#anna of course isn't as bad but still
Note
Curious to see if - when - Anna will intervene in your HTRYDS series, X784 onwards I mean. Is she already aware of the Loke situation? I'd love to read about her meeting him again. Maybe getting pissed at Karen Lilica and the Celestial Spirit King. Also, officially meeting Lucy.
Hope you're doing well.
🐧
Anna will play a major part starting in some of the later arcs, though not really until then. I do have a few side stories planned, though—one for X780, another for X782, and then one for X784. The '82 one is specifically Loke's POV on the matter (which I really should have done before Demon Tales for Reasons, but it's also fine for afterwards, unless I squeeze it in randomly...) and the '84 one will involve Lucy. She's doing her best to be involved as little as possible, but Anna is still learning that these kids have attachments of steel, lol. And, eventually, I do want to let Anna actually be a badass, helpful asset like she can be.
#htryds#ask#penguin anon#anna heartfilia#anna and zeref are a little too similar for their own good#they really would just stay in their corners and pretend like#nobody cares for them#anna of course isn't as bad but still#there's some unhealthy habits rolling around back there#ahhh now i wanna go write on these#so many ideas so little time
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Taking care of them when they're sick. Killers.
Trickster, Pyramid Head, Mastermind, Huntress, Dredge (Platonic), Legion (Frank)
Trickster
Oh my God, please stop whining.
Ji-woon world's biggest baby.
If you get sick, he won't let you near him.
When he gets sick? Clingy, needy, brat.
Get me soup! I need more blankets! Don't leave me alone!
He's used to being pampered. So he expects you to do the same.
A sickening amount of cuddles. You aren't getting away.
You get sick? So what?
You get the honor of taking care of him.
When he's better, he'll be appreciative.
More snuggles, lots of kisses, lots of praise.
He may be annoying, but he really appreciates and craves attention.
Pyramid Head
He can't really get sick.
But he can get hurt.
Usually, his wounds close up pretty quickly.
But if he gets hurt real bad, he's going to need some help.
He isn't a huge fan of staying idle, so you're going to have to force him to rest.
He's very dedicated to his job, so keeping him still might prove a challenge.
Patch him up and clean his wounds.
Despite his lack of ability to show emotions or speak, it might seem like he's irritated.
He really isn't. Don't worry. It's actually a relief for him.
Oh, and, if possible, kiss the wound. That will really make his day.
As a token of appreciation, he'll pat your head and pet your hair. It isn't much, but it's how he shows his love to you.
Mastermind
Preposterous, he'd never get sick.
How dare you assume he's that weak.
He's Albert Wesker. He's the man that is going to shape the whole world in his image.
But, whether he likes it or not, he is sick.
The total opposite of Trickster.
A sick Wesker is a grouchy Wesker.
You're going to have to force him to stay in bed.
Because when this man gets sick, he really gets sick.
As independent as he wants to be, he needs help.
Because of the virus, he needs a lot more medicine than most to actually work.
Warm tea and enough medicine to drug an elephant usually does the trick.
After sleeping the full day he's usually recovered enough to start moving around again.
If you get what he gets, then of course he's going to complain.
"I was just fine on my own. Why can't you take better care of yourself? What would happen if I wasn't here?"
It's just his way of showing he cares and loves you.
Huntress
Oh, she's sick?
She never would've known
She's so used to taking care of herself that any sickness was ignored.
Anna doesn't mind how much you're taking care of you though. Even though she has no idea why you're fawning over her.
The attention and affection is more than welcome.
You might need to hide the medicine in a soup or something, because she won't take it otherwise.
She'd feel really bad if you caught whatever she had.
She would return the favor tenfold.
Home cooked soup. Hand hunted prey.
Lots of snuggles and kisses.
You're her little rabbit and she's going to take the best care of you.
Dredge (Platonic)
Probably shouldn't have eaten that.
Might've been one of the dead cows hanging from the trees in Coldwind.
Or maybe that horse?
Whatever he ate, it's making him really sick.
He's spewing up random objects that he's eaten throughout his lifetime.
A lot of objects that have been missing throughout history.
Airplanes, historical objects, some bodies, etc.
The biggest challenge with him is stopping him from eating more or everything he just spit up.
He is, quite literally, a bottomless pit. So safe to say he is hungry.
A hungry Dredge is not a happy Dredge.
After a day or so he'll be feeling better and willing to eat everything again. Just not the things that made him sick. He's learnt his lesson.
He'll find you some little trinkets to show his appreciation.
Just don't be offended if it's something gross. He's really trying.
Legion (Frank)
He's a stubborn little shit.
"I'm not sick. Shut up!"
It's going to take you and the rest of the Legion to make him take a day off.
"Fine. Whatever."
But he actually wanted to take the day off. He just couldn't let the others see him as weak and lazy.
This was all your idea.
Frank hates tea and soup. He'd rather have soda and crap food.
Well, tough, because that's not what you're eating right now.
And he does not cover his mouth when he coughs or sneezes. It's your own damned fault if you get sick.
He secretly loves all the attention and he really does feel like crap.
"Hey, I'm cold, come here."
You have no choice in that. You're going to have to snuggle with him till he falls asleep.
And, you are going to catch what he has.
He'll be the one taking care of you.
He knows he's the reason and he does feel bad.
He might not be the best at helping you, but he's really trying his best.
And it's all for you.
#dbd imagines#dbd killer#dbd x reader#dbd ask blog#dbd dredge#dbd huntress#dbd mastermind#dbd trickster#dbd pyramid head#dbd legion#dbd frank
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☆༉ — CHRIS STURNIOLO. The Unwritten Rule.
about. Everyone knows the rule, don't fall in love with your best friend's boyfriend.
author's note. This is the chapter 7, I hope it sounds interesting to you. My first language is not English. masterlis!
I started to relax a little after working for a while. Because Anna doesn't care about assignments when it's something she wants to do, like the individual investigative report we were assigned as part of the grade. He gives everything of himself, even more.
In eighth grade, she did an awesome interactive project about Broadway. He wrote about actors and actresses who were good in their day, and used their stories in a report, almost a book due to its length, about what Broadway represents for those who were part of the works that made it important.
It was so good that our English teacher wanted to talk to Anna's mom to try to publish it, but Anna's mom is always busy, and at the end-of-term ceremony she had to leave early, even before Anna received her award.
"Here," she says, pushing aside the book she was holding. "Now I know exactly what the proposal will be for my project - Broadway's fight to keep the ever-growing members of the media on edge.”
"Wow," I say, and she smiles.
"I know! Great, right?"
"Too much.”
She stretches and leans toward Chris. "What are you doing?"
"I don't know yet," he confesses. "Maybe something about how artists practice in a society where funds are harder to find, and how there are no real stars in the field anymore. At least not the ones everyone hears.”
"Because there is no money in them, just like you said," he remarked. "It's easy to be famous for just being someone, and that's what usually pays. Or at least it gives you something." Now his eyes are on me. “What are you doing?”
I shrug and Anna nudges my leg with her foot, smiling. "You already know that," she frowned, confused. "shoes, of course. Your obsession, which is completely strange" there was silence until she spoke again which is great.
"I don't think it's strange" Chris didn't seem to share Anna's thought. "I've never been to as many Broadway shows as how many, fifty? But I'm not saying you're obsessed."
"That's different," Anna babbles, "Why are you so mean? Ada, aren't you being mean to me?"
I know what I'm supposed to say, “yes” and then Anna will say “thank you” pretending to be sad and then she'll flirt with Chris and throw herself at him and... Why does Anna have to make me feel so bad sometimes?
"Good, now you're both being mean to me" he crossed his arms, pouting his lips pretending to be sad. "He's sorry that Broadway isn't as good as what you call art, Chris." He stops looking at Chris and now turns to me. "I'm sorry I don't want to read about shoes or spend years making ones that no one will see because who looks at feet?" oh that was really hurtful.
"I need some air." Chris stands up abruptly, walking out of the room. After a few seconds he heard the patio door sliding.
"Oh shit," Anna curses.
My gaze falls to the ground. "Do you think it's weird that I like shoes? Really?" I dare to ask him, still keeping my gaze on the ground.
"No," she replied, she was looking at the door and then I see her shake her head. "Not really. It's different, but it works for you."
What are you trying to tell me?
"What do you think I should do about Chris?" I change the subject so quickly, of course after all the only thing that matters is her relationship with Chris and not how I may feel. "Boys have gotten upset with me before, but it's always been for things like I don't want to be with them or talking to another boy. I don't understand why he's upset. I haven't said anything bad about him or his art," she bites her bottom lip for a second. "Well, not really anything bad. Would you go talk to him? See how upset he is?”
"I don't want to get involved, Anna" I looked up at her, with a serious face.
"Get involved? Come on, Ada. You just have to know why he's upset with me. It's asking him a question, and you've done it before. Besides, he didn't go against you."
"He didn't go against you, either. He just came out to take a breather." Of course, it's all about you, isn't it? "And I think you should go out and..."
I stop when Anna gives me a cold look, she is upset.
"I didn't tell you everything that happened last night”
Whats?!
"I asked Mike if he wanted to go out with me. I wanted to show that I can kiss someone else and it wouldn't be like kissing Chris. But it didn't happen like that. I keep thinking about what he would do if he saw me, and it wouldn't be like she was with another guy. I can't even imagine it focusing or anything. I can only see him leaving me and…” he sighs. "I couldn't stand it, and I'm sorry I said what I said about you and your shoes. You're not mad at me, right?”
"Just hurt" I notice Anna's surprised look.
"I didn't mean to..." his voice trailed off. "When I say things like that, I don't mean for them to sound bad. You know that, right?”
I nod, because I know, and Anna smiles as she stands up. She nudges me with her knee to make me follow her.
"Let's go" is already happy again. "Talk to Chris, I'll prepare something to eat."
I stare at her, jealous, I get upset with myself for it and she bites her lip.
"I'm really sorry. I'm a horrible person. You shouldn't go out with me, and now you know why my parents never want to be around me."
Her voice breaks on the last few words, and I know exactly why Anna is the way she is, why she's so quick to say words that hurt more than she thinks. I know why she is so scared of being left behind. Why did it happen to you?
"Your parents suck. Too much," I spoke truthfully. "And I've wanted to be with you since we were in kindergarten."
"Oh really?" I nod my head in response. "Thank you" she whispered, hugging me and then she walks away and pushes me towards the patio door, we walk together towards the door without going through it.
"Look at him" we both looked at Chris. "Its not cute?"
He was standing outside, a few steps from Anna's yard, with his head down, his eyes closed. He looks tired and sad. It made me want to run up to him and hug him and tell him to let it all go.
"He's fine" I speak, Anna laughs and opens the door now pushing me through it gently. Pushing me towards Chris. He turns around as I do so.
He takes a step towards it and I can hear Anna humming as she closes the door. I wanted to go back and sit on the couch.
But really what I want is to be with him out here alone.
"Chris?" I said, hoping my body wouldn't shake like that just from saying his name.
"Hey" he said, turning to face me, the light that was supposed to shine on the back garden and exposed potential thieves or the weed or whatever was there just for him at this moment, just shining on him, and he's magnificent, and I kissed him.
