#you can quit the hero life but the hero life knows your address and will put bombs in your head to get you to act accordingly

[rainedroptalks]

Im finally reading some green arrow stuff instead of studying chemistry and wow can someone get cissie a ride home or something she literally doesn't know these people

[somedayillbepeterpan]

I have gone down this rabbit hole now and I'm afraid I'm never getting out. I hope I give justice to this. And sorry if this is long.

I've seen a lot of the Colin and Marina vs. Colin and Penelope analyses in here and I want to raise this parallel as to how the Butterfly ball was such a powerful move for both Penelope and Colin. We all have our issues with how they handled Pen and Colin finding their way back to each other but let me add this perspective and hope it helps us understand how real they handled the issue of LW and pushed the character development for them both.

The scene on the left is from S01e06 (Swish) and the right is S03e08 (Into the Light)

S1 scene - Violet is still in her dressing gown, obviously distraught having just read something from LW. She hears someone come down and finds Colin.

S3 scene - Violet is dressed for the morning and her face looks a combination of surprise and confusion after reading a letter. She turns around when she hears someone coming down the stairs.

In both scenes, we see Colin coming down the stairs.

S1 - we only see Colin's back. We're in suspense on what emotional state he is in but we do know that he's on his way to elope with Marina.

In S3 - we see Colin's face immediately looking determined and ready. We see Violet calling his name quite urgently.

S1 - Colin sees his mother's face looking like a combination of disappointment and anger. He asks what's happening. She doesn't say anything but just looks at Colin with a sadness that only a mother can give.

S3 - Violet pointedly says that she received a letter from Colin's wife (I love this line so much) that sounds awfully like "I need you to explain what's happening right now."

S1 - Violet hands Colin LW without saying anything and just looks so so so sad. Colin is shocked to his core because we learn that LW (Pen) exposes Marina's pregnancy and that she has been pregnant from the beginning of the season.

S3 - Colin determinedly faces his mother telling her that they had better sit. And I'm guessing that Colin tells her everything.

Where am I going with this? (Gosh, doing an analysis is hard 😂)

The first time Colin fell in love (thought he fell in love), he was blindsided. But I believe the pain he felt at that time was made deeper because his family had to save him from the situation (Anthony explaining that his actions in the scandal will affect his sisters' prospects as well). To think that it was his mother who first learned of the situation added salt to the wound because we all know that he is a mama's boy and that the one person he dislikes letting down is his mother.

The second (and last time) Colin falls in love, he once again feels betrayed. But he's fallen in love so deeply that he can't imagine his life without Pen. The struggle he goes through in understanding his emotions was very hard to watch and it's because the issue goes beyond his and Pen's relationship. It extends to his family.

Colin's hero complex goes beyond feeling worthy of Pen's love but also worthy of the Bridgerton name. We see it several times in S3 when he mentions it in his confrontation with Portia (" I advise you not to sully our Bridgerton name...") and when Pen tells him that Cressida discovered her secret ("It will besmirch our Bridgerton name. The entire family").

The whole sequence in the study is now more significant because of what Pen addresses in their conversation-- Colin's family ("Your family... the one you so kindly shared with me, they are too good").

Pen's "sacrifice" ("But I can no longer conceal the biggest piece of information I have. My identity."), I believe, was to save the Bridgerton family (once again) and she asks Colin to stand by her as she formulates and executes this plan.

It was very important that Pen wrote a letter to Violet directly and that Colin was there right after she's read it to explain everything. From this point on, they were a team. From this point on, Colin moves in parallel with Pen instead of against it. Colin finally sees that version of Pen that she's always been even while she was LW-- the person who was always determined to save his family just as much as he does.

From this point on, their goals were aligned.

10 rewatches after, I finally see how Colin found his way back to Pen. It wasn't very obvious to me how he got over the feelings of betrayal after he discovered Pen was LW. Of course, him reading the letters help but the events leading up to the Butterfly ball, helped him see her as both Pen and Lady Whistledown and the overflowing pride we see on his face was heart-melting to watch.

From this point on, they finally see each other eye to eye. From this point on, they finally accept this version of each other.

If you got to the end, thanks for reading my humble musings.

*Editing to add this: The Butterfly Ball deep dive series

[st0rmyskies]

What Your Favorite Link Says About You

A.k.a. The Links as tarot cards/your rising sign/your blood type.

Time

You're likely an older Zelda fan. Ibuprofen has become a food group for you. Anyone who thinks OoT isn't the greatest Zelda game has you clutching your pearls and tutting. Kids these days don't know how good they have it.

You are a person to whom young people come for advice, either in your career or in life in general. You're happy to give it, especially because you love to help, but on the inside you're silently screaming, What?? Why me???

You may have trouble sleeping through the night. Even if it's not every night, there are some where you just can't turn your brain off and worries or worst-case scenarios just keep playing and replaying ad nauseaum.

You enjoy time in solitude to appreciate the beauty of nature. I bet you know how to braid a mean daisy crown.

“The flow of time is always cruel...” - Some event in your life took your innocence from you, perhaps much too early. You grew up quickly because of it.

Legend

Either you had a crush on the emo kid in high school or you were the emo kid in high school.

You might be jaded by the world, but you still have a solid work ethic and a soft heart despite it all. Even if you hide it all beneath a healthy layer of sass.

You possess a multitude of skills, not all of which are related. Anytime a friend needs a piece of clothing mended or a picture frame hung on the wall or a leak in a faucet addressed, you have the tools and the willingness to help.

Either you have a history of moving frequently when you were young, or you have a restless spirit. You may never quite feel 'at home' in any given place.

"But, verily, it be the nature of dreams to end." - You’ve suffered a meaningful loss in your life and you have a hard time opening up again because of it. 

Hyrule

You root for the underdog, or perhaps you are the underdog. Any of those "against all odds" stories just hit you square in the chest.

Somewhat quiet by nature, you do vital work behind the scenes but you aren't the type to seek out a leadership position. Leave the limelight to somebody else, please.

You might sell yourself short when it comes to your skills and abilities, but you should believe in yourself, man! You can do it!!

You have a capricious streak in you that rears its head now and again. That smile can look sharp and devilish in the right light.

"It's dangerous to go alone!" - You either already have or are destined to find 'that one person' with whom you can open up and truly be yourself. 

Twilight

I'm willing to put money on the fact that Twilight Princess was your first Zelda game.

You have a strong sense of justice and get really bent out of shape when you encounter unfairness or flaw in the system, whatever that may be. You might be considered an outsider in some way because of this.

You're the friend who scoops spiders up in a cup and sets them outside. Live and let live.

You were the 'wolf kid' in middle school. Come on, those amazing tie dye shirts? Wolf Woman? Julie of the Wolves?? Even if you kept it inside, it was there in some way.

"Your current power would disgrace the proud green of the hero's tunic you wear." - You put a lot of stock in the opinions of others and hold yourself to a higher standard because of it. Sometimes that standard isn't achievable, though, so try to be kind to yourself. 

Sky

You, my friend, have a soft heart. You're generally a happy-go-lucky sort of person. You're likely to make excuses for those who've been mean to you in the past and come out as friends on the other side.

You're crafty, or at the very least good with your hands. You're the type to give someone a handmade gift rather than go buy something for them for their birthday, a holiday, etc.

You have a strong affinity for your friends. If anything bad were to happen to them, you'd turn violent at the drop of a hat.

You may have some level of chronic illness that affects you. Although you might do things in a different way or at your own pace, though, you still come out on top.

"You fight like no man or demon I have ever known." - You have the capability for great things. World-changing sorts of things. Don't give up!

Wild

You're some flavor of neurodivergent, if I had to guess I'd say ADHD. You have 42 tabs open in your brain at any given time and you have no idea which one the music is coming from.

You're an incredibly creative person, although you might have trouble finishing tasks/works-in-progress. Doesn't mean you didn't learn something along the way!

Rigid guidelines or deadlines stress you out. You'd rather be given a goal and decide for yourself when and how to get there. When you do have a deadline, you're a bit of a procrastinator.

Sometimes you don’t get the 'right' way to do things, but you carve your own path--although sometimes it's unorthodox--and get there in your own time.

"Courage need not be remembered, for it is never forgotten." - In spite of how your life changes you, for better or for worse, you have a driving inspiration or ethic or vocation that moves you forward at all costs.

Warriors

Those who don't know you well tend to boil you down to one or two trite traits. In reality, you contain multitudes. Most people couldn't handle all of you, not that they deserve to know even part of you.

You tend to lay it on thick--be that your charm, attitude, or whatever else your social shield might be--because you're hiding some deeper secret or insecurity at your core.

You're the mom friend or the planner in your group, or perhaps you're the oldest child. You’ll pass on an authority role if and when you can, but likely you’re still involved in some supervisory capacity in a given situation. 

You kill spiders with fire. Show NO mercy.

"You dare raise the blade of evil's bane to me? So be it. Hyrule's blood will be on your hands." - You have strong convictions and you aren't afraid to take risks, major risks, to do what you know to be right.

Four

Babe, if you ain't short, you've got short person energy. You scare me a little bit tbh.

You were praised for not being a problem child growing up, or for being very responsible at a young age.

You have a vivid imagination! You may have had an imaginary friend as a child or lived in your own little world altogether. I bet your notebook pages were strewn with little doodles in school.

You're a lover of information. If you could choose between an afternoon at the library or a movie matinee, it would be the former.

"Hanging around with you fools is dangerous for my health." - You're the snark friend, aren't you.  

Wind

You are extroverted to a fault. You need the company of others to recharge that social battery. The quintessential golden retriever friend.

You had active involvement in the music and theatre department. I'd be surprised if you weren't in at least one show in high school.

Having adventures is where it's at! You're a big fan of travel, either cross-country road trips or international flights. You could happily live out of a suitcase.

You tend to make friends easily wherever you go. If everyone in this classroom/workplace/bar doesn't know your name already, they will pretty quick.

"I have been waiting for you, boy... Do not betray my expectations.” - Against all odds, you've proven yourself to be worthy of great things. Screw what fate has in store! You're the type to take your own destiny by the 'nads.

[stu-dyingstudent]

Sakura Haruno Fanfiction!!

Started: 2024.05.01

Last Updated: 2024.05.31

Total Works: 48

Okay, I absolutely adore Sakura as a character, but I do wish that we got a bit more of her just being awesome and progressing as a ninja. Generally speaking, I prefer multichapter (finished) fics, so that is what this list is primarily going to contain. This list contains my some of my favorite Sakura centric fanfiction, so everyone can enjoy these masterpieces too!!

note: this is my original list, but you can also check out my master list which has some more fics, is organized, and gets updated!!

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Survival of the fittest - cywscross || ao3 || T || shikasaku || canon divergent || one shot

Sakura is thirteen, still a Genin, lost in the middle of Earth Country, lugging an unconscious Chuunin around, and so far beyond scared that she’s moved right on to pissed off.

AHHHH this one is soooo good!!! I know I literally just said that this list is mainly going to be multi-chapter fics, but survival of the fittest is great!

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The Ocean is Deep and Dark - Pleasedial123 || ao3 || M || canon divergent || complete

Gato doesn't trust Zabuza to get the job done. Instead he sends a team of thugs to ambush the Bridge Builder on his return to Wave. Team Seven, exhausted from their fight and Kakashi still unconscious, is separated. Sakura gets captured. Terrible things happen to pretty girls in the hands of men like Gato and his thugs. But Zabuza puts his claim in first and suddenly Sakura isn't the prisoner of a civillian businessman and his hired muscle. Suddenly she's Momichi Zabuza's.

I won't lie, I have a soft spot for fics that take place during the land of waves arc, especially when they focus on Sakura's growth. I love how Zabuza was portrayed in this as although he wasn't necessarily a bad guy, he wasn't a good one either. He simply has morals. Sakura's fear in this is also quite raw and eye opening as it covers a theme that isn't ever covered in the original series. The reality is, the world is not kind to women, and a captured young female ninja is most certainly going to be at some untasteful risks. Oh, team 7's concern was also pretty touching ngl.

