#or if you have questions I'd love to answer

[teaboot]

Forgive me if you’ve already answered something similar but how do you deal with crushing guilt when you did fuck up but there’s not really anything you can do to like make amends or you’ve already done anything you could and still feel guilty?

Like I know the guilt isn’t productive at all, if anything it’s just paralyzing me, and mentally beating myself up over it isn’t actually helping anyone. But I don’t know where to go from there. Idk how to actually forgive myself, or at least be able to move on

CW FOR SELF HARM

Okay, so this is something I've had to work through for a very long time myself, and there's a few different strategies that I've used to cope and process with varying levels of success.

What I used to do was handle the "I've ruined everything and hurt people and am never going to be forgiven" feeling by hurting myself in a number of creative and stupid ways, from physical hurt (Everything you'd expect) to mental hurt (wallowing, speaking badly of myself, going over the bad thing over and over again in my head) to passive hurt (neglecting my health, not eating properly, failing to pursue good living conditions, letting others hurt me, deliberately wandering into risky situations) and despite any short-term relief or peace I got, none of it ultimately fixed anything.

At the end of the day, making myself suffer as retribution or apology didn't fix the thing I'd done and didn't make the guilt go away, and all it gave me was an additional sense of shame and isolation because now not only was I a garbage person, I was a garbage person with something to hide from my loved ones. Zero out of ten, do not recommend.

The stuff that DID help was harder and is going to sound stupid because *I thought it was stupid* until it worked for me.

First: Learn the difference between GUILT and SHAME.

GUILT is how you feel about your choices.

SHAME is how you feel about yourself.

"I was late to a date again, that was inconsiderate": GUILT. The issue can be resolved by analyzing the reason behind the action and planning steps to avoid repeating it in the future. Guilt is productive because it motivates us to improve our choices. Once you've corrected the behaviour, it's over.

A"I was late to a date again, I'm inconsiderate": SHAME. The issue can be resolved by asking ourselves:

What negative thing to I believe about myself?

What other experiences support this belief? What evidence do I have that the bad thing is true?

Do those previous experiences have anything in common? Where they actually proof of a personal lack, or did someone just tell me they were? Were my choices and actions understandable? Did I have a reason? Was I trying to hurt others, or was it a mistake, accident, or learning experience? Have I grown from that experience?

Can I forgive myself for the past? What do I need to do to forgive myself for those past events? Was I really at fault at all, or was it out of my control?

Accept that.

Your present traumas and shames often have roots in beliefs you had about yourself before the new shameful thing occurred. When you dig into resolving the issues that led to today, you can use those conclusions to work through tomorrow. This is something I learned in cognitive behavioral therapy.

There are a number of ways of unpacking these questions, but as I felt I was deliberately avoiding my thoughts and feelings, I chose to jump into them directly, and found it to be effective.

You can write things down, talk to someone, paint something, draw something, whatever. Whatever at all works for you.

My solutions was to find a comfortable place on the floor, sit down, close my eyes, and do box-breathing (in for 4, hold for 4, out for 4, hold for 4) while deliberately thinking about every upsetting memory attached to a specific bad belief that I could recall until I had nothing left to go over.

Judge and jury. Was I a bad person, or did I make a mistake? Did I have malicious intentions, or did someone accuse me of malicious intentions? Am I bad, or have I been conditioned to believe I'm bad? And at the end of it all, am I capable of better? Do I want to be better? And would a truly bad person care?

It was more emotional than I expected the first few times. Cried a lot, actually. But if I can liken it to a common feeling, it was like getting out of a very thorough shower and realizing you didn't know how dirty you were before.

The process sucks ass, no lie, but it's worth it. Like draining pus from a gnarly wound to get it healed up properly.

I'm not an expert, of course, but life has gotten better since I started. I'm better at forgiving myself, at least.

Also: Some people will never forgive others even for tiny things. Sometimes once you've done your best, you've just gotta say "fuck 'em". C'est la vie, mon amie.

Good luck, yeah?

♡

#Self harm cw #Guilt and shame

[agarthanguide]

First of all, I'd like to say: the new outfits look AMAZING and I am eager to cosplay so many of them! Currently I am working on Ashton's previous outfit (Lvl 9), and I had a question regarding the back of that coat. When re-listening to the description of the new outfit (Lvl 13), Tal mentions it doesn't say "Just Dont" /anymore./ In your artistic interpretation (or rather just designing the previous fits), is this implying the Lvl 9 coat also had "Just Dont" on the back like their OG vest had? If you have no idea, please disregard this question lol. Just wanted clarification since it was lowkey driving me crazy lmao. All your Bells Hells character arts have been lovely this Campaign! 💜

Hey! Thank you so much for the kind words. Most people have been nice this round, and I’m so grateful.

Ashton coat thing- this is going to be a disappointing answer, but- I just don’t know! We didn’t do backs of round 2 art, so that’s really a question for Taliesin. My hunch is that Ashton def messed with the back of the jacket, because that’s how they do.

Here’s a fun thing about Ashton me- when everyone was adding bits of FCG to their design, I pitched having FCG’s broken eye lens on a chain around Ash’s neck. Tal deemed that Morbid as Hell, and he had a point! I had been drawing bits of the robot so much that I lowkey forgot they were like body parts.

#my art #critical role #asks

[brucewaynehater101]

Okay okay, so Tim finds out Bruce is stuck in the timestream and gathers all his siblings + Barbara for a meeting, presenting his evidence, a drafted plan of action to save Bruce . . .

. . . And asks what to do with this information

They all come to an agreement / majority vote

l e t h i m d i e

=========

Once upon a time they thought that Gotham, the world, that they, all needed Batman

Now that isn't the case anymore

Oh he was mourned, by the Justice League, by his allies, by civilians . . .

But the Batfamily has grown into their own, they've found a way to fight for Gotham, Bludhaven, Crime Alley because they've inherited the Fear of Batman

They've found their own ways to instill the fear of them into the criminal world

Their territories are becoming better even despite their Patriarch being dead

And they feel less dead than they were becoming under his thumb

The Dark Knight is Dead; Long Live The Dark Knights

· · ·

People questioned what would happen with the Prince of Gotham dead

Tim tried becoming CEO, but Jason stepped in himself to take the mantle from right under him, citing he was too young and should enjoy his childhood while it still lasted

That started quite a fight between them

Duke Thomas was adopted by Jason and while not technically joining the family's nightlife, Signal could always be found while the sun was up

Gotham's bones broke, organs failed, and flesh was bitten off

Gotham has never been better since Batman or even The Second Robin died

Praise the Batfamily

This is happiness . . .

?

=========

Somebody finds out they let Batman die

Be it the Justice League, other heroes, their rogues, or another hero's rogues, or somebody else entirely

They find out

Do other groups learn by themselves? Does this knowledge come into the hands of people who would spread it?

Either way, the Batclan is going to have to confront that it's known they let Batman die

Is the knowledge it used maliciously, is the accuser wanting answers, or is it a mix of both

Gosh, what will Alfred think if he learns? I imagine that even if he enabled Bruce's abuse they kept him around, stick close enemies and friends after all

(me thinks personally that Joker is throwing a fit with his nemesis dead, and he may not even be able to abuse the fact his own kids killed him cuz it was a child abuser who was killed by his abused)

(but I'd love to see your take on Joker's pov when he only knows Batman is dead and if he learns his kids left him for dead and if he learns they were abused by him and that's why they let him die)

Now I'm wondering what would happen if it got leaked to the public that the Batfamily knew Batman could've been saved but did nothing about it. There could be so many different reactions from different groups

Crime Alley people, criminals, people outside Gotham, Gothamites themselves, and Bludhaven residents would have different takes collectively methinks

Fucking hell, that isn't even accounting for all the fuckery you could do w/ Bruce Wayne = Batman and I'm not talking about an post-mortem identity reveal, I'm talking identity shenanigans

Like say the bats knowing they could have saved Bruce but left him for dead and somebody/some group learns this and leaks it

And then Jason steps in to say "you know the FUCK what? We knew our old man could have been saved and since he was shit we voted/agreed to let him die!!" And all hell breaks loose

And that's just one example!

=========

Inspired by that ask on Jason calling for a family meeting after learning Bruce is stuck in the timestream to figure out what to do from there

+ the one post where Dick tries and fails to get Tim to give up on Bruce so he doesn't embark on BruceQuest and Bruce dies in the Timestream

w/ Cassandra in particular, it'd be fun to explore her psyche in the Vote branch, if she votes to let Bruce die or not considering her "No Kill" stance

Heck, with both branches they alone bring so much fun to the table, even without the flavor of The Reveal

Agreement: You get the explore a world where all the bat kids + Barbara want Bruce dead, by why is it? You get to see all their reasons for it, and how their reasonings may mesh or clash and how they come to make their decisions!

Majority Vote: You get to see the conflicts between those who want him back and want him dead + what they do and think knowing who voted for what then onwards

Bonus if a batsibling or two start of wanting Bruce back but then decide they want him gone, or the reverse, or they flip flop again and again until they make their choice

Either branch I think would overhaul the Batfamily's relationships w/ each other in a major way and not just because someone has to take Bruce's spot as the family head or whatever, but because they chose/voted for said Patriarch to die

That's a big fucking deal

Oh yeah, Duke; is he ever taught about the (technically not) Patricide committed? Or do they keep him ignorant because ignorance is bliss?

Because if he learns through means other than them, yeah it'll be a shit show the Bats won't be prepared for beforehand

Oh yeah what about Gordon? Do you think he'd be in the know or learn via leaks or a leaker cuz he's kind of Barbara's family

Hello!!!!!!!!!!

Tw: abuse, death, murder, child abuse, suicide (let me know if I need to add more)

I love this idea, and I'm totally up for breaking it down.

If it's not an agreement, then it's likely that the ones who disagree will try to save Bruce regardless of what everyone else wants

This will turn into an all-out war as those who want Bruce dead try to prevent the others from succeeding. It would be like a weird version of capture the flag, clue, and escape the room. The save-Bruce team (whether out of love or duty) would need to gather all the evidence that Tim did while fending off attacks and working against the clock (there comes a point in time that it's too late to save Bruce).

Even if they all agree, it's still complicated feelings wise.

Bruce is an abusive piece of shit (especially in this AU), but it's hard to not love your abuser. The cycle of abuse is difficult to break out of. I think Dick and Jason would be at the point they are more apathetic to Bruce's care/love. They are adults who don't rely on him. They might still love Bruce, but it's easier for them to put a defense against the man emotionally to the point of condoning his murder.

Babs and Steph aren't his kids, so, while their feelings aren't black and white, it's easier to distance themselves from Bruce.

Canonically, I think Tim recently got adopted by Bruce. This makes it harder for him to outright reject Bruce. When given evidence (and shown what Bruce did to his other family members), Tim might come to the conclusion that it's better off without Bruce.

Damian is a child who just got to meet his dad. I doubt he'd be on board with this plan nor, with his hero worship, would he be able to find faults in him. He simply hasn't spent enough time with Bruce (and lots of angst to be explored there. Basically, his "siblings" that he's just met are telling him it's better for him if their dad is dead).

Cass loves Bruce. She trusts his mission, what he's supposed to stand for, and that he does love his kids (she can see that he truly does love everyone). At the same time, he hurts her siblings. She doesn't agree with leaving Bruce to die, but her feelings are complicated on the matter.

How the batkids feel about Alfred is similar (although not categorically per a kid) as they feel about Bruce

If they've reached the point where they have acknowledged that Alfred will never be on their side nor protect them, they still love that old man. They want him to be around, they would be sad at his death, but they know Alfred could and has hurt them. They know Alfred would choose Bruce over them.

The JL find out Bruce isn't actually dead with the Black Lantern battle thing.

Theoretically, other heroes can then start trying to save Bruce. Without canon Tim's information, though, they might not be able to. Bonus points to this batfam au if Oracle and others actively sabotage their efforts.

Gordon would be presented with all the evidence that Batman was an abusive piece of shit.

