#i haven't even started planning for jane's family and i already feel she's got the same thing going on 😭

[artekai]

I need to stop making OCs who are emotionally fucked up from being overshadowed by someone in their life who they perceive as more successful or likeable than themselves, everyone's gonna think there's something wrong with me orz

[spnhunter4life]

Bullets and Ballgowns Chapter 3

Series Summary: In the summer of 1813, the arrival of a new family in Brighton causes much excitement for the townsfolk. Anna Foster is shocked to realize she has already met the elder of the two sons, Dean. As she gets to know the family better, she must fight her feelings for him. Though she finds herself drawn to him, it is impossible that they could ever be together.

Word Count: 4.3k

A/N: Once again, so sorry for the long wait. I knew it had been a while but didn't realize it was a little over a month since the last chapter now. I'm still excited about this story and have so many ideas for it, and I spend a lot of time planning it out. Unfortunately, I'm having a really hard time making myself sit down and actually write it though. I actually already have a small start on chapter 4, so I really hope it won't take so long before the next update, but I can't make any promises. Hope you enjoy!

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(Whoops. Completely forgot about the header picture, so still don't have that. It'll probably show up eventually...)

The tea at the Winchester’s house came and went. It had been a pleasant experience. Mrs. Winchester was much as Anna had expected based on her mother’s stories. A bright, friendly woman who was easy to talk to. The three of them had a wonderful afternoon together talking about anything and everything. Anna even got a chance to have a short conversation with Sam when he came into the drawing room shortly before she and her mother left. Yes, it had been a very pleasant afternoon.

The carriage ride home had been less so. 

“Anna, we need to talk, darling,” her mother said shortly after leaving.

“Ok,” Anna agreed warily. Those words were rarely followed by good news.

Her mother seemed to hesitate, thinking over her words. After a moment, she sighed. “You must know that I want the best for you, that all a mother ever wants for her daughter is for her to be happy. For her to have all the things she'll ever need in life, and even for her to have all the things she wants.” Anna nodded in understanding, but there was a small frown of confusion on her face. 

“That's what I would wish for you,” her mother continued. “But you know as well as I that we don't always get what we want.” Anna could tell this last part was very meaningful to her mother, but she had no idea what her point was.

“I know that,” she said when her mother seemed to be waiting for a response.

“Then let me remind you that you are engaged.”

Anna stiffened slightly. She wasn't entirely sure what she was being accused of, but she did not like the turn this conversation had taken. “I haven't forgotten.” And then, after a brief pause, “I’m not sure what your point is, Mama.”

“There's no need to be so defensive, darling. I do not mean to reprimand you, only to give you a reminder and a warning. I know Mr. Sanders may not have been your first choice, but-”

“Not my first choice?” Anna asked incredulously. “He wasn't my choice at all! Papa planned it all out while I was visiting Aunt Jane in London! He may have sent a letter asking if I would agree to the arrangement, but it was more formality than anything. How could I possibly have said no when all the gentlemen were in agreement and not really concerned with my opinions?

“You must remember what it was like to be a young girl. To know how pointless and even foolish it is to hope to be one of the rare few who get to marry for love. But the problem with hope is that you can't just turn it off and stop feeling it, no matter how you might tell yourself to. 

“So yes, it's what I expected for myself. And I know Mr. Sanders is a good option and I should count myself lucky to spend my life with a kind young gentleman like him. I know I could have been promised to someone truly awful. But fortunate as I may be as far as arranged marriages go, it is still not what I hoped for for myself! I do not love him! I suppose I shall have to learn to one day, but until then I cannot just turn off my disappointment. That does not mean I don't plan to marry him or that I've forgotten about our engagement.”

“I am glad to hear it, though I did not think otherwise.”

“But you said-”

“I said I wanted to remind you, yes. I also said I wanted to warn you. I did not mean I was reminding you in the sense that I worried you’d forgotten, but in the sense that I want you to be careful. I do remember what it’s like to be a girl wishing for love. I remember what it feels like to meet a gentleman you hope will be that man. And I know what it looks like too. That’s not how you look at Mr. Sanders. Nor would I expect you to,” she hurriedly added, seeing the protest in Anna’s eyes. “After all, you hardly know the man. Perhaps that should change? It is perfectly possible for you to fall in love with him if you only take the time to get to know him.”

“It will be a long while before we are married, Mama. I imagine we shall have ample opportunity to get to know each other. Besides, he hardly seems worried about spending his time with me. What am I to do when he offers me only the barest amount of attention he can without seeming impolite?”

“Do not take it personally, darling. He is young and unsure of how to handle the situation. It does not mean he does not wish to know you,” her mother assured her.

“I know that. I can see that in his own way he is trying. But you cannot expect me to get to know him when doing so is entirely dependent on him.”

Her mother sighed in exasperation. “Alright, fine. If you cannot spend more time with your fiance, then perhaps instead you should be spending less time with other gentlemen.”

“Mama!” Anna cried. “You expect me to spend the whole season sitting on the edge of ballrooms, turning away any gentleman who offers a dance? Because I do not love the fiance that I did not choose for myself?”

“It is not because you are not in love. You can hardly help that. I only hoped you could make it easier on yourself by getting to know him so you could be in love. And I do not expect you to turn away every gentleman. Just the one.”

“I still do not know what you are talking about,” Anna huffed out a little more angrily than she intended. She was certain she had done nothing to deserve this warning from her mother.

Her mother sighed again, this time in resignation. In a calm, placating tone she said, “I told you I know what it looks like when a young lady has more than a passing interest in a gentleman. I see it plain as day on your face when you speak to Mr. Winchester.”

Her confusion must have shown clearly on her face. She thought back to her short conversation with Sam that afternoon and wondered how her mother could have interpreted it as anything more than friendship. 

If she’d only asked instead of making assumptions, we could have avoided this whole unpleasant ride, Anna thought bitterly to herself.

“Mama, you misunderstand my feelings. His feelings as well.” Her mother’s raised eyebrow was all the prompting she needed to continue. “Whatever it is you think you saw between us this afternoon, you are wrong. He is my friend. That is all.”

It was her mother’s turn to be confused, but it was quickly replaced with understanding. “I do not mean the younger Mr. Winchester,” she informed her.

Her meaning was clear enough. Anna fought against the panic that threatened to take control at those words and said calmly, “I’ve only spoken to him a couple of times, Mama. I barely know him.”

“Perhaps. But I know you. I saw how he caught your attention at the ball. I cannot fault you for that. After all, he is quite a handsome young man. I saw him catch the eye of many young ladies that night.” Anna knew how intentional this seemingly innocent statement was. Her mother was watching her carefully for a reaction. She was careful not to give her one. “Noticing a handsome face is not what concerns me,” she continued. 