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Satori (Between the Lines) - Jaylene || ffn || gen || T || AU || complete

While attending the Academy, Sakura's field experience assignment with the Konohagakure Intelligence Division ends up being more valuable than she'd ever guess.

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Pulling my weight - itsthechocopuff || ao3/ffn || shikasakucho || T || AU || complete

During their mission to Wave, Sakura realises how behind she is in her training and decides to do something about it. She vows to become a shinobi her Village and her teammates can respect and depend on. But Sakura has always been a paper-ninja, so her first stop for inspiration is the library where she finds unexpected help in the form of one very bored tokujo who quickly goes on to become an integral part of her life. Soon, despite the neglect of her sensei and all odds seemingly against her, Sakura's destiny begins to change.

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Kill Your Heroes - TheLightAtLastAndAlways || ao3/ffn || T || canon divergent || ongoing

It's time to stop waiting for other people to save you. A story about fear, resilience, and Sakura.

I feel like anyone that is a fan of Sakura centric fics has read this one and it's for a good reason! Probably one of my all time favorites as I love how Sakura's emotions are handled in this and simply the fact that she is so driven by fear and just the will to keep surviving. It's an aspect of the original series that just was not addressed imo. They are essentially child soldiers, so I wish that we got to witness more moments of vulnerability from the young ninja. Unfortunately, it probably won't be finishing anytime soon.

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Stumble - writer168 || ao3/ffn || gen || T || time travel AU || complete

Sakura wanted to die. Sasori was fine with staying dead. But it seemed fate had other plans for them, because when they both wake up younger with blood pulsing through their veins, they had to remember how to live again. Time Travel AU

We need more fics with Genma and Ibiki!!!!

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Five Petals - PrecariousSauce || ao3 || sasusaku || gen || canon divergent || complete

Several things happen all at once in less than a minute’s time. Sakura’s elbow slams into Sasuke’s side from an angle he doesn’t anticipate, sending him tumbling end over end off the branch. Sasuke rights himself just a second too late and without checking where he’s going to land– When he does his knee twists, he feels a lightning bolt of pain shoot from his sole to his head, his leg gives out. And Orochimaru’s teeth sink down to the gum in Sakura’s shoulder.

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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 kinda weak in this one and it got pretty cheesy, but I still enjoyed it.

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A Twist in Time - wolf08 || ffn || sasusaku || T || time travel AU || complete

With Konoha on the verge of destruction, Sakura is sent on a last-resort mission to save her world by travelling to the past. Join her in coping with her old body's shortcomings, testing the natural laws of time, falling in love all over again, and rediscovering who she is.

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With Every Beat - halfdemonfan || ffn || sasusaku || M || canon divergent || incomplete

Pain can come in various forms. Sakura had suffered all of them; but with the war raging on she found the torture would continue.

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Ghosts - ElegiesforShiva || ffn || sausaku || M || AU || 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.

I won't lie, this one is pretty dark, so definitely read the TWs if that applies to you.

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Your Move, Instigator (draw your weapon and hold your tongue) - Laysan_albatross || ao3|| AU || complete

“We are still under wartime policy,” the recruiter had told her parents. He had an envelope in his hand. He sounded sorry. “She has two parents who are successful ninjas. We would be remiss to overlook her potential based upon that alone.” The Third Shinobi War never ended. Konoha needs more soldiers, grabbing anyone who can fight, especially those who can't say no.

You guys, I love this one to death. It's definitely a darker take on the Naruto universe, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. I've been looking for more like this fic where the civilian born shinobi are deemed as more expendable (thrown into war prematurely).

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Find Your Place (whatever it takes) - Dovey || ao3 || AU || incomplete

The war lasts longer than in canon, and has only just ended. While most of the 'Konoha 12' are clan heirs and thus protected from having to go to war prematurely, Sakura is from a civilian family, with naturally advanced chakra control, and thus is thrown immediately onto the frontlines. Now she's on a genin team in peacetime, and she's struggling to figure out how to live when she's not constantly at risk of dying. Team seven bonds in new weird ways, The Uchiha are actually all dead except for Sasuke (including war-hero itachi) who's got a chip on his shoulder the size of Konoha, Naruto isn't the kyuubi container and he finds Sakura kinda scary. Sakura would just like to have a hobby.

This one I actually have not read (I hope to read), but "your move, instigator" was inspired by this one!

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Icarus (protect the flames) - ginoeh || ao3 || canon divergent || incomplete

When Sakura realizes that playing little girl and flunking combat training had probably been a gross miscalculation on her part, she’s stranded in a rickety home in a run down country with an unconscious sensei. Sakura isn’t sure if she can make up for that mistake before it kills her or her team but she sure as hell will give it her best shot. She really couldn’t have known that falling victim to Hatake Kakashi’s unique attempts at teaching would open up another can of worms entirely.

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team. - waterpllar || ao3 || AU || complete

She’s under Neji's command, which apparently means she’s under the Hyuuga’s command. The Hyuuga’s role is on the frontlines, but Neji must be special for a kid from the branch family, because they mostly send him and Sakura out after the big battles are done, to pick off the wounded, and burn bodies. Sakura kind of wishes she had someone to keep her from the big fights, too. Her job is with Neji, taking back kekkei genkai and retrieving important people’s bodies, but she has other assignments, too. She’s given a dull kunai and told to go through the battlefield, dodging blows and jutsus from friend and foe, slashing at whatever isn’t wearing a Konoha headband. (the third shinobi war doesn't end, dragging on for years. konoha is running out of troops, and unimportant children in the academy with even a modicum of talent are snatched up to the warfront. sakura, unfortunately, is one of them. so is neji.)

Yay, a fic inspired by "your move, instigator" so of course I gotta put it on the list!! Although, I gotta say that the ending was rather disappointing imo. There was so much potential, but the author admitted to not wanting to continue the story so it was cut short. Hopefully more works of this nature will come to light!

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Cold Green Eyes - Wolfgang_in_the_Stars || ao3 || AU || complete

Haruno Sakura is 12 years old when she realises she has to make some changes in her life or else she'll die. Three years ago, Sakura split herself. Inner took her trauma, her pain, her violence, and Outer took the rest. If she wants to survive, if she wants to become a strong kunoichi, she'll have to accept herself as a whole. It's not as easy as it sounds.

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Home is Where the Heart is - DeepPoeticGirl || ffn || sasusaku || T || blank period || canon divergent || 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.

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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.

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Ripples - Yellow Mask || ffn || sasusaku || T || canon divergent || complete

Following a botched mission, Sakura is made a slave by Sound, a position that could very well alter the future…especially concerning a certain familiar missing-nin.

I thought this fic was pretty interesting as we get to see Sasuke under Orochimaru's command.

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The Pack Survives - ihopethelightwillshineupon || ao3 || team 7 || canon divergent || complete

When a simple C-rank mission turns into a straight-up nightmare, the members of Team Seven narrowly escape with their lives. They end up stuck in the middle of nowhere, each of them injured and forced to rely on one another for help. They’ve only been a team for a couple of weeks, still distant from one another, still trying hard to prove themselves. But when they’re all hurt and struggling desperately to survive, they have no choice but to lower their walls. Stranded far away from the village, Team Seven fights to get back home safely – but with help impossibly far away, with their food supplies shrinking and with their injuries slowing them down, their journey becomes more difficult with every step. In the wake of their struggle, though, their bonds grow steadily stronger.

Sakura is not the main character in this one as it it more focused on team 7 as a whole, but she still has some great development!

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Return & Rehash - SpaceNugget11 || ffn || sasusaku || M || time travel AU || incomplete

"You," Sakura snarled with bared teeth. Sasuke gagged for air, clutching at her forearm, but she only pressed harder into him. Her green eyes crackled, and she wished she could burn him alive with the heat of her anger.

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An Inch of Gold - KuriQuinn || ffn || sasusaku || T || time travel AU || complete

Team 7 is sent on a mission to investigate a disturbance outside of the village, where they encounter an unconscious girl in a crater. The mysterious Sarada insists she's a shinobi from the Hidden Leaf trying to rescue her teammates. When the team discovers she possesses a Sharingan, things become even more unbelievable. [Part of the Legacy of Fire Series]

Honestly, anything by this author is great! The writing captures the personalities of the characters so well and I'm a complete sucker for the whole Sarada meets Sakura and Sasuke trope!! Sasusaku is super cute in this (while being realistic) and I love how Kakashi is such a shipper.

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Trial by Ninja - jacobk || ffn || T || canon divergence || complete

To become great, one must overcome great opponents. A moment of inspiration during the chuunin exam puts Sakura on the path to greatness, whether she likes it or not.

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Loyalty - TrueRadicalDreamer || ffn/ao3 || M || AU || complete

A ten-year-old Haruno Sakura is put in the worst situation of her young life - being forced into working as a spy for an enemy village. As she navigates the mores of her new world, Sakura begins to realize that she is changing as a person and that she may not recognize who it is she is becoming. A story about personal responsibility, about the duties of a ninja to their village, and about the true meaning of loyalty. (Pre-Skip, Unapologetically Sakura-centric, 13 years in the writing)

Ok, a little note here is that this fic is actually being rewritten. I read the old version and loved it (the one I linked), but there is a new one coming out on ao3 although I think it might incomplete. Nonetheless, I HIGHLY recommend this one as I think it's great and pleasantly dark!

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Five Kingdoms for the Dead - EvilIsARelativeTerm || ffn || M || AU || complete

After the Forest of Death, Sakura comes to realize that being weak is no longer an option. However, she finds that change is sometimes painful and that truth doesn't always come easy. Luckily, she'll have some help along the way.

Two words: SO GOOD!!!! It made me wish that we got more of Sakura and Neji doing missions together.

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It's Just That Any One of Us Is Half Without Another One Is You - Branch || ao3 || AU || complete

An AU in which all the character development of part one gets its due: Kakashi finds another way, Sasuke does not leave the Leaf, Itachi remains a villain, no one is a carbon copy of a previous generation, Sakura grows up to be terrifying, Sasuke finds his way back to family, and Naruto wins all hearts. Featuring Team Seven fluff, filling in the time-skip, and a rather different second half. Drama, Angst, Romance, Fluff, Action, Occasional Porn.

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I Know Those Eyes - roomfishing || ffn || sasusaku || T || AU || complete

Seven years following Sasuke’s disappearance, Sakura, now a medical-nin, goes on an ANBU assassination mission. SasuSaku. Contains spoilers, PG-13 for mild V, L, S.

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A Lesson in Humility - aobears || ao3 || itasaku || AU || incomplete

It's a fierce desire to protect, to possess. What's Sakura's will stay Sakura's, until she says otherwise. Where Sakura gets sick of being the weak link.

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These Eyes of Mine (I Can See) - tsukuyue || ao3 || gen || time travel AU || complete

They've lost. Naruto was dead, killed at Kaguya’s hands. Along with him died any illusions of hope that they could win. They couldn’t win, but perhaps they wouldn’t need to. In attempts to stop the Fourth Shinobi War from ever occuring, Sakura is sent back in time to the moment of her birth. Protecting the people she cared about would be much easier if she knew all the facts. OR Where Sakura can see the dead, and Danzō deserves to die.

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Little Piece of Heaven - Leanne Ash || ffn || sasusaku || T || canon divergent || complete

"I don't do it because I think you're weak! I do it because—! Because I… just… Never mind." Years later it finally happened. Unfortunately, she just didn't care anymore. A story of love and irony, where one is oblivious… and the other is Sasuke.

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Dessert Blossom - Aphiria || ffn || kankusaku || T || AU || complete

Sakura’s accepted a mission to help Suna with an unknown illness that has affected a handful of its villagers. And all Kankurou has to do is watch over her while she’s in his city. It should be easy. Right?

Despite me being a sasusaku fan, I've always been a sucker for kankusaku every since she healed him in shippuden, so this was a nice read (a bit cheesy but fun).

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Two Minds (are better than one) - Lesemaus16 || ao3 || gen || AU || complete

Tobirama doesn't generally object to being reborn. He does object to being stuck in the mind of a little girl, though. Sakura grows up with a grumpy voice in her head, telling her to train more. Tobirama's influence on Sakura might very well change the story. Or maybe not, who knows.