The Commissioner would try to bury any feelings of grief out of guilt for what he's unknowingly allowed his ex friend to get away with. If he knew that Batman was the same boy he threw a jacket over at the scene of that kid's parents' murder, he would sit at his desk with a bottle of scotch and a lit cigarette trying to figure out where it all went wrong. Jim would blame himself, curse Batman, and, as he curses himself for always allowing, do not a damn thing against what the masked vigilantes tell him to do.

Crime Alley and Bludhaven respectively probably would either not give a fuck, say "good riddance," or whistle at the fact the Bat's own kids refused to save him.

Gothamites know their vigilantes. If the batkids had refused to help Batman, than they trust the kids. There's nothing out there that would turn a man's entire family against him besides the man himself. By the end of the week, all Batman related stuff is burnt and replaced by the many symbols of the birds.

Anyone outside of Gotham (besides Bludhaven) will criticize the batkids. Gotham becomes fiercely protective over their birds after that and will fist fight anyone who tries to talk shit about them or their decision.

Fuck Joker, but here's how I think he felt about it.

Man definitely lost his shit in a fit of giggles. It seems (though Joker is slightly disappointed he wasn't part of the final showdown) that Batman was dragged down to the level of madness he swore he'd never go to. If Batman's kids turned against him, oh that must mean that the furry freak truly did horrendous actions against them!

That clown spends several weeks coming up with twisted fantasies and theories to ask out of the Birds to tease out their reactions for when he next sees them. He wants to know exactly how the Dark Knight fell and what was so dastardly to turn children against their father.

After he solves that mystery? Dealer's choice. He doesn't quite get as much joy without Batman around. He can play around with Red Hood and Red Robin specifically (if JJ happened), but nobody is the Dark Knight.

Maybe his melancholy turns into rage where he starts seriously gunning for all the Birds for not returning Batman to him. That, or Joker kills himself cause his nemesis/obsession is gone. Both are likely responses.

Anyways, I also love the positive notes you had that I didn't address. The hopefulness of them doing better for Gotham and Jason adopting Duke is fantastic. I'd love more of that as well as everything else

#dc comics #dc universe #thank you for the ask!!!! #bruce wayne #bruce wayne bashing #dc au

[tendermiasma]

Out of curiosity, what drove you to pick Halsin as Clover’s love interest out of all the possible characters? Love your work by the way :)

Thank you so much! Baldur's Gate was barely on my radar since I didn't really know about the IP but my friend showed me a picture of Halsin and I said, "I'll play the game if you can kiss him". Well. I think they communicated what kind of person he was very well through his design because he seemed very kind, earnest, and protective with zero explanation. I'd already mostly figured out Clover's story before I started in but I was so delighted at how well they meshed. I was already biased, of course, but their fey plotlines were pure coincidence and so it just made sense. I lost my mind when Halsin started explaining haha. I LOVE the conflict of someone hunted by the fey and someone who is very close to them. They were both raised by the wild in very different ways and it's something I've loved having them explore with each other.

They both also deal with a particular kind of despair. I get the sense that Halsin became emotionally isolated from his own people after trying so hard to right something for so long, but he still had hope. What makes him waver is no longer having hope, which I saw most prevalently when we got to the city. Clover, on the other hand, is the one who digs in and crawls on, even without a light at the end of the tunnel. He doesn't expect anything, it's just what he's always done. Maybe for the spite of maybe living until tomorrow-- he doesn't know. Halsin was the first person who made him think of next Autumn. Halsin learns that despair should not be the death of persistence because the light may just be too far off to see. Clover's living proof of that. I'm not finished with the game but how Halsin deals with the horrors of trying to save everyone and everything when there are powers at work who want people to feel paralyzed and afraid and helpless is very special to me. I think their relationship, along with the events of the game, is helping him realize his true place where he can make a real difference is more grassroots than he thought. For Clover, though, Halsin can draw him out of that twilight and into a life he deserves.

I rambled I think but I hope I answered your question haha

#cloverhoney #asks

[coastbycoast101]

Note 📝:Sorry for not posting much, been busy but I've got more fics coming 🫶🏾

None of your friends business

Warning!: mentions of cheating, reader being dumb, reader is kinda bipolar, katsuki fucking the sense out of her 😛, creampie

His phone vibrated and he reached into his pocket, his eyes squinted at his phone seeing you call him. Right now he's in patrol and he looks around before leaning onto one of the pillars on the building next to him.

"What's up y/n?" He answered the phone, the device going to his ear as he held it up. "Who's the girl in your car? You like being with other bitches?" y/n's tone sounded intense, lips moving faster as she questioned him. "The girl in my car? What are you talking about? He responded, eyes twitching with anger.

"you know what I'm talking bout' don't act clueless with me Katsuki" she responded back, one of her eyebrows rasing in anger. "One of my friends, Amy said she saw you and another girl In ya car!" She chewed on her cheek as she pouted, her fists clenched hearing about the alleged things he did.

Katsuki's lips curled in disgust, a scoff escaping him. "Amy? That bitch? She's always had it out for me. She's lying. It's not the first time she's tried to cause problems, and it won't be the last. Why would I be with anyone else when I have you, baby?" A smug grin tugged at the corners of his lips before he added. "You know me better than that. I'd never cheat on you." He leaned back against the wall, arms crossed over his chest as he waited for your response. "If you really want proof, I can pull over and send you a picture of the inside of my car right now. How's that sound?"

he could hear her huffs through the phone, and it made him a little angry too knowing she felt that way about him "Yeah yeah yeah, you better not be with anyone" she rolled her eyes, jealousy all over her tone as she gritted her teeth. He rolled his eyes too, a chuckle escaping him. "I'm not with anyone, y/n. Just trust me. I'll prove it. Just give me a second." He ended the call, tucking the phone away to pull out his car keys. He made his way to his car, the patrol he had been on momentarily forgotten.

He snapped a photo of the empty passenger seat and sent it back to you. Katsuki exhaled, his body relaxing a bit at the knowledge it was just a misunderstanding. "See? All clear in my car. Now, can we stop this bullshit?" He demanded, tone strained with the anger that had been simmering. "You know me better than that. Don't let that bitch get into your head."

his phone vibrated again after a few moments, her contact sprawled across his screen, his thumb clicked the answer button letting you speak first. "M' sorry suki'," she whined into the phone "m' sorry for not believing you... Can you come home, let me make it up to you baby." She sighed as she bit her lip waiting for his response.

Katsuki listened to the apology, a small smirk tugging at the corner of his lips. The anger had dissipated as quickly as it had come, replaced by the love he had for you. "It's fine, y/n. I know you didn't mean anything by it. I trust you." He answered, the words spoken with sincerity. "I'll be home in ten minutes. Get ready for me, baby." The promise of rough, passionate sex was already making him hard, his hand instinctively adjusting the growing bulge in his pants. He couldn't wait to hear you beg for release, to feel you tremble under his touch.

she giggled into the phone, her head resting against the headboard "yeah?" She could hear him shuffling around as he stepped into his car turning it on. "M' already ready, suki" she talked onto the phone, her voice making him feel hot all over. Katsuki couldn't help the grin that spread across his face, a chuckle escaping his mouth "Good girl. I'll be home soon, and we'll see just how ready you are, hmm?" He teased, the anticipation making his heart race.

He hung up the call, putting the car into gear as he made his way to their shared home. As he drove, he couldn't help but imagine how he'd make you beg for him, how he'd fuck you, make you cum repeatedly, and leave you a quivering mess. after a few minutes the door open, his footsteps creaking against the floorboards. She heard his steps as he hurried upstairs, going towards their room.

She could feel excitement flowing through her veins at what he's about too do and she couldn't help but not notice her biting her lip at the thought. As soon as that door opened it's like she pounced on him, her lips on his as they made out. He groaned into the kiss, his hands going to her ass, rubbing at her thighs.

Katsuki's hands gripped your ass, squeezing firmly before he lifted you up, your legs automatically wrapping around his waist.

"Fuck, y/n. I missed you." He muttered against your lips, the kiss turning even more desperate as he carried you to the bed. Once there, he laid you down, his own body following, pinning you beneath him. His lips moved to your neck, nipping and sucking as his fingers worked on getting your clothes off.

"Beg for it, baby. Beg for my cock." He demanded, the demand laced with a promise of a rough, intense fucking. she could feel his breath on her neck as he bit on the skin, her fingers fumbling with the buttons on his shirt. "Wan' it so bad, suki'.. please?" She could feel his bulge through his pants rubbing at her thighs as he made marks on her neck.

His eyes flashed with lust, a feral grin tugging on his lips. He pulled back to remove his shirt, throwing it aside before he returned his attention to your clothes. "Good girl. Now, spread your legs and let me see that pussy." His demand was harsh, unyielding, and it only served to turn him on more.

His hand moved to his belt, the buckle jingling as he worked at undoing it, his pants and underwear following suit. Once free, his cock sprang out, hard and ready for you. "M' gonna fuck some sense into you, don't know why you listen to shit like that." He growled, positioning himself between your thighs, the head of his cock teasing your entrance.

she felt his slender fingers push her lace panties to the side, his red eyes staring her down as he gripped onto her love handles. Her mouth drooled seeing the way his happy trail looked going down to his v line, her pussy felt wet and that's when she knew she needed him deep inside of her.

Katsuki's eyes locked onto yours, the intensity of his gaze almost daring you to deny him.

"Tell me, baby. Whatchu' need?" He demanded, his hips rocking back and forth, coating his cock with your wetness. His tip rubbed at her folds, her juices dripping down his shaft.

The anticipation built, his hand leaving your waist to grip your breast for leverage. "You're mine, y/n. And I'll fuck you until you can't think of anything else but my cock inside you."

"S-shit.." she felt her clit throb feeling him rub purposely on that nub. "Need you. Need that dick baby," she hissed, her hands going to his chin and holding it in her hand. Katsuki's mouth curved into a predatory grin, his eyes flashing with raw, primal lust. "That's my girl." He praised as he thrust into you in one smooth motion, burying himself to the hilt.

His hips began to move, hitting you deep, drawing moans from your lips as he plunged into you, his hand moving from your breast to your clit. "Scream for me, y/n. Let me know just how much you need me." He demanded, the sound of flesh slapping against flesh, a symphony that only heightened his arousal.

she felt his thumb rub at her clit and it made her jolt, her back arching at the circles he rubbed on her, his thrust deep and raw. "F-fuck... I can feel it so deep" she moaned, her eyes shutting close as she felt his strokes. Her eyes fluttered open seeing him bite his lip as he thrusted into her, his arm hovering over her grabbing onto the headboard.

Katsuki's jaw tensed up, his hips pounding into you with a relentless pace. His thumb swiped at your clit, the pressure increasing as he watched you so closely, wanting to see when you'd reach your peak.

"You like that, baby? Want it deeper? Want me to pound this pussy until you can't even walk?" His voice was thick with lust as he leaned down, nipping at your ear,leaving a mark that he claimed as his own. He drove into you, his cock pulsing, demanding things as he rutted against you, each stroke causing you to feel even more needy, more desperate, more eager for release.

she nodded as she spreads her legs wider, her juices all over her thighs and his v line. "Y-yeah.." she felt her pitch go higher as he slammed into her balls deep, his thumb rubbing side to side. Her juices made squelching noises as she came, his strokes hitting her spot. He moved his hand to her neck, gripping on it as her eyes rolled back. She felt him pull out, his arm changing her position. Her back arched for him as his hands gripped onto her ass while his cock slid into her pussy from behind.

He groaned at the sight of your orgasm, the sound echoing through the room as he continued to thrust into you, his grip tightening momentarily on your neck. He pulled out, flipping you onto your stomach, your body slick with sweat and arousal.

"Fuck, y/n. You're mine." He hissed, his hand gripping your hip as he thrust back into you, the angle hitting you in a different way, more primal. He began to pound into you, his hips slamming against your ass, the sounds of flesh smacking against flesh filling the room. His free hand roamed over your body, gripping at your breasts, tugging on your nipples.

The intensity was building, his cock pulsing, ready to fill you with his release. He wanted you to come again, to hear you scream for him, to feel you tremble under his touch. his backshots nearly killed you as your hands gripped onto the pillow infront of you, your words coming out in stutters from the way he rutted into you.