I kissed him, and he kissed me, I should have talked touching his hair, I should have memorized the feeling of his mouth, there should be more than just thinking. "Yes, this is it, this is what I've been waiting for, this is how it had to be."
"Anna is very worried," I said, but the words came very quickly, as if by not getting them out of my mouth quickly enough I would stop thinking. I would stop loving. "She likes you a lot" and now my voice was cracking, but I wasn't sad, I'm not. I forced myself to smile, spreading my mouth wide. "She'll even make you something to eat."
She's never done that for another guy.
He looked at me, and I wondered if he could look inside my head, if he could see the words that I had no longer said out loud, and that I wouldn't dare say.
"Are you okay?" he asked me, still looking at me, I felt my smile slip, fade, and the silence that fell upon us was so full that I could hear nothing, neither the hiss of my heart beating in my chest, nor the sounds around us; insects, the wind, and the other distant rumbles in each other's lives in houses built close, but not too close because when you look out the window all we pretend to be seeing is the new.
But Chris is not mine.
"I'm fine," I replied. Looking over my shoulder, I caught a view of Anna moving around the kitchen, with fluid grace even when doing something as ordinary as making popcorn. She could get extra butter just because she knew I liked it, I knew that about her just like I know she had chickenpox when she was four, and she had a scar on her right ankle because of that, the only place she had been marked, her mother told her that she had been bad for doing that and it made her cry. "I'm fine" I said again, and this time when I looked at Chris I forced myself to look at him with Anna the first time, that first night at the party at the end of summer, and then the moments that came, after school, weeks of them together. Weeks, which I did because I had to see what was real.
"You should go in and talk to her" he pointed inside. "I'll give you five minutes of privacy and then I'll go in, grab my things and leave."
He looked at the ground. "Can I ask you something?"
Yeah. No Yes. I sang internally, I forced myself to shrug my shoulders, to say “sure.” Without words right now I couldn't do anything.
"Ada" He said coming closer, my fingers curled inside my sneakers, waiting. Waiting for whatever was to come. "I need to know something, you... Do you remember the party before school started? You were in the studio and I came in.”
I nodded, watching his torso work, his pale skin caught in the glow of the light falling on the darkness.
"I really wanted to keep talking to you" the words came out in a whisper. "And when I called your house the next day, I didn't call for Anna, Ada. I wanted to talk to you."
"With me?"
"Yes," his voice was rough, intense, and we were too close to touch, but we weren't, we weren't.
But I could feel everything around us, with every breath I took there was the promise of his skin touching mine, and I wanted that.
I wanted us to kiss again, I wanted him to kiss me, I wanted him.
I love him, and he is looking at me like he looked at me that night.
He is looking at me like he wants to kiss me.
"Chris" His name came out of my lips like a plea. I was afraid of this, of him, of me, especially of him and me. But not enough, not as it should. Then his head lowered toward mine and I rose to my feet, longing to find him and then...
And then Anna's mother yelled, "Who the hell parked their car in my garage?!"
author's note. If you want to be part of the taglist leave a comment below and I will add you. Thanks for reading, remember to like, share with your friends and leave a nice comment ^^
taglist. @l34n @jetaimevous @jnkvivi @loveyoumatthewbernard @d1tzy-bl0nde @laxbabe131147 @slut4chriss @dontellaf1lms @surniolozzzprincess @sturnlova @inlovewithchriss @whicked-hazlatwhore @mattsgirlsblog @nsjsnshey @always-reading @y-s-a-p @h3arts4harry
#sturniolo triplets#੭ 🤍 ! 𝓈#﹙𝐂𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐬. 𝐒﹚🦌 ，#chris sturniolo x you#nick sturniolo#chris sturniolo#matt sturniolo#matt sturniolo x you#matt sturniolo x reader#christopher sturniolo#matt sturniolo fanfiction#matt sturniolo smut#chris sturniolo fanfic#matt sturniolo fluff#sturniolo#chris sturniolo fluff#chris sturniolo soft#chris sturniolo smut#christopher owen sturniolo#chris sturniolo x reader#christopher sturniolo x reader#matt sturniolo fanfic#matthew bernard sturniolo#matt sturniolo imagine#nicolas sturniolo#matthew sturniolo#sturniolo fanfic#sturniolo imagine#sturniolo fluff#sturniolo triplets smut
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Christmas Party | C.C.
Summary: you are invited to a Christmas party and you beg Christian to be your date to not look lonely to Jack.
Author's Note: I'm like in love with this story. 🥺🥰 Tried to make it funny and flirty. Hope I succeeded.
@theswitchbladessweetheart (hope you feel better ❤️)
@midwestmade29
@1dluver13xx
"Heeeeey it is my absolute favorite patriarch," you greeted seeing Christian backstage. He tensed at hearing your voice. Any time you greeted him that way you needed a favor. Nick chuckled and walked away giving you some privacy to talk. "Remember that favor you owe me for babysitting your daughter?"
"You mean that one time you were supposed to watch her for like five minutes while I cut a promo? And when I came back you spent five minutes looking for her because you forgot she was hiding for hide and seek?" He asked with a raised eyebrow. Of course the grumpy old man remembered the bad part. Typical.
"That very time, yeah, good, you remember. Listen, I was invited to a Christmas party and I need a date. Are you free on Friday night?" you told him. He looked at you puzzled. Christian never thought you would want to be with him outside of wrestling business.
"Why do you need a date exactly?"
"I just do, please, I will do anything,"
"Seriously? What is this high school?" Christian muttered and walked away. You yelled at him to wait and stood in front of him to block him. He rolled his eyes and looked at you. An amused yet annoyed look on his face. You had a few seconds to plead your case.
"I asked everyone else and they said no,"
"Who did you ask?"
"Max"
"And what happened?"
"He slammed the door in my face. I asked Roddy and he said he was going with Adam. Well, actually, he yelled Adam's name so I'm not sure. HOOK and Orange just stared at me while eating chips. I promise it will be worth your while,"
"Why?"
"A certain curly haired Jungle Boy will be there," you sung. The Captain Charisma figured it out. You didn't want Jack to see you alone while he had Anna.
Christian stared at you in deep thought. His blue eyes dazzled in delight. Jack would certainly not like seeing you with him. He simply nodded and told you he would text you when it's closer.
🎄
"And you still don't think he has a crush on you?" Skye questioned while looking at your reflection in the mirror. She agreed to help you with your hair and makeup. You never agreed for her to give you the third degree.
Ever since she made it to your apartment you were bombarded with questions about tonight. She started to sound like a parent. Every time she brought up Christian liking you, you shut it down. He was just doing it to mess with Jack nothing more or less. A point you frequently brought across.
"He's doing this to piss off Jack. He wasn't going to say yes until I told him he was coming," you insisted.
"Don't take this the wrong way but you are a blind idiot," she insulted.
"Oh good because I was immediately going to take that as a compliment," you scoffed.
"He trained you and was always there for you when Jack dumped you for Anna. What are we missing here, girl?"
"He is just really nice. I was his manager for a while and babysat his kid,"
"Are you really flexing on that time you lost his daughter because you forgot you were playing hide and seek with her?"
"It was one time and the new season of Stranger Things just came out!"
"And trust me he trained you because he wanted to be closer to you,"
"He wants younger talent to succeed. I bet if Kyle asked Christian would happily help him,"
"Kyle did ask him over text. Christian sent a screenshot of his cash app username and said he isn't a charity,"
You tried to hide a laugh. A pissed off Skye would not help your situation. A knock on your front door ended your conversation. The butterflies in your stomach now in full force. Despite always having a crush on him you honestly never saw anything from him. You looked in the mirror one last time.
"I look great. How can I ever repay you?"
"If I ever ask you for relationship advice please don't give it to me or remind me to do the opposite of what you say," she joked. You shot her a glare and stood up.
You called out that you were coming to the door and opened the door to see Christian. The man before you was dressed to the nines for the Christmas party. Long gone were the tights, t-shirts, and velvet sweater. Now he wore a tuxedo with a blue tie that made his eyes pop.
"You ready?" He asked leaning against the doorframe. A smirk tugged his lip as he saw you staring at him.
"Have her home by ten, Cage, I know where you work," Skye called out and winked at him. He smiled back at her.
🎄
"What a gentleman," you teased when he held the door open for you. He grabbed your hand and helped you out of the car.
"I'm not the little boys you are used to dating," he joked and closed the door behind you. He adjusted his jacket and tie before taking your arm around his.
"Really selling this, Christian, I knew you were a good choice,"
"Well I have to pay you back for that poor excuse you call babysitting," he chuckled. You slapped his arm playfully as he walked you to the backyard. His hand placed securely at the small of your back. "Let's get this party started,"
The backyard had curtains of Christmas lights covering the fence. A hot chocolate bar with assorted Christmas treats laid neatly on a wooden table. A DJ played a mix of Christmas songs and other assorted hits. A projector displayed a Christmas movie. Different Christmas games were spread out to get the guests to mingle with one another. Pillows and blankets of different styles laid around the yard to ensure maximum comfort.
"Isn't this amazing?" You asked and looked at him. His hand was pressed to his forehead. His blue eyes squinted as if he was looking intently at something.
"I think one of the lights on that curtain doesn't work,"
🎄
The night wore on with you trying to avoid Anna and Jack. It was pretty easy. Jack stayed on his phone on a bench. He mindlessly scrolled as if that was the only thing going on. Every so often he would stare at you with Christian. He glared at you if you happened to meet his gaze. Anna stayed inside the house complaining about Jack.
"Do you mind if we dance?" You asked expecting a no. Jack used to never want to dance with you. Any time you went out you had to dance with your friends. Christian looked at the dance floor and back at you. He took one last drink from his beer.
"Fine but don't get intimidated by my dance skills," he accepted your invitation.
"Wait, really?" You asked and smiled wildly. He grabbed your hand and led you to the dance floor. He spun you around before placing an arm securely around your waist. His other hand grabbed yours.
The music played softly through the speakers. You were glad the song wasn't too fast. He was surprisingly a good dancer and easy to follow. The man certainly had many talents.
"You look beautiful tonight," he whispered in your ear. "I forgot to say that earlier,"
"Are you saying I'm not beautiful on most nights?" you giggled and looked in his eyes. "You are not so bad looking yourself,"
He spun you around and pulled you closer to him. You wondered if he was trying to sell this to Jack or if Skye could be right. A part of you wanted the latter. You just needed a sign. Anything to prove that maybe you weren't just another wrestler to him. You would get your wish shortly after.
He placed his forehead against yours. His blue eyes stared into yours as if to read your reaction. When he noticed you didn't pull away he placed his other hand to your hip. You placed your hands on his head running them down to his neck. Your hands rested on his shoulders.
"Christian, you don't have to do this," you whispered. "I don't want you to feel uncomfortable,"
"He's not looking. It's just you and me," he confided in you. "If you want me to stop I will,"
"Please don't stop," you pulled his jacket so he was closer to you. You could barely hear the music with how loud your heart was pounding. Your cheeks burned brightly. With the help of your high heels, your lips pressed against his. He stood in shock momentarily before kissing you back.