Tobirama is such a great character (so refreshing) and his interactions with Sakura in this are gold! I hope one day Kishimoto will release some side stories about him and other characters from his time as we really don't know that much about them tbh.

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Expedient - SwiftKick || ffn || T || AU || complete

Konoha and Iwa sign a truce and agree to an Exchange Program between recently promoted genin to "bolster village relations." Fortunately, if anything were to go wrong, Haruno Sakura was just average enough to risk losing.

Wow, this one is another all time favorite of mine! I didn't have high expectations going into it, but this fic is truly great. Deidara is such a fun character and I really enjoyed Sakura's growth in this.

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The Nearest Star - summersirius || ao3 || minasaku || canon divergent || complete

The quest for strength comes from the spirit or in this case, the soul. —Minato/Sakura

I quite honestly though that I was going to hate this because of the pairing, but it was surprisingly very well done! Also, Sakura is a total badass in this.

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Trials of Change - Espoiretreves || ao3 || gen || time travel AU || complete

Haruno Sakura made a promise. Looking in the eyes of her Shisou and the reanimated Hokage, she took on the most important mission of her life. Go back in time and try to prevent the 4th Shinobi War. Now, Sakura is back to her 5-year-old body, with all the knowledge and haunting memories of the future. She vows to keep her precious people safe and stop certain events from happening, without altering the timeline too much. The trials her emotions and logic put her through have her questioning her very existence, but for the sake of peace, she has to push forward. No matter what.

This one is a really good non-massacre fic where we get to see Shisui!

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Dirt and Ashes, or: The One-and-a-Half Body Problem - Tozette || ao3 || gen || M || canon divergent || complete

The invasion of Konoha during the chuunin exam didn't fail. Team seven is broken, people are dead, and Sakura is hurt and frightened and a very long way from home. Alternative summary: In which Sakura carries half of Hidan across two countries, leaving a trail of blood, bodies, and other people's legs.

This one is pretty gross tbh, but I highly recommend!

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Obito-Sensei - Ser Serendipity || ffn || gen || M || AU || ongoing

During the fateful mission to the Kannabi Bridge, Obito is too slow, and Kakashi ends up paying the price with his life. Years later, Elite Jonin Mangekyou no Obito is placed in charge of a very familiar genin team, determined to keep them safe in a world at peace. Or: Obito surviving wrecks everything, in twenty steps or less.

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Time Flies Like An Arrow - Katlou303 || ao3 || gen || K || time travel AU || complete

Sakura traveled back in time with the intent of changing everything, but something went wrong, and now she's four years old having nightmares about impossible monsters and losing friends she has yet to meet.

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Labyrinthine - FM_White || ao3 || itasaku || M || AU || 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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The Misadventures of Kakashi and the Girl From No Where - Goldfishlover73 || ao3 || kakasaku || M || time travel AU || complete

When a girl called Sakura seemingly falls in the sky, Kakashi is skeptical. Far more skeptical than the rest of Team Minato are. War is approaching quickly and this strange girl is leaving more questions than answers in her wake, Kakashi must decide where his trust and loyalties lie in a constantly changing world.

Told in the perspective of Kakashi in his youth! Really interesting take and I love how strong Sakura is in this in addition to the fact that we get to see a different side of Kakashi that we aren't used to.

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The Sixth Shadow - thinknicht || ao3 || kakasaku || M || canon divergent - eventual time travel AU || ongoing

No one seemed to find it odd when little Haruno Sakura threw herself smack dab in front of a Chidori and Rasengan. Not even Kakashi stopped to wonder. (He really should have.)

The story of how Sakura came to be the sixth hogake despite all of the challenges thrown her way. Maybe I'm just late to the game, but this is a true hidden gem! Such an interesting take on how the events of the series could have unfolded. I especially love Sakura's drive in addition to the political aspects. However, be warned that Kakashi is an absolute HATER (in the beginning), but he gets better! Also, the fic is super long....

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Hell's Radiance - Angel of the Godless || ffn || M || AU || complete

AU Fate can be a twisted thing, some only exist in hate. Sakura was one of those, a container of the most feared demon in history, hated by her village. Lost in the darkness, she tried to find a reason for living.

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Will Of Stone - sadfascist || ffn || M || AU || complete

Timeskip: Sakura travels to the Earth Country to take the Iwa chuunin exam. Waiting for her there is a place of ancient wonder… violent trials… star-crossed love… and a conspiracy that threatens world peace itself. An epic novel. COMPLETE.

Another really long fic.

still waters by Vulpecula_et_Anser || ao3 || gen || M || canon AU || one-shot complete

Sakura is twelve when she queues up in front a desk with a bunch of other equally-terrified looking shinobi. The ages range from younger than her to old enough to be her grandpa. The man sitting at the desk is stony-faced as he doles out assignments. Sakura obediently shuffles forward when it is her turn, and recites her shinobi identification number in a shaky voice when asked. When the provost marshal looks at her, looks down at his paper, looks back at her, and grimaces, Sakura knows it’s not going to be good. or How Sakura survives the war, told in bits and pieces.

Canon-fodder! Sakura makes her shinobi debut on the front lines, forcing her to get creative in her means to survive. It's gritty, raw, and the clever use of seals is great! Y'all know this type of story is my personal guilty pleasure (also one of the best I've read thus far)...

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A Drop of Poison by Androgyninja || ao3 || gen || M || canon divergent || complete

After being humiliated during a sparring match, Sakura realizes that she no longer wants to base her future on a boy who doesn't even like her. With a newfound sense of determination, she sets off to become a truly terrifying kunoichi, making her fair share of friends and enemies along the way. In other words, Sakura discovers who she really wants to be and fucks shit up along the way. And if she poisons a few important people? Well, that's just collateral damage. Begins during Sakura's final year at the academy and ends right before the canon time skip.

Where the hierarchy of the clans and clanless is more prominent than ever, Sakura comes to the stark realization of her true purpose on team 7. Along with fics like Kill Your Heroes, Sakura makes sacrifices out of her newfound determination to become a respected shinobi. However, her actions bring ramifications which she'll have to face head first. Also, poison-user! Sakura is such a great idea (I wish this was canon)!

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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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Masks by mads999 || ao3 || kakasaku || E || canon divergent || complete

1. Sakura's Inner is far more diabolical than anyone ever expected 2. Crows prove to be cruel mentors 3. Sakura comes to learn exactly how much she hates Kakashi (as well as how alike they are, in the most terrible of ways)

Kakashi is a hateful turd and Sakura is spiteful! I hate this ship and I'm not a big fan of Kakashi here, but boy is this fic good. One of the best character developments I've read for Sakura and she certainly becomes of force to be reconned with. In addition, the Anbu worldbuilding (can I use that here?) is phenomenal!

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New Day Dawning - IncompleteSentanc (Erava) || ao3 || narusaku || T || canon divergence || complete

One day, while visiting the grave of Nohara Rin, Obito stumbles across a young girl terrifyingly like her. He decides to ensure she doesn’t meet the same fate. As for Sakura? Sakura had no idea what she was awakening the day she went to visit her parents graves - but she never looked back. One way or another. (Feat. Sakura raised by Obito and the Akatsuki, and her eventual return to Konoha and all those she left behind)

Sakura is brainwashed and manipulated, but loved by notorious killers nonetheless. Incredibly well written and I won't lie when I say that the ending took me a bit by surprise.

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[saltydkdan]

Thoughts on Strohiem? (From Jojo)

It’s… rough. I have OPINIONS ABOUT HIM.

For those unaware, or have forgotten. This particular ask is about the character of Rudol von Stroheim from Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure. A Nazi Major that is introduced in Part 2 of the series. I have always wanted a proper moment to spotlight how much I dislike this character. And not just how I dislike him as a character, but how I dislike his general inclusion in the story as well.

Listen, I LOVE this series. But even I have my limits. It’s because I love it so much that I critique aspects like this in the first place.

Warning, I’m about to word vomit about this because I’ve been DYING to talk about this somewhere.

BIG DISCLAIMER: These are my thoughts and mine alone. I know there’s a lot of… interesting anime fans out there that might disagree. I’m not here to debate on stuff like this, I don’t want to hear your contradictory thoughts on the subject. If I see a single person say I’m “virtue signaling” by saying I don’t like the Jojo Nazi character, I am going to mail you a pipe bomb (in the hit game Minecraft for Windows PCs)

Stroheim’s existence (or at least, how he currently exists in the story) is not handled all that well in my opinion. Like… not at all. I like to poke fun at it, but I genuinely think Araki fumbled the bag so hard with Stroheim and it's more and more unbelievable the more I think about it over time.

No matter how you shake it, Araki fully wrote a historically accurate Nazi character into Battle Tendency and proceeded to give him a redemption arc and make him a member of the supporting cast. Now of course, I know that Japan has a fascination with a lot of German stuff, so within that context I can kind of get why he exists in the way that he does, but it just feels weird and in bad taste.

Contextually, it makes sense. Do I like it? No. No I do not.

To address the elephant in the room, I get it. Araki really loves to write evil villain characters, and then having them be redeemed, or switch over to the hero's side after a certain point. I actually really enjoy this trope especially in Jojo! It’s one of my favorites. Especially how it’s handled in Part 4: Diamond is Unbreakable.

However, writing a redemption storyline for characters like Okuyasu and Rohan is fundamentally different from writing one for Stroheim.

First and most obviously, unlike other characters, Stroheim’s whole character is based on an actual real life totalitarian extremist hate group who committed horrible atrocities across history (and still does to this day).

As if that wasn’t enough, he quite LITERALLY commits horrible atrocities ON SCREEN. Sacrificing an entire room of innocent people to Santana (the first of the Pillar Men) so that the German’s can awaken and study him in their secret lab.

Everything about Stroheim feels like it’s very intentional at the start. He is clearly set as a villain from the beginning, and it works fine. However once he self-immolates and blows himself up to destroy Santana, the story seems to continuously frame him more and more as an ally/hero from that point onward.

After he returns with his cyborg body, the fact that he’s a Nazi suddenly takes a back seat and now he’s continuously just framed as a “patriotic” soldier. Legit, the moment after he shows back up, Joseph internally comments on how he’s “not exactly a bad guy”.

Some people will argue on how it’s a bit more complicated than that, since Joseph also thinks about how he dislikes that he’s a German Soldier. But directly after this, he also states how he’s still happy Stroheim isn’t dead. If anything, from this point onward Joseph acts towards Storheim in a similar way to how he acts towards Caeser. Even if they aren’t best friends, Joseph still has positive feelings towards Stroheim, and I hateeeee that.

In the anime, they even make sure to call him a “German Soldier” and not a Nazi. The avoidance of that word really struck me as them trying to avoid that subject because they knew the way the character was treated was strange.

So anyway, as I was trying to say. Redeeming villain characters is one thing, but redeeming a villain character that is straight up a literal Nazi is something else entirely. Especially when like, not to nitpick, but Stroheim never walks back the more extremist beliefs that he for sure subscribes to.

-And if you’re one of those weirdos who tries to make a point by saying “well, he never outright says what he actually believes in! Maybe he is just fighting for Germany for his own reasons.”

My dude, he’s literally described as a “Patrotic Nazi”. What the fuck do yoU THINK HE BELIEVES IN?

Also as a final addition to this rant, I also don’t quite like how weirdly normalized that Araki makes the existence of “german soldiers” in his story even outside of Stroheim. Nazi’s are weirdly commonplace throughout the plot, and while it contextually makes sense since they kicked off the main conflict, they are almost always weirdly painted as neutral or even straight up good guys (after the Santana fight). Which is just really strange to me.

Like bruh, you mean to tell me that Caeser fucking Zeppeli is casually frieNDS WITH ONE OF THEM? BE FUCKIN FR ARAKI LOL

It also sucks how Stroheim is so increasingly present leading up to the final act. Like MAN, GET THIS MOTHERFUCKER OFF THE SCREEN.