 "F-fuck, soo good" her words coming out in babbles as he moved his hands to her braids, his hands almost getting tangled into them as he pulled onto her hair, his other hand gripping onto the plush of her ass, fingers digging into the fat.

Katsuki's grip on your hair tightened as he slammed into you, the feeling of your wetness gripping him sending him further into a frenzy.

"That's it, baby. Scream for me. Let me hear you please, y/n." His voice was a growl mixed with a whine, deep and demanding, his hips moving with a fierce, unforgiving rhythm.

His balls slapped against your ass, his cock pulsing, the end growing near. "Cum for me. Now." He demanded, his voice strained with the need to release, to claim you in the most primal way.. she felt his hand slap at her ass while her cunt clenched around him. Her hole fluttered around him as she felt her cum drip out of her and onto his cock using it as lube. "Mmhmmm, fuuckk.." she screamed into the satin pillow, her screams and moans muffled as he fucked into her with no remorse. She heard his breath hitching, his groans growing louder then hers as he pulled harder.

His thrusts grew more erratic, his cock pulsing within you as he felt the heat of his release building. He growled, a mixture of the sounds of your pleasure and his own lust echoing through the room.

"Shit, y/n... Ah, fuck I'm cummin, I'm cumming!" His voice was a groan, raw with the intensity of the moment. He filled you with his release, the warm spurts coating your insides, his thrusts slowing as he rode out the aftershocks. He let go of your hair, his hand moving to stroke your right cheek, a possessive smirk tugging at his lips.

"You're mine, and I'm never going to let anyone else have you." He groaned lowly, the word a promise he intended to keep.

Sorry if my names on there, I write better when I imagine it's me 🥲🥲,

#smut #bakugo x black!reader smut #bakugou katsuki #bakugo x reader smut #bakugou smut #bakugou x black!reader #bakugou x black!reader smut #bakugou x poc!reader #katsuki bakugo x reader #mha #katsuki x black!reader smut #bnha bakugo katsuki #katsuki bakugo mha #katsuki x black!reader #katsuki x black reader smut #anime smut #he's so hot oml

[cosmerelists]

Adolin asks: "Would you still love me if I was a cremling?"

A direct sequel to that time Kaladin asked that same question.

[Some Stormlight spoilers in this!]

1. Renarin

Renarin: Yes. Ever since Kaladin asked me this question, I've been contemplating it. Renarin: I would definitely still love my cremling brother, and I've already done some research into cremling diets and habitats so you'll be well taken care of! Adolin: Great! Uh.......your answer doesn't relate at all to your future sight thing, right? Renarin: [smiles beatifically]

2. Elhokar

Elhokar: No. You'd be ugly. Adolin: You wouldn't love me just because I'm an ugly bug?? Elhokar: Oh, suddenly this isn't safe space.

3. Dalinar

Dalinar: Of course. Dalinar: I will love you on any stage of your journey, cremling or otherwise. This has long been my philosophy. Adolin: You have a philosophy about me being a cremling? Dalinar: I meant--more the journey thing, but--

4. Sadeas

Sadeas: I would love you exactly the same amount as I do now. Dalinar: Awww! Sadeas: [glaring at Adolin] Adolin: [glaring at Sadeas] Adolin (hissing): I'll kill you! Sadeas: (hissing): Not as a cremling you won't!

5. Shallan

Shallan: Of course, Adolin. In fact, did you know that some male cremlings fight for territory? Adolin: Uh... Shallan: That means you can still duel! Adolin: Isn't that kind of...unfair, though? I mean, I would be a super-intelligent cremling, as cremlings go. Shalln: Hmmm...I could ask Sja-anat if she knows any enlightened spren currently inhabiting the body of a cremling who want to thrown down? Adolin: You would do that...for me? Adolin: That IS love!

6. Navani

Navani: If I can love a woman who is a crab, I can love a son who is a bug. Adolin: Awww, thank you!! Adolin: Wait what was that first part? Navani: Let's not spoil this moment.

7. Jakamav

Jakamav: Honestly, I would crush you immediately and with prejudice. Adolin: Still mad about the duel, huh? Jakamav: YES I AM STILL MAD ABOUT THE DUEL

8. Danlan

Danlan: Yes!! Adolin: Wow! Your enthusiasm is...touching? A tad suspicious? Danlan: You'll be able to get into SO many spaces in secret! With you on my side, I'll be the greatest spy EVER! Adolin: ...you're a spy? Danlan: I hope you'll be faster on the uptake as a cremling.

9. Jasnah

Jasnah: Do I have any way of knowing that it's you? Adolin: Yeah, you know it's me. Jasnah: How? Adolin: Uh...you just do? Jasnah: I just do? Really? Adolin: What if you...watch the transformation happen in real time and then you, like, ask me ten yes-no questions relating to little-known aspects of my history that a fake-Adolin would be unlikely to get completely right by chance, and I, like, dance back and forth for no and hop forwards and backwards for yes? Jasnah: In that case yes I would continue to love you. Adolin: I'm exhausted! Jasnah: That's just how love is.

10. Kaladin

Kaladin: Yes...but I won't be happy about it. Adolin: Meaning?? Kaladin: It would be SO much harder to protect you if you're a cremling! You'd be so small! So crushable! Kaladin: I guess I'd keep you in my pocket. Adolin: I am NOT living in your pocket. Kaladin: I'm your bodyguard! You'll live in my pocket if I SAY you live in my pocket! Adolin: I will BITE you. Kaladin: Cremling don't have TEETH probably! Adolin: I'LL FIND A WAY

#cosmere #cosmerelists #I woke up in a cold sweat with the Elhokar dialogue in my brain and had to write this #Adolin #Stormlight Archive #Stormlight Archive spoilers

[madlori]

The Claw is our master.

I've had a few folks in DMs ask me how/why/when my shipping did such a completey 180. It's a fair question. I am, after all, someone who spent the last 2 years fervently Buddie shipping, writing fic for them, doing the same hoping/analyzing/searching etc that everyone else (well...not exactly the same, I've always been skeptical of most of the theories and such because I don't believe in a production's ability to be that sneaky, covert or mischievous).

And yet, here I am. I can't really even pretend I'm still a Buddie shipper anymore. Initially I said sure, I still hope for it. I...can't in all honesty say that now. I've firmly decamped for BuckTommy Land. Is this a recipe for heartbreak if they eventually breakup? Sure, but that's always a risk. No more than shipping a non-canon pairing, anyway.

And there's nothing wrong with shipping a non-canon pairing. People do it every day. Hell, it's practically the backbone of fandom. Obsessing about ships being canon is a one-way ticket to dissatisfaction and sometimes total unraveling. I've seen it happen more times than I can count over 30 years in online fandoms.

But if that's the case, why didn't I stay on Team Buddie? Why did I defect so thoroughly that I'm at the point now where not only do I not think Buddie will ever happen, I don't want it to, because I now want to see something different from those two characters, something I believe we will actually get from the writers.

The answer to that question is: I have no idea.

People ask this like I'm somehow in control of it. I'm not. The Fandom Brain is like The Claw in Toy Story. The Claw is our Master. The Claw decided who will go and who will stay.

Fandom Brain is my master. It decides what I'm going to ship, what I'm going to be fannish about and what I'm not, and when I'm going to stop feeling fannish about something. I have zero say in the matter, I'm just along for the ride. At some point in every fandom I have ever been in, my Fandom Brain has, usually with no provocation, decided "Ok we're done with this fandom now." And nothing I can do will make that not true. I can't force it. I can't cajole it. It just is.

Similarly, Fandom Brain has decided "Welp, we're done with this pairing now. We like THIS pairing now. Proceed." Are there reasons? I'm sure there are.

Is it just that it's a canon pairing? Possibly. There is something very seductive about a canon pairing after so long of looking for crumbs and tiny hints where there (mostly) none to find. But I've shipped plenty of non-canon pairings before.

Is it that I prefer Tommy/Lou to Eddie/Ryan? Absolutely not. I love Eddie, always have. I admit to being slightly more of a Buck girlie, but that doesn't mean Eddie means nothing to me.

Is it the immediate gratification? Maybe. Is it just how the relationship's being written? Possibly. Is it just a mental adjustment for my belief that Buddie will never happen, and Eddie will always be straight? Likely. But that doesn't change the outcome.

So here I sit, just...yep. Sometimes it just be like that. I didn't choose this, it's just what my brain decided was going to work for me going forward. If this goes up in smoke, my brain will choose something else, whether it's to run back to Buddie, or be done with 9-1-1 entirely, or who knows what else?

The good news for any of you who follow my writing is that I'm still working on the next Husbros installment. That universe is removed enough from the canon that it almost feels separate to me now, and I'm still feeling connected to it. Yes, I've written a few short BT fics, but so far I've not had any lengthy or involved plot bunnies for it.

So there you have it. I didn't choose the thug life, the thug life chose me. I don't know if I'd have chosen this if I could, but tbh I'm having a pretty good time with it so far, so. That's probably a big part of the reason.

#fandom thoughts #bucktommy #9-1-1 #evan buckley #tommy kinard #eddie diaz #buddie

[666writingcafe]

An Interview With Lucifer

Part Three of A New Series

Question One: How do your friends describe you in a word?

Cranky.

Question Two: Who would you want to be stuck with on an island?

If I was limited to just one person, then MC. If there were multiple people, I'd add Mammon and Barbatos.

Question Three: What are you hiding now?

Treats from Cerberus. Not because he isn't a good dog, but because he's found their original hiding place and has been digging into them constantly, and the treats I give Cerberus are rather expensive, so I can't exactly afford to buy them every day and ensure that other stuff gets paid for.

Question Four: Do you prefer mountains or beaches?

It depends on my mood. If I don't want anyone to find me, then definitely mountains, but if I'm feeling a bit romantic, then I'd hit the beach.

Question Five: What is your hidden talent?

I can juggle. And I don't mean that in the metaphorical sense--although I can do that too--but in the literal sense, like a circus clown. It's one of the ways I relieve stress, because I can just shut my brain off and focus on keeping the objects I'm juggling up in the air.

Question Six: What makes you laugh?

You'll get a satisfied chuckle out of me whenever someone I dislike gets what they deserve, but if you want to hear a true, unrestrained laugh, either get me drunk on Demonus or put me in a room with MC when they're in a good mood.

Question Seven: If you were a thing, what would you be?

A metronome.

Question Eight: If you have no GPS, how would you find your destination?

I'd print out directions. (But what if you were unable to do that?) Then I'd ask the locals where I need to go. I may be the Avatar of Pride, but that doesn't mean I'm not willing to admit when I'm lost. (someone yells out, "that's a lie, and you know it!") And if all else fails, then I'll get to my destination through sheer determination.

Question Nine: Describe your three best qualities.

Apparently I'm patient, kind, and loving. (Why do you phrase it like that?) Because I wouldn't necessarily call myself any of those things, but I trust that the person who did wouldn't lie to me about such things. (And who might that person be?) MC.

Question Ten: Would you consider yourself a cool person?

I'm going to lean towards no. I'm far from being a trendy person. Just ask any of my brothers. (What about MC?) You'll have to ask them. I know they like spending time with me, but I honestly don't know why. Usually I'm busy with paperwork, and it's not like that's terribly interesting.

Question Eleven: What is a skill you want to master?

Baking.

Question Twelve: What would you do first if you won a human world jackpot?

Pay off any debts MC may have.

Question Thirteen: What one aspect of the human world would you change if you could?

I'd make it legal to punish animal and child abusers by inflicting the same types of torture onto them as they did on their victims. (That's rather serious, Lucifer.) So is abusing those that are unable to understand why their supposed family is hurting them.

Question Fourteen: What is your preferred card or board game?

Let's just say that I'm not allowed to play any tabletop fantasy games unless I can ensure that all of my work is complete. (Why's that?) You've met Levi, yes? (I have.) Now, imagine me behaving like him, and you'll have your answer.

Question Fifteen: What is your current favorite app on your phone?