Growing up you always read about a spark when you kissed the right one. You always told yourself that the spark would eventually ignite when you were with Jack. After the break up you were sure it was just a fairytale. Now maybe it was time to live your own real life fairytale.
He looked at his Apple Watch and sighed.
"It's Adam. I gotta take this call. Don't go anywhere," he apologized and kissed your forehead. He walked inside to a quieter place to take the phone call. You walked to the hot chocolate bar to warm up a little.
🎄
"Seriously? The whole you bringing one of my ex-friends to not look lonely is a little pathetic," Jack sneered. You jumped not expecting him to bother you. He was so adamant about not being anywhere near you. "Can't find someone your own age?"
"You cheated on me with one of my closest friends and I'm pathetic?" You asked bitterly. Not only did your friendship with Anna end but your relationship with Jack. "You and I clearly have different definitions of pathetic,"
"You being the type of person to fuck around with anyone in the business just proves that leaving your ass was the best choice i could’ve ever made,”
Tears immediately sprung into your eyes. This was exactly what used to happen while dating him. He made outlandish claims against you. Things that were never true but still hurt. The party was no longer fun for you. Maybe you could text Christian to meet you at the car.
"Want to say it again, Perry?" Christian asked from behind Jack. The younger wrestler turned to see his now enemy and ex mentor. Everyone knew he would never repeat himself after getting choked out by CM Punk after an altercation back in August. He was more respectful to the veterans to their face. "Come on, Y/N. We are getting out of here,"
You slowly walked past Jack and into Christian's arms. He pulled you in for a hug and kissed the top of your head. His arms felt so safe like he could save you from anything and everything. The sound of his heartbeat calming you.
"Oh, and Jack, go fuck yourself," he hissed. He took your hand and led you back to the car leaving a shocked Jungle Boy in the backyard.
#fanfiction#imagine#aew#christian cage#christian cage fanfiction#christian cage fanfic#christian cage x you#christian cage x y/n#christian cage x reader
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Hey all! So recently Wish was added to Disney+, and I thought it might be a good opportunity for me to watch it again for the first time since I saw it in theaters. I asked you all what I should write about after watching it, and in the end, the top answers were an analysis of the criticism surrounding Wish and something focusing more on the positive aspects of the movie, rather than just the usual mindless bashing.
So that's what I intend to write! A look back at some of the common criticisms I've heard about the film, and how much weight they actually have.
Now, before we begin, I should put in a disclaimer -- I don't particularly like Wish as a film. I think it had ridiculous amounts of potential that were likely hampered by corporate decisions, but I personally find it to be one of Disney's weaker animated films. That being said, as promised, I will make any critiques I do include as balanced as I can, and I will try to include praise where I can too.
So let's start!
"Asha is a badly written character because she has no character arc."
This is a critique I actually found on a list also discussing valid criticism of Wish, and I knew I had to include it, because even BEFORE I rewatched the movie, I thought it was a bit unfair. Because here's the thing: there are plenty of good films, Disney or otherwise, where the main character doesn't have/need a character arc. All of Walt's original three princesses, Snow White, Cinderella, and Aurora, don't have character arcs. Ariel doesn't have an arc either -- instead her father Triton is the one who goes through a change of heart. Neither does Pongo, or Basil of Baker Street, or Robin Hood. Indiana Jones doesn't go through any real character development in Raiders of the Lost Ark, yet he was interesting enough to inspire a whole movie series! with mixed results. The important part is that even if a main character doesn't develop personality-wise, we should still be able to root for them and want them to achieve their goal. We don't want Cinderella to be abused by her stepfamily -- we want her to find someone who loves her and will take care of her the way she takes care of others. Although it can be more interesting to give your characters an arc while they pursue their goals, it isn't necessary to tell a good story or write a compelling character. Sometimes a story can be more focused on how their life circumstances or environment changes around them.
Another criticism this leads into is the idea that Asha is just another "quirky female lead" a la Rapunzel, except without any background that justifies it. And well...plenty of people griped that Anna was too much like Rapunzel, when Frozen came out. I saw people compare Moana to both Rapunzel and Mulan, when her film came out. Mirabel was also compared to past Disney heroines like Anna and Rapunzel. Even before Wish came out, people tried to argue that Asha looked just like Isabela Madrigal, which was just ridiculous. There's plenty of bad-faith criticism out there that'll shallowly associate one character or story element with one trope exclusively without looking at any nuance or detail. And I think most people would agree that truthfully, none of these female characters are the least bit "the same," no matter how much someone might try to all boil them down to "the quirky Disney female lead." And, like the others, Asha has traits that set her apart. The big one for me is her bent toward social justice, which is something we haven't really seen in a Disney leading lady since Esmeralda in The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Even so, I admit that Asha's quirkiness isn't as justified by her backstory as the trait is by Rapunzel's isolation or Mirabel's "outcast" status in her family, and that does make it so that her characterization has less depth than those of some of her counterparts'. Does that make Asha a bad character? Of course not. If you like Asha as written, that's totally fine. Underdeveloped doesn't have to mean unlikable.
"There are too many characters in this movie!"
Even I've been a bit guilty of thinking this. I still feel as though the film would've saved a lot of space if some aspects of Asha's friend group had been redistributed to other characters. Like okay, you want to reference the Seven Dwarfs in Asha's inner circle, but give them all distinctive personalities? Have her mother fill the Bashful role, and cut Bazeema. Have her grandpa be Happy, and cut Hal. Have Valentino be your Grumpy role, and cut Gabo. Have Star play your Dopey, and cut Dario. Suddenly you only have three characters -- Simon, Safi, and Dahlia -- to introduce in that kitchen scene instead of seven, and you've also now given Asha's mum, grandpa, and sidekicks more personality as well!
That being said, the amount of characters truly isn't the problem. The real problem is time. Because let's be honest, we can ALL think of media with a large cast of characters we've become strongly emotionally invested in. The Lord of the Rings -- The Avengers -- Hazbin Hotel...but the difference is how much time the audience is given to get to know all of these characters. Even Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, which has a cast of eleven, ends up leaving the Prince and the Huntsman rather underdeveloped compared to the Dwarfs. We don't ever learn the Evil Queen's whole deal or even her name, and she gets a lot of focus! With Wish only being ten minutes longer than Snow White with a cast of fourteen, it's little wonder the filmmakers struggled to have all fourteen of them leave a strong, unique impact. Even when I first watched the film, I didn't feel anything negative toward Asha's friend group -- if anything, I was happy to see a Disney animated female lead with a friend group of her peers, since the closest we'd gotten to that previously was Hiro in Big Hero 6 and Mei in Pixar's Turning Red. All of Asha's friends had the potential to be very interesting people, and that's why it's sad that we didn't get to see more of them and have the chance to become invested in them as individuals.
"Magnifico was actually right the whole time! Asha is the REAL villain of the story."
I see this one a lot, both from people who disliked the movie and fans who stan Magnifico, and as much as I won't give anyone a hard time for liking Magnifico, I think this view isn't really fair to either character or to the story the filmmakers pretty clearly wanted to tell. And sadly, as much as I want to be positive, I think this interpretation comes about partly because of inconsistent writing on the filmmakers' parts.
In Welcome to Rosas, there is this utopic vision presented of the island -- one that only reinforces the story told to us at the beginning by Asha, of how this man who loves wishes learned powerful magic so he could found this idyllic island kingdom with his wife where he could make wishes come true. Unfortunately, for some viewers, I think that propaganda works a little too well -- making us see Rosas as a place that truly is that happy and content and peaceful. And yeah, that does make it so that when Asha sings about how she wants "more than this," that could make her come across as rather selfish and entitled. But I think there are a few things that are good to remember --
Welcome to Rosas is framed as an advertisement of sorts -- like one of those commercials you see promoting Disneyland and how magical it is, without ever bringing up how much money it costs or how many lines you'll have to stand in. Asha's guiding some new people around with the goal of convincing them to stay and give their wishes to Magnifico, so of course it's going to sanitize the kingdom and make it seem like a place you'd want to stay in. There's blatant hyperbole thrown in there for dramatic effect, like the idea that you could go to outer space. Asha even sings that you're "unlikely to be unhappy": not that you'll be happy living on this island, just not unhappy. And yes, there is a difference between contentment and true, fulfilling happiness.
Simon's friends flat-out call him boring, after he turned eighteen and gave up his wish. This foreshadows what we learn about the wishes later, which is that they're a core part of a person that they're left a shadow of themselves without. At the wish ceremony later on, we can see this in the animation of the two "new citizens" giving their wishes to Magnifico. When they think of their wishes, they're full to the brim with joy, but when they've given them up, they're left looking confused and almost bereft, and even as everyone else cheers, they look unconvinced by the crowd's cult-like "forget without regret" chant. According to Wish's own canon, you're cutting out the "heart" of who you are, when you give up your wish.
Considering Amaya says that Asha will need to keep the tea hot, listen whenever and for however long Magnifico wants to talk, and never question anything, Magnifico didn't want an apprentice -- that would insinuate he'd actually be teaching them magic. If anything, it sounds more like he wanted a personal servant to cater to his whims. And when that person interviewing before Asha disappoints him, he's left running down the hall crying hysterically. This develops Magnifico as the film's future antagonist. Already long before he uses the evil magic book, we see that he wants a subordinate to do whatever he wants without question or complaint, seemingly for nothing in return except his own approval and, I would presume, some sort of paycheck. (I mean, I'm not saying Asha was right to expect favors from Magnifico so soon, or that that kind of quid-pro-quo stuff isn't corrupt as heck, but considering she and Magnifico did seem to connect over how important the wishes were, and considering Sabino's 100 years old, can you blame Asha for opening up about her hope that Magnifico would consider granting her grandfather's wish? She never framed it as a quid-pro-quo, and this probably would be the best chance she'd have to appeal to the King directly.)
Asha is seventeen! Of course her world view is going to be smaller and more idealistic than Magnifico's, and of course her family is going to be the center of her world. At the same time, even if Asha is young, it doesn't mean her perspective isn't worthy of compassion and respect. Sometimes the young do have a more meaningful view of a situation than their elders -- just look at David Hogg, or Malala Yousafzai, or Greta Thunberg...hell, even Anne Frank! However upset Magnifico was about Asha disagreeing with and contradicting him, it does not justify how pettily he decided to shut her down. He was an adult, and a ruler besides: it behooved him to act like one.
