#(I've worked really hard on a lot of these over the years purely because I appreciate my Favs THAT Much)

[stu-dyingstudent]

Sakura Haruno fic recs: romance-centric

I, like many others, definitely enjoy a a good romance every so often. All of these recs are going to have the romantic development of the characters as the forefront of the story, so just because the fic includes a ship doesn't mean it will go on the list. That means, many of them might feel more on the slice of life side of the spectrum, but that's not the case for all!!

There is going to be a mix of ships here so if you're interested in one in specific then use the search feature!

Started: 2024.08.28

Last Updated: 2024.12.19

note: feel free to check out my master list which has a bunch of Sakura Haruno fic recs (all organized)!

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To Build a Home - RedPowder || ao3 || E || kakasaku || canon divergence || ongoing

Sakura and Kakashi are assigned a mission that will change the path of their lives forever.

Kakashi and Sakura are forced to marry on orders from the village and I know that description sounds dumb, but trust me when I say this fic is gold. I've always had a hard time with kakasaku fics because I feel the whole teacher/student thing gets swept under the rug too easily, but that's not the case here. Their past relationship from team 7 is a glaring shadow over their marriage and the guilt over the whole situation weighs heavy on Kakashi. This mission isn't easy for either of them and it takes a lot of pull and tug to ensure things don't completely blow up. To Build a Home is probably one of my favorite takes on this ship as the portrayal feels realistic and the character feel accurate to themselves. Just give it a go!

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Approaching Sun - ANerdInAllHerGlory || ffn || T || sasusaku || blank period || ongoing

After 2 years, Sasuke returns to the village where friends anxiously await him. Still troubled by the mysteries of Kaguya and his personal guilt, Sasuke is split between friends and his journey. Troubled by rising casualties and international dependence on her abilities, Sakura is torn between her love for Sasuke and her duty to her village.

Approaching Sun is probably one of the most realistic depictions of Sasuke and Sakura's relationship that I have read. This takes place during the blank period and references the novels, so it feels like an actual possibility of what went down. As much as I love them, I have a hard time believing that their relationship was smooth sailing and so I think this is an interesting take.

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The Fool - thekatthatbarks || ao3 || T || shikasaku || blank period || complete

Ino kicked at a pebble on the ground, her arms folded across her chest. “How long?” Shikamaru sighed and pulled the cigarette away from his lips. “The war." It was a lie somewhat. He’d liked her since they were kids but had simply ignored the budding crush expecting it to fade over time. It hadn’t and by the time the war came around, he accepted he would always carry it despite his increasing efforts to drop it. He’d tried drowning it in the river, burning it in a fire, covering it up with something else. But it was all to no avail. It stuck with him, always apart of him. “Have you ever told anyone? Chouji? Her?” "No."

I actually really like Shikamaru and Sakura as a pairing (or just working together in general); however, I haven't read much of them. The Fool was a great post-war read where with some meddling (curtesy of Ino) we get to watch the progression of their relationship into something more than friends.

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Nightmare in Red - Sariasprincy || ao3 || M || itasaku || non-massacre AU || complete

Haruno Sakura used to think the eyes were the windows to the soul, but after witnessing the horrors of the Sharingan firsthand, she's convinced they are the doors. It was pure chance that led Sakura to the discovery of the disease eating through Uchiha Itachi's lungs and now that she's aware, she knows she cannot just turn a blind eye. But how is she to treat the very man who tortured her while at the same time keep her nightmares from consuming her? That she doesn't know, but she knows she has to try, even if it nearly kills her in the end.

Itachi unintentionally captures Sakura in his mangekyou after being rolled into the hospital for her to heal. While Sakura tries to work through the impacts of the genjutsu she continues to work with him in an effort to cure him of the disease infecting his body. I actually really liked how the whole thing played out. Itachi's sickness was sort of a mystery in the original series and so I found it rather interesting to see what was done in regards to it. Anyway, I love their interactions and Shisui is (like always) a great character as well.

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Blind - ObsidianSickle || ffn || sasusaku || T || canon divergent || complete

It was almost time, Orochimaru was going to take his body as a vessel. He hated being used...he refused to be used. With that thought, he took the kunai in his hand and slashed across his eyes.

I won't lie, Sakura is pretty weak in Blind and the whole thing is super cheesy, but it's still an enjoyable read.

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Ghosts - ElegiesforShiva || ffn || sausaku || M || blank period || incomplete

In love and loss, it often comes back to family, and Team 7 had always been fated, hadn't they? Deny it as she may, Sakura finds her heart strung to them with an uncanny reverence and the weight of their ghosts. Sakura-centric. Heavy, heavy angst. Slow burn Sasusaku. Canon pairings. Lots of friendship feels. Eventual (consensual) lemon.

Ghosts is a pretty dark read where basically everyone is suffering. Sasuke and Sakura in specific have an especially hard time coping with their individual struggles yet they find comfort in each other. Check TWs before going in

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Home is Where the Heart is - DeepPoeticGirl || ffn || sasusaku || T || blank period || complete

And with every moment together, they get just a little closer, a little more comfortable with each other. Fall a little more in love. Post-war. Pre-epilogue.

This fic is actually adorable! Taking place during the black period we get to see how Sasuke and Sakura's relationship slowly progresses. If you've always wondered what their travels were like then definitely check this one out.

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In Times of Peace - SouthSideStory || ffn || sasusaku || M || blank period || canon divergent || complete

The war is over, and like Konoha, Team 7 has rebuilt itself from the ground up. Everything has changed, but Sasuke and Sakura remain much the same. Eleven years, she thinks, is a long time to be in love.

Sakura and Sasuke have like a secret relationship going on. Also, Sakura as a jonin sensei is so good!! I really wish that someone from the original cast actually went down that route, but whatever.

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Labyrinthine - FM_White || ao3 || itasaku || M || canon divergence || complete

ItaSaku (Post Uchiha Massacre) AU: Some things are destined to be. It just takes a couple of tries to get there.ItaSaku. Light KakaSaku.

I actually really liked how this was done as team 7 is still a family, Sasuke didn't lose his mind, Itachi picked a much more respectable path imo, and the characters are all adults.

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Only a Crush by Gingersoup || ao3 || kakasaku || M || canon divergent || complete

It was supposed to be an easy, fun night out. She never intended to wake up in her sensei's bed, half-naked and with no memory of what happened the night before! As she tries to unravel the mystery of that night, something sinister is growing beyond the walls of the Leaf Village... and what was only a crush spirals wildly out of control.

Sakura is unwillingly thrust into the world of illegal drugs, trafficking, and sex all while coming to terms with her new feelings regarding her former sensei. I typically don't like kakasaku, but I think this work is done tastefully well. The characters are both adults and the immorality of the relationship is not ignored, so be prepared for a lot of "we can't," "this is wrong," etc.. Anyway, Sakura is an absolute powerhouse and I thoroughly enjoyed the relationship between all of the different characters and villages!

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Dreaming's End - thepiedsniper || ao3 || T || kakasaku || canon divergence || complete

Sakura didn't avoid the Infinite Tsukuyomi with the others, and all the events that happened afterward were simply the product of her dream-state. When Sakura finally wakes up from years spent in her personal "paradise," she must to learn how to start again. Kakashi is there to help her. ~*~ (TWs for genjutsu-related unreality)

Basically, imagine the entirety of Boruto was Sakura's dream in Infinite Tsukuyomi. When Sakura manages to breakout during the war she's left to deal with serious ramifications of the life she just lived. She finds herself constantly questioning what's real and Kakashi tries to help her through it.

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Mamihlapinatapai - FM_White || ao3 || E || itasaku || canon divergence || ongoing

Mamihlapinatapai・Yagan. (n.) a look shared by two people, each wishing that the other would initiate something they both desire, but which neither wants to begin In which Sakura tries her hardest to raise one hell of a rambunctious baby by herself, Sasuke is searching for something unknown, and Itachi is the uncle.

In another life where Itachi doesn't end up dying and instead tries his best to help Sakura raise his niece in Sasuke's absence. It's my head canon that everyone came together to help with Sarada just like they did for Kuranai, and so Mamihlapinatapi satisfies that thought for me. I like how Sasuke was criticized in this since as much as I understand the necessity of what he's doing, I also find it completely unfair to his wife and daughter. Itachi and Sakura form a great bond and it's all very domestic and just super fluffy all around, which I love.

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Louder than Words - SouthSideStory || ao3 || T || sasusaku || non-massacre AU || complete

Sakura hasn’t uttered a single word since the day her family died, but Sasuke is determined to hear her, one way or another. (No Uchiha massacre AU.)

Sakura gets taken in by the Uchiha family after Fugaku finds her on a mission. She's been mute ever since, but that doesn't stop her and Sasuke from forming a close bond.

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Snake Bound - shefalls || ao3 || E || sasusaku || canon divergence || complete

"You... took me with you." "That's what I said." "To Orochimaru. You took me with you, to Orochimaru." Sasuke nodded curtly and shoved the medical kit a little more insistently into her hands. Sakura accepted, and prayed to every known god that Orochimaru would ignore her existence. She should've known the gods don't listen. Now only on AO3. Sequel up.

What if Sasuke took Sakura with him like she asked? Snake Bound explores that idea and it's honestly a very uncomfortable read. Their relationship is based off of the isolation and dependency their new situation puts them in. All they really have is each other and the new bond that brings is not a healthy one.

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Armour-Sleeved Single Hit - thatdamnuchiha || ao3 || T || madasaku || time travel AU || one-shot complete

Sasuke always told Sakura she was weak. Even after she trained with Tsunade for years he only had eyes for Naruto whom he considered strong. She would forever be invisible to him no matter how many mountains she toppled.Being a member of Team Seven despite Sasuke’s refusal to acknowledge her meant she got herself into her fair share of sticky situations. Getting stuck a hundred odd years in the past had to take the cake though.But she was just a weak little girl and compared to the shinobi of old she’d be ridiculously pathetic. Sasuke had said she was weak to him – a modern day shinobi who hadn’t been forced into battle after battle like they did in the Warring Clans Era. Obviously she’d be nothing more than a spec of dirt in the eyes of the Founders.

Sakura manages to find herself in founding-era Konoha! While trying to prove that medical ninja are capable fighters she unknowingly gains the affection of Madara Uchiha. After all, the Uchiha find beauty in strength. Super cute read!

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Always You - alex-halcyon || ffn || T || kakasaku || age swap AU || complete

[AU. Age-swap] Kakashi x Sakura. From academy days to the third shinobi war and beyond, Kakashi and Sakura grow up and fall in love.

Basically, Sakura takes Rin's place on the old team 7. The progression between the character is quite interesting as it definitely isn't smooth sailing for Kakashi and Sakura. However, even through everything they find themselves drifting towards each other. Pretty cute imo.

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interim - stannide || ao3 || T || sasusaku || blank period || one-shot complete

Sasuke lives with Sakura in the weeks after the war.

Interim is such a wholesome read where Sasuke and Sakura rekindle their former relationship. Super fluffy

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Hit Me With Your Best Shot - Tozette || ao3 || T || sasusaku || blank period || one-shot complete

Sasuke is actually eighteen the first time he looks at Sakura and realises abruptly that he wants her.

I think we all know by now that Sasuke has always been attracted to strength, power, so why not when it comes to romance? Essentially, one day on a mission, Sasuke discovers he has a strength kink. Watching him continuously get flustered throughout the fic because of his admiration towards Sakura's strength is so entertaining. Really fun read

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the problem with how time works - MurderMittens || ao3 || E || kakasaku || generation swap AU || complete

"I don't remember you being this uncomfortable when Kakashi was nine and had a crush on you," Ino pointed out neutrally. "You thought it was flattering before." She moved to pour more wine into their glasses as Sakura exhaled sharply out of her nostrils. "Obviously! It was fucking cute when he was a kid! But now he's..." she trailed off, gesticulating feebly. Ino, taking pity on her, finished the sentence: "Now he's a stone cold hottie who looks and sounds like he'd murder the ever-loving shit out of your vagina."

Sakura and Kakashi's generations swap place and boy is it entertaining. With Naruto as his sensei, of course Kakashi has met Sakura. Now that she's back in the village after years, Kakashi decides to try his best to win her over.

