#and KNOWS she'd sacrifice herself for everyone

[malaierba]

My unpopular (why) opinion is that Toshiro's and Falin's relationship (platonic obviously) is quite beautiful and if fans weren't so odd about shipping they'd see how very sweet it is that Toshiro started liking Falin when he realised she's an odd but gentle person, when he felt a sense of kinship that he likely never felt before.

From what we see they got along, Falin has a positive opinion of him, on the few instances when we actually see them talk (beyond just memories of them talking but no actual dialogue being shown to us) it's obvious she feels comfortable enough to be completely honest and transparent with him, while still minding his feelings. She likes the guy well enough, she doesn't want to hurt him.

The marriage proposal is actually so interesting... The way they communicate with each other. Falin let's Toshiro down gently, and reveals something so intimate about herself, how she's behaved until now, what she wants to do in the future, that she'd like to visit him again!

And Toshiro is so gentle. He obviously cares about her so much (and water is wet BUT im talking specifically about how it's portrayed in this scene). If what Maizuru says is true, that was the second time he made a "selfish" request ("marry me and come with me") but he simply asks this from her and offers reassurances, "I'll make sure you're comfortable", but he's not you know the Hardass some people pretend he is.

And what I love the most... When she rejects him not only does he accept it gracefully, he's inspired by her declaration that she wants to be more independent. Why did Falin say that? To spare his feelings further? Or because she knew that this realisation, which meant so much to her, would resonate with Toshiro too?

Gonna get personal but. I'm aroace, hello. I've had a few friendships go to shit because someone confessed to me and I rejected them. And exactly one where the person accepted it gracefully and our friendship, after surviving an awkward moment, blossomed.

Like. Relationships CHANGE, and they can develop and deepen and strengthen in many ways, regardless of the dynamic they take on. When aspecs say "friendship can be as important as romance" one of the things we mean is, allow romantic love to go back to platonic love and be stronger regardless OR EVEN because of it.

Like. How beautiful, that these two recognised a bit of themselves in each other, and knew how to approach the other. How beautiful that Ryoko tells us "their friendship survived a rejected proposal, when the commonly used trope would've made their friendship unviable from then on".

How beautiful that narratively Toshiro's sacrifice is never played for laughs or made fun of or devalued because """he didn't get the girl""', but instead the manga says "it didn't pan out but it wasn't a pointless sacrifice because Toshiro genuinely cared for Falin as a person, and always did what he thought was best even when it went against his normal behaviour." How beautiful that Falin wants to meet his friend Toshiro again, that she thinks to tell him "I'm going to start being an active participant in my own life" and Toshiro thinks "I think I need to start doing that too".

How beautifullll that a rejection ended with a promise to meet again, it's so beautiful am I insane? Can someone hear me hello?

The love was there and it mattered, but it's even better. The love shifts and survives because the care is genuine, because when you truly care about a person you'll want them in your life in whatever dynamic suits everyone involved the best. Because love, whether romantic or platonic or a mix of something else entirely, is selfless.

[lovinpelova]

courtside | n. mühl

summary; when nika makes a promise she fulfils it. [SMUT]

🎵 everyday hustle - future

nika had already found her footing on american soil by the time you met, the only indicators she wasn't born in the states was her last name and accent if she spoke for long enough. you'd been assigned as part of the media team to enhance your work experience in sports during your time at uconn, the fans and your lecturers loved the content you provided and always came crawling back for more, so you decided to have a one on one interview to satiate their hunger a little longer.

you'd chosen a player at random, landing on number ten after a moment of contemplation regarding which player number to pick and immediately had nika beckoning at your call. her coach informed her of what you planned on doing, waiting for her to catch her breath as she stood with a heaving chest and hands on hips, licking her lips with hooded eyes focused solely on you. she nodded her head in understanding and introduced herself, shaking your hand formally before making a mental note of your name so she could stalk your instagram later on- that plan was executed perfectly when she asked for your number after the interview and gained your username after a couple hours of texting.

fans could tell that nika was flirting with you from the moment it started, going crazy in comments and posting all over tiktok about the way she looked at you or subtly complimented something referring to you. no matter what, nika was finding a way to steer the interview towards you, wanting to find out everything possible and not being sneaky about it in the slightest. time flew by and before you knew it you'd been together four years with nika playing her last college game, getting ready to be drafted into the wnba with you by her side.

the tough opponent was iowa in the final four, nika rearing to go and jumping in her spot since the moment she woke up for multiple reasons. she wanted to prove herself, she was one step closer to the championship game and had just been informed that the wnba were going to draft her. you couldn't be happier for your girlfriend, she'd been going on and on for years about how when she goes pro all her sacrifices were going to be worth it and she'd be able to spoil everyone she loved with the new opportunities she'd have for them.

right now, you were sitting courtside with a camera in your hand to take an occasional flick of the game. iowa truly were a tough team - you'd never seen uconn struggle like this before - but the championship game was still in sight for you all.

then the fourth quarter came along.

nothing was working anymore, iowa was clicking like puzzle pieces and caitlin clark was on the move. nika bagged assist after assist and rebounded as much as she possibly could with a gorgeous three-pointer but the buzzer had to come at some point; and it ended with iowa up by two.

of course she was upset, you were the first person she came to with tears on the verge of spilling down her cheeks and her fingers clutching the uconn '10' jersey you wore, your arms tight around her in every way she needed. either way she'd made it to the final four and played immaculately, you reminded her of that before she congratulated iowa and on the way home whenever she spoke bad about herself.

"i'mma win everything for you."

the croatian mumbled as she inhaled your scent, pulling you further into her with her head on your chest. she breathed out deeply in comfort when your fingers found their way to her hair and scratched lightly, egging her to continue.

"you're not gonna see me lose ever again. gonna go pro and everything's gonna change,"

"i don't doubt that for a second moja djevojka."

nika smiled and chuckled into your chest at the sound of croatian rolling off your tongue, knowing her odd tutoring lessons were paying off with the way you perfectly pronounced one of her favourite nicknames.

"and before you know it, you're gonna be moja žena. watching every game, getting anything you want- stuck with me whether you like it or not."

"you know i wouldn't want it any other way, moja žena. go to sleep niks, i'll be here when you wake up."

--------

a year after uconn lost to iowa, nika had stayed true to her word. she was going pro either way, but now you were basically on the verge of engagement with the way she was hinting towards marriage recently and she'd remained consistent in her career. she'd lost a few games here and there but had made up for it by winning the league already with seattle, earning a spot in the all-wnba team and being named defensive player of the year with the odd sponsorship deal coming her way.

nika truly was living up to her words, she made you feel loved every day and reminded you of that before she left for training until the moment she fell asleep with you in her arms. she'd talk nonsense about how badly she wanted you to be her wife, the pout on her lips being kissed away when you shut her down to remind her that she was too busy for such a big commitment right now, because she knew you were right. still, she had the ring hidden in her sock drawer for safekeeping.

she'd had the odd day off and always decided to spend it with you, loving your company more than any other option she had thrown her way. right now she was laying comfortably on your chest, large figure draped over yours to supply warmth no blanket could ever match as you binged your latest shared obsession on television. you'd just finished editing some shots for seattle storm not long ago, your studies paying off and gaining you an excessive interest in job prospects when you sent your folder out- but of course you had to go for seattle, it was perfect.

"i can't wait to marry you."

a murmur vibrated your chest from none other than the woman melting into your hold, your arms tightening around her as you laughed lightly in response.

"we've still got plenty of time for that."

"i keep gettin' asked about you though, makes me think about it more."

your hands tangled into her hair and gently scratched at her scalp, feeling her fingers tighten around your waist and pull you towards her as she sighed into you.

"n' what do you say?"

nika smiled as she lifted her head up, watching your hands fall to her shoulders before she gently lifted your left ring finger to her lips and kissed it with her eyes locked on yours. you grinned at the intimate action and saw her smile lightly in return, other hand caressing her face lovingly.

"i tell them you're gonna be my wife before they know it."

"every time?"

nika nodded her head enthusiastically, both of you grinning madly as she leaned in to kiss you gently.

"every time."

she mumbles against your lips, vibrations making you smile into the kiss before you wrapped your arms around her neck to pull her closer and deepen it.

"you're gonna have to show me some of these interviews."

"i'd rather show you how well i plan on treating my wife for the rest of our lives together."

nika mumbled into your neck as she kissed down it fondly, hands crawling up your shirt and tugging on it with your nails scratching her back lightly. you threw your head back to allow her more access and felt her smile into you, pulling away to slowly peel the fabric off your body as your hands pawed at her shirt to do the same, eyes immediately scanning her body as she leaned up and took it off above you. she noticed your gaze and smirked, grabbing your hands and guiding them along her toned stomach with a cocky smile whilst letting your hands wander on their own.

you quickly sat up and trailed your lips along her abs, dipping your fingers into the curve of her spine so she arched into you with a soft gasp. nika let her hands tangle into your hair gently as she stared down in admiration, mouth open to let out heavy breaths that left her stomach heaving against your lips.

"baby,"

the croatian breathed out before licking her lips, jaw hanging low with how you were mouthing at her skin.

"tonight's gonna be about you, not me."

you heard her withhold a groan when your tongue sloppily licked its way up from her hips to the bra she wore, the point guard grasping your shoulders and weakly attempting to push you down. your mouth was doing wonders on her skin and it drove her wild, the strength she always bore withering away as she leaned back onto her heels and adjusted herself to be sitting upright against the back of the couch. your lips forcefully detached from her skin and both of you let out a matching whine, thighs going either side of her waist to let her hands guide you closer whilst she initiated a heavy kiss.

nika soon grew impatient, beginning to push and pull your hips in a rocking motion and moaning once you got the hint. your body moved against hers as she trailed her lips down your neck, hand slapping her muscular back as you felt her start to suck before she squeezed your hip apologetically and went back to simple kisses trailing down your pulse point with a soft grin. as much as you loved your girlfriend, covering up hickeys from her endeavours was a nightmare.