The filmmakers clearly envisioned Magnifico as the villain. Even if you want to ignore the promos where they compared Magnifico to the likes of classic Disney villains, Magnifico is portrayed as an arrogant, vain, vindictive control freak. He thinks only he knows what's best for everyone else, has decreed that only he has the authority to cast magic or grant wishes, and knows how beautiful people's wishes are, but prefers to hoard them away like trinkets, long before realizing that crushing them gives him power. (Not to mention he looked at Asha's hand-drawn animation and actually said, "Do we call that a talent?" I mean -- excuse you!) I've even heard some people theorize that Magnifico was based off Disney's "collect-'em-all" CEO himself, Bob Iger, and not in a flattering way. His main argument scene with Asha has been compared to how creatives have felt about their corporate bosses abruptly shutting down and locking away their incomplete films rather than let them be finished or released. Admittedly Wish also goes out of its way to try to make Magnifico sympathetic by giving him the slightest of tragic backstories, having him actually trust Asha enough to show her the wishes after only just meeting her, and (later on) not giving into the temptation of the random evil magic book because Amaya asks him not to, and that definitely muddies the waters. I still have to stand by the fact, though, that one's motivation doesn't excuse their bad behavior, however much one can explain the other. Magnifico having a sad backstory or trauma doesn't mean he's justified in treating people poorly, collecting wishes for his own enjoyment instead of truly loving them and the people they're attached to by sharing them with others, or not wanting people to ever question him or his authority. Magnifico's "nicer" moments don't mitigate these things either. Nor does his role as king. Even if yes, the story could've done well to add more nuance to the idea of wishes and make clear that not all of them are good -- and yes, the story could've either made Magnifico's villainy a bit more straightforward or followed through with the idea of Magnifico being a misguided anti-villain...in this film, we only see good wishes represented in Rosas. Magnifico even calls the wishes "the very best part [of a person]" -- and so one can only presume that all of the wishes Magnifico's collected are that way. Asha even suggests (before Magnifico interrupts her) that if a wish is dangerous, they could probably address that, while still giving back the wishes Magnifico won't grant. And the wish that Magnifico explicitly calls too "dangerous" to grant is Sabino wanting to inspire future generations, presumably through music. Paranoia on Magnifico's part? Perhaps, but also unjustified, in the context of the film. When Star comes down, every last person in Rosas -- including Magnifico's wife and queen, Amaya, who presumably must know something of his trauma and understand wanting to protect their people -- feels nothing but warmth, hope, and joy: all except for Magnifico, who immediately reacts in fear just seeing the wishes moving outside of his control. This insinuates that Magnifico's perception is the odd one out -- he's the only one who's afraid and not inspired, because that alternative magic threatens his absolute rule and control. Just like he's threatened by his people asking too many questions about the wishes he's taken. Just like he's threatened by the idea that Sabino could inspire the next generation in a way he doesn't approve of. And in the end, if that random evil book did corrupt Magnifico, it only magnified what was already there inside of him -- a greedy, obsessive need to hoard things away all for himself and to control others.
Again, for those people who see Magnifico more sympathetically than the filmmakers intended, I can understand why. Wish has two very conflicting ideas of who Magnifico is supposed to be, likely because it was compiled from dramatically different script drafts. But I feel demonizing Asha or ignoring the film's overall message about the value of people being free to chase their dreams to try to prop Magnifico up is misguided.
"Wish is bad because it's 'woke.'"
I almost wonder if I even need to say anything. This sentiment is so disingenuous, it seems like I should really be able to let it speak for itself. Ironically enough, though, I would actually argue that one of Wish's biggest shortcomings is that it isn't as revolutionary as it clearly wants to be.
For one, the culture of Rosas -- inspired largely by Spain and the Mediterranean -- is really never explored. We get no real influence of either of those cultures on the soundtrack aside from a few mandolins and a flourish of castanets now and again, unlike how Encanto embraces Colombia or how The Princess and the Frog celebrates New Orleans with their music. There's a lot of diversity in Wish's cast with a biracial lead and her colorful friend group (including Dahlia, who has a crutch!), but that would be a lot more meaningful if that diverse cast of characters had had fully fleshed-out personalities and relationships that made us emotionally invested in them, such as how Turning Red handled Mei and her friend group. We have aspects of social justice in Wish's storyline, sure -- but as much as you can draw parallels to Wish's story and the writers' strike that had been going on earlier that year and I think those parallels are striking, a film that clearly dealt with so much corporate oversight and meddling almost couldn't commit to making their villain a True Evil sort, and in the end, Rosas doesn't even do away with the absolute monarchy at the end of their supposed "revolution": it just shifts leadership from its King to its Queen. (And yes, I acknowledge saying "no more royalty" is a message that Disney, of all companies, would be hesitant to put out there, but you can't deny, it would've been both ballsy and different.)
Does this mean Bob Iger was right, that Wish is proof its creative types are focusing too much on message and not on entertainment? No. I'd say the bigger problems with the film were more likely caused by corporate interference -- you know, like hiring some popular pop composers to write songs that can be repackaged into other projects easily rather than primarily tell the story and develop the characters. Or deciding that our main female lead has to be able to do everything on her own without "too much help" from her main co-star (LOL, pun) because "feminism." Or defanging the villain with similarities to the company's CEO so he won't scare the kiddos. Or even animating the film at the exact same time as you're writing it like you previously did with Frozen II, to save time and take advantage of the 100th anniversary timing.
Even so, I sadly can't help but feel that Wish is "woke" largely in a performative sense. It features people who look different from each other and it talks about revolution and positive change, but it really doesn't go far enough to depict diversity in a way that people can get really excited about it or inspire deep thought and even maybe positive change in its audience. That's not focusing too much on message and not on entertainment -- if anything, it's more indicative of not giving the relevant and timely themes and the diverse culture enough focus.
"The meta Disney references are awful."
This one I think really is much more subject to personal taste. I've heard quite a few fans say how fun it is to find all the Easter eggs for other Disney projects or even to theorize how Wish could be connected to those movies in some kind of Disney Cinematic Universe. Personally I'm not in this camp, but that doesn't mean that I hate all the references included. The film opening with the exact same kind of text from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs actually made me smile. The Sleeping Beauty-esque drawing style in the storybook was pretty. Even the Seven Friends as an idea I thought was cute, when I first saw the concept art for them.
By and large, the references I tend to see more favorably are the ones only hard-core Disney/animation fans would pick up on. This might make me sound snooty, but I still personally enjoy references like Star's design being based on one of the star cherubs from a discarded Snow White sequence far more than I do the more blatant ones like Magnifico crushing a dream about a "perfect nanny" or the boy dressed like Rosasbound!Peter Pan. I guess for me, the first kind of references feel more like homages, rather than things that are deliberately supposed to make you think of other Disney movies you could be watching instead of this one. For other people, though, thinking of different Disney films while watching Wish is fun, and it reminds them of how much they enjoy those other movies too. It's good, clean, nostalgic entertainment. And well, Disney has put plenty of Easter eggs in its work before, though usually a bit more sparingly.
So yeah, I think ragging on the flood of Disney Easter Eggs in Wish is a bit unfair. As much as most of them aren't for me and I would've been happier with a lot less of them, I know there are other people who find joy in them, and I'm happy they do. The animators working on this film undoubtedly had a lot of fun including those references too, and I don't blame them! It's fun to create art celebrating what you love with like-minded people.
"Wish's songs are all terribly written."
Now up to a certain point, I could just say exactly what I said against the last criticism -- that this really comes down to personal opinion. Unlike meta Easter eggs, however, music is an art form, and there is real craftsmanship to it -- hell, people study music theory for a reason. And as several Youtubers have discussed before, there are real structural problems to how a lot of these songs are written. In some cases, it's an issue of cadence, where the way the words are sung don't sound like how they'd be naturally spoken aloud. In Knowing What I Know Now, for instance, sometimes the singers use the wrong emphasis on certain words, just based on where they land in the song, such as when Asha sings about Magnifico showing his "TRUE col-ORS in SHADES of GREEN," even if people don't naturally emphasize the second syllable in the word "colors." In other cases, it's over-stuffing a line with words so that the melody line isn't as memorable, such as in This Wish where the amount of syllables per line are all over the place and sentences get cut in weird places --
Isn't truth supposed to set you free? (9)
Well, why do I feel so weighed down by it? (10)
If I could show them everything I've seen, (10)
Open their eyes to all the lies, then (9)
Would they change their minds like I did? (8)
But when I speak, they tell me, "Sit down!" (9)
But how can I when I've already started runnin'? (8)
Oh, this is where we've been, (6)
But it's not where we belong, (7)
And I may be young, but I know I'm not wrong... (11)
There are also cases where the songs barely use any actual rhymes in favor of half-rhymes or worse twist themselves into pretzels just to make an actual rhyme, such as in I'm a Star, with lines such as "When it comes to the universe we're all shareholders // Get that through your system! (Solar!)" and "Ooh, I'm a star! // Watch out, world, here I are!" (Excuse me while I cringe.) And then of course, most infamously, there are the redundant and otherwise weird lyric choices, most commonly cited in Magnifico's And This is The Thanks I Get?!, such as "I got these genes from outer space!" and "I let you live here for free and I don't even charge you rent!"
By and large, people have not responded as well to Wish's soundtrack as they have for many other Disney musicals. It could also be argued that the songs don't tell the film's story as well as they could've. The most egregious example of this is At All Costs, which is supposed to be our villain and hero singing about the beauty of the wishes the first has collected, but was literally written as a love song first, just because Julia Michaels wanted to write a song that could be played at people's weddings even if the movie in question didn't feature any romance. Even This Wish was written well before the script was finished, and this is when we can tell from all the concept art released by Disney that this movie had been dramatically rewritten at multiple stages of development.
And yet even with this, I still see people making animatics for At All Costs featuring their own characters or Asha and the discarded Starboy concept. (And yes, we'll come back to that.) I still see fan-made music videos featuring This Wish. Hell, even I have some of Wish's songs on my IPhone, and I listen to them actively! Knowing What I Know Now, as much as I see what's technically wrong with it, is still a bop for me. However much I had to take a full-on sanity break after listening to I'm a Star a second time, I do enjoy This Wish and At All Costs, just on their own. I don't think This Wish (reprise) is a bad musical or thematic climax, especially if one considers Magnifico's fear that Sabino's wish was to inspire the next generation through music, and it ends up being a song -- sung by his loving granddaughter -- that ultimately defeats our antagonist. I don't think any of Wish's songs really help tell the story as well as other Disney songs do for their films, but I still think there's room for personal taste here. Music -- like all art -- still has an element of subjectivity. It isn't a science -- yes, there is talent and skill involved that can only be mastered with practice and hard work, but there's still a bit of magic that comes with the finished result, and as much as it might not be popular with the masses, that doesn't necessarily make something worthless, or that public consensus can't change. Tchaikovsky famously hated the work he did for The Nutcracker, as did the critics of his day, only for it to go on to become a staple of holiday entertainment and ballet productions overall. Plenty of cult classic films like Labyrinth and Heathers didn't make a lot of money or get lots of praise when they first came out, but soon enough they found their audience.
"The animation is lazy!"
There's actually a much better video discussing this, made by a real professional animator, and I think I'll just let him handle this.
youtube
One thing I want to touch on, though, is Jennifer Lee's commentary about why Wish ultimately wasn't done in 2D animation --
"What happens in hand-drawn is that you have the incredible hand of the artist, but also limitations in what you could do on screen. What happened in CG is you'd have incredible, boundless opportunities, visually, that elevated it — even to the point for some — into realism, which is not what we wanted to do. The more important thing to us was to have a way to find technology that can do everything. Connect to the true vision of the artist, but bring in technology that could finally take away limitations."