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on still water - summersirius || ao3 || T || shisaku || canon divergence || complete

and sometimes, there are days without rain. —shisui/sakura

I'm actually devastated that the author decided to not pursue the plot line after about chapter 15 (it was so good too), but On Still Water is great nonetheless. Some really cute Shisui x Sakura moments

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never let 'em know your next move - MirrorImage003 || ao3 || T || itasaku || non-massacre AU || one-shot complete

six times itachi is surprised by sakura, and the one time he's surprised by his mother.

Sort of drabble style moments between Itachi and Sakura and it's honestly adorable.

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Hatsukoi - sparklyfaerie || ao3 || sasusaku || gen || non-massacre AU || complete

Sasuke leans away as the girl turns to him, and his mother doesn't need to be any closer to guess as to the expression on his face. The girl's body language changes in an instant, and Mikoto recognizes the posture of a little girl in love. It's kind of adorable.

Probably one of the cutest sasusaku fics I have read as Hatsukoi follows them from genin to marriage! It's told in multiple perspectives and it's full of tooth rotting fluff. You get to watch the slow progression of their relationship over time and how they grow even closer in Naruto's absence. Definitely read is you want something light!

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(oh, you'll probably go to heaven) please don't hang your head & cry - SafelyCapricious || ao3 || T || itasaku || time travel AU || one-shot complete

There’s no such thing as a good death. But Sakura faces her death without any regrets. Her dying is keeping her precious people safe — and that’s all she can ask for. So she dies with a smile, taking thousands of enemies with her. She wakes up and falls off the branch she’s laying on.

More of a pre-ship than anything actually romantic, so maybe this isn't the best for this list lmao.

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Ghost - twilightdazzle || ffn || M || sasusaku || canon divergence || complete

Sakura is officially declared missing on a Wednesday morning. Wednesday, what a stupid day to go missing. Of course, Sakura is the only person he knows that is annoying enough to interrupt the middle of the week like this.

Sakura goes missing and this fic is basically Sasuke slowly losing his mind over it. Ghost is honestly pretty darn touching and feels true to Sasuke's character. Everyone is concerned for Sakura and that doesn't exclude him despite how nonchalant he makes himself seem.

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Send me some recs if you have any to share! I'm generally fine with any ship as long as the story is good :)

[drchucktingle]

Hello Dr Tingle! I wanted to ask you about that re: your post about how all your books are serious literature (hell yeah Love is real). How do you personally deal with the whole traditional publishing institution? It attracts a whole different level of coverage and it seems that they're very quick to try and box you and like turn you into a brand. Is it stiffling? Is it freeing? Does the attention help more people understand your trot? I don't know I've never been published but since you have experience in both traditional and self publishing I'm interested in knowing how that's feeling for you

well this is a pretty complex question with lots of different trots but i will try my best to answer. lets start with WHO I AM as buckaroo name of chuck

what i create has a very strong voice and my way is pretty recognizable. while buckaroos do not know what most authors look like, i REALLY stand out in a dang crowd with a big pink bag on my head. if you see 50 random author photos and mine is mixed in and then you ask 'which photo do you remember the most?' it is probably gonna be chuck. i also have a VERY UNIQUE STORY with what i create and my artistic sensibilities, not a lot of buds are out there making trans mothman erotica along with their big five traditional publishing bestsellers (SIDENOTE preorder BURY YOUR GAYS)

now if you were going to take 'CHUCK TINGLE' to a marketing department they would FALL OVER BACKWARDS IN THEIR DANG CHAIR with excitement. it is hard to think of an author with a stronger BRAND than i already have in the sense of 'instantly recognizable trot and specific unique style'. even in answering this you can tell that i dont even TALK like other dang authors.

what i am getting at is this: i am VERY VERY LUCKY because my existence just so happens to equate to what a company would see as GOOD BRANDING. it is not intentional on my part, it is just the hand of fate i guess. im out here expressing myself in a FULL ON WAY that is PRETTY DANG STRANGE TO SOME and it just so happens to work as mainstream branding too

on paper you might think 'what the heck no way chuck tingle will fly as a mainstream trot' but honestly the main thread of this timeline can be surprising sometimes. ive been saying the key ingredient for years and i will say it again: LOVE AND SINCERITY RESONATE. when you make art with this fuel, the timeline will feel it. when you stand up tall and shout with your whole chest THIS IS MY WAY AND I LOVE MYSELF. I AM THE WORLDS GREATEST AUTHOR TAKE IT OR LEAVE IT, the timeline will listen

so all that said, i do not mind the idea of myself as 'brand' because i am not CHANGING myself to create this effect. what some might see as 'brand' i just see as another part of my art. i have always believed that art is THE WHOLE EXPERIENCE not just the painting but what is outside of the frame. WHO I AM is just as important as the books i write, and interacting with my way is a whole MULTIMEDIA experience that INCLUDES YOU TOO. it is the feeling when your friend shows you your first tingler cover, or the feeling when you realize that i am not playing a character. this is ALL a part of the tingleverse and it is all a part of my honest raw expression as a queer and neurodivergent buckaroo.

YOU ARE PART OF THIS ART TOO

it is my nature of have a PUNK ROCK trot. always has been. but to me that does not mean just angrily going against everything for the sake of going against everything. for me, this punk rock trot means fighting to EXPRESS MYSELF IN THE MOST HONEST AND PURE FORM POSSIBLE and to create the art that i want to make without any boundaries

somehow i have threaded the needle in this really interesting once-in-a-dang-lifetime kind of way. my pure punk rock self as an OUTERSIDER ARTIST just so happens to resonate with this larger system of brand and traditional publishing and popular culture. i COULD reject this, but rejecting it would be LESS HONEST.

this is just who i am. i LIKE pop culture. i LIKE joy. i LIKE dressing in all pink and wearing my custom suits. I LIKE PROVING LOVE IS REAL WHAT THE HECK ELSE EVEN IS THERE? i love being a queer outsider artist and using my small voice to shout at the big bad devils and i like that every time i shout a few more of you buckaroos join the chorus and together we are just getting louder and louder and louder and WHO KNOWS what comes next for us all trotting together.

when i post something like 'WHAT A GREAT DAY TO PROVE LOVE' it is not me sitting here in a bad mood thinkin 'well i gotta make todays post to keep up with my brand'. i am ACTUALLY FEELING THAT FEELING and i actually believe it with every fiber of my being. honestly, half the time i post about the beauty of this timeline i am probably over here literally crying tears of joy (chuck is an emotional bud i get riled over the joy of existence A LOT)

and heres the best part of this trot: because i really have this punk rock way it makes me very powerful. others can pretend not to care about success and brand and all that but I REALLY DO NO CARE. i would write tinglers whether buds were reading them or not, this is just my natural state, and that makes me incredibly strong. if some big corporation says 'YOU MUST DO THIS' and i dont want to do it i just say 'no thanks'. it is not some big debate about my career or anything like that because I REALLY DO NOT CARE IN THE SLIGHTEST. i care about the art

because of this, my relationship with my GIANT TRADITIONAL PUBLISHING MACHINE is great. we trot like equals and we get along really well. i tell them exactly what i want to do and they let me do it. i really do not have to answer to anyone and they deserve a huge amount of credit for respecting me in this way.

and heres the thing, THEY ALSO HAVE SOME GREAT IDEAS

SPECIFICALLY my imprint of NIGHTFIRE is very dang cool. yes, they are the head of a giant hydra of a BIG FIVE PUBLISHER, but nightfire is SO DANG ART-FOCUSED

there is no right or wrong way to be an artist, and my path is not the only one, but i can tell you what WORKS FOR ME. this is the advice i would give myself, and buckaroos can take it or leave it

here it is: never beg the big book publisher, or record label, or movie studio to pay attention to you

do not let it become a lotto ticket in your brain. do not think that you are some weak little creature and maybe if you trot just right they will scoop you up and take care of you. do not go to their door begging to be let in

LET THEM COME TO YOUR DOOR

create something so incredible and beautiful and honest and powerful and unique and important that they would be foolish to miss out. create a community or a system or a timeline or a world of imagination that thrives on its own and THEY SHOULD BE SO LUCKY TO BE A PART OF IT

then when you sit down at that board meeting it is not 'please brand me, ill do whatever you want'. instead, it is 'lets make a deal and see how much love we can prove together.'

now lets trot buckaroos

[lgbtlunaverse]

For all the discourse and sordid history of feminine clothes in period fiction or period-inspired fantasy and action stories– from endless misconceptions about corsets to the backlash where people will now complain if a female character has anything negative to say about skirts– I'm still starved for a character that crossdresses because she actually likes the way men's clothes look.

Like. In basically all the cases I've seen over the years, the reasons given for the characters' distate for feminine fashion are purely practical. "Corsets are restrictive, you can't move freely in skirts, feminine fashion is all form no function!"

And while writers often get it wrong and exaggerate how uncomfortable these clothes really were to a sometimes comical degree– you know what? Sometimes it's true! Cycling in a skirt is hard and inconvenient which is why victorian women started wearing split skirts or cycling breeches. (Which was hugely controversial to the men of the time) But like... that was, in fact, feminine fashion. Female cyclists weren't dressing like men they were just wearing a new kind of women's fashion.

Indeed, none of these characters seem to actually like masculine clothes, they give the impression that what they really want to wear is... modern women's fashion. (Which is why this kind of writing often feels anachronistic)

More than that, there is the underlying assumption that while historical women's fashion is governed by aesthetic, men's fashion is governed by use. Caring about how you look is a silly girl thing, unlike rational men who only care whether something works! Which is just... complete horse shit. Men care a lot about how they look, always have, and most masculine fashion trends cannot be explained by practicality any more than women's fashion can. It's a complete lie, based in misogynistic gender roles, that I wish wasn't repeated by media trying to be feminist. (Especially since these heroines always just happen to still be conventionally attractive– and, surprise, feminine– because everyone wants a woman who doesn't care if she's beautiful, but no one wants a woman who... actually isn't beautiful.)

If you talk to any real life butch, they love the way masculinity looks. They think they look hot! They think other butches look hot! There is a real love for masculine style there, that's just completely fucking... absent in most fiction. Because caring about your appearance a feminine trait, duh 🙄

There's an article I love in dressing dykes about Anne Lister, a real life historcial butch. And the way she incorporated masculine fashion didn't involve pants at all. It was in things like leather straps on her umbrella (customary only for gentlemen at the time) wearing men's braces, and dressing entirely in black as was fashionable for menswear but not womenswear. All of these are stylistic decisions. She did it because she liked masculinity.

If all your medieval-inspired fantasy heroine wants is practicality she'd probably start by mimicking the style of working class women. Because you know. Women worked. Women have always worked. And so they had to wear clothes suited for manual labour. There's a lot of interesting things you can do with class there, and she probably will be accused of being 'unladylike' by her environment anyway! But if she's gonna wear men's clothes, please consider letting her like them.

I'm just want an actual goddamn butch main character (or even a genuinely masc straight girl) and I'm tired of repeating the myth that men's clothes are these neutral canvasses of practical use with zero elements of style. (I have eyes! I can see that that's untrue!) Or that it's preposterous that a woman might... genuinely like these stylistic elements. That she might want to look like a man.

[lumi-nescentt]

And I Hope I Never Lose You, I Hope It Never Ends

Pairing: Lance Stroll x Reader

Warnings: mention of Lance's crash during quali in Singapore

Words: 3.2k

Summary: Dating a racing driver has its perks but seeing your boyfriend crash might be a little too much when no one seems to notice you.

A/N: I've started writing this right after Singapore but I had no idea how to continue it until tonight but I finally managed to write something I like so here you go :)

Lance knew what most people thought of him, how he was here because of his dad, a pure result of nepotism. While he knew that his dad had played a big part in his first F1 seat, Lance liked to think that he had earned his right to stay in the cut-throat sport through hard work and dedication. He had to believe that or else the critics would get to him and he couldn’t afford it. 

After all, he was glad he had someone in his corner who’d do anything to help him. Lawrence was always pushing him in the best way possible and Lance was very grateful for the opportunity he had been given and the love he bathed in. From what he knew of the other drivers, not everyone had the chance of having a father who only had kind words and constructive criticism to give. 