Don't make fun of me, but there's this app where you can send messages to people and it shows up on their phone in a cartoony heart. (Are you talking about the viral Candy Heart app?) ...yes. (That's actually quite sweet.) It was MC's idea, and I initially did downloaded it just to amuse them, but I've come to enjoy using it as time has gone on.

Question Sixteen: Would you go to space if you could?

I'm content with merely looking at pictures of space.

Question Seventeen: What kind of museum or exhibit do you prefer?

I like learning about the history of different objects. Looking at their evolution fascinates me.

Question Eighteen: What kind of humor do you prefer?

I'll throw you a curve ball: I enjoy a nice pun from time to time, even if it would be classified as a "dad joke".

Question Nineteen: Do you prefer driving a car, a motorcycle, or a bicycle?

Oh, a motorcycle, by far.

Question Twenty: When was the last time you climbed a tree?

This is going to really show my age, but the last time I climbed a tree was when I was a young angel. *pauses* Thinking about it is making me want to do it now. Being up in the branches is quite peaceful.

Question Twenty-One: What is your strangest habit?

There are times where the only way I'm able to fall asleep is to hang upside-down like a bat.

Question Twenty-Two: What is your weirdest fantasy?

I'll give you an oddly specific one: if I'm ever able to retire, I'd like to buy a farm somewhere in the human world countryside and raise livestock and plant fruits and vegetables with MC. (You've brought them up several times in this interview.) You could say that I have a soft spot for them. (Or that you love them.) Well, obviously. They're a wonderful person to be around. I'd like to spend the rest of my life with them if I could. (You mean, their life.) Listen, I don't choose my words lightly. What I say is what I mean, one hundred percent.

Question Twenty-Three: Here's something a bit more light-hearted: would you rather fight a shark or wrestle a lion?

The lion. I can't swim nearly as well as Levi can.

Question Twenty-Four: How do you want the world to end?

By my hand.

Question Twenty-Five: Would you like to be shorter or taller?

I like my height just the way it is. (What if you had to choose one or the other?) Then I suppose taller. I don't feel I'd be able to intimidate people as well if I was shorter.

Question Twenty-Six: Who is the annoying person you want to get rid of in your life?

I don't necessarily want to get rid of anyone, but I'd like to seriously alter the behaviors of Solomon and Mephistopheles.

Question Twenty-Seven: Which artist and/or song dominates your human world music playlist?

I'll give you both: Metallica and "Adore You" by Harry Styles.

Question Twenty-Eight: If you had to go to prison, what would be the reason?

Treason.

Question Twenty-Nine: What is the most critical trait you seek in a friend?

They have to be able to keep secrets.

Taglist: @lost-in-time-wanderer, @fuzztacular, @dianedancer18, @sweetbrier2908, @flare-love, @completelyshatteredbrokenmschf, @thunderlightning351, @l3v1chan, @anxious-chick, @5mary5, @expressionless-fr

#obey me shall we date #obey me lucifer

[rikissess]

✿　　⸝⸝　ARE YOU GONNA MARRY, KISS OR KILL ME? ㅤㅤꔫ ⠀⠀

pairing: Jake x Fem!reader

note:after spending several days without ideas TAYLOR SWIFT Brought ME A SCENE! >_<

( I think this is unnecessary to explain ) I'm sorry if my English is bad, it's not my language so it's a little difficult for me to write. anyway, comments and reblogs are welcome! <3

going out with your new group of friends on the weekends was already a habit for you. you were new at school and having made friends so quickly made you happy, so you didn't hesitate to accept all the outings they invited you to so you wouldn't lose their trust.

to your surprise, you didn't know that this year you were going to fall in love. because yes, you were. from the first day you entered your new high school and accidentally bumped into Sim jake your classmate, you fell in love with him. you fell in love with the way he apologized to you for accidentally bumping into you, with his voice, with the way he bites his lip every two seconds while talking, with his glasses, his hair and everything about him. i'd be lying if i said that you accepted your friends' outings just because you liked going out and not for the simple fact of seeing him, Jake.

and here you were, in the afternoon at his house together with his other friends playing truth or dare. although, this game consisted in spinning a bottle and whoever got it had to answer a question or fulfill a dare, and for your luck this time it was Jake's turn and you had to ask him or give him a dare.

"Truth or dare?" - you asked looking him in the eyes and with an amused smile. the others just watched the scene, silent and anxiously waiting for Jake's answer.

"come on brother, pick a dare, be brave!"- heeseung said before Jake could answer and Jake looked at him with a laugh.

"Yes, do it! y/n tell Jake to dance funny!" Sunoo said with a chuckle, causing the others to laugh as well.

you looked at Jake and raised your eyebrows waiting for his answer, he bit his lip anxiously and after looking at his friends he looked back at you.

"I choose a challenge" - he finally answered. - "please don't be so cruel" - he added feigning pain.

"hmmm, if you had to marry me, kiss me or kill me which would you choose?" - everyone added an "uhh" at the same time, some covering their mouths in surprise and others just laughing at what was happening.

"come on Jake talk!" - Heeseung said totally amused and shaking Jake's shoulders.

"I choose to kiss you and marry you" he replied shyly beginning to be complimented by his friends for his response and bravery.

"and what are you waiting for!? you just plan to say just that?" - jungwon spoke interrupting the scene and making everyone start shouting for both of them to kiss.

You looked at Jake and noticed his flushed cheeks, you smiled a little embarrassed and his eyes connected with yours before he briefly licked his lips

"I can?" he asked slowly approaching you.

You nodded and smiled tilting your head to the side and closing your eyes. you smiled before you felt his lips crash against yours as if it was just the two of you in that room, as if you wouldn'thear those screams from your friends at the sight of you finally kissing.

#sim jaeyun #jake enhypen #enha imagines #jake fluff #kpop #kpop hard thoughts #enhypen hard thoughts #enhypen hard hours #enhypen sunoo #sunghoon x reader #jake soft hours #jake x y/n #yang jungwon #enhypen #kpop fanfic #kpop gg #boyfriend material

[showmey0urfangs]

Do you think Louis in Dubai already knows about Armand's role in what happens to Claudia? It would explain why he doesn't correct Armand when he says he never harmed him. I've seen so many contradictory theories about that but I believe their relationship is real, it's just not fully honest.

Hi Anon! That's the million dollar question, isn't it? We don't really have a definitive answer but for my part, I think Louis already knows. I'd much prefer if the show stuck to that bit of book canon.

IMO it makes for more interesting storytelling than to have some cheap dramatic reveal at the end where *gasp, [cue young & the restless music ♫] Louis ✨uncovers a treacherous betrayal✨ after living with the ♥︎love of his life™ for nearly 80 years. Shock and horror!!! What will Louis do next? Tune in on Sunday to find out...

I know Armand is one of, if not the, most powerful mind gift wielder but even he couldn't possibly maintain such a massive lie for that long. Especially not when he and Louis regularly exchange blood.

And as I've said so many times before, Interview With The Vampire is Louis' story and it's about him trying to come to terms with his own mistakes and how they contribute to the tragedies he suffers. Like almost all the books in the chronicles, It's more about internal conflict than about some external evil that the 'hero' must defeat to save the day and get the girl. Jacob sums it up perfectly in his recent Newsweek interview where he says;

❝ I think this season is quite a confronting at what happens when you really dig into your own culpability to things that that you felt you were the victim in or ways that you felt were wronged. And how much did you play a part in both fronts and responsibility you're really willing to take for your own actions and the way that you manifested your thoughts and feelings?Louis is way more powerful than he would ever admit, he is way more responsible for the tragedy of his own life than he would ever admit. ❞ 

I've seen some hints here and there about the angle the show might approach it from. For example, Armand and Santiago's official character bios which I find very interesting;

This suggests they will initially paint Santiago as the sole villain and Armand as a helpless spectator (I could not prevent it and all that)

But ultimately, I think it's crucial to the story that Louis knows the truth AND chooses to stay with Armand anyway. In the same way he says yes to Lestat's marriage proposal in the church, after witnessing him go on a murder rampage. In the same way he invites Lestat back into their home after Lestat beats him to a pulp and nearly kills him in episode 5, and then tells Claudia to "do better" when she's less than thrilled about it. In the same way, he can't bring himself to burn Lestat in episode 7, even while knowing it puts Claudia in potential future danger if Lestat were to come after them—which btw, he does and his testimony is ultimately what seals her fate.

I could go on and on but the point is that Louis is a complex and flawed character, whose desires and self-imposed morality are completely at odds. I think this season will be all about revealing just how flawed Louis is and I for one cannot wait to see all of it.

And no, unlike 'some people', it's not because I need Louis to be revealed as an evil liar because then it 'puts him on an equal level with Lestat and so Lestat's not so bad. 🤡 It's because just like Jacob says, I believe we need to allow space for black and brown characters to also be complex, flawed and even problematic at times. Let's be monsters and enjoy it! That's what makes for good representation and that's what makes for interesting storytelling. And don't worry Jacob, I'll still love Louis at the end no matter what he does! ♥︎

#ask #iwtv season 2 #iwtv amc #iwtv #louis de pointe du lac #jacob anderson #iwtv spoilers #interview with the vampire

[w2soneshots]

So you know how jj's mum is just the sweetest person on earth so how bout ksi x reader where they're at jj's mums house and his mum just keeps stealing reader from him

love your work <3

The favourite -KSI

Words: 0.4k+

Warnings: none.

In which you go for lunch at JJ’s parent’s house and his mum absolutely loves you.

a/n: hi babe! I completely agree, I love JJ’s mum🫶🏼. This is quite short since I couldn’t think of anything else to write🤗. Enjoy!!💓

Today me and JJ are going to his parent's house for lunch. It's only going to be with his mum though because his dad's at work. I got ready then once we'd left I asked JJ if we could stop off at our local grocery store. He asked what I needed but I just told him that I'd be back in a minute. A few minutes later I returned to the car with a bright bunch of flowers, for his mum. "Aw that's cute." He said as I put my seatbelt back on.

Once we arrived I knocked on the door. "y/n! Come on in baby!" She cheerfully led me inside. Then pulled me into a warm hug. "How are you?" She asked me, after quickly saying hello to JJ. "Great! I got you these." I smiled as I passed her the flowers. "Oh my! How thoughtful." She generously thanked me.

After taking our shoes and coats off we took a seat in the living room. Yinka asked me how my parents were doing, if I'd cooked any new recipes recently and if JJ had been behaving himself. I giggled at the last question then answered that he had. She left to begin making lunch. Then a few minutes later she popped her head back into the living room to ask if I could quickly help her with something.

As I walked into the kitchen she immediately began whispering "so, has he really been behaving?" She asked in her thick accent. I laughed "yes he has, don't worry." I replied. She seemed satisfied with my answer then asked me to poor some rice into the boiling water. I did as she said and continued to be her little helper.

"Are you alright?" JJ asked as he joined us. I turned. "Yep." Then I continued plaiting up the food. "It's almost ready, come sit." Yinka pointed to the table I had just set. Once everything was ready we all sat down to eat. "This looks amazing!" The plate had chicken, two different types of rice, macaroni cheese and potatoes. And it was well seasoned.

We began eating and I'd never tasted food like it. "We're gonna have to come here more often." I joked, but I was actually being serious. Yinka chuckled "you're always welcome darling, I love when you come and visit." JJ smiled "yea, I'm starting to think you like y/n more than me." "Uh. No I love you both the same amount." She replied, sending me a wink.

#ksi #jj olatunji #jj #ksi x reader #ksi image #ksi oneshot #jj olatunji x reader #youtuber x reader #sidemen x reader #british youtubers #fanfic #image #oneshot #x fem!reader #x y/n #x you #x reader #ksi family

[stardust948]

Good Luck Kiyi AU

[At the hospital]

Ursa: What's going on here?!

Zuko: Dad fell down the stairs and broke his butt.

Ursa: You weren't holding the baby were you?!

Ozai: Uh... yes. Then no. Then yes again.

Ursa: Ozai! You promised me you weren't going to drop this one!!!

~

Azula:

Ursa: Ok. Out with it.

Azula: You completely embarrassed me tonight!

