#best fic of the year tbh

[luxaofhesperides]

"I see you, and I love you" + hurt/comfort ; requested by @oops-i-dropped-the-galaxy!

Danny can handle being a halfa. He’s had years to get used to it, switching between dead and alive, living boy and ghost, always living in flux. He’s settled into his identity as one of the few halfas in existence, navigating the living world and the Infinite Realms with ease after years of practice.

What he can’t handle is becoming an Ancient.

Apparently, while most Ancients are born into the role, ruling over their domain, some can grow into it. It’s rare, practically unheard of, but not impossible.

Danny is growing into the Ancient of Stars, changed from the inside out by his love of space. 

He would be happy if it didn’t hurt so much.

Danny can’t sleep at night anymore. When the stars are out, he can hear them singing, each windchime voice echoing through his ears. Though he can’t see them from beneath Gotham’s cloud cover, he can feel them shining brightly far above him. 

He lays in bed with Duke, curled up in his side, trying to muffle his whimpers as his bones creak and hollow, his soul growing too large for his body to handle. He is space contained in a human body. It wants to be free, to stretch from its suffocating confines and fill every dark space with cold light. His skin feels too tight and his teeth ache. 

All Danny can do is clench his jaw, wrap his arms around his stomach as tightly as he can, and try to weather through the pain of changing.

The agony of it comes in waves. He doesn’t know how long it takes until it recedes enough for him to feel like he can breathe again, trying to suck air in as his lungs are crushed by his ribcage. Slowly, Danny pushes himself up, taking care not to wake Duke, and stumbles out of bed. His throat is dry and feels as if its been scraped raw by sandpaper, and all he wants is water.

He gets halfway down the hall when the next wave hits.

Danny collapses, gasping for breath, and can only watch through tear-filled eyes as his fingers go dark, the same black as deep space. His body shifts, bones cracking and muscles stretching like taffy, and suddenly he’s big larger than life a galaxy a black hole there is darkness everywhere it is alive it is full of stars the stars are singing the stars are singing the stars are si

“Danny? Hey, sweetheart, are you okay?”

That’s Duke’s voice. He’d recognize it anywhere, even from miles away, even when he’s sure he doesn’t have ears anymore. It takes all his effort to pull himself back to Earth, back into their apartment, blinking up at Duke as the stars in his eyes fade away. 

Duke kneels before him, concern clear on his face, gentle hands reaching out to hold Danny steady. The feel of his warmth grounds him, keeps him more securely in his body. The pull of space is still there, tugging at him, trying to pull him out of humanity and into the form of an Ancient, but Danny can resist it so long as Duke keeps him tethered to the ground.

“It hurts,” he croaks, shivering.

“Shh, I know, baby. How can I help? What do you need?”

Danny leans forward, burying his face in Duke’s chest as tears slip out of his eyes. “It hurts,” he says again, voice shaking. “I keep changing and growing and my entire body is being torn apart and—” he gasps, cutting himself off. “I keep disappearing. I don’t want to disappear. I want to stay here but it takes me away and then I’m too big and no one can see me and I’m alone—”

“You’re not alone, Danny,” Duke says, holding him tightly as if his arms will be enough to keep Danny from breaking out of his own body, ridding himself of a mortal vessel, his only remaining tie to this world. “I see you, and I love you. Even if you have to change and go far away to be happy, I’ll find a way to follow you there, okay? I’m with you for as long as you want me.”

“I don’t want to hurt so much,” Danny whimpers, black fingers speckled with stardust clawing at Duke’s arms. 

“Just breathe through it, sweetheart, you can do it. Let it pass through you. I got you, okay? Just let the pain pass and you’ll be fine.”

He wants to snap at Duke that it’s not fine, that the pain will be forever, it’ll linger in every one of his joints, that he can’t just stop fighting it because it’ll hurt even worse then. But his jaws are aching, his teeth sharpening, and there’s a black hole in his throat that he refuses to let loose. He lets out another pained whine, shivering, and in his chest a star is formed, burning bright and angry.

“Breathe, Danny, breathe,” Duke soothes, rubbing a hand up and down Danny’s back.

