#just let them shake it out

[skyloftian-nutcase]

For the ask game, migraine with Sky?

Ah, Sky, my baby. <3 I love him so much, I took some liberties, so I hope you don't mind.

Let's have some fun.

(Click here to read on AO3)

The night air was cool, though it felt much warmer and more humid to Sky now that they had spent a few days on Skyloft. The group had just departed his home through a portal, and Sky was eternally grateful that he’d had the opportunity to show them the sights and come to know that no monsters had attacked his home. Although it had taken his brothers a few days to physically adjust to the altitude difference, they’d managed to have a week of peace and relaxation before they had to leave once more. Sky still prayed in thanks for it.

Except now that they were wandering the dark woods in search of a place to camp, Sky felt strangely off. It made no sense, really – he’d just spent the last week relaxing and not doing anything strenuous; there was no reason for him to feel this way. His body felt tired, shaky, ill… he was coughing for no reason, his head was pounding, and his vision was blurred. Maybe he’d walked too much? He’d been taking it easy all week, and his body was downright pathetic in comparison to the others in his group, so he supposed it was possible.

Time mentioned something about trying to find a place with a better clearing rather than the brier they were forced to cut through in their current location. It made sense to Sky; they had a large group, they needed some more space. It would be nice if they could just clear this area for themselves rather than look for something naturally produced, though. Not that he wanted to cut any of the flora, he found it all very beautiful and fascinating, but goddess his head—

Sky lurched forward, stumbling on a root, and his world spun. He crashed into a tree, leaning heavily against it, blinking spots out of his vision. His head felt like it was being stabbed by Ghirahim’s daggers, his stomach felt like it was about to riot, and he couldn’t see.

He was hurting so much and he was so tired.

“Sky?”

The voice was loud, concerned. Sky cringed, mumbling, “’m ok… jus’ need a min…”

“Sky, what’s wrong?”

Sky hissed, sliding to the ground, cradling his head in his hands. Couldn’t they just be quiet and leave him alone for a minute? He could get this under control, but everything was too much. The stabbing sensation in his head only heightened as pressure built up, his eyes welling with tears and his sinuses running.

He felt hands touch him, and he shriveled into himself. He felt awful. He didn’t know what was wrong; Sky didn’t really get migraines, he didn’t suddenly get sick for no reason. Sure, he’d gotten very ill before, but not out of nowhere and not so quickly.

His head was screaming too much for him to piece anything together, but in the back of his mind some kind of nagging, urgent warning screamed.

Skyloft. Altitude sickness.

Surface sickness.

Oh. Oh, oh, oh, oh, no.

“I… I’m going to…” he tried to explain, tried to piece together words and grit through the pain to say that he needed less air, that his body had adapted to the Sky far more than any of theirs, that—

Sky blacked out.

XXX

A strange scent entered Twilight’s nostrils.

He wasn’t really sure how to place it. He’d never smelled anything like this before, but something about it was nagging and it made him nervous. He turned, barely able to pick it up, and decided he should track it to be certain it wasn’t anything bad.

Grabbing his crystal, he said quickly to Time, “I’ll be right back, I need to check something.”

He shifted before Time had a chance to answer, and the scent hit him like a moblin’s club. Following it, he moved to the back of the group where Legend and Hyrule were clustered around Sky, who was leaning against a tree. That’s when Twilight abruptly realized the scent was coming from Sky himself.

But never mind the scent, Sky didn’t look well at all.

Twilight immediately shifted back into his Hylian form, and just as he was about to speak, Sky collapsed. Legend let out a yell of surprise and Twilight and Hyrule both dove to catch their friend. The rest of the group noticed the commotion and rushed over, but the rancher barely registered it.

Sky didn’t just pass out, he was convulsing.

Twilight put a hand on his arm to steady him, worried words on his lips. Sky was so tense, his arm would stiffen and relax and his entire body followed suit. The teenager grimaced but no matter what any of the heroes said, he didn’t acknowledge them.

“What’s wrong with him?” Wind asked worriedly. “Sky, why won’t you talk to us?”

Warriors walked around to Sky’s other side and motioned for Twilight to follow. The rancher did so, reading the expression on the captain’s face as something akin to recognition. “You know what’s happening, don’t you?”

“Yeah,” Warriors muttered, and everyone honed their attention in on him. Rather than explain, though, he said, “Help me get him on his side.”

Twilight did as instructed, though it was surprisingly difficult since Sky’s entire body was fighting the motion tooth and nail. It wasn’t even like he was trying to push them off or anything, but he was so rigid that it was like trying to roll a misshapen, heavy wooden plank. Just as they got Sky onto his right side, his entire body suddenly relaxed, and he let out a deep exhale and stilled.

And stopped breathing.

“Sky? Sky! Sky!” Legend yelled, shaking him as everyone became alarmed. “What the hell did you two just do, he’s—”

Sky’s chest rose and fell.

And everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

“What the hell was that?!” Wild asked no one in particular.

Legend immediately glared at Warriors. “You said you know what’s going on?”

The captain watched Sky as he knelt behind his back, a supportive hand on his shoulder. “Seizure. One of my men back in the war got a bad head wound and started having them, so I’ve seen a few. Looked just like that.”

“A head wound?” Hyrule asked, immediately running his hands through Sky’s hair, feeling over his scalp for any sign of injury. “But he’s not hurt. Has anyone seen him get hurt recently?”

“When would he have gotten hurt, we’ve been on Skyloft this whole time!” Legend noted, throwing his hands in the air.

Four looked at Twilight, eyes distant in thought. “Do you think it has to do with the altitude?”

Everyone quieted, looking at the smithy.

Upon noticing their scrutiny, he shrugged. “We got sick from being up there, could it be possible he gets sick when he first comes down to the surface? I’ve felt a little ill all morning, and I know you guys haven’t felt the best either. Nothing compared to when we were up there, but maybe it’s opposite for Sky?”

Time hummed thoughtfully. “It would make sense. He is far more adapted to being on Skyloft, after all.”

“So what do we do?” Legend asked, cutting to the chase. “There are no sky islands here.”

“Well, if we’re going off that logic,” Four continued. “Then what he needs is to rest so his body has time to recover and adapt.”

“And clean him up,” Twilight noted softly, seeing the moist stain on his clothes. He looked at Warriors. “Is that normal?”

The captain nodded. “Yes. He’s going to be unconscious for a bit, and he’ll be disoriented when he wakes up. It’s best someone be with him the whole time so he doesn’t wake up alone.”

Time looked around, and the calm, commanding expression that settled on his face helped everyone focus. “Champion, you and Traveler scout ahead and find a place to camp. We’ll take Sky to the river to the east. Contact Sailor when you find something.”

Wild nodded, determination gleaming in his eyes, and rose to his feet from where he’d been kneeling by Sky. Hyrule, hand still on the knight’s head, also shot to his feet and followed the champion farther into the forest.

“You sure that’s a good idea?” Warriors asked skeptically. “They’re going to get lost.”

“They’re the best survivalists we have,” Time answered. “They’ll find a safe place for Sky to rest. Rancher can find anyone, and they only need to contact Sailor through that slate of his. I’m not worried about it. Let’s get him to the river.”

Twilight reached to roll Sky into his arms when Legend swatted his hands away.

“Let me get his sailcloth off first, he’ll throw a fit if it gets filthy,” Legend fussed, working with the brooch that kept it around their brother’s neck.

“I’ll get a change of clothes for him!” Wind piped in, clearly finding ways to diffuse his nervous energy. He grabbed Sky’s adventure pouch and nearly dove into it with gusto.

“Will he stop breathing again?” Time asked Warriors, his face paling a little at the thought.

“He shouldn’t,” the captain answered.

“Should… should we wait to move him?” Four looked between Sky and the captain. “Will it hurt him?”

Warriors’ face, which had been stony with everything happening, softened and he smiled. “No, Smithy, it won’t hurt him.”

Legend finished removing the sailcloth, allowing Twilight to hold his brother in his arms. He carried him close to his chest, his entire body relaxing at the proximity and at the thought that he could do something to assist. He’d felt entirely too helpless and overwhelmed watching that seizure. Time practically fished Wind out of Sky’s adventure pouch as the boy was only visible from waist to toes, his entire torso digging through the interior. When the sailor was plucked out, he had a change of clothes at the ready and a disgruntled look set upon his face.

“I was looking to see if he had extra blankets!” he protested.

Twilight chuckled and Warriors ruffled the boy’s hair. The group set out for the river.