With a family like his own, Lance had never felt alone or unlovable. In fact, his family had been his everything from the moment he was old enough to understand what the word meant and for a long time, his family’s love had been enough.

As he grew up, Lance watched his sister go through love and heartbreak, allowing people to get close to her and embracing them in all the love she had to give. Chloe was a solar being, she gave and she gave, expecting almost nothing in return but as the heir of such a fortune, she got taken advantage of quite a lot in her teenage years. 

Lance was there to witness it all and he swore he’d never get himself involved in something too serious that could break him into pieces. Plus, with racing, he didn’t really have the time to get a girlfriend and keep one so the matter was settled. 

For years, he satisfied himself with meaningless flings and one-night stands when he felt like it. The prestige of being an F1 driver helped and he was starting to be noticed as just Lance, not Lance, son-of-Lawrence, which he appreciated. 

One night after his home Grand Prix as he was partying in a familiar club in Montreal, Lance’s eyes met hers. The moment she winked at him with a smile, Lance knew he was done for. The girl had this magnetic pull that just made him want to know more. 

After a night together with the mysterious girl, Lance broke his own rules and gave her his number. He wanted to see her again. He felt like he needed to get to know her and luckily for him, she was just as curious about him. 

They started texting a lot and everyone who knew Lance could tell he was definitely not keeping this lowkey. The more he texted her, the more he found to like. She was funny and kept him on his toes, always having something to say when he teased her. What had started as physical attraction was definitely turning into more on both ends.

With his work, Lance couldn’t really see her often but whenever he was on the same continent, he convinced her to fly over. She tried to pay for her own flights but Lance categorically refused to let her spend a dollar when she was the one who had to arrange her schedule around his.  

The night Lance introduced his sister to Scotty, she was also there and Lance happily paraded with his arm tightly wrapped around her waist. Chloe immediately loved the girl and the feeling was more than mutual. From this exact moment, Lance knew that he wanted to be more than whatever they were right now and he asked her out on the balcony in summer air, New York’s skyline in the background. 

After this particular moment, the couple became inseparable and they tried even harder to see each other despite the distance separating them most of the time. They travelled together when they could and called for hours when they couldn’t. The distance was hard at night when everything suddenly turned silent and they both longed for someone to hold in the dead of night from two different ends of the globe but they made it work. 

It was also hard during the day when everything they saw seemed to remember them of the other, whether it was an ice rink where they had their first real date as a couple or a particular book she had given him with handwritten notes all over the margins. Even in the distance, there was always a trace of the other where they were and it was both painful and comforting, it was being haunted in the most beautiful way possible. 

Luckily for them, she finally got her degree and travelling became easier with her job. She could work remotely most of the time so following Lance was part of her routine now and she loved it. No matter how many races she had been to, it somehow never got old. Seeing Lance in his element was captivating. She was fascinated by his determination and his resilience. No matter how hard the world was on him or how hard he was on himself, Lance always bounced back and faced it all with a stoic face and a steel-strong determination. 

It was one of the reasons why she wasn’t as scared as she originally thought she would be when Lance got in the car. She was aware of how dangerous the sport could be but there was something about the confidence that oozed from her boyfriend that seemed to calm her. If he kept getting back into the car despite knowing the risks, he was either completely stupid or serene enough to decide that it was all worth it. 

Lance had been pretty consistent for the three practice sessions in Singapore so far and Fernando seemed quick so there were reasons to be optimistic about qualifying. Chloe and Scotty hadn’t been able to come this time and Lawrence was busy talking business in an office in the motorhome so she was left alone in Lance’s corner, blowing him a kiss as he got into the car, catching it and acting like he was putting it in his pocket, making her laugh at his antics. 

Qualifying was all about pushing the car to the maximum and toying with the limit and it seemed like Lance wanted to do just that. The green car was zooming past slower cars, turning between the tight corners between the walls of Singapore, brushing it at times when Lance came in a little too fast but he always made it out without much more than a scratch. 

Her eyes were glued to the screen as Lance was supposed to come round the last corner, set to cross the line in just a few seconds, her fingers crossing, hoping for a time that would put him to the top of the board and save him from another Q1 exit. When she saw the flash of green appear on the screen, her heart started racing even harder until she felt it almost stop suddenly. Right in front of her eyes, her boyfriend’s car went off the track and straight into the wall, barely avoiding collisions with other drivers that were also rounding the corner. 

As if the crash itself hadn’t been spectacular enough, another camera caught the scene and showed the car from another angle, showing how one of the wheels had snapped and was now bending at a strange angle. With her headphones on, she heard Lance’s race engineer Ben ask if he was okay only to be met by a deafening silence. Ben asked a second time and with a groan Lance muttered that he was okay before getting out of the car as medics came rushing around him. 

Despite knowing that her boyfriend was okay enough to talk and walk, she couldn’t stop the tears from falling as she watched the broadcast replaying the crash over and over again like some sick joke she would never be able to escape. No one seemed to be paying attention to the crying girl in the middle of the garage until a camera panned over to her and she saw her own face on the broadcast. Giving a slight nod to Ted Kravitz who was offering her a reassuring smile and mouthing sorry to her, she turned around, ready to ask anyone if they had any news.

She wanted nothing more than to find Lance and see for herself if he was really okay but she knew how strict the FIA was and how hungry the media were so she knew going out to the medical centre now wouldn’t do any good. She suddenly felt terribly alone without anyone to talk with or anyone to reassure her. The Singapore heat no longer felt warm, it was suffocating and she didn’t realise she was hyperventilating until Fernando came back into the garage without his helmet and ran over to her, grasping her hands and asking her to breathe with him for a little bit.

-“ Better now ?”

-“ Yes, I don’t know what happened but thank you Fernando.” she offered him a tight smile, squeezing his hand before letting it go

-“ I think you were panicking but that’s completely normal. You must be pretty shaken up, did they let you see him yet ?”

-“ Not yet, I don’t even know if he’s still there and I don’t want to bother Lawrence or Ben. They must be pretty stressed already without me texting them for the hundredth time.” 

-“ I think both of them would understand but I’ll ask around and see if I can find someone who can either bring you to him or tell you how he’s doing.” 

-“ Thanks nando, really.”

-“ Don’t worry about it. Your boyfriend’s tough, I’m sure he’ll be released soon.” the Spaniard smiled before leaving her to see if he could find something on his own

In his whole career, Lance had had his fair share of crashes. No matter how intense his crashes were, he usually walked away without any real physical injuries, at least not in car accidents. 

He had been taught that the most important thing after a crash was getting back in the car, not letting the incident get to you, always getting back up. That’s how he had always proceeded since he started racing, if he fell, he got back up straight away and worked until he got it right. 

This crash hadn’t been any different from the others, only maybe a little harsher but that was all. Yet, Lance couldn’t stop his heart from skipping beats, he couldn’t breathe fully and he didn’t know if it was because he was physically hurt or if he was still in shock. Nothing made sense to him and he just followed along the medical team and answered their questions, trying not to ask too many times how much longer he had to stay there. He knew they were only doing their job and he was thankful to be checked quickly after the impact but the white light was irritating, the whole room seemed hostile and all he wanted was to see a familiar face. 

No matter where he looked, all he saw was strangers’ faces and Lance had never wished to see someone he knew as bad as he did in that moment. Once all the tests were done, Lance was told to wait for the results in the room so he did. When the door opened a few minutes later to reveal his dad and Ben, he felt like breathing was a little easier, even though his dad’s hug was a bit too tight. 

-“ How are you feeling ? Does it hurt anywhere ?” Lawrence asked

-“ I’m good, dad. I already told the doctors everything so don’t stress about it.” Lance smiled as Ben rolled his eyes at how relaxed Lance was being

-“ I’m glad you’re okay, that seemed like a tough one. You had us all scared back in the garage.” Lawrence admitted, resting one of his hand on his son’s shoulder

-“ I’m sure it looked worse than it felt for me but yeah I can imagine. How is she ?” Lance asked as his dad excused himself, having to answer to a phone call

-“ How is who ?” Ben answered 

-“ y/n. Is she waiting outside ?” 

-“ Oh shit.”

-“ What ?” 

-“ She’s not here, Lance.” 

-“ What do you mean ? Didn’t she want to come see me ?” the canadian asked, not hiding his disappointment 

-“ I mean she probably did but we were so taken by surprise by the crash that I didn’t even think of taking her with us.” 

-“ Are you seri– Alright, it’s not your fault, you were stressed but can you please have someone bring her in ? She must be worried sick all on her own in the garage.” 

Ben just nodded before joining Lawrence outside to arrange for a car to bring the girl over to the medical centre. Barely a few minutes later, the door burst open and without having to look towards it, Lance knew exactly who it was. There was no way to mistake her for anyone else as she rushed inside, only to stop in the middle of the room, almost afraid to take another step. 

-“ You can come closer, you know ? I’m not going to break if you breathe too hard.” Lance laughed softly 

-“ Can you not joke about it please ?” she whispered as she came to stand next to him without touching him, still afraid to hurt him without meaning to

-“ I’m sorry. I’m okay, I promise.” Lance affirmed, nudging her shoulder with his “ Can you give me a hug, pretty girl ?”

-“ Just tell me if I squeeze too hard. I don’t want to hurt you.” 

-“ Of course, now come here.” he said, opening his arms as she wrapped her own around him and hid her face in the crook of his neck

They stayed like this for a few minutes, just holding each other close until Lance felt a tingling sensation on his shoulder and his neck.

-“ Hey there, are you crying ?” he asked, softly rubbing her back

-“ ‘am not.” she said sniffling rather loudly

-“ Aw baby, I’m really okay. I know it must have been scary for you but it’s over now. Don’t worry your pretty head about it, I’m still in one piece.” 

-“ I know. I  really don’t know why I’m crying. It was really scary and I’m just glad I’m with you right now.” 

-“ Me too, pretty girl. Look at me now, please.” 

She took a small step back, looking at him with puffy eyes and a tight smile as Lance cupped her face between his hands and planted a kiss on her lips, placing a strand of her hair behind her ear. 

-“ As soon as I get discharged and I’m done with everything, we’re going back to the hotel and we’re going to take a long warm bath and relax together. Does that sound good ?” 

-“ Yes. Can we cuddle after that ?” 

-“ Of course, we can cuddle all you want and I’m not moving from bed until I really really have to.”

-“ Lance ?” 

-“ Yes, pretty girl ?” 

-“ I love you.” 

It wasn’t the first time she said it to him but somehow the circumstances made it even more emotional and Lance smiled before kissing her again, more intensely this time.

-“ I love you too, y/n. The doctors will be here soon but I don’t want you to be here in case there’s something, which I’m sure there won’t be” Lance quickly corrected himself when he felt her draw a sharp breath before continuing “ but just in case I’d rather you get back to the garage and pick up our things. Like that we can leave as soon as I’m done here and I’ll meet you in my driver’s room.” 

-“ No, I want to stay with you. I don’t care how stressful or scary it could be, it’ll be even more if I don’t know what’s happening.” 

-“ Pl–”

-“ Don’t you dare try and convince me otherwise. I’m staying whether you want it or not.” she stood her ground, feeling her voice quivering

-“ Alright, I’m not going to stop you. You’re way too cute for me to say no to anyway.” Lance chuckled, wiping a lone tear that had escaped from her eyes before kissing her forehead

-“ Thank you.” 

Before Lance could answer anything, the doctors came back in with the results and they listened to the results, a breath of relief leaving them both as they got told that Lance was all good to go. The worst thing that was going to happen to Lance now were a few bruises where the seat belt had done its job and a sore neck. If Lance felt relieved, what she felt was way more intense than him and she took a deep breath, finally feeling like this nightmare was coming to end before wrapping her hand around his as he stood up to leave. 

Once they were done, the couple got out of the room, ready to go back to the hotel and put this scary day behind them but Lawrence stopped them before they could make an escape. The older Stroll started by apologising to his son’s girlfriend for not bringing her with them but she quickly brushed it off, understanding how the situation must have been scary for the both of them so she didn’t hold him accountable for it. 

After clearing that up, Lawrence asked if he could speak to Lance alone so the girl went to sit a few metres away, finally taking the time to answer the texts from her worried friends and family, assuring them that Lance was in fact okay and that she was too. Lance came back a few minutes later with a relaxed smile on his face, holding out his hand for her to take before bringing her in for a hug. 

