#the kindness and support means a whole lot

[lazysoulwriter]

mi amor, you’re perfect. - pedro pascal - ── .✦

requested! thank you. content: established relationship, anxiety, comfort, domestic fluff, learning Spanish, supportive boyfriend Pedro, talks of meeting extended family, soft sleepy love.

Pedro finds you awake at 2:47 a.m.

You’re supposed to be sleeping—both of you are. Your flight to Santiago is in six hours, and he had insisted on getting to the airport early. But here you are, curled up on the couch with your notes open and a pencil tapping nervously against the margin.

He blinks at you from the hallway in just his t-shirt and boxers. "You okay, baby?"

You freeze. “…Hi.”

He walks closer, squints at the paper in your lap. “Are you—are you studying?”

You sigh, sheepish. “Just reviewing. I haven’t practiced enough past tense verbs.”

Pedro kneels in front of you on the carpet like you’re the altar and he’s ready to pray. “Mi amor… why are you up? You need sleep.”

“I know, but—” you pause, biting your lip. “I don’t want to mess anything up tomorrow. What if I forget a word mid-sentence? What if I say something totally wrong and they think I’m dumb or rude or—”

“Hey, hey,” he reaches up to cup your face gently, thumbs brushing under your eyes, “you won’t.”

You melt under his touch, but your voice still wavers. “It’s not that I think they’ll be mean or anything. I just… want them to like me. Really like me.”

Pedro’s brows soften, and the love in his eyes feels like sun-warmed honey. “You’ve met Javiera and Nico. You know they adore you.”

“This is your entire family, Pedro,” you murmur. “Tías, abuelos, primos… I want to show them that I care. That I care about you.”

He pulls you into his arms, settling next to you on the couch now, warm and sleepy and so deeply yours. “Mi corazón,” he whispers into your hair, “they’re going to fall in love with you. You’re kind, you’re smart, and—do you know how sweet it is that you’ve been learning Spanish for you? Not even for me? That’s so fucking beautiful.”

You sniffle, just a little. “I just want to get it right.”

“You already do. Every time you say mi amor, or ¿cómo estás?, or even when you text me ‘te extraño’ with like… eight typos,” he laughs gently, “I feel it. They will too.”

You bury your face in his shoulder. “But what if I freeze?”

“Then I’ll be right there,” he promises, his hand stroking down your back. “A lot of them speak English, and you’ll have me. You’ll be okay.”

You nod slowly.

“And if anyone gives you a hard time,” he adds, faux-threatening, “I’ll fight them. Even my abuela.”

You giggle. “You’re not fighting your grandma for me.”

“I will. She’s small. I’ll win.”

You look up, cheeks aching from smiling, and he kisses the corner of your mouth, then your cheek, then your forehead. “Try to sleep, baby. Come to bed. You’re gonna charm the whole damn country.”

“Promise?”

He holds up his pinky. “Promise. And if you want to practice one last thing before we sleep, say el amor de mi vida.”

You repeat it softly, a bit uncertain. “El amor de mi vida.”

Pedro glows.

He kisses your knuckles. “That’s me, by the way.”

You roll your eyes but your heart is full, so stupidly full it might burst.

You sleep like a baby pressed against him that night, dreaming in two languages—mi amor, I love you, te va a ir increíble.

And you wake up knowing: you're not just going to Chile.

You're going home with him.

---

✦ please do not copy, repost, or translate this work. © lazysoulwriter // i write with a lot of love and care, so please respect that.

taglist: @sarahhxx03 @lloydmustache @lolareadsimagines @greenwitchfromthewoods @silksepia @pascalswiftie @itstokyo-cos @mani-pedro @llsister @authorbriannarae13 @introvrtedjellyfish @aj0elap0l0gist @spencercmlover @cixrosie @cherrqbaby @cup-half-full-of-anxiety @joelmillerpascal @freakbobcult @sunlightpleasure@barnes70stark @mooniscrying @ohnaurshayla @croissantbakerylws @nellispunk @kasienka @taylorswiftsrep-blog @emerencedaily @byzyz @noovaarq @kristend512 @alltounwell @libbyaller @beaagiannelli @broad-shouldrs @oceanmcu @kysosa @melloispunk @jollycupcakeblizzard @angvlicsoulll @needz1nk @daddypascal17 @agustdpeach @mrsbilicablog @k4t13ispunk @hotdadlvr95 @lnnysnts @pedropascalfan221 @queenofklonnie22 @christinamadsen @ilovecheriies @stvr-bloom

[brf-rumortrackinganon]

I sometimes have trouble understanding some people, or maybe they're secret fans of Meghan who have a hard time admitting it. This woman has spit on the monarchy, on the Queen. She attacks whenever she gets the chance, and some are delighted that she's gained a handful of followers on Instagram. Joke.