-- and yeah, I'm not going to lie, this sentiment leaves a really bad taste in my mouth. The idea that hand-drawn animation somehow limits what art you can create is mind-boggling for anyone working in animation to think, but especially for someone working in Disney animation. I can't help but feel like Uncle Walt would've been ticked if he'd heard anyone suggest this. Anyone who loves animation I think would be annoyed by it, and I'd say people like Hayao Miyazaki continue to prove that Lee's thought process isn't true, considering that his hand-drawn film won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature the same year that Lee's Wish was passed over by the Academy altogether. To be fair, though, this is more a reflection on certain Disney leaders' dismissive attitude toward the medium that built their company as well as the vast majority of the films they're supposedly celebrating, rather than any condemnation of the hard-working animators who worked on Wish. And yes, although no one can argue that Wish ultimately doesn't look as good as its animated peers like Sony's Spiderman: Across the Spiderverse (which was made with half the budget Wish was), that's more the fault of a flawed vision on the part of the filmmakers than anything. It's certainly not indicative of a lack of talent, resources, or caring from the animators themselves.
"Wish would've been so much better if it had featured a love story between Starboy and Asha!"
Okay, let me pop this bubble right now --
None of Disney's official releases have ever indicated Star was going to be Asha's love interest.
The concept art featuring Asha and human!Star? Yeah, that exists, but there's nothing strictly romantic in any of those concepts, like them kissing or even hugging. At All Costs originally supposedly being a love song for Asha and Star? As touched on above, nope, it was even more of a cynical corporate decision than that -- the songwriters just wanted to write a love song that they could repackage and use elsewhere, even if there was no love story to go with it. The thing about Asha and Star supposedly being soulmates? That's derived from a comment in the artbook from Wish co-writer Allison Moore, talking about Asha and Star in their current forms, and so therefore the sentiment was intended platonically --
"Now Star and Asha have an emotional journey. They are soulmates."
And well, just based on a good chunk of the Disney animated films that had come out prior to Wish featuring male and female leads -- Zootopia, Moana, Big Hero 6, Wreck-It-Ralph -- there was really nothing definitive to suggest that our two central characters were going to be romantically linked. And even if Star and Asha were going to be love interests, that still would've been no guarantee of a better movie -- you'd still need compelling, well-developed characters, if you want to likewise have a compelling, well-developed relationship between them. And as I've argued in the past, a movie doesn't need romance to be good. If someone could feel sincere platonic love between Star and Asha as their actual movie selves, then any romance between them wouldn't be needed. I truly believe the only reason that so many people have gotten so hung up on the idea of a Star/Asha romance is because that original platonic "soulmates" idea Allison Moore and others envisioned just didn't ring true for them. They saw more love and interesting chemistry between the original concept art versions of Star and Asha than they did between any of the characters in the finished film...and so they've built upon those flickers of love with their own imagination and then built that mental image up into something that I don't think the filmmakers probably ever intended.
I must be honest, it was kind of a slog, watching Wish for a second time. I stopped multiple times to take notes, unable to just sit back and let the movie wash over me. Even so, I truly appreciate how much time you must've spent to skim through this way-too-long analysis, as well as the votes you all cast in that one poll of mine! I love analyzing Disney, and as much as I don't love Wish, I do think it provided great fodder for new fan creations and has amazing potential as an educational tool about both good storytelling and film-making. And if there are more criticisms of Wish you'd like me to discuss, please feel free to reblog this post with them! Thank you for your support!
To close us out...if you love Wish, then keep on loving it! Don't let anyone -- including me -- tell you otherwise. I don't think a film that was truly the worst thing ever would've attracted as much attention or overanalyzing as Wish has received. And for those of you who are still dissatisfied with Wish, here's a list of films I compiled that you can watch and enjoy instead!
For Starboy/Asha stans...Stardust!
For both Starboy and Chris Pine stans...Rise of the Guardians!
For those of you who love the idea of storytelling magic...Whisper of the Heart!
For those of you hungry for a diversely cast, "woke" fairy tale...Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella (1997)!
For people looking for a colorful, family-friendly musical...Wonka!
For avant-garde animation fans...Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio!
For modern CG animation fans...Puss in Boots: The Last Wish!
And finally, probably most obviously -- for those Disney fans looking for a loving tribute to 100 years of Disney Animation with a bunch of Easter Eggs and good humor...Once Upon a Studio!
Much love to you all! 💛
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love the idea that post The Situation thomas is just increasingly obtuse when it comes to jimmy's feelings.
so when one day mrs hughes mentions in passing at how much easier it is to handle james now he's settled down, thomas is incredibly confused. and a little bit heartbroken too of course.
it gets even stranger when on valentine's day alfred sulkily asks jimmy how many cards he's sent that year and jimmy merely shrugs and smirks. mrs patmore chastises them for gossiping and announces that surely, jimmy's only got one to be sending.
then one night, most of the staff are enjoying a rare night off in the pub. as usual, a host of pretty girls surround jimmy, and one particularly brave one asks jimmy if he's got any plans on one of his half days. jimmy throws her a cheeky wink and says "sorry, darling, but i'm spoken for."
thomas starts feeling really rather hurt. he's known all along that this would happen eventually - that jimmy would eventually move on and find a nice village lass, but it still stings to hear it. somehow, it hurts even more knowing that clearly jimmy has fallen for someone but he hasn't even told thomas.
thomas puts on a brave face and elbows daisy in the side. "d'ya hear that? jimmy's kept that quiet 'asn't he?"
daisy looks at him with a frown and cocks her head to the side. "well, not really--" but before she can say anything else she's swept up into the rowdy conversation of the table.
a few weeks later, thomas and jimmy are alone in the servants hall, with thomas reading the paper in his rocking chair and jimmy tapping out melodies on the piano. the tune he's playing is sweet and gentle, and thomas finds himself swaying his head along. as the song draws to a close, a gentle round of applause sounds from the doorway.
baxter stands smiling. "let me call you sweetheart is one of my favourites. it was beautiful, jimmy."
jimmy blushes prettily and stands, closing the piano lid. "thank you, mrs baxter. good night."
after he's gone from the room, baxter enters to fill herself a glass of water. she smiles fondly at thomas. "he's so smitten you know. head over heels." she rolls her eyes affectionately.
it takes months until thomas finally figures out the truth of what's going on. well, to say he figures it out is somewhat generous.
he's in the servants hall again, this time feeling a little despondent with a cup of tea. jimmy had gone to the pictures with alfred of all people, their friendship seemingly improved since jimmy's given up on chasing ivy's skirt. thomas is resolutely not waiting up to make sure jimmy gets home safe. anna is the only other person still up, and she sits opposite thomas stitching one of lady mary's hemlines in companionable silence.
thomas dwells on his own thoughts for a while, until anna rests her sewing on the table and fixes him with a worried look. "are you quite alright, mr barrow?"
"hm? oh, yes anna, i'm very well thank you." he takes a sip of his tea to hide his moue.
anna looks unconvinced. "thomas," she says seriously, "is it-- have you and jimmy had a falling out?"
that genuinely surprises thomas. for all his worry and sadness over jimmy's as yet unknown love interest, they'd never fallen out. "no, no, of course not. he's just busy, that's all, which is to be expected now he's, you know," thomas waves his cup vaguely in the air, "courting the mystery lady."
anna chokes on a laugh. "the mystery lady?"
"yes. he's-- he's courting someone, isn't he? everyone keeps saying that he's... or suggesting that he's taken with someone." Thomas adds somewhat bitterly, "seems quite serious if you ask me. not that he's told me anything about it of course."
anna stops giggling and looks at him oddly. "thomas you-- you can't mean--"
"-- do you know who she is, anna?" thomas interrupts a little desperately. he's becoming tired of it all and he just wants to know-- how bad it is, for how long he's going to have to tend to his broken heart.
"thomas. thomas, jimmy's sweetheart is-- well, it's you."
"me?" thomas has a brief, sickening memory of his feelings before, and how miss o'brien toyed with them so badly. but he knows in his gut, that anna would never, and could never do that. he knows she's being honest, as confusing and terrifying as the statement may be.
"yes." anna smiles. "he's like a little puppy when he's with you. surely you've noticed? he gazes at you with stars in his eyes. he wants to do everything you do, and it seems like every other conversation is all about what you've been telling him this week. he only ever plays love songs on the piano when you're in the room. he laughs at all your jokes and he's not even glanced in the direction of a girl since last year." anna shakes her head. "i thought you knew and were just letting him get used to it."
"no i didn't -- i didn't know, i thought," thomas can feel himself blushing, "i don't know what i thought."
anna stands with a stifled yawn. "you make each other very happy. if you really didn't know, i think you ought to talk to him. good night, mr barrow."
"good night anna. and thank you."
thomas is left in the still and quiet of the room, watching the steam spiral up from his cup. a private and hopeful smile spreads across his face. yes, he thinks, nodding his head, perhaps we should talk.
#thommy#thomas barrow#jimmy kent#downton abbey#sorry what even is this#this is completely unproofread written in one sitting in lapslock#my apologies#thank u to freya for listening to me rant about this concept before telling me to actually write it out#just them being cute#them being in love#im so obsessed with the idea of jimmy being obsessed#like totally head over heels smitten down BAD for thomas#and thomas being like :))) we are friends now and i am happy with this situation i will never ask for any more#obviously he's hiding his neverending jimmy feels#but he's just :))) that theyre in cahoots now#meanwhile jimmy is like#crumbling because he's so in love#and everyone else around them is like ummmmmm could u be more obvious#like we're not even shocked anymore#0 people are surprised#fic#im tagging this fic but idk why because it isnt really its wordvom
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umm, i've always been too shy to ask for a request for my favorite orv character, but i guess it's now or never i think. If it's not too much trouble, could you make a yandere yoo joonghyuk x regressor reader? (I've never seen someone write a yandere yjh And I always thought yjh has a lot of material to cover if he was a yandere, it can be any kind of scenario or headcanons of what a yandere yoo joonghyuk would be like for his reader/s/o, I hope that this could be understood because I'm not very good at English and I'm still practicing. ˙˚ʚ(´◡`)ɞ˚˙( my first language its Spanish maybe it's for that 😭, sorry if this request sounds weird or something) (btw reader can be fem or gn I don't mind (ﾉ´∀｀*)
awh im so happy you got the courage to request hehe your english is amazing!! <33
yandere yjh x regressor reader
Yjh's pov
Regressing over and over again... tiring...so tiring. But you by my side with our memories, we'll be able to get through this together. Oh how i love you so. I can't imaging life without you. Please don't leave me. You cant leave me.
Your pov
I open my eyes to see the train again. I'm tired of this all.
[kill one or more living organisms]
i stared at the blue screen blankly. Why me? My eyes dulled at the sight of everyone panicking. you should all be hoping you die soon, the future holds only living hell. i hung my head low. That man...That wretched man. why must he come to me? A pipe was swung at my head as a passenger tried to kill me. It hurt. a lot. but what hurt more was knowing that he would always find me. I closed my eyes.
[you have died]
=
I open my eyes to see the train again. I suppose dying on the train isn't too bad.
[kill one or more living organisms]
....