"why can't it be about the pro baller?"

you quietly breathed out, hands pushing her further into your collarbone by the back of her head. the brunette moaned into you at the mention of her occupation and pulled away to look up at you with swollen lips, chest heaving for air whilst she wore a cocky smirk.

"'cus it's about the pro ballers wife."

nika trailed sloppy kisses down the space between your breasts before you could respond, pulling at the strap of your bra and letting it snap against your skin to signal she wanted it off. you reached behind yourself and unclipped the bra as quickly as possible, nika trailing her fingertips under the straps to slowly peel them down your arms before tossing the material elsewhere in your shared apartment. hearing her breath out heavily as she stared shamelessly at your chest, your face grew red whilst she licked her lips hungrily and began to let her hands wander.

the croatian looked into your eyes for a moment of consent and gladly received what she was looking for, ducking her head down to connect her mouth with one of your nipples whilst her hand gently massaged your other breast. she teased her teeth against your skin and urged you to arch further into her, free hand dipping into the curve of your back as she kissed along your chest to pay the other side attention.

"niks, baby..."

the mention of her favourite nickname pulled her head from your chest, inquisitive puppy eyes staring up at you. heaving breaths left her swollen lips and she continued to let her hands trail around your back, gently massaging your hips whilst tugging at the back of your shorts in a needy manner.

"please baby,"

she murmured, head moving towards your neck once more to trail kisses down your pulse point and along your collarbone, internally grinning when you pushed her closer at the feeling of her lips sucking marks into your skin.

"molim- trebam te. želim te osjetiti, moja cura, da?"

nika began rambling in croatian whilst she nuzzled her nose into your upper chest, placing kisses between every other word and pulling you closer to show her desperation.

"da, mala- da."

your immediate response in her mother tongue made nika swell with pride at how good of a language tutor she was proving to be, quick kisses being placed down your torso before she effortlessly flipped you onto your back and positioned her body between your legs.

"nika,"

you whined as she continued to trail her hands aimlessly, her head popping up from your stomach in concern.

"shorts off and stay up here. želim te poljubiti."

your dirty talk transitioning into croatian made her groan audibly, hands pawing at your shorts and underwear after she seeked one last look of approval before tearing them off and throwing them behind her carelessly. breathing laboured as she leaned in to kiss you passionately, your hands tangled into her hair and she pushed her hips down, cursing against your mouth as she felt you throb against her.

"jebi bebu. needing me, huh?"

her croatian accent making a strong appearance when she switched back to english made your hips buck into her as you eagerly nodded your head with a whine, eyes boring into hers whilst she wore a smirk. nika grinned and leaned in to kiss you softly, digits tracing the outline of your body as she trailed them along your hipbone and towards your centre, gasping into your mouth once she felt how wet you were.

"god, it's been so long since i've had you like this."

you almost whimpered in response to her voice mumbling against your lips, all thoughts of everything and anything else being cut off when nika dipped a finger into your arousal and pulled it out to rub circles over your clit. your eyes closed in pleasure as the croatian rested her forehead against yours, watching your facial expressions intently with pride bubbling up through her at the soft moans you were beginning to let out.

"niks,"

you murmured whilst reaching up for a kiss, nika gladly reciprocating passionately as she hummed in response for you to continue. her fingers didn't let up, placing more pressure by the second before dipping into your arousal to tease.

"i need you inside me baby."

the brunette groaned with her eyes shutting in pleasure, the buck of your hips pushing her back into the moment as she pressed a finger into you. nika slowly thrusted in a steady rhythm as she prepared you for a second finger (knowing you wouldn't be able to finish no matter how deep her singular long digit was able to reach) whilst she continued to rub her thumb over your sensitive clit and kiss along your neck.

she revelled in the soft moans of her name you were letting fall from your lips, hands clutching her bare back and feeling the way her shoulder would move or flex as she thrusted as you groaned in response. you took the opportunity to feel her toned body once more, hands travelling all over the chiselled muscles she'd earned from hours in the gym and shamelessly squeezing where you felt them flex as she slowly sunk a second finger into you.

"that's it ljubav. takin' me so well- that's it, good fuckin' girl."

"nika, god..."

you trailed off into a breathless moan as your girlfriend perked her head up to level yours at the mention of her name, smiling proudly as you returned the grin and moved a hand to pull her into a sweet kiss. the croatian gradually picked up her pace and swallowed your moans with ease, watching the way your body responded to every twitch of her fingers as she slowly began rubbing them against your g-spot with every thrust.

"baby!"

you yelled out in surprise, hips bucking into hers as she continued to abuse your cunt. your nails raked down her back to feel the muscles flexing as she fucked you, eyes momentarily closing in pleasure whilst her back arched into you at the feeling of your fingertips trailing down her spine, both of you now chest to chest with your hand pulling her forehead to your own to maintain the intimacy and keep her close.

"so beautiful, sound so pretty for me. good girl."

you whined in response to her praise with your nails digging into her shoulderblades, relishing in the quiet moans she let out as her fingers continued to pleasure you skillfully.

"god you feel so good princess,"

with your heads pressed together, nika nudged your shoulder to prompt you into opening your eyes and keeping them locked on her own, knowing how much you loved eye contact. the croatian continued her deep strokes as you saw her shoulder moving rapidly in the corner of your eye, your body jolting up and down with the force she was using to drive you into an orgasm. matching smiles grew on your faces as your moans picked up in frequency and volume, nika watching in awe and bringing her other hand down to stimulate your clit.

"gonna be my wife, watching every one of my games courtside. gonna give you everything you've ever wanted, win trophies for you, take you to award ceremonies, walk fuckin' red carpets with you. all that shit- i'm doin' it with you."

"yeah niks- as long as it's with you, that's all that matters."

the point guard pulled you into a passionate kiss as she felt you tighten around her fingers, gently coaxing you through your high and continuing her thrusts to help you ride it out with soft praises whispered into your ear, lips scattering kisses all over your body. your hands dug into her muscular back and eventually relaxed, still keeping a grip as you calmed down to have one final feel of her muscles that she sadly never showed off.

"good job baby, did so well for me. such a good girl."

she whispered against your lips whilst leaving soft kisses every so often, both of you breathing heavily and calming down from the heated moment as she slowly pulled out, apologising for the discomforted whine that escaped you but immediately making up for it when she licked your arousal off her fingers.

"you're gonna be the death of me one day."

"wouldn't be a bad way to go, huh?"

"shut up and stop being so cocky."

you shoved her shoulder lightly as she mocked offense, sitting up to be hovering above you on her knees the same way she was when she took her shirt off earlier.

"can you blame me? i've got my girl feelin' me up and whenever i look in the mirror i see these guns. don't think i didn't feel those sneaky touches baby."

"shut up! you never let me touch them any other time- stop doing that!"

she started flexing her muscles in all the poses she could think of, pulling cocky faces to elicit a laugh from you as you shoved her stomach lightly to get her to stop, the croatian laughing with you. you shared a sweet kiss before she picked you up, wrapping your legs around her waist and bringing you to your shared bed before setting you down on the edge.

"what you needin'? food, water, a bath?"

she listed options of aftercare as she kneeled down in between your legs, relishing in the way your hands tangled into her hair when she peppered kisses along your naked form.

"just need you niks."

"you sure?"

"m'sure."

you pulled her up with a smile as you got comfortable on the bed, pushing into her arms when she opened them for you and ensuring your bodies were as close as possible whilst you drifted off into sleep together, no doubt going to dream about finally marrying the love of your life.

[shanastoryteller]

happy valentine Shana!!! I can't believe i made it finally jgfcjjcgjgx i would love to see some fma (Sacrifice is free/ed&ling betrothed/What They Expect) or more of Lord Arthur De Bois, or time travel Jiang Cheng/drarry, or Avengers' Three Faced Goddess! (can anyone tell I Cannot choose favourites? They're all so gooood) and if none of those sound appealing, dealer's choice! thank you!!

continuation of 1 2 3 4 5

It's sort of awkward, because Eden insists on thick tights and long sleeves and keeps her gloves on, but Catherine takes it in stride and doesn't react with anything more than a single raised eyebrow. Maybe she thinks she has some sort of terrible skin condition on her limbs, or something, because she's perfectly fine with plunging necklines and the lacy bras Catherine shoves at her.

She hasn't worn anything besides a sports bra since she's had breasts. They're not exactly comfortable, but compared to the constant, background ache of the automail it doesn't even make a blip on her radar.

Besides. They make her look like a girl, shoving her breasts up front and center, and their size had been an annoyance when passing for a boy and a comfort when she looked at herself naked in the mirror, searching for the girl she was rather than the boy everyone saw, but this is different.

"Wow," Catherine blinks, tilting her head to the side.

Eden flushes and wishes that at any point she'd learned how to talk to pretty girls outside of life or death situations. "I hadn't realized they - I'm not used to wearing, um, girly stuff."

"You look good in it," she says, touching Ed's back and shifting her to face the mirror.

She's in black tights and boots with a chunky heel, taller than the ones she normally wears and sleeker, stopping just below her knees. She's wearing a dark green dress with a deep neckline. She's used to be hard lines and sharp edges, but she looks soft here, her hips and breasts curving out from her waist and the dress somehow minimizing the breadth of her shoulders, or maybe it's just that with all the skin on display in the center, her shoulders just don't get as much attention. She'd had to build them up, to make the automail balanced, to make sure her body could support it, and she'd always hated how masculine it made her look. But looking at herself now, she wonders if that just wasn't in her head.