“I saw you when you danced that night, and again when you walked at the park two days ago. The way you look at him… well you don’t look at anyone else that way. Certainly not Mr. Sanders. It’s like you’re hanging on to his every word. Like you do not dare look away from him or he may disappear and you’ll find out his existence was just some great trick. That is what concerns me.”

“You need not be concerned, Mama.”

“Do not lie to me, Anna,” her mother commanded, more disappointed than angry.

“I am not lying! Whatever it is you think you saw, he is my friend. Just as his brother is.”

“Not just as his brother is,” her mother disagreed.

“Yes! He knows I am engaged and has asked specifically if I might be his friend. So you see, there is nothing to worry about. I will not be creating a scandal by encouraging Mr. Winchester’s attentions when I am already engaged.”

“My dear, I never thought such a thing. I am not worried about a scandal, I am worried for your heart. I do not want it to break.” Anna started to protest, but her mother was quick to cut her off. “Deny it as much as you wish, but I know what I saw. I am only suggesting that perhaps you should end your friendship now, before you fall too much in love and end up getting hurt.”

~~~~~

It was three weeks later and Anna was walking by herself, replaying this conversation. In those three weeks, this year’s social season had meant frequent balls and teas and picnics. Keeping to his promise of being friends, Mr. Winchester had sought out her company at each and every function. She told herself it was harmless, that there had been no flirting of any kind from him and so as long as she kept herself in check – which she absolutely would – there was no reason to worry. 

And she still firmly believed that. But she couldn’t deny that the more she got to know him, the more strongly she felt for him. It was getting harder and harder to imagine a life where she was only allowed to be his friend, without ever having the chance of even a hope for more. 

Maybe it was time to bring this friendship of theirs to an end. It would be humiliating, of course, the conversation she would have to have with him to explain things. But in order to protect her own heart, she thought it might be necessary.

She was so lost in these thoughts that she wasn’t paying attention to where she was going. She had walked further than normal, going well past the boundary of her family’s land and heading into what was miles and miles of nothing but grass and hills and woods. 

She sighed at the realization of how far she’d gone and had just started to turn around when something in her peripheral vision made her stop. She looked up and gasped in fear. A low, warning growl accompanied a single step forward by the large wolf. It was a dark gray color, with matted fur and a torn ear. Its teeth were bared as it stared Anna down from a dozen yards away.

Heart racing and breath catching in her throat, Anna kept one eye on the wolf as she started scanning the rock and branch strewn ground for something she could use to defend herself. Most of the rocks were too big for her to lift, most of the broken off branches too small and weak to be a defense, more large sticks than true branches.

Anna knew better than to turn her back on a predator. She kept one eye on the animal as she slowly took a step back, still searching the ground. The wolf didn’t appear to like her moving and he let out another threatening growl. Anna froze. She didn’t want to provoke him into attacking, but she also couldn’t sit there defenseless and just wait for it to happen. She took another cautious step backwards. And another. The wolf continued his growling, but didn’t approach. Everything went wrong on her fourth step back.

Two large rocks that she hadn’t seen sat side by side, pressed against each other. Her foot knocked against them, right at the point where they met. She wobbled, fighting desperately to keep her balance. In the end, gravity won out and she fell down. Hard. The force of her fall wedged her foot between those two rocks and she knew it wasn’t coming back out easily. Her quick movement and obvious vulnerability provoked the wolf into a charge. A noticeable limp slowed him, but Anna still only had seconds. 

She yanked uselessly at her foot, hoping she could somehow manage to pull it free as she looked for anything nearby that she could so much as lift. There was a sturdy looking stick to her left, not as sturdy as she would have liked, but she had no other option. She picked it up just as a great boom shattered the air. Anna ducked reflexively before realizing how incredibly stupid that was. She hefted her stick, ready to swing, only to see the wolf crumpled and unmoving about five feet in front of her.

“Are you all right?” A voice asked from her right. Anna turned her head in the direction of the voice to see a man, gun in hand, running towards her. Of course if she’d been able to think clearly she would have recognized the voice immediately. It wasn’t until the man was kneeling in front of her, repeating his question, that the shock wore off and she took in the very concerned face of Dean Winchester.

“I’m all right,” she answered a little dazedly. “Thanks to you, I suppose,” she added, noting the gun sitting on the ground beside them and putting two and two together.

His head bowed down and a breath escaped his lips, his shoulders shaking with the force of it. “Thank God,” she heard him say quietly to himself. When he looked up again and his eyes met hers, she could see the relief written across his face. “Good,” he said. “Then let’s get you home.”

Under normal circumstances she would have turned down the offer. Innocent as it may be, if they were to be seen walking alone together, assumptions would be made and rumors spread. This was not a normal circumstance though – something which could be explained on the off chance they ran into anyone – and she found herself incredibly grateful to have company. The safe path she traveled frequently no longer felt safe, and she didn’t want to make the journey alone.

“Yes, please,” she agreed easily. Mr. Winchester chuckled as he stood and offered his hand. Anna started to reach for it, but then remembered her foot.

“I’m afraid my foot is rather badly stuck,” she informed him.

“Oh! Well I- I mean can you-” Mr. Winchester fumbled with his words for a moment and then cleared his throat. “Do you need me to help, or can you get it on your own?” He finally managed to say. Anna noticed the slightest red tint to his cheeks and couldn’t help but think how cute it was to see the normally confident man so ruffled.

“I believe I may need some help,” she admitted. It was possible she could do it on her own, but it would be difficult. Better to save time and just ask for assistance now. 

“Alright,” he agreed, voice sounding a little rough. As he once again knelt down beside her, Anna realized why Mr. Winchester had briefly struggled for words. In order to help her, he would have to touch her. She found herself fighting down her own blush at the thought.

This is perfectly acceptable, she told herself. Not that anyone was likely to be walking by, but even if they did, they could find nothing wrong with this interaction. It was only a gentleman helping a lady in distress. Something he seems to be particularly good at, she thought wryly. 

All humor faded and her breath caught in her throat as he reached for her. He carefully lifted the hem of her skirt, just enough to see her foot and the rocks holding it captive. He studied the scene for a moment and then gently grabbed the heel of her foot, cautiously wiggling it first side to side and then up and down to see how tightly it was stuck. He let her foot go and looked contemplatively at the rocks. “I should be able to move this rock enough for you to pull your foot out.”