Ursa: Yeah that was the idea.

Azula: Why?! What did I ever do to you?!

Ursa, serious: You played me Azula. You don't think I'm cool at all.

Azula: Why would you think that?

Ursa: I heard you say it. When you butt-dialed me.

Azula: I- Oh...

Ursa: Yeah. Oh.

Azula: I don't know what to say mom. I'm sorry.

Ursa: ... That's a start.

Azula: I never should have done that. I feel awful.

Ursa: Now I feel better.

Azula: *laughs* Next time, could you ground me like a normal mom?

Ursa: Oh sweetie. *kisses her head* No.

~

[Zuko and Sokka trying to juggle]

Zuko: You throw first.

Sokka: No you throw first.

Zuko: No you!

Sokka: You do it!

*start arguing*

Azula, barging in: Sokka. Do you want to dance with me in the talent show?

Sokka: Yes.

Azula: Excellent. Let go to the basement and rehearse. *leaves*

Zuko: Whoa whoa! What just happened here?!

Sokka: Azula just asked me to dance with her. Let's not question it.

Zuko: So you're just gonna leave me hanging?

Sokka: Zuko, you and I are best buds. We've been through thick and thin together. You know I will always be there for-

Azula: SOKKA!

Sokka: See ya. *leaves*

~

[After band rehearsal]

Ozai: Told you I still got it.

Sokka: Mr. Hong you are the answer to our prayers! How would you like to be in our-

Zuko: *covers his mouth* Band meeting. *drags him to the other side of the room*

Ozai: Band meeting? That's never good. That's how I got thrown out of Flight of Phoenix King Ozai.

Zuko: Sokka, I don't want to be the loser who's in a band with his dad!

Ozai: Little quieter guys.

Sokka: I know he's old, but what other choice do we have?!

Ozai: Still hearing it.

~

Katara: *wakes up in the middle of the night and dials her phone*

Katara: Azula! I'm up at the ski lodge and met this psychic who told me I'd meet the love of my life then I met the guy then I met another guy! Then you won't believe who showed up so that makes three guys and I need your help!!!

Katara: Oh, this is Katara.

~

[Zuko and Ursa in his new car]

Zuko: What do you think mom?

Ursa: Well... it's a car. Where did you get it?

Zuko: Used to belong to Mai's grandma.

Ursa: Oh, did she stop driving?

Zuko: No breathing. Thankfully it was at a stop sign so there was no body damage. To the car that is.

Ursa: Wait so she passed away in here?

Zuko: Right were you're sitting.

Ursa: And I'm out.

~

Ursa, barging inside the kitchen: That was embarrassing!

Ozai: It was a simple question!

Zuko and Katara:

Ursa: Your father shouts at me from two ails away, "Ursa! What kind of toilet paper do you use? Quitted or Super quitted?!"

Zuko: Hey look Katara's here!

Katara: *waves awkwardly*

Ozai: So what?! The world doesn't know the great Ursa Hong uses toilet paper?!

Katara: Nice to see you Mr. and Mrs. Hong.

Ursa: And after all that shouting you got the wrong kind!

Ozai: That's because I'm not Ozai the toilet paper psychic!!!

Zuko: Let's go to your house.

Katara: Yeah.

#atla #atla au #atla modern au #good luck kiyi #fire family #azula #zuko #ursa #ozai #sokka #katara #sokkla #zutara #urzai #source: good luck charlie

[gatheredfates]

Hi all, happy Friday! The Compendium update is happening a little earlier this week; mostly because I'm working on it in between Rabanastre queues (c'mere tomes) and because I can. 🦀 If there's a belated addition, I'll update at the end of this weekend as per normal.

However, as of today (05/24) the following resources have been added to Sea's Community Compendium for XIV Creatives.

LARGE SCALE

Nyanya.studio — Hosted by Nya Nya, this website/community services the gpose and modding community, offering posing, lighting, editing guides, and reshade presets for XIV.

(Thanks to @zylphiacrowley for the suggestion!)

MISC

WOL Prompt a Day — #WOLpromptAday is maintained by members of the “Waltz for the Moon” coalition. @ffxivwaltzforthemoon and offers a daily prompt you can answer for your character(s) in any creative format you like!

CHANGELOG

XIV Daily Question — has been removed due to inactivity.

Want to submit? You can either fill out the google form here, send me an ask with the relevant information contained on the Compendium, or join my Discord at SEAFLOOR (21+ only)!

Is my space suitable for the Compendium? Most of the time, yes! Below the read more is some more information/stipulations. Again, all the below information is accessible on the document! 🐡

Below are the following things I do not accept on the Compendium:

Personal/Single-Character LFC ads.

Content intended for or can be used for bullying, harassment and OOC gossip. E.g. ‘Secrets’ blogs, receipts, callout posts, etc. This does not include in-character tabloid blogs used to generate RP.

Communities that do not have an RP/writing element (large-scale exempt).

Anything I find personally distasteful or goes against the spirit of this project.

Common-sense rule applies.

FAQ.

I want to put my community on the compendium but we have an application process. Is this okay?

Yes! Just note somewhere in your application that's a requirement. The only thing that is mandatory for the Compendium is that you must be open to new members or have a public-facing/accessible facet. There's no point advertising a community if no one can join it in some way!

I want to put my community on the compendium but I only have x number of members —

Also totally okay! People don't start with large communities. Activity is a must but, whether your server has two or two thousand members, if you're looking for new people to join, I'd love to help you find people.

I want to put my community on the compendium but I worry its too niche?

Okay, and? If your Eorzean Fishing Alliance has four members but you roleplay every second weekend, I still want to know about it.

What resources/communities can I add if I'm not the owner of them?

Mutual consent is extremely important to me, so anything that isn't a large-scale community OR a publicly accessible resource must be endorsed by the owner/admin/moderators in order to be added to the compendium. I operate under the assumption that a resource posted to a public space (tumblr, googledocs, youtube, etc) is open to all. A large-scale community is one with a significant member count or openly advertises itself as being accessible to everyone for whatever purpose it serves. If in doubt, please get in touch with me. I'm happy to contact your community owners for you!

How active does a community need to be?

If you find a community has not been active in about two/three months, send me a message and I'll take a look at it. Communities have ebbs and flows, especially event spaces that may take hiatuses depending on member interest/life events. I'm not strict in my implementation provided a space isn't dead. If a link or anything is broken, absolutely contact me about that.

I have [insert a question not stated here]?

No drama! Send me an ask or use the #Compendium channel in my Discord!

#final fantasy xiv #ffxiv #ffxiv community #｡･ﾟﾟ･ — sea's community compendium #｡･ﾟﾟ･ — sea speaks

[thinkin-bout-milgram]

I believe Mahiru has Schizophrenia

(Go to third paragraph if you want to skip my prefaces and meandering. I also put a fairly simple to understand DSM-5 criteria screenshot from one of my textbooks for schizophrenia near the bottom)

Admin Saturn here post Mahiru drop, I’m sure others will have either similar or very contrasting thoughts on this but I thought I’d offer my own perspective on it as a psych major and a person with a family member who has schizophrenia. She definitely shows a lot of symptoms of schizophrenia which of course doesn’t necessarily mean this is what they’re intending to portray with her, nor a good portrayal, but I want to put my thoughts out here.

I also want to say that I’m most familiar with schizophrenia and this could very easily fall into a different psychotic disorder I’m less familiar with so I’ll be doing some research into those to either rule out other possibilities or hone in more on a potential schizophrenia portrayal.

Starting with the most basic, she’s near the typical age of onset for schizophrenia in women which is mid 20s to early 30s. (although of course theres a very broad range)

Going on to criteria A. To start there are three ‘main criteria’ that are often the most telling for people with schizophrenia. These include 1. delusions, 2. hallucinations, and 3. disorganized speech. I would say mahiru definitely meets delusions and hallucinations based on this MV. 

While auditory hallucinations are the most common, and having fully formed and incredibly all encompassing visual hallucinations like the ones depicted in her MV are very uncommon, milgram depicts very specific and intriguing cases. The fact that all the prisoners hear our voices also makes it difficult to be able to tell if she might experience auditory hallucinations as well, but it’s something I’ll be looking out for. 

To say more on delusions (and keep in mind I’m reporting all this in a very simplified version sans context because theres a lot about delusions within psychotic disorders. And also this is just with just a quick refresher from a previous textbook) there are a few kinds. Mahiru would be expressing erotomanic type where you believe a person is madly in love with you and you two were meant to be together. This is most often experienced in relation to celebrities but again, milgram tries to take looks at the most ‘intriguing’ cases.

The other criteria are 4. grossly disorganized or catatonic behavior and 5. negative symptoms. Schizophrenia can be thought of as having negative and positive symptoms. Positive symptoms are things like hallucinations and delusions that add a nonreal experience where negative symptoms reduce a typical experience/self expression. (again, simplified) So some negative symptoms a person could experience would be reduced affect or a lack of pleasure from everyday activities. I don’t see her having any reduced affect but I could definitely see her having grossly disorganized behavior.

Grossly disorganized behavior includes not understanding you have a problem (specifically in a lacking insight way), another thing is cognitive slippage where a person will jump from topic to topic or talk illogically. While we haven’t seen her have these symptoms recently, the deterioration of her notebook entries could be an attempt to show the audience this.

A person must have at least 2 of these 5 symptoms.

She also def meets criteria B (worsened hygiene at the very least which doesn’t even bring in how much these actions likely impacted the other aspects of her life)

I can’t say for sure with C, D, or E, however F I can say has been met.

Something important to note is that it’s hard to tell if Mahiru would meet the criteria of experiencing this for the past 6 months. We don’t know how long she was holding him captive (although I think from the wear it looks like he experienced it was longer than the few days expressed in her journal) but it’s still difficult to know. If she hasn’t, it would be important to look into schizophreniform which is a shorter version of it and brief psychotic disorder which is an even shorter version. These can have a better long term prognosis.

In regards to outcomes that people with schizophrenia can experience long term with treatment vary. Unfortunately, many people never make a full recovery and continue to experience symptoms, especially those who never receive treatment. Schizophrenia is typically considered a chronic disorder. They typically benefit most from a structured inpatient facility with good care and this is a disorder where med compliance is one of the number 1 things that can impact recovery. However, that definitely doesn’t mean they can’t. With med compliance, a good support system as well as coping skills and frequent checkups symptoms can severely lessen to almost disappear. Especially with schizophreniform and brief psychotic disorder, there are a lot of cases where a person can experience one case of it and never have these symptoms again (although it is also a very big risk factor for a later schizophrenia diagnosis)

Another thing to consider going forward in regards to being able to ask her questions would be asking about childhood and family history. Schizophrenia is highly hereditary and there are also some early flags in childhood that include atypical beliefs or some of the negative symptoms.

From a personal standpoint, I would also say that my family member expresses a lot of floaty whimsical type ideas. Not quite in the Mahiru love way but it has similar vibes? I don’t quite know how to describe it because it’s such a specific mannerism but it’s just another coincidence I thought I would add.

Theres always the availability heuristic and I know a lot about schizophrenia and it’s something I think about a lot more than the average person. However, I do feel that she meets a lot of criteria and I’ll definitely be looking for more signs.

#admin saturn #milgram #Mahiru #trial 2 #This is a theory and I am by no means at a level of schooling where I could make a diagnosis #schizophrenia tw #if anyone has any things they think I should add or am misreporting please let me know #or if you have questions I'd love to answer #But there is definitely a high amount of reality distortion in schizophrenia and thats imoprtant #to mahiru #anyway #thank you for listening to my explanation #I like talking about schizophrenia and this gave me an excuse

[deoidesign]

Hello I stumbled across your profile and I just say I love your art style! I've gotta ask, how'd your develop it? And do you have any advice for someone who can't decide what they want their art to look like?

Thank you so much!

To be entirely honest, I don't feel like I truly "developed" my style. I feel a lot more like I finally let myself draw it! But I am incredibly deliberate with my work, and I do have clear tendencies and preferences... So I'll do my best to explain how I got to where I am now as an artist.