Green's never been a color she gravitated towards, but the dark color makes the gold of her hair shine, brings out the warmth of her eyes and the pink of her lips.

"You're really good at this," she tells Catherine, throat tight.

Catherine grins. "You are a beautiful canvas, Eden. It was not difficult." Ed's face burns. "Do you have plans for dinner? We could have it at my home. I am, honestly, dying to curl your hair."

Ed hesitates, because her shade of blonde is rather distinctive, then takes a second look at herself in the mirror. No one is going to think she's the Fullmetal Alchemist looking like this. "Okay, yeah. Sure. That'd be great."

~

Catherine knows that Eden is military at first glance, seeing her elder sister in the way Eden stands and moves. She looks young, but she can't be that young, not when she has the stance of someone who's been enlisted for years.

She figures that Eden is looking for clothes to wear outside of her uniform for the first time and something in her softens at how insistent Eden is on keeping certain parts of her body covered. Her siblings have scars too.

When they get to their home, Eden seems slightly surprised at the grandness of her home, but gets over it quickly, which Catherine almost expected. She hadn't looked at a single price tag as they'd been shopping and had paid for her bags of purchases with a nonchalance that spoke of a familiarity with money, although that leaves Catherine to wonder how she ended up in the military in the first place. She hadn't gotten a last name out of her, but Catherine is familiar with most military families, and she would have heard if any of their daughters had enlisted.

"Your bedroom is so pretty," Eden says, looking around at her pink, frilly room filled with flowers and clothes and gilded in gold with a soft wistfulness.

Catherine loves her. "Thank you. Here, sit at my vanity, let's play."

Eden laughs and pulls her hair out of the hasty ponytail she'd pulled it into, letting Catherine run her hands through it and carefully brush out every knot. It's gorgeous, thick and silky and the most wonderful shade that Catherine's never seen on anyone else.

People always act so oddly with her because of her family, even those similarly situated looking down at her for her choices, to be neither an officer nor married to one, but that's just not what she wants right now. It's nice to hang out with another girl that just treats her like a friend.

"MY BELOVED SISTER HAS RETURNED!" booms from what sounds like the first floor.

She sighs.

Eden goes rigid in her chair, eyes wide. "What - why-"

"It's just my brother," she says soothingly, concerned with how pale Eden has gotten. "He's harmless, really."

"Brother," Eden repeats. "Fuck. Fuck! I'm so stupid-"

"It's okay," she says in alarm, "Eden, what-"

She gets to her feet, grabbing her hands and looking at her a desperation that Catherine doesn't understand. "He can't know I'm here. Who I am. Do you understand? It's important."

She doesn't understand. "Eden-"

There's the sound of heavy footsteps heading their way and Eden wrenches herself away, bolting for the other side of the room. She claps her hands together, then presses them against the wall, and in flash of light she's disappeared.

Catherine stares. mouth agape.

She's familiar with alchemy. The skill has been passed down her family for generations.

Eden didn't use a circle.

"I HEAR YOU HAVE MADE A FRIEND, DEAR SISTER!" Alex shouts, flinging open her door and flexing in the doorway. "I WISH TO MEET YOUR NEW COMPANION!"

She picks up a pillow from her bed and lobs it at him, hitting him right in his stupid curl. "We're having girl time, go away!"

"Ah, girl time!" he says. "A storied tradition that has been passed down the Armstrong family for many generations!" He looks around, seeing her empty room, and his eyebrows dip together.

She grabs a makeup brush, holding it up threateningly. "You know what else has been passed down our family for generations? The art of knocking! Go bother Momma!"

"Where's," he starts.

Catherine throws the brush, pointy end towards his eyes.

He ducks, retreating to the safety of the hallway and closing the door just in time for the brush to hit it.

She takes a deep breath, calming her racing heart and smoothing her hands down her skirt. She crosses the room, knocking against the wall and whispering, "Eden? He's gone."

There's nothing for a moment and then there's light and heat and she's looking at the the inside of her house, pipes and insulation, and Eden standing there in the center of it, eyes blown wide and lips trembling.

Eden, who won't let her look at her limbs and doesn't know how to wear girly things and uses alchemy without circles and recognizes her brother from his voice alone.

"I'm sorry," Eden whispers, arms wrapped around herself, trying to make herself small. "I just wanted-"

Catherine interrupts her, reaching out to place her hand over the arm Eden had been careful not to let her touch and is unsurprised to feel hard, unyielding metal. "The art of secret keeping had been passed down the Armstrong family for generations."

Eden's eyes snap to hers and Catherine smiles, squeezing her arm and hopes that she can feel it. Slowly, wondrously, Eden returns it.

[extremely-judgemental]

People who say SJM can't write soft women are wrong. Or at least she accidentally wrote one in the best way possible.

No, it's not Elain. It's Gwyn.

Gwyn is kind and sweet to everyone. She's funny. She's observant of everyone and everything around her. She's considerate. She indulges in 'feminine' hobbies like making bracelets. She entertains her friends by taking interests in their hobbies as well. She invites Nesta to their prayers knowing she'd enjoy the music, the only source of music in HoW. She loves her family very much and carries guilt for not doing enough to save her sister. She doesn't let that grief to dictate how she treats others, nor does she bring others down. She healed herself (most parts) even when cut off from the rest of the world. She makes new friends and help them become better not in a 'I'm going to save her' way but she's compassionate. She isn't afraid to cry and express her feelings to her friends who later become her sisters. On top of it all, she faced her fears for her found family. She doesn't care about other's opinions of her. She's willing to sacrifice her life for them.

Literally this woman has done nothing wrong so far, at all.

I don't understand how anyone could hate this character. Honestly, she's one of the few characters who's refreshing and well developed in the series.

[galedekarios]

gale & his mother, morena dekarios

i thought it'd be nice to have a place to compile everything i could find about gale's mother, morena dekarios.

the first time you as the player get a vague mention about gale's parents is after saving mirkon, when gale brings up a story about his parents denying him a kitten when he was still a child:

Gale: One time my parents denied me akitten, so I summoned myself a tressym.

if you play a gale origin playthrough, you get a mention of her much earlier from tara, after she joins the camp.

this is a camp dialogue with its variants from act i:

Tara the Tressym: Well, if it isn't my favourite fellow himself. Player: How are things back in Waterdeep? Tara the Tressym: More or less the same - though news of some mad faction calling themselves 'Absolutists' is starting to trickle in. Tara the Tressym: I told your mother not to worry. That if they were anything to worry about, Baldur's Gate would handle things quick-sharp. Keep them from spreading their tendrils north. She still wants to know when she'll see you again, sir. I avoid giving any answers. But she misses you. Player: I miss her too. Tara the Tressym: I'll tell her. With my Cat Flap of Displacement, I can afford the occasional visit. I'd bring you along, if I could. Perhaps some day. - Player: I can't risk putting her in danger. Tara the Tressym: I know that, but she doesn't. She'd keel over if she knew just how you'd tried to manipulate the Weave. Or maybe she'd just say something like, 'My Gale always was one to make the impossible possible.' Oh, but she adores you. - Player: No more guilt trips, Tara. Please. Tara the Tressym: But then whatever will we talk about? Anyhow - I'm keeping my senses pricked for any sign of another item that might be of use to you. Hopefully something will turn up soon.

it's clear from the dialogue that gale's mother worries about him and loves him - adores him, really.

it also becomes clear that she doesn't know what happened to gale and that he nor tara has not told her.

another mention from act i, again from tara:

Tara the Tressym: Please tell me you've at least made inroads when it comes to finding someone to settle down with. Myself and Mrs Dekarios are starting to think you intend to die alone. Player: You've been visiting my mother? Tara the Tressym: Naturally. After you abandoned her, there was only me left to keep her company. She's very good company, though. Ah, the stories we've traded over toast and tea. You're a highly entertaining source of speculation. But speculation only goes so far! Tell me, Mr Dekarios - how have you been?

tara and morena are implied to have tea together regularly enough to trade stories about gale. tara is implied to be a sort of messenger between the two of them, likely after gale's isolation and subsequent abduction by the nautiloid, keeping morena informed, yet without revealing gale's secret and shame.

the devnotes also state that tara loves morena - high praise since other devnotes states that tara hates everyone except gale - and that she talks of her in an affectionate tone.

this is a dialogue in act ii after mystra has tasked gale to use the orb the moment he finds the heart of the absolute:

Tara the Tressym: Promise me, Gale. Promise me you'll find another way. Promise me you'll return home, when this is all over. Player: I can't make that promise, Tara. Tara the Tressym: You're going to kill me. And your mother. And then there'll be no one to mourn you when you've wasted yourself for no good reason at all.

i find it very interesting here in terms of other relationships that tara explicitly says that there will be no one to mourn gale except morena and her should he heed mystra's instructions and sacrifice himself. it speaks of the bond between tara, morena and gale - but also even more of gale's isolation and loneliness. we know from tara that she considers herself to be gale's only old friend and gale echoes as much. we also know that gale describes the dekarios family as the dekarios clan, that is "scattered" far and wide.

at the same time, the loud silence about gale's father becomes really apparent again. a while ago, i speculated about gale's father and i truly do still think that he abandoned morena and gale.

another snippet from an act ii convo, before gale reveals the details of elminster's letter to tara (or chosing to keep it to himself):

Tara the Tressym: I'm not one to pry. I'd rather make up all the juicy details myself over tea with your mother.

which again ties in with a similar line from act i, further cementing the fact that this is a regular thing between tara and morena.