The cool water did nothing to awaken the Skyloftian knight, making Twilight’s stomach churn with worry. When he looked at Warriors, though, the captain didn’t seem overly concerned. Unable to assist with the bathing, Wind preoccupied himself by getting into a splashing competition with Four, leading Time to take Wind’s pirate’s charm so he could listen out for Wild and keep watch. Both young teenagers were as soaked as Sky by the time Twilight, Legend, and Warriors were finished cleaning him up.

Sky was halfway redressed when his eyes started to flutter open.

“Sky?” Legend placed a hand on his bare shoulder as he shivered. Saying his name caught the entire group’s attention, and everyone hastened over. “Sky, how are you feeling?”

Sky’s breathing quickened and he grew anxious, trying to wiggle out of Twilight’s hold from behind him as the rancher was propping him up. Twilight took Sky’s arms and tucked them to his chest, giving a hug from behind. “It’s okay, Sky, it’s just us. You’re okay.”

“Link.” Warriors knelt in front of him, brushing wet curls out of his face. “You’re safe. You had a seizure. We’re taking care of you, you’re okay.”

Sky settled a little at the words, though from Twilight’s vantage point the teenager still looked confused and scared. His eyelids drooped and he nodded off shortly thereafter.

Time glanced at Warriors for guidance. The captain sighed, leaning back. “Yeah, he’s going to be like that for a while.”

Wind put his hands on his hips. “He’s cold, come on, get his shirt on him!”

Time glanced at Wind, caught off guard at the boy’s commanding tone, and then smiled.

As the group finished getting Sky dressed, Legend shifted uncomfortably. “You don’t think he’s had seizures before and then just not told us, do you?”

Twilight shook his head. “No. No, he hasn’t. Something in the air changed, he smelled different right before it happened. I’ve never smelled that before.”

“You could smell a seizure?” Warriors asked, eyebrow raised.

Twilight shrugged. “I mean I guess that’s what it was. All I know was it was different, and it was coming off him.”

Before anyone could comment, Wind’s pirate charm glowed, and Wild and Hyrule were excitedly telling them they found a place. Before either could even take a breath they were immediately asking about Sky’s condition, and Time quickly interrupted their interrogation.

“He’s doing okay,” he explained. “Just resting. Now where is this place?”

“Oh, it’s just south of the funny shaped boulder—”

“No, no, it’s southeast of the funny shaped boulder, but it’s south of the owl family with those cute little owlets—”

“Yeah, and there’s a tree that’s bent funny that looks like a portal but isn’t and that’s just like twenty paces away from the site—”

Twilight was grabbing his shadow crystal before Time even threw an exasperated look in his direction.

XXX

When he came to, he was… beyond disoriented. And confused. Because why did his head hurt? Why was he on something soft? Where was he? What happened? Why did his whole body feel like it had been stepped on by Koloktos, run over by Scaldera, and punched by Demise? Why did he feel so completely and utterly drained? Why was he on his belly? What was rubbing his back?

Sky groaned, trying to open his eyes, but he was so tired.

Something warm and gentle massaged his neck, and he involuntarily sighed as the tension was released. A gentle voice rumbled, “You’re okay, Sky. You’re safe. It’s okay.”

A little less anxious, Sky still tried to open his eyes. The voice sounded familiar. When he finally started to gather the strength to lift his eyelids, he flinched as something soft tickled his right eye. He kept it closed, opening his left, and he realized he was lying prone with his head turned to the left. The soft material tickling his face was a fur pelt.

Fur. Fur?

“Rancher…?” he mumbled.

He heard shifting on the ground, and then he saw a pair of knees before Twilight dipped down to be at eye level with him. He watched Sky silently, eyes warm and concerned, and then smiled. “Hey, Sky. Welcome back.”

Welcome back? “Where’d I go?”

Twilight chuckled, laying a gentle hand on his back. “Somewhere we couldn’t reach you for a while. You scared us. Smithy worked out that you probably got used to being up in the sky. We all did, in a sense; the Old Man even admitted to feeling kind of woozy when we got to the woods. But you just like to outshine all of us when it comes to the sky, don’t you?”

Sky smiled absentmindedly at Twilight’s low, gentle laughter, not quite catching everything.

Twilight’s hand went back to his neck, massaging it a little more. “Go back to sleep, Sky.”

Safe in his brother’s care, Sky settled, letting himself go.

#I might have escalated that migraine prompt a bit #now for seizure care tips and info! #if someone is having a seizure your job is to make sure they don't hurt themselves accidentally and time the seizure #so get them on the ground and lay them on their side #never put anything in their mouth or try to hold them down #just let them shake it out #being incontinent is normal #all their muscles just had a spastic frenzy so now they all just relax #they may stop breathing briefly or have low O2 levels right after they finish #not good but not unusual in seizures #please do rescue breaths if they stop breathing and have a pulse do not shake them like Legend #after a seizure they will be sleepy and confused it's normal they're what we call postictal #their brain just went through ctlr + alt + delete it just needs a bit to recover #other nerdy info! #dogs can smell seizures and some epileptics have service dogs for that #you can have too much O2 in your system it's called hyperoxemia but it's more of a critically ill hospitalized person thing #so unlikely Sky would get it but Sky is also an elf boy who lives in fantasy sky islands so I do what I want #linkeduniverse #linked universe #lu sky #sicktember #ask game #writing prompt #you ask skye answers #lovely guardedchild #writing

[delta-piscium]

Murray, after watching Steve and Eddie for all of five seconds, confidently walks up to them and starts his whole spiel about pining blah blah etc etc, and like, Steve will absolutely not have that, there is no way.

So he snorts, looks at Murray down his nose, and with zero hesitation lies, tells him “We’ve been dating for a month, congrats on seeing the obvious... Or not since you couldn’t tell”

He just hopes Eddie will play along. Steve is sending him the strongest signals with his mind right now, and, just, he knows Eddie can be petty like this too (that’s why he likes him so much, and yeah Murray is a little right but fuck him so much more for it)

Eddie ‘lives for the bit and to fuck with people’ Munson does not disappoint. He slings an arm around Steve and is like “Yeaaahhh wow, real clever observation there buddy.” In the driest tone imaginable

And Murray, well he was sure he was right, still kind of is sure he’s right so he just squints at them for a bit and then breaks out in a wide grin, and only sounds a little sarcastic when he says “Congrats on figuring your shit out yourselves.” 

Except he absolutely does not mean it because he wanted to do that, he likes doing that. And now he's sulking and will watch them so closely because something seems off 

Eddie and Steve, so committed to the bit and to not let Murray win, start fake dating. All while Murray tries to catch them in their lie, and they’re all too stubborn to give up

Murray starts to slowly think he maybe was wrong though because they really seem like a couple. And even though there’s still something there he can’t ignore the proof.

When they straight up make out in front of him, and he can tell that they’re so lost in each other they probably don’t know he’s there he's about to concede

But then after that, they act so weird around each other again? It’s like before but worse and how did the pining get worse when they’re actually openly together? Regularly have their tongues down each other's throats and all?

Meanwhile, Steve and Eddie are going through it because they thought they’d be okay but that kiss was so much, and oh god they don’t think they can do this? But they can’t let Murray win?

A week and a half later at their monthly 'we survived the apocalypse, again' get-together at Hoppers and Joyce’s, Murray just gets enough of how twitchy they are. He grabs them both and locks them in a closet and is like “I don’t wanna know anymore, whatever fight you had or didn’t figure it out”

They sort of stand there shuffling from foot to foot not marking eye contact until Eddie is just like “Oh for fucks sake, I like you for real okay? The bastard was right so can we actually just date? Please?” And all Steve's can do is say "Thank god," while he smiles the most blinding smile and grabs Eddie by his collar pulling him in for a kiss

Fifteen minutes later they come out of the closet (the irony and symbolism is not lost on them) all disheveled and a little too satisfied looking and are met with very loud screaming from all the younger teens, ranging from a simple “Ew!” (Mike) to “Dude we are right here what if we'd heard? Or walked in there and seen?” (Dustin)

They’re lucky they’re too distracted by this to see Murray's self-satisfied smirk because if they did they would have pretend broken up and there would have been another month of sneaking around but this time actually dating and pretending they weren’t

#I'm bringing you all another steddie gets Murray'd take because well I can #and bc I think they'd be so bitchy to him about it and like see it as war #they refuse to admit he got them together until years later and even then they're like 'we would have gotten there quicker and with less #confusion without him- he was a roadblock actually' #they’re bitch boyfriends ok? #Murray moves on to Nancy and Robin after this and both Nancy who has been Murray'd before and Robin who knew this whole mess #just shake their heads and is like 'you quiet- we are not doing this let us figure out our own lives' #dels steddie thoughts #steddie headcanon #my post #steddie ficlet #murray bauman #stranger things #eddie munson #steve harrington #steddie

[mobius-m-mobius]

thought we had it all, thought we had it all, thought we had it all...

