown up yet after all), isn't the case! What we are left with is just Trumpet being the most 'there' Villain in the PLF until he's beat which pretty much has him at the bottom of the heap of MLA effect on the story. Yes, even Curious beats him in my eyes since her vestige/ghost still haunts Toga even in the Second War. At best, Trumpet got a passing mention of his own party being dissolved...which is even worse since now since its just confirming it can't be used any more XD

Now, do I wish Trumpet was dead in story? Not really, I wished all five of the MLA executives not only lived, but got some sort of story to head into the Second War - instead of just Skeptic (even though he is the GOAT~). There's a lot you can do with politician villains in stories, so seeing him pretty much reduced to the side was disappointing. But that's life, maybe he can appear in the jail that's holding Compress and Geten? But that's just hope on my end!

Though anything is better for Trumpet than essentially being a Walking Dead determinant character~ 'Yeah, this guy lived....but aside from some minor dialogue doesn't do much and is fated to be gone anyway'. Poor guy!

#koku hanabata #mha trumpet #meta liberation army #paranormal liberation front #salvage speculation #league of villains #redestro #geten #mha curious #mha skeptic #my villain academia #plf advisors

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