still in act ii, tara says this if gale asks her if she'll still love him if he is a mindflayer:

Player: Will you love me when I'm a mind flayer? Tara the Tressym: Depends. Are mind flayers warm-blooded? If so, my prize napping spot on your lap won't be compromised. In which case, I suppose we could find an accord. And, of course, your mother would still think you a prince, no matter how many tentacles you had. And with a nautiloid, you may even manage to visit her more often.

again, gale's mother truly adores him. tara is utterly convinced she'd love him even if he'd turn into a mind flayer. at the same time, the dialogue again hammers home the fact that gale's been keeping his distance from his mother after he has acquired the orb.

the following lines are a compilation of some of tara's lines from act iii, all once again stating that she is a messenger between gale and morena, keeping morena informed about gale's well-being, while also looking after morena in gale's absence from waterdeep:

Tara the Tressym: You're almost at the end of this, Gale. You're nearly there. And not a moment too soon. Myself, I must away to Waterdeep. Your mother will be worried silly not to have heard from either of us - and now I can bring her the good news. When this is all over I'll be waiting for you, with a crackling fire and good book at the ready. Good luck, darling. - Tara the Tressym: I'm well past due to return to Waterdeep. I'm going to tell your mother that you'll be home soon. Don't make a liar of me, darling. - Tara the Tressym: I'll have to make up some good news for your dear mother, then. I'm going home, Gale. To look after Mrs Dekarios, and to remind you that there are people waiting for you in Waterdeep.

going back to companion gale, the next mention of gale's mother after saving mirkon, is from gale in an ambient with karlach:

Gale: I don't suppose you've any clue where we are in relation to Waterdeep? Karlach: From this distance between Elturel and Baldur's Gate, I'd say... a long way away.devnote Gale: Ah. That will make getting word to my mother rather tricky. No matter - what she doesn't know can't hurt her. Not at this distance, anyway.

it echoes the lines of dialogue that origin gale has, believing he endangers his mother with his condition and thus keeping his distance.

gale mentions his mother in an act iii dialogue after meeting tara on the rooftop of the open hand temple:

Gale: My tower in Waterdeep boasts an excellent kitchen and a wine cellar to rival Ondal himself. Not to mention a larder stocked with my homemade hundur sauce. Player: Hundur sauce? Gale: A Waterdhavian delicacy, spiced to leave exactly the right amount of heat lingering on the tongue, and served with that most sharp-toothed of aquarian residents, the quipper fish. I make it to my mother's recipe. It packs quite a wallop. As does she.

we know that gale's the designated camp cook from a conversation with wyll, and i think the conversation makes it fair to assume that gale's mother taught him how to cook.

still, maybe it's because i'm not a native english speaker and i might be missing some cultural context here, but the line "it packs quite a wallop. as does she." stuck out to me:

wallop. to hit something / someone hard.

this could mean that gale's seen her hit someone and packing quite a punch behind it. with what's been described of morena so far, i doubt it's because gale's ever been on the receiving end of that.

or perhaps it's less literal and more in relation to her seemingly larger than life personality that gale also hints at later, describing his mother as "intimitable" and "sometimes unavoidable". this description is from the following conversation that is currently sadly still bugged:

Player: So your last name is Dekarios? Gale: It is. Courtesy of my mother, the inimitable, dare I say it sometimes unavoidable, Morena Dekarios. It's been so long since I've used it. 'Gale Dekarios' cut a poor figure next to the wizard prowess of 'Gale of Waterdeep'. Player: Gale Dekarios... I think I like him more. Gale: You like to many things about me I'd have sooner discarded... Your generosity is quite wonderful. Gale Dekarios likes you too. Very, very much. Though let's keep his exitence between ourselves for now. - Player: Doesn't your matter mind? Gale: Oh, she's happy if I'm happy. Morena couldn't care one jot what I call myself. Tara's the real stickler for using it. Has done since I summoned her. I'd prefer you not follow her exmaple, if that's all the same to you. 'Gale' is more than sufficient. - Player: You're right. Just 'Gale is better. Gale: I agree. And on the plus side, if I get myself into any truly cataclystic straits during the remainder of our journey, my family name will go untarnished.

i love this banter so much and it makes me very sad that larian still hasn't fixed the issue of it not triggering. there's so much lore to explore here:

from gale dropping 'dekarios' in favour of 'of waterdeep', at first, to appear perhaps more grandiose, more suited to the ambitions he held when he was younger, to morena, apparently, not minding it, yet tara clinging to 'dekarios' (perhaps to keep gale's feet on solid ground as much as she could), to finally finding out that the reason that the gale we meet now is not using 'dekarios' still is because he doesn't wish to tarnish his family name should he indeed fall victim to the orb.

the last mention gale makes of his mother is during his act iii post final battle dialogue, in which he proposes to the player:

Gale: That being said, I wondered if you might consider accompanying me back to Waterdeep as a new member of the Dekarios clan? Player: Are you asking me to marry you? Gale: I suppose I am. Tara would be delighted. Not to mention my mother. But I'd be just as happy without such ceremony, so long as we're together.

this again mirrors what tara has been saying in her dialogue with an origin gale in act i: that morena and her were hoping he would find someone to find happiness with.

i think overall, even with only the very few bits and pieces we learn of morena, it's easy to tell that she truly loves and adores and cares her son, and that that love and care is clearly echoed back from gale to morena.

still, or perhaps more likely because of that love, gale keeps his secrets and his distance to morena because of the orb and the shame he feels he brought to his family.

it's all too easy to imagine that he wishes her to be proud of him and that he feels he has disappointed her and given her little reason to be proud of him in the same vein that he feels he has done with tara:

Gale: She'd [Tara] be most impressed by our efforts saving these tieflings. Proud, even. And I've given her little to be proud of recently.

anyhow, i hope i caught all mentions and that this was helpful to someone. 🖤

[bumblebeehug]

every time i remember gruvia's double suicide i wonder how i'm not constantly talking about them rather than nalu. the emotional complexity between gray, the depressed guy who secretly thinks everyone hates him including himself, and juvia, the depressed girl who knows most people hates her (due to her past with phantom lord) but still manages to find the one who taught her to see the light in things - literally!! stopped her rain and all.

and then their beautiful progression where juvia proves her devotion, not only to her newfound love, but also to fairy tail as a guild - her newfound family. and gray slowly but surely has to face his past, in multiple ways, and slowly but surely juvia manages to chisel her way into his icey heart. and from that point there's some turmoil when juvia indirectly "kills" (releases) gray's father, her doubting her right to love him, gray telling her basically that if anyone were to do it, it had to be her, and that she freed his father rather than killed him.

and then the progression of acceptance - juvia staying strong and determined to keep loving the guy who never thought love was for him, and him slowly accepting her, even when he doubts his own power to protect her from any harm that could come their way

and then!! the horrific fate!!! them getting into a situation where they have to kill the other to get away from the situation alive, and juvia, who practically never stopped loving him, automatically wanting to sacrifice herself, knowing that gray, who might seem distant and cold, never could kill a guild mate. so she decides to take her own life, for his sake, but oh!! the plot twist!!! gray thought, like, the exact same thing! he only knew that juvia had to come out of this alive, but that there was no way she'd kill him, so he kills himself!! he can't imagine a future without her!

and then, after blacking out (thinking they're dead) gray wakes up, to his dismay, and he sees that juvia kept him alive, even as she herself was dying!!! so heartbreak and demon mode and he goes to kill natsu for being END and all that

but then the story progresses and they're both alive, and gray reluctantly admits that he wants juvia to himself, and then in the hyq we learn that he's working on himself to become a lad worthy of the love juvia has to offer, and that she's his will to live and his entire past present future and that they're rawdogging it in his dreams. kinda.

anyways i love them and i think i'll die, that's all, thanks for reading

[not-magdi]

First Time

Summary: Pablo spilling his deepest secret leads to a pretty pleasurable afternoon😏

Warnings: Smut, minors DNI!

Words: 1.9k

Being a pro athlete at such a young age, Pablo had to make many sacrifices to be where he is now. 

He spent extra hours of training while his friends were out partying, having to entirely focus on football while others made experiences that only teenagers can make. 

Falling in love for the first time, having your first kiss, Pablo didn't have time for distractions like that. But now, now he's older, and all his friends tell him about their first time and all the other things they did many years ago, and he feels like an immature kid again. 

Not having nearly as much experience as the others, he felt embarrassed by that. Keeping it a secret from everyone and lying to his friends when they asked him about it. He wanted to go back in time to scold his younger self for thinking these things were a distraction. 

Keeping it a secret from everyone was easy, not being the most talkative person definitely helped with that. Sure he had women who wanted to sleep with him but he didn't want them to know he was still a virgin, so making out was the furthest it ever went. 

But since a few months ago, a new component came into the equation, Y/N his first girlfriend. How he managed to have a girlfriend like her is still a mystery to him. 

Y/N was gorgeous, nice as fuck, and feisty if something doesn't go like she wants. He was well, he was Pablo an unexperienced nineteen-year-old boy who had no idea what he was doing. 

Y/N didn't know that she was his first girlfriend and he wanted to keep it that way, at least for now. He was scared she'd think he was inexperienced, which he was, and leave him. 

Technically he knows that something like that could never happen but he is a chronic overthinker so let him be. 

He tries to hide it as much as he can, but now after they have been together for about six months it gets harder and harder. 

He knows Y/N wants to have sex with him, he can feel it every time they make out and it gets heated. And it breaks his heart every time he sees the disappointment in her eyes when he tells her he is not in the mood. 

She respects his wishes, not wanting to make him uncomfortable. But he has been doing this for a few weeks now. Y/N's concern grows every time he tells her no. 