Some anons need to calm down tho, I think some are talking from the wish that maybe if she is successful in gaining followers or having a good business she will let the attacks on the RF aside.

As some said, finally she discovered how she can gain followers without attacking Kate or Charles, or the monarchy. I know many are upset that nothing has been done about her awful behavior and people just become mad when they see the word ‘success’ next to MM’s name, but some need to make peace with the fact that 1)there are still a bunch of people who likes her and support her 2)people who love seeing celebs/influencers being embarrassing 3)and that just for one video they like about her, doesn’t mean that they will support everything.

Some are losing their sleep over 300-400K followers she gained or will continue gaining, but do you know the amount of people with social media around the world? Millions! 300-400K is huge for her, but in the whole context and knowing how she is, I bet she was expecting at least 1M more (maybe during the weekend she reaches 4M who knows) but still, we know how huge her ambitions are despite her saying otherwise, and for someone and her fandom who swear she is the most famous and loved woman in the world, 3-4M of followers is very embarrassing. And remember that she wanted to be the next Michelle Obama or someone like her, and what did she do? Become just an influencer celebrating 3-4M of followers, that’s a low bar, sure it was a micro-success but she aspires to be HUGE and she is far from that goal and some say that she will need to continue releasing embarrassing content, but we know that she is not good at faking it, at some point people will get bored and she will look fake AF because we know she is unable to be funny and real, she just doesn’t have it.

Yep. In the grand overall scheme of the whole wide internet, what Meghan did and the gains she made are actually pretty small potatoes. They're insignificant potatoes, really - they're the kinds you throw back into the soil to grow a little more.

But in the microcosm of the celebfluencer world that Meghan lives in? This is good. It's a passing grade. There's still a lot of room for her grow and develop, but this was just enough for certain people and new people to take notice.

[belit0]

College boy hcs for obito, shisui and itachi pleaseeeeee

This is out of the HS AU and the Mafia AU, different universe,

DIFFERENT UNIVERSE!!!

Obito

Major: Education or Psychology. Not because it was a lifelong dream, but because he had one good professor and suddenly wanted to be that for someone else.

Has zero sense of time. Shows up late, coffee in one hand, charger hanging out of his hoodie pocket like a tail.

Carries emotional support snacks everywhere. If you look remotely upset, he's offering you a half-crushed granola bar from the bottom of his backpack.

Somehow always involved in campus drama even though he tries to stay out of it. “I swear I was just getting some papers and suddenly there was a breakup happening.”

Stares off during class with the kind of intensity that makes you think he’s solving an emotional crisis. He’s actually thinking about whether fish get bored.

Gets crushes like they’re seasonal allergies—but he’s painfully loyal once it’s real. Has a sixth sense for when you’re stressed, but will offer help in the most awkward way possible.

Very warm, very physical. Leans on your shoulder while texting. Hugs like he means it. Has no idea how charming that is.

Shisui

Major: Political Science, minor in Sociology. He runs for every student election and actually wins because people like him.

Speaks well, dresses well, somehow looks good in those dumb free orientation T-shirts.

You’re never sure if he’s flirting or just being nice. Spoiler: it’s both. Always both.

The guy who gets roped into every group project because “he’s reliable.” Secretly resents it but shows up every time with color-coded notes.

Would bring you coffee without you asking and act like it was no big deal. Meanwhile, he’s been memorizing your order since week two.

Is alarmingly perceptive. Will call you out gently for not sleeping enough. Offers to quiz you for an exam and somehow makes it fun.

Never brags about anything, but his name gets dropped a lot. “Shisui helped me pass stats,” “Shisui got our club funding,” “Shisui knows a guy.”

Smiles with his whole face. Shrugs off compliments but gets a little quiet if you really mean it.

Itachi

Major: Philosophy or Literature. People either worship him or are scared of him. Often both.

Speaks in complete sentences. Has a notes app full of existential questions and grocery lists.

Shows up to class early and leaves last. Somehow never makes a sound opening his laptop.