A pipe was swung at my head as a passenger tried to kill me.
[you have died]
=
I open my eyes to see the train again. This is nice. my new home. Without him. I wonder how he must feel.
....
[you have died]
.
[you have died]
.
[you have died]
.....
[you have died]
..............[you have died]
.............[you have died]
.........[you have died]
..............[you have died]
............[you have died]..........[you have died].........[you have died]
=
I open my eyes to see the train again. But. Its different. Someone's shadow covers my body. I look up to find the man who gave me hell.
Why?
"You shouldn't have done all that. Do you know what I've had to do to regress to you?" A tightening grip on my wrist. It seems those days, weeks, months, regressing in the first scenario are over. My gaze meets his. I feel fear for the first time in a while. This man...is a man of few words. He speaks through actions. These actions are violence.
He sighed. "Will you fucking reply? I'm not talking to a brick wall here am i?" I stare at him blankly. I see. He's grown increasingly less patient. What can you really expect from a man like him. "Sorry." Now that i am in his view, I must not make him mad. Of course im scared but...i'm used to this behavior of his. somewhat similar to a child of sorts. "Sorry? Is that what you fucking call this?" He grabbed a fist full of my hair. I wince in pain. "I-I missed you love." That always gets him. He let go of my hair and hugged me. "I'm sorry [name]...you made me do this."
"Yes this is my fault. I'm sorry." A stab though his abdomen wounded him. I watched as he died. If only i could do this every times. Passing the first scenario and the constellation sponsor, i focused on rallying the allies he once had.
~~timeskip
anna croft. i liked her. after all, an enemy of an enemy is a friend. but now i am well aware that she'd sacrifice me too if it meant achieving her goal. I must play my cards well.
~~timeskip
ah. it seems i have fainted. i look out he window. is this the infamous demon realm? A man strides through the door.
No..it cant be! I-I killed him! Fuck! did something go wrong? "Are you feeling better dear? it was troubling to turn you into a demon but it was definitely worth it." He smiled sickeningly sweetly at me. Demon? What-What does he mean by that? I felt the top of my head but in place of where some hair should be was a pair of horns instead. "What did you do to me?.." I started to cry. I though- I thought i had escaped him! That I could be free and happy once more. Why? What went wrong?
"Ah you must be concerned of my well being! How kind of you to do so after stabbing me." I noticed the cold heavy metal chains that were connected to the bed frame. He slowly un chained the bed and chained it to himself.
~~
I became...some sort of pet of his. Asmodeus, the demon king, was certainly amused. Turns out he had helped the vile creature in coming back to life rather than regressing. And for some reason, I couldn't die.
"I love you, [name]." He kissed my forehead goodnight. "See how happy we are? why did you want to stop me? stop us? I hope you have reflected on yourself..." He smiled at me, petting my head softly.
This really is hell.
#yandere yoo joonghyuk#yandere omniscient reader's viewpoint#orv x reader#omniscient reader's viewpoint#orv#omniscient reader's viewpoint x reader#yjh x reader#yoo joonghyuk#yoo joonghyuk x reader#yjh#yandere yoo joonghyuk x reader
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Have you seen AL's latest insta story? sure, it would even be cute... if she didn't set a trend of subtly (not so subtly) commenting on his looks.
also idk if you hadn't seen this one from November 16th:
(yes it looks like his handwriting) random thoughts:
"I think he likes me" tee-hee? Much need for validation?
gurl, going without a phone for a week? seriously? how? why?
... How did you even post, if you're phoneless? or did you wait to have one, to stage this pic?
maybe it's me, but sharing such an intimate note seems *just a bit* in bad taste.
Am I being too petty? Maybe. Whatever.
(Finally getting around to answering more Asks, so thank you all for being so patient!)
@artificial-indulgence No, I don't think you are being petty at all. I'm really very tired of Anna's posts as of late, and all of the above is certainly no exception.
I think it's worth noting that she posted that picture with Bernard (and all of the pictures from her Insta story) in a separate post, because apparently she didn't get enough attention, and the picture of Michael and David was dead last in the post. Which seems fitting, given that the caption on the post was a "A weekend of vanity and insanity" and the first few pictures were of her, suggesting that she was using the picture of Michael and David to get more traction for her own pictures.
This ties into your comment, @longingtolinger-blog, because she did indeed post that story calling herself a "vain twat" just earlier in the same day as the story with the pic of Michael and David:
And I had the same thought, that it seemed as if she was trying to be self-deprecating, but it just...didn't land? It came across as awkward, mostly because vanity/being vain isn't really something to brag about. Do we all have moments of being vain? Of course. But Anna seems to be making it part of her personality, and it's just...not cute. Also, in the same way as Michael calling David his lover, you generally don't refer to yourself as a "vain twat" if you don't want people to think that you're a vain twat.
That said, I did see AL's Insta story from the 16th, and nearly three weeks later, it still doesn't make sense. As you said, how did she post this without a phone? Or, as we could infer, does this mean she got that note sometime earlier in the week, and waited at least several days just to stage this picture? Also, with two little kids around, how does it make sense for her to not even have a backup phone? We could certainly assume that she did, but the story above would suggest otherwise, since Michael had to email her (which is, for the record, about the least romantic correspondence imaginable).
Let's also remember that on the 16th, Michael was still in the middle of being virulently attacked on Twitter after the events of October 30th, and Anna had plenty of opportunities to defend him. To say something like, "Michael's a great guy, he does a lot of charity work, he doesn't deserve to be attacked like this." Instead, it was all about her and what she gets from him. In fact, the week prior to the 16th, she posted another Insta story of flowers that he supposedly sent her, with that song "My Love Mine All Mine" in the story, thereby doubling down on bragging about him getting her things while saying nothing about him as an actual person.
Going back to the first story above, we know that Michael has previously been affectionately compared to the Tennants' dog Bernard (and David to their other dog, Myrtle). But as you said, given AL's history of making snarky comments about Michael's appearance, it feels a lot less affectionate and a lot more unkind coming from her. What surprised me about her Insta story the most, however, was how not surprising it was, as that story is actually not the first time Anna has "joked" about leaving Michael. And given that that seems to be an enjoyed pastime of hers, it almost seems like they would both be happier and better off if she actually did leave him.
It somehow becomes worse when we see this exchange, which took place on Twitter yesterday:
(Maybe she should get a refund, since she seems pretty unsatisfied with what she's got...)
Again, I would have no problem saying that this was just teasing or ribbing or whatever if it weren't for literally everything else in this post, plus what I've also talked about on my blog previously. But complaining about Michael like this publicly makes her come across as so damn rude and ungrateful. Contrast this with David "complaining" about Michael and it only makes the difference even more stark: That with David, there's a mutual respect and affection and reciprocation, which we do not at all ever see Michael do with her. And I can't help but think that if their relationship is as great as she would like everyone to believe, she wouldn't be on Twitter going back and forth with fans just to get that validation, as you mentioned.
Those are pretty much my thoughts on AL's posts/stories from the last month. It's interesting to me that more people seem to be noticing the weirdness of all this, and I appreciate both of you writing in. And as always, glad to hear from my followers about what you all think...
#artificial-indulgence#longingtolinger-blog#reply post#michael sheen#welsh seduction machine#i can't#how many times does AL need to 'joke' about leaving Michael before it isn't a joke anymore#i'm genuinely curious#but what's the old saying: when someone shows you who they are believe them the first time#the more i think about it the weirder this all seems#again if this was a one time thing i wouldn't even say anything#but i will leave it to my followers to make up their own minds#anna lundberg#relationships#thoughts#discourse
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(4.10)
Was looking at this little bit for my #heaven is a cult tag, but noticed while I was here, that Dean immediately mentions pain and guilt and immediately thought of Dean's speech to Cas in 4.22, but with Dean now on Anna's side, saying these negative feelings are worth it.
From 4.22:
CASTIEL
What is so worth saving? I see nothing but pain here. I see inside you. I see your guilt, your anger, confusion. In paradise, all is forgiven. You'll be at peace. Even with Sam.
DEAN
You can take your peace... and shove it up your lily-white ass. 'Cause I'll take the pain and the guilt. I'll even take Sam as is. It's a lot better than being some Stepford bitch in paradise
Back in 4.10, Dean is in a particularly troubled spot. His trauma from hell is really catching up to him. It's at the end of this episode that Dean says:
DEAN
How I feel... This... inside me... I wish I couldn't feel anything, Sammy. I wish I couldn't feel a damn thing.
He's wishing he was like an angel—wishing he didn't have to deal with all the pain and guilt he feels. Wishing he could be the cold marble statue Anna described. But sometime between 4.10 and 4.22, Dean realizes that he doesn't want to be that at all. He realizes Anna is right. Removing ones pain and guilt isn't worth everything else you give up with it.
Crucially, what Anna is describing here—as I've said before—is brainwashing. Angels have their emotions controlled and buried under threat of punishment if they dare feel too much or disobey. Angels are perfectly capable of experiencing the full emotional range. Anna didn't fall because being an angel is physically incompatable with the full rage of emotion humans experience—she fell because heaven's iron grip around the throats of all angels is incompatible with the full range of human and angel emotion.
One of the reasons what Dean says to Cas in 4.22 is so effective in convincing Cas to follow his convictions is that Dean's experience is central to Cas's doubts. The first time Cas considered disobedience—his demotion in 4.16—was a a result of him not wanting to make Dean torture again, knowing how it would harm Dean emotionally to do that. So hearing Dean vehemently reject Cas's desire to shield him negative emotions through false paradise is important in of itself.
Crucially though, Dean's words invoke the angelic experience. Dean's words invoke Anna's fall—Anna who seems to have been an important force in Cas's life. She's who he turns to in 4.16 when he first starts to really consider disobedience. In 4.10, she mocks his stilted, reserved, empty apology, telling him he's never really let himself feel, while pulling Dean into a kiss. She told Cas in 4.16 that "it gets worse"—feeling does. But Anna still thinks it's worth it.
So Dean and Cas are talking about false paradise in 4.22 and how it's wrong for Sam and Dean... but they're also talking about what it means to be an angel at the same time, within the strict cult environment heaven has created. Dean, someone Cas knows has been through tremendous guilt and pain—reiterates Anna's words—that allowing yourself to experience the full breadth of the emotional range with all the good and the bad is better than a life without pain and guilt and confusion where you trade in your feelings and your conscience at the door and turn your life over to someone else—swept along by the will of higher powers.
CASTIEL
I'm considering disobedience.
ANNA
Good.
CASTIEL
No, it isn't. For the first time, I feel...
ANNA
It gets worse. Choosing your own course of action is confusing, terrifying.
[...]
CASTIEL
Anna. I don't know what to do. Please tell me what to do.
ANNA
Like the old days? No. I'm sorry. It's time to think for yourself.