She is scared something about her is scaring him off, and not wanting to lose him  Y/N decides she needs to talk to him about it somehow. She wants him to feel hundred percent comfortable in this relationship and that's clearly not how it is now.

Today Y/N sleeps over at Pablo's as they haven't seen each other over the last few days and wanted to spend some time together. 

They were cuddled on the couch watching a movie and the next moment Y/N was straddling Pablo's lap making out with him like there was no tomorrow. And as usual, as Y/N goes to grab the hem of his shirt he stops her, telling her he is too tired today. 

Y/N knows she has to say something this time because it can't go on like that, but decides to wait a little to not let her sexual frustration show. She wanted him to feel safe with her, and snapping at him because she hadn't gotten laid for months wasn't going to help with that. 

So she just looks at him with a soft expression and tells him she is going to get herself a drink. In his kitchen, she waits for a few minutes to cool down before going back again. 

On the other side of the wall, Pablo is currently experiencing a little crisis. He can't stand to see the disappointment in her eyes any longer, he has to tell her but on the other hand, he is extremely scared of her reaction. 

Taking a deep breath he decides to just be honest with her not wanting to push her away any longer. 

Returning to the living room Y/N and Pablo exclaim at the same time.

"I think we need to talk" 

Chuckling slightly Y/N sits beside him stretching out her hand for him to reach. Grabbing her hand Pablo asks Y/N not daring to look into her eyes. 

"Do you wanna start or should I?" 

"You start please," Y/N tells him having a slight suspicion on what he might say. 

"Uhm o-ok ... so uh I-I haven't been completely honest with you" he starts, cheeks red and an uncertain tone in his voice. 

Taking her second hand to he continues, "I- Every time we make out and it gets a little heated ...  I'm actually really in the mood it's ... it's just." 

He lets out a sigh looking down ashamed, "Hey everything is fine, continue when you're ready" Y/N tells him softly. 

With a bright red face, he mumbled quietly, "It's just ... I'm ... still a virgin " 

Not understanding one bit Y/N asks him to speak a little bit louder. 

Looking up at her with slightly watery eyes out of embarrassment her repeats himself, "I'm still a virgin" 

Confirming her suspicions with that, Y/N smiles softly taking her hands from his and wrapping them around him. 

"And that's completely okay,  I just wish you would have told me sooner so we could have figured it out together but hey that's alright we're gonna find our way, I'm sure of that," she tells him stroking his back to calm the poor boy down a little bit who hugs her with an iron grip. 

Calming down slightly Pablo loosens his grip nuzzling his face into her neck. 

"I'm sorry I lied to you ... didn't want you to think I'm just a kid", he confesses looking up at her shyly. 

Kissing his nose Y/n looks into his big brown and innocent eyes, her gaze shifts to his pink lips then back up to his eyes. 

Getting the hint Pablo connects his lips with hers closing his eyes out of bliss. Slipping her tongue into his mouth they fight for dominance which Y/N wins. 

None of them wants to end the kiss but as their lungs start to burn from the lack of air, Pablo detaches his mouth from hers taking a deep breath. 

Wrapping her arms around Pablo's neck  Y/N looks at him, a slight smirk on her face, "Wanna take this to the bedroom?", she asks him trailing kisses down his jar. 

Completely love-drunk Pablos nods, cheeks red and lips plump from kissing. 

Standing up she drags him with her having to stop a couple of times to kiss him, completely addicted to his lips, tongues dancing together in their mouths. 

Finally arriving at his bedroom Y/n presses her body against Pablo's, wanting to feel as much of him as she could. Hesitating for a second Pablo grabs the back of her thighs picking her up. 

Y/n lets out a squeal of surprise wrapping her legs around him with a tight grip, feeling his hard-on pressing through his sweatpants. A moan escapes Pablo's lips at the sudden sensation, gripping her thighs tighter he turns around to throw her onto his queen-sized bed. 

Looking up at him Y/N grabs the hem of her well his shirt pulling it over her head and showing Pablo what she's wearing under it ... nothing. 

The only thing Pablo is currently able to do is stand before her, mouth wide open not able to lay his eyes anywhere but her naked chest. 

"My eyes are up here Pablito" 

Quickly shifting his gaze back up to her face he smiles at her sheepishly, "S-sorry amor ... I just... i I have no idea what I'm doing here", he confesses shyly finding the floor oddly interesting again. 

Smiling softly Y/N sits up dragging him to stand between her legs, "Don't worry ... I'm going to guide you ... the only thing you have to do is relax." 

Letting out a breath he didn't know he was holding he nods his head leaving Y/N completely in charge of his body. 

"Come here" patting the bed she instructs Pablo who obeys her, flopping down onto the bed beside her. 

Y/N smiles at him before she climbs onto his lap, sitting directly on his hard dick, earning herself a moan from Pablo. Locking her eyes with his she grinds softly down on him making Pablo hiss at the new sensation. 

Halting her movements Y/N climbs off of his lap and grabs the waistband of his pants, slowly dragging them down his body until they are lying on the floor. Doing the same to his shirt she climbs on top of him again molding their mouths together, this time with more force.

Pablo finds his confidence again and places his hands on her waist getting lower with each passing second until they halt at the curve of Y/N's ass. He gives it a little squeeze making her moan into the kiss. 

Feeling proud of himself he squeezes it a little tighter, starting to move her on his lap a little bit. Y/N stops kissing him, moaning into his ear. 

She starts to plant kisses on his neck, moving lower and lower reaching the band of his boxers. Looking up at him she nibbles on the skin over his boxers leaving a few hickeys.

Moaning at the sight Pablo closes his eyes enjoying the slight burn of Y/N's teeth as she leaves a hickey on his hip bone. 

Y/N stops, grabbing the waistband of his boxers and looking up at him for consent. Nodding Pablo hisses as his hard dick slaps against his abdomen, drops of precum dribbling down the tip. 

Taking a second to admire her boy Y/N sits up on her knees before him scraping his thighs with her nails. His closed eyes and the way he bites his lip have Y/N's panties completely soaked. Not wanting to wait any longer she quickly discards her bottoms climbing on his lap again. 

Pablo's hands grab her waist as Y/N takes his chin in one hand making him look at her, grabbing his dick with the other she gives it a few tugs before bringing it to her entrance. Asking Pablo one last time if he is okay with it, before slowly sitting down. 

Both moan simultaneously at the feeling, Pablo's fingers for sure leaving marks on her waist with how hard he is gripping her. 

"Fuck that feels good!" Pablo moans 

Giggling Y/N starts to move moaning Pablos name out of pleasure. She grips his shoulders picking up her pace, whimpering into Pablos ear as she leans her head onto his shoulder. 

His left hand slowly wanders to her head, slightly gripping her hair as his moans get louder and louder. Feeling his cock twitch Y/N's hand wanders down to her clit not being quite there yet. 

"S-shit amor ... m gonna cum " Pablo whimpers into her ear. 

Clenching around him hard she sits up," Let go for me, baby ... just let go"

Groaning loudly Pablo spills his load inside her bringing Y/N over the edge with him too. Riding out their orgasms Y/N slowly grinds down on him. 

Pablos limbs go completely numb out of exhaustion, his chest moving up and down with his deep breaths. 

Climbing off of his now soft dick Y/N cuddles herself next to Pablo,  wrapping her arms around the tired boy next to her.   

"Was your first time like you imagined it?"

"It was way better than that ... it was perfect" he answers tiredly before nuzzling his face into her neck.  

[coffee-master]

Ninjago Alternative Universe elemental change with Kai having Water and Nya having Fire powers:

Ok, so before you go hear me out.

#Sibling elemental change

I know it's hard to imagine Kai having water powers instead of fire. It probably would look as if didn't fit him. It's way easier to imagine Nya with Fire element I guess.

But I think it'd be interesting to see his character development with that power. The fact that his character wouldn't fit to his power and Especially adding to this Kai's fear of drowning and the fact that he hates water.

It'd be nice character development to see.

At the begining of the season it'd Kai who was kidnapped by skeletons.

Not because he was weaker than her or something. Kai would probably try to safe his sister and by coocidence got kidnapped instead of her. Just to make sure she was safe he prefered to sacrifice himself.

Nya would train why Master Wu and become a strong ninja of fire to rescue her brother. But also bonded with the other ninjas.

In the meantime she'd also think that Jay's flirting attempts are cute-

Later seasons would also have a big impact on Kai.

Kai was Nya's older brother. He practically raised her. So, the fact that she is a ninja fighting evil and risking her life every day would definitely made a big impact on him.

The fact that Nya is stronger than him, and he cannot protect or help her in any way, would cause frustration, anger, and above all, a sense of helplessness in him.

Kai would try to support the team in any way he could, but the helplessness would still make him feel down and be with him.

From time to time he'd act like a big brother.

He wouldn't like Jay's interest in Nya at first, but later would accept it, since she likes him so much.

There wouldn't be a phase of being a green ninja, because well he isn't a ninja.

Instead Nya would like to become one. Not because of the titel or anything, but becuase it'd mean to be better to improve. Nya wants perfection. She wants to be the best version of herself. So she works very hard to achieve that.

She wouldn't be annoying about becoming the green ninja like Kai- She would work hard to be the best.

In the meantime comes Lloyd.

Kai has way better relationship with him here compared to the cannon.

Suprisingly he isn't irritated by him, but just simply takes care with him. He plays kind of big role for young Lloyd.

Kai is patience with him and tries to teach him and be nice. Maybe it'd somehow remind him of rising his younger sister(?) Kai would spend time with him, shove comfort and some support that he needed and just act like a Big Brother towards him.

Their relationship would be pretty strong.