Anna looked at the rock doubtfully. It was large enough to be heavy even for a man of Mr. Winchester’s size and could be partially buried snugly in the earth. It would not move easily. “Are you sure?” she asked as he grabbed hold of it with both hands. 

“The alternative is to yank on your foot until it comes loose, something I fear will cause you a great deal of pain. I’ll be able to move it,” he told her confidently when he saw her doubt. “Ready?”

Anna nodded. She watched his fingers turn white against the rock as he tried to pull it toward himself. No doubt, the muscles in his arms were tensed and visibly straining, but she couldn’t tell with his suit coat covering the evidence. It took only a couple of seconds before she felt the pressure against her ankle lessen. She was quick to lift her foot, not wasting any precious seconds. It was still a tight fit, and the rough surfaces of the rocks pressed her boot into her skin, bruising instead of scraping the skin raw. It didn’t feel good, but it wasn’t long before she was free.

Mr. Winchester let go of the rock, face red from exertion. “Does it hurt?” he asked.

“It hurts a little,” she admitted, downplaying the pain. It hurt more than a little, but she wasn’t about to complain. “But I believe I can walk.”

His lips quirked into a smile and, as it always did when he smiled at her, Anna’s heart skipped a beat. “I’m glad to hear it,” he said as he stood up. “But that will not be necessary. Kaz is quite capable of carrying you.”

Anna frowned. Who was Kaz? She hadn’t even realized anyone else was here and she certainly didn’t need to be carried. She took the hand he offered to help her up, wincing slightly as she put pressure on her right foot. She quickly adjusted, resting her weight on her left foot. “Kaz?”

“My horse,” he explained. And then, in a teasing tone, “How else do you think I got here?”

“I don’t know. I hadn’t really thought about it, I suppose.” She tried not to be embarrassed by her oversight. After all, she had a perfectly good reason. She looked over his shoulder, in the direction he had come running from and noticed the large, jet black mare standing there grazing as she patiently waited for her rider to return. “Wow,” she breathed out. “She’s beautiful.” Mr. Winchester beamed with pride.

“She is,” he agreed. He started in her direction and Anna followed, wincing when she stepped on her bad foot. Mr. Winchester noticed of course, and instructed her to stay put. He grabbed his discarded gun off the ground and put it back into the holster tied to the saddle before grabbing the reins and leading the horse over. 

“I know she’s big, but she’s gentle as they come,” he promised. Anna hadn’t been worried. She loved horses, almost as much as she loved music. She was awestruck at the sight of the powerful creature, and giddy at the idea of riding her. Mr. Winchester settled his hands on her waist and, after asking her if she was ready, lifted her up onto his horse’s back. Anna steadied herself in the saddle and then reached out to pet Kaz’s soft, warm neck. Reins in hand, Mr. Winchester encouraged the horse into a walk and started off in the direction of Anna’s house. 

“Why do you suppose he was all the way out here?” Anna wondered aloud. “I’ve never seen a wolf this close to home. I’ve never even heard of anyone seeing one around here.”

“He was desperate,” Mr. Winchester answered. “Did you see how badly he was limping? He was likely very hungry and not strong enough to catch anything, especially on his own, so he was hoping to find an easy kill like a chicken or a sheep.”

Anna hummed, considering this explanation. It certainly made sense. “And what about you?” she asked. “What are you doing all the way out here?” At a guess, this particular stretch of road was over five miles from his house. It was a long way to go just for a ride.

“I was just coming out for a hunt,” he explained. Of course, Anna thought. She should have realized that. In the time she had known him, she had learned that Mr. Winchester was an avid hunter. According to him, there was little he enjoyed more. “Good thing too, or I wouldn’t have been over this way. I certainly wouldn’t have had a gun.”

“Yes, I am grateful you were there. I don’t know that the stick I found would have been enough to deter him, no matter how hard I hit him with it. At the very least I would have been quite hurt, but I do believe it is safe to say that you saved my life. Thank you.”

“You do not owe me your thanks,” he was quick to say. “I am very glad I was here. I cannot even stand to think about what would have happened otherwise.” Though he tried to hide it, Anna caught the emotion in his voice. He took a breath before changing the subject. “And you? What on earth were you doing all the way out here by yourself?”

“Just walking.”

“Do you usually walk so far from home?” 

“No. I was a little caught up in my thoughts today,” she admitted shyly. “I didn’t realize how far I’d gone. I was just about to turn around when I saw the wolf.”

“What were you thinking about so intently?” Mr. Winchester asked. “It must have been terribly interesting to make you so unaware of your surroundings.”

Anna’s breath hitched a little. Not ten minutes ago she had come to the decision she needed to say goodbye to Mr. Winchester. Now here he was, and he wanted to know what she was thinking. If there was ever an opening, this was certainly it. But she found she couldn’t do it. Maybe it was because he had just saved her life and that was a truly poor way to repay him. That seemed a good enough explanation for her hesitation. But if she was honest with herself, Anna knew that the idea of explaining her feelings and asking him to leave her alone was one thing. The reality was a whole other beast, one she could not face. As much as she knew she should, she couldn’t bear the idea of losing his friendship.

“Nothing worth talking about, really,” she answered. The brief glance he threw her way told her all she needed to know. He didn’t buy it. He wasn’t about to push though. “Tell me about Kaz,” she said instead.

Mr. Winchester seemed pleased with her change in topic. “She’s the best horse you’ll find anywhere,” he said affectionately as he patted her on the neck. “She’s strong and smart and quick and she’ll do anything you ask of her.”

“She might be the best looking horse I’ve seen,” Anna offered. She didn’t say it for Mr. Winchester’s benefit, she meant it. There wasn’t a drop of white to be found on the gorgeous mare. Her mane and tail were long and full and soft looking. She was tall and broad and muscular. Even the most amateur horseman could see with one look what a wellbuilt horse she was. “How long have you had her?”

“Raised her myself,” he answered proudly. “She was born out of one of my father’s old mares when I was sixteen. I knew I had to have her. I begged my father for weeks and finally he told me if I put in the effort, if I took care of her and broke her when she was old enough, then she was mine. So I did.” He sounded happy in the way he only did when talking about the things he truly loved.

“Have you ever had a real bond with a horse?” He asked. “Not just a horse that you liked better than all the others, but a real bond? The kind of bond where, when you ride them, it’s like everything is right in the world. Where you know each other so well that it sometimes feels like you can actually read each other’s minds. Where you trust them completely.”

“No,” I answered truthfully, “but it sounds wonderful. She sounds wonderful.”

He looked at the horse with a fond smile. “She’s a one in a million kind of horse.”

Perfect for a one in a million kind of man, she thought.