-“ What was that for ?” she laughed against his chest, surprised from the sudden display of attention in the middle of the far from empty corridor

-“ Nothing, I’m just happy. You’re not getting rid of me that easily.” 

-“ What do you mean ?” 

-“ My dad and I talked and we agreed that even though nothing’s broken, maybe getting back in the car tomorrow isn’t the best idea and maybe resting would be more reasonable.” 

-“ Are you saying what I think you are right now ?” 

-“ You have me all to yourself until we leave for Japan, pretty girl.” 

-“ Finally something good about today.” she smiled a little brighter, holding Lance tighter 

-“ Let’s make it even better then, let’s go have that bath and cuddle in front of a movie.” 

-“ That sounds like a wonderful plan.” 

-“ Good because I’m not planning on letting go of you until we leave for the airport on Monday.” 

-“ You’re going to have to if you want to drive us back to the hotel.” she laughed at his sudden clinginess 

-“ Don’t give me ideas, pretty girl.” Lance retorted, pulling her into his arms and kissing her, smiling against her lips

Lawrence, who was still standing in the corridor, was glad to hear the two of them laugh freely after the crash. If it had been scary for him as a dad, he didn’t want to think about how it must have been for the girl. At least they were together now and hopefully by the time Lance would inevitably have to get back in the car, the incident would be long forgotten and she would be able to watch with the exact same smile she was showing Lance now as he made her spin around in his arms, the perfect picture of a happy couple.

[donelywell]

My interpretation of how Chaos Energy and Super Powers work in the Sonic Universe.

Enough people asked for it, so here's my ramble! This is all completely headcanon, I just wanted to make Chaos Energy more integrated into the world than it actually is in the games. It's been cooking in my brain ever since I got back into Sonic, and it's only been growing as I've continued. I don't believe this is how it actually works in canon, but this is how it works in my Headcanon Shatterverse Headscape Place (tm).

Chaos Emeralds can be used by anyone once they are properly judged, filling the user with insane amounts of clean Chaos Energy. Since having that much Chaos Energy inside you is a health risk, that's why you lose rings over time when you're Super. When a user runs out of rings, they become exhausted, passing out on the spot. But as a user gets more and more adjusted to the Emeralds, they can drop their super form before losing all of their rings, thus not over exerting themselves.

I haven't fully ironed out how the Chaos Emeralds (or the Master Emerald) work here yet, so I'll have to come back to this some other time.

But being able to use Chaos Energy is different from harnessing the Chaos Emeralds.

Example: Sonic is able to go Super with the Emeralds, but he has a Chaos Ability: His speed.

The way I show if a character has a Chaos Ability is with colored markings on them.

(This is a recent thing I started implementing, so I gotta redesign some characters like Shadow, Sonic, and Knuckles)

Example of characters with Chaos Abilities: Tangle, Blaze, Kit, and Silver.

They have a color wrapped around their ear and iris, and most of their beans have the color too. Plus they got patterns on them with said color.

Characters without Chaos Abilities for example are Whisper, Tails, and Amy.

They all have extraordinary abilities, but those are either because of a weapon, or they're gifted in that skill (like a Guinness book of world records person).

Chaos Abilities are not too common, but not enough Mobians have them to call it a 50/50 split.

A Mobian can have their Chaos Ability appear when they are 5 years old. The child often has a huge celebration to see if they will get an ability or not.

When the user has their Chaos Ability develop, it doesn't take too much for them to get tired, but as they continue to use it, they can use their abilities longer and do more daunting stunts with them. 

In the future, when a user starts out, they normally need to wear Chaos Energy Inhibitor Rings (which looks a lot like Silvers cuffs wink wink nudge nudge) to suppress their inner Chaos Energy until they can get a hold of it. The more powerful the Natural Chaos Energy is, the more Inhibitor Rings you gotta wear. A user can survive without them, it’s just safer for everyone if they do wear them when they get started.

The ability's difficulty is based purely on how much Chaos Energy the user naturally has. It also affects what the ability a user will get by how much energy they have, sort of as their body's way of figuring out how to use it properly. (Mobians without Chaos Abilities have Chaos Energy too, it's just not enough to give them an ability)

If they are a Low-Level Natural Chaos Energy User: it's stupid easy for them to master it. Because their body doesn't need to do as much work. Pyrokinesis and Stretching Limbs are fairly easy to master because of that.

High-Level Natural Chaos Energy Users have a hard time grasping how to use their abilities at first, some even needing training from people with similar abilities to get out of Chaos Energy Ring Inhibitors. Super Speed and Telekinesis are a few difficult abilities to master.

You can tell if someone has too much Chaos Energy or not enough by looking at their markings. Too much will have the already glowy patterns light up BRIGHT, while if the user doesn't have much left, it becomes a dull light.

Like a lightbulb, if there’s a lot of power in it, it’ll shine REALLY BRIGHT, but too much and it’ll pop. If there’s little to no power in it, it’ll flicker and fade into a dim light until it eventually turns off.

Chaos Abilities have 2 branches: a sort of projection ability or a physical one.

Projection is like your stereotypical 'this guy has powers!' ability. Pyrokinesis, Aquakinesis, and Telekinesis are a few examples. The user well... uses the Chaos Energy inside them to bend the Chaos Energy that flows freely around them to do what their Ability is.

The Chaos Energy in the air is different from the Chaos Energy inside the user. It's like water. The energy inside of the user is some sort of food dye and the Chaos Energy in the air is like water, when the 2 mix, the water (chaos energy) outside changes into what your dye (users chaos energy) is and spreads it to wherever you choose.

Projection Chaos Abilities are fairly common.

Projection Chaos Users get drained physically if they use their abilities for too long, since they are technically spewing their Chaos Energy out into the world.

Physical are rarer (I’m talking 1/1,000 chance). Since it physically enhances or changes the user. The ability to stretch your tail to comical lengths, super speed, and changing your size at will are a few examples. The user is like a sponge, they soak up the Chaos Energy around them and the energy inside of them guides it to do what it needs to do.

Physical Chaos Users feel worn out if they over exert themselves because they have to hold so much Chaos Energy inside of them.

There are legitimate health risks if either over exert themselves.

Projection Chaos Users can actually put their life at risk if they lose all of their Chaos Energy, since every living being needs at least some to survive. If a user uses everything, they better have a Chaos rich thing nearby or they'll pass out. At worst, they could be in a coma (well, aside from death, but that's very hard to do) as their body is forcibly trying to recover. The user recovers Chaos Energy naturally by eating or resting, so a good way to replenish the energy used in a fight is to eat a quick snack or take a nap.

Physical Chaos Users can overcharge if they absorb too much, since they're taking in so much Chaos Energy. Too much energy could potentially lead to a person to literally catch on fire as their body is trying to burn the energy away. The user typically runs a higher temperature (and steam if it's a lot) when they naturally release the energy they built up inside them, basically giving them a fever. This is their body trying to safely burn away the excess energy. If the user wants to recover faster, you should give them a heated blanket or something to warm them up.

Shadow is a special case because he literally lives off the Natural Chaos Energy that the Chaos Emeralds and Master Emerald release into the world. Where a normal Chaos User can live perfectly fine if there isn't any Natural Chaos Energy outside because of the stored Chaos Energy inside of them, Shadow will be seriously ill if there isn't any Natural Chaos Energy outside since he doesn't have any inside of him.

And that's all, I hope my ramblings made even an ounce of sense.

[happy74827]

Lucas Lee x reader fluff✨️ I'm sad there isn't a lot of fanfics of this himbo..

Tough Guy

[Lucas Lee x Female!Reader]

Synopsis: When Lucas Lee confronts you and a friend on set, things take a turn for the worst.

WC: 1894

Category: Fluff, Protective!Lucas

Honestly, I’m sad there’s not a lot of fanfics with any of the exes. Gideon seems to be the most popular out of the bunch, but even then he’s still low and the other 6 deserve a lot more hype.

But, anyway, this anon was so real for requesting Lucas because I absolutely adore him (the series did him SO RIGHT). So, hopefully, I did him right here too :)

『••✎••』

“Hey, Bucko!”

You turned around at the sound of that voice. It was loud and obnoxious, as usual, but you could never help but grin when you heard it.

That was, after all, the voice of Lucas Lee.

Lucas Lee was your current colleague on set. He was in the big leagues, an A-lister, a celebrity. The two of you had only just met a few weeks ago, and since then, you had both taken quite a shine to one another.

It wasn't surprising to you. You have always had a way with people, especially famous ones. Maybe it was your personality. Or maybe you were just so used to them by now that nothing fazed you anymore. You were currently on set for a new movie, and you had already worked on two other movies and one TV series with big names before this.

But Lucas Lee? Oh, he was different.

Maybe it was because you were the same age. Maybe it was the fact that he had such an easygoing personality.

Maybe it was how hot he was.

Yeah, he was totally hot. You didn't like to admit that. It was embarrassing and cliché and unprofessional and-

No, who were you kidding? You totally thought Lucas Lee was hot.

It was hard not to, really. The way he smiled, the way he talked, the way his eyes seemed to be laughing even when his mouth was. Not to mention, the boy was tall and buff as hell. You had no idea what kind of workouts he did, but they were definitely paying off.

You were so engrossed in your thoughts you didn’t realize how he stormed over to you and your friend until he was standing right in front of you, hands on his hips.

"Um, hi," you said, smiling shyly at him.

He didn’t bat an eye towards you. Instead, he looked down at your friend. "Is there… a problem here?" he asked.

It was then you noticed his posture, how he was practically towering over your friend, who was now shrinking back, trying to look small.

You frowned.

What was going on?

"Well, I-" your friend started, but he was immediately cut off.

"Listen, dude, I'm a professional, you know," Lucas said, a dangerous tone to his voice. "I've been doing this for years, and I don't appreciate a little no-name rookie trying to hammer down on my girl like that."

"Wait, what?" you said.

"Your... girl?" your friend said.

You and your friend glanced at each other before looking back up at Lucas, confused.

Lucas, though, didn't seem to notice the looks on your faces or how you had spoken.

“You don't think I know your type? Harassment. That's what it is. Harassment pure and simple. And it's not gonna fly, you hear me? You've been warned."

You looked at him, your eyes wide, and your mouth open, too, but nothing came out. You had no idea what the hell was going on.

And then, you watched as your friend took a step forward. "Wait a second, dude. I wasn't harassing her," he said. "She's my friend, I was just helping rehearse some of her lines—”

Lucas interrupted him. "You were touching her arm."

"I was just—"

"And she was looking down."

"Yeah, but—"

"She was obviously uncomfortable!"

“Actually, I wasn’t…” You tried to say something, but no one heard you.

"Dude, she wasn't looking down. She was looking at the script!"

"So, what? Are you calling her a liar?"

Lucas was glaring at your friend. His expression was fierce, and his muscles were tense, his fists balled up tightly. He looked like he was ready to punch someone. It was a scary sight, to say the least.

You could feel the tension in the air, and your stomach twisted in knots. This wasn’t good.

Your friend, though, didn't back down. He stood up straighter, looking Lucas in the eyes.

"I'm not calling anyone a liar," he said calmly. "I'm just saying that maybe you should check your facts before you accuse someone."

Lucas growled.

"Listen, punk," he said, jabbing a finger into the other man's chest. "I have a reputation to uphold, you know. People rely on me. I've got fans. I can't afford to let people like you ruin things for me. So, why don't you just take a hike, alright?"

"What are you gonna do if I don't?" your friend challenged, and your stomach sank.

Shit.

"Guys, come on. Let's just—"

"What did you just say to me?"

You knew Lucas had a temper; you’ve seen it once before on set—valid reasons, of course. You understood where it came from, and you understood his passion for what he did. But still, his temper was scary, and it didn’t help to notice he was even angrier than usual now.

"Lucas, listen," you started, placing a hand on his shoulder. "He didn't mean it like—"

You gasped as Lucas shoved your friend hard.

"Lucas!"

The shove made your friend fall back, landing on his butt. It was quite ironic, really, considering his height. He wasn’t small by any means, and yet Lucas had just made him look like a small child.

Still, it was a sight you were not happy to see.

"What are you doing?!” You practically screamed at him. “Are you insane?!"