There would happen at slightly little drama between Kai, Nya & Lloyd. [BUT NOTHING TOO SERIOUS]

Nya would be probably a little annoyed why her brother is so nice towards him. She'd be irrited since Lloyd recently just acted like a brat. (He mostly made pranks like making Zane's costume pink and ect.-) And she doesn't understand Kai's indifference towards it.

But everything would resolve, when Nya safed Lloyd from vulcano and unlocked her true potential.

.

.

.

Bla bla.. to lazy to write next seasons.. But basically Kai would be a big support as a red Samurai, Lloyd's role model and he'd slowly come closer to the other teammates.

He wouldn't be just fire ninjas brother, but feel more like a part of the group.

Then the situation with the ghost would happen.

Sensei Wu would tell him about his Water Powers and that's were everything starts to break.

Kai has to learn how control water.

But the point is that Kai hates water.

Kai can't swim, is afraid of drowning and basicly is aquafobic-

This is the time where he has to overcome his fear to safe everyone.

This is the time when everything that he belived turned into a lie. That%'s the time when his life turned upside down and just everything is a mess.

He tries to deny it. He doesn't belive in it. He hates it.

He hates water.

But in the end he begins his training, because the life of the loved one's is WAY more important.

He starts training with master Wu. Nothing goes well, because of his character that is a completely opposite to this power.

Moreover he got a few panic attacts while being in the deep water that doesn't end well.

Kai hates this power. He doens't accept it as his. He doesn't accept it being part of him. He's basically forced to learn it because of the situation and persuading the master.

But in the end his able to overcome it.

By the talk with someone he's able to see the source of his fear. He finally sees the beauty of his power.

He takes a deep breath and immerses himself in the water, clearing his mind and he's calm.

He's part of the water and water is part of him.

Kai accepts this part of him and is able to control it.

.

.

.

Absolutely I hope that I've demonstrated the true potential of this idea, and how it could indeed turn into something really cool.

AND I HAVEN'T EVEN CAME TO THE SEABOUND PART-

But seriously I hope that someone will notice it. A nice fic could come from it.

I also really tired not to add and lavashipping ideas here, because it's not everyone's cup of tea, but it could have been here something.

I don't know if I will ever write this or not. It's really hard to tell.

But if anyone wants to write this or something simliar to it then go on. I don't see a problem. The more us the better!

First

[chaifootsteps]

I know it's a natural side effect of everything good about the pilot definitely not being written by Viv, and series!Charlie being a supposedly "nice" character being written by a notably not nice person, but I really never got the sense that Series!Charlie gave a damn about the common sinner if they couldn't contribute toward helping her white savior-ass "fix" the demons.

The only time she actually cared about somebody's past was when HER girlfriend used to be an angel, and never told her despite that being a secret that could get her killed if she told the wrong people. She doesn't care about how many people Angel's probably given cement shoes, she got him to quit doing drugs so it's all fine.

Her ideas don't go any deeper than making the demons (who are all perfectly content to live in hell, they just don't like being murdered every year) act vaguely palatable in a Christian manner, there's no focusing on the inherent immorality of eternal punishment, no considerations of a purgatory or reincarnation, or making hell just fucking bigger which they can definitely do, holy shit, just do that, by all means, she acts like a sheltered, apathetic child inserting herself into everyone's lives until its made evident the heaven system is BROKE broke and sacrifices like Sir Pentious' are meaningless when nobody knows the criteria for getting into heaven.

Like the key difference is, if Pilot Charlie caught Alastor blatantly eating one of the inhabitants of the hotel, that would probably the last time anyone sees him alive, but if Series Charlie saw that happening, at worst she'd be kinda annoyed at the bad press. And that's not a bad concept for a character, but it's clearly not the one they were trying to go for, and constantly portraying her as all pure while ignoring her short-sighted and selfish tendencies makes them stick out way more and become hard to root for.

All of this. Pilot Charlie didn't have a spotless track record when it came to knowing what her subjects needed (read, throwing out an addict's pills) but she at least had a more selfless and more adult understanding of it than series Charlie. She paid Angel for his time the first time they met, said the right things, and didn't force everyone to sit around roleplaying Sunday School scenarios and playing clap games.

[just-some-user-hunny]

I’d love to hear everyone’s internal monologue whenever Bastard!Reader refuses to eat

I feel like her eating would be kind of a lifelong problem, she just feels so guilty seeing the splendor in front of her and knowing that many people are starving out there. She’s constantly thinking: Why should she get all this? She feels like she is not worthy, She feels like she’s part of the problem

Yes!!! Because imagine coming from a simple lifestyle, often eating plain foods, or sometimes nothing at all. She watches her mother sacrifice her own chances to eat so that her brothers and her can eat instead, it sticks with you.

Then suddenly she's in this very privileged position where food is plentiful and safe to eat. Meats, honey, exotic fruits. She'd never even touched those foods before, let alone eat them herself. Her family are still at home with barely anything, and here she is very everything :/ it doesn't feel fair, whatsoever.

I think it'd be a mix of internal dialogue concerning the rest of the family. remember, they've never had to experience what she's experienced- never tasted hunger before, everything has always been there for them. They may struggle/not understand her perspective, but depending on who.

Daemon would be slack and absolutely done whilst sitting at the table. Watching his daughter refuse to eat is both annoying, and troublesome. He takes things as they are. A peasant gets scraps, and a princess gets cake. Why can't you just accept that as it is? He's giving you everything, why is it making you sad?

Rhaenyra and Alicent are worried. Considering your background, you're probably not the healthiest/plump child, so seeing you refuse to eat makes their anxiety worsen. I think they'd be much more sensitive to your feelings and perspective, and perhaps have plain foods made for you.

(vegetables, fruits, cheese, bread, maybe a bit of meat they can sneak in). Anything that's not going to turn you away or seem too extravagant. They still recall the look on your face when they tried serving you swan.

I think something as simple as food can have such a complex meaning in their story. They're quite literally rejecting the finer privileged things their kidnapper family is trying to serve them. They're rejecting them.

[my-pjo-stuff]

HEAR ME OUT,

AU where instead of Annabeth and Thalia, Luke met Ethan and Alabaster on the run. It could work age-wise, both Ethan and Alabaster are around Annabeth's age.

He wouldn't have gone to Hal's house without Thalia there- so imagine if instead he meets both Ethan and Alabaster when they seek shelter under the same bridge.

The two boys met each other first and were immediately attached at the hip. Their same age, similar reasons for running away and status as demigods wouldn't allow for any different. When Luke sees the two boys, no older than nine and huddled together with a torn and dirty blanket to keep warm, he couldn't do anything but take pity. So he does what he did with Annabeth,and immediately takes Alabaster and Ethan under his wing. He shows them the robes of demigod life, explains to and teaches them what they need to know and looks after them. Ethan and Alabaster are completely enamored with Luke meanwhile. This strong, nice older guy showing up and suddenly protecting the both of them? Offering them comfort, and care? How could they not look at him as if he hung the stars himself? Luke in the meantime tries his best to keep everyone well fed and taken care of. He's just 14, yet he finds himself in charge of two nine year old boys whose only question when he tells them to jump is "how high?". And Luke finds that he can't complain much. Because they are a family. They are brothers. And he will not fail them like his father did him. That doesn't mean that he's not worried about all the monster attacks, especially when Ethan and Alabaster would inevitably reach the age of 12 and their presence would only grow even more.

This is probably why he takes the offer when a satyr finds them and wants to bring them to camp. The decision was up to Luke in the end, both Ethan and Alabaster would follow him unquestionably afterall.

It's not Grover who found the three, instead just being another, random satyr stumbling upon them by sheer luck. But they do arrive at camp at the same time that Thalia and Annabeth reach it (the two having still found and met each other without Luke). They arrive at exactly the same time as Annabeth and Thalia infact, to the point of even meeting up with the girls and Grover right as the enter camp. Monsters are still chasing Thalia and Annabeth as in canon, and they still don't manage to get to camp in time. Thalia still sacrifices herself for the rest, Luke in a half-desperate attempt to at least save someone grabs Annabeth and drags her along as he makes his way to camp together with Ethan and Alabaster. Annabeth hates him in that moment. She hates this stranger who just grabbed her arm and dragged her away from Thalia as she lay dying. She screams and fights and wails as she's dragged away, her only caretaker ripped apart by monsters behind her. She doesn't understand why Grover isn't helping her as she screams for him. The satyr instead just starring at the gruesome scene of Thalia's demise in front of him. It hurts Luke having to do what, and he wishes he didn't have to. But he knows that if he let's that girl go now, she'd most certainly die to the monsters who already took the life of her friend. Ethan and Alabaster, thank the gods- trust him enough to stay quiet and calm. Or at least as quiet and calm as two scarred children can be. Luke knows that all he can do now is making sure he and the others cross over the border safely while trusting their two satyr guides to manage the way themselves.

That night still ends horrid, for everyone involved. Luke is honestly just glad that neither Alabaster and Ethan got hurt. Chiron and Camp all say he's a hero for at least saving the little girl whose name turns out to be Annabeth. It was only his quick thinking that allowed the group to enter camp safely. Luke doesn't feel like a hero. Annabeth, against all the logic she knows, can only see the boy that separated her from Thalia. She has no one know, the only thing leftover from her caretaker being the tree she was turned into. Alabaster and Ethan cling to Luke even more. They do not know camp, and Luke just saved their lives.