The only good thing about the inclusion of Nazi’s after Stroheim’s initial sacrifice, is that we get to see the Pillar Man murk a shit ton of them on screen. Like, fuck yeah dude. A great way to power scale and show how powerful the Pillar Men are as antagonists, without me feeling bad that they killed a bunch of people to do so.

Anyway, that’s my 2 cents that nobody asked for. I still LOVE Jojo, I think it’s a masterpiece of its genre, but it’s because of my intense love for it that I criticize it’s missteps so heavily. I hope that my wording on this post is done well, I had to re-draft it a second time after accidentally deleting it once, so I have a feeling it’ll come off a bit scrambled.

That being said, thanks for the Ask!

[ariseur]

Hello there! Thank you so much for addressing my request...I'm new to Tumblr app so I hope I'm messaging your inbox! So yes! I hope...this isn't too demanding. I anon requested zack x fair reader...and I'm gonna let it all hang out with you:

I simp for zack fair very very hard...and Im HUNGRY for fluff..all the gentle kisses, hair playing ...jawline holding, couch cuddling, sweet compliments, rainy days...holding...waist clutching, skin contact, lips grazing coffe sippinng...deep eye dinner dates, jokes , teasing silly ...I can handle!!! I don't do smut or too overly steamy. I'm too old for that shit

Maybe perhaps...on the opposite spectrum, zack boyfriend scenario, comforting s/o with anxiety...drying of tears, wiping tears away, consoling cuddling...hearing him hum reader to sleep...mentions of heartbeats being felt through chests....feeling of voice vibrations through MUSCULAR chest...comfort bare muscular arms , tender kisses...goosebumps...ok I'm sorry too demanding...if I'm blessed and you create chapters of like simple one date, fun.."friends to lovers" type of thing, casual playstation gaming hangouts, cooking dinner as friends...thinking of each other while away ..to eventually relationship and consoling s/o anxiety....full on love date..that close intimacy (i,crave safe for work) I'd wait FOREVER, however long it would take you to write chapters of joy....you'd be my hero!!!

I stress his scar (in my own ramblings i always place my finger tips on it, i kiss it gently, we discuss who gave it to him, how he feels about it).. Our first date I wear some tight fitting dress his favorite color, but as he gentlemanly removes my peacoat for the evening he notices I'm covered in tattoos, and he's memzmerized (I do have quite the collection of ink irl) he smells of sweet sandalwood and is wearing the black suit in that turks mod for remake... his eyes. I make my own feeble attempts at fanfic but I'm TOO new and insecure to really write anything as I REGULARLY indulge in AI chat and it proves so many USEFUL fever dream instances for me to write but for now...I let the experts handle it.

Should you accept, thank you for bringing JOY into my life....

Please do take your time...I know you amazing ppl are BUSY and mine isn't the only request and might even not be too interesting.

But I thank you so so so much...I've been searching for weeks ..no replies.

EPHEMERAL - ZACK FAIR (CHPT. ONE)

ᡣ𐭩ྀིྀི₊ ⊹ notes - omg!! i’m so sorry this has been sitting here for so long!! i’ve been trying to go about this and since i’m not that experienced with creating chapter fics, i decided— what the hell?? why not try it?? so— i hope i did somewhat of a good job and stay tuned for some more!!

ᡣ𐭩ྀིྀི₊ ⊹ warnings - none except one mention of suicide ( but like in a ‘social suicide’ way ), intended lowercase, you spar with zack as kids ( cardboard swords ) lmk if i missed anything 💕!!

ᡣ𐭩ྀིྀི₊ ⊹ word count - 2561 words, 13990 characters

STRENGTH. that was what mattered most in this world.

strength was a word you had learned in the first grade, sitting next to a snot-nosed kid babbling to his friends as he completely took up all your attention with his nasally voice in your ear. the teacher seemed to pay no mind, only engulfed in tapping her stubby chalk piece against the board, stained with dashes of residual white from the previous words that had been written earlier today, as she barely looked back at the rest of you.

you remembered it so vividly, the smell of the sanitizing wipes she had used during the twenty minutes recess you always anticipated, eager to escape the boring rants of mrs. ozaki and her slow paced curriculum. you remembered the knock you felt on your chair from behind you, soft as to not alert the teacher — as if she couldn’t hear the noisy kid blabbering next to you known as ono, although you only referred to him as, “booger-face.”

craning your neck and grabbing ahold of the side of your chair in order to turn further, you looked behind you only to see the half-toothless, sanguine kid you knew as zack fair. his dark hair, slicked back with only a few strands sticking out, probably from all the activity he did during your break at recess. you two had met earlier this year as he had defended you from the previous, aforementioned offender— ,”booger-face.” you had remembered the way zack stood over you, hands on his hips as he surged forward at the boy to stop him from pushing you around. his eyes, always so bright and lively, squinted at you with his smile as he helped you up and helped dust off your skirt.

after that moment, zack fair had started hanging around you more and more, inviting you to play around with his friends on the merry-go-round’s or hanging out with you after school, running around and playing with rocks or cardboard swords before your parents’ both called you in for dinner, to which you would hastily say goodnight run to your guys’ houses awaiting dinner.

removing his hands from your chair and placing them neatly on his desk, he beamed at you, “you still up for some training after school?”

you rolled your eyes as your lips twitched upwards into a small smile, “duh,” you said. you turned your body completely in order to to fully face him. “near the water still?”

he chimed in agreement, “duh,” his eyes crinkled with the way his grin widened, identical to the day he had practically saved you. he chuckled a little bit before fixing his posture and sitting upright in his seat, the wooden chair creaking as he readjusted his position. your eyebrows knitted together before you heard a stern shout of your name.

you flinched, whipping around back to face the front as your face burned hot with embarrassment. upon your turning of the body, you were met with the stares of your classmates and the hard glare of your teacher, fixated on only you now. her arm was no longer raised up and scribbling nonsense of vocabulary on the board, instead it hung low and remained against her thigh as she impatiently tapped the piece of chalk against her knee-length skirt. her lips, a light pink as they contrasted with the darkness of her tied hair, were pressed into a thin line before she asserted, “pay more attention, first warning.”

you nodded shamefully as you ducked your head down, grabbing your small wooden pencil and gripping it in your hand, as if you’d use it to jot down notes of whatever she was talking about— although it lay unused and useless for the remainder of class, only a placeholder of a ‘what if’ factor your teacher always liked to use when she began the period.

skeptically, she let her raised brow drop as stopped tapping the chalk against her leg, turning around and beginning to explain the curriculum planned for tomorrow again.

you tried to ignore the feeling of holes being burned at the back of your head, multiple pairs of eyes staring at your fork while you made your attempt at keeping your eyes forward and your mouth shut. you ignored the small, boyish giggles emitted from behind you, you’d ‘kick his butt’ outside of school, you thought. you’d get your payback, but for now — you sighed. keeping your hands interlocked, your faced your palms on another area of the desk, the foreign spot now cold against your warm skin. trying to act somewhat proper and behaved, you waited out the rest of class ( which was only presumably about twenty minutes ) just to find that sublime feeling of escaping the torturous ‘h-e-double hockey sticks’ that you referred to as school.

and you held up to that promise of kicking zack fair’s butt — watching as he stumbled backwards with his hands flailing in the air, a flimsy cardboard cutout of a sword gripped tightly in his hand as he let out a loud, “woahh—!”

you giggled, “what’d i tell you about that stance, zack?” you put a hand on your hip as he yelped in surprise. his foot slipped in the body of water, making an animated sound while he skidded across a rock, luckily able to catch his balance in time. you could hear the small chattering of the people near you, the rivers of gongaga rushing as your laughs continue and rise up into the quiet air.

“that’s not fair—! no water knocks!” he exclaimed.

you shrugged as he approached you once more, “you never said that before we started,” you chided. he charged forward at you, being blocked as you held your sword up in a protective expression. stepping backwards, your arm raised and lowered with every hit that the dark-haired boy threw at you, his confident face flashing between every brown whoosh of the cardboard weapons.

he heaved, “you know how mrs. ozaki kept talking about strongness or whatever?”

“you mean— strength?” another blocked hit, this time you tried to kick him and sweep the leg — unfortunately, you underestimated zack a little more than you had thought as he kept a firm hold in the cold dirt, digging his shoes into the ground.

“same difference, yeah?”

“what about it, fair?”

he pursed his lips as he tensed his body, waiting for you to strike again. you held off for a second, flinching as if you would hit in order to try to keep him off balance. zack decided to speak again in this momentary pause of your sparring. “i’ve been thinking about those SOLDIERs and.. i want to be strong— hey!” he exclaimed as you landed a surprise attack on him, barely grazing his not-so-ironed-anymore jeans before he deflected your hit. “now, that’s really uncalled for, c’mon.”

“finish your thought before i hit you again.” you quirked a brow.

he wore a smug look on his face, putting his hands on his hips while he shook his head at you. “didn’t hit me but ‘kay,” that smugness didn’t last long as you feigned waving your sword at him, only for him to let out a small yelp and jolt backwards. you smiled, quirking an expectant brow while he groaned in exasperation. “i wanna be strong too, y’know. have some— strength,” he said; and that was almost the end of it . . until he had managed to mutter a quick hiss of, “unlike you.”

you watched as his arm raised, the sleeve of his uniform’s button-up lifting up a little to reveal his tan line that he had obtained after being outside with you for so long. his hand gripped the thin handle while he went overhead to try and strike you from above. making haste, you took one more step back as your hands flew up to catch his attack with your own sword. in your imagination, with the collision of your toy weapons, you envisioned a loud, ‘clank!’ as they clashed with each other — it felt much more awesome-r to imagine sounds of iron versus the soft flap of refraining yourself from putting too much pressure on the thin material of the cardboard.

you grinned at him, watching as his determined face managed a crack of a smirk while he tried scaring you and randomizing the amounts of pressure he’d put in an attempt to try and catch you in a daze. however, the swiftness in which you jolted to the side and flipped your sword flat so that the tip faced outwards, thrusting the faux weapon and jabbing it into his chest caught him off guard, rendering him the loser of that evening’s battle.

you watched as zack carefully looked down at his stomach, then finally bringing himself to peer back up at you. he placed a hand on his chest while he acted like he really was injured, even going so far as have spit dribble out of his mouth and act like it was blood.