It’s habit to relax into his touch. They’ve spent so many nights working through night terrors and injuries, comforting each other through gentle touches. The pain eases a bit, and Danny sighs, frost on his breath. 

“There we go, sweetheart, that’s it. You’re doing just fine.”

Another tear slips down his face, but the ache in his entire body as his growing ghost form tries to escape begins to fade. 

He’s spent so many nights in pain, waiting for the sun to rise to muffle the singing of the stars. If he can get any relief, he’ll take it, even if it means losing his human form.

Danny stops fighting. His resistance to this change falls away. There’s a moment where the pain disappears entirely, the world going still, but before he can let out a relieved sigh, the change hits him like an asteroid, sudden and instant and inevitable.

A cry is ripped from his throat, but it doesn’t sound like him. It echoes, deep and inhuman, and suddenly Danny is every dark space surrounding the stars, the arms of every galaxy, suns burning bright and dying, supernova, cold and ice and the slow drifting of planets in orbit. His body grows, expands, no longer a ghost but an Ancient, body curling into itself to stay within the walls of the too small apartment, large hands cupped around Duke to keep him safe. 

He can feel the cold of space. Orbits dance in his mind. Meteorites and asteroids drift without pattern across his chest. Danny can see everything with too many eyes, and he can cup planets in his palms, so much larger than possibility. His chest opens and expands and his body can curl around Earth and keep it safe. 

He feels settled in this new body, senses stretched in every direction and the universe is so much lovelier than he could have ever experienced it in a halfa’s body. 

Danny, Ancient of the Stars, hums and the universe shivers, singing back to him.

The pain is gone completely. He wonders why he resisted so hard; this is what he’s meant to be. He’s never felt so right before.

“Danny?”

Duke’s voice is small, but only because he is small when compared to Danny in his Ancient form. 

Duke, he tries to say but his vocal chords have changed. Instead of words, a deep hum erupts from his throat, similar to the purr of a particularly large cat. 

“Hey, sweetheart. Feeling better?”

Danny nods, pulling himself back together to feel his body more keenly, no longer stretched across the universe, cradling every star in his reach. Duke reaches a hand up and Danny reaches back, folding himself back into his body. His human eyes return and he realizes the apartment is completely covered in darkness with stars sparkling all around them. It recedes as he fits himself back into his body, the black on his fingers fading away until his hand is indistinguishable from a normal human’s. 

He takes hold of Duke’s hand and tries to stand. His legs are weak and unsteady and he falls onto Duke, who catches him with ease and sweeps him up into a princess carry. 

“There you are, honey,” Duke says, voice warm and relieved. “You alright?”

“Yeah. Yeah, I feel a lot better.”

“Good. Do you need anything? Hot chocolate, heating pad, sleep?”

Danny thinks for a moment, then says, “Hot chocolate.”

“You got it. Let me just set you on the couch and I’ll have it out in a minute.”

He carefully sets Danny onto the couch, then tucks the blanket they keep folded over the back around him. Once he’s satisfied Danny is comfortable, Duke heads to the kitchen, flicking on the light as he does. 

Danny sinks into the couch cushions, carefully moving all his fingers and toes to make sure they’re fine. He’s a little sore, as if all his bones where put through the ringer, but it doesn’t feel any different from when he has a particularly rough training day. 

What’s more important that his physical body is the fact that he can feel his core, settled deep in his chest. It’s no longer the cold of ice, but it burns coldness, a white star embodying his soul, a changed core to reflect his transformation into an Ancient. 

A baby Ancient, technically. He still has some growing to do, but the rest should be easier and, hopefully, less painful.

He closes his eyes and begins to drift off when he hears Duke return. It takes some effort to open his eyes, and his smiles softly and sleepily when he sees Duke set down two steaming mugs of hot chocolate on the coffee table.

“Love you,” he mumbles, freeing a hand from the blanket to try to pull Duke down to join him.

Duke goes to him easily, sitting next to him and pulling Danny in to cuddle against him. It’s been so long since he last felt so comfortable at night, not writhing in pain and biting through his lip to keep quiet, that he can’t help but sink into it. A purr starts up in his chest, and Duke startles.

“Sweetheart, are you purring?”