- So Much (For) Stardust - Fall Out Boy (i/n/sp)

#mobius #loki #lokius #mcuedit #lokiedit #marveledit #well y'all #somehow hit another follower milestone #and in my disbelief and appreciation may have made a set with enough layers to carry the weight of the world 🤣💖 #couldn't love them or any of you more for what an amazing experience spending time on here has become #so just unbelievably happy these gifs turned out in a way which hopefully reflects that and our time collectively shaking and sobbing lol #will also be taking gif requests to celebrate if anyone's got some in mind so just let me know and i'll do my very best 🥰 #that goes for all my fandoms btw even if lokius taking the lead there is the understatement of the century 😅 #owen wilson #tom hiddleston #marvel #owenwilsonedit #dianagifs #flashing cw

[dykealloy]

one piece filler ep where they run into another peto-peto villain of the week guy but this time instead the devil fruit power rearranges people's brain chemistry so they have the thoughts behaviours emotional intelligence etc of a dog. zoro gets hit but he's just exactly the same

#it's a problem in that of it's a non-problem. i.e. no one notices so it never gets addressed. the straw hats just leave #zoro starts growling and barking at an enemy mid-fight and nami's like i really wish this was new for you but we all know it's not. #sanji finds zoro in the store room like 4 weeks later on all fours gnawing on a bone and is like yeah nothing out of the ordinary here #(kicks him out) #his tactile needs increase marginally but luffy's already on top of this so it goes entirely under the radar #he catches a rabbit with his bare teeth and starts shaking it around and usopp just starts screaming CAN YOU FUCKING STOP WITH THAT SHIT #(normal usopp-zoro interaction) #zoro gets flocked by children one time and he just. accepts it. Lets them pile up and crawl all over him. And Robin's like ''actually....' #''No. Nothing new.'' #the gang only start getting suspicious 4 months in when zoro gets into a habit of sitting between luffy's legs or at his feet #but the suspicion is honestly more directed towards the relationship status there #one piece #op #opla #zolu #roronoa zoro #zoro #CJ's op watch-through

[lovesickeros]

can.. can I ask for an affectionate reader with characters who aren’t normally like… used to the love? like, not just through words but physical affection like hand-holding, kisses, hugs, all that shebang. probably with a few people like yelan, ei, basically any character that is either cut-off from society or seems socially distant or isolated. 😞

☆ affectionate reader with yelan, ei, & furina

[ 4.2 Archon Quest spoilers ]

× yelan

Varies between how you display your affection, to be honest. Just like being affectionate with people? She's cool with it as long as you don't pop by while she's working (mostly because she'll end up dragging you into it for a bit of fun). I don't think she's all that touchy feely herself, but she'll absolutely get you gifts instead– like pretty knick nacks? She'll make sure to snag any she thinks you might like. Like a good meal? Sure, she'll take you out to one of the restaurants in the city, doesn't matter how expensive. Her treat. If you do prefer physical gifts rather then being taken out, you'll eventually get used to the random unmarked letters and packages showing up where your staying pretty often. It's obvious to know who it came from even if she never signs anything.

Flirty reader, though? Whole nother can of worms and now it's a challenge. The more confident you are the more interested she is. The other acolytes would absolutely seethe at the idea but she has no hesitation at just straight up flirting back– she's as charismatic as they come and she's got a poker face that's basically impenetrable. She'll probably also make a bet to see who cracks first (she always wins, unsurprisingly). Probably won't get dragged into any of her schemes this way but if you ask politely maybe she'll consider it, anyway.

The smell of freshly brewed tea and the clatter of dice across wood was a common sight at the Yanshang Teahouse– less common was the woman secluded in the far corner, her lips pulled into a grin that flashed fangs and a look that would scare off the most confident of men.

She'd normally try to scope out any new blood that'd made the mistake of stepping into her teahouse and was equally stupid enough to accept a gamble against her just for the thrill of it, but she was far too absorbed in the warm body at her side, one of her die clasped tightly in their hand as she guided them through the motions– they had a knack for it, she had to admit. The thought made her preen, the clatter of the die as it rolled across the table giving her that subtle, familiar rush.

Even if she knew exactly where it'd land.

"Six. Hm, maybe you're just lucky," She muses, plucking the die from the table and holding it up to her eye like a prized jewel, "Or maybe you're not as innocent as you'd have us believe." There's a sharp glint in her eyes at the prospect, but everyone else has the sense to keep their heads down and their words to themselves as she tosses the die herself.

"So why don't we find out and make a bet, just between you and me?"

× ei

Varies between Ei and the Shogun, because you'll probably be seeing either as much as the other. Sometimes you gotta really squint to tell who it is sometimes, but you get used to it. Both are fairly similar, though, in that their first instinct (especially in public) is to tense up like you're about to attack them or something. Difference is Ei eventually relaxes after a solid minute of trying to process your sudden affection and, if no one else is around, she might even reciprocate. Just don't tease her for being a little stiff and awkward about it, she's trying. That's what happens when your only company is a robot and uh. Nothing. For like 500 years. She's trying. Raiden, on the other hand, is just about as awkward as you can imagine. She's polite (blunt) about it because Ei is fond of you and also you are. The Creator. But she's not really built to deal with personal relationships and so she doesn't know how to deal with affection.

..Depending on what you do you may or may not blue screen Ei hard enough that she retreats back to PoE

Ei usually isn't fond of sitting still, unless it's to meditate. At least then she goes in with a purpose, something to achieve– but now, she's just focused on trying not to make a fool of herself. Her muscles are starting to ache from how hard she's tensing, though, in an effort to sit as straight and still as possible as their hands glide through her hair, weaving it into a single braid.

She can just barely hear the subtle lilt of their voice as they hum– and though it is soothing, it is also..very distracting. She can't focus long enough to try and meditate, too lost in the gentle rise and fall of their voice and the care they take to braid her hair. If she'd had a heart, she'd sure it'd be beating so wildly against her ribcage they could hear it.

But then it stops– their hands fall back to their sides and their humming falters. She freezes, too, racking her brain for any slights she must have committed. Instead, she is met with a calm, tender touch on the back of her neck, making her inhale sharply.

"Am I making you uncomfortable, Ei? You're so tense.." She has to grit her teeth to stop herself from bowing so low her head presses against the ground, her hands folded in her lap, clenching instinctively. "..No, Divine One." She answers simply, trying to contain the adoration swelling in her chest.

Yet as much as she tries to relax, to ease their worries, she finds that she cannot.

"Hm." That small murmur, a simple sound that nearly made her jump, was the only warning she got before they scooted closer, wrapping their arms around her stomach and resting their chin on her shoulder with a grin she would liken to Miko's, if she dared to make such a comparison. "Really?"

She swears she must've been feverish at the affection, lightheaded and dazed until she thought she might simply perish at the brush of their hands against her own.

Much to her embarrassment, however, she doesn't realize she's instinctively pulled back into Plane of Euthymia until she sees the familiar dull purples engulf her vision once again.

Though only a small solace, it seemed a little..brighter, this time.

× furina

Varies between pre 4.2 and post 4.2 archon quests to be honest.

Pre 4.2 she comes off as very vain– of course the most Divine would see fit to spoil her with affection! She deserves it, and is obviously their favorite! Just don't look too hard because she's terrible at hiding how flustered she actually is. Absolutely goes home right after and screams into her pillow for at least thirty minutes minimum.

Post 4.2 she's a lot more openly bashful and flustered. She's really not used to affection and even the smallest show of it has her folding immediately. Now that she doesn't need to worry about being found out she's a lot more receptive to affection. Cup her cheeks and compliment her and her knees are buckling. Like. Especially weak for compliments and praise (she deserves it. please spoil her).

She swears she must be hallucinating– she had been having trouble sleeping recently. But..no. The visage of the Creator was as real as the sweat beading on her brow as she stared at them for a long, awkward moment. Should..she let them in? But then they'd see the pathetic state she was in, and the last thing she wanted to do was make a fool of herself in front of them-!

Her choice was quickly made for her, anyway, as she let out an undignified squeak of surprise when they suddenly tugged her forward into their chest, enclosing her in a hug.

Her first reaction was to freeze– her second was becoming absolutely flustered, her cheeks flushing a soft pink and her mouth closing and opening as she tried to find her words.

"I– ah..um." She stumbled over her words instead, floundering like a fish out of water. Yet she felt a distinct sense of emptiness wash over her when they finally pulled back, looking a touch sheepish. "Sorry, sorry– you just looked like you needed a hug."

The silence spoke for itself, her shoulders tensing slightly. But the way the concern and affection bled through their voice made her waver, her hands trembling as she let out a shaky breath that almost sounded like a sigh.