“gross—!” you exclaimed, pushing him as he fell on his back in the dirt and raised a dramatic hand to the sky. you laughed while he let out his ‘last dying breath’ before ceremoniously lolling his head to the side.

with some more giggles, you judged him with your foot as he magically arose from the ‘dead’ and beamed at you, reveling in your laughter. although, in that moment he wouldn’t tell you. he didn’t want to admit his growing crush on you, he didn’t want cooties. that was practically suicide. you extended a gentle hand out to him, throwing your sword to the side as he took your offer and hoisted himself up. zack brushed the dirt off of his pants while you cleaned his back up, still laughing about the whole encounter.

you claimed victory for a long while, even when you both had sat by the water and skipped rocks onto the cerulean river, now being painted a harsh lilac as the sun began to set and the heat of the sky began to cool, a soft breeze coming to rest upon your bodies rather than the draining, blistering sun.

you let a small beat of silence pass over the both of you, spinning the cold stone in your hand before chucking it into the water. your chest began to tighten, for a reason you don’t know why but you could feel it— crawling up your throat as it engulfed your esophagus. it creeped up the inside of you. almost as if you were gonna throw up, the pit in your stomach began to settle. you felt it, twitching on your tongue as it settled, trying to escape its enclosure from past your lips. you held it in for so long, fighting this battle you were so determined to win as you tried to focus on anything; the birds chirping around you, the rushing of the water, zack’s stone skipping across it. you tried to hold it in until—

“do you really think you’ll become a SOLDIER one day?”

the rock he had grabbed remained lifeless in his hands, his fingers tightening around it while he contemplated his options. he turned to you— dirt on his face and his smile, gapped with all the recent teeth he had been losing. he never faltered with that smile, you thought to yourself; and you never forgot what he had said to you after you asked that, “i’ll make sure of it.”

you smiled back at him, before it dropped once you had heard the calls of your name coming from the huts above the creek, where both of your homes had been located. with not another second, zack had already gotten up and running. he swiveled back to face you, waving a goodbye with his lanky arm before he shouted, “i’ll see you tomorrow!” but, of course, he wouldn’t be zack if he didn’t get hurt every now and then, you thought, as you watched him trip over a small rock. but— you realized, he also wouldn’t be zack if he didn’t get up afterwards. still, he turned his head to make sure you didn’t see only to discover you had ( much to his embarrassment ), before getting up and running back home again.

you laughed under your breath, “dork.”

and now, you’re still you. sitting in a bakery in nibelheim, you had almost never changed. well— besides the fact that you grew a couple of feet and wore a wider range of clothes than your school uniform and an old, colorful your grandmother had gifted you when you were five. you wore your hair differently and went out of your way to try and make a difference in the world; specifically by starting and doing some jobs around town and seeing if anybody needed help with those.. things — that would appear around town. the day zack left for midgar had stained your brain permanently, his hug leaving a mark on your body as you knew you might not see him again— even if you chastised ( or more so threatened ) him that he stay in contact with you no matter what.

although it was a few years ago already, you never forget about it, your mind always traveled back to that day at the river. grabbing another hold of your pastry, you admired the vibrant frosting as it created the symbol of a chocobo, not even able to take a bite in fear of ruining the perfect design. you watched the simple villagers of nibelheim float around their daily life while you stayed under the canopy in front of the shop, seated at a little table with the shade covering you from the heat of the sun. you remained bored as you tapped your foot and listened to the bustle of the small town before you heard pairs of assertive footsteps and the, ‘ooh’s and ‘aah’s of the people.

tilting your head upwards, you only assumed maybe a few flat footed people or some kids running around was the answer but no— you’re met with the sight of a long, silver haired man with wide, white should plates while a shinra infantryman accompanied him along with another SOLDIER, only this time in black armor. you had watched the town guide, and even with your fuzzy memory you think you had recalled her name was tifa.

you squinted at them, watching as the SOLDIERs looked around at the small village. you gasped as the SOLDIER with the darker uniform turned his head, those eyes were all too familiar, and that familiar cowlick that peeked out from his thick, black hair was all too distinct. putting down the pastry, your eyes narrowed even further almost as if you couldn’t believe what you were seeing. you watched as he turned his head, his full face on display as he beamed at the environment— his smile still the same besides the fact that all of his adult teeth had grown in and his jaw became more defined.

you sat upright, your lips quirking upwards as you felt that childish wonder grow as it had all those years ago like when you had first met him, brave and confident as ever when he had defended you.

“zack?”

[siremasterlawrence]

Captain America: Karmic Justice

“Where….where am I?” Steve Rogers wake up in a groggy state in his eyes as he rubs them awake and he shook his head in utter disbelief.

“Mr. Roger’s my name is Lawrence…I am a very huge fan.”

“Tell me what’s going on…why am I tied down?”

“Relax! Please settle down”

“Fine! I explain all of this.”

“I was on a Shield Carrier stopping The Red Skull and then it exploded.” He says trying his best to remember.

“Yes you were! I saved you from the water and rebirth it.” 

“Rebirth me! No that sounds like nonsense Stark would spout.” He says wagging his finger at me.

“Sssshhhhhhh! Not quite! “ I say putting my finger on his lips.

“Be a good boi and close your eyes as I 

will explain to you.” I say closing mine channeling my energy into him. 

“Go to sleep and let me assume control.”

I am whispering into his aids then kiss his cheek as he falls a sleep.

“Your body collapses to the floor giving me all access to this sexy as fuck body I will use and consume.

“In reality you reached home, you are laying in your bed staring at spiral hypnosis video as your mind molds to mine.” I continue to tell him.

“Uuuugggghhhh….fuck” 

“What the matter Captain? Have you kindly learned your lesson?”

I disrobe my clothes quickly getting dressed in some scrubs as I approach the bed in his room and I lay both of palms on the sides of his head as my energy surges through both of my hands. The energy charges up toward my shoulders down my arms into his palms as I sent a wave of electrical current into his head I watch his body jolt up into the air as he pops. His body so electrocuting through all sides he goes wailing out of control in a sea of heat shooting upward into a strong stirring cock and his semen shooting up covering his pants. 

I giggle a bit letting the current take the form of hands sliding down into his crotch area letting them enter into his pants and into his underwear playing with his cock. I plant my lips on his as I kiss him giving in to my urges as I rubbing his shoulder’s so hard,then the same thing happens with more hands appear playing with his pecs then nipples. I smile climbing on top of him crawling upward till we reach each other in face value connecting myself with him skin to skin and I knew I deserve him more than anything in the world the man of my dreams on a whole new level.

“Can you hear me Captain America?”

“Mmmmhhhmmmnn”

“Answer me”

“Yes!”

“Can I call you Steve?”

“Call me Steve”

“Excellent! Let me explain something to you”

“I am listening “

“We are best friends”

“No Bucky!”

“We are best friends not you a who? Bucky”

“Who is Bucky!”

“I am so perfect! We are best friends “

“Who do you love?”

“Peggy?”

“Ugh! Why do you love that woman? A woman period.”

“Yuck why! I hate Peggy”

“You are madly in love with me Bucky”

“Your body is Godly!”

“Oh! It’s nothing”

“Are you ok with this?”

“Feeling me up?”

“So solid! So strong “

“Steve! I love you “

“You do? Oh My God!”

“Are you shocked?”

“Who are you ?”

“I am your God! Hero! Lover!”

“I am in your every thought and you can’t deny it.”

“Totally you are biting your lips and squirming m.”

“ I can’t help it !”

“You guess?”

“I know”

“I mean, I swear”

“May I kiss you Steve”

“I am begging you too”

“Steve do you remember me?”

“Yes! My love”

“I am your Master”

“Yes Master”

“Address me properly “

“Sir Yes Sir”

“Good boi”

“Mmmmm”

“It feels intoxicating “

“Like a dream “

“So freaking…”

“Sweet “

“It’s addictive “

“100 percent “

“You’re all that matters”

“This body?”

“You’re playground “

“I want to play “

“Master Lawrence “

“Yes boi”

“As you kiss me”

“It is essentially life “

“It brought me back”

“The only life that matters”

“Cope with us”

“Hold me”

“Big man like you “

“Who am I?”

“My slave “

“What am I?”

“A slave “

“A pussy “

“A bitch”

“My property”

“A work horse “

“Take me”

Steve’s eyes popping open staring into the ceiling as he comes to with such excitement that overtook him in a sea of utter joy and happiness that revolves over me in lust of undulated desire.I can see his weakened mind finally go in to overdrive breaking his mind as he sits up on the bed rising his back onto the pillow in a fit of heat and he spun about of face me his one true love. I can swear my heart to steal his last love Peggy from him and he wouldn’t even care that I would or notice that I am etching even closer to her and taking her by my hands as she swoons.

Cupping his chin I yank him a bit closer to me slowly, softly and with more love than I  have ever mustered for any single person or thing in my existence till now and he leans in to my body. Our lips smash onto each other so softly as they glisten, wet, sexy and total flappy in the light and my arms wrap on his muscular muscles and groping his ass tight right now. He smirks kissing me pinning me to the table climbing onto me as he kisses me a bit more and more rubbing my body.up he has fallen in love with me and all I can do is accept my absolute rule,

The end

[self-loving-vampire]

if you were to make an isekai story, how would you do it then

There's a few isekai stories that I actually do like, such as The Executioner and her Way of Life, but if it was up to me the result probably would not be considered part of the same genre.

I would place a much, much, much lower priority on wish fulfillment and a much higher priority on exploration and discovery in order to address one of my other criticisms of the genre: It is far too familiar to the point where the settings involved often feel utterly generic and factory-produced. It's almost always the same videogame-like fantasy Europe thing.

To me that can end up becoming a flaw in that it fails to create a proper sense of adventure despite having all of the superficial trappings involved. Sure you have your adventuring party and your swords and your spells and your elves and your chosen hero and your demon lord to fight but it's all stuff you have seen in stories before and variations on these concepts tend to be really superficial ("I reincarnated on another world but I have my cellphone!" and etc.)

I feel that in order to have a story that actually manages to capture the emotion of encountering fantasy fiction for the first time, you will need to make a more original setting instead of just gamified fantasy Europe again. It should feel at least a little bit alien rather than familiar and predictable. Less "Oblivion" and more "Morrowind" at the very least, but preferably going further than that.

When a setting is too generic and standard there is nothing to explore, nothing to explain, nothing interesting to really do with it.

The setting should ideally not just be original but also serve artistic functions beyond just being a playground for an overpowered protagonist. It needs to have believable and interesting conflicts to explore (not just simplistic catgirl oppression as usual).

This is a reflection of my own preferences, though. I know all the power fantasy stuff sells for a reason and my own tastes are probably more niche, but I have played quite a few RPGs in my 30+ years of life and the most memorable ones have always been the ones that can evoke this feeling of vulnerability combined with a need to understand and adapt to your surroundings. Both things that isekai stories kind of sidestep to just shower the protagonist in power right away.

I'm talking about games like Gothic, UnderRail, Planescape: Torment, Vagrus, Kenshi, and the like. Games where you start out truly weak in a setting you don't just know all about by virtue of having played a video game before. I love to explore novel things like that, figure them out, and think about what daily life in those settings might be like.

I am old now and the years just keep coming faster than I would like, and it is stuff like this that is most engaging to my love of adventure. It's stuff like this that still makes me feel the way I did when I first played Ultima 7 (itself an isekai story!) when I was like 2 years old.

TLDR: Less power fantasy, more exploration/adventure fantasy in more original and interesting settings.

[stromuprisahat]

You came here for Ravka. I came here to chain you to my stove.

Siege and Storm- Chapter 18

Skip your duties (that can help feed the country) to watch me be cool doing stuff! Anyone less important would do it for me!

This could've been sweetly melancholic if:

a.) The country they live off weren't collapsing and a few of Alina's lightballs could grant them at least a drop of much needed resources.

b.) Grisha don't get sick... and what has Alina's childhood, adolescence and life in Cofton been like? Malyen truly isn't bothered by it, is he? Either he's an idiot, who didn't connect the dots, and doesn't see it as weird, that Alina HAD been sick for such a long time, or he simply doesn't give a shit.

c.) Other Grisha... if he can't have her as ordinary otkazat'sya, he's willing to settle for ordinary Grisha. As long as she's NOT special, and has plenty of time to focus on him.

d.) As stupid as their party date was, it could've been something to distract Alina from her duties and the pressure put on her. This wouldn't be even spending time WITH Mal, just watching him be the skilled cool guy.

e.) Of course he hates the place that made Alina MORE than him. If it weren't for her time in Little Palace, she wouldn't even think about wanting more than to follow him around like a lost puppy.

Perhaps put some effort in it?

If Mal can so miraculously fit in everywhere, what's stopping him from taking his duties seriously? Not just mope around near Alina, but try to truly become captain of her guards? Learn about strategies and best ways to protect her, exercise and train action with the twins, look for more guards, train them and WITH them, consult Botkin...

Do more than just go where he's invited, act as if he WANTED to PROFESSIONALLY protect Alina instead of playing hero, when others can see it?!

Not to mention he can make himself useful even at those parties. If he does notice nobles hate Grisha, he can at least make a list. They're careless around him, why not listen? Why not consult with Nikolai to learn who they might need?!

He isn't there for Alina, he's there to drag her back into obscurity as soon as an opportunity arises.

Now, that he's doing something FOR Alina, he misses their period of stagnation, when she was slowly killing herself.

He admits it, while caressing her self-mutilation scar aptly representing their relationship.

And here Alina should pull: Never deign to deny. Instead her puritan shame kicks in.

I know Malyen isn't friends with anyone in Os Alta, but if he weren't such a jerk, he could've catch Nikolai for a moment and discuss a strategy. It's not like Kolya doesn't have an interrest in this too. ...and knows how to deal with Court gossip.