Always looks like he just came back from an all-nighter. He did. But he also read three novels and wrote a paper that’ll ruin the grading curve.

Not on social media. When asked why, he says something cryptic like, “Too loud.”

If you sit next to him, he’ll let you copy his notes but won’t say much. Then you’ll get a book recommendation in your locker the next day.

Makes dry jokes no one catches until three seconds later. Occasionally says something deadpan that has people wheezing.

Surprisingly polite. Opens doors, hands back your pen, thanks the barista. Doesn't make a show of it—just quietly decent.

If he likes you, he won’t flirt. He’ll just... start showing up more. Your favorite café. Your favorite spot in the library. Then maybe one day he’ll say “You seem tired. I brought tea.” and that’s that.

[lucydixon]

HOW WOULD THE LORDS OF CHAOS BOYS REACT IF THEY SAW US CRYING AND PANICKING WITH A POSITIVE PREGNANCY TEST?

Fun Fact: This is literally my biggest fear! I take a pregnancy test every week just in case. 🧍‍♀️ Let's say, for the sake of the story, that you're in a very established relationship with whichever boy, and you live together. Planning on spending the rest of your lives together type shit. We'll also assume that you do eventually decide that you want to keep it after going over your options.

Happy Reading <3

Euronymous Now, this might be a hot take, but I think that Euro would immediately be thrilled. He'd sweep you up in his arms, muttering into the top of your head that it's all gonna be fine. He'd see it as an out of the whole mess with Varg and the Black Circle. A reason to take a step back without looking like a pussy. He'd mean it, too. If you're locked down with this man, he secretly wants the picket fence.

HellHammer Immediately freaking the fuck out. Blood fully drained from his face, slack-jawed, shocked to his core, kind of moment. He's probably not going to be good at comforting you. It's more likely that you'll be the one comforting him in that moment. He's gonna need some help coming around to it, but I think he'll eventually be on board.

Dead This poor man's immediate thought is that he's gonna fuck that kid up. He'll be panicked, but seeing you so panicked too is reassuring in a way. He'd still be terrified, but after sitting with it for a moment, I think there would be this overwhelming fascination and curiosity, and he'd start asking you what it feels like and asking if he can touch your stomach. He'd gently prod the slight swell of your belly and press his ear to it, trying to see if he could hear anything. I think this would make you feel a whole lot better about the whole thing.

Necrobutcher The most rational and most likely to properly talk things through. Despite his shock, he'll pull you over to curl up next to him on the couch and talk you down. He'd assure you that it's fine and that whatever you're worried about, you'll figure it out together. He's immediately going to be thinking over logistics, like where you're going to live, and planning out extra hours at work to pay for it. He will make sure that you feel taken care of and supported.

Occultus He's gonna need to sit down for a minute. He'd probably take your hand and hold it while he did, just to offer even the slightest comfort, but he's going to be rocked to his core. However, once his brain catches up, he'd crack an excited little smile and pull you into his chest, asking you how you felt about the whole thing and assuring you that he's there and he'll continue to be there every step of the way.

Faust I think there would be an initial moment of freaking out, but the urge to comfort you would far outweigh the urge to let himself lean into the panic. While he's sitting there, holding you, he'll think of the little life that will come out of this overwhelming moment, and his heart will swell. It'd be like a switch is flipped, and he'd start excitedly rambling about what he's gonna do to start getting the apartment ready, and asking you how you're feeling. Can he get you anything? Are you hungry? Does anything hurt?

Dividers made by @bernardsbendystraws

Masterlist

[httpsedensgarden]

Sorry for asking this, I'm just really confused and exhausted lately, i don't know what to do. How to "let go" of shifting? Because many people just write "relax, let go, let it happen". I don't understand.

I deal with this myself. So I don’t know if my answer will be good but—What they mean is to stop worrying about it. Take a break. That’s what they mean by letting go.

In shifting, while it’s really hard—You need to know when to take breaks. You need to know when it’s time to let yourself relax. Because once you finally stop stressing over shifting and treat it like a normal thing, not something that’s out of your reach—You shift.

Is that easy to do? No. But, that’s what a “shifting journey” is. When you feel yourself getting exhausted and confused over shifting, it’s time for a break. It’s time to focus on yourself. And, at least for me..When I start to do that, things start to make more sense. (Shifting wise.)