Danny flushes and tries to hide his face. The purr doesn’t stop. He’s always been able to purr after becoming a halfa, though purr is just an easier way to describe it. It’s less of his vocal chords vibrating and more of his core rumbling in contentment. Usually, it’s unnoticeable, barely able to be felt let alone heard. Apparently, becoming an Ancient and therefore a much stronger ghost means his purrs are also stronger and louder.

“You’re so cute,” Duke says, pressing a kiss against Danny’s forehead. “Drink your hot chocolate, and then we can go back to sleep.”

He makes grabby hands at his mug, and Duke laughs and picks it up for him.

“Love you,” Danny repeats, voice less muffled.

“Love you, too,” Duke says. “I’m glad you’re feeling better.”

“I’m glad you were there to help me. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

“It’s a good thing you’ll never have to find out. I’ve got you, sweetheart, always.”

Believing him is the easiest thing Danny has ever done. If Duke says he’ll be there for, then he will. 

Always, always, always.

. . .

[send me ghostlights prompts!]

[greenerteacups]

hi GT!

Lionheart had me the moment you kicked it off with “it’s a nice day to start again.” Might i ask why you chose that particular line?

And, if you havent already answered to this emoji:

❄️

P.s: you have my eternal gratitude for creating the most brilliant piece of writing i’ll ever read. I shout about it from the rooftops, share it on my socials, requested my spouse to read it so we may discuss it together (in lieu of a present for my 30th birthday), et cetera.

I see from your URL you are a fellow lad of taste.

There's a couple things going on in the epigraph for Book 1. On one level, it's a lyric from the first muggle song I picture Draco listening to on his walkman at the end of the book, so there's a cute full-circle thing there. The second layer is the theme of change and redemption, which, in Lionheart, doesn't so much come from major moments or self-sacrifice, but from the slow, grueling, everyday work of living, and living better. It's a nice day to start again because every day is. You always have the opportunity to start making better choices, no matter what lies behind you. That's the thesis of any Draco redemption arc, right? You have to imagine that he could have chosen to be better.

And then thirdly, there's the audacity of doing a full Hogwarts canon rewrite, a good 30 years after the original books came out, millions upon millions of words of fanfic later, and basically asking everyone to read the same story they did the first time around, only different. So it's a kind of winking entreaty. It's saying to readers, many of whom are understandably wary of doing it over, zeroing out the characters to starting positions, and starting from the beginning with 11-year-olds all over again. It's going: "hey. That was fun, right? Why not do it again?"

[sarcasticgaypotato]

This cat has a PhD

---

Fanart for Panthera by @idrewacow

I cannot recommend this fic enough, it is an absolute delight so far. It's a classic, traditionally lighthearted fanfiction trope being handled dead serious and it's everything I didn't know I needed. It doesn't hesitate to dig its claws (haha) into visceral discomfort for our lead, but it still has moments that made me laugh out loud. Can't wait to see what happens next!

[chaoticdelinqueerwithglitter]

Time, mystical time (cutting me open, then healing me fine)

(Fluffly fic for Mikey's bday)

(Final tl HaruMai)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MIKEY, TODAY IS YOUR DAY FOR BEING A LIL SPOILED BRAT! (and lucky you, Haru is here to make it happen uwu)

And yes, I know for Haru bday I only gave him angst as a gift but since I can't compete with his worst bday in canon Mikey got fluff instead.

(link to ao3 in case someone wants to read it there)

Summary: Haruchiyo wasn’t the same person Mikey used to love — it was an objective fact that this was for the best.

(or Mikey being deeply in denial about his feelings for Haru)

Warnings: NONE! I swear it! Well, manga spoilers and a breave and not-graphic at all mention on some canon compliant violence from the final battle. Enjoy the fluff?

(English is not my first language, so be nice please 🙈)

“Can I light a small fire at least?” 

It was their first year of middle school and the day was definitely too windy for hiding on the rooftop. Haruchiyo dragged them here, complaining how exhausting it was having to avoid those “annoying airhead girls” who tried to give him chocolate. Mikey found it hilarious, especially because he knew none of those poor girls had a chance with his friend — he was undoubtedly gay. Still in the closet, but well, it was just a matter of time, right? 