I think "We need to discuss what to do about everyone thinking you're a whore." could be added to post-strategy discussions with Alina too. If Malyen can sit in Alina's council AND act like her captain of guard, they deffinitely DO have to spend time together.

If only he'd become interested in reality and its requirements, quit seeing himself as a knight in shining armour, destined to save feeble helpless Alina, and acted according to her actual needs and requirements.

Perhaps sort his priorities differently and instead of bringing up his one-night-stand with Zoya and inviting Alina to make fun of Suli focus on your damn fucking job!

And you didn't read my mind!

And Alina accepts all the blame.

This could be Malyen spiralling. Or simply jumping to another reproach as soon as Alina attempts to address the previous one.

valid concern

digging into Alina's fear of corruption

reminding her right after she chose it (so the stress is really her own doing)

Yup! This is the crux of the matter.

Alina might operate under faulty assumptions, she had to be physically dragged back to Ravka, but eventually she's attempting to DO something.

Malyen saw what the system does to people like him, to his friends... so he decided to pack his gf and bail on it all. And when he finds himself back in the middle of it all, he's simply waiting to drag her away from it again, no matter what SHE wants.

The Collar is temporary, her position of Saint is temporary, her leadership of Second Army too.

They reacted to life-changing events in a way that made them two diametrically opposite people, but Mal's sticking around in hope for Alina's regression. And eventually he gets exactly that for all his trouble.

I'll keep the rest for an extra post since some extra shady bitch is chiming in.

[crazycurly-77]

First Impressions

It was your first day as NCIS probie in the bureau in New Orleans and you were sooo excited. And yes, you were nervous, too. You had heard a lot of the people working here. 

They were working really hard, but they knew how to enjoy life and they are as close as family. But the most amazing thing you heard was that the boss Dwayne Pride was not only really good looking, but was called “king” and was able to cook like a chef.

“You are to work in the bureau in NOLA with Dwayne Pride” the director said to you. YESSS!!! As you heard that you jumped around with joy laughing. You couldn't wait to begin. 

So now you were standing in front of a police officer. “Hey, I'm Special Agent Y/N Y/L/N and this is my first day here. Can you let me in?” The officer smiled “yes, I know. Pride told me that you will come. Welcome to New Orleans” and opened the door. 

Wow, so this is the office where you will be working. But where were they? You stood in the middle of the room all by yourself. 

Okay, more time to choose one of the desks to work on. On your right side was a nice desk standing in front of a window. This was yours! 

Happily you walked over to it and sat down in the chair. “Woooowww…sooo good. Yes, that's it” you thought. 

Then you began to arrange the things that were standing on the desk, like the computer, the phone and so on…

“Are you sitting good?” came suddenly a voice from directly in front of you.

Because you were busy with making yourself at home at the desk which you selected for yourself, you didn't look up and just answered “Yeah, absolutely. Especially the chair is quite comfortable.”

“Do you want a coffee?” were you asked again. “Yeah, that would be really fine. I like it black with a little sip of milk to it, thanks a lot.” 

Still you were shuffeling with all the papers on the desk and wondered “who was sitting there before me? There are so many reports there!” but since there was nowhere a name to find…

Shortly after your wondering, a cup of coffee appeared in your line of sight and it smelled wonderful.

You thanked your hero who brought you this essence of life and took a sip of the hot drink.

As you were reveling in the very good taste with your eyes closed you were addressed once again. This time it sounded as if the questioner was mildly laughing. He said “I’m glad that the coffee is apparently to your liking, but if you have nothing against it, I would like to sit at my desk and do my work in filling out the reports.”

This made you freeze in surprise so that you looked up the first time to see who was standing before you and you gulped. 

Before you were standing Dwayne Pride, your new boss and you were sitting at his desk.

“Oops” you said in your embarrassment and your head started burning.

After a few seconds in which he simply stood there and watched you, he laughed out loud and said “Nevermind, welcome to the family!”

-----------------------------------------

[lucianalight]

Hi! I'm back :) after another long hiatus😅 I have missed all of you❤️

First of all a huge thank you to everyone who were worried and asked about my health and how I was doing. I wasn't doing well tbh. I'm one of those people who had the misfortune of never quite recovering from covid. I already had one chronic illness that was messing up my life and health. Having another on top of that takes a lot of physical, emotional and mental toll and limits my energy greatly. So I needed time to get used to my new reality and condition and learn to how manage it and live with it. It's still a work in progress and doctor appointments are seeming endless but at least some meds are helping. So there's that.

You probably already know the second reason why I wasn't doing well. I've seen terrible things…And you need time to process them. To grieve, to deal with trauma and survivor's guilt, and nurture your anger and keep fighting, keep resisting…

And well, internet connection still sucks so using social media is kind of an ordeal :D

There were a lot of times that I wanted to come back on tumblr but every time some issue would come up and take my motivation and energy. Then two weeks ago, after I couldn't crush the little ray of hope that maybe this time I'm going to see sth I like, I started watching season 2 of Loki. I watched it while promising myself that I'm not going to care anymore if it's bad, reminding myself that I might see sth as bad as season 1. Still I was surprised that I didn't hate it. On the contrary there were moments that were entertaining and even enjoyable. And those moments were more than the ones I dislike. It was better than season 1 and admittedly that's a low bar since I consider S1 one of the worst tv shows I've ever seen, but there were noticeable changes in pace and tone of the narrative and characterization in S2. Some issues in S1 was addressed. Loki was actually the main character of his series and got to do badass magic stuff :D The characters were flesh out and three dimensional and likable(I love OB so much :D). There was no romance. The ending was great.

There were of course things I didn't like. Removing Loki's backstory and his issues with his family from the story is one of them. How some of his moments in past was addressed. The episodes at times got boring or very predictable. There were times that Loki was ooc or comedic moments that weren't delivered well.

It wasn't perfect but at least acceptable. And probably the best Loki content we got since TDW. And I liked the ending a lot. I found myself keep going back to rewatch some scenes. I found myself analyzing the content happily. I had things to say. So here I am :D basically I'm 100% back to my Loki bs and I'm making it everyone's problem :P

Whether you loved the series or hated it, you're welcome on my blog and you're welcome to send me your opinions and engage with me in discussions and metas. I will tag posts accordingly in case you want to avoid certain content(tbh I still don't know what the new tags will be because I haven't written anything yet but I will make a post when I do).

There will be posts of some new fandoms so block their tags if you don't want to see those posts. The new fandoms are Sandman tv show(I haven't finished the comics so plz don't spoil them for me), Wednesday, My Hero Academia, Shadow and Bone, and The Bifrost Incident.

As I mentioned above I'm dealing with multiple chronic illnesses and have a limited energy each day. I will try to answer your messages, comments and asks as soon as I can but it might take a long time. Sry about that.

And finally a warm welcome to all the new followers and thanks to everyone who are still following me❤️

[canonickero]

so

New mootie

I wanna hear absolutely all the lore you have about Steve's parents/home life

Because I suspect you have more than I remember from the book or the movie

*hands mic*

I am going to fucking explode YES FINALLY SOMEONE ASKS ME ABOUT STEVE

This may not be entirely coherent it is 00:34 when I begin typing this and maybe I'll remember an end time who knows. But I'll start with a slight character analysis and stuff

So Ponyboy doesn't go very deep into Steve's character. Ponyboy seems to think that Steve hates him, and he despises Steve back. But Steve takes care of him like a little brother. Most notably; he takes care of Ponyboy in ways that Sodapop does. But Ponyboy doesn't even think about his efforts and actions, he just mentions them in passing. Steve is always backing him when the Socs are around and he is specifically stated by Ponyboy to buy him pop and candy when he visits at the DX. Soda does too, which makes it sort of just a passing mention, but I think it's interesting. Steve also spends his hard earned money on spoiling Ponyboy a little. He doesn't have to take Ponyboy to the DX for their shared school lunch break. He could take the hell off and go see Soda himself. It'd probably be safer for Ponyboy to stay at school, even. But Steve totes him around just because he feels like it. And Steve only works part time at the DX because he's in school full time unlike Soda. Steve makes less money, but he still wastes his gas and spends money on Ponyboy, like he would an annoying little brother that he doesn't actually hate. Like when your parents insist you take your little sibling with you when you go somewhere, or when they want to get in on everything you do because it's cool. That's probably how Steve feels about Ponyboy. Sodapop is his best friend and has been since grade school, he's been around Pony since he was a baby. No doubt Steve was there for some pretty important moments. Steve addresses Pony by name and as "kid" rather than anything rude and he doesn't ignore Pony. He's the one to draw attention to his picture in the paper and makes him feel like the hero he is, even if Pony isn't too happy about it. He's supportive, if a little blunt. But he doesn't actively try to annoy or hurt Pony aside from little jabs, like siblings would.

Steve doesn't seem to have any siblings of his own. Two-Bit is offhandedly mentioned to have a kid sister, but Steve gets nothing. He's just got a drunk old father who would rather him gone. When his father gets drunk and angry for whatever reason, which is all the damn time, he kicks Steve out and Steve runs to the Curtis house. And while Soda is his best friend, Steve wouldn't torture himself. He wouldn't keep going to the Curtis house and stay during the mornings and engage in conversation with Ponyboy if he hated him. He loves Ponyboy to death. The gang is like the family Steve never really had. No sign of his mother, whether she's dead or left Steve with his dad is unsure. But he doesn't have a mother, and he hasn't had one in a while. He doesn't even offhandedly mention her, like Two-Bit mentions his mother or Dally mentions his father. Steve doesn't mention his family at all, really. It bugs Steve that his family is so broke. He's got one of the more fucked up families of the gang.

Two-Bit still has a loving mother and a kid sister. Johnny has a home to go back to, though it's horrible(but they do leave him alone quite often. Just whenever they're pissed at each other or the world, they take it out on Johnny. He is left alone and can go home at least some days, and sometimes he can avoid his parents. And Johnny's mother went to visit him in the hospital, though her intentions were unclear. She only started yelling when Johnny refused to see her, which, good on him.) Dally doesn't need family, he's past that at his point, but he's got a place at Buck's if he ever needs it. Darry, Sodapop, and Ponyboy all have each other. But who does Steve have at home waiting for him? A drunken father who throws him out for whatever reason he could find. And he apologizes by giving Steve a couple bucks, which would have pretty much been his next few cases of beer. So for a good while in a week, Steve gets to go home. But his father isn't exactly there for him. Steve doesn't have a loving father, really. Just a guilty one. A guilty father left with a child he didn't want. He tells Steve to get out and never return every damn week at the very LEAST once a week, with absolutely nothing on him. He just kicks Steve out and expects him to be fine with never returning, with only the shirt on his back. Only when Steve's father is sober does he feel bad and give Steve some money, and then he does it all again. He doesn't love Steve enough to get better. He'd rather have the booze.

So other than Johnny, Steve has one of the worse home lives of the gang. No mother, a drunkard father that's likely passed out on the couch half of the damn day and never sees him.

I'd also like to mention Steve's view on Ponyboy again. Steve is described as tall and lean. Based on his job as a mechanic, he's muscular. His drunkard father wouldn't have enough sense to keep any protein in the damn house. He's known to be uncaring, and he probably doesn't think of groceries until the last second(speaking from experience, I have a drunkard father). Steve likely has to feed himself(or help himself to the food in the Curtis's fridge). But he spends a decent amount of his paycheck on Ponyboy, the tag-along kid he pretends to hate. Steve is lean. Just like the other greasers, he's poor. He feeds himself. But he'll damn well buy Ponyboy a Pepsi and a candy bar to keep him happy for lunch. But we don't ever get to know what Steve eats. Other than the chocolate cake, Steve doesn't seem to eat much. We know that Two-Bit has beer and chocolate cake for breakfast when at the Curtis', but he's got a mother at home that most definitely feeds him. We know how the Curtis' eat, we know kind of how Dally likes his food, we know that Johnny eats what he needs to. But Steve? No clue. He's a hungry teen like the rest of them. He's tall and muscular and needs to eat his fill. But you know damn well that he'd kill for Ponyboy. He likely makes minimum wage and works only part time. Sure, he gets money from his father, but there's not much there. In today's money, that's quite a lot for an apology, but it probably goes to gas and food. Otherwise, Steve takes care of Ponyboy in the exact same ways that Sodapop does. But Ponyboy doesn't appreciate it at all because it's Steve, and he thinks Steve hates him. And all Steve wants is to have a day with his best friend without Soda bringing Pony along. It's not much to ask for.