"Stay out of this," he said, not taking his eyes off of your friend. "This is about honor. Respect.”

“Respect… I— What?!” You sputtered, completely baffled.

Your friend had gotten to his feet, looking absolutely pissed. He took a step forward, glaring daggers at Lucas.

"You're gonna pay for that, you bastard!" he spat, and Lucas smirked.

"Yeah, I'd like to see you try."

“Alright, enough! That's it!"

You stepped in between the two men, blocking them from each other's view. Your arms were spread wide, and your eyes were darting between the two.

"Both of you are being idiots!" you yelled. "Lucas, why are you acting like a caveman? And you, I can't believe you're stooping to his level!"

"I'm the idiot? What about him?" your friend pointed an accusatory finger at Lucas. "He's the one who started this whole thing."

"Oh, sure, blame me, why don't ya," Lucas sneered.

"Both of you, shut up!"

They both turned their attention to you.

"Look," you said, sighing. "I'm sorry, but this is completely ridiculous. Lucas, why did you even go after him? What was that about?"

"Yeah, why'd you do that?" your friend echoed, a smug look on his face.

Lucas huffed and crossed his arms over his chest.

"It's none of your business."

"Yes, it is," you argued. "You attacked my friend, Lucas."

"I wasn't attacking anyone. I was just defending your honor."

"Honor?"

Your friend scoffed, rolling his eyes. "Right. That's the lamest excuse I've ever heard."

Lucas glowered at him. "Watch it, buddy. I'll deck you again."

"You wouldn't dare."

"Try me."

"GUYS!"

Both men stopped, turning to look at you.

You glared at the both of them.

"You," you pointed at Lucas. "Need to learn how to keep your cool. This was totally uncalled for. And you," you pointed at your friend. "You need to learn how to walk away from an argument. You're not a little kid. Don't let him bait you like that. Okay?"

You waited for them to answer, but neither of them spoke. They just kept looking at you.

Finally, Lucas was the first to speak.

"Okay," he mumbled, his voice low.

"Yeah, whatever," your friend replied.

You let out a sigh and placed a hand on your hip.

"Good," you said. "Now, Lucas, can you explain to us why you went after my friend?"

You saw his hesitation. He was shifting his weight from foot to foot, and his hands were balled up in tight fists.

"Well..."

You raised an eyebrow at him. "Well?"

He looked at the ground, kicking his foot against the floor. The skateboarder in him was showing, you noted.

“I was over there, drinking my coffee, and I heard what you were talking about, and I thought you looked uncomfortable, and I... I guess I just lost my cool, alright?"

Your friend looked at him, confused.

"Wait, you were eavesdropping on us?"

"I wasn't eavesdropping!"

"That sounds like eavesdropping to me."

"You little-"

"Lucas, stop," you snapped, and the blond stopped, glaring daggers at your friend.

Your friend just rolled his eyes.

"Whatever, dude," he said, shaking his head.

"Lucas, look," you said, placing a hand on his shoulder and rubbing it soothingly. He seemed to relax under your touch, and you felt a surge of pride.

"I appreciate you standing up for me," you continued. "But you can't do stuff like this. Okay? It's not right. You could get in trouble or, worse, fired."

He scoffed at that but nodded. "Yeah, right," he said.

"I'm serious," you said. "If something like this happened, you could be kicked off the project. And then what would we do? Who'd play the lead role with me?”

He didn’t say anything. He just looked at you, his blue eyes boring into yours. There was something unreadable in them, and it made you nervous.

"Lucas?"

He sighed and looked away. "I know, I know," he said. "I'm sorry."

"Promise me you won't do anything like this again."

"I promise."

You smiled and patted his shoulder.

"Good."

"What about me?" your friend piped up. "Am I free to go now?"

"Yeah, whatever," Lucas waved him off.

Your friend glared at him.

"Whatever," he mocked and turned on his heel, leaving the two of you alone.

Lucas watched him go before turning his attention back to you. His blue eyes were bright, and his lips were curled in a small smile.

"I'm totally hotter than him anyway. No competition," he said, his voice low and husky. It made you chuckle.

“Well, that's debatable," you replied, giving him a sly wink.

"Maybe a black eye would fix that," his tone gave it away that it was a joke, but his body language said otherwise. He was tense, and his knuckles were white.

"Lucas," you warned.

He held up his hands in defense.

"I'm joking, I'm joking," he said. "Don't worry. I'll leave the guy alone."

"Good."

"In my defense, it really did look like he was bothering you. I wasn't totally crazy."

You laughed. "No, you were. Totally crazy. You know, they say you're the cool, collected, bad boy of the big screen, but I don't know. You're more like the hotheaded, passionate, and protective bad boy of the big screen. Or even the small screen. Whatever the case, you're not exactly what the media paints you to be."

Lucas shrugged.

"It's the same old, same old," he said. "People always seem to be so fascinated with me. I can't blame em', really. I'm a pretty interesting guy."

"Oh, yes, definitely. The most interesting man in the world."

"See? You know it."

The two of you laughed, and the tension that had been hanging in the air was now gone.

You were glad. It had been an awkward moment, for sure, and you would have to make sure your friend didn’t sue Lucas since that could get the production on halt or even canceled. But it was over now, and all was well.

For now, at least.

[fruity-fruition]

Future Wondershow!!

Everything is amazing and ideal because I cannot handle a sad ending between them they're my lifeline

--

Tsukasa and Nene are young skilled up-rising stars in both theatre and film industry who both are rapidly growing at an incredible rate due to their natural charisma, their history of already having a quite successful troupe in high school, mixed with both stubborn hard work and willingness/ideas to do insane shit due to being under Rui's direction for so long.

Rui is also an up-rising director who took the world by storm at how innovative his directing is in a field that's lacking in passion recently. Mixed with everything I've stated for Nene and Tsukasa too.

Emu took over the theme park business kind of. She's sharing with her brother's still, who's showing her the ropes and the actual mechanism of how everything works. Shosuke and Keisuke had fully embraced Emu's bright ideas and cheery attitude now, both thanks to working with WxS for so long and Emu showing them how capable she actually is, despite her optimistic naivety. The park is running to be as successful as ever, now Emu finally has power to make the changes she knows her grandpa would be proud of.

--

Tsukasa, Nene, and Rui often work together on projects which lead their fan community to be merged in a way. It started off divided, with Tsukasa and Nene fans fighting near constantly due to the two coming into the field at the exact same time, but eventually most of the public know that if one is there, the other two won't be that far behind.

--

Tsukasa, Rui, and Nene often get invited to those fancy parties, (they absolutely do not like it. It's too boring. But they go anyway because they need to build connections and stuff apparently) and every time they have the opportunity to invite a plus one, they drag Emu with. None of them stay at the main hall for long, and they'd drag each other outside to either the balcony or garden and just hang around.

This ALWAYS results in them going viral on some sort of social media, with the press never failing to capture a photo of all four of them hanging about and laughing with each other.

--

Their work often brings them apart a lot of times, and even though they still meet weekly in the SEKAI, it's just not the same.

So once every year, they all clear their schedules completely for a full week or more so they could go on a holiday together. It doesn't really matter where. They could stay at home a lounge for the whole week for all they care. But they still do it just to physically be there with each other.

(bonus point if they invite other friends too. Saki, Toya, Mizuki, etc)

--

Again, schedules and overseas work contrast each other a lot of times if they're all working on a project.

But whenever Rui, Tsukasa, and Nene end up home all at once, unplanned, they all collectively decide to just drag Emu to go out with them to their old restaurant that they always go to after a show in high school.

Emu's employees have gotten used to seeing Emu piggyback riding Rui/Tsukasa at full speed leaving the office that they have an entire protocol that Emu and her brothers made for when it happens.

--

Wondershow would do random livestreams together. Either gaming, or baking, or painting each other's nails. They have no specific genre. They just do it for fun.

Nene would still do singular gaming livestreams still, because it's one of her passions.

--

I have more but the rest is kinda shippy and I wanted to keep this PURELY Wondershow friendship because I love Wondershow friendship so much guys they're everything I hate them

(you can so clearly tell that English isn't my native language in this post. Wow. I'm so sorry I hope it's coherent enough)

[massivechestplate]

Is anyone else tired over recent events? Not in a sleepy way, but in that bone-deep depression way?

Bit of a long post about the general Gacha game-sphere. Needed to get this off of my chest, might as well scream into the void.

I ask this as someone who flirts between these gacha games out of boredom mostly. They're free, they're phone, they got Story, and I'm not spending a cent on them personally, so that's why I play them.

But every fucking day it seems we got another controversy. Bad VA this, fired an artist that, White_Pharaoh.png being handed out like fucking candy on Halloween lately.

And then we discuss on how Its Bad, and we all know Its Bad, people discuss on what to do, Boycott, torch the franchise and run, stay and try to fix it, ignore it because it's been your Comfort Media for the past 3 years, all that stuff. And it's hard. And a lot of those choices always feel half-assed.

I've been around a bit, I've seen it. I was around when Fate Grand Order had LB7, Wandjina, and all the other shit on 2023 JP hit, and there was talk, some talked but stayed, others left but chose to still engage with Type-Moon works, some might've left completely but I never heard of them.

I was around when Project Moon fired Vellmori, and there was betrayal, some deciding to leave, others staying because Project Moon wormed into their hearts and they decided to stay even knowing what was happening. Knowing what it was now built on and where the lines were drawn.

And I'm here now in the midst of the Hoyoverse shittery round 2, I don't think I need to speak at length on that. We've all seen it.

And all the time every potential choice to take feels half-assed?

Do you leave, abandoning the franchise as if leaving without fighting to improve something makes you good, preserving your own morality at the cost of never making anything better? The lack of evil substituting for substantial good?

Do you boycott? If so is it purely not spending money or not even logging in? Does it even make a difference? After all, when do these oversea companies really listen to anyone outside their country of origin? Is it enough to stop on that one specific game and still buy other works, or do you condemn the whole?

Do you continue on as normal, to indulge in the media? To continue what brings you joy and comfort? Is criticizing and acknowledging the faults enough or just lipservice?

Are we arrogant to impose our values on others, hating foreign companies not conforming to our beliefs? Or is this completely reasonable, every scathing speech and point completely justified and never bordering on some level of sinophobia?

And just... it's hard. Hard enough trying to be a Good Person normally but here? In this space? Part of it feels natural and some action is necessary for the Good of Everything, the other part feels like a big fuss over something ultimately small and meaningless.

And it hurts. You give out pieces of yourself to these stories, let it become a part of you, then become forced to tear it out of your heart just to be Good. And when I say that I don't mean in that internet point "I'm a good person way" but the way of being Good with yourself, proving only to yourself.

And it doesn't help that plenty of us have devolved into humanity's good old passtime of tribalism, mockery, and a lack of empathy for The Other. Everyone's been taking the piss out of the other gacha players for the stuff their games pull as if their own games haven't done the same. Some of it might be in good nature, over exaggerated and self-deprecating, a joke or criticism, but its honestly become indistinguishable from genuine malice and contempt.

And...

I'm tired.

Tired of seeing this. Tired of dealing with it. Tired of wondering what to do, what's the best choice, what choice even is there.

Part of me is honestly tempted to just not care. To accept that I'm a bad person by playing these games and going through with it anyways because I'm so tired and cynical that hedonistic indulgence just becomes more worth it than trying to be good. At most accept a Gacha-game that's a 'Lesser Evil' compared to another, if that even counts.

Because it hurts. Because you let these stories change you, touch you, let them into your heart, and then have to tear it out with your own two hands and pretend it doesn't hurt. And you can't feel like you can mourn what you lost, because someone will come in and start raving about how it's dumb you even cared to begin with.

I've seen arguments for every option, from people I don't respect and people I do, strangers and prominent community figures. I've warred with the argument of "Morally Pure Media doesn't exist, don't beat yourself up over it" and wonder just how absolute that statement should be.

And I don't know.

And all I want is to go to sleep, and wake up and have it magically be better.