Without the relationship to Luke Annabeth distances herself quickly from him. Their relationship mellows out to cordial after a while- once emotions calmed down and Annabeth got older. But they honestly don't have much to do with each other, especially after Annabeth got claimed and moved to the Athena cabin. They are cordial and know the other's name. But not much else. Luke focuses on Ethan and Alabaster. He makes sure they are taken care of, and find belonging. Once they all get claimed and all stay in the Hermes cabin it only secures their relationship even more. The fact that Luke is closer to Alabaster and Ethan now only serves to grow his hate the gods even faster. Because now he's the one comforting Ethan when campers are mean to him for his godly parent again, he's the one listening to Alabaster when he vents about the disrespect he and his siblings have to endure,

When Luke's quest happens and goes wrong, it only get's worse. At the end Luke still joins Kronos and plots to overthrow the gods, only now with both Alabaster and Ethan at his sides from the very beginning. The three of them have stayed together for most of their lives, and they'd stay together no matter what. When Luke gets posessed by Kronos, it was Ethan begging his big brother to return to them that woke Luke up.

[flammenkobold]

I find Harrow's and Gideon's reverse arcs so fascinating in terms of how entrenched they are within the culture of the Houses/the empire.

Harrow starts out with upholding the culture and the structure Jod build his empire on. She is not only a symbol of it but a literal manifestation, the Reverend Daughter, leader of Drearburh, the last heir of the Ninth House, born from mass murder committed specifically to create her. And she plays up to it, she holds onto these rigid traditions and rules for herself and her house. But there are hints already that she might divert from it eventually. She puts on a show for everyone else, with her parents, with her cavalier, but these are less for her benefit than for the people around her and for the honour of her house. And then of course there is her opening the tomb.

Gideon starts out with wanting to flee from all of that, bargaining for her own freedom from the oppressive system the Ninth represents for her. She's portrayed as a rebel and sees herself as an outsider to that culture. But again, there are hints she might be already deeper entrenched into the culture of Jod's empire than she wants to admit. She doesn't just want to get away from the Ninth, she wants to join the Cohort, she wants to join the military so she can also taunt Harrow.

Then slowly Harrow's arc goes into her rejection of norms and expectations resulting from House culture. A cavalier is meant to die for their necromancer - something that's not just accepted but expected of a cavalier - and Harrow puts her cavalier above her own House rather than willingly sacrifice her. A cavalier is meant to serve as fuel for their lyctor and Harrow violently rejects it. She'd rather put herself in the tomb she opened all those years ago than become a grave for one more person. And finally in Nona she rejects God and walks into the unknown. She walks away from everything she's known and believed in so strongly to find something more worthy of her. What else is there for her? She doesn't know but she is going to find out.

Meanwhile Gideon's arc goes into her embracing and throwing herself into the empire's culture. A cavalier should never watch their necromancer die, she thinks when Isaac dies and Jeannemary has to watch. A cavalier is meant to die for their necromancer, so she does. A cavalier is meant to serve as fuel for their lyctor and she is pissed that Harrow doesn't allow her to be that. Harrow's rejection of that culture is viewed as her rejecting Gideon. And then we get to Nona, Gideon is the Emperor's heir, decorated with medals and titles, made into a dead symbol of the empire of an undying god. She wants to kill Alecto to become John's cavalier, sign herself over to him fully. Because what other purpose has she, what other way is there for her, what other worth?

So yeahhh I got a lot of emotions over this and it's gonna be so interesting to see these two clash in Alecto.

[buggachat]

I'm so curious to hear your thoughts. do you think Gabriel will ACTUALLY die? Or Nathalie? or will they both get healed??? Will Emilie actually get revived? The latter was always something I thought the show would do, but I also feel like this show is hard to predict sometimes. If Emilie does come back, I can't imagine she'd be too thrilled when she learns what Gabe's been up to that the two of them would go back to being a happy loving couple. #eminath2022

honestly it's SO HARD to predict how this series could possibly end. Adrien's story is so clearly set up as a tragedy, completely doomed by the narrative, and there's sufficient foreshadowing that he could possibly die/be sacrificed.... but I also believe that IF that happens he'd be revived and will ultimately receive a happy ending, because he's a main/beloved character of a children's show (also future-chat noir was alive in timetagger). So how will Adrien get a happy ending? Who will parent this child? UHHHHH

Personally, I really hope they don't revive Emilie, even if that's maybe the most obvious way for Adrien to have a happy ending. I think it'd maybe be a little questionable for kids who watch the show and relate to Adrien's struggles of losing a parent, and also I think that it'd kind of... prove Gabriel right? I think Gabriel would happily sacrifice ANYTHING, including his own life, to save Emilie, and I think him essentially doing that, sacrificing EVERYTHING to revive Emilie, and then everyone in the show being better off for it and it being the "happy ending" would kind of mess with the themes. Gabriel isn't supposed to be right. He's supposed to be wrong, he's supposed to be deluded that Emilie can be saved, he's supposed to be wrong in refusing to mourn her properly and move on, and with those themes in mind I don't think it'd make sense for her to be brought back. Maybe temporarily, but not permanently, y'know?

As for the fate of Gabriel and Nathalie.... I DON'T KNOW.... I DON'T KNOW!!! I feel like I almost want to say that Gabriel will just flat out die, but can they do that??? It's a kids show??? WOULD they kill Gabriel??? I don't know!! I DON'T KNOW.... but also there's something so poetically beautiful about Gabriel being the cause of his own demise, y'know? He did this to himself. This is his punishment. Ladybug and Chat Noir don't even have to decide his fate, he decided it himself, and I love that. And even if they find a way to heal the cataclysm, would it heal his mind after being driven mad by all the miraculouses? I...... I don't know that they can do that. How weird would it be, if the series ended with Gabriel suddenly healthy in body and mind again? And then what? He goes back to raising Adrien like nothing happened? It's almost easier to picture him flat out dying, or going to prison with an implied shortened lifespan or something. Gabriel should not continue to have custody of Adrien after all is said and done.

Nathalie would make more sense to survive, I suppose, because even if her fate has been sealed for longer and more solidly, she's a more redeemable character. In fact, I'd say Passion implies that she's very redeemable now, and is even actively trying to step in and be a mother-figure to Adrien now, which makes her a solid contender for being Adrien's post-plot guardian... but it still doesn't feel quite right, because just like Gabriel, Nathalie did this to herself, and her illness is her poetic punishment for her crimes, and we have no reason to believe that her illness can be cured, and we know it's fatal because of Emilie. That, and even if she regrets it now, she still aided and abetted Adrien's abusive father.... so........ I................... .....?

I'm really at a loss here, because I can't predict at all where this could all possibly go. If not Emilie, Gabriel, or Nathalie, who will take care of Adrien?

I know a lot of people use Gorilla for this role, and I don't blame them because there's really no other option, but I've never bought it. Gorilla is.... essentially just.... Some Vaguely Decent Man™ who works for Gabriel, and I really don't get anything from him or from his relationship with Adrien beyond that. Like yes, he's nice to Adrien in a way that probably any Vaguely Decent Man™ would be, and Adrien likes him fine in the same way that Adrien likes everyone, but that's... kind of it? Fanon takes Gorilla and Adrien's relationship and runs with it, and that's fun and all, but in canon there's virtually nothing there, and I'm sure that if Gorilla adopting him was the intended ending, they'd be developing their relationship more than the nothing that we've gotten.

All that really leaves is Amelie, his aunt, who lives in a different country? That seems the most logical, but also would have a huge affect on future seasons of the show if Adrien left the country. Maybe there's some interesting plot stuff they could do with that, and with Adrien and Félix living together, but it almost feels too AUish for me to comfortably predict that it would happen in canon.

sorry this turned into a long ramble where my conclusion is basically a big "I don't know". But anyway, I'm actually really excited to see where this all ends up! I love how unpredictable this show can be.

My only semi-Serious prediction is: I can just picture an episode where Gabriel actually wins, where he recreates his world, and maybe Adrien isn't in it, like Adrien was the one transferred to the casket in the basement (or maybe Adrien was the one who made the wish, and willingly chose to sacrifice himself, because of Adrien's established sacrificial tendencies? idk), and Emilie denounces Gabriel and walks out on him and Gabriel realizes that everything that he's done has been for nothing, that his dream was never real and never could be, and then they somehow undo that timeline and bring everything back into the regular timeline. Idk how any of that would happen, but I'd like it so :)

("It's just bad writing" No Fun Allowed responders DNI)

[shaunamilfman]

Dating Lottie in the Wilderness HC's

got a req for dating Lottie in the wilderness and couldn't decide whether to do dating before crash or not, so I just wrote some for both. 

Dating before crash

absolute first person she looks for after the crash. if you weren't already outside the plane she'd go running back in. you would have to drag her back out with you. 

she wouldn't leave your side for days afterwards. you'd have to plead with her to leave you alone long enough to go to the bathroom. "i can turn around 🥰🥰". "leaveeeeee"

i think she might be a little emotionally distant though. i think she blames herself at least partly for the plane crash since her dad chartered it. it's super irrational but she has such a martyr complex. you'd have to spend some time reassuring her that no one blames her for the crash before she'd relax about it. 

she'd also have a lot going on with the whole running out of pills thing. i can't even imagine how awful it would be knowing what's going to happen as you slowly run out of your medication. obviously you'd comfort her about if but there's only so much you can do. 

after you're in the woods for a while Lottie wouldn't feel the need to hide your relationship anymore and would talk to you about telling the others. not that you guys were doing a great job of hiding it before. honestly, there's only so many loving glances one 'friendship' can survive.