Also, Ponyboy casually sits on Steve's car when the Socs approach him later on in the book. He wouldn't do that if Steve would skin him for it. Steve is amazing with cars, he can drive anything on wheels. He'd take good fucking care of his car, greaser or not. Two-Bit's breaks go out on his car, but Steve is never seen to have a problem with his. If he's letting Ponyboy sit on his car and lets him BREAK A BOTTLE ON IT, you know damn well Steve loves that kid. Sure, there were Socs. But he and Two-Bit were backing Pony and Steve could have given him hell right after. And he didn't. Ponyboy is the little brother Steve never had. The gang is the family he deserved but never got. He's allowed to raid the damn fridge. I'm sure if Tim Shepard did that he'd get some odd looks. But Steve is one of them. As much of a side character as he is, Steve is always one of them. He's never faced with disdain from the others. It's all just Ponyboy. Soda was only ever mad at Steve once and there weren't many disagreements other than maybe one time when he called Darry "all brawn and no brain." Clearly there's SOMETHING about Steve that makes him one of them. There's SOMETHING that makes him Sodapop's best friend. Ponyboy is just a younger teen who can't see what the gang does for him. In the movie, do you see the excitement and love in Steve's general demeanor when he enters the Curtis household? He feels completely at home there. Even though Darry almost shattered his jaw once, he feels safe. Not a hint of discomfort. He feels comfortable enough to go into Darry's bedroom, where Soda's jeans are after he ironed, and start a pillow fight with Darry's pillows. Steve is at home there. He never snubs Ponyboy. He pokes fun at him, but he's never actually a jerk like he's portrayed to be. But he is cocky. He's confident. He's a little self centered.

But how could he not be? He never had a mother to tell him he was handsome growing up. His father never kissed his nose to reassure him it wasn't too big or wonky. His mother was never there to tell him that his smile was gorgeous. Steve never got that validation growing up, so he acts like he's the best. But he doesn't think that. Sure, he's confident in himself. But that's a learned skill. You don't just pop out the womb all confident. You get it from yourself and the people around you. The gang are all confident and loud around each other, so Steve is loud and confident too. He loves himself because he taught himself that love. He got it from elsewhere, because his family wouldn't love him.

Steve is constantly fixing his hair. He can't have a single hair out of place. He's always worried about his appearance subconsciously. He lets himself be a gross dumb teenage boy with his pals, but he's also a self-conscious, smart kid who had to figure these things out at some point. And he had to figure it all out on his own.

Steve is incredibly intelligent. He knows what people are thinking and he knows what he's doing. He doesn't think Ponyboy has enough street smarts to be out on his own. He thinks Ponyboy is dumb for not using his head. But by god, Steve loves that kid to death. He probably knows that Ponyboy mostly hates him. He knows that Pony will still take the Pepsi and candy bars and rides to the DX even though he's hated. Steve knows damn well that he's not exactly a comforting presence to Ponyboy, despite always being stretched out on his couch and always being nearby due to his brother. Steve reassures Ponyboy that nothing bad will happen to him when he's put in the paper. But he says it like he doesn't believe it either. He just wants Pony to be okay, he knows that Ponyboy doesn't want his opinion. So he never says his opinion about the situation, he just states the facts about it and reassures Ponyboy that he wouldn't be put in a boys home. Steve's opinion isn't wanted at home and it isn't wanted by Ponyboy either. But Steve is used to that. He's good at keeping his mouth shut, just like Ponyboy is.

They're incredibly similar, but Ponyboy just hates to see it. They're both smart-mouthed greasers in their little gang of boys that all grew up together. They're both school smart, they're proud of being greasers and they do stupid shit. They go to the same school and eat at the same places, they travel together and they know enough about the other to not get clobbered. Steve protects Ponyboy, both physically and protects his feelings. They love sweet stuff and eat like horses. Steve and Ponyboy both love their hair and they both have an attachment to Sodapop.

But it's curious how Soda doesn't explode under all that pressure. Surely, he's venting to someone. To Steve, probably. But there's only so much Steve can do to help when Ponyboy hates him and Darry will shatter his jaw if Steve dares to call him dumb and burly, even if that does prove his point. All he can really do is listen as his family fights, just like at home. It's not fair to any of them, really.

And when Johnny and Dally die, Steve is heartbroken. They were his brothers, his friends, his gang. They were special to him like they were to everybody else. But he doesn't get to mourn. After the rumble, his ribs are broken and he's beat to all hell. But he still goes into a full sprint to get to Dally after Johnny dies. He still does what he can to protect his family. When Ponyboy is first jumped, he throws rocks at the car(and in deleted scenes, absolutely beats the shit out of the Socs inside) for Ponyboy's sake. That's his family. His home. He's not going to let anybody hurt his kid brother and get away with it.

Steve is scared of cops. He acts all brave and mighty, but when Dallas is shot, his hands go up and he's in absolute shock. He's shaking. He's scared that he'll be next. Because as hellish as his life is, he doesn't want to go just yet. Not like that he doesn't. But his father wouldn't care if he never showed back up home. That would just be another six or seven bucks saved for his next few cases of beer. He wouldn't have to feel guilty when his son showed back home if he didn't have a son to show. And Steve probably knows that. But that doesn't mean he wants to die too. He has the gang, what's left of it. He still has his best friend and his kid brother, his older brother and father figure who actually wants him to eat. He still has Two-Bit, but there were no jokes to be made at that point.

Steve is pretty sad, actually. He does what he can and yet it's never enough. Ponyboy still hates him, they don't grow closer after the deaths of two of their closest friends. Ponyboy still thinks Steve hates him. And Steve's father will continue to be a drunk; he wouldn't ask about Steve's day or wonder what was wrong. He would be passed out on the couch after too many beers, and Steve would have to deal with his grief on his own. Because his father wouldn't care and his mother isn't around. Because his home life is depressing and losing two of the gang feels like he lost more than that. Because the gang was all he had. His entire family. His father doesn't even count.

Why would he? His father makes him go run off to his best friend's house with nothing but the clothes on his back every damn week. His father would rather drink himself to death than care for his son. Steve is set up for failure in life, but he does what he can and then some. He's just not appreciated. At all.

1:48

[useless19]

In one of my previous posts I mentioned reading/playing the old Nintendo Adventure Books when I was a kid. Out of curiosity, I managed to find some scans of them online and poked through some of the ones I didn't used to have.

They still have an old-school cartoon vibe (constant quips, a lot of nasty appearance-shaming toward the bad guys, etc - they're from 1991), but if you can get over that, I really like the way they often have puzzles to give you hints as to which way to go. It's something I feel is missing from most choose-your-own-adventure books.

(Okay, yes, sometimes the puzzles pushed you in the wrong direction or were just straight up wrong, but the concept is there at least).

However, the reason I'm making this post, is because book 4 Koopa Capers has an opening which I'm amazed that the bowuigi crowd seems to have missed.

"KoopExpress," a voice yells outside the Super Mario Bros. plumbing shop in the heart of Brooklyn, New York. "Special Delivery!"

Luigi looks up from his new invention, a water-powered pasta machine. It isn't working quite right. "Strange," he says. "Mario and I weren't expecting any deliveries today."

The tall, thin plumber tucks his high-tech plumber's helper into the pocket of his green overalls and heads for the door.

When Luigi opens the door, he sees a big package on the stoop. It looks like a giant hero sandwich wrapped in brown paper. "Mmm, looks tasty! But there's no return address," he says, stroking his thick black mustache.

Luigi is even more puzzled when he takes the paper off. "It's a rug!" he exclaims. "I wonder where it came from?" He unrolls the carpet on the living room floor. "Very pretty. It looks like a Goomba pattern."

He steps onto the rug to get a better look. "Hey!" he shouts as it comes to life under his feet. It's a magic carpet!

Before Luigi can escape, the rug wraps itself around him so that only his head and feet protrude from the ends. It rises into the air and zooms down the hall through the special pipe in the workshop that leads to the Mushroom World.

The next thing Luigi knows, the rug screeches to a halt in front of Bowser Koopa's castle. "Oh no!" Luigi thinks. "I'm being served to my worse enemy for dessert."

Out of the corner of his eye, Luigi sees two large helmeted red turtles carrying hammers. The Hammer Brothers! They waddle up to Luigi, pick him up, and carry him into the castle, still wrapped in the magic carpet.

Soon Luigi's bearers arrive at Bowser's enormous throne room. They unroll the carpet and send Luigi tumbling across the floor. He rolls to a halt at the scaly feet of Bowser Koopa, king of the turtles and leader of most of the bad guys in the Mushroom World.

"Good," Bowser says, squinting down his slimy snout at the prisoner. "Now, everybody out! Not you," he growls as Luigi tries to sneak off with the rest of the crowd.

Bowser waits until everyone else leaves. Then, in an embarrassed whisper, he says, "I need your help, plumber."

Before Luigi can recover from shock, the turtle king goes on. "My daughter, Wendy O. Koopa has vanished! She may have been kidnapped," he gulps, shedding a large crocodile tear.

He wipes his eyes with his sleeve and continues. "I sent my Koopa Troopas to search for her, but with no luck. I need a real hero to find her!" He puts his arm around Luigi's shoulder and adds, "I know you can do it. But the whole thing must be hush-hush. I want it kept a secret from my sons, the Koopalings. It's possible that one of them may be the kidnapper. Besides, no one can know you're working for me. It would be terrible for my image."

Luigi is very confused. "Let's recap," he says. "You want my to find your daughter? And you don't plan to tell anyone I'm working for you? So I'll still have to fight your flunkies, including your bratty kids, while I'm doing it?"

Bowser nods. "Right. Of course, your brother Mario might have been a better choice, but---"

"Oh sure, everyone would rather have Mario," Luigi retorts, offended. "Too bad he's fixing that drip at Niagara Falls. What if I say no?"

"I'd be very annoyed," says King Koopa, showing all his teeth in a sinister smile.

As Luigi looks at Bowser's enormous teeth, he says to himself, "Maybe Bowser is telling the truth. There's a first time for everything. And he does seem upset."

Luigi takes another look at the turtle. Bowser is now gazing at the ceiling and whistling innocently. "On the other hand, he's a born liar," the plumber thinks. "Well, maybe I should look into this mystery, just to see what the real story is. Besides, it would be quite a tale to tell Mario."

"Are there any clues?" he asks aloud.

Bowser holds out two shreds of paper. "There was a note in her room, but her Nipper plant chewed it up. This is all that's left."

Luigi can read only two words, FORT and MAGMA, on the scraps. "Intriguing," he says. "Okay, I'll do it. It might even be fun!"

Solve this puzzle to see what happens next:

Help Luigi find his way through this message maze to see where the clues lead.

If you think Luigi should go to the Magma Pits, turn to page 55.

If you think Luigi should go to the Fortress, turn to page 20.

If you think Luigi should look around Koopa's Castle, turn to page 29.

[sidebaxolotl]

Do you know of any good resources for dealing with gender dysphoria from a side B or Y Christian angle (i.e., not affirming sin or encouraging transition?) It's not huge in my life but sometimes it comes up and I wish I had more advice for dealing with it. A lot of the stuff I find is unhelpful because it's just plainly restating the rules with how Christianity doesn't condone gender ideology with no practical advice, is in that "how to talk to your friend who has this issue" pov, or just kinda goes "lol pray about it idk". I 100% know and stand by that biological sex is biological sex and don't think it's possible to change to the opposite sex, nor do I really want to... so it's not a matter of needing to persuade me, but it doesn't change that I still have feelings of stress and of not really living up to or fitting in with womanhood. When I'm around other women it can be really difficult because I feel so profoundly different when we should be similar. TIA

Sorry this took so long, I took the time to talk to a couple of people who had dysphoria in the past and some who didn't to get some insight.