[fremiinetistic]

Might need to hear about the Kaveh and fremi being brothers thing ngl you can't give me that and let me go crazy

I've been waiting for an excuse for this paragraph to move up on the list Here is why I believe Freminet and Kaveh are brothers Kaveh's mother, Faranak visited Fontaine Kaveh enrolled in the Akademiya to help " ease her soul a little" from his fathers death, eventually she was offered a job there which led to her moving there. Sometime after Kaveh's graduation she had a wedding in which he attended "she wrote that she had found someone to whom she could entrust the rest of her life, and as such was going to remarry in Fontaine. It was this news that she would, with great trepidation and expectation, relate to her only relative." "Kaveh wrote back and congratulated her, and would even go to Fontaine to take part in the wedding. It was a simple affair, and only a few guests were present. Seeing his mother smile once more" After the wedding it's said that "his mother would leave all her property in Sumeru to him. Three days later, he would return to Sumeru, and once again felt the terror of the empty home" meaning she decided to move their permanently and after a while he lost contact with her. It doesn't really make sense that she wouldn't contact him again seeing as she cared for Kaveh dearly, its said that in a mistake where Kaveh as a child drew his first blueprint and put it in a pile with hers and she ended up accidentally giving it to a client instead of being mad she taught him how to make a proper one. "She didn't scold me about it in private, though. Instead, she went over all the steps required to draw a good blueprint, and was very patient throughout the whole process. I still remember it like it was yesterday." It does however make sense if you connect Freminet's lore to it Freminet was born to an unnamed mother and an unnamed father in Fleuve Cendre, a region in Fontaine. It is said that his father had a major debt and left his mother sometime after they married to deal with it. "Freminet never met his own father, but he heard from his mother that the man was knee-deep in debt. He had little idea what all these numbers meant, and they were as hard for the little boy to conceive as a dinner in the Palais Mermonia. " The debt lead to Freminet being given away and her being killed when he was a young child. ""Father" told Freminet that his mother hadn't abandoned him, but on the contrary, had acted to protect him...

That year, the debt that his family owed finally reached the point where they would no longer be able to repay it. Those greedy moneylenders had not only forced Freminet's mother to hand over the house that they lived in, but had also demanded that she hand over Freminet as well. But she was his mother — how could she let this happen? In the end, she had no choice but to entrust Freminet to "that orphanage" — somewhere they could never get at him — and then face them alone.

"This was all I found. As for your mother..." As she looked at the young boy in front of her, still gripping the pendant tightly in his hands, "Father" trailed off and left the ensuing silence to speak for her."

It makes sense she would drop contact if she /had/ no choice. It is said his mother "worked from dawn till dusk, day in day out." which left him alone most of the time, and wouldn't give her a lot of time to send a letter to Kaveh. Especially because she ended up dying. A question that someone could ask is "Why wouldn't she tell Kaveh that she was going to be killed?" Well not only did she still work constantly before her eventual death but also she wouldn't want to burden her son with the knowledge that his mother whom he had lost contact with years before had died, ignorance is bliss I suppose. Other things would be "and seeing Freminet's innocent face light up with pure joy, a rare smile broke out on his mother's, too." Kaveh's character story 2 says this about his mom: "after his passing, she would never again smile." They both have robotic companions "..Pers? No, Pers is more like family to me. We grew up together... No, I'm serious. I'm always tinkering with it to add more functionality... " "Page 115: Suitcase design draft. Postscript: "Mehrak is an ancient word, one I have used as the name for this suitcase. It means 'little light.' More than anything, I hope it really can understand what I'm saying.""

Their mother both played an important role in their current job (semi job for Freminet he doesn't really.. get paid its more of his role) "One day, when his mother returned home, she suddenly heard a strange noise that stopped her in her tracks. It was the sound of their clock, which Freminet had unwittingly fixed, ticking away almost as if to celebrate the new lease on life he had given it. She caressed his head and praised him, filling his heart with joy. But when he woke up the following morning, the clock was nowhere to be found. When his mother came home that evening, she brought him two slices of a type of bread he'd never had before. He still remembers the taste to this day. From that day forth, his mother brought back all kinds of different devices for him — everything from clockwork toys to miniature clocks. Freminet liked his new friends a lot, and would spend a long time "waking" them from their slumber, even though they always vanished the following day."

"while his mother had graduated from Kshahrewar, and much as he would become later in life, she too was a famous architect. Influenced by them, Kaveh was interested in architectural design from a young age. They would sit in the living room as he sat at home playing with the block puzzles they had bought for him." " "Oh, and this blueprint... Haha, I made it by copying my mother's sketch, and the aspect ratio was horrendous. It's still technically the first blueprint I made myself, though." " Also they're both known for their engineering/mechanics which is a given because of their jobs/hobbies.

Both their visions are on the same hip

Both of their constellations are birds that represent them

Their descriptions are similar

+ Also similar

they both are considered sensitive

[xoxoemynn]

Fan Fic Friday!

I'm finally getting in the headspace to be able to read and enjoy fic and oh boy have I been enjoying it! Sharing a few that I've enjoyed reading this past week. For simplicity's sake I'm focusing just on completed works.

People Are Just People (Like You) by @trans-top-stede and @nonplayer-character (plus art!!) Holy shit. Holy shit. This story is stunning. This 24K fic (that also includes some wonderful art) shows Ed struggling to re-enter the world after the COVID lockdowns, all while drawing solace listening to a radio show for aliens. (Hmmm, wonder who could be hosting that?) There is pure, raw emotion baked into each and every word. The loneliness, the feeling of knowing it SHOULD be so easy to just do what you once did so easily but now it's HARD, the desperation, the hope, all while Ed just keeps trying. By the end I was weeping and just feeling in awe of all the little ways humans are simply there for each other, time and time again. I found this work deeply relatable, and I'm sure many others on here will as well. It's an absolute masterpiece and I can't stop thinking about it.

Red Skies at Night by @soupbtch Oh, this is a FUN one, even if I was literally screaming at my laptop for chapter upon chapter because OH MY GOD I KNOW I SAID I LOVE A SLOW BURN BUT WHY MUST THEY BURN SO SLOWLY WHY CAN'T THEY JUST KISS?!?!?! Anyway. Stede's a perfectly bitchy cruise critic, Ed's performing on said cruise ship, sparks fly. This 64K fic is the perfect blend of humor and tension and heartache and of course, a lot of romance. And some great sex. Danny did such a great job using beats from both S1 and S2 to tell a really beautiful story that had me grinning ear to ear nearly the entire time. (Again, nearly, because I also did a lot of screaming.) Absolutely fantastic.

True to Life by @ipomoea-batatas This summary ("Ed and Stede accidentally open an inn for ghosts") had me sold immediately. It's fluffy domestic fic. And a ghost. But not like a ghost that's going to be terrifying and murder you in your sleep, so don't worry if that's not your jam. Just a ghost with a backstory. This fic 28K is SO much fun, filled with impeccable banter that feels like Taika and Rhys just got set loose and were allowed to do whatever they wanted. A bit of a mystery, a bit of cozy domesticity, a lot of fun. Highly recommend.

Flotsam and Jetsam by @/anathxmadevice Looking for a quick read? This one's a little over 5K and is so absurdly lovely. Don't be fooled by the short word count; there are some Big Feels in this fic. Stede's a beachcomber, and Ed runs a pub, and naturally Ed is immediately charmed by Stede's excitement at finding some funky shells. I don't want to give away the ending, but suffice to say it basically left me the human embodiment of this emoji: 🥹. Just a beautiful little bite-sized fic. And there's also a podfic!

Pete & Prejudice by @shieldmaidenofmithrilhall Okay, here's something a little different! All of the above are Ed x Stede, but here's an absolutely charming 14K story about Lucius and Pete! (Although there are some truly adorable Ed x Stede moments in it as well.) Pete and Lucius are dating and everything is amazing, except once a year Pete disappears for "a thing," and now Lucius is determined to find out what it is. I can't say much more without spoiling it, but I will say I started smiling in the very first paragraph and by the time I was done my grin had basically reached my eyebrows. Absolutely perfect characterization, so sweet, so romantic, and some moments that literally made me laugh out loud. Be prepared to fall even more deeply in love with Pete.

[dandylovesturtles]

Whats Draxum’s redemption arc in sideline look like (if he even gets one lmaooo)

thanks for the ask! this got long so I'm putting a lot of it under a cut

at this point, I have committed to Draxum's redemption arc in Sidelined, because I like Draxum and I love a good redemption arc haha. That said, as I've said a few times before, it wouldn't be easy for him, and it definitely wouldn't go down like in the show, where Mikey just kind of drags him into it. he'd have to work for it himself

it's probably good to start this by talking about my own interpretation of Draxum and the Draxum characterization I'm working with in this AU. while I love a good Evil Bastard Draxum, in canon I read him as more of one of those people who truly believed he was the hero so hard he tipped over into villainy on accident. which doesn't mean he didn't enjoy what he was doing, and he's definitely uncaring of the lives around him (he's got some of that mad scientist spark), but in contrast to the Foot Clan who are actively trying to subjugate the whole world (presumably under the belief that they'll get to be the top brass in the new world order), Draxum is actually just trying to save his people. a noble end, even if the means he's choosing involves eradicating another race of beings entirely. and I'm generally of the belief that if Draxum had actually kept the turtles, if he had been in charge of their raising, he might have initially started out thinking of them purely as warriors to be molded for his aims, but eventually would have come to see them as their own people, as children (yes, it's entirely possible to raise children and still have disregard for them as people, but I'm giving Draxum the benefit of the doubt in this one).

however, Draxum didn't raise them from babies - they just showed up at his house one day, raising weapons against him and blowing up his lab. so he's still thinking of them purely as warriors - young and inexperienced warriors, sure, but warriors nonetheless. he's not really thinking about how they're only teenagers, about how they might have dreams and wants and needs that have nothing to do with fighting, how they actually love and care for each other as a family. I said this in another ask, but Draxum thinks the idea of them calling each other "brothers" and Lou Jitsu "father" is actually laughable. in his mind, it's just pointless to even read any kind of family structure into their relationship. they are at most superiors and subordinates.

when Draxum put Leo in the Dark Armor, Splinter saw it as his fourteen-year-old son, his Baby Blue, being tortured and possibly killed right before his eyes. Draxum saw it as sacrificing a pawn in front of a general.

of course, callous disregard for a living person is bad no matter how you see it, but there's still a definite difference in perception here.

it's not until 1, Draxum realizes he was horribly wrong about what the Armor is and what the consequences of awakening it are, and 2, he witnesses the way the family reacts to what is happening to Leo, not as group of warriors down a man but as a family desperately trying to save a loved one, a piece of themselves, that it finally clicks for him what he's done.

Draxum goes on a long soul-searching retreat after that (he's also hiding from the Hidden City government but that's a side note). how could the love he had for his people drive him down such a dark and reckless path? how could he not see what was right in front of him, until he caused serious damage to the place he was trying so hard to save? how could he be so callous to someone who, annoying as he may be, is ultimately innocent?

initially he does this soul-searching far away from the Hamatos. he still has his powers in this timeline, so he makes do with stealing and finding places to take over and live. but at some point he starts thinking, maybe he wants to try and make amends for what he did, even if it's in just a small way. and even with his humbling he's still a little full of himself, so he's like, of course this ragtag bunch would want the help of Baron Draxum

(they do not)

so he starts by trying to give them practical help. he can imagine that Leonardo has significant medical issues following his time in the armor, and while it's not his primary field he knows enough about healing draughts to get by, and while there's no magic potion that will "fix" Leo, there are ones that can help with the pain and fatigue, in some ways better than human medicines, and that can help strengthen his immune system. He tries to give these to the Hamatos (specifically Mikey and Donnie while they're out scavenging one day) and gets pretty soundly rebuffed. Donnie is in "kill on sight" mode, and while Mikey is more likely to at least hear Draxum out, he also has no reason to trust anything the man gives them, especially when he suggests they feed it to Leo. so they don't take the offerings initially. Draxum eventually settles for leaving them in a cache near one of the sewer tunnel entrances, if they want it.

and then Leo gets really sick, and is in a lot of pain. Leo's immune system, like everything else about his body, is pretty weak following the armor, and he can't fight off the flu or an infection as well as he could before. so Leo is sick and in pain and Donnie and Mikey remember the cache of healing potions.

(I actually considered writing this fic awhile back and then never did haha, but here's what I had in my notes for it:

Splinter kneels on the side of the bed. "I'm sorry, Blue. We'll get you more medicine soon."