The whole “letting go” part shifters talk about is the stress, the anxiety. You need to let go of that. You can shift at any time and in any mindset, yes..But, it helps to be in a good mental state when shifting. A lot. Rushing through things and stressing out about things won’t help at all. It’ll make it worse. So, try to take the time to relax, meditate, pray. Whatever is your cup of tea.

Take care of yourself, stop putting shifting on a pedestal. We shift all the time. Every decision we make, we’re shifting. I hope I helped in some way, if I didn’t please request again and maybe I can word things better or something.

—

Here’s bible verses that I think might help. (Even if you’re not religious, I think it kind of helps you think of things differently if that makes sense. In no way am I trying to force religion—These verses have just helped me in my journey and maybe they can help you too.)

1. Proverbs 20:30 : Sometimes it takes a painful experience to make us change our ways. I think this relates to what I was just saying in a way.

2. Peter 5:10 : Yes, you will suffer for a short time. But after that, God will make everything right. He will make you strong. He will support you and keep you from falling. He is the God who gives all grace. He chose you to share in his glory in Christ. That glory will continue forever. I saw this verse while really struggling in my shifting journey and it helped me a bit. I was actually going through the same thing as you.

3. Mark 8:36 : For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? I saw this verse as well when I was going through a similar thing as you. It really spoke to me and helped me realize that I just need to let things flow, and stop stressing myself out. The more I relax, the closer I am to God and shifting.

[tessiete]

Hey, so I’m gonna do that thing that I sometimes sort of semi-frequently do, where I dump my whole process here, showing all three people who see me how I write a long-form fic. The thing is, I know that this can seem like a really daunting thing for a lot of writers, new and old, and though, of course it’s not a prerequisite or even the ultimate aim of a lot of writers, I think that it’s worth demystifying a bit for the people who want to but maybe are unsure where to start. 

Also I have a rabid and perpetually unsated desire to know everything about everyone’s artistic process. Specifically acting, but honestly I’ll take anything. SHOW ME HOW YOU DO THE TRICK, MAGIC MAN!

So, to begin, everyone’s process is different. Mine is different even from project to project. If you’d like to see how I wrote my Star Wars fanfic post-RotS AU, The Eternal Spring you can find that laid out HERE. And if you’d like to see how I did my 200k Obitine Year-on-the-Run epic, Only Hope, you can see those notes HERE.

Now, for The Most Certain Way.

My first step, and probably the thing I do most consistently when planning a story is figure out what my thesis is. For this fic, I actually kind of flew a little bit fast-and-loose, and didn’t have anything super specific. I knew I wanted to achieve a few things.

I wanted to write a realistic look at what a Carter/Anna relationship might look like in an alternate ER season 6. I knew that I felt there were so many plot lines from season four that would have made great fodder for canon exploration that I really wanted to examine since the show didn’t get the opportunity to do so. Specifically, I wanted to see how Anna would be affected by the idea that Carter essentially does the same thing we know her ex, Max, did. And I wanted to see how Carter would react with that additional pressure, and with a bit more awareness of Chase, specifically. The show got to step around that a bit, but with Anna being a part of BOTH their stories, I felt her presence would make Chase’s plot even more immediate and relevant.

I wanted to explore a realistic road to recovery that didn’t end with a single, simple cure. I wanted to explore how a relationship can be hard, and feel bad sometimes but still be worth fighting for. How people at their worst can still be worthy of love, and how it’s not wrong to give them that. That sometimes discomfort and pain is the cost of love, and if you’re willing to pay it, if you can afford to pay it, then that love can still be healthy, and necessary, and worth it.

I wanted to give Carter a happy ending.

So, the next thing I did, which, again, is something that I almost always do, was to look for a framework to hang this whole thing from. This framework is usually the thing that helps me develop a plot and a narrative throughline that can support the deeper themes and ideas I want to explore. Ie. This throughline is a cheat sheet of physical events that I need to happen in order to explore more metaphorical or philosophical ideas.

In this case, I hung the fabric of the story off the Twelve Step Program from AA. Now, I did some research into these steps, however, my intention was never to directly or explicitly work those steps but to use their core concepts as jumping off points for what the characters were going through. 

This is partly because I don’t really think AA worked for Carter in the show, I don’t think he’s a particularly religious person, and I think in recent years there’s been a growing shift in the idea that maybe one size recovery does not fit all. I wanted to give him the flexibility to get away from that. But at the same time, play with the idea that he’s working the steps in some ways without even realising it.