"It's..It's fine! Fine, I'm fine." She repeated, trying desperately to ignored the way her voice cracked and how hot her face felt– though it was more an attempt to affirm herself that she was not thinking about how warm they felt, how much she..actually enjoyed the hug. She wasn't thinking about it all! Absolutely not!

..Maybe a little.

"Just warn me next time, please?"

#asks #sagau #genshin sagau #self aware genshin #genshin impact sagau #self aware genshin impact #fic tag #genshin cult au #genshin impact cult au #yelan #furina #ei #THIS DIDNT SHOW UP IN MY INBOX UNTIL LIKE #NOVEMBERBIM SORRY IM ANSERRING IT SO LATE?????? #tumblr working right is a miracle that will never happen #anyway can u tell i have. biases. there r so many characters I wanted to write for this (shenhe.........) but I forced myself to limit it #to 4 for my own sanity and everyones elses #also didnt know if u wanted just yan or sagau so I went for my specialty 🧍‍♂️ #was gonna include my beloved cryo archon but decided against it #ei the pathetic lesbian that u r....mwah #I'm sorry this took so long it took me 50 yrs to figure out yelan.. 😭 #i am still not confident abt my characterization of her but shes so good at her job even im confused abt her #reading her lore crying and sobbing in the corner. shaking her like a can of soda #checks note idk uhh cocky doesnt let herself form personal relationships charismatic uhhhhhhhh #idk dont ask me i just started praying and hoping for the best here #i think she'd get a kick out of getting reader into like. fudging rolls and shit. create an absolute menace out of reader #set them loose and see what chaos happens #just kicks back and watches it all unfold internally laughing her ass off #i didnt know whether to just do headcanons in uh. bulleted list or like #full on drabbles

[comradekatara]

sokka, katara, and the paradox of “the gifted child”

something i’ve noticed is a tendency to (mis)characterize sokka as someone who is dismissed due to being a nonbender, when that’s only partially true. sokka is certainly dismissed by some for not being a bender (namely, by benders), but i think there’s a key difference between being dismissed and not being valued in one specific way. katara was valued by her tribe for being a waterbender for the very crucial reason that she was the last one left. had she been a dime a dozen in her tribe, which would have been the case were it not for the systemic extermination of her people, she would not be valued as highly for possessing this skill. that said, while sokka clearly does hold some resentment over his lack of bending ability, calling himself “the guy in the group who’s regular,” i think it’s folly to assume that this means that sokka was dismissed and discarded as “average” while katara was put on a pedestal for being special. because while katara obviously was considered special, sokka is also clearly considered special by his family, merely in different ways. and if anything, sokka embodies the archetypal struggle of the so-called "gifted child” far more than katara does.

while sokka clearly believes himself to be disposable and intrinsically worthless, i don’t think that he was actively neglected by his family. even if katara was clearly marked by her bending as embodying the last hope of their tribe, that doesn’t mean that she was seen as more gifted than he was or was designated as her family’s obvious favorite. for example, the way hakoda talks about sokka (saying he trusted him with leading and protecting the tribe when he was thirteen, calling him a genius, and other such insanely high praises to heap on a child) shows that he clearly views his son as particularly exceptional and has never been shy about showing that. sokka is distinctly insecure around his father for assumptions he makes regarding hakoda's faith in his abilities and his insecurities when it comes to his perceived failure in not measuring up as a man, but from the second we meet hakoda, it's evident that these insecurities are entirely internal and completely unfounded, at least in terms of his father's perception of him. hakoda is nothing but incredibly proud of sokka, constantly emphasizing just how capable and brilliant he believes him to be. whether or not sokka is capable of internalizing it is another story, but it's clear that hakoda is not stingy in his praise and affection, not even a little bit.

moreover, while katara is clearly kanna’s favorite on an emotional level, she nonetheless affords sokka far more respect. she admonishes katara and tells her to do her chores, and notably, she also impresses the importance of “listening to her brother,” and backs up sokka’s decision to banish aang from the village. you can claim that sexism plays a factor in how sokka views his own supposed position of authority, but kanna is a woman who traveled the entire globe as a teenager because she wanted to escape patriarchal impositions dictating her life. she’s simply far too smart to treat sokka as any sort of authority within their village if she did not fully entrust him with that responsibility. she treats sokka almost like a peer, as if she is legitimately co-running the village with a fifteen year old boy.

katara is only a couple years younger than sokka at most, but her dynamic with kanna is very different. on one hand, kanna clearly sees more of herself in katara, can identify with her sense of adventure and rebellious spirit, but on the other hand, it means that she views katara as a child to be taken care of, who needs to be reminded to do her chores and bailed out when she gets herself into trouble. sokka doesn't want to be viewed as a child, and so he does everything in his power to position himself as kanna's equal rather than her grandson. he takes his duties and responsibilities very seriously, and is obedient to a fault whenever he is submitting to any authority he actually respects, especially his father and grandmother. to be honest, a lot of what katara considers coddling is probably just sokka never being bossed around by their grandmother because she never actually has to tell him to do his chores. because despite katara's claim that he simply faffs about "playing soldier," sokka's problem is actually that he takes himself too seriously for her liking. and with the exception of kanna saying "be nice to your sister," which is the kind of teasing a parent says to their child, she clearly respects sokka's position in the village. when katara tries to run away with aang, kanna takes sokka's side and forbids her from acting impulsively, but when sokka is the one who packs supplies and plans to save aang, kanna gives them both her blessing.

katara is the only person who takes umbrage with the notion of sokka running the village and telling her what to do all day. and those frustrations have likely accumulated up from a lifetime of being told to “do as her brother says” and “why can’t she be smarter and more responsible and levelheaded blah blah blah.” she clearly thinks that she’s punching up when she yells at or mocks him, which may seem crazy to anyone who understands that sokka’s entire identity and existence revolves around being katara’s protector, but katara doesn’t actually know this. in her mind sokka is merely the perfect child who has always represented this impossible standard of “genius.” and what's more, he's absolutely insufferable about it.

and to be clear, this isn’t to say that katara herself isn’t highly intelligent, capable, competent, and skilled. she’s not only an incredibly talented waterbender, but also clever, quick, witty, creative, resourceful, practical, mature, and thoughtful in other ways. at one point, toph calls her a genius (“a stinky, sweaty genius”). and she is, indeed, an extremely powerful and innovative waterbender, both due to her hard work, but also because she is genuinely brilliant. that said, she’s smart in the realistic way that a kid is smart; she works hard to be good at what she cares about (and she has an existentially devastating reason to care about being a good waterbender, mind you), and she’s also good at thinking on the fly when she needs to. however, unlike sokka, or even toph, her intellect may be impressive, but it isn’t astonishing. sokka’s mind functions completely anomalously. i wouldn't say he's unrealistically intelligent, because i do know some people in real life who are similarly adept at processing all kinds of different information with the ability to deftly apply it near-immediately, but it is certainly abnormal, both for real world standards and within his universe.

i normally bristle at this term and its applications (for multiple reasons), but since it is explicitly stated multiple times across the show, it is important to acknowledge that sokka is referred to as a genius multiple times, including by his father. katara is referred to as being a genius by toph for using her own sweat to waterbend (which, as hama points out an episode later, isn't even that clever because you can literally bend water from the air around you); conversely, sokka is referred to as a genius for helping to invent hot air balloons and for figuring out multiple escape routes from the world's most secure prison in less than a day. we don't know the exact timeframe under which katara trained with pakku and earned the title of master, but she clearly worked incredibly hard to earn that title, not only as a master, but as the greatest waterbender in the entire world. i assume it was any time between a few weeks and a little over a month in which zhao would organize a fleet to arrive at the north pole, which is, of course, extremely impressive in itself and a testament to her passion and determination. however, on the other hand, piandao claims that sokka has basically mastered the sword and is ready to make his own within less than a day. it's important to remember that katara is also brilliant in her own way, and possesses great skills that sokka lacks: not only bending, but also midwifery, and an ability to locate her own emotions and allow herself to be vulnerable with others, two skills which should never be looked down upon for their association with womanhood and femininity, and are also particularly impressive considering just how young katara is. she is brilliant in her own right, and in any other family, katara would easily have been "the smart one." and yet, sokka is simply in a league of his own.

so, yeah, he can stand to get thrown around and yelled at; everyone her entire childhood just kept on impressing how special and perfect and brilliant he is, he can handle it. she has no idea that he is depressed, depersonalizes, loathes himself, and thinks he’ll never be good enough, because he never actually communicates any of that to her. the closest he ever comes is admitting that he’s jealous due to not having bending abilities, and even that shocks katara, even though it’s such a small and obvious admission in the scheme of things. she has no idea what’s going on with him psychologically, how he views himself in relation to others, and specifically in relation to her, so she kind of just assumes he’s entitled because surely he must know how special he is and thus feels owed accolades by the world at every turn. he deserves to be humbled, and she is in fact righteous for humbling him.