Mikey rolled his eyes at this, of course that was Baji’s answer to fight the cold. To be honest, he felt tempted to agree — he had a weak spot for seeing those little fangs peeking out from his friend's grin. 

“Are you stupid? That would let them know we’re here! We’re supposed to be hiding, remember?” 

“And that’s absolutely the only reason why we shouldn’t start a fire on school grounds, clearly.”

That earned him a dismissive shrug from Baji and a sheepish smile from Haruchiyo — untainted and perfect. He burst into laughter, damn it, they were so chaotic. How could he live so many years without them by his side?

“Boohoo, poor you, being chased by pretty girls who want to give you food” 

“Not everyone thinks with their stomach, Keisuke.” Haruchiyo deadpanned as a comeback. “And you know I don’t like them.” 

There was something in the inflection of his voice — and the intense look he gave to Baji — that made Mikey feel like he was missing something. Right on cue, Baji babbled incoherently about forgetting something and quickly disappeared. 

“Weird.” He said nonchalantly. “Any idea of what the fuck was all that about?” 

He turned towards his friend — more than ready to make fun of Baji together — but his smile dropped at the sight.

The sight of Haruchiyo blushing like crazy, staring at the floor and holding out a box of what looked like homemade chocolates. 

“They’re filled with red bean jam!” 

Oh.

Oh.

“Ummm… Thanks?” 

Mikey mumbled uncomfortably, accepting the gift. His friend put who knows how many hours into making them, it would be wrong to dismiss his effort — nothing to do with the fact the filling was his favorite, obviously. 

He realized his mistake too late — when Haruchiyo finally looked up with eyes full of hope. Shit, this wasn’t supposed to happen — not yet! He thought he had a few more years to think of a proper way to reject him, why was this idiot confessing so soon? They were still kids for Christ’s sake! 

To be honest, it was probably his fault. Mikey spent the last four years making sure Haruchiyo knew he was one of his best friends, that he never felt left behind or an outsider. He gave him a safe place to run to when his family situation was too much — because unfortunately there were things that not even time leaping could fix — and talked with Shinichiro about it, hoping his big brother could give Takeomi a deserved slap on his wrist. He even begged Haruchiyo to be one of the Toman founders! 

Okay, so apparently helping his friend to be more confident and have  better self-esteem had some unexpected consequences — like the fact he had no reason to hide his feelings. Well, technically the amount of homophobia in Japan was a pretty good reason, but since when did Haruchiyo give a shit about social conventions? 

“Mikey?”

A soft whisper brought him back from his thoughts. Fuck, he had to say something, he had to think of a way of rejecting him without breaking his heart — at least no more than was inevitable.

“Look, Haru… You know you’re one of my best friends, right? Nothing can change that —”

“You’re rejecting me.�� There wasn’t any trace of accusation in his voice, just a sad resignation that squeezed Mikey’s heart. “It’s fine, I know you don’t love me back but it was worth trying it.” 

Ouch, here was that word again.

“You don’t love me, this is just a silly crush. C’mon, don’t be so dramatic.” 

He probably deserved the deadly glare Haruchiyo gave him. He was being an arse, treating his friend’s first love like it meant nothing. But it was just that, his first love, and sooner or later Haruchiyo will get over it — because this time his love wasn’t intertwined with trauma or twisted by grief. 

“You’ll get over it, okay? Before you know, we’ll be laughing about this, you’ll see.”

“You don’t know that.”

Damn it, why did he have to be so stubborn? Why couldn't he understand that he deserved so much better than Mikey? 

“You might be the prettiest boy in school, but you’re too damn pushy!” Mikey groaned with frustration. “I’m trying to save our friendship here, don’t you see it?”

Fuck, he went too far — he was aware of it even before seeing the pain that crossed Haruchiyo’s eyes.

“Haru… I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that.” He tried to reach for him — to offer him one of those hugs that always seemed to bring him comfort — but the other boy moved away, biting his lower lip and avoiding to look at Mikey. He really fucked up bigly this time, didn’t he? He had to fix it somehow. 

“Okay, let’s make a deal.” Good, at least Haruchiyo was looking at him again. “If you still love me when we’re eighteen, ask me again. I promise I’ll take it seriously if you do it.”