It's important to remember that "style" is something of a nebulous concept. It changes with you as you grow as a person, and most artists can work in and emulate many art styles! Art really is a form of communication with yourself, and your "style" is a reflection of the tendencies and preferences you have. My art does not look how it looked 5 years ago, and my art will look different 5 years from now too. I've changed, and my art reflects that!

(2012, 2018, 2023; two pieces I remember being incredibly proud of and considered my best work up til that point, and then my most recent piece)

What you need to do, as everyone will tell you, is study the fundamentals (anatomy, perspective, form and structure, lighting and shadow, color, and composition) so you have the proper tools to make the most informed decisions possible about your art, and so you can deliberately break or follow rules as you please for your desired effect. I know it sounds silly to learn rules if you're not gonna be following them anyways, but they help you be much more consistent and intentional! More knowledge is NEVER a bad thing to have!

However, I know it's a bit demoralizing to just be told to study fundamentals. Everyone knows you're supposed to do that, but it takes YEARS to learn, and people want their art to feel how they want it to now (which is very very very normal to want!)

So on that front, I have 2 follow up suggestions that I personally find helpful (of course, everyone is different, so it's not like this is the only way to learn! But, if it resonates with you, it might mean it will work for you too.)

1: Separate study from application

I believe this is beneficial for a few reasons:

If the goal of every piece is learning, it can become frustrating, overwhelming, and boring

It's harder to self critique when there are multiple variables to investigate. I like to study one fundamental at a time

Study (usually) works best with a large quantity of output, whereas application of knowledge (finished pieces) is often more satisfying and effective when you get to take your time

Deliberate practical application of what you've learned in a finished piece helps cement the learning in your mind, and also lets you get satisfying finished pieces with noticeable improvement after a good study session!

I've found that keeping these things separate helps me improve faster and more deliberately, and it takes a lot of the pressure off of both aspects! I'm not worried about my studies looking beautiful, they're just to learn! And I don't feel pressured to critique my finished pieces, cause they're just for fun and to make something pretty. I personally find this helps me have a much healthier relationship with my art.

When studying, copy! Copy things as best as you can, all the time. It gives you something to compare to for self critique (and of course, if you're copying someone else's work and you share the study, ALWAYS give credit, share the original, and say it was for study.) In application, don't copy: reference. Make it yours!

2: Let yourself do the things that feel "easy" or like "cheating"

This one is simpler: nothing in art is easy.

If something feels easy to you, most of the time it's not because it's actually any easier... It's because it's part of your natural tendencies and preferences! This took me forever to realize, but as long as you're actually doing some study, then you're learning. You don't need to learn All The Time. When you're doing the "application" portion, you should let yourself do whatever is actually the most fun and feels easiest! This is where your style will start to come through, and where you get to learn about yourself. Take the pressure off, and have fun!!!

The only cheating in art is theft. If you're not stealing, then it's allowed!

My whole life (and yes, still!) I'd get regular criticism about both my style and my subject matter. You will too. You'll see a thousand different styles, and a hundred different things to admire in each. Your heart will ache that you don't draw like others do.

But art is a form of communication with yourself. It's like your voice, or your accent; just something that's a part of you! It can be fun to mimic others', but when you sit to have a conversation you speak naturally. (I know some people want to and do change their voice, but this is a metaphor and metaphors aren't perfect)

Don't stress so much about what you want your art to look like, especially if you're not sure. There's a lot of value to be had in constant experimentation, I think it'd be rather boring to only draw one style the rest of my life. What I draw is what I want to see, right now, for who I am now! It's a part of me and comes naturally, if I let it!

I hope this helps!

#justbrowsing1124 #asks #art tips #drawing advice #drawing tips #art advice #long post here sorry #long post #I could have gone on so so so so so so much more but this took me like 2 hours to write #and I've gotta go to bed! haha #so if you feel like something wasn't properly explained you can send a follow up ask and I'd be happy to elaborate #I love answering questions like this #sorry if it sounds a bit condescending I wrote the post for like... what would have helped me to hear when I was just starting out #so I wrote it basically for how I think would help I guess a kid #sorry about that. the content is still all what I think though #also I realize that i didn't really talk about like... my journey... at all here lol. #I guess if you wanna know my personal journey I'd love to get into it! #but i focused a lot more on the second part #cause yknow #that's kinda what my journey was internally anyways #but yknow no fun progress of my art with notes about what I was doing and why #but fuck that sounds fun if someone did wanna know about that LOL #I am VERY deliberate with my art I could legit analyze every piece #pretentious? maybe. do I care? not at all. #why make it if I dont have a reason?

[panharmonium]

Hi! I love your Naruto thoughts and meta posts with all my heart and I want to ask your thoughts on something that has been on my mind literally since I was 13: what do you think about the relationship between Sasuke and Sakura? I went from being a hardcore shipper when I was a teenager, to being against any romantic relationship in Naruto after finishing the anime when I was in my early twenties. Nowadays I'm very into platonic love and depictions of friendship and I think the anime's obsession with forcing the "romantic interest" curse upon the main female character robbed us of... so much. There are a few wonderful moments in the anime where Sasuke and Sakura acknowledge each other, but because she's always "the girl with the crush", her actions are so often interpret as irrational or selfish by the fandom.

Hi @riemmetric!  It's great to talk to you again! Sorry it's taken me so long to answer this; RL has been making demands of me lately and it took me way longer to finish writing this up than I wanted it to (then again, I knew from the minute I read your original ask that my reply was going to get long, so I suppose I should have predicted a delay XD)

It's funny, my sister once asked me to choose between Sasuke or Sakura for an “unpopular opinion” meme, and I ended up doing Sasuke solely because I think the negative fandom opinions about Sakura are so unhinged and divorced from the actual text that I wouldn’t even know where to start.  People are entitled to dislike whatever characters they want, obviously, but there are some fandom takes that are, for me, so obviously rooted in bad faith viewings/readings that there’s no urge in me to discuss them.  That said, since you asked, I’m happy to go into my own thoughts on this a bit, with the disclaimer for other potential readers that I only write about fandom things for my own personal enjoyment, not as a contribution to The Discourse. If you don’t like Sakura, great!  I have no interest in changing your mind. Please consider this a sincere invitation to scroll on by and go enjoy whatever parts of the fandom appeal to you.

In general terms: I love Sasuke and Sakura’s relationship as much as I love all of the relationships in Team 7.  If we’re talking about them specifically as a romantic couple, then I probably fall somewhere in the middle of the spectrum, because I do like them together in a post-canon (to be clear: non-Boruto) setting, after time has passed and they’ve continued to develop individually and reconnect with each other, but I also wouldn’t exactly call myself an intense “shipper,” in the sense that I have no interest in pulling things out from the text and incorrectly citing them as evidence that Sasuke has hidden romantic feelings for her during the canon period. He cares about her in the canon period, just like he cares about Naruto and Kakashi.  That’s not up for interpretation; it’s the text.  But Sasuke during the canon time period does not demonstrate specifically romantic interest in anyone.  

[A note before people who might ship Sasuke with Someone Else emerge to rail against this statement - please just scroll past and continue enjoying fandom in whatever way is most fun for you. It is cool to ship whatever fanon thing you want; I think that’s great!  But earnestly citing any loving or emotional thing Sasuke does re: various characters in this story (yes, Sakura included) as indicative of specifically romantic love isn’t supported by the text. I know there are always going to be enormous subsets of any fandom who insist that it is, and I'm certainly not going to barge into anyone else's space to complain about that (because other people having fun together is harmless and none of my business), but I'm not obligated to indulge it on my own blog, either.]

Anyway, that said - the reason why I love Sakura and Sasuke’s relationship (from here on out I’ll use “relationship” in a general, non-romantic sense) is precisely because Sakura isn’t just “the girl with the crush.” Sakura has an arc when it comes to Sasuke, and its trajectory moves in the exact opposite direction of “irrational” or “selfish.”  She specifically goes from “the girl with the crush” to “the girl who steels herself and tries to put her personal feelings for Sasuke aside for the greater good” to “the girl who knows she can’t put her feelings aside, but who also knows full well that Sasuke doesn’t reciprocate them, and who still wants to save him regardless, because he matters to her as a person and a friend.”

[I'm putting the rest of this under a cut to save everyone's dash, and also to emphasize once again that this is a personal post on my personal blog which I wrote in response to a question from a personal acquaintance, the full content of which no one is obligated to read. I am not sending this post to random strangers and forcing them to look at it. I'm not even putting it in the character tags. I'm typing it up on my own blog and putting it under a cut. If you already know that you don't like Sakura, but you still click the link/read the post and then feel an urge to comment and complain, I am going to copy-paste this disclaimer and remind you that I specifically recommended that you scroll past and go have fun with fandom in your own way. Thanks in advance for responsibly curating your own fandom experience!]

So, from the top:

1. the girl with the crush

Sakura is, obviously, completely obsessed with Sasuke at the beginning of Part 1.  She’s also deeply clueless about him and his history (bizarre though it is, the story seems to indicate that she initially doesn’t know what happened with his family, the same way young!Obito is initially clueless about Kakashi’s father).  But what I like about Sakura and Sasuke’s Part 1 relationship is how this changes over time.

The critical scene that kicks this off happens right at the beginning of the manga, when she and Sasuke are talking by that bench - she complains about Naruto and blames his behavior on him being all alone/having no family to scold him; and even says she’s jealous that he doesn’t have parents to nag him all the time.  This obviously triggers an outburst from Sasuke, who tells her she has no idea what loneliness means and that she “makes him sick”/she’s “annoying” (importantly, the exact same thing Sakura said to Naruto in anger earlier that day), which in turn prompts Sakura to reassess herself and wonder whether she’s been making Naruto feel this terrible all the time, too:

From that point on, it’s a process of her putting little pieces together.  She still has a MAJOR crush, and she still acts like a twelve year-old, but as we approach the end of Part I, Sakura actually has a more accurate grasp on Sasuke’s current state of mind than Naruto does.  Naruto is initially excited to fight Sasuke on top of the hospital, because he feels like Sasuke’s finally acknowledging him, whereas Sakura is the one who immediately recognizes that something is wrong about this situation.  She is also the one who, after this fight, is concerned that Sasuke is really unwell and might do something drastic like run off in pursuit of the power Orochimaru promised him, but when she communicates this to Naruto, he assures her that this would NEVER happen:

(Sakura isn't convinced, though, because she goes to monitor the exit out of the village anyway.)

I’m not criticizing Naruto for his response here.  I ADORE hearing him say that Sasuke is too strong to need Orochimaru, with such perfect confidence - I love seeing how much respect and admiration he has for Sasuke underneath all their fighting, because that’s the whole reason he’s always baiting Sasuke and yelling at him and claiming “you're not so great!” He looks up to Sasuke; he wants to be like Sasuke; he thinks Sasuke is awesome! (It’s that Obito @ Kakashi behavior, you know?) But the fact remains that he is clueless about what’s actually going on with Sasuke in Part 1, and he remains clueless(ly optimistic) for a long time.  

(Eg, when he catches up to Sasuke during the retrieval arc and Sasuke climbs out of that cursed seal coffin, Naruto waves at him and calls "Come on, let's go!" as if Sasuke has been successfully rescued and is now going to come running home.  Even in Part II, when Naruto hears that Sasuke killed Orochimaru, he beams and immediately says, “So he must be on his way back to the Leaf Village!”  And everyone else in the room is like, “....,” because they know better.  Naruto doesn’t yet fully understand [or doesn't want to accept] the extent to which Sasuke has willingly chosen this path, and it’s not until after Jiraiya’s death/the Pain attack/the Five Kage Summit that Naruto really starts to understand Sasuke more clearly, which is something he himself admits.)

Sakura, in Part 1, has access to more information about Sasuke - she’s there for his first dissociative monologue during the bells test, she’s there for the curse mark’s placement, she’s there for his first violent transformation in the Forest of Death - she is, in fact, the unwitting catalyst for it (“Sakura…who did this to you?”), and her compassion is the reason Sasuke is later able to overcome the curse mark’s influence - so she has a more accurate/complete picture of “how he’s doing,” for lack of a better phrase, whereas Naruto, who doesn’t know about the curse mark in the first place, is still in the dark.  This means that Sakura is able to accurately discern that Sasuke is struggling more than Naruto realizes, and specifically to predict that he’s going to run away.  