when she makes fun of him for being stupid or miserable or paranoid or cynical, she thinks she’s owning him the way a righteous underdog fights against an oppressor. it's similar to how zuko wants to "put azula in her place." in katara and zuko's minds, they are both the valiant underdog siblings who had to fight and struggle against the siblings for whom everything came so easily. and in katara’s mind especially, she is always punching up, and she always has a moral justification in lashing out at anyone she pleases. so she couldn’t fathom that the reason sokka puts up with her antagonism without complaint isn’t because he’s so above her that he can simply ignore her taunts and gibes without a care (if that were the case, he wouldn't bother to taunt and gibe in return), but rather that he feels so detached from his own personhood that he would never think to actually explain his feelings to the person whom he has defined himself through since childhood. and if he did ever, somehow, communicate that to her, she’d have to reevaluate their whole entire lives and dynamic. but he never will communicate that to her, so she’ll never actually have to do that.

moreover, even though katara often does tease sokka and cast doubt upon his competence and abilities in low-stakes situations constantly, whenever they are actually facing a real problem that requires an immediate solution, katara seems to forget that sokka is supposedly an unhelpful, lazy, immature idiot because she immediately turns to him to fix all their issues. and then once that issue is resolved, katara goes back to finding his existence bothersome. sokka, on the other hand, falls into this role of problem solver instinctually, with the one exception that when they actually name him as the idea guy, he jokingly complains that it’s a lot of pressure to be one who is always expected to come up with solutions. and while he is joking during that conversation in “the drill,” he’s being honest to an extent, because his perfectionism and fear of failure is truly dire.

when katara is faced with failure, whether as the consequences for her own actions or otherwise, she simply gets back up and tries again. she can’t be knocked down, she can’t be deterred from achieving her goals. she has a very healthy approach to making mistakes, and while she doesn’t always learn from them in the longterm, she does always try her best to fix them and amend the situation as immediately as possible. katara is someone who is incredibly resilient and is constantly demonstrating the sheer magnitude of her inner strength, especially in particularly difficult moments. she has the ability to fail as many times as it takes without letting that failure affect her own self-esteem or desire to keep striving for what she believes in.

sokka, on the other hand, is very physically resilient (he gets beat up a lot), but his emotional resilience is actually quite pathetic. he has no tools for coping with failure. from even the slightest mistake, like not actually being able to open the doors at the fire temple with his makeshift explosives, to a catastrophic one, like his failed invasion, sokka immediately retreats inward. in “the boiling rock,” sokka demonstrates how his first ever real failure that rests squarely on his own shoulders is so devastating to him that he becomes totally irrational and suicidal in an attempt to “rectify” the situation. he does not know how to cope with failure, because he expects himself to be perfect at all times. and it’s not because sokka is overly proud, but rather that his guilt complex is so profound that he blames himself for every single thing that goes awry at all times, even when it isn’t actually his fault whatsoever. so that guilt and shame is magnified a thousand fold when sokka is actually culpable for those losses.

one of many ways in which it is evident that sokka is the older sibling is that he clearly lives with the mentality that if katara messes up or gets herself in danger due to her own impulsive inclinations, it’s always actually sokka’s fault for not being a better, more attentive brother. when she sets off the booby trap in the banned ship, sokka banishes aang from the village so as to protect katara from herself. when katara experiences the consequences of heedlessly blowing up a factory, sokka gets mad at her for her recklessness, but also immediately finds a way to help her fix this situation, because that’s his job, and in fact, his primary purpose on this earth. this is a dynamic sokka has probably internalized even before he was assigned the role of her sworn protector, because that’s just how being the eldest is.

sokka’s tendency to take responsibility for everyone else’s mistakes and his desire to shoulder everyone else’s pain at all times, coupled with his implicit belief that he, uniquely, cannot afford to mess up ever (if other people make mistakes it’s fine and he can help them fix it, but if he makes mistakes he no longer has a purpose on this planet, goodbye cruel world), definitely indicates that he was held to an incredibly high standard all his life. he expects himself to be able to handle a lot of responsibility with perfect ease because he always has. he isn’t used to making mistakes of any kind. if he puts his mind into learning a new skill, he always masters it within a couple of days, whatever that skill happens to be. unlike katara, sokka is used to things coming easily to him, and what he isn’t used to is failure.

katara and sokka are both exceptional, of course, but in very different ways, and for very different reasons. katara grew up with a lot of external pressure to excel as a waterbender, because she needs to embody her cultural legacy and prove that her mother’s sacrifice was not in vain. it’s an unfathomable burden to place on a child, and the rate at which she improves her waterbending once she is actually given the resources to hone her skills is a testament to her perseverance and untiring dedication. katara becomes the greatest waterbender in the world not because she is a natural prodigy (which is something she bristles at when aang does display prodigious skill), but because she is incredibly determined and no one can outmatch the strength of her heart and unshakable commitment when she is pursuing a goal. as pakku even says, raw talent isn’t everything, and katara’s abilities prove that despite not being “naturally gifted,” hard work and determination is far more important when it comes to excelling in any given domain.

however, if katara’s motivation to be excellent is externally imposed by the tragic circumstances of her life, sokka’s motivations are, at the very least, internally maintained. as aforementioned, i have no doubt that he received a lot of external validation and praise from the adults in his life as a child with a dazzling, brilliant mind. as has been established, sokka is constantly displaying an ability to synthesize new information at a staggering rate, which likely means that before katara had even discovered her ability to waterbend, sokka was probably being fawned over for the impressive rate at which he was picking up new skills as a baby. since pretty much everything (cerebral, at least) comes easily to sokka, i can only imagine that hakoda, who never hesitates to express to his children how proud he is of them, would constantly affirm sokka’s intellect. and by boasting that sokka takes after himself (hakoda also refers to himself as a genius, completely sincerely), he unwittingly plants the first seeds in fostering sokka’s belief that he must be exactly like his father in every way, and that any deviation from hakoda’s image would prove him unworthy. but he will never be the spitting image of hakoda the way that katara is "the spitting image of kanna" because sokka is already the spitting image of kya, if not – perish the thought – his own person entirely.

unlike katara, who spent her whole childhood trying to waterbend by herself with little success (beyond, of course, isolated instances demonstrating her sheer raw power when her bending was being influenced by her incredibly strong and passionate emotions), sokka always felt like he could handle the amount of responsibility he was given, because everything came easily to him. until the day that his life changed forever, and suddenly the stakes were no longer abstract, but tangible and personally devastating. sokka had never learned that it was okay to fail as a child because he never had a reason to, and then suddenly, he could not afford to fail under any circumstances. failure of any kind went from being a (purely hypothetical) blow to the ego, to being something that could directly endanger the lives of his loved ones. and so sokka decides that the only way to not be culpable for his potential failures is to be a martyr.

of course, there are instances in which sokka is proven to be inept, such as on kyoshi island or with piandao, wherein his humility and open-mindedness are put on display and sokka puts aside his own standards of perfection to learn from a master, but i don't think these instances qualify as failures. for one thing, sokka happens to master the forms he is being taught in less than a day, at an unprecedented rate, and thus these initially humiliating blindspots in his knowledge become victories as sokka absorbs new knowledge. sokka is always eager to learn, and willing to acknowledge his lack of expertise in area, humbling himself to learn from others any chance he gets. no, what i mean by "failure" as it relates to sokka's self-perception and ego is not a lack of knowledge, but an inability to protect another. to sokka, his existence is defined by his ability to provide and protect, and thus, a failure is, specifically, when someone gets hurt under his watch. that is what it means to not be able to afford to fail. he is not overly proud (if anything he is overly insecure), but he also understands that the stakes of failure – real failure – are tangible.

so when it comes to failure that carries grave consequences, he would rather be dead than fallible (or, responsible for not adequately protecting his loved ones), one million times over. and so every time someone makes a sacrifice for him, he feels as if he has failed on a fundamental level, because simply being exceptional is not enough, he must also bear the entire world’s suffering alone – as (in his mind) hakoda instructed him to when he left him behind to protect and provide for the village. otherwise he has failed in his promise to be needed, which is his raison d’être. sokka’s complex is very obviously not informed solely by his upbringing as a “gifted kid,” and in fact largely informed by the dehumanizing logic of war as it necessitates sacrifice, but his inability to accept his own fallibility as a product of his self-dehumanization is, at the very least, compounded by his debilitating perfectionism.