“Deal!” The way Haruchiyo’s face lit up almost seemed like magic — completely mesmerizing.

Well, he made a weird face and lowered his voice saying the word ‘love’, but overall Mikey must have done a decent job. Or decent enough to have his friend jumping at him and accepting that wasted hug.

Mikey sighed with relief and didn’t hesitate in wrapping his arms around Haruchiyo’s middle. The warmth of his body felt nice and comfortable — of course it did, they were outside at the end of February. 

“...the prettiest…” 

He didn’t caught Haruchiyo’s whisper, but he forgot about it the moment the other boy started playing with his hair. Sue him for enjoying being pampered, alright? They were friends, friends were affectionate with each other. This was totally fine. 

Mikey groaned when his obnoxious alarm brought him back from dreamland. Why on Earth did he have to dream with this memory precisely today? Okay, probably because it was his eighteenth birthday — no, it was stupid and it didn’t make sense. No way Haruchiyo would still remember it, it was nothing more than a silly promise between kids that didn’t mean anything. 

It wasn’t like Mikey was secretly wishing for him to keep his word — not at all. He had no reason for it, no romantic feelings for Haruchiyo to justify his greedy desire. That was a lie, and he knew it. He loved Haruchiyo — obviously he did — but it was in another timeline, this was only the echo from back then. It had to be. 

Haruchiyo wasn’t the same person Mikey used to love — of course he wasn’t, he was free from all those traumatic memories, of having more than one timeline inside his brain. It was for the best, Mikey knew it.

That thing they had during Kanto Manji wasn’t healthy for anyone involved. Mikey was too selfish, too scared, unable to call it what it was. He had the guts to forbid Haruchiyo to say it too — always taking more and more, never asking why the other stayed just in case that would break the illusion. He should’ve asked — he should’ve cared more — instead of letting him carry all that pain alone. 

And Haruchiyo? He was the opposite. Always giving more and more, erasing parts of himself in order to fit into what he thought Mikey wanted from him — in order to be by his king's side. Sinking into darkness, little by little, twisting his own morals to be able to bear with his crimes. Haruchiyo could be sweet and caring in the morning — always attentive to Mikey’s needs — brushing his hair while whispering soothing words to calm him from the latest nightmare. Only to later bash his little sister's head with a metal pipe, attempt vehicular manslaughter and actually murder someone from the same gang. All for Mikey, always for Mikey. 

It was an objective fact that this was for the best.

He sighed and finally got out of bed, right on time to open the door of his room before his sister knocked on it. Her surprised face was totally worth it, but the way Emma hugged him and ruffled his hair was a thousand times better — another year he had all of his siblings by his side.

“Happy birthday sleepyhead.” She laughed freely, so beautifully alive. “Haruchiyo is already waiting for you.”

“Shit!” 

Mikey pulled away from the hug and rushed towards the kitchen. Damn it, why did he have to be so punctual? Not like he could get really mad, especially when he entered the room and saw Haruchiyo’s face lit up once he spotted him.

“Happy birthday, Mikey!” He was about to grumble for the loud tone, when he got gently pushed into the chair and was greeted by a fresh cup of coffee.

“...morning.” 

He took a long sip of his coffee, silently blessing Haruchiyo’s sixth sense to always know what he needed — that was one of the aspects in which he was the same. Mikey would be lying if he said he wasn’t glad, but at least this time he tried to also pay attention to his friend’s moods. He liked to think that he got to know him better, to read him better — even if he was fully aware part of the merit was due to Haruchiyo being more open in general.

For example, he could tell Haruchiyo was nervous by the way he kept fidgeting with his earrings. The mischievous glint in his eyes let Mikey know it was a good type of nerves — excitement probably. 

“Where is Baji?” He asked absentmindedly, taking a big bite of his pancakes.

“He said something about feeding stray cats or whatever.” 

It was a blatant lie, he could perfectly tell. They had the annual tradition that Haruchuyo and Baji were always the ones in charge of distracting Mikey during the day, while everyone else prepared his not-surprise birthday party. Maybe Baji was doing something related to it? Weird, but he knew his friend wouldn’t miss their day together without a good reason — so no need to overthink it.