(This dynamic is then interestingly flipped in the back half of Part II, since at any point after the Five Kage Summit, Sakura doesn’t have access to extremely relevant [if currently questionable and unproven] details that would in any other circumstance inform her behavior).

Of course, just because she has more info in Part 1 doesn’t mean she has some kind of miraculous insight into Sasuke’s every thought and feeling.  There are parts of her attempt to convince Sasuke to stay in the village that are as clueless as any of Naruto’s assumptions, and they showcase the kind of magical thinking common to childhood - like when she says that if he stayed with her, she could give him happiness, she’d do anything for him, even help him get his revenge - this idea that she herself can do something to make him feel better, that she can love him powerfully enough to defeat his pain - obviously none of that is rooted in realism.

Is this part of her approach irrational and immature and inadvertently self-centered?  Of course it is!  But it’s no more irrational and immature and inadvertently self-centered than Naruto’s stated plan to drag Sasuke back to the village even if he has to “break every bone in [his] body!” 

Hating on Sakura for her Part 1 attempt to convince Sasuke to stay in the village while simultaneously lauding Naruto for his feels like a bad faith misread of what is, to me, pretty clear narrative intention.  The story doesn’t at any point intend for us to see her begging him to stay as a selfish or conniving attempt to get something she wants.  She’s begging him to stay for the same underlying reason that Naruto is: she cares about him.  She thinks he’s making a mistake that will only cause him more pain in the end (she’s right) and she wants to make it so he feels less pain right now (she can’t.  But she doesn’t understand that/isn’t able to admit that, and she’s willing to try ANYTHING that might help).  

It’s critical that this farewell scene is set in front of that same bench from their first important confrontation - she references that day and how angry he got at her, and this time she tells him that she understands his reaction.  She’s learned things and she recognizes how insensitive she was being back then (“I know what happened to your clan, Sasuke”), even though she still can’t fully grasp all the complexities of the situation. She tells him that him blowing up at her back then helped her understand what loneliness actually meant (as opposed to her previous shallow understanding of it), and she challenges him about his choice right now: "So that's it, you're choosing the lonely path?" And when she tells him that she'll be very lonely if he leaves, we're immediately shown a panel of Sasuke thinking of both his friends, with the very clear implication that if he goes through with this, he will be lonely without them, too - that he's still struggling with the idea of leaving them, no matter how hard he tries to pretend:

Sakura at this point knows that Sasuke isn’t interested in her the way she is in him, but she still wants to give him happiness, however fantastical and immature her ideas sound to us (and, I’m sure, to him).  “I’ll do anything, even help you get your revenge/we'll have fun every day, and...and you'll be happy! I'll make sure of it!” - of course, it’s completely childish.  It’s irrational.  It’s ridiculous to think that any of this would ever be effective, but no more ridiculous than Naruto’s belief that he can simply break every bone in Sasuke’s body and keep him in the Leaf by force.

Both Naruto and Sakura are children who have a deeply oversimplified understanding of Sasuke’s situation.  They both still think they can fix him themselves.  They both think they can save him themselves.  They both think they can convince (or force) him to do what they want, what they think is in his best interests.  Both of them don’t yet understand that he has to want to come back, if it’s ever going to mean anything.  Their attempts to keep him in the village are immature and unrealistic, yes.  What they aren’t, however, is selfish, because neither Sakura nor Naruto are doing any of this with the intention of advancing their own interests.  They’re only thinking about Sasuke - how to keep Sasuke safe, how to make Sasuke happy - even when neither of them are taking an approach that will actually work.

Naruto and Sakura are children.  They’re afraid of losing somebody they care about.  Their attempts to prevent that from happening are desperate and messy and ultimately ineffective, but they are also genuinely felt and rooted in a true desire to rescue Sasuke from his pain, which - and this is the single most important thing that should impact our viewing of Part 1 - is something that Sasuke RECOGNIZES.  He doesn’t spend that agonizingly long moment bowed over Naruto’s defeated body so we can pretend he doesn’t understand that Naruto was just trying to help him.  He doesn’t take the time to murmur, “Sakura…thank you,” before laying her out carefully on a bench, just so we can discount it and pretend that he doesn’t recognize and appreciate her genuine intention to make things better for him, however clumsy that attempt might have been.

2. the greater good

If Stage 1 Sakura is "the girl with the crush," then Stage 2 Sakura is a progression to “the girl who decides to put her feelings for Sasuke aside in order to protect innocent people, including (but certainly not limited to) Naruto.”  She’s driven to this decision by interactions with Shikamaru, who all too recently had to grow up fast himself (“We're not kids anymore...we can't allow a war to break out between the Hidden Leaf and the Hidden Cloud because of Sasuke") and Sai, who risks his new friendship with Sakura and Team 7 in order to speak some hard truths and deliver one of my favorite lines in the whole story: “I don’t know what promise Naruto made to you, but it’s really no different than what was done to me.  It’s like a curse mark.”

(INCREDIBLE.  How can anybody be complaining about a season where Sai gets to say something that goes THIS HARD and Sakura LISTENS and takes DRAMATIC ACTION that actually propels the story forward in a meaningful way - )

[Okay, yeah, brief personal opinion interlude - it is just bonkers wild to me that there are people who complain about Sakura in the Five Kage Summit arc. That entire season is the greatest character arc she ever has.  Literally she has never been more interesting and dynamic than in Season 10; it’s the first time she ever gets to be as deep and fascinating as the boys; what is everybody so worked up about?  Oh, “she lied to Naruto that one time” - Sasuke joined infant-kidnapping baby-murdering human experimentation machine Orochimaru when he was twelve years old in order to (dare I say it????) selfishly pursue his personal goals and yet, somehow, we are still able to root for him.  He abandoned his friends/allies to imprisonment and death (Suigetsu and Jūgo) or outright stabbed them in the chest himself (Karin) in order to (SELFISHLY) get what he wanted, and yet, somehow, we are still able to love him, understand him, and be on his side.  Naruto is canonically not upset with Sakura about her lie after receiving context for the situation and I think we can probably take our cues from him without feeling the need to bring her up on war crimes; please calm down]

[Sorry, I just really love most of Season 10 and think it’s one of the best examples of how good this story can be when every single character gets to do something that matters (as opposed to things being all Naruto, all the time) so I get a little bit worked up over people complaining about some of the best writing Sakura ever gets.  I don’t understand what certain elements of fandom want from her. People complain about her being “useless” and not doing anything that contributes to the story, but then they complain just as much when she does finally get to act decisively and have just as complex/dynamic an inner world as the boys.  She’s “weak” for being unreasonably in love with Sasuke, but when she tries to be “strong” and put her love for him aside and eliminate him in order to protect Naruto and the rest of the world, she’s evil, because she should have been more understanding of his situation (despite the fact that she doesn’t KNOW anything about his situation).  But then when she can’t go through with killing him after all because she cares about him too much despite the things he’s done, she’s not "compassionate" or "kind" or "a good friend," she’s “weak” again. Nothing Sakura does in S10 is more wrongheaded or rash than any of the batshit, buckwild things Naruto and Sasuke have done in the past (and will continue to do in the future), but when Naruto and Sasuke have big feelings or take bold action, it makes them interesting characters, whereas Sakura can’t breathe in anyone’s direction without being minutely scrutinized for moral impurities.]  

Anyway. Back to a more measured response.  

Every single piece of development Sakura has with regard to Sasuke in this season satisfies me so much.  Her initial shock and disbelief at hearing that Sasuke had joined the Akatsuki?  Good, appropriate.  The fact that she starts to acknowledge the reality of what Sasuke’s done sooner than Naruto does?  Also extremely appropriate, very in-character for both of them.  Her taking Sai’s words to heart and deciding that the promise she asked Naruto to make when they were children is causing him to suffer and she has to relieve him of that burden?  Juicy!  AND thematically significant (promises!!!!  the burden that a promise places on a person, especially when it can't be kept - we've seen that before in this story and we'll see it again).  Her anguished pivot from wanting to protect Sasuke to realizing that she has a responsibility to protect the countless innocents who will die because of the war he’s trying to start?  HELLO THIS IS INCREDIBLE CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT.  Her knocking out the classmates who agreed to help her so they don’t have to share in her burden (and so the only person Naruto will hate when it’s over is her)?  BRUH.  Her being so committed and focused on her goal of saving innocents and protecting Naruto (not just from being harmed by Sasuke/the Akatsuki, but by the possibility that Naruto will someday have to hurt Sasuke himself) that she tries to take everything on by herself and walks into a confrontation that she absolutely cannot win??  INCREDIBLE.  (Literally the first time I watched this, I said, “Finally!!!  It’s Sakura’s turn to go off the rails!”  I laughed with my sister about how Kakashi isn’t even mad, because Naruto and Sasuke have been pulling stunts like this for years and Sakura was way overdue for her own meltdown.)  And then, after Kakashi intervenes in the fight - Sakura barreling back into the battle when she realizes he’s going to take on the burden of killing Sasuke himself in order to spare her and Naruto the horror - “I can’t let Kakashi-sensei bear this burden!”  I love her for that.  

And then, of course, in the end - her not being able to do hurt Sasuke after all.  Despite committing herself to the act, despite forcing herself to put her feelings for him aside, despite resolving to stop him from starting a war and killing innocent people, she can’t harm him.  She cares about him too much.  This, too, is thematically significant - think about Itachi’s “you don’t have enough hatred” - she doesn’t have enough hatred to kill someone she cares about, even if it seems like he deserves it, even if would be the right thing to do to protect others.  She can’t do it, and Sasuke almost kills her for her compassion.  

I love the dynamic this sets up between her and Sasuke, for a few reasons:

1) Personally, I think Sasuke respects Sakura much more for trying to kill him than he would have if she’d just tried to talk him out of his behavior or beg him to come home (a la their original confrontation in Part 1).  This is the first significant interaction he’s had with Sakura in years, and the fact that she does something SO contrary to his memory of her is an important demonstration of the fact that she’s not the same girl she used to be.  Sasuke spends a lot of time after his defection declaring to his old team “I’ve changed; I’m not that person anymore,” but this is one of the moments where he’s forced to acknowledge that his teammates have changed, too.  Time didn’t just stop for them when he left.  While he was turning into someone new, so were they.  They grew up without him, and his old memories of them can’t encompass the whole picture of who they are now.  

(This is a little tangential, but in general, I love the spectrum of reactions that Naruto, Sakura, and Kakashi have in this sequence, and the way that all of them are ultimately messages Sasuke needs to hear.  Sasuke - who we know textually regrets what he did here, who apologizes to Sakura for it later - for “everything,” in fact - needs Naruto’s aggressively optimistic open-arms policy, yes, needs that potential, that unconditional possibility of return.  He also needs Sakura’s refusal to let him hurt her friends and start a war that will kill thousands of people, needs her surprisingly ruthless attempt to take him down; needs just as much her failure to do so, because it shows him that she still loves him too much to kill him even as she condemns him.  And he needs Kakashi’s grim line in the sand, needs someone who very possibly won't hesitate like Sakura (despite the horrifying personal cost), someone who will try to reach him but also won't let him escape and become the next generation’s Orochimaru, who won't let him cause untold suffering to untold numbers of people just because a teacher loved him too much to stop him when he had the chance. 

(And then even Kakashi chooses not to deliver a killing blow when he has the opportunity -)

(I know that in fandom people are more likely to be all, “oh, Naruto Good, everybody else Bad,” but I don’t think the narrative frames Sakura or Kakashi as “worse” than Naruto in any way.  The story goes out of its way to make it clear how desperately they don’t want to hurt Sasuke and how much they care about him.  And [this is just my interpretation, so obviously I won’t claim it as fact], I personally think that Sasuke - Sasuke, who, looking back, can see how lost he was then and how tortured he would have been if he’d gone through with many of his plans - would be grateful to Sakura and Kakashi for making an attempt to stop him when he couldn’t stop himself.)