Leo reaches one hand out and Splinter takes it quickly. "Daddy," he whines, tears starting to roll down his cheeks, and oh, Donnie realizes, Leo really is hurting.

He quietly and casually deletes the last ten minutes of audio in his recordings. No one else needs to hear this.)

again, they aren't stupid - they aren't just going to feed Leo some random potions given to them by the guy that hurt him in the first place. but they can go find out if the potions are legit. so time for a trip to Witch Town!

they probably have some kind of misadventure while they're there (I'm imagining Mikey is joining Donnie and April this time), but they do manage to ascertain that the potions are legit. still, they end up getting the same potions made by someone else instead, just in case. but they remember that Draxum did try to help them, that time.

I imagine this happens several times, where Draxum just shows up to help them, they tell him to get lost after, before it starts to sink in that maybe Draxum is actually trying to turn things around. I don't think it ever quite gets to "Mikey calling him their second dad" level, but they do start to accept him as a begrudging ally and eventual weird uncle.

he has to seriously and sincerely apologize to Leo first, though. and Leo doesn't want to forgive him at first, and that's okay. these things take time.

anyway that's all. thanks for the ask again!

[arizonaconservativegal]

Do you hate the left because of wokeness and/or government ineffieciency? What can you say against the Biden Administration? Why should anyone listen to you?

I don't hate the left. I disagree with the left on most things. There's a very big difference.

Very much not a fan of government ineffectiveness and inefficiency. Spent four years working inside the system and saw firsthand how much it screws over the people it's supposed to help. I have a very hard time seeing how I'm supposed to support a system like that. 'Wokeness' is just annoying for the most part, except where it contributes to the ineffectiveness and inefficiency.

Biden's admin has been largely ineffective or downright damaging on pretty much everything I care about and has made us a joke on the world stage and they think they can distract us with shiny meaningless things like flying the lgbt flag outside the White House. Not sure what that accomplished but I wasn't distracted.

Listen to me for the same reason you'd listen to anyone with an opinion that isn't yours - to understand what the other side is thinking, to spot and fix the pitfalls in your own ideas before they become a downfall, and to understand yourself better. I read and listen to things I disagree with all the time. I've completely changed my mind a few times because of it and I've shifted my thinking a lot of times. Even if I eventually reach the same conclusion I had at the start, it's good to come at the problem from a different angle and consider new information and work it through my core beliefs to see if my conclusion holds up. It's like one of those math problems you can solve multiple ways to check yourself - if I get a different answer, I probably need to check again.

And if you do agree with me, well, I guess listen for the occasional bit of insider knowledge or just pure entertainment. Or don't. I don't really care that much. I just would like it if you stopped saying stupid shit that makes the rest of look like fools.

[genericpuff]

Idk if my addition will matter.

I've been following Hanza since back when they were making my deepest secret, so I've seen the development of the guy upstairs first hand and how hanza writes it. Even back in the concept stages, it was so blatantly clear that it was supposed to be a thriller/cat mouse vibe where Adam (killer) was horrible and not to be rooted for. They've compared him to irl serial killers and how those guys will often use women as shields to hide their true selves from the public and how that's messed up and bad to do.

They've shown Adam as a horrible irredeemable person and honestly there's little to no nuance with how they handle it, but that makes sense because how else can you handle an audience like what they've gotten without beating them over the head with the facts. How many ways can you outright show your main character despising and wanting to yank their best friend out of the jaws of a murderer before the audience realizes its not foreplay.

I think them going from an actual romance to a fully thriller non romantic story meant that the residual audience expected some kind of messy toxic romance, but Rozy to me has always explicitly read as Queer so idk why people aren't getting the hint.

I get their frustration and it seems like they might be shifting into a potiential issekai romance about a grandad and a middle aged woman who got reincarnated as his grandson's fiance (hard to explain but its hilarious if you want to check it out) without any thriller elements from their recent non comic posts. Whatever they do I hope they can find something to be passionate about again.

your addition VERY MUCH MATTERS actually because I don't read TGU and have very little context to the situation as a whole aside from what I've seen people talking about, which makes me reluctant to speak on it because I don't wanna go spreading misinformation in any regard. So I appreciate you taking the time to lay it all out for me, thank you!!! <3

And yeah, I've seen posts shared in the /r/webtoons sub from other blogs claiming that Hanza was being an awful person for "taking people's money" and "baiting them" into reading a dark romance story when that's very obviously not what it is? Even one excerpt that was literally like-

And I just... since when is any romance plotline that ISN'T abusive and problematic at its core (such as between a serial killer and a victim) considered "super conservative" and "pure"? It's really baffling to me how people have gone so far in the opposite direction of "purity culture" that they've started arguing on behalf of legitimately harmful and toxic relationships. It's extremely concerning especially when you know the majority of people saying this shit are between the ages of 16-21. IDK what the fuck we're doing anymore when it comes to the romance genre (and TGU isn't even a romance ffs).

Aaaand yeah in relation to where the Hanza topic came up, that's really why I'm moving away from WT as an audience and why I don't consider it a "loss" to not use WT anymore. Once upon a time I wished for Time Gate to be a contracted series, for it to have thousands of readers and be my job. But seeing what's going on with Hanza's work just informs me that I'd be dealing with a lot of the same shit - people expecting Uzuki and Mitsuhiro to be the endgame of the romance when they're literally NOT good for each other, which is the POINT. Like sure, unlike the main duo in TGU, they actually are a couple with a 'relationship' but it's not meant to be healthy and the last thing I need are 15 year olds thinking they're "couple goals". If you ship them in fanfic or w/e the fuck that's fine but please don't get mad at me when they don't wind up being the endgame couple, they're both terrible people and make each other worse when they're around each other (・_・;)

Either way yeah, I don't blame Hanza in the slightest for getting so frustrated with it all that they'd rather just be done with it. It sucks for the more loyal and sane part of their audience that the series is gonna be ripped out from under them like that, but at the end of the day if the creator is being harassed and decide they're done as a result of it... why should they have to keep putting up with bullshit just for a comic? I don't even blame Rachel if she was ending LO by choice due to the noise of the fandom, and unlike Rachel, I don't have anything in the slightest against Hanza or their work LOL But I also don't have the full picture on it all so maybe my opinion will change if I find out more about it. I just don't think any of this shit is worth directly harassing a human being over.

That said, can't get any better than someone who's read their work since before TGU, so again, thank you !

[thestrangesthell]

Afterlife Jobs and Civil Service

Seen a few theories and "plot hole" accusations flying around after Beetlejuice Beetlejuice and thought I'd add my own hypothesis on what the deal is with jobs in the afterlife.

This will contain spoilers for Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.

TW: This post will discuss suicide. Please only proceed if you are comfortable.

The short version: I think (for the most part) jobs are a choice and available to those who need to hang around due to unfinished business (even if they themselves don't know what that is). I think those who commit suicide do have to work for some time as it wasn't their time to die yet. They can't just board the soul train and move on to better plains. Instead, (and though rather sour in the mouth), they're met with the shock that it isn't over. This is Beetlejuice, after all. Death and life is hard.

Now, for the long version (and it really is long), read on!

Despite the fact I do personally think it's canon that those who commit suicide end up having to work (at least for a while) in the afterlife, we can't believe that purely because Otho said so. Firstly, the guy is living, pompous and has zero evidence for that statement. Secondly, he's not a credible source. He may have been "one of New York City's leading paranormal researchers until the bottom dropped out in '72," but his interest in anything can be boiled down to obsession with image and aesthetic more than a desire to get into the nitty gritty.

What we as the audience do see is people working in the afterlife that could have died by suicide.

There's the Road Kill man ("Thanks, I've been feeling a little flat!"), Juno (*who I will come back to) and most obviously, Miss Argentina. These people are working and likely (if not outright confirmed) died by suicide.

It's a weird thing to pick up on, but what about the skeleton workers?

Besides being a great visual gag, there's not really a clear indication of death by suicide here. We could, of course, suggest they died this way and have since been "worked to the bone" - as this is the Beetlejuice franchise after all, and lord knows pun-based humour is...well, pun-damental - but no other ghosts seem to have permanent alterations to their state. In the Beetlejuice universe, once you're dead, you're stuck that way. (Unless you get your soul sucked that is).

Well, that clears things up, right?

Maybe not.

For a long time, a lot of us in the fandom accepted the whole "in the afterlife they become civil servants" thing because, well, that was what we were told. But with the recent instalment of Beetlejuice Beetlejuice this is now dubious.

Why?

Betelgeuse himself.

Betelgeuse was largely assumed by many to have died by suicide. Various headcanons over the years include strangulation, hanging, poison, drowning, electrocuting himself - the list truly goes on. part of his charm is the mystery. But with the sequel, it is suggested that he died by poison from another. Delores.

Why is this an issue?

Well, if Betelgeuse didn't commit suicide, why was he Juno's assistant?

I have two theories for that.

Firstly, in line with this entire post - he died after Delores poisoned him and then chose to work up from the bottom to become Juno's assistant. He claims himself that his heart was pretty much blackened before he met Delores, so what's to stop him from wanting to take over in the afterlife after finding himself there ahead of his time? He probably feels robbed of life and hella opportunistic. It would support the theory of unfinished business and explain the random jobs we see him doing in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. From Guide to working Immigration, man's got one hell of a resume.

Then there's my second theory, which muddies the waters quite a bit.

We didn't actually see him die after he was poisoned.

I'll let that fester for a bit...

Ready to move on?

Let's talk about *Juno!

Juno, my beloved.

Despite recent questions surrounding her cause of death, I do personally feel the cut on Juno's throat was self-imposed. The issue fans have with how deep the cut is can be answered fairly reasonable. This is more practical rather than an effort for believability. Beetlejuice is high camp and smoke pouring from the throat of a ghost only adds to its ridiculousness. Plus, it helps back up my theory that those who commit suicide are required to do some type of work in the afterlife to make up for their shortened time on earth.

The reason I believe this is that Juno seems to really hate her job - or at least hate the crap that comes with it. If she had chosen to be a caseworker, (or been given a job similar to what she did when living), we'd perhaps see her be a little more understanding to everything that was going on. Instead, she's burdened by her paperwork, sick of having to deal with issues from baby ghosts and their "routine hauntings," and the poor woman is constantly haunted by the knowledge that Betelgeuse is out there.

(While we don't know their history, we do know that Betelgeuse ended up with a bit of a liking for Bio-exorcisms. I don't think she believes him evil any more than she considers him a nuisance, so we can only assume he got caught up in trouble that threatened Juno's line of work, leading to him getting fired.)

The real reason I can suggest that jobs are largely a choice are the recent additions to the Beetlejuice universe. I'm talking about Richard, Wolf Jackson, the Shrinkers, the Janitor and all of Wolf Jackson's squad, (plus a handful of others). They all have jobs, with some having more legitimate jobs than others.

This is where my theory really comes into play.

I think all of the above characters (possible with the exception of the Shrinkers) chose their jobs. Why? They have unfinished business - just as Barbara and Adam had unfinished business in Beetlejuice.

(Of course "they found a loophole and moved on" but this is more-so to explain their necessary absence in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice. From a lore perspective, they could very well still be haunting the house for another 89 years. I (like many others now) believe the loophole was unfinished business. They had the family (Lydia) that they wanted all along and when she moved on with her life, they felt complete. Next stop: The Soul Train and The Great Beyond.)

When looking at these new characters, here's what I theorise for each of them:

Richard - Unfinished business: a family reunion. Richard died in the Amazon, away from Astrid and likely didn't get a proper goodbye. After saving her, thus seeing her once more, he could move on. It's possible too that he's not going to move on after Beetlejuice Beetlejuice due to waiting on more family to see again. But we don't know that, so I'll keep it short.

Wolf Jackson - Unfinished business: "keeping it real." Wolf Jackson seems slightly in denial about his situation. Janet has to continuously remind him that he in an actor because he gets too into the bit he's currently doing. I think the man gets completely convinced he is a spy/detective/investigator/whatever it is he is hyper-fixated on becoming. He's method, dedicated to his craft and won't move on until he feels he has fulfilled every cast-type possible for his range. He's gunning for a Gross-cer.