In less than ten minutes, Mikey had gobbled down his breakfast — earning a judging face from Emma and an adorable chuckle from his friend. No, not adorable, what the fuck was wrong with him today? Luckily, he didn’t have the time to dwell on this thought before Haruchiyo dragged him towards their bikes. 

“Where?” He was sure Haruchiyo had something planned.

“The cove.”

“Haru, you hate the beach, you’re always complaining how you end up with sand everywhere and how it makes you too sweaty.” 

“That’s why we don’t go there for my birthday.” He deadpanned. “You love that place and I came prepared for the stupid sand, don’t worry.”

Mikey laughed at that — so that was why Haruchiyo brought a backpack. He should have known, his friend always thought ahead about those types of details. Another one of these things where Haruchiyo was the same, though he preferred when it was against the beach than rival gangs. It was still for Mikey, wasn’t it?

“Alright then.” He jumped on his babu and started the engine. “Don’t go too slow!”

The ride felt too short, even if it actually took them almost an hour to get there. It was worth it, the cove was almost empty — that was why Mikey loved this particular spot. Away from people, the sound of the waves lulled his mind while the salty smell of the sea breeze calmed his senses. 

“Thanks, you were right about coming here.” He smiled happily towards Haruchiyo — who was already placing a blanket on the sand and wearing a ridiculously big straw hat to protect his delicate skin from the sunrays. His cheeks shouldn’t look so flushed with that on his head, same way he shouldn’t look so pretty with it either. Shit, what was this feeling? 

“What else did you bring?” He asked, trying to distract himself from his totally platonic thoughts towards one of his best friends.

“Here.” Haruchiyo took out a couple of cans of soda and a tupperware full of…

“Taiyakis?” His eyes widened with surprise, opening the container as soon as he had it in his hands — they looked homemade. “Did you make them?”

“Obviously.” 

No, it wasn’t that obvious — or maybe it was considering who he was talking to. He took a bite almost with reverence, still bewildered by Haruchiyo’s gesture. 

“Damn, this tastes amazing!” He swallowed before talking again. “Are you sure you want to be a youtuber? You’d be a hell of a baker, Haru. Your sweets are always the best, I swear.”

“Nah, I only enjoy cooking when it’s for you.” 

Mikey could feel his cheeks burning at these words — he knew it wasn’t because of the sun. He liked the idea that it was only for him, that this side of Haruchiyo belonged only to him. He liked it too damn much, that was the whole problem. Why did Haruchiyo keep throwing these statements out so casually? Did he really not notice how it became more difficult for Mikey to pretend he wasn’t head over heels for him or what? 

Fuck.

He was about to start panicking when Haruchiyo talked with a smug tone, like he knew something Mikey didn’t. 

“You know… they’re filled with red bean jam!” 

“What did you just say?” 

No, it couldn’t be. It had to be a coincidence — even if it was the exact same words and it felt absurd to specify that about taiyakis. He almost dropped the sweet when Haruchiyo brushed away a lock of Mikey’s hair — no way the gesture was casual when it felt that intimate and tender. 

“Haru?” His voice sounded equally insecure and hopeful. 

“We’re both eighteen now.” Mikey nodded at that, staring at him like an idiot. “Do I really need to say it again or did you finally believe it?”

He blinked in disbelief a few times — barely resisting the urge to pinch his own cheek. No way Haruchiyo actually waited years without any guarantee that his feelings would ever be requited.

“Again.” He whispered. “Please.”

“I love you, Mikey. It’s not a silly crush and it didn’t go away for almost a decade, so can —?”

Mikey didn’t let him finish — there was no need, they both knew. As usual, he had been too scared to admit it even to himself. Also as usual, Haruchiyo had been too stubborn to give up on his feelings. 

So why should he waste another second before kissing those lips that he missed so fucking much? Judging by the way Haruchiyo wrapped his arms around him and brought him closer, the way his lips parted eagerly or that muffled moan he did within the kiss… He definitely agreed with Mikey. 

There was no more room for doubts — it was about damn time. 

[orcelito]

I'm at the painful "confession" scene during the kage summit arc. It really is so emotional, but also... hm.