thus, katara and sokka's dynamic within their family isn’t “gifted kid and neglected kid,” but rather “two gifted kids who are gifted in different ways, one of those ways being valued more on a cultural level due to its scarcity as a byproduct of genocide.” while katara was put on a pedestal her entire life due to her ability to waterbend, it doesn’t mean that sokka wasn’t put on a pedestal in other ways. if anything, the reason hakoda entrusted a child with the burdens he did was specifically because he put his son on a pedestal. sokka assumes that hakoda didn't think he was capable enough to join his army, but that couldn't be further from the truth. hakoda trusted his thirteen year old son so much that he genuinely thought it best to leave him alone with this duty to defend his village and protect katara at all costs. he didn't leave a single man behind, not even the other teenage boys, because that's how much faith he had in a child to take his responsibilities seriously and perform them competently. and if that decision gave sokka one million different complexes and fucked him up for life, it wasn’t because he wasn’t valued for his abilities, it’s because he was overvalued and given too much responsibility at too young an age.

both he and katara struggled to live up to the expectations placed on them, forced to fulfill the roles of their parents instead of being allowed to exist as children. but crucially, katara sees the injustice in that, and clings to her childhood even as she strives for greatness, and sokka simply doesn't. he's long accepted that injustice, and in fact feels guilty that he cannot better live up to the impossible portrait of an idolized father, an idealized masculinity, an illusory model of the infallible, unshakeable warrior. despite all his achievements and natural giftedness, he nonetheless feels totally inadequate, deeply flawed, and ontologically worthless. perhaps, in a world beyond the pressures of war and its dehumanizing logic, sokka would have internalized the praise he was constantly receiving his whole life for his gifts. but since he was only ever a prodigy in ways that didn’t matter (within that colonized paradigm), he doesn’t actually care about how clever and brilliant and creative and talented and unique and special he is, because that would first require him to see himself as fully human, and he can’t even do that.

#analysis #sokka #katara #katara&sokka #hakoda #kanna #kya #hakoda&sokka #kanna&sokka #kya&sokka #kanna&katara #whew...! 20+ paragraphs about sokka and katara’s childhood. it’s more likely than u think (highly likely at all times) #see but this is why sokka is so clearly a mirror to azula to me #like not just in terms of crippling perfectionism and devastating fear of failure and being a child prodigy who is put on a pedestal #but simultaneously dehumanized etc etc #but also the fact that like. zuko treats her the same way katara treats sokka #he clearly thinks his immediate hostility and aggression towards her is like. him nobly fighting the battle against his tormentor #when that is literally his little sister and she is struggling so much and desperate for support from LITERALLY ANYONE #katara and zuko are like ‘let’s put azula in her place’ and high five #and that’s just so fucking apt because they truly do believe that it’s their duty to put their perfect prodigy siblings ‘in their place’ #but those are truly two of the most miserable people on the planet #so to any outside observers it’s just like………. why are you being mean to them they’re literally suicidal and shaking like a leaf #but also everyone already knows that azula is the prodigious gifted sibling bc zuko says it like one million times #so there’s rly no need to argue that #whereas katara loves calling sokka an idiot so i do believe that some clarification is in order #but like. yeah there’s no way sokka was dismissed or neglected as a child #he’s dismissed and neglected by the world at large #but within his tribe he’s like a mini celebrity . he’s their young sheldon (sorry) #anyway im running out of room to write tags but um. perfectionism is a disease get well soon xoxo bye

[opikiquu]

#★ my art #genshin impact #lynette #freminet #fontaine siblings #obligatory bad doodle at the end as per usual #and this is how she deals with him talking bad about himself #i feel like sometimes my drawings are all out of character for these three #but i just like them being happy #hugs :) #frem’s dang lines just being like ‘lynette says im good at stuff. if only i was good at smth else’ PLEASE LET THEM LOVE U 💀 #they are your BIGGEST FANS FREMINET (SHAKING HIM BY THE SHOULDERS) #he got me stressed out when i listen to his voice lines i swear #i be sweating everytime he says he’s a disappointment

[mattodore]

matthias wiping away theo’s tears 🧎

#river dipping #ts4 #ts4 edit #theodore doe #matthias evanoff #a burning house to live in #echthroi #I KNEW I WOULD FALL ASLEEP.............. is it really even a nap if it's four hours long... atp i just went to bed djfknjd #anyway ❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹 #originally the final pose between theo as an adult and matthias was just them reaching out to each other but when i was testing the pose #i was just staring at it like this is such a static pose... so i sat there for a good five minutes just trying to think of something else #and when i realized matthias wouldn't be able to just stand across from theo and watch him cry without touching him i started vibrating out #of my skin like . he would need to reach out wipe at theo's face and kiss his eyelids and let theo hide his face in his neck and cry it out #when theo cries it's........ #ugh. #he keeps that brave face going for a long time and his eyes might water and tears might spill out some but he stays quiet normally #but if matthias is there.......... if he speaks to theo in that way he does..... if he touches theo....... god it just all comes out #like he cries similar to how he laughs (hence WHY when he genuinely laughs there are times he starts to cry*) #(*refer back to question 89 in the 100 questionnaire w/ theo for more on this ☝️🤓) #it just all spills out when matthias touches him and it's startling coming from someone as reserved as theo yk? it shakes his whole body #he rubs at his eyes with his fists and shakes his head and he apologizes repeatedly and looks down like he's expecting to be hit....... #which. is bc he was actually hit for crying as a child. his father would make him look in the mirror while it would happen... #so theo doesn't look up when he cries generally speaking... #but theo feels safe with matthias. and matthias doesn't ask him to stop apologizing or to calm down. he just lets theo work it out himself #and he gathers theo up into his arms and he holds him. rubs his back. brushes his hands through theo's hair. tells theo he's there. #yeah........... well. glad i've made myself sad first thing after waking up fdvjnkfdhfgnh that's just the mattodore experience baby #ANYWAY. i should take pics of the extra pose i made for this of theo crying into matthias's neck. #you can't see his expression bc he's clutching incredibly close and his face is obscured. but yeah... it's open sobbing atp... lays down #theo theo theo... baby baby baby...... #but ok... think i'm gonna eat and then start getting to my activity and also!! reblog some posts i drafted from when i couldn't really type

[prosebushpatch]

Okay so I recently, finally, watched Wish and I have some thoughts. Overall, not as bad as everyone makes it out to be, but still has a lot of fundamental story problems and I've got to get them off of my chest. I'll mostly be focused on Magnifico because I think his motivations and arc largely represent the problem with the overall theme.

Okay so my biggest problem with Magnifico is his motivation. His tragic backstory. How on earth does he go from losing his whole family to thinking, the only way he can prevent that from happening again is to grant wishes? The logic doesn't track. It almost makes sense in his creating a kingdom where he protects everyone and "doesn't even charge rent," but it does not make sense with his wish granting. Having a great need to be control to make sure he doesn't lose anyone ever again can be a compelling motivation for a villain, where we see lines crossed that don't justify the intent, but in the movie, he's too self-absorbed to seem to have any actual care for the people of Rosas.

I think if the motivation was changed to something like Magnifico had once been a bright-eyed, enthusiastic wish granter who blindly believed all wishes were good but learned the hard way that that wasn't true could have been a better fit for the overall goal of the movie. Imagine that he granted a wish for a wicked person who used that wish to hurt others, or if Magnifico granted a wish but that wish ended up ruining the person's life because what they wanted wasn't what they needed (i.e. Remember The Princess and the Frog? Dig a little deeper) and that person could have went after Magnifico and blamed him for their troubles (harkening back to We Don't Talk about Bruno). This would be an understandable tragic backstory for Magnifico, and better explain why he's so careful about the wishes he grants. And, perhaps the reason he keeps the wishes he doesn't want to grant is to keep the people in his kingdom docile. No one will be angry with him for not granting their wishes if he makes them forget them and lose that drive and motivation, which makes more sense than the unexplained hording them like he does in the movie? Why does he keep them in the movie other than admiring the wishes? It doesn't make sense to me.

This would give Asha more of a reason to oppose him, if it's shown how his desire to not get hurt or to inadvertently cause hurt turned into a paranoia where he drains people of wishes to fly or play music that inspires others. And, as a side note, we need to see more of how Rosas is a kingdom of people who lack drive and motivation, where only those younger than 18 have that special part of them that inspires them to chase after a dream (something that Astor Rhymemaster touched on). Because that's the point of wishes, right? That's the point of the entire Disney canon. A dream is a wish your heart makes. That star can only get you so far, it takes hard work and determination. It's wanting something better in life, it's dreaming of leaving behind all you know to chase after a tangible light. It's finding a new dream, it's finding a new wish as you grow and learn about yourself and the world.