~~~~~

Her mother was in a tizzy by the time they reached the house, worried by how long Anna had been gone. Seeing her return home with a gentleman – and particularly this gentleman – unchaperoned, only made matters worse. Anna saw the barely contained fury on her face. Until she saw the way Anna favored her ankle after Mr. Winchester helped her off of his horse. Anna hurried to explain what happened as Mr. Winchester helped her to the door. Then the calm, well-mannered lady Anna was used to disappeared as her mother swung between worrying excessively over the whole situation – and Anna’s ankle especially – and profusely thanking Mr. Winchester, all but demanding that he stay for lunch.

Knowing there is only so much one can do in the face of a grateful mother insistent on showing her gratitude, he agreed easily. When Anna protested that surely he wished to go on the hunt he had intended, or possibly to head home, he waved her off, assuring her he was happy to stay. She only hoped he didn’t regret that decision if her mother’s newfound craziness decided to stick around.

A/N 2: First of all, I want to acknowledge the time jump. Initially I planned on this chapter being about the tea at the Winchester's, but then I realized a) I had no idea what in the world to have them talk about and b) too many chapters in a row of just talking gets boring. So I skipped ahead a little bit to add something a little more exciting. Also, let's talk about Kaz. I got the idea for this from another story, Dust by @ravengirl94. Was this person the first to come up with the idea of a black horse named Kaz? No idea. But that's where I heard it, so credit where credit's due. And it's a great series, so if you haven't read it before, check it out!

Tags:

@123passwort @buckybarnes-1917 @chicken-nuggs-and-cozy-hugs @globetrotter28 @deans-spinster-witch @aylacavebear

[moveslikeanape]

i actually don't play disney magic kingdoms myself, it's just not really my type of game, but i've seen some gameplay of it and read a lot of the little dialogue from it online and it's always seemed really charming and cute! so it really is too bad we might never get to see tarzan characters added to it. i do play disney dreamlight valley on the switch, which is sort of a life sim game like animal crossing but with disney/pixar characters all living together, and a lot more of a story to it with quests you get to do for everyone. it's a lot newer and doesn't have nearly as many characters in it, but a recent update added a jungle biome that would've been perfect for tarzan and jane. i know they'll probably never be added, but if they were then they could live together in the treehouse and we could see how tarzan would feel about living in the valley among so many other humans! there would be so many new things that jane could teach him about.

i recently started collecting lorcana cards after seeing one of rapunzel wearing a green dress, which i found really cool because that was what she had in so much of her concept art! i was also pretty excited to be able to get cards from the emperor's new groove, the great mouse detective, treasure planet, and hercules. i bet they could make some beautiful cards for tarzan... but yeah, that copyright issue is incredibly frustrating. some of my favorite movies may be a bit overlooked or underrepresented by disney, but at least they don't have the legal problem that tarzan has. i guess with once upon a studio they must've wanted to really go all out to make sure every single walt disney animation studios feature could be included! i'm grateful they did, because it would've been a huge shame to see tarzan not even allowed into the special 100th anniversary short. the new movie "wish" also has a tribute to past WDAS films during the credits, where gold-colored drawings of characters from each movie appeared across the screen in chronological order. strangely they actually left out a handful of movies including the black cauldron, but they did include tarzan!

also, i'm sure you already knew about this haha, but just the other day i came across an article from a few years ago where several of the people who worked on tarzan were interviewed and talked about the production. and i learned for the first time that it was originally planned as a direct-to-video movie which would stick closer to the source material with tarzan going to england. i'm obviously very glad that that didn't happen and we got the movie we have now instead. -🌟

Sorry, was out of town for the weekend visiting family.

That's fair about Magic Kingdoms not being your type of game. I think the only real reason I play it is because it's something I can play casually and more of less keep up with, with out it taking too much time.

What I've seen of Dreamlight Valley looks like so much fun! And that would be amazing to see Tarzan and Jane in that game. Probably will never happen, but we can dream!

Ooo, I haven't seen that Rapunzel one, will have to look it up. I've always loved the concept art. So insane to think there's actually even Treasure Planet art in them!!!

Sadly we may never get Tarzan in Lorcana, but I found this artist during the Disemeber challenge on instagram, and he's actually done art for Lorcana. Looks like it was just the one card, Chief Bogo (which he's posted if you go though his stuff). May not be official, but at least here's a Christmas themed idea of what could be if they included Tarzan

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OMG, I never expected any reference to Tarzan in Wish!! I haven't seen it yet (live in a small town, starting to think we may not even get it in our theatre), but now I'm even more excited to see it!

Oh wow, I actually didn't know that! That's so interesting (definitely so grateful they didn't go that route though). Would have been interesting to see how close Disney would get to the source material… don't know if you've ever read the books, but there's a lot of not so family friendly stuff. Also would have been such a waste, given the quality of D2V animation, would have been such a shame to only get Tarzan & Jane quality animation.

[blackjack7200]

Eleven's powers. THEORY

OKAY.

Yeah, Stranger Things 3 gave us a lot of amazing things and a lot of questions. The theories go mainly towards Hopper but I haven't seen a lot about something really important: Jane's/Eleven's powers. I get some opinions and a little theory about so... Here we go

So, first, we don't fully know a lot about Eleven's powers, or any of the test subjects powers at all.

We only know:

-They can use their powers being concentrated

-Their powers react heavily to their emotions, that's why Kali's and Eleven's powers increase when they use their anger

-The use of their abilities cause them to be really tired when used heavily

_It also make them use heavily their brain (because of their nose bleed)

With this information, we get to what happened at the end of ST3

After being atacked by the Mindflayer, cure Eleven's leg at the store and go to the Starcourt just in time to save Scoop Troops from the russians, we discover that the Flayer left a little larva on her leg, Jonhatan tries to take it out, failing and making Jane take it herself using her powers. After that, they reunite with the adults and from the point Joyce, Hopper and Murray head to the russian base, we discover Eleven's unable to use her powers, fact that persist until the end of the series. This isn't explained at all, Mike tells Jane he's sure they'll come back someday but we really don't know at all what is happening and neither do they which is what got me wondering: What is going on? So I started to think, reviewing every spot of useful info I was able to find which guides me here:

Eleven's powers, Hopper and duel.

As I already said, the first time we see our favourite telekinetic girl being just... well, our favourite girl is after Hopper, Joyce and Murray head to the russian secret base to destroy de machine, before this happens, she and Hopper share a cute scene when she explains to him her concern about the plan, telling him she could fight with them and Hopper answering he needs her safe. This is where the first and most important point comes in.

During the whole season, we're able to see a huge evolution on the relationship these two share with each other, while being a protector-protege on season 2, they're on full father-daughter on the third one. They care, protect and even love each other and are shown to be really close with each other too, this is importat because is different form previous seasons.

On Stranger Things, we see Eleven still being esentially feral: she doesn't bat an eye when it's necessary to kill, she thinks about her own survivor and we see her help the party mostly because she feels safe with them, they've showed her friendship and have been really nice to her, being a girl who's been abused all her life. At the end of the season, she faces the demogorgon, being completely sure she'll die, she's decided, calm, knowing her friends are safe and, mainly, furious, furious about the monster causing so much damage to Hawkins, to be "the reason" she was being abused, this fury makes her even more powerfull and helps her power

On season two, something interesting happens. Eleven's been really frustrated during this whole season: she feels trapped with Hopper, wants to see her friends, jealous about Mike and Max, lied by everyone and really confused, this makes her go to Chicago when she finds Kali (008) who shows her how to use their powers focusing her rage to make them even more powerfull, techinique she uses to close the gate on the season finale

On season three however, things are diferent, Eleven is now a part of the party, slowly becoming part of the town, is deeply in love with Mike, has accepted Hopper as her new family and is becoming friends with the other girl from the party: Max. She's pretty happy this season and we see she's kind of weakest during her battle with the flayed Billy; this time she's afraid, afraid about fail and Billy hurting her friends, scared knowing she's not invincible. After their defeat on the battle of the sauna, we see Eleven completely willing to help, trying to do as much as she can to stop the flayer. At the end, she fights the flayer which leaves the larva and, here is the important part, Hopper leaves. Her worry becomes stronger any second he's not there, at the end of the Battle of Starcourt, she looks for him desperately. And that's the point.