When I was younger, like 13 or so, I was a big Sakura and Naruto shipper. They were the first pairing I read fanfic for even. And in a way, I do still enjoy the two of them together... but it's moments like these that really drive home the fact that it Doesn't really work in canon. Not the way that it's set up.

As Sakura puts it, "Sasuke, Sasuke, Sasuke! That's all you think about!"

She's told that Naruto has feelings for her and decides to use it to convince him to stop going after Sasuke. She does love him, but not in the way she's trying to confess. The love they share is one of comradery, not necessarily romantic. The love of two people who have gone through such pain together, and who have leaned on each other throughout it all. And the fact that she's turning around and saying she loves him "simply like everyone else", now... it's trivializing. And the fact that she's trying to convince him of this, the fact that she thinks she Can convince him of this, is pretty hurtful. They've come a long way from when they were kids, Naruto the goofball vying for her attention while she yelled at him for being stupid. Sakura respects Naruto so much more than before, and Naruto respects her too. So the fact that she's still doing this... She's desperate, really. She thinks the promise he made to her to bring Sasuke home is what's driving him to let himself be hurt over and over and over again in the pursuit and protection of Sasuke.

But she's wrong.

That may be part of it, but it's only part. Naruto wants Sasuke back for himself, too. He let himself be beat up to avoid selling him out. He chases after him with single minded determination. Sasuke is his entire drive to get stronger, to catch up, to bring him home. Sasuke, Sasuke, Sasuke indeed.

As it is, Naruto knows she's lying to herself. And no matter what she says, he will keep going after Sasuke. Because that's just the person that Naruto is.

[science-lings]

The ratio of 'forbidden hospital scene' fics to 'medically accurate Phoenix falls through a flaming bridge into a death river and somehow everyone who could've witnessed it is under the impression that he died' fics is kinda sad to me, I thought ppl would've really latched on to the angst potential of that.

Anyway, I'm sure the second one exists but I just... haven't been able to find it bc this fanbase is like 22 years old and idek where to even look for something like that. Like I get the first one is gay inherently and I love it, but also... I think it's fun to see him suffer. I want someone who could actually realistically depict what could've happened and how crazy it is that he survived practically unscathed, or maybe he didn't and he's real fucked up about it.

[nostalgia-tblr]

.

[kavennnn]

thoughts on the new coil chapter? Sorry im losing my mind rn and have no one to bounce ideas off of

im not okay, the ending is actually terrifying, but it makes sense bcos dazai was trying to figure out how to use the basilisk from tom and he definitely doesnt actually want to kill pomfrey. i rlly thought that they were gonna use a spell to recover the letter so i was surprised w/ that. i rlly dont know what to expect next (other than dueling club, obviously) bcos i was sure that mori saying that dazai would kill poppy that he meant that he eventually would, not the next damn chapter. snape will probably be in charge of brewing the potion now but i cant imagine dazai actually doing anything to him, but being tasked to kill him might lead to smthn and snape might help him, but idrk, or he might not even be tasked to hurt him bcos pomfrey had to do w/ her knowing abt the mafia and they dont know if snape knows, but if he's trying to stop the potion from being brewed and snape possibly could know abt the mafia and dazai is in the mafia so it's not like killing ppl is the very very last resort, i think snape will atleast eventually be a target, maybe mcgonagall first, since pomfrey is gone then the month probably doesnt matter as much, if mcgonagall makes it clear that she knows of the mafia she will be next. idk tho

[grishaverse-chaos]

darkl!ng stans: he's an example of the vilified revolutionary trope, he wants what's best for grisha, he is powerful + competent + a visionary

the darkl!ng: separates ALL grisha from otkazatsya society entirely which creates alienation, murders innocent people, seemingly does not know the meaning of the word "negotiation", decides that an eleven year old child is his best option for a spy, murders more innocent people, ignores and even encourages divisions between grisha, creates the fold (which kills people regularly and has basically destroyed ravka's intranational relations), murders even more innocent people, grooms a seventeen year old girl (even worse if you believe he genuinely loved her! aleksander that is a Child!), tortures people who disobey him - oh yeah, and my personal favourite, literally murders 95% of ALL RAVKAN GRISHA purely because they..... didn't think he should murder hundreds of innocent civilians by using the fold as a weapon.....