(4.16)
#4.10#4.16#4.22#and cas is my best friend#anna#heaven as a cult#season 4#pk rewatches spn number ?#time to think for yourself
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What are your thoughts on Kristoff’s role in Frozen 2? I have mixed feelings about it. I understand that Frozen will always be about Elsa and Anna and don’t expect Kristoff to get a huge role. But it felt like part of their goal was to revert Kristoff to just somebody pining for their lover while Anna becomes the hero. Women and men should be depicted as equals in media. In the first movie, Kristoff was heroic without overshadowing the two sisters. Men should be heroic while expressing emotion
It's definitely a tough subject because of how complicated the entire thing is. There is no easy answer here, to be honest.
I agree with the notion that Kristoff's role was minimized in the sequel to a more comedic side plot rather than anything too complex. It was necessary because like with the first film (and pretty much the reason why the sequel is complicated to begin with), the second film had a lot of plots intertangling with one another that caused the plot to feel overstuffed - forcing the writers to reduce plot points.
Also, as you said, Frozen is established as a story about two sisters, so it makes sense that Elsa and Anna's stories take center stage and need to be the priority of the writers. However, it's still a bit sad to see Kristoff completely in the background this time around and meant to be viewed as comedic with only a small narrative about men and their relationship with emotions. It's not a bad narrative of course, but again it's such a tiny aspect of the sequel that if you never showed it, the film wouldn't have really changed.
I do know that this was not the original intention of the writers because we are told many times that the story of Kristoff and Anna's relationship was so big at one point in the sequel, that it almost completely overshadowed the main plot - leading to them needing to refocus the story. Thus, this isn't really an issue of whether or not the writers knew what to do with Kristoff or didn't care about his character - it was a matter of them just trying to find the voice of the sequel and figuring out what they were trying to do.
On the subject of Kristoff can be both heroic and emotional, he actually still is. Honestly, here is where I disagree with you. Kristoff quite literally saved Anna three times in Frozen 2 - once during the fire, while she was running from the Earth Giants, and then again with Mattias when they pulled her up from falling off the dam. Kristoff is still ridiculously heroic, and Anna would not have pulled off destroying the Dam without Kristoff's help. If that's not equality between the sexes, then I don't know what is haha.
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Is your character inspired by, or takes inspiration from, any kind of existing media? Is it because of a character, trope, setting or other aspects of the story/media you vibed with? How have you adapted that media to make your character yours?
Oh look a question I can easily answer if I just rant. I really want to rant, but I'll try not to.
I can't say I don't take any inspiration from existing media because I'm not some font of infinite creativity disconnected from the world. Neat as that might be. But I can say I don't really take from anywhere specifically.
I consume a lot less media then I once did. Don't read as much, watch fewer shows. Actually what do I do? Mmm something to think about. Lots of video games I guess.
So media is a thing and pressured I could probably point at things? But more I think it tropes and themes I pull from. But getting more specific to Nyxathe, and maybe Nexa.
So Nyxathe's one big thing is Apotheosis. I can hardly tell you were I got caught up on that from specifically but I've found myself increasingly annoyed by the near constant portrayal as godhood as a bad thing. Which isn't to say I don't understand, I do very much. Still I've like to see the other side of it, if it exists.
So much so I started building a little, not so little, world where I can create stories for the very topic. Yay world building, but that's mildly off topic.
Maybe I should talk about that someday, but for now back on topic.
So there's different motivations behind wanting to be a god. Nyxathe isn't so emotionally devoid that it is purely part of just wanting to understand. Part yes, not completely. Instead Nyxathe is a deeply traumatized individual that saw a god being and got in to the thought that maybe with that kind of power things could have been different. If nothing else she could do better.
Is she right? Probably not. Who knows if she can even succeed. Still she'll peruse personal power until someone or something stops her.
That drags us to another topic. Corruption/Monsters. In Nyxathe case ties heavily in to her humanity. How far can she take her core goal without becoming a monster? To this point in time I don't think anyone could call Nyxathe more then obsessed, certainly not a monster. But Nyx is definitely corrupted by her obsession. The further she takes her research the more she starts to find the limits of ethical research. It would be really nice if she could just take an animal and do a few things to test a few theories. Or better yet a person.
But in spite of where her thoughts take her she hasn't crossed that line. Yet. Considering her personality I think it's nearly inevitable she crosses that line. Like taking our dear Angel's character Anna. Have I mentioned I love Anna? Anyway Nyx's horror about Anna would last all of a few minutes till she realized how convenient Anna's way of doing things are, and how much more power comes from that route. Given Anna would almost certainly just murder her before she got that far, so not a meeting to be I think.
Still that's lots about dark talk about a character who is otherwise pretty nice to be around. Who's pretty ethical despite how much advantage is her not being. With the right influence she could even solidify her moral stance on research.
That I think displays my real interest in the theme/idea of corruption. Least the mental side of it. The lack of inevitably in it. Few characters/people are doomed from the start. It's a life time of situation and events that lead them. Exploration of that is pretty interesting.
Of course we have the physical side of that. That was decidedly not something I was thinking about when I made Yrys. That's much more a new thing thanks to a few things I played and had a very big 'huh, that's pretty interesting' in such a strong way I needed to explore it. So I came back and start looking at how it could apply to Yrys turned Nyxathe.
Which, very easy. Super easy. Nyxathe's whole manipulation of corporeal aether, particularly her own, was such an obvious avenue to physical corruption. Yay body horror?
Okay. Well this turned in to lots of rambling. Less ranting though so that's good. I don't really want to get in to real world stuff on here no matter how much It shapes my thoughts. I didn't touch on Nexa at all. Rip but this was getting long. One day I'll sit down and do stuff for my catgirl. Also I tied Corruption and Monsters together, and I think that's a mistake, or limiting anyway. But if I go back and rewrite all of it will end up twice as long. Plus I need to sit and really think about that now. Another post maybe.
Anyway thank you Sea for the ask. I've been very quiet for a while now. I'll see about slowly ramping back up now that I don't feel so bleh.
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Babylon 5 s02e16: In the Shadow of Z'ha'dum
s02 ToC • previous episode
Dislike that they're turning the Narn refugees back unless they're injured. At least they're taking the injured, but damn, Earth won't take any refugees, even temporarily? That's awful.
Vir: Stop asking me things with uncomfortable answers. It makes me uncomfortable.
Not a great time to be a Centauri with a shred of a conscience, but a political position. Especially gross to be anyone dealing with fuckhead the asshole. Mor something?
Great hate speech by Vir, he's come a long way in expressing himself. It would be nice to see Shadow-lackey die a terrible death.
I, personally, would not name any kind of ship or vessel which I wished to remain in one piece, the Icarus. I'm not superstitious superstitious but I am a little superstitious. Don't wanna get on a submersible boat named Titan Titanic, either. Just seems like tempting fate. Or if not fate, then getting mocked in memes by teenagers after your ironic death.
Dun dun dun!! Shadow asshat was supposed to have died on the Icarus with Anna! Is she dead? Is any of that crew dead?
Morden. And he's on the station!
I reflexively distrust and dislike every single person who comes onto the station specifically to see Talia. Matt Stoner. Every PsiCorps episode. That time Kosh and the Guy With The Good Hat indulged in a little, light, mental torture to evaluate her. People just fuck with Talia and she deserves a break and a nice episode where she kisses Susan and relaxes a little.
This security guard taking Morden aside looks a lot like Willem Dafoe. But I don't think he is. Probably?
Morden's playing it slick, but Sheridan is in a bad bad mood. He's got a good explanation. He's a damned liar and he's AWOL. Just because he was assumed KIA doesn't mean he isn't still obligated to report back to duty.
But of course, Sheridan prefers to threaten him with making his legal status become his actual physical status (dead).
It makes sense that someone who's seen as much trauma and been traumatized as much as Stephen Franklin would need to talk it out. And it makes sense that he would have lowered inhibitions and feel compelled to talk about it when he's in the middle of another traumatic scenario. But the religious musings spoken through the characters' mouths is pretty tedious and not my favorite aspect.
Gross earthforce spy network setup.
Garibaldi being the voice of reason and urging adherence to moral guidelines is hilarious. Maybe that's what he needs: someone who's more of a loose cannon than he is, to keep in line.
This dichotomy is dumb. Message earthforce and be like "May I detain this AWOL member of earthforce that, surprise, isn't dead!" They're so suspicious and fascist right now, of course they'll support detaining him!
Idk if Talia going to help violate Morden's rights or not. And idk what Vir is going to disclose! Exciting!
The Centauri must go through so much hairspray. Vir's hair hardly even wobbles as he bobbles.
Literally it seems like all of thise would be resolved by calling Earthforce and telling them Morden's alive. I really don't understand why Sheridan isn't using the might of Earthforce to do all this with full military backing and support.
Two creepy shadow being accompanying Morden! I don't like that at all!
People really need to stop using Talia's abilities against her and to manipulate her into using telepathy against her better judgement and against the literal law. Super dickish. Sheridan's making a lot of indefensible calls in this one.
They need a therapist or twenty on board.
The Vorlon are so funny. All of the lesser races are as bugs to us….the Minbari are the best bugs and we prefer the best bugs to any of you annoying ones.
Deep Lore Dump.
The Ancients (who haven't "walked among us" in ten thousand years) fought the First Ones and (?) the Shadows over the millennia. They haven't been around since the last Great War. The Minbari were a space-going civilization at the time! Damn! No wonder they're so elitist! They've Seen It All.
So…Vorlons are some of the Ancients? Or at least they sheltered Kosh, an Ancient among their ranks? Wild that "everyone" will recognize him if he's out of his encounter suit. Or perhaps Kosh's idea of everyone is "everyone who knew me ten thousand years ago," lol.
Very grim outcome for the crew of the Icarus, but it does make me think that Anna will be back.
Anytime there's a debate about allowing mass death and atrocities for some future greater good, I don't care. Save the people in front of you. This WWII story is grim af. iirc, Britain was great at catching German spies. I should think they could totally have evacuated Coventry secretly. Really grim.
"What did you see?"
"Nothing. Shadows."
Ewwww gross, Zach the security guard is going to be an earthforce informer. I really, really do not like the implications of a group of people with armbands being spread around to intimidate the populace.
This is a good decision by Sheridan. He's good at war, and it will be better for him to turn his energy into beating an ancient evil than to spin his wheels at B5.
Kosh saying he will die if he goes to Z'ha'dum doesn't mean he'll die if he fights the Shadows, imo. Many things in this show seem to revolve around loopholes, semantics, and pedantry. What if the Shadow leaves Z'ha'dum and is defeated in another place? That's a Sheridan-worthy escape clause from Prophecy of Doom.
next episode
#babylon 5#b5#morden#that asshole#john sheridan#woodsfae gif#john sheridan x human rights violations#garibaldi x newly discovered ethical principles#woodsfae b5
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okay real talk has anyone used the bow knights in Fates and Awakening? They always felt so lackluster both stat wise and skill wise compared to the sniper or adventurers. Rally skill is fine, but generally not what I would go for for my archer unit, and only really interesting to grab before switching to a better class. The shurikenbreaker skill isn't necessarily bad but shuriken units either don't have the strength to really affect your unit beside pretty minor stat reductions for units that already should get hit, have such high hit rate that the skill is unreliable, or both. The trickster's lucky seven is good for strong starts, and pass offers a lot of strategies, and while the bow knight is stronger, they have good utility with staves, and their resistance is better, while the bow knight's strength is still very weak. The sniper is extremely powerful and with phenomenal skills (certain blow absolutely obliterates elusive opponents and bowfaire only highlights their strength). Of course the bowknight has the range of a mounted unit, but....you don't really want to have your archer go too far ahead. Sure their sword is useful in that scenario but then they can be replaced by a regular cavalier, who will have even more variety for close combat.