We know Eleven's power are strongly influenced by her feelings. We don't really know how this works but we can deduce things. If rage makes her stronger, shouldn't worry, sadness and concern make her weaker?. Maybe that's why her powers are gone. During the battle she wasn't focused, she was worried about Hopper being in danger and after the battle, even three months after, she's still mourning her dad. Eleven is absolutely not focused enough (subconciously at least) to use her powers, and being forced to move with the Wheelers isn't helping, she's now missing everything that was her world, everything that made her feel normal, is now gone.

Maybe during season 4 we'll se her recover her powers and this theory would go to trash or maybe someone knows something I missed, anyway, this is my theory about Eleven's powers on season 3. I'd love to know your opinions, theories etc to make our theories go wild, hope you enjoyed this post, see ya'.

[phasmavi]

I told you guys I had a little something prepared for my 3k! celebration...

So here it is. My first posted fanfic.

Title: The Fulfilled Promise

40's! Bucky x 40's! fem reader

Summary: AU! in which Bucky is coming from the war to his love.

Word Count: 1560

Warnings: just fluff and a bit of longing

A/N: Wooohooo! Hope you guys like it. I am an amateur so don't expect too much hah

Btw thank y'all. I hit 3k! I am sooo happy. I love you guys so much 💕🦄

You couldn't believe it. The war was over. Everyone was celebrating, spending time with their families, reuniting with brothers, husbands, and fathers that were coming back from the field. You were beyond happy that your lover was on his way home too.

Standing in front of the mirror you were tugging on the best dress you had and biting your lip. "Will he like it?" you asked yourself. You shouldn't have been concerned about it because he's always liked the way you dressed. Or maybe it was because he was so in love with you. Either way, you wanted to look amazing for him.

You felt like he was the right guy. Everything about him was special to you. The way he smiled when he was around you. The way he held your hand when you walked around the city. The way he bit his lip when he made you laugh. The way his warm lips gently brushed against yours.The way he constantly flirted with you like the first day you met him.

It was one of the cold afternoons of January 1939. You were sitting alone in a cafe sipping a cup of hot chocolate and reading a book. A little bell on the door rang and you looked up to see who entered the building. You saw a 20-ish man with dark messy hair and very handsome facial features. He was covered in white snowflakes and looked like a puppy that jumped into a snowdrift. You watched him as he took off his coat and looked around the room. Suddenly his gaze stopped on you and you saw the corner of his lips twitch. You quickly broke eye contact and shifted in your seat.

A few moments later you heard someone clearing their throat so you raised your head. "You mind if I join ya?" he asked pointing at the seat in front of you. "No," you responded while moving your cup closer to the edge of the table. "I'm Bucky by the way," he reached out his hand and you shook it. "Y/N," you smiled. "It's a pleasure to meet you, doll." he kissed the back of your hand. Then he sat on the couch, made himself comfortable and started staring at you while biting his bottom lip.

You tried to focus on the novel and avoid his gaze but it was impossible. You rolled your eyes, put your book aside and cocked your brow. "What?" you sighed. "Nothin'. I'm just trying to remember your face," he responded with a smirk. "And why is that?" you tilted your head. You could feel that he was about to say something smooth. "Because I want to see every detail when I'm dreaming of you," he was looking deep into your eyes while saying that. You felt a blush creeping up your cheeks and looked down in an attempt to hide it. There was something about him that made you feel special...

After a few months, you and Bucky were head over heels in love with each other. You wanted to be around him all the time but unfortunately, the universe had other plans. The second world war started and both of you knew that sooner or later Bucky would have to go and serve his country.

When he got his enlistment, you tried to cheer him up. You stayed positive and optimistic. You had to. For Bucky. But the truth was that you cried yourself to sleep every night thinking that there's a big chance that he would never come back.

June 14th, 1941. You and Bucky were standing at the train station in front of each other, waiting and holding hands. While sharing those last minutes of closeness you were trying to memorize his face in case he wouldn't...

You couldn't do that anymore. You told yourself to be strong. Only a few more minutes. But you couldn't. The tears started to run down your cheeks like a river of despair. "Hey... don't cry, doll." he pulled you into an embrace.

The train arrived and you knew you had to be quick. You kissed your soldier passionately and desperately. He gripped your waist You put something in his pocket. He frowned and tried to take it out but you stopped him. "Read it when you'll miss me," you whispered. "I miss you already, doll." he gave you a weak smile. "You know what I mean," you traced his jawline with your thumb. "You'll write to me, right?" you reminded him. "As often as possible." he leaned his forehead against yours. "I love you, sergeant," you stated and watched as his eyes shined. "I love you too, angel," he kissed your nose. "I will be back before you know it. I promise." he pecked your lips and got on the train. You were waving at him until he disappeared.

As soon as he stopped seeing you, Bucky put out the thing that you gave him from his pocket.

It was a picture of you and him laying on the grass. Both of your smiles reached your ears.

He turned the paper around and traced your handwriting with his thumb. He knew that if he would try to read this, he would break down. But he couldn't help it.

"Dear Bucky,

I know it's tough. I know that you miss me and you can be sure I miss you too. I am probably thinking about you this moment.

I want you to know that I am waiting for you. And I always will.

Just remember me. Remember that I love you and I will never love anyone else.

Always yours,

Y/N"

Bucky knew that the only thing keeping him from falling apart was you. The thought that after the war he will see you again kept him alive.

...

"You look great." you turned to see your older sister leaning on the doorframe. She walked up to you and stood behind you. "I haven't seen him in four years, Jane. What if he won't like the way I look anymore?" your sister gave you an 'are you stupid' look. "What the hell do you mean by that?! Barnes loves you more than anything else. I can tell by the way his eyes shine when he sees you. He is the one, Y/N. For sure." she seemed so confident in what she was saying. "Thank you." you hugged Jane. "S' nothin'. Let's go get our soldiers." she grabbed your wrist and pulled you after her.

You got to the station and waited a few minutes on the platform. Finally, the train arrived. Everyone started cheering and clapping. You stood at the back observing the scene carefully. Your mind was running a hundred miles an hour and you felt your stomach twitch. You saw your sister's husband running to her and hugging her tightly. You decided to give them some space so you walked a few steps away and watched them with a smile.