darkl!ng stans: yeah but he wanted what was best for grisha!!!!!!1!!!1!1!1!1

[menlove]

honestly I feel like the go to etiquette for ao3 should be if you read smth all the way through just drop a kudos..... ofc u can't force anyone to do anything but I figure even if I didn't wind up enjoying it as much as I thought I would it's the least I can do to show my appreciation when it was obviously good enough to keep me reading to the end

[a-rdentlyy]

413 bookmarks… mind dropping some jjk recs queen 👀

Not gonna lie, like 400 of them are haikyuu fics adnkamfkm. Most of the jjk fics I've read in the past that were recommended to me just didn't really hit for me? So if you have recs please let me know, because I need to read more, but here are the fics I've really enjoyed!

Always an Angel, Never a God by oktsukki: stsg fic which is basically the hidden inventory arc but with a good ending

Caesura by cielelyse: stsg fic about them meeting and having a sort of rivals to friends/lovers arc that was soooooo fun

And every day, it's changed since then by BotanicalBites: inuokko fic that I haven't read in a loooooong time but I remember enjoying

What Instinct Can't Teach by kiyokosturtle: chosoyuki fic about the two of them guarding Tengen and growing close (nsfw in the last chapter though)

The Long Con by lyrebirdswrites: I can't believe I only have one itafushi fic in my bookmarks, that really tells you how few jjk fics I've read, but this fic is currently on hiatus

[dewvorce-flowers]

Self affirmations to myself : You started this blog so you could have a fun archive of stuff from the new fandom you just joined(that'sover a year now btw, been A Ride). Don't overthink stuff like seeming too online or how much you can reblog before it becomes annoying just because a small handful of people follow this now.

(Btw sorry if I ever ignore DMs I either forgot or my brain decided that actually answering will take too much energy)

[nabesthetics]

"Dorian killed the fandom" so did some people already forget about shitty NH management and the Last Legacy fiasco and the Discord server mess and—

Not to mention that calling it dead feels straight up insulting to people who still actively make things for it. HC and fanart posts are still hitting hundreds of notes, so that's an interesting definition of a "dead fandom".

Maybe instead of wasting energy hating on a company that picked up NH's mess, you should try creating something or supporting a writer/artist.

[blizzardfluffykpop]

12 Days of Winter Year 7 [Wintertime 2]

Prompt List

By Days:

Peppermint Kisses (O.de X Female! Reader)

Never Enough (Kihyun X Reader)

Frosty (Jeonghan X Reader)

Greatest Gift (Kihyun X Reader)

Candy Cane (Minhyuk X Reader)

Silly One (Changkyun X Reader)

Dishwasher (Yeo One X Reader)

Our House (Junhui X Reader)

Camellia (Minghao X Reader) [Mafia au]

Mystery (Hyungwon X Reader)

Sledding (Jooheon X Reader)

Delight (Vernon X Reader)

Bonus Christmas Eve Fic: Snow Fight (Shinwon X Reader)

By Prompts:

Our House (Junhui X Reader)

Frosty (Jeonghan X Reader)

Peppermint Kisses (O.de X Female! Reader)

Mystery (Hyungwon X Reader)

Delight (Vernon X Reader)

Dishwasher (Yeo One X Reader)

Sledding (Jooheon X Reader)

Camellia (Minghao X Reader) [Mafia au]

Never Enough (Kihyun X Reader)

Candy Cane (Minhyuk X Reader)

Silly One (Changkyun X Reader)

Greatest Gift (Kihyun X Reader)

Bonus Christmas Eve Fic: Snow Fight (Shinwon X Reader)

[cat-soda]

me revisiting a fic i put on hiatus that i thought was cringey and horrible: oh this was pretty clever and cute!!! i might continue this :3

me rereading a fic i finished writing that i was really proud of and wanted to use as a inspiration for an upcoming wip: oh my god. i can’t believe i put this out in the internet. no wonder ppl weren’t reading this.

[sorikkung]

people interacting w wgoin in my notes... this would be a rly bad time to say all my writing will probably be on hiatus for the indefinite future huh