Wolf Jackson's squad (including Janet) - Unfinished business: supporting cast. Judging by how useless they all are, I'd hedge bets that they are actors too, waiting for their "big break" or recognition to feel satisfied with life (or death). In the Toonverse, celebrities are canon. If these universes are more aligned than previously thought, this could be a possibility.

The Shrinkers - Unfinished business: think big. These poor sods got on the wrong side of a witch doctor (although I really do think a certain B-man is to blame for this). We saw what happened when the portal to the living world opened. Those suckers saw a bid for freedom and went for it. I'd wager that they're somewhat forced to work for Betelgeuse. Maybe he's promised them 'head' (not that kind) if they do his dirty work. After all, he got his head back to normal size. Who's to say he hasn't promised them the same if they work for him? (Let's hope they read the fine print in that contract).

The Janitor - Unfinished business: a taste for revenge. To be honest, I think this guy either died by suicide or totally on accident. Either way, it was from ingesting something toxic. He's got a hankering for bleach and chemicals, who's to say this was just in death? I think he was content working in the afterlife, consuming these deadly toxins with zero repercussions.

Much of the same can be said for the Dry Cleaner. People need their clothes cleaned, he was good at it in life. Why not carry on if you're not ready to go?

Speaking of ready to go...

All aboard The Soul Train!

Another key point in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice is that (aside from Astrid, who was semi-forced to board), The Soul Train is something you board when you're ready to depart. Maybe some people are forced here and there, as there are guards stationed, but we are also reassured that Hell is an option for those who do truly fucked up shit.

(It's worth noting also that The Soul Train has other stops. The Pearly Gates, Elysium and another stop (my memory fails), all of which were DELAYED. Time works differently in the afterlife; maybe some people get jobs because the wait is truly an eternity.)

WOW, you made far! Congratulations for enduring my ramblings, here's a beetle for your trouble 🪲

After all that, here's what we do know:

If you died within a certain radius of your home, you're left to haunt it for 125 years.

If you died by suicide (and if Otho is correct), you have to work for an unspecified amount of time as a civil servant in the afterlife.

If you died via a horrific accident (Wolf Jackson, Janet and Richard), jobs are there for you and you don't even need the credentials to back up your experience.

You cannot leave the afterlife unless you are confirmed "dead dead", board the soul train, attempt to swap souls with a living person or get sent to Hell.

In summary:

Jobs are available in the afterlife. There's no expectation to "work" but there's not much else to do. If you're not ready to leave the afterlife, (perhaps you're still processing death, waiting for loved ones to meet you on the other side or even enjoying the weird and wonderful atmosphere), why not get a job?

Well...unless you're forced into one by a horny poltergeist. But that's a whole other post.

But hey, what do I know? I'm only living.

[jadeylovesmarvelxo]

This Kiss

Reader has never been kissed and she's looking for candidates at a party but Eddie rejects them all and scares them off even before they're talking with the reader. After the party, he shyly announces his candidacy for her first kiss @saramelaniemoon ���

Warnings; Reader is over 18, Fluff, protective Eddie, slightly jealous Eddie, friends to lovers.

I don't give anyone permission to copy my work.

If you enjoyed this then please consider giving it a reblog it is much appreciated 💖

💖

Telling Eddie her biggest secret was nerve-wracking. She knew he would never judge her, and he would be so supportive but she was still anxious.

"Sweetheart? What's the big secret? I'm thinking all sorts here" shit! now he looks worried so she just comes right out with it.

"I've never been kissed and I would like for it to happen" he states at her stunned.

"Never?" he gapes and she nods feeling flustered which he notices straight away.

"Never" she confirms.

"So you want to kiss the right guy, I'll help you find the right guy. He will have to be someone incredible though to be good enough for my princess"

His princess... she tries to ignore the butterflies in her stomach but it's hard because Eddie was so handsome and sweet to her.

They had just recently became really close friends and she didn't want to jeopardize anything by admitting she felt... more than friendly feelings for him.

What if he didn't feel the same and he was just being kind? She didn't want to take that risk, the embarrassment of being rejected, and then trying to pretend that it didn't hurt so she could still have Eddie in her life.

"Well, there's the party that Chrissy is throwing tomorrow. We could go to that? Scope up any candidates" she suggests and he nods.

"It's a date! Uh... I mean not a date like that" she stammers and inwardly curses herself for being so awkward around him.

He smiles though and squeezes her hand to let her know that he gets it.

"Tomorrow it is"

💖💖

Chrissy's party was one of the biggest of the year and since her parents, were away on a business trip everyone was attending.

It was also the party after graduation so it was anticipated by everyone and Chrissy had invited her and Eddie.

It was her first big party and she was excited.

At first, it was a little stifling, so many people crammed inside and out, the loud music blaring in her ears but she was determined to stick it out.

She had a reason for being here after all.

Operation First Kiss, yeah it was a kinda dorky name but this was just between her and Eddie who was staying close to her and handed her a beer.

"Okay, so candidates?" she prompted Eddie and tried to not notice how hot he looked in his leather jacket, black shirt, and black jeans.

Eddie wasn't very forthcoming so she looked around the room while sipping her beer.

"Okay, how about David, cute, nerdy guy? Standing over there beside Nancy. Think he works with her on the school paper" Eddie gives the guy a once over and shakes his head.

"Nope" she stares at him amused.

"Why not?" he shrugs and proceeds to drink his beer. Yeah, valid argument there Eddie.

She grins as she spots Jason and purely to wind Eddie up she points to him.

"I guess Carver is like a definite no then?" he almost chokes on the beer and glares at her and she looks back at him with a perfectly innocent expression.

"Oh ha ha" he murmurs sarcastically and she cuddles into him just for a second.

"I'm only teasing Eddie. I would never, he's a douchenozzle" Eddie snorts and whispers around his breath.

"Douchenozzle" he looks proud, he should be he's the one who taught her it.

They are so lost in their laughter that she doesn't notice one of the basketball players sidle up to her looking very interested.

"Hey?" he gets her attention and she smiles at him. His name was Danny and she knew he was very nice, Lucas liked him a lot.

"Hi"

"Are you enjoying the party?" he asks her and she shrugs.

"I'm not really one for parties but Chrissy invited us and she's really lovely so I thought why not?" at the mention of us he looks over to Eddie and pales.

She isn't sure why until she turns to Eddie and notices that his eyes are flashing dangerously and he does not look happy.

"Oh, I think I hear one of my friends calling me, got to go" Danny scurries off and she rounds on Eddie whose dark expression immediately soften. Now he's the one trying to look innocent.

"Eddie! What was that? We are trying to scope out potential candidates. Not scare them away. Danny is nice, Lucas likes him and says he's not a jerk like Jason"

Eddie gives her one of those heart-melting grins of his-all dimples and she sighs.

"Sorry sweetheart. You know how protective I am of you and I just want you to find a good guy"

Okay, she agrees and it was sweet of him to want her to find the perfect guy. Now it was on to the next one.

💖💖

Out of five other candidates she had found Eddie liked precisely none of them.

"He's far too into himself princess," he said about one of her picks.

The other was "A total butthead"

Even when she mentioned that maybe Gareth could be an option and worth considering as he was Eddie's best friend and all and was a great guy, Eddie swore and shook his head.

"No way, absolutely not princess" she is beyond exasperated by now.

"He's your best friend. You like him, what's wrong with him?"

"Nothing but it's still a no sweetheart" she huffs and Eddie offers to get her another beer when she sees Steve join the party with Robin and she has an eureka moment.

"I've got it," she says excitedly as Eddie comes back. He looks at her wary.

"What?"

"Steve, he is kind, handsome, sweet, and surely you have nothing against him right?" she implores and Eddie swallows and stakes his head.

"No, he's a great dude" he murmurs and fiddles with his rings, something she knows he does when he's anxious.

Almost immediately the idea disapatates quick.

"He's still crazy in love with Nancy though and I adore Nancy so that's not the best idea" is it her imagination or does Eddie relax after she says it?

Considering the party a failure she turns to Eddie and pouts.

"Did you make any more of that amazing mac and cheese Eds? This party is a bust and I'd rather be relaxing at yours" he brightens.

"Lead the way milady"

💖💖

Once they are back at his she is a little put out things never went how she thought they would.

"What a let down the party was. All those guys and every one was a fail" well mostly according to Eddie.

"There's still one guy left," Eddie tells her, and she feels her stomach fill with butterflies as his big brown eyes go all soft and he looks so shy which was a rarity.

"I'd like to put forth my candidacy"

Her jaw drops because she didn't expect this but then it suddenly clicks into place why he was so protective, how no one was good enough.

The only guy he wanted kissing her was himself. The butterflies intensify and she takes his hand.

"Eddie.. why didn't you say before?" she asks softly and he touches her cheek.

"I've always thought your were incredible. Beautiful. I like you a lot sweetheart, I've fallen for you hard"

"Oh, Eddie, I've been falling for you too. I wish you had said something sooner, would have saved us both a lot of pining" he grins.

"Yeah no shit" he teases and then he moves closer as does she and before she knows it they are kissing.

It's slow at first and very gentle. Tender, Eddie wraps his arms around her and holds her close.

They break away both grinning goofily. It was her first kiss and the first of millions more to come with Eddie.

💖💞

[rollinouttahere-writes]

In the Au where one of the Admirals is Lullaby's bio father, they decide to take their daughter and raise her to be a marine. Garp is getting the popcorn to watch the show

I've briefly touched upon Akainu as a father candidate before, but in short: he wants nothing to do with Lullaby. He's very much upset with himself for sleeping with Rosy and is not happy when she tells him that she's pregnant. The money that he sends her during the pregnancy is more so hush money than child support. He was so openly disinterested in the baby that Rosy didn't even bother giving him updates or sending a picture after she was born. Akainu didn't even know if the baby was a boy or girl. When Rosy abruptly vanished and was assumed dead along with her baby, he was frankly relieved. Now he doesn't need to worry about the scandal coming to light.

Occasionally, what is left of his conscience will make him think about his presumably dead child and what could have been under more ideal circumstances, but he's quick to dismiss those feelings. He isn't delusional enough to kid himself into thinking that he would have been a good father.

Borsalino is the complete opposite. He is openly happy about the development. At his age, he had come to accept that having a family probably wasn't going to happen, so it was a very pleasant surprise when Rosy reached out to him with the news that he was going to be a father. He was eager about having a child and had a nursery set up and everything.

He was trying really hard to talk Rosy into quitting her job as an escort and staying with him as a stay at home mom essentially. He really wasn't trying to control her with this, his motive was purely for the safety of her and their baby. His position as Admiral gives him a lot of privileges and access to resources to make sure that his family is safe, but that only works if they are actually under his care. Having an Admiral's child paints a massive target on her back, and he's worried about her and the baby getting hurt as retaliation. Which is what he assumes happened when she disappears without a trace. He can't bring himself to get rid of the baby supplies in the nursery, but he can't stand to look at it either. The room is locked, and he hasn't gone inside it in years.

While I do see Borsalino encouraging his children to become marines, he would ultimately let them do what they want so long as they stay away from piracy. He'll sulk and say that they're "breaking their old man's heart", but he doesn't actually care. If his kid is happy, he's happy.

Aokiji has some reservations about being suddenly thrust into fatherhood at first, but it grows on him. Maybe it'll be fun to have a kid of his own running around and to have a napping buddy? He even gets one of those baby seats to put on the back of his bike and a tiny matching sleep mask.

Him and Rosy's relationship was kind of messy towards the end. They were arguing a lot over custody arrangements because both of them wanted to have primary custody. Aokiji assumed he would have it because of Rosy's line of work. She's going to have to leave the baby with someone while she's with clients, so it makes sense for him to have the baby during that. When Rosy vanished, he wasn't immediately concerned because he thought she was just ignoring him after their latest disagreement, though he got more and more anxious as her silence persisted and apparently her own sisters couldn't even find her. Like Borsalino, he assumes she and the baby were likely killed by someone who wanted to get back at him. He throws the baby supplies he had into his attic and tries his best to forget about it.

Aokiji won't force his kids to be marines for one simple reason: he trained under Garp and has heard extensively about how poorly it goes when you try to force your family into being marines. He learns from Garp's mistakes and doesn't make any attempt whatsoever to influence his children's decisions on what they want to do with their lives.