Suddenly you heard a voice behind you. "It's really beautiful. Two lovers finally reuniting after long years of separation..." you knew that sound. It was like music to your ears. You turned around and saw the one and only James Buchanan Barnes.

You couldn't say anything, just covered your mouth with your palms and started to cry. The longing had been driving you crazy. It was the worst torture you could feel.

You knew that he felt that too because you saw tears in his eyes. He looked at you in complete awe. "I'm here, doll..." he whispered and put his hands on your waist. "I can't believe it. It's so unreal," you muttered and looked into his steel-blue eyes. He smiled and licked his lips. "I've been waiting for this moment for four long years and I have a burning question... Can I kiss you?" he cupped your cheek and wiped the tears with his finger. "Permission granted, soldier." you chuckled. He leaned closer and finally closed the distance between you. His warm lips were moving slightly against yours. It was exactly like you remembered. Maybe even better.

That kiss was an expression of love, longing, hope, happiness and many unspoken promises. For a moment you didn't care about anything. It was only you and Bucky and you didn't want to stop. You could tell that neither did he. Unfortunately, your lungs were begging for air so you had to pull back. His lips brushed yours and he sighed. "I love you." these words slipped from his mouth so easily but you knew he meant that in every possible way. "I love you too." you smiled.

Suddenly he picked you up and twirled you while grinning uncontrollably. You laughed, took his hat and put it on your head. "How do I look?" you raised your brow. "Amazing. As always," he stated and when you looked into his eyes you understood what your sister meant. That look of complete adoration and love. You were sure you mirrored that look.

That was the moment you realized that you want to be by his side forever because no one could make you feel the way you did when Bucky was around.

He knew that too. And that's why deep in the pocket of his uniform there was a ring just waiting for the right moment...

[whitewolfofwinterfell]

I haven't really watched Jane The Virgin, only seen snippets of episodes, but I saw that Michael died? Why did they kill him?

The simple answer to your question can probably be found in the letter Jennie Urman (the showrunner of Jane the Virgin) shared with the fans after Michael’s death (x). However, the reasons Jennie gives and the reasons I believe they killed Michael are very different. If you want to know more I’ll explore this under the cut.

A little pre-warning, this is very long and slightly anti-J*fael in parts. 

Jennie’s reasons laid out in that letter (which, let’s be honest is mostly just embellishment) for killing Michael are the following:

1. It was planned from the beginning 2. They wanted to create a tragedy that would be a turning point in Jane’s life3. It’s a telenovela

In my opinion, none of those reasons are really a solid enough reasons to have killed Michael, but I’ll go through each one individually to explain why they’re not a valid reasons.

1. It was planned from the beginning. The letter makes it clear that what was planned for Michael’s story in the beginning isn’t how it actually played out. Jennie admitted they were going to kill Michael earlier but that Brett was so magical and Michael such a great character that contributed so much to the show, that they jiggled about their original plans.

“So, we changed some things in the writers’ room. Jane and Michael got married. They had sex. They moved into their first home.”

And this is what bugs me. The writers saw so much potential in Michael’s character and the relationships he was building on the show that they kept him around much longer than planned and actually manipulated the entire direction of the story to allow him to marry Jane and begin building this entire future with her. Yet, they still decided to kill him anyway, which doesn’t make sense.

Michael’s death probably did made sense in the context the writers originally planned it, before he married Jane, before he moved in with her, before he discussed having children with her, before he took on Mateo as his own son, before he started building a friendship with Rafael, before he began to plan an entirely new career path, before he started planning his entire goddamn future. I just feel like because the writers strayed from their original narrative, Michael’s death did not fit within the new narrative and yet they went ahead with it anyway.

The fact that it was planned from the beginning isn’t a valid enough reason. Clearly Brett as an actor was more talented than they’d given him credit for, Michael’s character was more loved and valuable than they anticipated, his relationship with Jane was more appealing and beautiful than they expected it would be and because of this they changed the entire direction of the show. But that’s what writing is about. You can have a plan, you can have ideas in your head of the direction a story is going to head in and check-points or pivotal points that you know you want to progress towards, but when it comes to it a story writes itself in some small way and you have to go with that. Michael’s character wrote himself, his love story with Jane, it wrote itself, both just blossomed into something so beautiful and lovely and to end all of that just because it was in the original plans isn’t reason enough in my opinion.

2. They wanted to create a tragedy that would be a turning point in Jane’s lifeThis is a reason I understand and am more on-board with, because death is often most necessary and crucial in advancing a character’s development and setting them on a new path. Michael’s death has been the inspiration for Jane writing an entire novel and losing him has definitely changed her and made her stronger in a lot of ways. But honestly, so far I haven’t seen any huge change in Jane or her life that warranted Michael dying. Furthermore, the writers could’ve chosen any number of alternatives to create a turning point in Jane’s life. The death could’ve been Alba or Xo or Rogelio or there needn’t have been a death at all. 

In my opinion, Jane had already had a huge turning point in her life towards the end of season 2/beginning of season 3. She finally got married, her husband was shot on their wedding night, she lost her virginity, she moved out of the family home for the first time, she started writing her novel and launching her writing career. Jane has consistently had conflict and obstacles to overcome since the beginning and I can’t really understand why one as huge as losing Michael had to happen. Yes, she and Michael were happy and in a good place, but they were also still constantly dealing with the aftermath of Michael’s shooting and moving towards their future with each passing day. Jane was progressing down a path with Michael, and it wasn’t a simple or easy path just because she had the love of her life by her side. There were still things she and Michael had to work through and issues individually but also together and seeing her deal with those issues with Michael by her side was so interesting to watch. 

So, I guess my point here is that losing Michael wasn’t necessary to drastically change Jane’s life. Those drastic changes could’ve continued to happen to Jane and her relationship with Michael could’ve created more conflict with that. Also, I’d just like to point out, what has actually changed in Jane’s life since Michael died? From where I’m sitting, not much. She’s still pursuing her dream career of writing, she’s working at the Marbella for extra cash in the meantime, she’s still the insanely organised and precise Jane she has been from the beginning, she’s still a mother, a daughter, granddaughter, friend. The biggest change Jane has gone through is her role as mother, but that’s a change that would’ve happened naturally because her struggles with parenting are a result of Mateo’s age nothing more. The only other change is that Jane’s living back at Alba’s, which if anything is a negative change, since she’s regressed in a way. And actually, the path Jane is progressing down seems to be exactly the same as the one she was going down with Michael except that Michael isn’t there to share it with her. She’s still a very family orientated romantic with a passion for writing and a big heart and it’s very clear that the show is going to end with Jane being a published author having realised her dreams, happily married (probably to Rafael tbh) and with more children. The only difference that Michael’s death has made is that her husband at the end won’t be him.