That means, in order, our chapters became: Honesty, Faith, Surrender, Soul Searching, Integrity, Acceptance, Humility, Willingness, Forgiveness, Maintenance, Making Contact, Service. 

But, as I said, I didn’t want these steps to be literal. So, I started breaking them down into concepts. And from those concepts, I looked up quotes that I felt got at the heart of something profound about them, and/or that also gave a hint as to their mindsets, or particular challenges specific to each chapter.

You can find all these quotes at the beginning of every chapter, and in the chapter titles. 

Then from that, I developed story events that would in some way touch upon each theme. Here, you can see a couple screenshots of what that plan was initially. In the actual writing of things, the plot changed exponentially with each chapter.

However, you can still see those themes dissected even as the plot got away from me. For example, in the first chapter, the theme is honesty. This chapter is entirely from Anna’s point of view, and explores how she’s been both dishonest with herself, with her reasons for staying, and how the intense vulnerability of Carter’s near-death shows the honest truth of her relationship with him, and with everyone else. It’s a shock that makes everyone reevaluate the worth of pretense, and which makes Anna acknowledge for the first time that she truly loves him.

Then we get to the second chapter. And it all gets a bit more complicated. The theme now is faith, but what we see is a slow destruction of Carter’s faith, while Anna’s faith is proved. She believes in his ability to bounce back, she believes in the lies he’s telling her, she wilfully looks away when she knows he’s struggling. She constructs a faith that isn’t supported in a lot of ways. At the same time, she is finally investing in her love for Carter, which is a kind of faith, and that faith is going to be the thing that carries her through. Meanwhile Carter feels the weight of her faith, feels it’s misplaced, doesn’t quite understand it and can’t take it well, on faith, that it’s going to last, and so is losing faith. He’s losing faith in his ability to recover, he’s losing faith in medicine, and he’s losing faith in his relationship. So both of them are circling the same theme, but are beginning to diverge from their shared experience with it. 

But you can see how by like, chapter 7, I was already going somewhere else. 

So to fix this up, I would DM friends on discord to beat it out a bit…

Sometimes I was more successful than others. But when I finally managed it, it’d just be a quick sketch of what I needed to happen.

Then, I’d go write it.

[allylikethecat]

⋆˚࿔ october prompts 𝜗𝜚˚⋆

Hiiii Happy Tuesday! No chaptered fic update today because conference but I am very pleased that I once again managed to get this one written during session breaks! It's a little all over the place because I wrote it very quickly during the session breaks BUT I got it written and now I am posting it and for this little exercise that is what matters! Thank you so much to everyone who has read any of these little prompt fills or any of my other works. I greatly appreciate it!

¹⁵⁾ a lone silver earring

If it wasn’t for a lone silver earring, a small hoop, found twisted in the bedsheets, George wouldn’t have believed the night before had really happened. He would have believed it to be a wet fever dream, a drunken desperate attempt from his memory to remind him what he had lost. 

But he and Matty had stumbled through the entryway. They had giggled as Matty tripped over his own feet going up the stairs. He had pushed George into the bedroom before throwing himself down onto the bed next to him, then crawled on top of him. They had pressed their lips pressed together as Matty tried to bring them impossibly closer, acting as if he tried hard enough he could burrow into George’s skin. He bit and licked at George’s lips like he wanted to devour him, like doing so would bring him some kind of salvation. George’s fingers were fisted in his hair like he didn’t want to ever let him go. They didn’t do that anymore, but as Matty buried his face in his neck, his breath erratic and desperate, George couldn’t remember why they had stopped. 

The next morning Matty was gone, and George couldn’t even find a trace of his scent on the sheets, the clothes dumped on the floor collected as he left during the midnight hours, a thief escaping in the night with George’s heart in his rucksack. If it wasn’t for the earring, found when George had gotten up and stripped the bed, he never would have believed it had happened, again, instead believing it to be a figment of his imagination, a desperate dream for what they once had and what they could have been again. He’s not sure if he had been changing the sheets to erase what had happened, or because he was searching for proof that it had been real. George wasn’t sure which would have hurt more, Matty having been there and gone, or Matty having never been there at all. 

George knew that it had been toxic, when they had tried it for real and that any time they tumbled into bed together, it was with that same air of toxicity. They had been too young, and had burned too bright, Matty deep in the throngs of addiction and George tangled in the binds of anxiety. George picked up the earring, the small silver hoop. Matty had been wearing it for the last few years, their fans cheekily calling it his slut hoop. George wondered what the implications of him losing his slut hoop in the bed of a drunken hook up. Because as much as George hated it, that is all that he was to Matty, a drunken hookup before he went back to the home he shared with her. George hated how much he liked her, he hated how good they were for each other almost as much as he hated his inability to stay away. 