As if it wasn't enough, the people who can actually access that class directly tend to function better in other classes: Niles is a very magic and resistance oriented unit so adventurer is the most logical choice for him. Laslow just works better in nearly every way as a hero, Selena could technically work there but again, is better as a hero, and if you want her to use bows the fact she's the only conquest unit to be able to be a Kinshi Knight which is a relatively solid class gives you a relatively better option even for this (the only drawback being having to start at E rank for lances). Soleil is a better ninja most of the times, but also has access to a lot of different classes depending of the mother. Nina is as magic oriented as her father if not more depending of her mother, and Anna benefits from the higher luck classes she has access to. It doesn't fit Flora or Felicia, As stated before Silas is probably better off as a great knight or paladin (or even hero), and don't pretend you would use Gunter.
I did make a bow knight Sophie build that ended up being somewhat correct with farming: with Azura as a mother, she ends up being a high skill high speed okay strength unit with Luna which activates often thanks to her skill, replicate from Silas befriending Kaze and renewal from her mother, leading to an actually viable Luna reliant dodgetank that can cover two areas (I believe I also gave her Sol lower on the skill list so it wouldn't get in the way of Luna, which activates enough to have her heal). Along with her personal skill lowering enemy defence, she manages to be both capable of surviving a fair amount of attacks on enemy turn AND dealing either massive damage with a killer weapon and/or luna or only deal a limited amount but lowering the enemy defence to play chip damage.
another build I want to try (gotta get a computer that can run citra first...) is bow knight Takumi. However the only way to get Takumi that class is by marrying a Corrin with mercenary/thief secondary class. My reasoning is that Takumi's personal growth and fujin yumi are already strong enough to carry him even in a class less fit for him, and that the fujin yumi cancelling terrain movement limitations would go very well with a mounted unit (while they are kinda redundant with a flyer, and come with more weaknesses). Maybe grab Sol if you opted for mercenary, or lucky seven & pass, then the usual Takumi strats and you now have a Takumi that has more movement than a sniper, none of the weaknesses of a kinshi, and not affected by terrains unlike mounted units.
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"Rainy Days"
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Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 4
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OCs x F!Reader
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You are a young woman who also happens to be a witch- ending up with you in a college of mythical beings... {This story is gonna be silly chaos and will be aimed at my fellow bisexuals.}
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Warnings: None.
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Days drag on and yet go by quickly at the same time, it makes for a whirlwind of complicated emotions. You haven't encountered Sev again and if you're being honest- you're afraid to.
What is he? What are their intentions?
Perhaps you're being a bit paranoid or overly cautious but hey- better a live chicken than a dead duck, right?
Lost in your thoughts you bump into someone...
"Oh shit! Sorry."
Wait- their build seems familiar- Shit.
"Hey, it's no biggie! Clearly we're destined to meet in the worst ways possible."
Still just as chipper as he turns to face you, those baby blues twinkling in the flickering lights of the hall. Naturally you took a step back and cleared your throat.
"Uh, yeah..."
"Dude, I'm real sorry bout' scaring you when we first met. I didn't mean to- honest! I just get so used to doin' my ghostly stuff that I forget it is a bit weird for others."
He seems to be completely sincere in his apology, he truly didn't mean any harm. Something about him reminds you of an over excited puppy, too much pent up energy resulting in disaster.
"It's fine."
"Nah, nah. I should learn to be more careful- it was totally my bad. By the way- names, Cassian."
Despite his clearly outgoing nature he also seems a bit awkward, he starts to hold out his hand for a handshake then pauses and second guesses himself- simply tucking his hand back into his pants pocket... Maybe he's worried that he'll unintentionally make you uncomfortable? Who knows.
You simply offer him a slight smile in an attempt to be a bit more friendly, the guy doesn't seem all that bad at least.
"Anyyywaaays-"
He drags out the word quite a bit while shuffling his feet, baby blues now directed over towards the window. Thick stormy gray clouds are gathering in the sky above, the weather certainly isn't looking too great.
"Looks like it might rain. Do you have an umbrella?"
Fuck... That's what you forgot to grab. Of course.
Surely enough within a couple minutes there's a down pour of rain, there's no way you're going to be able to walk outside and to the other building in that.
"Nope..."
"Would ya like to share my umbrella then, so you can get back to your room dry? Least I can do since our rocky first meeting."
You hesitate slightly but you really don't want to be a drenched rat today- so you give a small nod.
"Yeah... Thanks."
"Not a problem, dude! Let's go!"
He pops open his big ass umbrella the second you two get out the door, he ensures that you are well shielded from the rain as you both walk. He tries his best not to get too much in your personal space- which sorta sacrifices part of his right side getting him wet. You sigh and move closer in to get him to hold it over both of you.
"Don't get wet because of me."
He gets visibly awkward again and unsure of himself, offering a goofy little smile in your direction and a nod.
"Yeah, just didn't wanna... Yeah, okay."
Once you two finally reach the building you glance down at your wet shoes- but hey. At least the rest of you is dry. Your phone buzzes in your pocket with a text from your aunt, you bid a polite goodbye to, Cassian.
After heading upstairs and reaching your room, you pull out your phone to check the text, door clicking shut behind you.
'Do you want to have coffee with me this weekend?'
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{Please be nice to Cassian. He's doing his best I swear. LMAO}
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{@sofasoap @anna-banana27 @scar-crossedlvrs }
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{More Content}
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hello, anna! i love your sleepovers so much, i honestly might need to do my own like yours 🥺 but for my first request, can i do list C, jj maybank (my beloved) with the prompts 2, 4, 10, 12 please?
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hi babe! omg you so should!! these sleepovers and blurb nights are my favorite things to do! and of course you can :)
warnings: not proofread, pregnant!reader, rough pregnancy, jj being the best partner ever
❀ masterlist ❀
from the outside looking in, you probably didn't look the most excited to become a mom. that couldn't be farther from the truth. you were extremely happy to be able to have your own child, but man was this pregnancy killing you. you felt sick and tired all the time. your hormones were all over the place. you had aches and pains in your hips and back and your boobs were super sore. you had to pee constantly. the list went on.
though you did feel like hell, you couldn't be more grateful for jj. he was there with you through it all and did his best to make sure you felt as comfortable as you could feel given the circumstances.
he laid with you now, your head on his chest and his hand rubbing up and down your back as the smell of your favorite dinner still filled your house after you ate. he had made you some tea to try and help with your nausea as well. he was always there and patient and sweet.
"jj," you called before moving your head to face him better. you weren't meaning to get emotional, but the tears filled your eyes quicker than you could comprehend.
"hey," he whispered softly, "what's wrong, baby?"
"nothing. i just was gonna say that i love you, but," you paused to sniffle, "these stupid baby hormones are making me cry at everything." you moved to hide your face in the crook of his neck while he felt his heart squeeze. he hated that he couldn't help you with everything because if he could, he would.
"oh, sweetheart," he cooed as he moved his head to press a kiss to your temple, "i love you too baby so much."
a moment of silence passed as you calmed yourself before jj spoke up again. "are you ready to head to bed, sweet thing?"
you chucked into his skin—a reaction he adored much more than your tears—and nodded your head. you regretted it as soon as you got up though because that pain in your hips came back. jj knew what was wrong by the way your hands held the pained area.
"can i carry you to bed?" he asked it in that way because he knew that if he asked if you wanted him to, you'd say no, but if he said it like he wanted to with your approval, you were more likely to say yes which you did.
once you were both settled in bed, jj wrapped his arms around you once more. you pressed a kiss to his jaw and said, "you know how much i appreciate you, right?"
"yeah, i just-" he sighed, "i kinda feel bad. i wasn't the best at checking the dates on the condoms we used and i didn’t realize they’d expired. i feel like it's my fault you're in pain and suffering all the time."
"jj, no. was this planned? not at all, but i think it happened for a reason. and yeah, this isn't the most fun right now, but a little bit of bad is going to lead to a lifetime of good. all of this won't matter once we hold him."
"her," jj corrected, adamant you were carrying a girl while you felt the exact opposite.
"that part is debatable, but whatever they are, we will love them with all our hearts and all of this will be in the past," you told him honestly before a smirk pulled at your lips, "but they are definitely your kid."
"why's that?" the blond played along, curious to your reasoning.
"because you both are a pain in the ass."
remember to support writers & reblog :)
turn on notifications for @annab-library to be notified when i post something new!
#jj maybank x reader#jj maybank#blurbs#outer banks#jj maybank blurbs#audiens-audience#winter wonderland sleepover ✧*:･ﾟ
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What are your thoughts on each of the tlh ships?
In my order of preference
thomas/alastair -> 1000/10. up there with wessa as my all-time favourite ship from any media. they are definitionally soulmates and i will die on that hill. they're perfect for each other, bring out the best in each other, and help each other heal. they're both extremely solid, well-written, and dynamic characters who better each other's storylines and make each other more complex. i'm so glad they have their gentle little love. i want to slurp up their love like spaghetti. it has made me feel alive.
christopher/grace -> 9/10. good god. i love them together and their scenes in chain of thorns made me feel a lot. they both changed each other for the better, and i feel like christopher could easily have been a lifeline in a cruel world for grace in a similar way that thomas is to alastair. in fact, i'd have adored this parallel. i wish they hadn't been doomed. in my mind they're living together in a nice little country cottage. they have the 1900s equivelant of a qpr and love blowing shit up and doing science. i choose denial!
james/cordelia -> 8/10. i'm not overly invested in the relationship because i view it as somewhat static in the way that it's written. but i do like both of the characters and think they're both good people. their story is cute and i always like childhood friends to lovers. there truly is no one else for either of them and i'm glad they have that. i think that they both really deserved their soft happy ending and i am glad they got what they deserved.
anna/ari -> 4/10. look. listen. i am sorry. i don't really like anna because she is to me just the lesbian equivalent of a fuckboy. i don't hate her but i think she had so much potential to be an awesome character but turned out to be kind of a not-so-great person. i'd have liked her more if she grew over the course of the story, but no, she 'likes everything she has and approves of everything she's done.' ari/anna obviously isn't abusive or bad or anything but i think ari could do better. still, it's fine. meh.
lucie/jesse -> 2/10, and i definitely am being hard on them because of how much they disappointed me in chot. i think my main issue is that i grew disenchanted with both characters. lucie behaved really annoyingly at cordelia (despite my criticisms of her character, i feel protective toward cordelia and truly do like her). jesse is probably my least favourite after chot, sadly, because he just was so atrocious to grace for no reason at all. so, no, i don't like them, and i don't care about their relationship. it's sad because they'd have been my 2nd fave ship in tlh before chot, but they made each other worse and the characters and relationship degenerated into being not only boring to read about but also just irritating since i could not cheer for them.
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