If anyone else can think of any changes Jane’s life has gone through since losing Michael, please share them with me, because I honestly can’t think of any, except that Michael just isn’t there and that she’s without her partner, best friend, husband, the person she was building her future with and that shared her life for better or worse.

3. It’s a telenovela It really bugs me that the writers try to use this as an excuse for killing Michael, because it isn’t. First of all, I think it’s important to understand what a telenovela is and what that even means, so I found this definition:

Telenovelas are daily serials which are broadcast 5 or 6 times a week both in prime time and during the day. They have a limited run which varies but, on average, they have 120 episodes (known in Spanish as “capítulos”, which literally means “chapters”). Every telenovela tells a different story (with a clear A-plot, and several storylines), with a beginning, a middle, and an end. Some telenovelas focus on romance, others on comedy, murder mysteries, the supernatural or even eroticism. A single telenovela may contain some or all those ingredients. There are telenovelas aimed at children, teenagers, or mature audiences. Because telenovelas are melodramatic, there is a clear emphasis on feelings and emotions. (x)

What part of that definition says, “Michael had to die” to you? Since telenovelas are compared to soap operas, obviously a central element of that genre is melodrama (as the definition above says) and shocking character death fits into that category. I also understand character deaths are a huge part of storytelling, no matter what the format, but the writers made a mistake with this death and there’s no escaping that fact. Firstly, I can’t help but feel that such a huge and dark death just doesn’t fit into the show full stop. Although the show has always dealt with raw emotional issues, whenever it touched upon death it was always done in a certain way. Examples of this would be the way Alba talks about her husband’s death with reflective sadness and pain or Rafael’s turmoil after his father’s death which was addressed but never a huge issue. And then there’s the string of character deaths at the hand of Sin Rostro, which were, let’s be honest, often portrayed in a pretty comedic way. My point here is that death on the show has always been very, very carefully approached. It’s an area the writers knew they had to tread carefully with because of the type of show JTV is. They might define it as telenovela, but for me as a fan I see the show as being a light-hearted family/romance show that is uplifting, funny, emotional and quirky. Although I know aspects of it are melodramatic and that it’s branded as a telenovela, that isn’t how I primarily see it and it’s certainly not why I watch it. And I think this is where the writers have gone wrong with Michael’s death - fans don’t want to see major character deaths like Michael’s. I watch the show with the purpose of seeking out that feel-good vibe, to put myself in a good mood, have a little giggle and a smile and just lose myself in the fluffiness of all the fairytale/romantic vibe the show has whereby dreams can come true and love conquers all and family is the heart of everything. If I want to watch/deal with more heavy emotional issues and curl up in a ball and sob I’ll watch Game of Thrones. I’d imagine that most other fans of the show feel the same way and watch it for the same reasons. 

So my point here is that Michael’s death just doesn’t fit into the show. If you haven’t watched the scene where Michael dies, I recommend you do to understand what I mean (x). Now, I know that within the fandom there’s a general melodrama whereby people will react to a character death by saying things such as, “I’m dead”, “I’m crying”, “I will never be okay again” and other such statements. 90% of the time I say these things myself and don’t actually mean them literally, but when it comes to Michael I really do. When I first watched that scene I actually felt my heart stop in my chest (mostly because of the way Jane breaks down at the end) and I was actually emotionally affected by it, which is probably one of the first and only times I’ve felt like that. I kept replaying it over and over and it kept popping into my head at random times days afterwards when I was in the middle of class or eating dinner and I just couldn’t wrap my head around it. Even now, I still struggle to watch that scene and in reality, the death wasn’t violent or gory or anything like the deaths in other shows I’ve seen, which I’ve handled so much better. I think the reason it made me feel that way just supports my point further, that a death like that just doesn’t fit on the show.

We can go even deeper with this and explore from a narrative point of view whether Michael’s death made sense and was a wise decision. To do this, firstly we have to define Michael’s role within the story by identifying at archetypes and look at whether his roles have been replaced by other characters since. Secondly, we need to assess whether his death was “successful” (for lack of a better term) in regards to advancing development of the characters, plots, relationships, story etc.

1. Michael’s archetypes/roles - have they been replaced?  There are probably a lot more archetypes out there that can be applied to Michael, but I’m using the basic ones outlined here.  I’m also taking a quote from the same article to highlight the importance of a character’s roles being replaced after their death:

“Unless the functions represented by the discontinued player reappear in another player, however, part of the story’s argument will disappear at the point the original drops out. In the attempt to surprise an audience by killing off a major player, many an author has doomed an otherwise functional storyform.”

Sidekick: Loyal to and supportive of the Protagonist, aligned with the Protagonist’s goals, someone who differs from the Protagonist in important ways, whether good or bad, in order to highlight areas of Protagonist growth.

Obviously, Jane has various sidekicks on the show. Xo, Rogelio, Alba and even Rafael. However, I don’t think that any of those characters have filled Michael’s role fully. None of them are 100% aligned with Jane’s goals in the way Michael was and likewise, none highlight areas of Jane’s growth in the same way Michael did.

Reason: Someone who is fundamentally logical, someone who makes decisions based on logic, not emotions, someone who acts in logical ways independent of the Protagonist, someone whose logic influences the Protagonist’s choices, for better or worse.

This is a role I am confident is not being filled by anyone else since Michael’s death. Jane is famously known for being emotionally driven and following her heart (which is where Michael differed from her and complimented her); Alba shares the same trait of Jane as having a rather romanticised perception of the world; Xo is rash and makes decisions based on what feels right and similar to Alba she generally encourages Jane to follow her heart; Rogelio is another romantic that defies logic consistently; Rafael is more of a balance between the two and I feel like in some ways he has more influence over Jane’s decisions right now than anyone else, but I would say that he certainly doesn’t have the same capacity to act on logic that Michael did. So that leaves Petra. Petra is definitley the most logical of the remaining main characters, but my argument here is that the nature of her relationship with Jane means she primarily fulfils a different role (the Contagonist). Petra also doesn’t have enough influence over Jane’s decisions to the same extent as Michael or her family to warrant the full title of this role.

Love interest: Someone with whom the Protagonist falls in love—and who probably falls in love back, often a catalyst in either the Protagonist’s inner or outer journey—or both, someone who alternately supports the Protagonist and resists them, depending on which action is necessary to push the Protagonist forward in their personal growth.

This is a hard one to analyse, because obviously at the moment Jane doesn’t have a love interest, but since she’s apparently ready to date again, she will soon. Also, in this area I’m completely biased because I don’t think that any love interest could compliment or help Jane’s growth better than Michael did. I think the likelihood is that Jane will end up with Rafael at some point and although he’s been part of Jane’s journey since the beginning and I think in some ways they were great together, for me, I still don’t think Rafael could ever fill that role that Michael played in Jane’s life. The two relationships are just so different and I feel like a huge part of the reason that Jane and Rafael broke up in the first place is because Rafael just didn’t fulfill Jane’s needs properly. They were too different, but not necessarily in a positive way like Jane and Michael were. Jane and Michael’s differences meant they complimented each other, but Jane and Rafael’s differences pushed them apart.