I don't think the movie Wish understood what makes wishes so important in Disney stories. You know what wishes do? They ignite change. It's not about getting what you want, it's about finding the courage to chase after something better. Ariel wants to be where the people are, but really she wants to be somewhere where others are willing to understand her and in the end, she finds that and makes amends with her father, who finally is willing to see her for who she is. Rapunzel wants to see the lights, and that desire pushes her to leave a tower she's been trapped in her whole life, learning that the world is not as cruel and cold as her abusive mother told her. Cinderella wants to go to the ball, to dance with people who treat her as a person and not a servant of cinders and ash. That wish is granted by a fairy godmother and gives her a hope that is worth fighting for, a hope that helps her reclaim what is rightfully hers; a glass slipper that fits only her and the love that comes with it.

Wishes inspire change. The movie should have been about that. Magnifico could have been right, that some wishes inspire negative change that can drag down multiple people. The kingdom of Rosas could have been so placid because change is scary. Maybe Magnifico could have convinced people, after taking their wish, that it wasn't worth it. Maybe the wish ceremonies could have changed so it wasn't portrayed as some sort of lottery everyone looks forward to, but Magnifico would grant wishes on the spot if he decided they were good and worthwhile, and he would lock away the wishes that would cause trouble and tribulations. 18 year olds could be enthusiastic to give him their wishes, thinking they were surely good and worth granting, only to forget their wish and be told that their wish would have only brought about their unhappiness, this would have justified a more solemn tone in the kingdom, setting up a world where people are mostly downtrodden, thinking their wishes are bad and pointless and they're better off without them. Imagine Cinderella or Rapunzel being told their wishes weren't good, reinforcing all the things their abusive families tell them, taking away that hope and courage to find something better for themselves.

Here's where the true conflict could come in. Asha could be onto this from the beginning, and her opening song could have been about this concern that the people who didn't get their wishes granted aren't willing to try at all. (Because, after all, why doesn't Sabino play music at all? Having that taken from him would take so much joy and creative expression from his life!) But why does Asha know something is amiss?

Simon.

Imagine that Magnifico has a strict rule not to ever share your wish with another person because then it wouldn't come true. It makes sense with our own superstitions, and then makes it so that no one knows anyone else's wishes. Maybe your best friend changes so drastically after giving up their wish, but you believe, like everyone else, that their wish would have only caused suffering. What can you do about it? Well what if Simon told Asha about his wish? What if Asha knew his wish wasn't dangerous and couldn't imagine a way that it could go wrong? That would give her a reason to doubt Magnifico and put more emphasis on how Simon has lost his drive like all the other adults in the kingdom. And it can also emphasize in the end that sharing your wishes and dreams with others can be a powerful thing. Just the act of sharing your dreams can inspire others to go after their own, and they can give you the encouragement to chase your wish too. Wishes inspire change, love gives you the courage to make it happen.

Imagine if the star boy used to be a human, who wished to help others and lost his humanity to do it. Imagine his wish confirms Magnifico's belief, that wishes cause suffering because star boy lost his tether to earth and is separated from the people he loves. Imagine how he foils Asha who also wants to grant everyone's wishes. Imagine him ensuring she doesn't make the same mistake he did while she gives him a reason to change again, to anchor himself to humanity again because he loves her enough not to leave for forever.

Imagine the movie confirming that, yes, change is scary. Chasing your dreams won't always make things better. You might fail more than you succeed and some wishes cannot coincide with each other, leading to grief and strife. But some wishes are worth it. Sometimes, chasing after something better and failing is worth leaving a worse situation. Sometimes taking that chance is worth it, and, like in all fairy tales, if you are kind and generous and act with love, that will make all the difference in the end.

Also, I know everyone wished for a Magnifico and Amaya evil power couple, but imagine if Magnifico was truly in love with Amaya, as he is in the movie, but that love is eventually his undoing. Like Amaya leaps in front of Asha, and Magnifico stops or redirects his attack because she's the one thing he loves more than himself and that is the weakness that Asha and co can take advantage of. Imagine Amaya keeping Magnifico in the mirror and he gets to dote on her from his imprisonment for forever. I'm just saying. At least 30 sickos like me would be into that. Imagine the depth it would give to the themes of love and change and wishing and how acts of love make all the difference.

Alright, I'll get off my soap box. I just really wish Wish could have been stronger because these fairy tales Disney is famous for matter. They really do. But the movie feels too stale and shallow and too much of a cash grab that knows the outline of a disney musical, but is unable to understand the heart of why they work.

#rose and rambles #wish 2023 #disney #disney wish #if you read anything i post let it be this im shaking the bars of my cage #I HAVE SO MANY FEELINGS ABOUT FAIRY TALES AND DREAMS LET ME AT THE PEOPLE WHO MADE WISH SO SHALLOW #ILL MAKE THEM TEA AND GIVE THEM A GOOD SCOLDING #WHILE STEALING THEIR CLOTHES AND PUTTING ON A FAKE MUSTACHE TO TAKE OVER WHILE THEY'RE NIBBLING ON NICE COOKIES #THAT'S A TOTALLY NORMAL THING TO DO RIGHT #if you want to tell a good story you gotta tell it yourself <- my villain origin story #or at least my Sebastian kiss the girl moment. i can't believe they took out star boy. God forbid independent women have romantic interests #anyway im obsessed with how Magnifico always called Amaya “my love” and i think we can do beautiful and twisted things with that #Also i kind of hate the whole 'oh there's no saving him from this evil magic corruption' like le please that's the most stupid thing to eve #be in a fairy tale #just proves these people didn't actually read the snow queen #also also go watch Astor Rhymemaster she's a genius and explains songs IN SUCH AN IN DEPTH WAY #i haven't interacted with much other wish stuff so idk how others are rewriting it but this my ideal

[kingprinceleo]

"Poor meow meow (tortures people)"

Does this mean there's lore for the dessert vampires au 👀👀👀👀👀

theres always been lore ! im still fleshing it out though, theres no overarching plot rn its just setting up the most important base details i have a REALLY clear vision for how i want to introduce the whole au so its pretty unfortunate i cant share anything until i drop the introduction

#ESPECIALLY since hand machine broke (BOTH OF THEM NOW.) #im what experts like to call FUCKING STUPID and i fucked up my left hand in the EXACT SAME WAY as my right hand 😭😭😭 #downloaded sims 4 cc for like 5-6 hours straight and gripping my mouse for that long caused the literal Exact same pain in my left hand #down to the pinky joint and all #and i think i overexerted my hand again finishing that comm the pain flared up in my right hand again #so i cant do SHIT RN #would love to be writing out the introduction to desert vampires #but i can barely use the computer without both my hands exploding at me #this planet is a prison!!!!!!!!!!!!!! #letting them heal is so hard when theres nothing to do without my hands ! #so for now ill just rotate them really fast in my brain #maybe ill shake some plot points out of them

[bunnyb34r]

Blocking isn't enough, I need to banish them

#nothing specific happened lol i just saw this fucking turd of a 'popular' blogger's post on my dash bc theyre mutuals with like two of the #good blogs i follow and i keep seeing their fucking nasty ass icon and username and i wanna banish them #is that so much to ask?? huh?? #and theyre big in two communities im in and i keep seeing their posts get big #i just... let me put them in a snowglobe for eternity and then let me shake it forever really fast #please?? #marquilla #i will not name them bc thats rude... out loud sgsggdgd if you really wanna know dm me bc im petty

[rebouks]

Previous // Next

Tristen: Enough about me, uh.. how’s the whole surrogacy thing going? Matilda: Pfft, I knew Ivan wouldn’t be able to keep his mouth shut. Tristen: Courtney mentioned it a while ago. Matilda: Great, that means everyone knows. Tristen: I’m not sure that’s a bad thing, but I can keep a secret. Matilda: Sure, you can… Tristen: Why didn’t you want to tell anyone? Matilda: I don’t know.. in case something happened? Or I changed my mind… Tristen: You know you’re still allowed to change your mind, right? Matilda: It’s a bit late for that. Tristen: Oh, are you-..? [Matilda nods solemnly] Tristen: That’s great! Matilda: I’m scared, Triss… What if Sam was right, what if I regret it? Tristen: You won’t. Matilda: But what if I do? Tristen: It might be harder than you thought-.. or not, I don’t know; but you won’t regret it. Matilda: [sighs] I hope not. Tristen: When are you gonna tell ‘em? Matilda: Not yet. Ivan would be crushed if anything happened, I’d rather wait a while. Tristen: Well, my lips are sealed. [Matilda smiles slightly, shaking her head] Tristen: What? Matilda: What have I gotten myself into… Tristen: C’mon, it’s such an amazing thing you’re doing for them. You oughta be proud of yourself. Matilda: I’ll try. Tristen: You won’t regret it, Mat.. I promise.