They were getting older and as George raised his fingers to touch his lips, bruised and swollen from being crushed against Matty’s own, he wondered if there would ever be a them again. He wondered if he wanted there to be, or if it would hurt less for it to be over for real. 

Day: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 |

[kalied0skull]

pre-johnnycat headcanon, i actually had this mini story mocked up in my head a little after JUST reading the outsiders for the first time revolving around an angst fic of ponyboy and a pet dog

the dog was originally johnnys, funnily enough — they shared the pup. he was an outside dog, some random stray they picked up from the lot one day and tied a rope around and claimed as their own.

when johnny died, ponyboy forgot about the dog, until a few days after.

he had probably been sat out on the porch, smoking a cigarette he wasn't supposed to have and staring out into the roads when he sees this big, black dog waltzing his way over. he knew it anywhere, it just terrified him to see it.

ponyboy burst into tears seeing that damn dog, the one without a name but he still claimed as his and johnny's boy. it was HIS dog. THEIR dog.

seeing that sad look on that poor puppy's eyes as he came over and lapped it's tongue against Ponyboy's free hand, ponyboy just about lost it. because he really only then registered just how much johnny meant, even to a scrap dog like theirs.

darry didn't understand what had happened, but he found ponyboy laid out in the grass with the dog resting on top of him, the pup's head resting on his chest and the rest of it sprawled out in the grass. ponyboy was talking to that dog like an old friend.

he kept up with the dog for johnny, making sure to feed it and care for it as much as johnny did. feeding the scraps to the mutt, always making sure he was safe when a storm came through.

i dunno, i just love to imagine they always had a random pet somewhere mixed into their friendship — johnnycat is moreso a coping mechanism though compared to the dog hehe

[cosmogyros]

That moment when you have to let people be wrong about you because correcting them would make you seem like an unbearable show-off

I was at a bookstore with a friend the other day and I was looking at a book in German that I was interested in buying, but then I saw that it was a translation and had originally been written in French

I commented idly to my friend "Sometimes I don't buy a book because it's a translation and I always prefer to read in the original language when possible" and she said in an agreeing-with-me way, "Yeah it would make more sense to read it in English"

and I realized she assumed I meant English when I said "original language"

but I couldn't bring myself to say "Yeah, or French or Dutch or Spanish or Italian or Portuguese or one of the other languages I read..." because like. who says that kind of thing.

[beanghostprincess]

I need your brain to help pick apart a thought that I had in mind. What would happen if Shuggy was raised with the Whitebeard pirates? Idk what their rules are about carrying around kids in the seas but let's say they don't get docked onto the nearest island (i mean marco is in there too so)

Would Buggy be different? I think a big part of why he's insecure and why he's a "coward" is because he's standing on the shoulders of giants, he's part of the best crews of the seas and yet they expect him to be a monster like everyone else is in that ship, but in reality what if he just wants to go on adventures and get treasures without the need to sacrifice his limb and life for it? I love the Rogers pirates, and would love to believe in my heart of hearts that Buggy is as equally loved as Shanks but man, thinking about their flashback and seeing how Shanks gets the hat, and Shanks is praised by Roger and Crew, I don't think they completely understood the emotional side of how to raise children.

Which leads me to believe that Whitebeard probably knew better than Rogers and Rayleigh in that regard, he's got like so many found family kids and they're all willing to go to bat and die for their dad, and with Whitebeard wanting a family and calling his children his treasure, I think he'd be more sensitive about the feelings of his children. I think Whitebeard would help buggy understand how he differs from Shanks, but that does not make him inferior. He would probably encourage Buggy with all his inventions and bombs and slight of hand tricks.

Would Buggy also feel less alone because he sees other people in the crew who are also Whitebeard's children, and therefore he has brothers? Would he consider them family?

I haven't thought ahead with how much Shanks would change under Whitebeard, but I doubt it would change. Shanks is still star-pupil shanks, but this time instead of the crew praising him like Uncles to a nephew, it's adopted big brothers to a prodigy (also I brainrot buggy more but I think there can't be buggy without shanks and vice-versa, so they are a Do Not Separate pair)

Maybe it's just me desperately wanting buggy to have a father figure who loves him. My heart wants to believe Rogers and Rayleigh was that for him, but the manga chapters really doesn't show much about them giving him that attention, so I naturally drifted to the Dad Pirate of the Series, Whitebeard.