The conclusion here is that at the present time, Michael’s roles within the show have not been replaced by another character, which means there’s a gaping hole within the story that has been left since Michael died.

2. Michael’s death - has it been a success? Understanding whether Michael’s death has advanced the show and drove the story forward is an important way of justifying whether his death was necessary or not.

The chart above along with the article it’s from explore what makes for a good character death and a bad one (x).

Interestingly, at first glance, Michael’s death seems to tick most of the boxes on the left hand side: Advances the plot✔ Motivates other characters✔ Emphasises theme✔ Creates realism within story world✔

However, if you dig a little deeper, it doesn’t tick any of those boxes at all. I think that the writers are trying to trick us into thinking that it has, but it hasn’t. I’ve already discussed that Michael’s death hasn’t drove the plot forward, the time-jump has done that and that time-jump would’ve drove the plot forward even if Michael would’ve lived; although Michael’s death motivated Jane to write a novel dedicated to their love story, she was already writing a great novel about Alba and her sister that she had a deep motivation and love for and as sad as it is to say, Michael’s death hasn’t motivated anyone else except Jane; again I’ve already explained that even though Jennie insists Michael’s death is in keeping with the telenovela theme in reality it wasn’t necessary to highlight the theme since it’s thrown in our face every single episode by the narrator. In my opinion, creating realism within the story world is the only box Michael’s death ticks in this instance. In a way that’s the tragedy of Michael’s death: it’s too real. He was young, he was healthy (until he got shot at least), he was happy, he’d just married the love of his life, he was starting to figure out a new career path, he was healing from the shooting (or at least we thought he was) and there was really no warning or indicator of his death, it just happened. In that world, no one could’ve predicted that happening and in an instant Michael was ripped away from the world and Jane left behind, her entire life and future in tatters. This is the one thing that Michael’s death does better than any other death I’ve witnessed, in my opinion and I think it’s why it affected me so deeply.

But back to the point, based on the above checklist Michael’s death has not been successful. It’s failed to drive the plot forward, provide character development or emphasise the theme - all of which Jennie claimed it was intended to do. In addition, Michael’s roles are not being fulfilled since his death which means the show is lacking a crucial element that it has had for the last 2 and a half seasons.

Now that I’ve explored (very in-depth might I add) why I think Jennie’s reasons for killing Michael are, to put it bluntly, utter bullshit, and why Michael’s death has been a completely failure, I’ll give the reasons why I think the writers chose to kill Michael: shock factor and a Jane and Rafael endgame. There’s really nothing more to it than that, in my opinion.

People say there’s been foreshadowing of Michael’s death since season 1, so that we really shouldn’t be surprised, but I think that it was still a shock to witness that regardless of whether we were prepared. He’d already had one death scare that he’d recovered from and all of the signs were pointing to him and Jane building a happy future together. I wasn’t naive enough to believe it would be plain sailing, but I certainly didn’t predict that sudden and completely out-of-the-blue death. What also stands out to me is that when Jennie claims that Michael’s death fits within the telenovela genre, the first thing that comes to my mind is that the reason she thinks that is because of the drama of it. Michael’s death was dramatic and shocking, which is a known element of JTV and telenovela’s. But there’s one problem - that’s cheap and also on the list of worst reasons to kill a character in the history of story-telling. Regardless of how you look at it, shock was a huge factor involved in Michael’s death and it was intended to be.

The Jane and Rafael endgame, in my opinion, is 100% the main reason the writers killed Michael. I think that since the beginning the writers plan has been a Jane and Rafael endgame and Michael’s death was included in that so that there would be absolutely no obstacles in their way. Think about it - there’s such an emphasis throughout the show on the idea of destiny and fate and that is a trait assigned to Jane and Rafael’s relationship. The first time Jane and Rafael met it was coincidentally at the yacht club, Jane worked for Rafael and then they were brought together by Jane being artificially inseminated with Rafael’s sperm. I mean, is there really any denying that’s fate? They were brought together in the most unlikeliest of ways that two people can be brought together. The story was built upon the entire idea of Jane getting pregnant and that throwing her life off course, but I feel like the writers have always been trying to hammer home the message that ultimately, the pregnancy and meeting Rafael is what put her life on course, that it’s the path she was always supposed to take but didn’t realise it. But I think that the writers didn’t anticipate how much pull Jane and Michael would have, because as a viewer I certainly didn’t. The Jane and Michael relationship became much more than it was ever supposed to be, because in the first season I really felt like I was watching that typical show where the boyfriend at the start is nothing more than a flat, one dimensional character that the main female character completely forgets about because she falls in love with the new, handsome, mysterious guy that just happened to walk into her life. Surprisingly, the writers completely defied that cliche when they had Jane break up with Raf and go back to Michael and marry him, but they clearly never let go of the idea of Jane and Rafael being together at the end. I think that Michael’s death at this point of the show was their way of having the best of both worlds. On the one hand we got to see Jane and Michael find their way back to each other, share those firsts that Jennie mentioned in the letter and we got to see them really happy and in love. Michael’s death allows that memory and that love story to always exist and hold a place on the show and within Jane’s arc, but it also means that Jane and Rafael can get their happy ending without dismantling or diminishing the Jane and Michael romance. It was the only way they could’ve done it really, because they couldn’t have Jane and Michael break-up again, since they’d already done that once and it would be cheap and boring to do it a second time. Plus, if they ended Jane and Michael to put Jane and Rafael back together, Michael would’ve had no place on the show anymore.

That’s why I think Michael’s death is all about Jane and Rafael. It’s the only way the writers knew to respect Michael’s character and relationship with Jane, whilst also navigating a Jane and Rafael endgame.

I do understand the logic in this, but my main issue is that Jane and Rafael shouldn’t be endgame and certainly not over Jane and Michael and if it meant killing off Michael to make it happen. I just think that killing a character - any character - for the sole purpose of allowing their partner to get into a relationship with someone else is so cringe and unjustified.

I’m aware that this has gotten so long and messy, but I hope somewhere amongst that I’ve managed to convey my main point that Michael’s death was absolutely unnecessary. No matter what way the writers try to spin it, in the end, I believe Michael’s death has been all for the purpose of making Jane and Rafael endgame, since there was no other true reason for it. The story and characters could’ve progressed and developed so much more with Michael than without him and all we can do is hope that the writers somehow manage to heal the gaping hole that has been left by his death with time.

I’m sure when you sent this ask you weren’t expecting an answer this insanely in-depth, but I have a lot of feelings on this subject and felt this was my chance to share my opinion once and for all. Thank you for giving me the opportunity to do that, and despite how negative this post is, you should definitely watch JTV properly. It’s such a great show and one I fell in love with instantly.