"i don't know what you're talking about, me and Lottie are just friends". Van's like "maybe someone should tell Lottie that??". Lottie across the room, "😍🥰😍" 

having someone who knew about Lottie's condition before she went full cult leader would make a big difference, but I think the end result would ultimately be the same. 

i don't think anyone but Lottie, Mari, and maybe Van actually believe in the whole wilderness thing. I think everyone else just had to believe in it to justify what did, so even if you knew about Lottie I don't think running interference would change all that much. 

you'd ground Lottie a lot though. i think it would mean a lot to her to have someone who still saw her as a person, and not some kind of prophet. you'd sneak around a lot in the woods to fool around and just be with each other. 

thinking about sneaking away from the cabin with Lottie to hook up and running into taivan out in the woods. an everlasting moment of silence before you turn to Lottie and are like "guess this tree is taken"

as inseparable as you guys were before the crash you'd be even worse in the woods. thinking about walking out to Lottie's cult tree and standing awkwardly off to the side while she does her little sacrifices. maybe you don't believe in the wilderness shit immediately, but you still don't like to be out of sight of each other. 

Just teammates before the crash

you and lottie didn't know each other all that well. occasionally you shared a laugh at a party or a knowing look during one of Jackie's 'pep talks', but nothing more than that. 

you wouldn't interact all that much till the cabin. you didn't really understand Lottie's fear of it, but you hung back with her outside because you didn't want to leave her alone.

you'd sit there in comfortable silence for a while until you had to go inside to sleep. after that though Lottie would start to come to you to talk about her visions because she knows you wouldn't judge her like the rest of them. 

she'd still lean primarily on Laura Lee for obvious reasons, but after Laura Lee dies she leans heavily on you. you'd spend a lot of time just sitting with her as she grieved. 

as it starts to get colder Lottie asks you to sleep closer to her in the cabin, trying to justify it with the temperature. you'd wake up every morning with her pressed tightly against you, watching as you slept. (platonically, of course) 

i think you might pull away a bit after doomcoming to process all that crazy shit that happened, and start to avoid Lottie in the process.

she'd follow you out into the woods after a while and you'd get into an argument that culminates in the two of you getting together. 

i think you'd still ground Lottie a lot, but without the background knowledge you'd probably buy into the cult at least somewhat. being at ground zero with Lottie and watching as her visions build up it would be hard not to believe in her, especially with everything else that's going on. 

following Lottie while she does her blood sacrifices and bandaging her hand with a cloth scrap, and gently pressing a kiss to it afterwards. 

i think dating Lottie in the wilderness would probably alienate you a lot from the other girls, especially if you weren't already dating pre-crash. either because they're jealous of you, or because they think you're crazy for believing in her. they hold Lottie on such a high pedestal that it's hard for anyone else to measure up. 

Lottie wouldn't care what the other girls think though, and she'd tell you not to either. you're her gift from the wilderness after all, and she doesn't love anything more than she loves you.

[psi-spectacular]

I don't like hazbin hotel (shocker)

A lot of the problems come down to three things: 1. Viv's issue with being unable to let a concept go, 2. Her inability to maintain a consistent tone, and 3. The fact that it only has eight episodes. Look at helluva boss for example. So many villains get cliffhangers that say "oooOoOoOo I'm gonna reappear in another episode, just you wait!!" And they either just don't or the execution is completely flubbed stryker-style. And what is the show supposed to be? Is it a slice of life comedy about imps killing people on the surface? That concept was basically abandoned like five episodes in. A serialized drama about a complex relationship? Nope! the exploration of Blitz and Stolas's toxic relationship is returned to status quo for gag comedy. OOP! We've got two new characters to center the episodes around while abandoning the core cast!

Now look at Hazbin. I really liked the pilots concept! The idea of sinners being redeemed was interesting, the animation was nice, the characters were compelling, and I was really interested to see how they would develop over time and become better people! Then episode one of the new season comes out. Suddenly its about how heaven sucks actually (Off topic but can we talk about how in the opening exposition, Charlie talks about how angels kill demons to keep them from rising against them, and then in the meeting with Adam talks about overpopulation? What's up with that?) and quickly turns into a war against heaven plot.

You know the main concept of the show? Redemption of sinners? Yeah. I can count how many episodes are about that on a couple fingers. And count how many characters are actually there for redemption on two. And there are so many side characters they like to focus on rather than, I don't know, Focus on Charlie?

Thats another problem! Charlie barely has a focus. You'd think, as the main character, she'd get some sort of development, or some kind of arc, or at least more of a personality than "sunshine princess with big dreams". I don't use this word very often or very lightly, but shes very much mary-sue ish. Her obvious issues (IE seemingly weirdly fundamentalist christian ideas on redemption, constant overstepping of boundaries, the fact that she barely seems to put anything into her relationship with Vaggie while Vaggie falls over herself to make sure Charlie's happy, Very visible savior complex) are never discussed or adressed, and the fact that her hotel is based on an idea that doesn't have any evidence of actually even being possible is only ever addressed by antagonists who are supposed to be in the wrong. She doesn't change, she doesn't do much, but still manages to get everyone to sacrifice themselves for a hotel they're supposed to be super attached to. But we're never shown WHY they care.

And don't get me started on the side characters. The V's are only important in 1-2 episodes and never again, Carmilla exists as a plot device, Lucifer's... Lucifer, Adam is a one-note sexist strawman, and they just... Keep introducing characters. Pentious, Cherry, Mimsy, Cannibal town! You care about these characters! You must you must you must!!!! What do you mean you don't know who these characters are? Of course you do! They were in the plot important pilot that you have to get on youtube to watch!

These characters could have been explored so much better if there was more time in the show. Yes, thats the fault of Amazon, but when you're working with constraints, you need to learn how to work within these constraints. Keeping the "Heaven bad, hell good" thing for the second season while leaving the first season to focus on character development would have made the final battle so much more impactful. It's like an anti steven universe. People complain about how much filler steven universe has, but without that "filler" we wouldn't care about the characters as much as we do. Hazbin hotel, on the other hand, is like watching all the "intense, plot important" episodes without any context of who these characters are and why we should care about them.

At some point, when you're working in the industry, you need to learn that you need to trim the fat. Get rid of certain characters and plot points. Kill some characters off if you need. Wait to introduce a concept. If you can only work with a short amount of episodes, focus on making a good story with well developed characters first and a grand finale later. If you can wait, Wait. If you can't, don't. I know there's a second season but I genuinely don't know how it can go from here. Adam's dead, a sinner is redeemed, the hotel was rebuilt bigger and better than ever... what now?

TL;DR Hazbin Hotel reminds me of me and my friends old edgy gods and goddesses discord roleplay from when I was 13 than an actual planned story.

Sorry for the essay. Its honestly painful seeing something I looked forward too for years flop so hard on the execution. I love the concept, the songs, the animation is.... okay, Angel dust is best boy, but everything else is just eh. Mid. It tries to be so grandiose but I just felt bored and very confused throughout the whole thing, and very uncomfortable during episode 4. Its not offensively bad (hell, its barely even as offensive as people say it is) But its just. Not good in my opinion.

[tamelee]

lol if sns was real, which one do u think would get more jealous? Also, do you think Sasuke would blend in well with Naruto's group of friends. I think he would do well with Neji and Lee, but I think Gaara and Shikamaru would be a different story. I headcannon he would probably be jealous of how close Gaara and Naruto are with each and Shikamaru would be the one friend who would hate the relationship because of how affectionate they are with each other (but still be happy for his best bud)

Hi @bratzs12345 ! They are real ergijergkjaek! >< 

'Jealousy' doesn't really seem right for either of them, I don't know. They both know one other well enough to recognize the depth of their relationship and how important they are to one another. And because of that, it's practically impossible to feel genuine jealousy? Not jealousy, for instance, when Sakura told Sasuke she felt that Naruto got in between them, or he prevented her from the happiness she'd think she'd get with Sasuke, lol. 

People call Naruto jealous when he displays 'possessiveness' over Sasuke, but that didn't stem from jealousy; it was protective. The sacrifices they made for each other were for each other. Unlike Hinata, who attempted to sacrifice herself and everyone along with it if she must, simply so Naruto would look at her and she'd have her five minutes of fame. It's the intention behind it that matters. 

Throughout the narrative, Kishimoto consistently demonstrated to us that they are each other's most special person.

Honestly, I don't think jealousy applies, but if it did—perhaps in an alternate universe or something—Naruto would undoubtedly be the loudest about it. Sasuke would glare them to death and get petty about it later: "Oh, I don't know, Naruto. Why don't you just go to [x] and ask? I will take my bath now, thanks." 

I find the idea of "Naruto's group of friends"… interesting. It's always been so damn conditional. Naruto accepts it, but I don't think Sasuke ever would. So there's already a distance here. Their wounds from the past are different, so are their ext. desires.

But anyway, I think Sasuke would get along with Neji somewhat. They'd at least have some things to talk about regarding clans had the latter not been killed for a brief display of playing last-minute match-making. Lee… possibly, but I don't think they really vibe; he'd exhaust Sasuke, lol. I was thinking Tenten maybe, but she was particularly viscous about him, so I don't see it actually.

Shino had potential.

Shikamaru and Sasuke are purely business. Shikamaru respects Naruto's decisions, and if that includes Sasuke, then he'd stay out of it, but it's nothing personal. Neither was the decision to save him even if it cost his life, or killing him if he thought it'd be for Konoha's sake.

Ah, you know what? Wouldn't it be interesting if Shikamaru had a conversation with Sasuke later to explain that he understood some things better after experiencing the need for revenge himself?! Like, why wasn't that ever brought up later? ;-; 

I think Sasuke would get along with Gaara though? In fanon, it's often Gaara who's the jealous one. Like, he holds Naruto in such high regard that he would refrain from interfering if Naruto were happy. But all three of them know what it feels like to think you need to prove your existence in some way. Gaara and Sasuke definitely have some understanding between them in that regard, maybe less in others.

Sidenote: Am I the only one who'd loved to see Naruto and Juugo get along?