Both the people I had talked to who had it had cited porn as a major reason why they developed it in the first place so if thats not ur experience then maybe this wont be as helpful for you 😅

They did bring up a good point that assessing where you think your dysphoria comes from from a psychiatric standpoint could help you figure out how to deal with it and i was given this link:

https://oncurrentevents.substack.com/on-gender-transition-and-psychiatric-disorders

Like for example it was pointed out to me that gd presents a lot like body dysmorphia (specifically, like eating disorders and stuff) so u might be able to use whatever coping mechanisms are used for that to help. It also seems to be a prevalent phenomenon in autistic and adhd individuals so perhaps addressing those things if you have them would help.

I was also linked to this book, the friend in question had remarked that it had helped a lot of the women he knew:

https://a.co/d/6DNWdA2

The guy I talked to said therapy had helped him as well as support from God/ his family but finding non affirming therapists that have a nuanced view on things is extremely difficult, esp if you want a Christian one. Him and I were extremely lucky in that way.

The one woman i spoke to said she quit porn and sobered off gd feelings once she realized transitioning wouldnt truly make her a boy.

I did want to be a boy when i was really young but im not super sure that counts? Idk.

For me what helped was realizing a lot of what made me not want to be a girl at that time was just a reaction to stereotypical gender roles and sexism towards women. Once i started challenging those perceptions and the ways my brain was affirming them i became way more comfortable in my body.

I also had a similar realization as sibling that I'd never truly be able to be a boy if i tried to alter my body. I could wear blue and be the night in shining armor and be a hero and still be a woman, yknow?

Also a lot of it was me being very gay and not realizing it lmaooo

I can def relate to not really fitting in with women--particularly in Christian settings I'm typically the only one who isnt hyperfemme and it can be a bit alienating.

Realizing i wasn't straight kinda helped too since the lesbian perception of womanhood is a lot more fluid than its straight counterpart. Not saying to "go gay" if you aren't but maybe looking into butch and gnc communities and framing your self-perception in that way might help?

If there are any other side b dysphoric folks reading this feel free to chime in with your own tips/resources in dealing with this stuff please!!

[borisbubbles]

Eurovision 2024: #16

16. PORTUGAL Iolanda - "Grito" 10th place

Decade Ranking: 56/153 [Above Circus Mircus, below Alika]

OH NOES THE FINGERNAILS!! SO BLATANTLY POLITICAL!! I legit had to zoom and enhance to even NOTICE, jesus christ EBU.

For an entry that I have ranked relatively high, Iolanda is such a pain to write about? I feel like the appeal and placement are both obvious? There are also no real fun things about it? It's all fairly cut and dry (hence why I skipped yesterday to give myself extra think time for the write-up).

I find it hard to believe that anyone can muster up feelings beyond 'yah this is good, next one please' for a song of Grito's calibre. Especially over the more immediate (read: better) "Pelas Costuras"?

That said, I must soldier on and write a few more words. "Grito" is actually a pretty competent Growth Ballad. It starts slowly but then gradually builds up the tension. It handles the overcoming of inner demons with a beautiful touch of melancholy (it IS Portugal after all), and never stays too long in its phases.

In other words: it dodges the main pitfall of many other cerebral ballads: Despite what Joel and Myff were insinuating (Aus NQ'd, in your FACE) Grito is not boring.

But it's also not that engaging of a composition. My gripe with it is that it banged the hardest in studio for me, and studio cuts just... don't matter to me? At last not post-show. I get all of my listens from Youtube, not Spotify. In the studio version, "Grito" goes from zero to hero IMMEDIATELY at the first chorus, and doesn't back down. It goes quite hard. Live, the transition is more gradual and subdued, which pulls me into the immersion at a later point. Almost too late? "Grito" is a slow burner, and I'm not a patient man. You need to make me care about you immediately, not until you're halfway through the song.

It makes sense that Iolanda was sort of the Alika of the year resultswise (getting a good amount of jury votes into a negative televote) but she had the opposite problem for me. Alika came across like she was aimlessly screaming at a mic without any sophistication. Iolanda came across as frosty introvert who deliberately held back on purpose to sound frail before the big note. BELT WOMAN, YOUR SONG DEMANDS IT.

Eventually, she did. And it was pretty good.

That was a really good climax. Grito succeeds where Ramonda and Before the Party's Over (and in a sense Veronika which I'll address in a few days) struggled with or even outright failed to do.

So going into the contest from FdC, I always expected Portugal to be a qualifier (why were SO many people sleeping on it? I know a lot of eurofans are dumb (sadly, not of the mute variety), but also hard of hearing?) but I was hoping for Iolanda to inject more life into her song. This was why I had difficulty getting into her at FdC.

and she... sorta did?

Like, if I'm honest, the performance wasn't enough to fully win me over. It went from a 7 to a 7.5, it's not the LEAP forward I had hoped.

However, Portugal managed to elevate the act from its FdC counterpart, and respected the song's strengths. Befitting the lyrics, Iolanda ~transformed into a better verison of herself~, serving personality.

The staging in Sweden was also better - the use of the cubes to create a confined space for an intimate performance, the interactive choreography and the camerawork that framed it beautifully were great. In FdC, it felt like Iolanda had too many ideas for her staging, and they were poorly implemented. In Sweden, it clicked together smoothly. Her styling was great (die Joel!). She got the message across, while staying classy and sophisticated, which I suppose is Portugal's entire spiel at Eurovision nowadays.

In terms of my personal preferences though, it doesn't set my soul on fire, or makes me raise roofs tonight. Iolanda was good across the board, so she makes perfect sense as a high jury carry, but at the same time she also makes perfect sense as a televote bottomfeeder. It cuts both ways - "Grito" is good on all accounts, and outstanding at none, nor particularly is it particularly high on Fun Factor. It's too polished and competent for that. Like, "Grito" is not Eurovision. it is a well-executed live of a well-written song that found it's way there by winning the NF. It's highbrow. And I can appreciate that, but ultimately, others this year have delivered entires that were more to in line with the vibes I like to receive from my Eurovision entries.

AND NOW WE'RE MOVING UP A TIER. Here are whoever's left:

Which one is #YOUR favourite?

THE RANKING

[beecreeper]

22, 91, 93! for all three >:3

Oooh this was a long one. I already answered 91 in a previous ask, but here's the other two under the cut.

22.) What is your Tav's first impression of the other companions (Astarion, Gale, Karlach, Wyll ...)

Briar's reactions:

Shadowheart -- "I'm so glad that she's sensible and isn't taking the whole "leaving her to die on the nautiloid" thing personally. She also doesn't do annoying things like "talk to me" or "ask about my past". Respectable."

Astarion -- thinks his charming schtick is a bit annoying and that he's a bit too much of a dandy, but DOES get a kick out of him threatening her with a knife straight out the gate. REALLY gets a kick out him trying to bite her, ESPECIALLY when he goes all puppy dog eyes "please" about it. She's like "oh he's kinda pathetic. I kinda wanna treat him like a pet."

Gale -- Haaaaaaates Gale immediately. Thinks he is the most annoying, pretentious, obnoxious man on the planet and the only reason he isn't dead is because other people were around and she didn't want to lose allies yet.

Lae'zel -- glad to have someone competent and ruthless around. Thinks that her bossing around Zorru is REALLY funny. But also finds her constantly preaching about the githyanki really grating.

Wyll -- tbh Briar feels kinda nothing about Wyll at first. She doesn't actively *dislike* how gallant and do-goody he is quite yet because it's like "fine do what you want as long as you don't get in *my* way", which he hasn't yet. Is a bit exacerbated when Mizora shows up because at that point it's like "we have to deal with ANOTHER devil are you serious. This is a pain".

Karlach -- her immediate reaction to Karlach was "oh this will be useful". Vibes with the part of Karlach that is boisterous and impulsive.

Molli's reactions:

Shadowheart -- WHY is she being so rude all the time.

Astarion -- is very caught off guard by him and falls for all his manipulation stuff really easily. Unfortunately for her she IS down bad right away and starts making excuses for him. Him being smug and arrogant and morally dubious but also doing things like flirting with her makes her head kinda spin.

Gale -- autism to autism connectivity. Doesn't vibe with him as strongly as some of the other companions but they definitely understand each other.

Lae'zel -- bossy competent scary lady I will not argue with her on anything yes ma'am anything you say ma'am

Wyll -- likes Wyll immediately. Loves his charm and his fairy tale hero demeanor and his stories and his wit and how he's also just a bit of a dork. When it comes to Mizora and the Karlach thing she can see that he's clearly been tricked and trapped and she feels kinda protective of him because of that. Like, you know that feeling like "I know that I struggle with this same problem and don't address it when it's happening to me, but as soon as it's happening to a friend I suddenly have the determination of a thousand suns"? It's that.

Karlach -- had a crush on Karlach pretty much immediately. LOVES how enthusiastic she is for everything. Look how much she loves life! Look at her smile and laugh and dance!!

Ferox's reactions:

Shadowheart -- "Hm. I don't like how cagey you're being about that artifact but I'm not gonna push it. Not my business but I AM watching you."

Astarion -- oh does not like Astarion pretty much at all. Thinks he's shifty and untrustworthy and disingenuous and also just annoying. Can you stop complaining for TWO seconds, Astarion.

Gale -- "you keep saying a lot of words that I don't know but you seem to know what you're doing with magic so I trust you." Low-key likes when Gale talks at him even though a lot of it goes over his head. I also imagine, out of all the companions, Gale is the one most likely to ask for help in camp and lean into the teamwork part of things, so Gale is good for giving Ferox tasks to do, like asking for help setting up his tent or cutting things for dinner, and Ferox is grateful for something to do. He likes to feel productive and useful and Gale facilitates that.

Lae'zel -- he immediately defers to Lae'zel as being in charge because she acts like it and also seems to know the most about mindflayers. He sees her as efficient and capable, if maybe a touch too abrasive but who is he to judge if it's getting the job done.

Wyll -- admires Wyll a lot and is very jealous of how he can just *be* like that. Like wow that guy is actually a noble hero

Karlach -- feels a lot of sympathy for Karlach's situation and is low-key jealous of just how upbeat she is in spite of it.

93. What do you think happens to the party, afterwards? Do they go for drinks? Do they go their separate ways?

Obviously it all depends on which ending they get so I'll try to summarize without getting too convoluted lol

Briar is easy because in both of her endings she doesn't talk to any of these people ever again. Either she uses them at thralls in her takeover or she just makes an active effort to never be found. She would have one last conversation with Sunflower before leaving for the wilderness forever. In that version, I'm sure Sunflower would be making deliberate efforts to keep the party in touch with each other, but Briar absolutely opts out.

In Molli's good ending, she, Karlach, and Wyll (because you KNOW Wyll is coming with us) all have to leave for Avernus really abruptly which interrupts any celebratory drinks they absolutely would have had if given the chance. They definitely all reconnect after they get back, though it takes a bit of doing to track everyone down. Everyone gets their good ending in this timeline though, so it all works out in the end.

In Molli's bad ending, I'm a little less solid about where all the companions will wind up, which will definitely change the post-brain vibe. In general, I think a lot of the companions will get the endings that take them all their separate ways. Molli would really want to try to kinda stay in touch, but Astarion would try to discourage it and keep her isolated.

In Ferox's good ending he's probably going with Lae'zel to fight Vlaakith BUT I would want to insist that they don't fly off on a dragon immediately like happens in game. They need a fucking breather, you know? And he wants to check in with all their other allies after the battle as well, check on the city and help with any immediate relief efforts. Then they can go to the astral plane and would probably lose touch with the rest of the party. I'd imagine communication between planes would be difficult and they'd only manage it pretty rarely, but he'd always be glad whenever he does hear from them.

In Ferox's bad ending everyone else goes out for drinks but he has to excuse himself and get the FUCK out of town because he feels Bhaal taking over his body (because he gets THAT ending. The "accept Bhaal + destroy the brain" ending)