2) On the other side of this, the fact that Sakura wasn’t able to deliver the killing blow means a lot. Sasuke was incapacitated under that bridge; he was completely at her mercy - but she stopped with the kunai an inch from his back.  She couldn’t kill him, even though she knew that he was completely willing to kill her (because he'd attempted to Chidori-assassinate her from behind just a few minutes ago).  That’s huge!  Sasuke is too out of his head right now to process this or understand it, but later, it's going to matter.  She stayed her hand.  She spared his life.  She loved him too much to hurt him, even when he’d given her every reason to take him down.  She hesitated, and he almost killed her for it, but her inability to strike him ultimately gave him yet another chance to come home, another chance to get better, another chance to have a life outside of his pain.  Despite everything, some part of her still hadn’t really given up on him, and that knowledge will matter later, when he’s finally able to acknowledge it.  

The point of all this is to say that I really have no complaints about Sakura and Sasuke’s dynamic in their S10 confrontation.  This season is the point where Sakura fully grows past her “girl with a crush” stage and into her “shinobi must make very harsh decisions” adulthood, but it never means that she doesn’t care about the person she’s trying to take down.  Her ultimate inability to deliver the killing blow remains a dangling lifeline for her relationship with Sasuke, an open door that Sasuke is able to walk through at the end of the story (literally, in fact, when Sakura opens that portal for him and saves him from Kaguya’s desert prison, and figuratively, too, when Sasuke apologizes to her).

3. she only wants to save you

The last stage in their relationship is what Sakura settles into during the war arc.  She started off Part 1 being just a girl with a crush, then tried to harden her heart and put her feelings for Sasuke aside in service of the greater good, but she was unable to actually follow through and kill him, and because of that, what she’s come to accept by the war arc is actually two things: that 1) Sasuke truly is willing to let her die if it furthers his goals, and 2) she wants to save him anyway.  

She has no intention of pursuing Sasuke romantically.  She knows full well that Sasuke isn’t interested in her.  She even knows that Sasuke isn’t really on their side (there’s a great scene where Sai questions Sakura about Sasuke’s return, and she reassures him that everything is fine, and Sai sadly thinks to himself “even I can tell your smile is fake”).  She’s well-aware that Sasuke didn’t try to help her when Madara stabbed her.  She’s well-aware that he left her to die in the lava pit.  She’s also well-aware that none of this is enough to make her stop loving him.  He doesn’t have to care about her - she still cares about him.  She still wants to help him.  She still wants to save him.

This is not hidden, hard-to-parse character development.  It’s explicitly articulated on the page:

Sakura’s not trying or wanting to make you hers!  She only wants to save you.

I’m not sure if people look at this last confrontation and unquestioningly take Sasuke at his word (as if we haven’t just read 71 volumes/watched 700 episodes showing us how how painfully distorted his thinking is), or if they stop reading/watching before the end of the scene, or if they don’t understand that Sasuke saying something doesn’t make that statement an accurate representation of reality.  The entire point of this scene is to show us how deeply mistaken Sasuke is about Sakura (and, by extension, the rest of Team 7).  He’s locked into a false pattern of thinking.  His single-minded focus on revenge and destruction has blinded him to the unconditional love his friends feel for him; he’s become so accustomed to using others and being used that he can’t understand or accept that someone would care about him without needing a reason, without needing him to love them back, without needing to receive something from him in exchange.

Sakura’s not trying or wanting to make you hers!  She only wants to save you.

Sasuke matters to Sakura as more than a love interest.  He always has.  She does love him romantically, yes, but she doesn’t only love him romantically, and her desire to help him is not and has never been contingent on him returning her feelings, romantically or otherwise.  Sasuke isn’t able to acknowledge that in this scene, but that doesn’t mean we’re supposed to just sit back and agree with his warped perspective.  Kakashi is the one who’s explicitly positioned as the voice of the narrative here.  We, as the audience, are supposed to recognize that Kakashi is the one telling us the truth.

[tangential thing 1: You don’t have to love Sakura's last plea to Sasuke here. It’s not my favorite, either - the best part, other than Kakashi’s speech at the end, is the moment after Kakashi collapses when Sakura’s expression changes from pained uncertainty to pure rage, when she grits her teeth together - when I first saw that, I almost leapt out of my seat like “Oh my god.  She’s finally going to let him have it.  It’s finally happening - ”  I wanted that so badly, and I still think it would have been a more effective writing choice for Sakura’s last words to lean more into her anger at the suffering Sasuke is causing all of them (himself included!) and less into yet another of Kishimoto’s “let me have Sakura articulate what a shame it is that she can’t do as much as Naruto despite the fact that I literally just went through a major reveal sequence in the war to show that she’s caught up to the boys; I can’t make up my mind about whether I want her to progress or not” - it’s extremely frustrating (and it's something he does at the very end of the S10 Team 7 reunion, too, which is the ONLY moment of S10 that falls flat for me).  But at the same time, even if there are ways this sequence could be more satisfying, it doesn’t change the fact that her plea to him is not remotely motivated by a desire to be with him romantically and not anything to condemn her for.]

[tangential thing 2: I do like how she remembers that moment when Sasuke says “Thank you.���  That panel precedes her saying “If there’s even a tiny corner of your heart that thinks about me…” (which I’m sure is one of the things that people like to criticize about this scene, aka “oh she’s sooooo self-centered” etc), but that particular line of dialogue is preceded by that particular flashback panel for a reason: Sakura knows that Sasuke DOES think about her.  He thinks about all of them.  Sakura remembers that “thank you,” and it reminds her that despite everything Sasuke has done and said since, despite all evidence to the contrary, she knows in her bones that his expression of gratitude back then was genuine.  He cared about her once.  He cared about all of them.  She’s trying to reach the part of him that still does, if it exists.]

[tangential thing 3: The fact that Kakashi says “she suffers from loving you,” and it triggers Sasuke to remember his own family - thinking about how much he suffered (and still suffers) from loving them - “Perhaps…those are the ties to a failed past” - the idea that it’s not worth it to have bonds if it means you suffer this much…that it’s too difficult, it’s too painful, and if Sakura and the rest of Team 7 were smarter they would just give it up (all Sasuke knows how to do now is sever potential bonds before they can hurt him; so why aren’t Sakura and the rest of his teammates doing that, why can’t they let it go, why are they making this so hard - ) << yeah, he clearly doesn't care about her/them at all.]

4. the shadow of my family

This has all been a really long way to answer the original question, but the short response to “What do you think about the relationship between Sasuke and Sakura?” is “I really care about it,” just like I really care about the relationship between Sasuke and Naruto, just like I really care about the relationship between Sasuke and Kakashi. And I don’t think the story ever asks me to choose between them.

I’m not sure whether it’s the impact of Boruto-era “canon” that gets in the way of other people approaching things this way (I don’t consider sequel material when I evaluate the original story), or if it’s Kishimoto’s frequent disinterest in/disrespect towards female characters, which yes, does sometimes make it harder, or if it's a shipping thing (bane of my existence), or some combination of factors, but for me, taking one member of Team 7 out of the equation hobbles the rest of the story.  I can’t read/watch Naruto while hating one of the protagonists and loving the other three.  It doesn’t work like that for me.  The story wasn’t written that way, and there’s nothing in the text that would cause me to receive it that way.

That doesn't mean there's anything wrong with disliking one of the main foursome (or any character, for that matter) - obviously we're all going to have different preferences, and everyone is free to enjoy or reject whatever parts of a story they want, or to like or dislike whatever characters they want. I know that some people have more fun disregarding canon and doing their own thing, which is fine.  My own personal zone of enjoyment comes from receiving the story as closely to how I think it was intended to be read as I can, and personally, when I look at this particular story, what I see is that all the members of Team 7 clearly demonstrate their love for Sasuke in ways that he himself later recognizes and acknowledges. All of them are driven by their desire to save him and their unwillingness to hurt him. All of them make repeated choices to chase after him when he runs away, to trust him when he hasn't exactly earned it, to give him another chance when he doesn't appear to deserve it. ALL of them, not just Naruto, do these things multiple times throughout the story, and Sasuke owes his life (and thus his eventual recovery) to ALL of them, many times over. Kakashi disobeys Hokage-elect Danzō and breaks the law to negotiate for Sasuke's life with a foreign head of state. Sakura and Kakashi both have opportunities to kill Sasuke in the Land of Iron, and they choose to spare him instead. Kakashi stops Sasuke from killing his only friends at two different points in the story, which would have been a mistake Sasuke couldn't have recovered from. Sasuke would have died in Kaguya's desert dimension if Sakura hadn't saved him (Sakura, who knew that Sasuke wasn't even truly on her side yet, who knew he'd abandoned her for dead multiple times already that day). Kaguya's bone bullet would have killed Sasuke too, if Kakashi, with his intention to die in Sasuke's place, hadn't leapt in front of it (Kakashi, who also knew that Sasuke wasn't fully on their side yet, who also knew that Sasuke had abandoned him for dead earlier that day). Sasuke and Naruto would have BOTH died in the Final Valley if Sakura and a severely injured Kakashi hadn't chased after them to heal their injuries.

Remove any one member of Team 7, and Sasuke never makes it home. Without the combined efforts of all three of his teammates, he doesn't survive.  That’s the way it should be, thematically, for a story whose first and most foundational premise was the importance of teamwork, and since Sakura was just as essential to that framework as everyone else, I’m just as invested in her relationship with Sasuke as I am in his relationship with everyone else.  You can’t remove one leg from a four-legged stool without damaging the integrity of the entire structure, and for me, discounting any single member of Team 7 irreparably damages the integrity of the entire story. 

TL;DR: I love all of the Team 7 relationships, including Sakura and Sasuke's, because despite what some segments of fandom seem to believe, the text of the story never gives me any reason not to.

#naruto #meta #replies #anyway that's that! hopefully that is a helpful answer #thank you for the question! i honestly don't think i would have ever gotten around to writing about this if i hadn't been directly asked #i love talking about the stories i enjoy (obviously; we all do; that's why we're here) #but i'm usually ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ about responding to takes that blatantly misread the narrative to justify hating a particular character or ship #mostly because a) it's whatever. as long as people mind their own business and leave me to enjoy myself they can do what they want #and b) some opinions are so divorced from the actual text that they're not worth discussing #like. what's the point of responding to random internet posts saying that sakura was selfishly pursuing sasuke as a lover the entire time #when that is textually and provably not the case? #if you're that committed to experiencing things in direct contradiction to what the narrative is asking of us then just go ahead #is it mildly annoying to me? sure. but so are lots of things and it's better to just let stuff go #like - i initially planned to take this piece of meta all the way up through sakura and sasuke's last scene together #the one where he tells her 'maybe next time' and finally reclaims and redefines itachi's forehead tap (INCREDIBLE. THIS SCENE.) #but ultimately i changed my mind because everything i wrote for that last section was coming out too harsh #i generally prefer to talk about fandom stuff in a chill/friendly approachable way #but i kept thinking about the most obscenely & disrespectfully inaccurate read of that scene i'd ever seen #and i couldn't figure out how to talk about it in a non-scathing way #that scene and the one where naruto gives sasuke's headband back are the ONLY well-written things about the finale of naruto #they are SO perfectly constructed and i can't respond to people slandering either one without feeling an urge to kill #so i just deleted it. partially because again - this is fandom; it's not that serious; people can do what they want #but also because i know i get extra frustrated about people picking over the text and plucking out isolated bits and pieces #to contort into blatantly misinterpreted mutant shapes that 'confirm' whatever pre-existing judgments or ships they had #instead of experiencing the story as a cohesive whole & keeping in mind the greater context of what it's always been trying to communicate #people on this website say 'we all interpret things differently :)' as if it means no one can ever be wrong about what a text is saying #newsflash: not all interpretations of a text are valid. things can't in fact mean whatever you want them to mean. #the ***story*** persists and exists even if the author is dead to you #if you choose to ignore that then that's fine; it's just fandom; who cares. but i'm not going to pretend you're 'analyzing' anything. #(ok now i'm really done. you can see why i deleted this section XD)