Thoughts?

You have a point, actually! I mean, imo, I've always thought (or liked to think) that Roger and Rayleigh loved Shanks and Buggy equally. They just treated them differently because they do have different personalities, after all. As somebody who understands Buggy's POV a lot, I think we shouldn't have to take it as the only, pure reality of all. We basically just have his POV on this situation and of course, for him, Shanks is going to be the favorite and he is going to be treated unfairly. I think most of that perception comes from his inferiority complex toward Shanks. Because yes, he was obviously the star-pupil and did get the hat and it's understandable that Buggy feels inferior. But that is not the whole truth and I don't think everything is Roger and Rayleigh's fault because of their way of raising them. I think that no matter the crew, Buggy would have still felt at least a bit of resentment and jealousy when it comes to Shanks. Shanks is just that type of person.

HOWEVER! You do have a point and it is that the Whitebeard pirates are way more family-focused and they seem to want to get the best of everybody individually. The reason why Whitebeard is so loved by his crew isn't really because of his power but because he gives them a place to belong and grow up. Roger's crew is a family too but as you said, they're giants and of course, Buggy is going to feel like a little bug in comparison if they expect him to be the same and praise Shanks for just existing when Buggy has to actually work to be seen that way.

I think these two being in that crew would've changed their personalities a bit. Buggy being more confident in himself and being raised with positive reinforcement and an environment that is actually a family would've been good for him and his self-esteem. His personality would clash with Shanks' a lot still, but you know, that's just how they are. Also, Shanks I think would be the same except that his need to please/save people would not be that strong since he doesn't have the responsibility of the world on his shoulders and no hat to deal with.

Don't get me wrong, maybe the break up would still happen. It would certainly happen, actually. Of course Roger's death wouldn't be the same for them in this context because originally he is basically their dad, and they don't have a crew to go back to and that fact adds more layers to their fight, but Buggy would still be ambitious and want to go for the One Piece, and Shanks would want to wait. And I think that no matter the context they're both stubborn and emotional and refuse to talk things out. Although maybe being with Whitebeard would help them in that context but, you know, I think Shanks and Buggy are the type of duo that NEED to break up for them to work later on in the story.

This whole AU has a lot of unsolved questions like-- Buggy's fruit and whether they'd like to leave the crew or not etc etc. But. I think the point here is more about their dynamic, right? I think they'd be more emotionally stable after all. Maybe they're more open about their issues too, and Buggy probably wouldn't have the "he made me eat the fruit and lost my map" excuse to hate Shanks. I think the big change here would be Buggy actually being dangerous and using his full potential instead of holding back. That is... Worrying. I love him.

[anto-pops]

Can I just say something?

I'm so happy you found inspiration to go back to TSP. I really hope I'm not jinxing it by saying this. 🥺 But I truly love all your stories, and I really waited for TSP to update since last year. 🩷 Thank you for your work, and how much you share your talent with us. You're the best Anto!

When I tell you I'm tearing up into my coffee rn I mean it :'))

Thank you so much lovie !! I'm really happy I came back to TSP too, I always knew I wanted to finish it but it was a question of time and motivation. Even now I'm dead set on seeing it through, so don't worry about jinxing anything LOL I'm 100% in this for the long haul !

It's been so much fun sharing my stories with everyone, and I'm eternally grateful for this little community we've created here for HL 💕

[marsixm]

i dont rly ever acknowledge it outside of the moment but man so much of my job rly is just emotionally supporting a ton of my coworkers and im happy to be there for them but sometimes i wish it wasnt only me. idk. i dont rly have a point just reflecting

[holocene-sims]

a sneak peek for an upcoming (timeline tbd) update 😊

[queerwolfdog]

You know, I never really thought when we started working for the very first time in last November, I’d get to meet someone from work who cares about me a lot as they end up meaning so highly much to me.

[phagodyke]

ykw actually I am angry + disappointed w them. I've been pushing how I feel aside and trying to make it my own fault so it's all contained but I think theyve just been mean. and they really should know me better ik I try to pretend I don't expect more from them so I feel less hurt when they do things that upset me but we've been friends for years by this point. like come on.

[nullians]

Caught up with op/m manga… I’m scared of waiting…