#ts4 #sims 4 #simblr #ts4 story #sims story #forever in between #fib #tristen burks #matilda douglas #she gregnant!!1 #ahhhhdfsdf #a mini tilda/ivan is cookin!! god help us all 😂 #i know we all desperately want tilda to shake triss out of his funk but it doesn't work.. we saw oscar try and fail before #she's just.. being there for him y'know.. hanging out #and he prefers to help other ppl or ask them about what's going on with them than talk abt himself so she just let's him be

[p4nishers]

ok but the fact that "aziraphale is softening. they haven't spoken in a hundred years: he's realizing they're still friends" and "there's no need to thank me that's what...friends...are for" was in the same night is making me go INSANE

#we NEED to talk more abt the 1941 ep im so serious im not normal about it like i had such high expectations and it suppressed them all. #am i disappointed there wasn't a rejection scene like i predicted?? yes ofc but also aziraphale said he did the apology dance that year so #i wonder what else could've fucking happened #but anyway. let's focus on what DID happen: aziraphale literally GLOWING with love in the car. crowley telling him to shut up cause of a #compliment. aziraphale helping crowley out and crowley looking at him like 'you'd do that for me?'. crowley not only letting aziraphale #practice magic with him but ACTIVELY playing a character to help him and i mean that scene was literally just crowley flirting with him #crowley indulging aziraphale by going to the magic shop with him and agreeing to participate in his show despite the fact that he NEVER EVEN #SHOT A GUN BEFORE. him just leafing thru the guidebook till he realizes there's a miracle blocker than starting to frantically flip thru it #her hands SHAKING on the gun and them being so afraid of hurting az. 'no paperwork :))' sure my guy that's what u r so happy about ofc #'but do u really think it went well' 'absolutely' with such sincerity. the book description saying smth abt ifa demon were to happen across #aziraphale they should report it immediately to the demon crowley. 'you could've just walked away' 'well you said 'trust me'' 'and you did' #its just. its one of my favorite eps it's so nice #good omens #azicrow #good omens s2 #aziracrow #go s2 spoilers #go s2 #good omens script book #good omens s2 spoilers #aziraphale x crowley

[kingkatsuki]

Sad, pathetic men who are the best at eating pussy.

#men that wear you down until you agree to let them fuck you #and they wanna prove it was the right decision #so they make it their mission to have you cream on their tongue over and over #like you’ve never had your world rocked quite like this #you expected nothing and yet your thighs are shaking your toes are curling and you saw the pearly gates #you weren’t even going to fuck him either— you just felt kinda bad for him #and it turns out it was the best decision of your life

[camels-pen]

I'm still thinking about vampire Usopp w/sanuso btw, just like

Sanji insisting Usopp come to him whenever he's hungry, for multiple reasons, but primarily bc he's the cook, it's his job to keep his cremates fed above everything else. And Usopp going along with it, asking for blood around the same times he used to ask for food. Thinking Sanji would tell him if he ever took too much.

Sanji, however, is a fool. A very kind, but large fool. He doesn't tell Usopp when he's taking too much or too frequently. In fact their whole arrangement barely lasts a few weeks before Sanji collapses in the middle of food prep.

Like, just the idea of the guy who gives and gives and, yeah it feels nice to give, but can't fathom the idea that there are others on the crew able to do the same. That he doesn't have to give until there's nothing left.

Idk just. Physical manifestation of his problems with accepting unconditional love without having to give anything to earn it. As in, the more he gives without bounds, the more he's literally killing himself.

And then. And then.

Usopp coming into the galley, ready to sheepishly ask for a snack, just like before this whole thing, and finding Sanji on the floor.

And he yells for Chopper before looking Sanji over. Coming to the realization that this was him- this was his fault. He took too much. Asked for too much. Asked too much of Sanji.

And he's just kicking himself the whole time, telling himself it was stupid to ever think Sanji- Sanji of all people- would ever deny him a chance to fill his belly.

He comes to the conclusion he can't ask Sanji for blood anymore. He can't ask anyone for blood anymore. He couldn't risk this happening again. To any of them.

After Sanji got a transfusion and isn't at risk of falling over anymore, he and Usopp begin an agonizing back and forth routine.

Sure, Sanji can't give blood for a while- doctor's orders- but there are some rather big fish in the aquarium, and Usopp has always loved the taste of fish. He drains the blood out of a few, stores the excess in the fridge, and offers a glass to Usopp to make up for the lunch portion he never got.

Usopp says something or other about grabbing a bite from a sea king earlier and waves him off. Sanji frowns but doesn't say anything.

And this same bit continues and continues and continues, until Sanji puts his foot down. Literally.

Kicks Usopp's ass to the galley. Has an infuriating conversation with him. Continues to try and get him to drink. Ends up coming to a conclusion that Usopp only liked drinking blood from the source. A passing thought making him consider that there was only one source- one person he'd drink from.

Usopp- tired and fuzzy and hungry, so so hungry- is trying his damnedest to keep Sanji satisfied with lies he doesn't have the energy to make believable. He's trying and trying but Sanji is bulldozing through each one, not taking no for an answer and-

Is it me? Sanji asks, his voice far, far too hopeful. Do you only want to drink from me?

And if Usopp wasn't tired- wasn't literally starving and finding it hard to keep his thoughts from slipping away- he would examine that voice. That tone. Run through his own daydreams with different words, different contexts, being implied with those words.

But he is tired. And he is starving. And he needs to get a grip before he wavers even more in his resolve.

And so, it's surprising yet all too expected when Usopp declares Sanji's blood as the nastiest thing he's ever tasted. Says he never wants to get within smelling distance anymore, it's that bad. Too late, he realizes his smelling distance, now, covers the entirety of the ship and then some.

Sanji stays silent. Usopp contemplates taking it back. He doesn't.

Casually, Sanji reaches over to his knife block. Despite his current status as a member of the undead, Usopp fears for his life. He wonders if Sanji was just as skilled with a knife as Zoro was with his swords and desperately hopes that's not the case. Aloud, he tries to calm Sanji down while subtly trying to put distance between them.

Without any warning, practically without sound, Sanji tilts his head and cuts a thin line near the juncture from his neck to his shoulder. And all of a sudden, Usopp's filled with another, far more terrifying, kind of fear.

It's just like Boin, Usopp, he thinks to himself, eyes glued to the spot where dark red beads of blood well up on pale skin. Just like Boin.

#one piece #vampire usopp #sanuso #sanji #usopp #nemotime #ye this is related to the other drabble thing i wrote #i dont have explanations for chopper uhhh #maybe they both got embarrassed about being found by the crew like that and just kept it a secret that they kept doing it #like sanji would assure chopper that he had pigs blood or smth for usopp but in reality. foolishness #ohhh chopper is So gonna let them have it though #Sanji: i always have juice and bread after- #Chopper: YOU CANT FIX EVERYTHING WITH JUICE AND BREAD! #luffy and brook fixing themselves up with milk is different bc they're. hmm. theyre something else #i took out the last bit bc i couldnt find a way to end it nice but Sanji wipes the blood on his finger and sticks it in Usopps mouth #and Usopp is trying so damn hard not to give in but his knees are very much shaking at this point

[incorrect-ikevamp-quotes]

*MC is considering canceling plans, and Isaac and Dazai are advising her on what to do*

Isaac: Just don't go.

Dazai: Say you’re ill!

Isaac: Pretend to break your leg.

Dazai: Really break your leg!

#ikevamp #ikemen vampire #ikevamp isaac #ikevamp dazai #ikevamp mc #ikevamp incorrect quotes #aight let it be known dazai would never dream of hurting mc #but that doesn't mean he won't get a rubber hammer just to commit to the bit #stealing shakes' stage props for a good cause (shakes: ??? where is carpenter no.3's tool bag?) #even funnier if mc figures it out as soon as he hands it to her (its too light to be a real one) and pretends to try to destroy her leg #that's a risky business yall #isaac wouldn't look at or speak to them for a week after that panic #welcome to dogeza land mc and dazai #they corner him and beg for forgiveness until he gives in #can you tell all im thinking of is that 'extreme jpnese apologizing' vid on youtube #comte: a v interesting cultural practice #sebas: DO NOT LEARN FROM THEIR EXAMPLE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD #leonardo: no i think there's some valid points being made here #sebas: **head in his hands** #mozart: i don't respect a single one of you people (morbidly intrigued) #napo: seems inefficient the crack of my knees would alert the guards killing me instantly--